News that Tak-hyeon Lee would be visiting the Los Angeles electronics show generated a great deal of buzz.

Because the news that the chairman of Ilhyeon Group would personally visit the world’s largest electronics show, amid the difficult economic conditions of the currency crisis, was like a single ray of hope in economic news that had been full of nothing but grim stories.

The press competed to report on Ilhyeon Electronics’ participation in the Los Angeles electronics show.

[Ilhyeon Electronics to Unveil New TV at Los Angeles Electronics Show]

[Ilhyeon Electronics’ Ambitious Mobile Phone Expected to Finally Make Its Appearance in Los Angeles]

[Experts Predict Ilhyeon Electronics’ Washing Machine Will Win Technical Innovation Award in Los Angeles]

The press anticipated that Ilhyeon Electronics might unveil new products and take home a few awards in Los Angeles.

And, framing this as connected to the outstanding national character of Koreans who forged through hardship even amid a severe economic crisis, they worked up the mood.

On the plane bound for Los Angeles, Byeong-jin Jo spoke to Seong-ho, seated beside him, in a low voice.

“Do you know how many reporters are on the same plane as us?”

“How many?”

“A full fifty. Everyone says their pockets are empty and dollars are expensive, but it seems they’re doing all right. Foreign media will cover all of this, and yet they’ve sent reporters directly to the U.S. like this — the newspapers and broadcasters must have deep pockets.”

“That’s how much this is going to be news.”

Seong-ho answered, turning the page of the newspaper he was reading.

The paper was still full of nothing but bleak stories — from which company somewhere had gone bankrupt, to the narrowing door to employment, to how, retirement age aside, if you didn’t leave the company even at fifty you were called clueless, and so on. The newspaper was all gloom.

Of course, it wasn’t that there were no interesting stories at all.

There was also a large piece about how the corporate landscape might shift with the Big Deal concluded among the five major groups.

But stories like this didn’t hold people’s attention for long.

In a situation where making a living was hard, a story about the corporate landscape shifting couldn’t stir much interest among the public.

“But are you really going to do it?”

Byeong-jin asked Seong-ho in a worried voice.

Seong-ho, who’d been turning the newspaper pages, called over a stewardess passing down the aisle.

“A glass of wine here, please.”

“Yes. I’ll prepare it right away.”

The stewardess answered that she’d prepare it right away and turned to go.

Byeong-jin looked at Seong-ho as if he found it strange and asked,

“You don’t like wine. Why? Being on a plane makes you crave wine?”

“When have you ever seen me drink wine?”

“Then why’d you ask for it?”

“To make you drink.”

“Me?”

Byeong-jin asked, pointing at himself.

Seong-ho looked at him, nodded, and said,

“Yes. You. Have a drink and get some sleep.”

Having finished speaking, Seong-ho took the glass from the stewardess who’d brought the wine.

And handing it to Byeong-jin, he patted him on the back.

Byeong-jin held the glass Seong-ho had handed him and said, looking at him,

“I’m only worried, is all. I wonder if there’s any need to do it in a place already so crowded with reporters and people.”

“It’s because it’s crowded with people and reporters that I’m going to do it.”

Seong-ho folded the newspaper he’d been reading and set it on the tray table.

“The more people watching, the faster the rumor will spread.”

“That’s true.”

Byeong-jin nodded at Seong-ho’s words and gazed at the wine glass for a moment.

Then he lifted the wine and drank it down in one go, set the glass on the tray table, and said,

“Anyway, you really are a peculiar fellow. Deliberately trying to reveal, in a crowded place, the kind of thing others try to hide.”

Byeong-jin, the alcohol apparently going to his head the moment he drank the wine, muttered “peculiar” several more times and quietly closed his eyes.

Seong-ho looked at him for a moment, then opened the newspaper and read the articles again, quietly passing the time on the plane to Los Angeles, where the electronics show was being held.

The Ilhyeon Group party, off the plane, headed to the hotel guided by the head of Ilhyeon Electronics’ U.S. branch, who had come out to meet them.

The Ilhyeon Electronics staff, who had arrived a month earlier, warmly welcomed Tak-hyeon and the others when they reached the hotel.

