Director Gyeong-deuk Lee sat on the sofa and, looking at Seong-ho Kim, who’d returned from the pre-briefing session, asked,
“So — you’re telling me Homyeong Construction has no plans to bet more than 190 billion won?”
“Yes. He clearly said as much.”
Byeong-ju Jeong, seated alongside Seong-ho Kim, looked at his face at those words and blinked, as if to ask what on earth he was talking about.
Even under Byeong-ju Jeong’s gaze, Seong-ho Kim went on speaking as if it were nothing.
“The Homyeong Group appeared to have entrusted this bid entirely to the Homyeong Construction side.”
“Is that to build up a track record for Director Byeong-mu Choi?”
“It does seem that way. So they can credit the win to Director Byeong-mu Choi if the acquisition succeeds, President Cheol-jin Choi seemed to have taken a step back as well.”
“That makes sense. For a Homyeong Group preparing for succession, they’d want to funnel the credit to Byeong-mu Choi, and this matter would be perfectly suited for that…”
“But even so, there’s bound to be a limit to the funds they can commit.”
“And that limit is 190 billion won?”
“Yes.”
Watching Seong-ho Kim speak so confidently, Byeong-ju Jeong tried to recall the pre-briefing session — but the only time Director Byeong-mu Choi and Seong-ho Kim had spoken was in the parking lot.
‘When on earth did they have a conversation like that?’
At the pre-briefing session, Seong-ho Kim and Byeong-mu Choi had sat far apart.
And, without so much as a glance at each other, they’d only sat quietly listening to what the Korea Development Bank had to say.
Byeong-ju Jeong could only look at Seong-ho Kim with a face that couldn’t fathom when those two had held such a deep conversation.
But he couldn’t very well ask about that curiosity here and now.
Because at the sight of Seong-ho Kim speaking so boldly, it occurred to him that they might have talked separately at some time he wasn’t aware of.
“The funds Homyeong Construction can move right now, he said, are capped at 190 billion won. If they raised funds at the group level they could gather more, but then the win wouldn’t be Director Choi’s alone — so they seemed to want to handle it within Homyeong Construction one way or another.”
“Certainly… that adds up.”
Gyeong-deuk Lee nodded.
“If even President Cheol-jin Choi has stepped back, then it’s clear this is a sink-or-swim situation Homyeong Construction has to pull off on its own.”
Having confirmed the high plausibility of Seong-ho Kim’s account, Gyeong-deuk Lee nodded.
“So we just have to bid more than 190 billion won?”
“Yes — and since it’s come to this, I think we might write in 200 billion won and 1,000 won.”
“What? Bid how much?”
Gyeong-deuk Lee looked at Seong-ho Kim as if he might have misheard, and asked again,
“Not 200 billion, but 200 billion won and 1,000 won…?”
“Yes.”
Seong-ho Kim looked at the flustered Gyeong-deuk Lee and said,
“They said 190 billion is their limit, but I think they may well have room open up to 200 billion.”
“Ah! Right. They could be planning to slip Assistant Manager Kim the ‘190 billion’ figure so that we write in something slightly higher than 190 billion, and then they write in 200 billion to win the bid.”
Seong-ho Kim looked back and forth between Byeong-ju Jeong and Gyeong-deuk Lee and said,
“Homyeong Group has surely slipped the Dugyeong Group something similar. Dugyeong Group is highly likely to write in around 195 billion — 5 billion above 190 — so Homyeong Group would have no choice but to write in a price higher than that. But even so, it won’t be at a level that crosses 200 billion. Homyeong Construction won’t have that kind of money.”
Gyeong-deuk Lee nodded at Seong-ho Kim’s words.
“Right. If they were moving at the Homyeong Group level, they might write in a higher price than that, but if it’s been fully delegated to Homyeong Construction… then anything over 200 billion is clearly beyond Homyeong Construction’s reach.”
“So I think we might write in 200 billion won and 1,000 won — a single notch above their absolute line of 200 billion.”
“There’s logic to that.”
Gyeong-deuk Lee wore the expression of a man completely persuaded by Seong-ho Kim’s words.
“We have a clear justification for having to acquire Daeguk Fertilizer, but Homyeong and Dugyeong have no such justification. As such, they can’t help but consider the storm that would descend on them if they acquired it at a high price. So anything over 200 billion is impossible. If we can win it at 200 billion won and 1,000 won, like Assistant Manager Kim says… I think it’d be quite the thrill?”
