In the car heading back from Donggyo-dong, Seong-ho looked at Tak-hyeon with a new sense of wonder.

He’s using it like this?

Tak-hyeon hadn’t let the information about the IMF managing director’s secret visit simply pass by. He’d sought to use it in the most advantageous way possible — and that was why he’d directed the car to Donggyo-dong, where the opposition candidate’s residence stood.

With the presidential election drawing near, a poll had just been released showing the opposition candidate trailing the ruling party candidate by a narrow margin. If the race continued as it stood, the ruling candidate’s victory looked all but certain. In such a moment, if Tak-hyeon showed up bearing this kind of information for the opposition candidate, that candidate would have no choice but to feel deeply indebted to him. With so little time left before the election, the mere sight of Tak-hyeon appearing before the reporters camped outside the Donggyo-dong residence would be enough to make the opposition camp feel they’d received tremendous help.

Tak-hyeon had gone to Donggyo-dong precisely to plant that sense of gratitude in the opposition camp.

Seong-ho, who hadn’t imagined the news of the IMF managing director’s secret visit could be leveraged this way, looked at Tak-hyeon with genuine admiration.

“Well? Do you think this will help with what you’re doing?”

Tak-hyeon put the question to him.

Seong-ho stopped his musing and answered. “It’s bound to help, without question.”

Drawing on his experience of that former life, Seong-ho spoke calmly about what lay ahead. “After the IMF bailout, the industrial landscape will be reorganized. Along with the natural realignments and mergers, there will be adjustments carried out under government direction. If we can carry the government’s backing on our shoulders when that happens… we’ll be able to seize firm control of the process. It’s bound to help.”

“Right.”

Hearing Seong-ho’s answer, Tak-hyeon leaned back in his seat and looked at him with an idle gaze.

“I’ve set the stage for you. Now play your hand well.”

“I won’t fall short of your expectations.”

At Seong-ho’s slight bow, a faint smile settled onto Tak-hyeon’s face. He called out to Chief Do-beom Hwang, sitting in the front seat.

“Chief Hwang.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Do-beom, seated in the passenger seat, turned his head toward Tak-hyeon.

Tak-hyeon looked at him and said, “Didn’t you mention you’ve had a lot more work lately?”

“I did say something like that not long ago… why do you ask?”

“How about keeping this fellow under you?”

“Sorry?”

At Tak-hyeon’s words, Do-beom turned to look at Seong-ho. Seong-ho, too, couldn’t grasp what Tak-hyeon meant and wore a puzzled expression.

Turning back to Tak-hyeon, Do-beom asked, “Chairman, isn’t the Restructuring Headquarters already under the secretariat? What do you mean by keeping him under me…”

“I mean putting him in as Deputy Chief.”

“Deputy Chief of the secretariat?”

Only then understanding what Tak-hyeon meant, Do-beom’s eyes went wide. Seong-ho was equally startled. Faced with a proposal he’d never imagined, he couldn’t think of how to react in the moment.

Finding their reactions amusing, Tak-hyeon wore a smile and spoke to the two of them. “How about you keep him under you for a while, and later hand over the Chief Secretary position to him? I think that would work out rather nicely. This one’s sharp, after all. He’s got a good head for business.”

“Head Kim is undeniably a brilliant man. Working alongside him would certainly make things easier. And if Head Kim were to succeed me as Chief Secretary someday…”

Do-beom glanced at Seong-ho, still lost in thought, and continued. “I don’t think there could be anything better than that. But…”

“But?”

“Rather than that, I think it might be better to take the Restructuring Headquarters out from under the secretariat entirely and make it report directly to you, Chairman.”

“Take the Restructuring Headquarters out of the secretariat? Hey, driver Kim, pull over somewhere.”

Tak-hyeon instructed the driver to stop so they could speak properly. The driver checked his surroundings and pulled the car to a stop on a quiet side street.

Once the car stopped, Do-beom turned to face Tak-hyeon and laid out his thinking. “Head Kim has exceptional insight when it comes to restructuring. And right now is a time when restructuring needs to be pushed forward more forcefully than ever. Rather than moving him into the secretariat at a time like this, I think it would be better to move the headquarters under your direct authority, Chairman, and give Head Kim even greater authority — so his abilities can be put to even fuller use.”

