This meeting wasn’t only about changing Dae-su Park’s life.
It was also a meeting Seong-ho Kim absolutely needed.
‘I have to put power into the hands of my own side.’
In Korea, you could call a prosecutor a position that holds power.
But even a position with power means nothing at all if it can’t grip a knife.
You have to be gripping a knife for your opponent to feel fear — only then does real power finally come into being.
In that sense, Dae-su Park was sitting in a position that could grip a knife, but he hadn’t gripped it yet — no different from a man holding only potential.
And in a few days, even that potential would vanish.
So Seong-ho Kim made up his mind to go past potential and place a knife directly in Dae-su Park’s hand.
Seong-ho Kim set down his soju glass and glanced behind him.
The men who’d been watching him were, at some point, wolfing down meat and rice.
Because it hadn’t occurred to them that Seong-ho Kim, meeting friends and tipping back soju, would do anything out of the ordinary.
On top of that, having been invited to join the table and even bought meat, they’d let their guard down entirely.
Confirming that they’d withdrawn all their watchful eyes and were focused on eating, Seong-ho Kim said to Dae-su Park in a low voice,
“Dae-su. Do you happen to know the Jisan Group?”
“Jisan Group? Course I do. Who doesn’t know them? They started with a university and grew into a whole conglomerate, right? From kindergartens to elementary, middle and high schools, junior colleges, universities, grad schools — they run every kind of private school you can run in Korea. No way I wouldn’t know them.”
“Right. Exactly. But that place… looks like it’s got some problems.”
“Looks like it’s got problems? What problems?”
“Embezzlement, breach of trust, labor-law violations — looks packed full of corruption.”
Dae-su Park listened to Seong-ho Kim, wordlessly filled his glass, tossed it back, and let out a dry laugh.
“Who doesn’t know that place is overflowing with corruption? The problem is that even knowing, you can’t touch it. You know how it is — under the protection of the political world, they slip and wriggle past every problem like a loach.”
“Yeah, I know. The current chairman’s father served as a National Assembly member. But that’s only up to now.”
“Only up to now? What do you mean?”
When Dae-su Park asked, puzzled, Seong-ho Kim let a smile touch his lips and said,
“The political world only shields them because there’s money in it, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right. There’s got to be something in it for them, or they wouldn’t bother helping.”
“I’ve found out there’s a strong chance the Jisan Group falls into a cash crunch and goes bankrupt.”
Byeong-jin Jo asked Seong-ho Kim with a startled face,
“Goes bankrupt? Jisan Group?”
“Keep your voice down.”
“Ah, sorry, sorry.”
Seong-ho Kim nodded and continued to Dae-su Park.
“You know it too — there’s no crowd as devoid of loyalty as politicians, right? Would people like that really look after a Jisan Group that’s flat broke and floundering?”
“…No way they would.”
“That’s exactly it.”
Filling the glass of the seemingly-convinced Dae-su Park, Seong-ho Kim went on with his explanation.
“In any case, right now the only ones who know this are the Ilhyeon Group’s Strategic Planning Office.”
In truth it was a matter only Seong-ho Kim knew even within Strategic Planning, but he hid that and spoke as though it were intelligence the office had caught.
Fiddling with his liquor-filled glass, Seong-ho Kim said to Dae-su Park, who was looking at him,
“If you strike alone when everyone else is shying away, won’t the credit come back all the bigger? Your standing will get solid, too.”
At his words, Dae-su Park lifted his glass in one motion and tossed it back.
“Kh~”
To wash away the bitterness lingering in his mouth, Dae-su Park picked up a chili pepper from in front of him, bit into it, and said,
“I didn’t actually tell you two this, but… my standing at work is pretty bad right now. Without a proper project to my name, holding onto my seat hasn’t been easy. There’s a high chance I get cut from Special Investigations this month at the earliest, next month at the latest.”
With a resolved expression, Dae-su Park said to Seong-ho Kim,
“Hearing your story, I feel like this is worth a shot. Thanks. This should be plenty of help in shoring up my standing.”
“Glad to hear it sounds helpful.”
Half-listening to the two of them while stealing glances toward the secretariat staff, Byeong-jin Jo, seeing that their talk seemed about wrapped up, clapped his palms and said,
“All right, all right, if the talk’s finished, let’s have one last round and call it a night. Looks like the folks who tailed Seong-ho have finished their meal too, anyway.”
