Seong-ho Kim rode in a car sent by his sister-in-law — Tak-hyeon Lee’s eldest daughter, Jeong-eun Lee, Managing Director of Ilhyeon Fashion — on his way to the appointed meeting place.

The driver kept glancing anxiously at Seong-ho Kim in the rearview mirror, clearly agitated about something.

Seong-ho Kim spoke first to put him at ease.

“I won’t mention it, so there’s no need to worry.”

“I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry.”

“These things happen. How could anyone control a bodily function like that?”

Even at Seong-ho Kim’s words, the driver, still anxious, kept offering excuses.

“My wife’s kimchi this year must have had an unusual amount of chili powder in it, and eating it gave me a stomachache… I’m truly sorry for being late.”

“I really am fine. Even if we were late, it was barely a minute — that’s hardly late at all.”

“No, no. Late is late. I’m truly sorry.”

No matter how many times Seong-ho Kim said it was fine, the driver kept apologizing.

Watching him, Seong-ho Kim let out a quiet sigh and thought back on his past life.

‘I never did understand why she rode her drivers so mercilessly.’

Jeong-eun Lee’s abuse of her drivers had been notorious enough to make the news more than once.

Stories of her mistreatment had appeared in newspapers and even on investigative TV programs.

Each time, Seong-ho Kim had been the one who had to mix persuasion and threats in just the right measure to keep the press quiet.

‘I wonder if Chief Hwang is handling that now.’

Seong-ho Kim thought, not for the first time, that the road to meeting this troublesome sister-in-law was never an easy one, and gazed out at the passing scenery for a moment.

Listening to the driver’s continued excuses and apologies, the car soon arrived in front of the restaurant where he was to meet Jeong-eun Lee.

“Thank you for the ride.”

“Director, that’s…”

Seeing the still-anxious driver, Seong-ho Kim smiled lightly and took his hand.

“I won’t say anything, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Turning to look at the back seat, the driver bowed his head nearly to the floor in gratitude.

Watching the driver treat him like a savior who’d spared his life, Seong-ho Kim looked on with a bitter expression and got out of the car.

“Director, this way, please.”

A restaurant employee, having confirmed Seong-ho Kim’s arrival by the car, came over and led him to where Jeong-eun Lee was waiting.

Knock, knock.

Having guided Seong-ho Kim to the private room inside, the employee knocked carefully and opened the door.

“Director Seong-ho Kim has arrived.”

“Sounds like Kim’s here. Send him in.”

The employee stepped aside from the door, and as Seong-ho Kim entered, Jeong-eun Lee, who’d been waiting inside, greeted him warmly.

“Kim, welcome. Come sit here.”

There was one other person in the room besides Jeong-eun Lee — a man who looked to be in his fifties. Seong-ho Kim asked,

“I don’t believe we’ve met — might I ask who you are?”

Jeong-eun Lee smiled at Seong-ho Kim and made the introduction.

“You two will be seeing quite a bit of each other going forward, so say hello. This is President Eun-mun Kim of DS Furniture.”

Introduced, President Eun-mun Kim rose from his seat and extended a hand to Seong-ho Kim.

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Eun-mun Kim.”

“You’re the president of DS Furniture?”

Seong-ho Kim shook the offered hand while giving Jeong-eun Lee a look that asked for an explanation of what was going on.

Jeong-eun Lee gestured to both standing men.

“Come now. Everyone who’s coming is here, so let’s sit.”

Jeong-eun Lee urged the two of them to sit and called over the restaurant employee.

“Bring the food out.”

Having ordered the employee around bluntly, Jeong-eun Lee looked up at the still-standing men and said,

“Come on, sit, sit.”

Seong-ho Kim took his seat and looked at President Eun-mun Kim, saying,

“I had no idea President Kim would be joining us.”

“I asked Managing Director Lee here to arrange this meeting. I should have informed you as well, Director, but things got hectic and I never managed to. My apologies.”

President Eun-mun Kim apologized and picked up the liquor bottle in front of him.

“As a token of my apology, allow me to pour you a drink.”

“No. That won’t be necessary. Sister-in-law, was the reason you wanted to meet me today because of DS Furniture?”

Seong-ho Kim spoke to Jeong-eun Lee in a deliberately displeased tone.