“Rather than letting his talent go to waste in the secretariat, we should throw even more weight behind the restructuring effort?”

“Yes. I think that would be the better direction.”

Listening to Do-beom lay out his prepared thoughts without hesitation, Tak-hyeon nodded a moment, then turned to Seong-ho. “What do you think?”

Having stayed quiet until now, Seong-ho answered Tak-hyeon in an unwavering voice. “I think it’s a good idea.”

“Which part do you think is good? The headquarters coming directly under me? Or you moving into the secretariat?”

“Both are good, but I think moving into the secretariat would be better.”

“You think moving into the secretariat would be better?”

Tak-hyeon looked at Seong-ho with an expression of surprise. So did Do-beom. Even though he himself had been the one to propose moving the headquarters under the chairman’s direct authority, he couldn’t understand why Seong-ho would rather come into the secretariat and work under him.

But Seong-ho, the very man in question, spoke with an expression that looked almost eager.

“Because if I go into the secretariat and assist you, Chief Hwang, there’s so much I could learn. And if I could take what I learn and use it to help the chairman and my brothers-in-law, I don’t think there could be anything more meaningful than that.”

“Well, if you helping me and the other children turns out that way, that would certainly be good.”

Having said this, Tak-hyeon gazed at Seong-ho quietly, without a word. Seong-ho didn’t avert his eyes from Tak-hyeon’s gaze. For a moment, their two gazes hung suspended in the air, tangled together — until Tak-hyeon broke away first and gestured to the front seat.

“Driver Kim, let’s get moving again.”

Do-beom was curious what conclusion Tak-hyeon had reached, but he couldn’t ask. No one within Ilhyeon Group had the standing to question Tak-hyeon’s decisions.

Once Do-beom had settled properly back into the passenger seat and the car started moving, Tak-hyeon’s closed mouth opened again.

“I hear you’ve made quite a bit of money in stocks?”

Though he spoke while looking straight ahead, Seong-ho knew the words were aimed at him and answered honestly once more.

“Yes. As of the last update I received, the account had grown to 200 billion won.”

Still leaning back against his seat, Tak-hyeon spoke briefly. “That’s plenty. Stop now.”

“Yes, understood.”

Though he might well have asked why, Seong-ho answered at once, without any doubt at all, that he understood.

Tak-hyeon glanced at him a moment, then looked out at the passing scenery and said, “At next year’s presidents’ reshuffle, I’m going to promote you to president. Take note of that.”

At Tak-hyeon’s mention of appointing him president, Seong-ho offered his own view carefully. “Chairman, wouldn’t it be better to climb the ladder step by step? Whether or not I carry the title of president makes little real difference, so I think it would be best to first be formally promoted to managing director.”

“You’ve achieved results at this level, and you’d have it end with a seat as managing director? What am I supposed to do with the people under you, then?”

Dissatisfied with the answer, Tak-hyeon shot him a scolding look and said, “Only once you rise to president can the Deputy Head rise to vice-president, and everyone below him can be given a seat to match. Think of your own subordinates now.”

“But if I’m made president… wouldn’t that be awkward for you, Chief Hwang? If our ranks became equal…”

As Seong-ho tried once more to decline, citing Do-beom as his reason, Tak-hyeon cut him off again. “Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

“The Restructuring Headquarters is going to come under my direct authority. Once it’s separated out from the secretariat, it won’t matter at all that you and Chief Hwang hold equal rank. If anything, it’s only right that the two of you stand as equals, so the headquarters can stand shoulder to shoulder with the secretariat.”

“It’s going to come under your direct authority, Chairman?”

“That’s right.”

Having said this, Tak-hyeon leaned back in his seat again, gazing straight ahead as he spoke. “So take it as settled. No more arguing about it…”

As if there were nothing more to discuss, Tak-hyeon closed his eyes.

Seong-ho answered that he understood and looked at Tak-hyeon, eyes now closed, for a moment.

The path there turned out a little different from what I expected, but either way, I’ve arrived at the goal I wanted.