Confirming that the men behind him had finished their meat and were once again straining their ears toward where he sat, Seong-ho Kim shot Byeong-jin Jo a well done look.
Then he raised his glass and said,
“Anyway, it was good to see you all today. I’ll make time again, so let’s meet then.”
“Yeah. See you again.”
Seong-ho Kim and the others clinked glasses and drained their last round.
Watching Seong-ho Kim, the secretariat staff patted their bellies.
Because the first meal they’d eaten today was delicious and filling, and they felt satisfied at having found nothing unusual about Seong-ho Kim.
And so the barbecue joint became, like Seong-ho Kim who returned with the diary, an inflection point where Dae-su Park’s life changed.
“Ten million won. Wow~ Just as I believed, our Director keeps his promises.”
Team Leader Ki-seok Yun took the statement showing the ten-million-won bonus figure and spoke, giddy with delight.
Director Gyeong-deuk Lee, seated, glanced at the Team 2 members likewise looking at their statements and rejoicing, and shook his head.
“It wasn’t me who did it. It came out because the chairman specifically gave a direct order to pay it, so if you want to be grateful, be grateful to the chairman.”
Just then, Manager Byeong-ju Jeong, with a lingering trace of unease on his face, looked at Director Gyeong-deuk Lee and asked,
“But we didn’t even manage to shave much off the Jisan Cement price, and the acquisition ended up being one Ilhyeon Construction is doing on its own — is it really all right for us to take a bonus like this?”
Director Gyeong-deuk Lee caught the meaning of Manager Byeong-ju Jeong’s words and nodded.
“It’s fine, you can take it.”
Having told Byeong-ju Jeong it was fine, Director Gyeong-deuk Lee said to the Team 2 members,
“Even though it didn’t actually go through, the chairman judged that Team 2’s efforts shaved off twenty billion won, so he ordered the bonus paid.”
“But did Ilhyeon Construction really agree to acquire it at a hundred eighty billion won?”
Ki-seok Yun made a puzzled face.
“If they’d just waited a bit more, they might have acquired it at a hundred sixty billion, or even lower.”
“The rest is Ilhyeon Construction’s business to handle, so you needn’t take any further interest. Well then, everyone did well — buy yourselves something tasty on the way home.”
Telling them there was nothing to worry about, Director Gyeong-deuk Lee said to Seong-ho Kim,
“That… Assistant Manager Kim, could I see you for a moment?”
It was the warmest expression Director Gyeong-deuk Lee could put on.
Seong-ho Kim folded the statement, tucked it into his breast pocket, and followed Director Gyeong-deuk Lee to the deputy head’s office.
“Sit, make yourself comfortable. What’ll you drink? Tea? Coffee? Or shall we have a glass of whiskey?”
“No, thank you. Just water is fine.”
Director Gyeong-deuk Lee smiled at Seong-ho Kim in friendly fashion, poured water himself, and handed it to him.
Taking the water, Seong-ho Kim asked,
“So what’s the occasion for wanting to see me?”
“Ah, that’s~”
Gyeong-deuk Lee sat down beside Seong-ho Kim, put on a friendly smile, and took his hand.
Then, with a smiling face, he said to Seong-ho Kim,
“It’s that I feel sorry.”
“Sorry? Sorry about what?”
“About Jisan Cement. I should’ve held onto it somehow and had our side close it out, but it got taken by Ilhyeon Construction. I felt just terrible about it…”
“Not at all. It was a matter fully settled over the weekend in Pyeongchang-dong, with the chairman and my brothers-in-law all discussing it together. It wasn’t something you could have held onto by trying, Director.”
“Is that so? You were present too, at the meeting where the chairman, the vice-chairman, and the president of Ilhyeon Construction talked it over?”
At Seong-ho Kim’s words that he’d attended such an important meeting, Gyeong-deuk Lee’s eyes sparkled.
There had been much talk of Seong-ho Kim being a son-in-law who’d fallen out of Tak-hyeon Lee’s favor.
People had regarded him as one whose position as an Ilhyeon Group son-in-law was that only on the surface — one who, within the group, was treated worse than cold leftovers.
But contrary to expectation, at the words that he’d attended and even spoken at a meeting where important decisions were made, Director Gyeong-deuk Lee resolved to change the way he looked at Seong-ho Kim.