Thinking that if the acquisition succeeded per the anticipated scenario, his rise to the Strategic Planning chief’s seat was as good as confirmed, Gyeong-deuk Lee couldn’t hold back the corners of his mouth from rising.
Seong-ho Kim, too, smiled, imagining Byeong-mu Choi’s face crumpling when he failed to acquire Daeguk Fertilizer.
When the two of them let out the same laugh, Byeong-ju Jeong let out an awkward laugh as well.
But Byeong-ju Jeong, still curious about when they’d held such a conversation, asked Seong-ho Kim the moment they left Gyeong-deuk Lee’s office,
“Assistant Manager Kim. When in the world did you talk with Director Choi?”
“In the restroom.”
“The restroom?”
“Yes.”
Seong-ho Kim said to Manager Byeong-ju Jeong with a composed face,
“There was a short break before the briefing, wasn’t there? I went to the restroom then.”
“Uh… th-there was, wasn’t there?”
Manager Byeong-ju Jeong recalled the briefing and nodded.
There had certainly been a short break before the briefing began, and it was true that Seong-ho Kim had gone to the restroom then.
While Byeong-ju Jeong was remembering the situation at the time, the two of them arrived back at their desks.
Before sitting down, Seong-ho Kim said to Manager Byeong-ju Jeong, who still seemed to be recalling the scene,
“When I went to the restroom, Director Choi had followed along at some point. So we had a brief conversation there.”
“Director Choi followed you?”
Byeong-ju Jeong tilted his head.
He remembered Seong-ho Kim going to the restroom, but he had no memory of Byeong-mu Choi following after him.
Seong-ho Kim said to Byeong-ju Jeong in a low voice,
“You saw it too, didn’t you, Manager? The way Director Choi hated me.”
Thinking for a moment, Byeong-ju Jeong nodded at his words.
“Of course I remember. How could I forget that? He looked ready to eat you alive.”
“Exactly.”
Seong-ho Kim put a hand on Byeong-ju Jeong’s shoulder and said in an even lower voice,
“So imagine how badly he’d want to give me and the Ilhyeon Group a hard time. He didn’t just chase me all the way to the restroom and bring up 190 billion for nothing, I’m telling you.”
“Ah! That’s right. Director Choi would’ve had to make an opportunity even where there was none, to talk to you. That way we’d write in something slightly higher than 190 billion, and they’d win Daeguk Fertilizer and put you in a bind.”
Hearing Seong-ho Kim’s words, Byeong-ju Jeong felt the restroom scene he hadn’t witnessed sketch itself naturally in his mind.
Having personally seen with his own two eyes how Byeong-mu Choi regarded Seong-ho Kim, Byeong-ju Jeong could picture the situation that never happened all the more vividly in his head.
Seong-ho Kim lowered the hand he’d put on Byeong-ju Jeong’s shoulder and quietly smiled.
‘Now, if anyone brings up the Homyeong Construction business with me, Manager Jeong will step forward and explain it for me.’
Satisfied at having gained a powerful witness, Seong-ho Kim took his seat.
Ilhyeon Group Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee, receiving Do-beom Hwang’s report, tilted his head.
“Kim found this out?”
“Yes. He says he learned it through Byeong-mu Choi.”
“Who’s Byeong-mu Choi?”
Tak-hyeon Lee turned his head and looked at Mun-jong Lee.
Mun-jong Lee, who’d worn a displeased expression at the talk of Seong-ho Kim, quickly composed himself and explained who Byeong-mu Choi was.
“Byeong-mu Choi is the name of the Homyeong Group’s son. The fellow who chased after Gyeong-eun, saying he liked her.”
“Ah~ that Byeong-mu Choi.”
Tak-hyeon Lee nodded, finally understanding.
“The one your mother tried to pair Gyeong-eun up with.”
“Gyeong-eun couldn’t stand him. And I didn’t care for him either.”
“Really? You didn’t care for him either? That’s a surprise. If Gyeong-eun had gotten tied to the Homyeong Group, it’d have been to your benefit in various ways.”
“I’m not so naive as to use my youngest sister. And however much help the Homyeong Group might give, how much could it really be? If anything, we’d be lucky if they didn’t come asking us for help through Gyeong-eun.”