And they quickly reported the state of preparations to Tak-hyeon.

“Chairman. We—”

Just then, Tak-hyeon raised a hand to stop the report.

“I’m rather tired, so report the relevant matters to Head Kim.”

Tak-hyeon left everything to Seong-ho and headed for the hotel suite.

“Then please continue the report.”

Seong-ho gave the instruction to report without even unpacking his luggage.

“Yes. Currently we’ve applied for the largest booth, 300 pyeong, near the center of the hall where the electronics show is taking place. Additionally, we’ve applied for a 30-pyeong booth in the venture-company area located on the side. There, we plan to showcase mobile phones and other small devices.”

“What became of installing a showroom downtown that we discussed last time?”

Seong-ho headed for the large conference room in the hotel as he listened to the branch head’s report.

The Ilhyeon Electronics U.S. branch head answered Seong-ho’s question immediately.

“For the duration of the electronics show, we plan to display new products at five locations in downtown Los Angeles. The showroom construction is already finished, and we’re in the process of selecting the items to place in them.”

“Have the new products for the showrooms handled exactly the same as at the electronics show.”

“Exactly the same?”

The branch head spoke in a slightly worried voice.

“Head Kim. This is America. American public safety isn’t as good as in our country, so if something goes wrong there’s a chance the new products could be stolen…”

“I know.”

Seong-ho reassured the branch head, who was worried about the new products being stolen, and said,

“This is a place where we need to properly appeal to American consumers, so we can’t showcase products a notch lower than at the electronics show. Please place them in the showrooms exactly the same, and proceed in the direction of strengthening security.”

“Understood.”

The Ilhyeon Electronics U.S. branch head was worried, but he couldn’t go against Seong-ho’s instructions.

Because from the moment Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee had come over, everything happening in America moved by the hand of the Restructuring Headquarters.

Since Seong-ho was the person in charge and the decision-maker, the U.S. branch head, though worried, decided to follow Seong-ho’s instructions and place in the showrooms the same new products that would be showcased at the electronics show.

“Head Kim. Everyone’s gathered.”

While they were talking, Byeong-jin gathered all the Ilhyeon Electronics staff and Restructuring Headquarters staff into the large conference room.

Seong-ho showed Byeong-jin his appreciation and said to the gathered staff,

“As you all know, a great deal of press has come over to America along with us. The reason they’ve come to America is surely because they hope we’ll achieve outstanding results at the electronics show and bring joy to many people back in Korea.”

Seong-ho paused for a moment, looked around at the staff, and continued.

“We must not forget this wish of the people. Even in a difficult time, don’t forget that we must proclaim to all the world that our country’s technological prowess is not yet dead.”

The Ilhyeon Group staff present all answered that they understood.

And they showed themselves rallying together, resolving to combine their strength and produce good results.

Byeong-jin watched the staff and Seong-ho with a troubled gaze.

Knowing how this whole affair would end, Byeong-jin found Seong-ho’s words all the more painful to hear.

“Head Kim.”

A secretariat staff member approached the side of Seong-ho, who had finished speaking.

“The Chairman is asking for you.”

Seong-ho left word that he understood and offered the staff one final remark.

“Those who joined the main party with me, unpack your things and rest for today first. And from tomorrow, join up with the advance team and proceed with the work as planned. Branch head, please see to the staff placements in my stead. I’ll go and see the Chairman.”

“Don’t worry, go on up and come back. I’ll wrap things up here.”

Seong-ho gave the Ilhyeon Electronics U.S. branch head a grateful nod and headed for the suite where Tak-hyeon was waiting, following the secretariat staff member.

Knock knock.

Seong-ho knocked and entered the suite where Tak-hyeon was staying.

The first thing Seong-ho saw was the suite’s living room.

And on the sofa in the middle of the living room, Tak-hyeon sat with a tired face, waiting for Seong-ho to enter.

“So. Did you hear the report well?”

“Yes. I confirmed that everything is proceeding well as scheduled.”

“Then we just proceed as planned?”

“Yes.”

Tak-hyeon nodded and said,

“Coming all this way by plane must have been tiring, so go down and rest a bit. You’ll have to move about busily again from tomorrow.”