Drawing his gaze away from Tak-hyeon, Seong-ho recalled the conversation they’d just had.

Now that the chairman’s begun to keep me in check, I’ll need to adjust my own pace as well.

Seong-ho didn’t believe Tak-hyeon’s proposals a moment ago had been made with pure intentions.

Looking at the results the Restructuring Headquarters has produced, it’s only natural he’d start to feel threatened.

And amid that sense of threat, Tak-hyeon must have found himself wondering whether Mun-jong and the others — set to succeed him — could really hold their own against it. That was surely why he’d felt the need to put Seong-ho in his place once, and why he’d cast out the bait he had, just now. From the suggestion of moving to the secretariat to the demand to liquidate every last share he held, any hint of hesitation or objection from Seong-ho at any of it would have given Tak-hyeon the pretext to cut him down a peg.

But at every turn, Seong-ho had shown not the slightest doubt, accepting every one of Tak-hyeon’s instructions without question. Had he shown even a moment’s hesitation, his wings would have been half-clipped — but by making not a single misstep, Seong-ho had gotten through the encounter cleanly.

Yet moments like this were certain to keep coming. And Seong-ho knew well that there were others, beyond Tak-hyeon himself, who had no wish to see his power grow any stronger.

I need to move first.

Thinking of those who might check him even more fiercely than Tak-hyeon, Seong-ho looked out the window.

“Oh my, youngest miss! Why are you here so early today?”

On Sunday morning, Min-yeong Oh, Sang-jong’s wife, made a fuss at the sight of Seong-ho and Gyeong-eun arriving a full hour earlier than usual.

Gyeong-eun handed the bundle she was carrying to the housekeeper who’d opened the door and said to Min-yeong with a smile, “I tried cooking something at home, and thought it might be nice to have it together at the meal later, so I packed some up.”

“You came early to give it to us before the meal’s laid out? Well done. Mother-in-law! Come look at this — the youngest miss actually made food!”

Min-yeong called out to Suk-ja in a fussy voice. She picked up the food container from inside the bundle and held it out toward her.

“Mother-in-law, come look. This is what the youngest miss made.”

At Min-yeong’s words, Suk-ja frowned and muttered. “That girl’s never once cooked in her life — what could she possibly have made? I’m sure it was all wasted effort.”

“Oh, not at all, Mother-in-law. Look, it actually looks quite good, doesn’t it?”

Opening the food container, Min-yeong let out an exclamation at the glistening japchae inside and called out to the kitchen housekeeper. “Hwacheon-daek. Bring me a pair of chopsticks.”

“Yes, madam.”

As Suk-ja slowly approached, Min-yeong held out the food Gyeong-eun had brought and said with a smile, “Look, Mother-in-law. It looks quite good, doesn’t it?”

“It does look decent, at least.”

“And that savory smell — it must taste good too.”

While they exclaimed over its convincing appearance, the housekeeper called Hwacheon-daek brought the chopsticks, and Min-yeong and Suk-ja each took a pair and picked up some of the japchae Gyeong-eun had brought.

“Let’s see, then.”

Min-yeong gathered up japchae, glass noodles, and spinach together with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.

“Mmm~”

Letting out an involuntary hum, Min-yeong’s eyes went wide, and she turned to Suk-ja.

“Mother-in-law. It’s delicious!”

Having put a bite in her own mouth, Suk-ja looked at Gyeong-eun with an equally surprised expression.

“Well. It is delicious. Not bad at all.”

“Japchae’s a dish that’s hard to get right — how did you manage to make it taste this good? I can hardly believe it myself, even having eaten it. What’s gotten into you?”

Finding that it wasn’t just convincing to look at but genuinely tasted good, Min-yeong patted Gyeong-eun’s arm with a startled face, exclaiming over and over.

Gyeong-eun made no effort to hide the pleasure on her face at Min-yeong’s praise, and looked over at Seong-ho, watching this whole scene from just outside the kitchen. Seeing the unmistakable joy on her face, Seong-ho smiled back at her.

Just then, Sang-jong came over to stand beside him.

(End of Chapter 101)