Managing Director Jeong-eun Lee of Ilhyeon Fashion gestured for Eun-mun Kim, still holding the bottle, to put it down, and said to Seong-ho Kim,

“I heard you’re switching Ilhyeon Hotel’s furniture and bedding purchases to a bidding system?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“President Kim here asked me to arrange just one meeting with you over that, and how could I refuse?”

Jeong-eun Lee turned to President Eun-mun Kim and said with a smile,

“Our Ilhyeon Fashion uses DS Furniture’s products often too. We’ve done business together a long time, and he’s a trustworthy man.”

Eun-mun Kim bowed his head to Jeong-eun Lee in thanks, and Jeong-eun Lee answered his gratitude with a smile before turning back to Seong-ho Kim.

“Which is why I’m saying — is there really any need to switch suppliers? I think it’d be better to just keep the relationship going with the people you’ve already been working with.”

“Director.”

The moment Jeong-eun Lee finished speaking, Eun-mun Kim slid a white envelope across the table toward Seong-ho Kim.

Seong-ho Kim looked down at the envelope and asked President Eun-mun Kim,

“What is this?”

“Take it.”

Though the question had been directed at Eun-mun Kim, the answer came from Jeong-eun Lee’s mouth instead.

Seong-ho Kim felt he already knew what was inside the envelope without needing to look.

“I can’t accept this.”

Without even opening it, Seong-ho Kim pushed the envelope back toward Eun-mun Kim.

Then he looked at Jeong-eun Lee and said,

“Sister-in-law. If I’d known President Kim would be joining us today, I wouldn’t have come. I’m sorry, but I’ll be taking my leave first.”

As Seong-ho Kim bowed his head and rose from his seat without hesitation, President Eun-mun Kim hastily grabbed at him.

“Director. The food hasn’t even come out yet…”

“Let’s consider it eaten. Well, then…”

Bowing once more to Jeong-eun Lee, Seong-ho Kim walked straight out of the room.

Crash!

The moment Seong-ho Kim left, the sound of something breaking came from inside the room.

And right after it, Jeong-eun Lee’s sharp voice tore through the door.

“That son of a bitch — just because Father coddles him, he thinks he’s somebody now! A steward’s son thinking he can just get up and leave first! I’ll—”

“M-Managing Director, please calm down.”

“You expect me to calm down? Go get that bastard back here. Bring him back!”

Jeong-eun Lee shrieked on, paying no mind to Eun-mun Kim’s attempts to calm her.

As the sound of things breaking continued from inside, the employee bringing the food couldn’t bring himself to go in, standing helplessly outside the door.

Leaving that scene behind, Seong-ho Kim left the restaurant, muttering to himself,

“DS Furniture was tangled up with my sister-in-law? This is about to make the Ilhyeon Hotel restructuring a lot more interesting.”

Tak-hyeon Lee’s expression hardened at Do-beom Hwang’s report.

“So — you’re telling me Jeong-eun tried to introduce this DS place, whatever it’s called, to Kim?”

“Yes. And judging by the fact that Director Kim left the restaurant less than five minutes after going in… it seems he refused.”

Fwsssh.

Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee flung the documents he’d been reading and shouted,

“Has she lost her mind? Is that the best a daughter of the Ilhyeon Group can manage?”

Do-beom Hwang waited quietly beside the desk until Tak-hyeon Lee’s emotions settled.

After a few more documents had been thrown, and Tak-hyeon Lee seemed to have calmed somewhat, Do-beom Hwang spoke quietly.

“Chairman. According to what the secretariat has looked into… Ilhyeon Fashion, too, has a relationship with DS…”

“Enough.”

Tak-hyeon Lee raised a hand to stop him, as if he had no wish to hear any more.

Then, with a scowling face, he asked,

“What state is Ilhyeon Fashion in right now?”

“This year’s results haven’t been good either. Revenue is down from last year, and operating profit still hasn’t escaped the red.”

Hearing Do-beom Hwang’s report, Tak-hyeon Lee sank into thought for a moment, then instructed him,

“Cut off all group-level support for Ilhyeon Fashion.”

“Chairman!”

Do-beom Hwang looked at Tak-hyeon Lee with a startled expression.

“That would shake Ilhyeon Fashion badly. It would deal a massive blow to next year’s planned business as well…”

“So what if it’s a blow? If it shakes, it shakes. What’s so significant about that?”