“Yes. Then please rest well too, Chairman.”

Seong-ho gave a bow and slowly stepped backward to leave.

Just then, Tak-hyeon stopped him.

“Wait.”

Seong-ho, about to turn to slip out the door, halted.

And looking at Tak-hyeon, he asked,

“Do you have some remaining instruction?”

“It’s not an instruction, but…”

Even with his tired face, Tak-hyeon looked at Seong-ho with a gaze full of curiosity.

And he asked in a confiding voice,

“Is it still the same?”

Tak-hyeon was asking whether he wouldn’t change the plan.

Seong-ho smiled faintly at Tak-hyeon’s question and nodded.

“Yes. My mind hasn’t changed.”

“Even now, if you say let’s change it, we can. It’ll be as though only I and Secretary Hwang never heard it. How about it? Do you still want to go ahead with the plan?”

“Chairman.”

Seong-ho, who had been smiling, gradually hardened his face and said,

“It’s not for my sake but for Ilhyeon’s. Right now, a united heart is more important than anything. If we don’t seize this as an opportunity, Ilhyeon won’t be able to advance any further.”

At Seong-ho’s resolute words, a smile settled at Tak-hyeon’s lips.

“Good. Since you put it that way, I won’t ask a second time again. And I won’t forget your sacrifice, either.”

“As long as you understand that it’s all for Ilhyeon’s sake, I’m satisfied with that.”

Having finished speaking, Seong-ho bowed his head deeply.

And, saying he’d take his leave if there was nothing more, he left Tak-hyeon’s room.

Tak-hyeon gazed for a moment at the door Seong-ho had left through, then instructed Do-beom Hwang,

“Don’t schedule a single thing for me in America.”

“You’ve come all this way, so surely meeting with politicians at least…”

“That fellow says he’ll sacrifice his own person for Ilhyeon’s sake, and I’m to go do other things? I should fall into step with him too.”

At Tak-hyeon’s words, Do-beom turned his head to look at the door.

Tak-hyeon smiled at his lips and said,

“What did I tell you? Didn’t I say that fellow doesn’t need to be checked up on?”

“It’s so unexpected. I truly never imagined he’d come up with a method like this.”

Tired though Tak-hyeon was, the more he talked the more energized he became, speaking in a spirited voice.

“This method doesn’t apply to Ilhyeon Electronics alone. It’s something that can instill a sense of alertness in every group across the board. And that fellow cleverly thought it up and brought it over.”

Tak-hyeon put on a satisfied expression and rose from the sofa.

“When that fellow is going to such lengths for Ilhyeon’s sake, I ought to help him too.”

Tak-hyeon rose from the sofa and slowly walked toward the room with the bed, shaking his head.

“But… ha-ha. Out of all those many affiliates, I truly never guessed he’d name Ilhyeon Securities. Even I didn’t see that one coming.”

Muttering to himself, Tak-hyeon headed for the bed to lay down his body, weary from the long flight.

The electronics show held in Los Angeles drew the attention of people around the world.

Because it was a place where one could grasp the direction of the technological progress to come, and confirm the technological prowess of many home-appliance companies worldwide.

And, checking even the design of the appliances, one could ascertain the flow of the next ten years within the electronics show.

In particular, this electronics show was different from the usual.

Because, speaking of a new era called the internet, numerous venture companies participated in the electronics show in addition to the traditional home-appliance companies.

Byeong-jin, walking through the convention center where the electronics show was taking place together with Seong-ho, surveyed the surroundings and clicked his tongue.

“What is this? Half the participating companies have no products, just showing monitor screens. What kind of electronics show is this… Looks like the Los Angeles electronics show is past its prime now too.”

“You should think of it the other way around.”

“The other way around?”

Byeong-jin looked at Seong-ho with a gaze that asked what he meant.

Seong-ho stopped in front of the booth of a company that said it traded used books over the internet.

“It means this is going to become the dominant trend from now on, and they’re showing that here.”

Having finished speaking, Seong-ho addressed a man who was staring blankly at the passersby with a bored face.

(End of Chapter 162)