"Vice-Chairman. Aren't we expecting a loss from next quarter?"

"We are. As it looks now, we'll be in the red from next quarter right through next year, and that much is close to certain."

He would not have been asking out of ignorance.

Word of it was already going around the top brass, and the people working on the floor could see it coming firsthand.

A bitter look came over Un-ho Jeong's face, and he spoke.

"The union is…… pushing back."

"The union is?"

The remark was unexpected, and Seong-ho Kim tilted his head as though he could not place it.

"Is there something for the union to push back about?"

"Well……."

Un-ho Jeong hesitated a moment and then spoke.

"There seems to be a lot of unhappiness about performance pay."

"They're worried they won't get performance pay if we post a loss."

"That's right. And there's a lot of unhappiness between Sectors too."

"They're afraid they turned in results and the performance pay still won't come, because they're yoked to the others?"

Un-ho Jeong realized Seong-ho Kim had grasped the situation exactly, and he spoke with much more ease.

"They're unhappy with the company, but distrust has built up among themselves too. Some of the union members are saying we ought to be demanding a spin-off."

"Ha."

A hollow laugh burst out of Seong-ho Kim.

President Un-ho Jeong took Seong-ho Kim's lead and let a wry laugh slip of his own, and said,

"I think it's an absurd thing to say myself. Which is what brings me to this……."

Un-ho Jeong stopped for a moment and then spoke carefully.

"Since the split has opened up inside us in any case, why not put it to use?"

"Use it?"

Un-ho Jeong wet his lips, leaned in a little toward Seong-ho Kim, and said,

"They're on very bad terms now. The ones who gained and the ones who lost are equally unhappy."

Un-ho Jeong broke off a moment, then spoke in a confiding voice.

"If we used that to set them fighting each other——"

"That's enough."

Seong-ho Kim put up a…