Seong-ho Kim’s inauguration as president of Ilhyeon Securities was carried out with lightning speed.

There was no reason for a farewell ceremony given his circumstances of being driven out, nor could there be an inauguration ceremony for coming as president to a crumbling Ilhyeon Securities.

Seong-ho’s arrival was concluded with a few employees carrying his belongings over, and gathering the Ilhyeon Securities executives for a meeting served in place of an inauguration ceremony.

“Executive Director Oh. Do you know anything about President Kim?”

Managing Director Ji-ho Yu, attending the executive meeting Seong-ho had convened, asked Executive Director Mun-guk Oh beside him.

Executive Director Mun-guk Oh shook his head and said,

“I don’t know anything in particular either. I’ve just seen his face from a distance in passing, that’s all.”

“I’ve never even met him.”

Managing Director Ji-ho Yu smacked his lips in disappointment and said,

“Rumor has it…”

Managing Director Ji-ho Yu glanced around for a moment and spoke in a low voice.

“They say he’s merciless, don’t they?”

“Merciless?”

Executive Director Mun-guk Oh didn’t understand the meaning of “merciless” that Ji-ho Yu spoke of and tilted his head.

Ji-ho Yu spoke in a voice worried that someone else might overhear.

“They say that everywhere he goes, anyone who looks likely to become an obstacle to what he means to do, he cuts down first thing before starting. Whether it’s a union or an executive, without distinction.”

“Ah, that story?”

Only then did Mun-guk Oh nod as if he understood and let out a sigh.

“Haah… that story, I’ve heard it too.”

“Executive Director… he’ll do that here as well, won’t he?”

“He probably will. With results poor right now, it wouldn’t make sense to drag all these many executives along…”

Mun-guk Oh looked around at the Ilhyeon Securities executives gathered in the conference room waiting for Seong-ho.

As Ilhyeon Securities was among the large securities firms, the executives alone numbered thirty.

Mun-guk Oh sat thinking about how many of these might be able to survive, and continued speaking.

“There’s even talk in the rumors that the Chairman means to wind up our Ilhyeon Securities.”

“Is that really true?”

Managing Director Ji-ho Yu opened his eyes wide and asked Mun-guk Oh.

It was a story he, a managing director of Ilhyeon Securities, didn’t know, but it occurred to him that Mun-guk Oh might know.

“It’s a story I’ve only heard too. The truth… only the incoming president would know.”

Mun-guk Oh answered in a spirit-drained voice and kept silent for a moment.

Past fifty years of age.

The father of two sons — a first in his graduating year of university and a late-born second on the very verge of entering university — Mun-guk Oh felt his chest growing tight.

If I leave here, what am I supposed to do…?

Being old, entering a new workplace wasn’t even something he could hope for.

And for himself, who’d spent his whole life in a securities firm, to run a business was even more unimaginable.

A full-time investor?

If he were to do anything, it’d be a full-time investor, but even that was hard to hope for right now.

With the composite stock index trapped at the preposterous number of 300, making a living off stock investment was no different from madness.

Haah… should I go down to the countryside and take up farming, at least.

Thinking of his parents in the countryside, Mun-guk Oh felt an ache in his chest.

Just imagining how his parents — who’d sold their land and cattle to send their son up to Seoul, telling him not to become a farmer like them — would take in a child coming back down saying he’d become a farmer, his throat closed up.

“I’m a little late.”

While Mun-guk Oh was steeped in thought, worrying about the future, Seong-ho, who’d convened the meeting, entered the conference room.

Before taking his seat, Seong-ho looked for a moment at the Ilhyeon Securities executives all gazing at him at once.

“I won’t bother introducing myself separately. There won’t be anyone here who doesn’t know me.”

Seong-ho paused for a moment, met each person’s eyes one by one, and continued.

“Before I came here, I heard an interesting story. That the group might give up on Ilhyeon Securities — have you all perhaps heard it too?”

The Ilhyeon Securities executives present swallowed dryly.

Seong-ho had, without going around it, been the first to bring up the very story they were most curious about.

Seong-ho smiled quietly at the executives’ reaction and resolved their curiosity.

“To give you the conclusion first — the group is not giving up on Ilhyeon Securities.”

The Ilhyeon Securities executives, who hadn’t expected Seong-ho to answer so easily the thing they were most curious about, all put on startled expressions.

And they came to feel confusion at the words that followed.