Mun-jong Lee looked down at the report Do-beom Hwang had handed him and said,
“Even this time — if we’d gone up against the Homyeong Group over Daeguk Fertilizer, Director Choi would surely have gone through Gyeong-eun to ask Father to step aside. Saying that whether Daeguk Fertilizer goes to the Homyeong Group or the Ilhyeon Group, it ends up in the arms of the same family either way, so there’s no difference.”
“Hahaha. You’re right about that.”
“A useless fool is better than a shameless one.”
Hearing Mun-jong Lee’s words, Tak-hyeon Lee wore an amused expression, then flicked Do-beom Hwang’s report with a finger.
“But you know — how did Kim come to learn this fact?”
At Tak-hyeon Lee’s question, Do-beom Hwang reported everything related to the matter without omission — from Seong-ho Kim meeting Byeong-mu Choi at Bukseoul CC, to meeting him in the Korea Development Bank’s underground parking lot, to Seong-ho Kim’s account of meeting him in the restroom.
Having heard it all, Tak-hyeon Lee laughed as if amused, then asked Do-beom Hwang,
“And so? What did Strategic Planning say their plan is?”
“Since it’s likely the Homyeong Group, having leaked ‘190 billion,’ will write in 200 billion, they plan to submit a bid of 200 billion won and 1,000 won.”
Listening quietly to Do-beom Hwang, Mun-jong Lee leaned in slightly and offered a dissenting opinion to Tak-hyeon Lee.
“Chairman. This won’t do.”
At some point, even his form of address for Tak-hyeon Lee had shifted from Father to Chairman.
“Won’t do? Why?”
At Tak-hyeon Lee’s question, Mun-jong Lee laid out what the vice-chairman’s office had assessed on its own.
“The vice-chairman’s office assesses the expected purchase price for Daeguk Fertilizer at around 230 billion won. With the Homyeong Group and Dugyeong Group having joined the fray, we expect the price to go higher if anything, not lower.”
Tak-hyeon Lee gazed quietly at Mun-jong Lee and asked,
“Then what did the vice-chairman’s office judge we should write in?”
At Tak-hyeon Lee’s question, Mun-jong Lee swallowed dryly and gave the number he’d estimated after gathering data over several days.
“Daeguk Fertilizer is a very important company for the Ilhyeon Group. Right now it’s heavily weighted toward fertilizer production, but since it could transform into a chemical company in the future, it’s a company we absolutely must win. We mustn’t bid on a company like this swayed by the words of a clumsy Byeong-mu Choi. I believe the correct judgment is to write in 250 billion won and win it safely.”
“250 billion is safe?”
“Yes.”
Tak-hyeon Lee twitched his lips and looked down at the report Do-beom Hwang had handed him.
“But this side tells me all they need is 200 billion won and 1,000 won, so I like this side better. Isn’t it a full 50 billion cheaper than yours?”
“Chairman. That’s only so in terms of raw price — it’s a price with no guarantee of winning the bid.”
“And yet these fellows say they’ll win it, don’t they?”
When Tak-hyeon Lee drummed the report with his finger, Mun-jong Lee said with an urgent expression,
“If we fail to win the bid, people will look down on us. Even at a somewhat inflated price, I believe it’s right to write in a price that can win the bid for certain.”
Chairman Tak-hyeon Lee nodded at the words of Mun-jong Lee — the Ilhyeon Group vice-chairman and his eldest son.
“Right. Better to take a loss than to have Daeguk Fertilizer snatched away by another group.”
“Exactly! We can’t have Daeguk Fertilizer snatched away by another group, can we.”
“But still, that 50 billion is a shame.”
“Chairman!”
Mun-jong Lee looked at Tak-hyeon Lee with a flustered face.
Corners of his mouth turned up, Tak-hyeon Lee looked at Do-beom Hwang and instructed,
“Tell Strategic Planning I’ve approved it.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Having given Do-beom Hwang his instruction, Tak-hyeon Lee looked at Mun-jong Lee and said,
“It’s only that I like being able to win it 50 billion cheaper than the price you named, so don’t be too disappointed.”
“Chairman. And if the bid fails because of it, what will you do then?”
“Then I’ll have to blow away every last employee in Strategic Planning. Including Kim.”
Tak-hyeon Lee spoke of cutting every single Strategic Planning employee as if it were nothing.
And then, with an expression curious as to how the result would turn out, he looked at the report as if amused.
(End of Chapter 18)