"It's about the Ilhyeon Securities rights offering."

"Good. I was wondering about that, as it happens."

Tak-hyeon leaned back comfortably against the sofa and put his question.

"Is it going well?"

"Yes. The outline's all in place."

"'The outline's in place' — meaning you've secured your investors, I take it? Since you said you'd do a third-party allotment rather than a rights issue to existing shareholders."

"Yes."

A trace of a smile crossed Tak-hyeon's face at the answer.

"Crisp replies, as always. All right — who's coming in on the Ilhyeon Securities offering?"

As he asked, Tak-hyeon reached for the cigarettes on the table. He meant to hear Seong-ho out at his leisure, over a smoke. As the chairman set a cigarette to his lips and lit it, Seong-ho began naming the offering's investors.

"Silla Future Asset will lead the consortium. And the participating investors will be Chairman Il-gyeong Dan, Chairman Chan-pyeong Jang, and myself."

Lighter halfway to the cigarette, Tak-hyeon froze where he sat. Cigarette still between his lips, he turned his head to stare at Seong-ho.

"What? Who did you say was coming in?"

"Silla Future Asset, Chairman Il-gyeong Dan, Chairman Chan-pyeong Jang, and myself — each putting in 100 billion won, for 400 billion in total."

"Il-gyeong Dan and Chan-pyeong Jang, both of them coming in?"

He'd heard the names twice now, and still, as though he couldn't believe it, Tak-hyeon asked again. Seong-ho nodded, his voice flat, as if he'd anticipated exactly this reaction.

"Yes. Chairman Dan and Chairman Jang have both agreed to come in."

"How did you — no. Why would the two of them—"

Still wearing his look of disbelief, Tak-hyeon threw out the clipped question and bored his eyes into Seong-ho's face. Meeting that stinging gaze, Seong-ho answered in the same even voice.

"I persuaded them it was a chance to make money. Both men have an obsession with money that no one else can match."

"Obsessed with money or not, worse than any ordinary man… but those two, together?"

It wasn't that the thought of Il-gyeong Dan had never occurred to…