“The present Ilhyeon Securities looks to my eye like nothing more than a third-rate securities firm. Now that I’ve come here, I intend to tear it all down and rebuild it. And my goal is to transform it into a securities firm worthy of the name Ilhyeon. Number one in Korea, number one in Asia, and further, a world-class securities firm. That is why I came here.”

Ordinarily, if talk like this came out, the normal thing would be to clap or respond in kind, but the executives, too startled, could give no reaction at all.

To them, who’d been worried about surviving, he was speaking of number one in Korea and number one in Asia, so their heads couldn’t help but grow tangled.

And Seong-ho, who’d anticipated this reaction, spoke to them first.

“I’ll lead the way. You all follow behind me. Then, before long, we’ll obtain remarkable results.”

Having spoken his bold declaration, Seong-ho looked at Executive Director Mun-guk Oh.

“Executive Director Oh.”

Executive Director Mun-guk Oh hurriedly collected himself and answered while looking at Seong-ho.

“Yes, President.”

“I’d like to have interviews with all of the executives.”

“Interviews? You mean you’ll hold individual interviews?”

“That’s right.”

Seong-ho looked around at the executives listening to him and said with a smile,

“Because it’s hard to share what’s truly on our minds in a gathered setting like this. I want to earnestly share what’s on our minds with all of you.”

Seong-ho explained the reason for the interviews simply and turned to Mun-guk Oh again.

“And so, first, I mean to talk with you, Executive Director Oh.”

“With me… first, you mean?”

“Yes. You’re someone who was here from before Ilhyeon acquired the securities firm from Gu-il, Executive Director Oh, so you could be called the living history of Ilhyeon Securities. First I mean to talk with you and get to know the company step by step. That’s all right, yes?”

“If the President wishes it, then it must be done, but…”

Mun-guk Oh looked around at the other executives present with a flustered face.

The executives, who’d been a little relieved to hear Seong-ho say he wouldn’t give up on Ilhyeon Securities, all had their faces darken after hearing Seong-ho’s words of individual interviews.

The thought that Seong-ho’s reason for holding interviews might be for restructuring began to spring up in their heads, one by one.

Seong-ho, having finished the meeting, instructed Mun-guk Oh to come to his office right away and left the conference room.

Managing Director Ji-ho Yu approached Mun-guk Oh and asked in a voice full of worry,

“Why do you think he says he’ll hold individual interviews? As expected, is he trying to cut us after the interviews?”

“That could be it too…”

“Executive Director Oh.”

Managing Director Ji-ho Yu spoke in a trembling voice at Mun-guk Oh’s seemingly nonchalant tone.

“What do we do? My kids are still in high school…”

“That’s the same for me. My second is in his final year of high school now.”

Mun-guk Oh put on a rueful expression toward Ji-ho Yu and spoke in a slightly louder voice to the executives looking at him.

“Isn’t this something we all steeled ourselves for from the time last year’s results came out?”

At Mun-guk Oh’s words — that it was something they’d already known — Managing Director Ji-ho Yu spoke with a face on the verge of tears.

“Even so… even so, the other affiliates didn’t carry out layoffs, did they?”

“That’s because, thanks to good restructuring, they didn’t take big operating losses last year. Is that any way for a person who’s an executive of Ilhyeon Securities to talk?”

At Executive Director Mun-guk Oh’s words, Managing Director Ji-ho Yu could say nothing.

Because Managing Director Ji-ho Yu knew too that it wasn’t something an executive of Ilhyeon Securities — who ought to peer into a company’s financial statements as if looking at their own palm — should say, whatever might be true of another company.

Executive Director Mun-guk Oh slowly rose from his seat, then looked down at the remaining executives and said,

“If you did wrong, receiving punishment is the way of the world, isn’t it? Whatever the situation, if you posted results too shameful to show anywhere, you ought to receive punishment commensurate with that. So let’s all not feel wronged about the present situation.”

Managing Director Ji-ho Yu dropped his head and let out a small mutter to himself.

“It’s not like we did wrong… why should the market’s being like that…”

Seemingly not agreeing with Mun-guk Oh’s words, he muttered to himself in a tiny voice laden with a sense of grievance.

Mun-guk Oh beside him heard Ji-ho Yu’s muttering but pretended not to.

Because he knew well too from what heart Ji-ho Yu had said such a thing.

“Then I’ll go on ahead. All of you, return to your seats and attend to your work until your turn comes. I’ll personally let you know the next order.”

Leaving word not to spend the time here anxious but to go back and be working, Mun-guk Oh left the conference room and headed for the president’s office.