Tak-hyeon Lee, apparently already having made up his mind, shook his head at Do-beom Hwang’s words and gave another instruction.

“And have Vice-President Cha at Electronics reassigned somewhere new as well.”

“Somewhere new, meaning…”

“Wherever it is, send him somewhere as unrelated as possible to where he is now.”

“But that would…”

Do-beom Hwang could now clearly feel, from these very instructions, that Tak-hyeon Lee’s anger ran even deeper than he’d realized.

“If you’re going to pull a stunt this absurd, you’d better be prepared for the consequences that come with it.”

Having finished speaking, Tak-hyeon Lee gestured at the documents scattered on the floor.

Understanding Tak-hyeon Lee’s gesture, Do-beom Hwang quickly gathered the fallen documents and set them back on the desk, then asked,

“Shall we deal with DS Furniture as well, then?”

“DS Furniture…”

Tak-hyeon Lee paused for a moment.

Then, as if some amusing thought had occurred to him, his hardened expression eased slightly, and he said,

“Leave DS Furniture be.”

Do-beom Hwang looked at Tak-hyeon Lee, startled by his words.

Simply by trying to connect DS Furniture with Seong-ho Kim, Jeong-eun Lee had brought a major blow down on herself.

If group-level support for Ilhyeon Fashion was cut off entirely, the already-struggling company would fall into serious danger, a danger Jeong-eun Lee herself would have to resolve.

On top of that, Jeong-eun Lee’s husband, Vice-President Yeong-su Cha of Ilhyeon Electronics, would clearly lose his influence there once reassigned.

That Tak-hyeon Lee, having come down so hard on Jeong-eun Lee, would then say to leave DS Furniture — the thing closest to the actual root cause — untouched, struck Do-beom Hwang as deeply strange.

“Chairman. You’ve made a decision that will deal a huge blow to Director Lee, and yet you’re telling me to leave DS Furniture alone? If you think about it, isn’t that the biggest boil that needs lancing?”

“You’re right, Chief Hwang. DS Furniture is a big boil. But… I’m curious about something.”

“Sorry? You’re curious?”

“Yes.”

The smile on Tak-hyeon Lee’s face deepened, and the anger from a moment ago was nowhere to be found.

Corners of his mouth curled up, Tak-hyeon Lee said,

“I’m curious how Kim will handle DS Furniture.”

Do-beom Hwang tilted his head and said,

“Wouldn’t the answer be obvious? Now that he’s caught on to the relationship between DS Furniture, Director Lee, and Ilhyeon Hotel, wouldn’t the conclusion simply be to throw DS Furniture out of Ilhyeon Hotel?”

“Right. That’s the usual way to think about it. But, you see…”

Tak-hyeon Lee paused, thinking something over quietly, then slowly spoke.

“He may have only just caught on to the relationship between DS Furniture and Jeong-eun this time — but he caught on to the relationship between DS Furniture and Ilhyeon Hotel before that, didn’t he?”

It was true — Seong-ho Kim had discovered the connection between DS Furniture and Ilhyeon Hotel before he’d ever met Jeong-eun Lee.

Do-beom Hwang nodded slowly at Tak-hyeon Lee’s words and said,

“Yes. Director Kim saw that DS Furniture had held an exclusive supply contract with Ilhyeon Hotel for ten years and switched it to a bidding system — that’s what set Director Lee in motion in the first place.”

“Then doesn’t it seem like Kim already had something in mind?”

“Are you curious what Director Kim intends to do with Ilhyeon Hotel through DS Furniture?”

“Yes.”

A deep smile settled on Tak-hyeon Lee’s lips as he instructed Do-beom Hwang.

“So hold off, for now, on the decisions we just discussed regarding Jeong-eun and Cha. If I move first, Kim might not be able to do whatever it is he’s planning.”

Not the slightest trace of anger remained on Tak-hyeon Lee’s face any longer.

“Have the secretariat keep watching Ilhyeon Hotel and report to me regularly. Understood?”

“Yes. Understood.”

“I wonder what that fellow’s going to do with DS Furniture.”

Tak-hyeon Lee clasped his hands together with an interested expression, picturing in his mind what Seong-ho Kim would do next.

(End of Chapter 38)