Having heard the report, Tak-hyeon asked Sang-jong with a face that couldn’t believe it.

“Is it true?”

“Yes. Chairman Jang promised to persuade the sister-in-law.”

Sang-jong told Tak-hyeon he hadn’t misheard, but Tak-hyeon still wore a disbelieving expression.

“Chan-pyeong Jang is in that much difficulty?”

Tak-hyeon turned his head and looked up at Do-beom, standing beside him. But Do-beom, seemingly not knowing either, wore an apologetic expression and bowed his head. Tak-hyeon turned his gaze to Seong-ho.

At Tak-hyeon’s gaze upon him, Seong-ho slowly opened his mouth.

“I confirmed that Chairman Jang has also taken a heavy blow from the financial crunch that’s continued since last year. Not only did several firms go bankrupt and leave him unable to collect—money he’d invested in development projects got tied up, so they say he has no funds free to use.”

“So knowing his pockets had emptied, your plan was to work the persuasion through that same Chairman Jang?”

“I laid the plan, but the one who put it into action was second brother.”

Seong-ho handed all the credit to Sang-jong. Sang-jong shrugged at his words, and Tak-hyeon looked him up and down and said,

“You carried it out?”

Hitching his shoulders up as high as they’d go, Sang-jong answered.

“Yes. Head Kim asked for my help, so I personally persuaded Chairman Jang.”

“You did?”

Tak-hyeon looked at Sang-jong with a gaze that couldn’t believe it. Then he turned to Seong-ho and let out a snort of a laugh.

“Fine. If the two of you say so, then so it is. It doesn’t much matter who did the persuading anyway, so let’s leave it at that.”

Sang-jong wanted to say it wasn’t a matter of “leaving it at that”—that he really had done it. But at the sight of Tak-hyeon already moving on to something else, he couldn’t press his claim.

“So how much money does Chairman Jang need?”

“The immediately pressing sum is about 20 billion won, they say.”

“20 billion… that’s no small amount.”

Tak-hyeon showed a moment’s hesitation at being told he’d have to put up 20 billion. Because there was no guarantee that 20 billion, once lent, would ever come back.

Seong-ho spoke to the hesitating Tak-hyeon, telling him he mustn’t begrudge that 20 billion.

“Chairman. If Ilhyeon’s image is worn down as things stand now, there’s a strong chance the loss we take will be not 20 billion but 200 billion, 300 billion. If we block that with 20 billion, then we’re plugging the whole situation with a small sum.”

“Hmm…”

Even at Seong-ho’s words, Tak-hyeon couldn’t readily bring himself to say all right. That was how large a sum 20 billion won was in these times. But he couldn’t fail to decide just because he hesitated. In the end, Tak-hyeon stopped his deliberating and said to Seong-ho,

“Execute it at once, and tell Chairman Jang to persuade her as fast as he can. And at the same time, run the press conference as fast as possible and wrap this affair up. We have a great deal to do right now. We can’t be caught by the ankle here.”

“Just so.”

Sang-jong nodded as if in agreement and, in a thoroughly elevated voice, said,

“The Ilhyeon Town construction alone has no shortage of things that need moving forward. On top of that, the stalled development projects are no small number either. It’s a good thing I came back to Ilhyeon Construction. Without me, none of it would get sorted. I’ll step out and sort these things through, so don’t you worry, Chairman.”

Though it was a task Tak-hyeon had assigned to Seong-ho, Sang-jong stepped forward saying he’d sort it. At the sight of him, Seong-ho only smiled quietly, and Tak-hyeon merely watched Sang-jong without a word.

After Sang-jong and Seong-ho had bid their farewells and left, Tak-hyeon reached a hand toward the cigarette pack before him and slowly opened his mouth.

“About Head Kim.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Whose line is he riding, I wonder?”

“Line?”

“Yes. I can’t tell whom he’s backing for the next chairman’s seat.”