At that hour, Seong-ho, who’d arrived at the president’s office first, was seated reading content related to Mun-guk Oh.

[Mun-guk Oh. The last vault keeper of Ilhyeon Group’s Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee. Mun-guk Oh, president of Ilhyeon Securities, was my father-in-law’s faithful retainer and a trustworthy vassal. He devoted his loyalty to the Chairman and, doing his utmost, carried out the duty of vault keeper of Ilhyeon Group to the very end. He…]

Seong-ho read down the content related to Mun-guk Oh and closed the leather diary.

“It’s still before Executive Director Oh joins as a vassal.”

Seong-ho tapped the closed leather diary with his finger and continued to organize his thoughts.

“If I make him my ally first, things will become far smoother going forward.”

Seong-ho’s moving to Ilhyeon Securities was, besides evading Mun-jong’s underhanded schemes, also to make an able talent like Mun-guk Oh his ally.

Because it wasn’t easy to draw people in while seated in an attention-grabbing position like the Restructuring Headquarters.

Seong-ho sank into thought for a moment, imagining that if an able talent like Mun-guk Oh joined him, he could expect the two-birds-with-one-stone effect of not only receiving great help with what he meant to do, but also lowering Tak-hyeon’s power.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

Seong-ho organized his thoughts for a moment and told whoever was at the door to come in.

When Mun-guk Oh opened the door, entered, and greeted Seong-ho, Seong-ho nodded toward him and pointed with his hand to the chair set before him.

“Have a seat.”

Mun-guk Oh greeted Seong-ho courteously once more, then pulled out the chair and sat down.

Seong-ho recalled Mun-guk Oh’s face as it remained in his memory for a moment and smiled faintly.

At the sight of Seong-ho looking at him and smiling, Mun-guk Oh stroked his face with his hand and asked,

“Is there something on my face?”

“No. I smiled out of gladness at getting to see you in person like this, Executive Director Oh, whom I’d heard of long ago.”

“You’d heard my name long ago? I’m… not that famous a person, though…?”

Mun-guk Oh put on a flustered expression.

Because it occurred to him that he might be famous within Ilhyeon Securities, but seen across the whole group, “famous” didn’t suit him.

Executive Director Mun-guk Oh recalled his past conduct in his head, wondering whether he’d perhaps done something wrong that had reached the ears of the top brass.

Seong-ho, looking at Mun-guk Oh like that, wore a smile at his lips and opened his mouth.

“Well then, shall we start with talk of the company first?”

Seong-ho broached getting down to the real discussion and threw out a question.

“I did check the rough details at the headquarters before coming to the company, but I’d like to hear it directly from you, Executive Director Oh. How large is Ilhyeon Securities’ loss right now?”

Executive Director Mun-guk Oh, who’d been thinking of something else for a moment, hardened his expression at hearing Seong-ho’s question.

And, with a low sigh, he informed Seong-ho of Ilhyeon Securities’ situation.

“Last year’s revenue was 200 billion won, with an operating loss of… 340 billion won. And this year’s loss is expected to exceed 500 billion won.”

“So you’ll be entering capital erosion.”

“…Yes.”

At Seong-ho’s words, spoken in a composed tone, Mun-guk Oh offered a short answer.

But the content contained in such short words was by no means simple.

“Capital erosion, is it…”

When Seong-ho let out a low sigh and muttered to himself, Executive Director Mun-guk Oh called to Seong-ho in a cautious voice.

“Um… President.”

At Mun-guk Oh’s voice calling to him, Seong-ho looked at him.

Executive Director Mun-guk Oh, with his voice lowered as much as it would go, threw out a question to sound out Seong-ho’s thinking.

“Shouldn’t we… carry out… a rights offering?”

“A rights offering… Right. To escape capital erosion, we’d have to carry out a rights offering.”

“If we continue in this state of capital erosion, we’ll be delisted from the exchange. For a securities firm… to be delisted from the exchange is something that cannot happen, and to escape the state of capital erosion, the best method is a rights offering alone.”

Mun-guk Oh didn’t think Seong-ho was unaware of this fact.

The reason he’d nonetheless spoken on and on like this was that he wanted to know what Seong-ho was thinking.

Though Seong-ho had said in the earlier meeting with the executives that he had no intention of winding up Ilhyeon Securities, he’d brought up the rights-offering matter first in order to sound out his firm intentions.

Mun-guk Oh couldn’t take his eyes off Seong-ho’s mouth.

And after a brief span of time passed like that, Seong-ho’s mouth opened.

(End of Chapter 170)