Watching him, Seong-ho Kim brought up something likely to interest him even more.
“I told the chairman it was Strategic Planning’s judgment, and I heard the chairman say we’d done well. He also told me not to be too disappointed about it.”
“Did he now? So that’s why the secretariat passed along that message.”
As if he finally understood, Gyeong-deuk Lee slapped his knee and said,
“Normally a bonus doesn’t come out for something like this, so when the order came down to pay one across the board, I was puzzled. But it was because you spoke to the chairman. As expected…”
Gyeong-deuk Lee gripped Seong-ho Kim’s hand more firmly and said,
“Every now and then… even just very occasionally is fine, so bring up my… no. Bring up our Strategic Planning Office to the chairman often. You understand?”
“You needn’t worry about that. Living in the same house as the chairman, I talk with him often, morning and evening.”
Seong-ho Kim had deliberately reminded him once again that he lived under the same roof as Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee.
Gyeong-deuk Lee’s eyes went wide and he nodded.
“That’s right. Of course. You’re living in the same house as the chairman, aren’t you?”
Gyeong-deuk Lee took Seong-ho Kim’s hand in both of his and pressed it to his chest.
“As you know, the Strategic Planning Office chief’s seat is currently vacant, isn’t it?”
Suppressing the laugh that threatened to come out, Seong-ho Kim nodded and answered,
“Yes. I’m aware of that too.”
When Seong-ho Kim played along, Gyeong-deuk Lee looked at him with a gaze full of yearning and said,
“It’s not that I’m desperate to sit in that seat myself. But… all things being equal, isn’t it better to promote from within? That way someone else fills my seat, and when that seat opens up, the person sitting below moves up naturally, and…”
Gazing meaningfully at Seong-ho Kim, Gyeong-deuk Lee stressed once again that it wasn’t out of his own greed.
“As you know, the Strategic Planning Office is the place that manages the group’s affairs great and small, isn’t it? It’s a key post among key posts, so I know a lot of people have their eye on it. But… it’s just as difficult a place as that. A wrong judgment could deal great damage to the group, couldn’t it?”
“I agree with that.”
“So it’s better to have someone who knows the place well holding the center steady… You know what I’m saying, right?”
Seong-ho Kim smiled lightly.
He already knew that even if he did nothing, Gyeong-deuk Lee, the deputy head, would move up into the chief’s seat.
But even if it was a misunderstanding, there was no need to deny and conceal that he’d exerted influence.
Because that would make his own work going forward that much easier.
“Understood. When I dine or have tea with the chairman, I’ll actively bring it up.”
“Is that true?”
Gyeong-deuk Lee beamed at Seong-ho Kim’s words.
And he came to think he’d done well to speak to Seong-ho Kim.
Gyeong-deuk Lee had wondered whether the bonus coming out despite the Jisan Cement matter going over to Ilhyeon Construction wasn’t because of Seong-ho Kim.
Because in the nearly ten years he’d been in Strategic Planning, there had never been anything like it.
The only thing different from the past was Seong-ho Kim’s existence, and he’d wondered whether it wasn’t that Seong-ho Kim had changed Tak-hyeon Lee’s mind — and it turned out to be true.
So he’d quietly asked Seong-ho Kim about the vacant Strategic Planning chief’s seat.
If Seong-ho said he had no such power, then so be it — he’d been lightly testing the waters.
But contrary to what he’d thought, not only did Seong-ho confidently say he’d speak on his behalf, he’d even gone so far as to reassure Director Gyeong-deuk Lee.
“I’ll make sure to appeal your case fully, Director. So don’t worry — just get ready to move your things over to the chief’s office.”
“If you really do that for me, I won’t forget this kindness.”
“What kindness is there to speak of? I’m only saying it because I sympathize with what you said, that’s all. And the choice rests with the chairman, so in truth my influence is negligible.”
“No. That’s not so. If I become chief, don’t you worry about your future in Strategic Planning. I’ll take responsibility for it.”
Just as on his first day in Strategic Planning, Director Gyeong-deuk Lee made a big show of promising to take responsibility.
Watching him, Seong-ho Kim smiled softly.
Because whether the man was blustering or not, at the very least it had become certain that his future in Strategic Planning would flow along comfortably.
Gyeong-deuk Lee clasped hands with Seong-ho Kim and, laughing heartily as if delighted, kept the conversation going for a good while.
(End of Chapter 13)