Tak-hyeon lifted the cigarette pack and tilted his head.

“Watching Head Kim up to now, there’s no telling where he’s lined up. At times he seems to back the eldest, and now he’s backing the second… what’s going on in his head?”

“To my eye, it looks different.”

“Different?”

Do-beom set the ashtray down before Tak-hyeon and said,

“The decisions Head Kim has made all look to be for Ilhyeon’s sake. Just as backing Mun-jong was the best choice for Ilhyeon at the time, backing Sang-jong now is the choice for Ilhyeon—that’s how it looks to me.”

“All for Ilhyeon?”

As if it were a question he’d never once considered, Tak-hyeon sank into thought without drawing a cigarette from the pack. Turning Chief Do-beom’s words over again in his mind, Tak-hyeon looked up at him once more.

“Then how does it look to you? Does he seem like a man you could entrust the vault to?”

At that question, Do-beom looked at Tak-hyeon with an expression as if his heart had stopped.

Leaving the chairman’s office, Sang-jong patted Seong-ho on the shoulder.

“Well done.”

At the sight of Seong-ho raising him up and backing him before Tak-hyeon, Sang-jong felt satisfaction.

“When I take charge of the group, I’ll be sure to give you an important post, so don’t worry.”

“I’m ready at any time to do my utmost for Ilhyeon.”

“Right. Don’t forget that attitude.”

Seong-ho had said he’d do his utmost for Ilhyeon, not for Sang-jong—but Sang-jong didn’t catch the difference. To Sang-jong, made glad by the very fact that he’d been handed the task by Tak-hyeon, no other words registered.

“If I handle this affair well, I’ll be a step ahead of that fellow over there, won’t I?”

“You mustn’t grow complacent.”

Seong-ho looked toward the vice-chairman’s office and offered him earnest counsel.

“Rather than thinking about getting ahead when you don’t know what’s in the Chairman’s mind, you have to focus on finishing the assigned task properly. If you let yourself get carried away and produce a bad result, you’ll have to bear the Chairman’s wrath.”

“Hahaha. Right. Head Kim’s sharp as ever.”

Sang-jong patted Seong-ho’s shoulder and laid a hand on it. Then, a smile at his lips, he said,

“When Chang-jong’s child first turned up, I heard what you said, kept quiet, and now I’ve been able to throw a big punch at the very end. Hahaha. This is thanks to you. I’ll never forget it.”

“Brother. The whole affair isn’t over yet. You must never let your guard down.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve got it, so don’t worry.”

Saying he understood, Sang-jong patted Seong-ho’s shoulder and moved to board the elevator.

“Head.”

Just then a voice called Seong-ho from behind. Seong-ho and Sang-jong, about to step onto the elevator, turned their heads at the same time.

“The Vice-Chairman asks that you stop by his office a moment before you go.”

“The Vice-Chairman?”

Seong-ho turned his head and looked at Sang-jong. Wearing a smile at his lips, Sang-jong nodded to Seong-ho and said to Mun-jong’s secretary,

“Doesn’t he want to see me too?”

“That’s…”

When Mun-jong’s secretary wore a troubled expression, Sang-jong put on an amused look and stepped onto the elevator. Then, turning, he looked at Seong-ho and said with a smile,

“Brother may be very angry, so soothe him well. And if anything comes up, you may lay the blame on me. This affair has become mine to run anyway.”

Speaking as though he were the man at the center of this affair, Sang-jong even gave a wave of his hand. Seong-ho bowed his head to Sang-jong, who stood beyond the slowly closing elevator doors. And once the doors had shut completely, he turned around.

After confirming that Seong-ho was ready, Mun-jong’s secretary guided him to Mun-jong’s office, and Seong-ho followed behind the secretary toward the place where Mun-jong waited.

The moment Seong-ho entered Mun-jong’s office, Mun-jong shouted at him.

“Why did you drag Sang-jong into this!”

Seong-ho gestured to Mun-jong’s secretary to close the door and leave, then set about calming Mun-jong.

“Brother. First, calm down.”

“Do I look like I’m in any state to calm down right now!”

Mun-jong didn’t lower his voice at Seong-ho’s words and shouted on.

“Why has Sang-jong ended up handling this affair? Huh? Say something.”

“Then did you want to sort it yourself, Brother?”

“That’s…”

Mun-jong could say nothing.

Seong-ho poured water from the pitcher on the table, handed it to Mun-jong, and sat at his right.

“First have some water and calm down. And once you hear me out, you’ll understand why I dragged Brother Sang-jong in.”

“Fine. Let’s hear this grand reason of yours.”

Along with the word “fine,” Mun-jong gulped the water down and set the empty glass on the table with a clack.

“Now then, talk. Just why did you have Sang-jong sort this affair and get himself recognized by Father?”

“Brother. Someone had to step forward and sort this out. But you and Chang-jong are tangled up in the affair, so it can’t be you—and it couldn’t be handed to Jeong-eun or to Yeong-su Cha, either. Nor could it be asked of Eun-a Jang or of my own wife.”

“Father assigned it to you, didn’t he? You said you could wrap this up with a press conference, so he gave it to you—so why didn’t you do it, and put the second up to it instead!”

Seong-ho checked the glass to see if there was something wrong with it, and finding it fine, poured water again. He set it down before Mun-jong once more. Mun-jong shoved the glass roughly aside, as if he had no intention of drinking.

“Brother. Why do you think I put second brother out in front? It’s because I didn’t want to do it myself.”

“What?”

Seong-ho lifted the glass and pressed it directly into Mun-jong’s hand.

“I thought of the solution, but I didn’t want to carry it out—so I dragged second brother in.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think? Have you forgotten who the in-law is?”

“Chairman Chan-pyeong Jang…”

Mun-jong let out a voice like a low groan and looked down at the glass. Gazing down at it a moment, he drained the water in one go. And this time, unlike a moment ago, he set the glass down carefully on the table.

Looking at the Mun-jong who had only just calmed, Seong-ho settled deep into the sofa and explained to him—as Mun-jong stared—why he’d dragged Sang-jong in.

“To put the sister-in-law on the press-conference stage, we need the in-law’s power. And to move the in-law, I had to make use of the situation he’s now caught in.”

“Right. I understand. That method would be the only one.”

“But what sort of man is the in-law? Would the great Chairman Chan-pyeong Jang forget an affair like this?”

“Ha.”

Mun-jong let out a hollow laugh and shook his head. And, like Seong-ho, he pushed himself deep into the sofa and leaned back against it.

“Chairman Chan-pyeong Jang isn’t that kind of man.”

“That’s why I dragged second brother in.”

Mun-jong nodded and looked at Seong-ho.

“Right. But… what do you mean to do about the second being recognized by Father for handling this well?”

“Why do you worry about that?”

“What?”

Seong-ho leaned in close toward Mun-jong and spoke in a low but forceful voice.

“Being recognized doesn’t settle the line of succession, and it doesn’t narrow the gap between second brother and you either.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“So why work yourself up over something so trivial? Right now you have to focus on wrapping this affair up well and sinking the problem beneath the surface. Because that child, when all’s said and done… will be the biggest stumbling stone on the road you’re walking, Brother.”

Hearing him, Mun-jong’s eyes went wide. And he raised a finger toward Seong-ho, who’d pointed out the thing he’d missed.

“Right. You’re right. Rather than fussing over the second, I should focus on clearing away the stumbling stone that might trip my own foot… thank you.”

Mun-jong wore an expression that said Seong-ho had spoken well, having woken him to it. Seong-ho smiled back at him.

But Seong-ho thought that stumbling stone would never, ever be cleared away.

Because I’ll be the one to make it so.

Spitting the words out only within his heart, Seong-ho smiled broadly at Mun-jong.

(End of Chapter 140)