The news that the Strategic Planning Office was becoming the Restructuring Headquarters startled not only Ilhyeon Group but the whole business world.

That the Strategic Planning Office — which laid out future revenue sources and the group’s direction — was disappearing was startling enough, but the fact that it was turning into a place for conducting group-wide restructuring left people bewildered.

Single-company restructuring was not uncommon. Ilhyeon Group had shown the need for it while carrying out the restructuring of Ilhyeon Watch and Ilhyeon Hotel. But group-wide restructuring like this was the first in the history of Korean business. And on top of that, the fact that the first to do it was none other than Ilhyeon Group, the finest in the Republic of Korea, left people unable to hide their surprise.

“Is the company doing that badly?”

Ilhyeon headquarters staff gathered in twos and threes at the smoking area, smoking and talking.

“They’re doing restructuring because it’s bad, I’d guess.”

“Hoo… seeing us of all places do this, the market must be pretty bad right now.”

“Or it could be moving early, anticipating that it’ll turn bad.”

“Moving early?”

“Yeah.”

The one who’d said it might be moving early, seeing his colleague’s gaze on him, spoke again. “Move after you’ve confirmed it’s gone bad and you’re too late. Think about the Ilhyeon Hotel time. How hard that was.”

“True — the Ilhyeon Hotel restructuring went in at the level of whether to shut the place down or not, so all the staff had it rough. Plenty got cut with empty hands, too.”

“That’s why I’m saying it might move early. That way the blow to the staff is lighter.”

At that, everyone there nodded.

“It’s certainly better to move before it goes bad than after. But have you heard who’s coming as Head of Restructuring Headquarters?”

The colleagues’ eyes suddenly poured onto the one who’d asked who was coming.

“You still don’t know that?”

“Director Kim Seong-ho, obviously.”

“Director Kim Seong-ho?”

The staffer recalling the name Seong-ho cocked his head. “Director Kim… the one who did the Ilhyeon Watch and Ilhyeon Hotel restructurings?”

The one who’d said Seong-ho’s name nodded. “Right. Who else could sit as Head of Restructuring Headquarters but Director Kim? He’d be the top expert on restructuring in our group — no, in the whole country.”

“That’s true too.”

Just as everyone was nodding, several black vehicles came in through the main gate at once. The smoking staff looked at the vehicles that had entered.

“Isn’t that Chief Hwang?”

Confirming the person who got out of the lead vehicle, they said, “It is. It’s Chief Secretary Do-beom Hwang.”

The others confirmed Do-beom’s face and chimed in. Then they scanned around. “I don’t see the chairman, though?”

“Did Chief Hwang come alone?”

“No. Look behind.”

From the car that arrived following Chief Do-beom, a young man appeared. And soon people began gathering around him. Chief Do-beom talked with the young man as they went in through the main gate to headquarters, and the people trailing the two of them opened the door and went in after.

“Is that man… Director Kim?”

“I saw him once from a distance back when word got out that Director Kim was marrying the youngest miss — seems to be him.”

“But what’s he doing at the company?”

“Why do you think he came? For the restructuring.”

“Starting already?”

“The notice is already up — why waste time? Strike while the iron’s hot, so he’ll start right away.”

The smoking staff couldn’t say anything for a moment, only smoking. At the blade of restructuring being drawn faster than expected, darkness began to settle over their faces.

“All right, you’ll all have heard through the company notice and know it already. As of this moment, the name of Ilhyeon Group’s Strategic Planning Office has officially changed to Restructuring Headquarters.”

Chief Secretary Do-beom Hwang gathered the former Strategic Planning staff in one place and spoke. “It’s not just the name that’s changed — the scale has been elevated to headquarters level. The work will be completely different from before to that same degree. As the Restructuring Headquarters sits under the chairman’s direct secretariat, it will be influenced by no part of the group, and reports too will go straight to the chairman through me.”

Chief Do-beom looked at the bewildered Strategic Planning staff and gestured for Seong-ho to come closer. “I think you all know who this is. Director Kim here worked alongside you as a colleague in the past. Director Kim will take on the position of Head of the newly reorganized Restructuring Headquarters.”

At Chief Do-beom’s announcement, the staff stirred. And their eyes naturally turned to Managing Director Gyeong-deuk Lee, who’d been head of the Strategic Planning Office.

Managing Director Gyeong-deuk had been promoted from director to managing director on rising to head of Strategic Planning. Yet now, out of nowhere, not only had Strategic Planning become the Restructuring Headquarters, but Seong-ho — who’d been his subordinate — was coming as Head of Headquarters.

That Seong-ho took the Head position was, somehow, an understandable situation. Say what anyone might, Seong-ho was Chairman Tak-hyeon’s son-in-law, seated on the golden line. But the problem was that someone of a rank lower than his own had come to sit above him. Gyeong-deuk was a managing director, Seong-ho a director — the ledger of rank had gotten tangled.

“Hahaha. Our Director Kim. I know him well. We worked together before, didn’t we?”

Managing Director Gyeong-deuk extended a hand to Seong-ho and greeted him. “I’ll count on you going forward. When it comes to restructuring, you’re the expert, so you’ll have to teach me plenty.”

At Gyeong-deuk greeting him first, Seong-ho smiled warmly and took the offered hand. “It’s I who’ll count on you, Managing Director.”

The two shook hands warmly, but everyone present felt the mood was far from ordinary. Do-beom, however, feigned ignorance of it and left.

After Do-beom left, Seong-ho spoke to the Restructuring Headquarters staff watching him. “There will be many changes ahead. For our headquarters and for the group both, a wind of change is going to blow. I hope you won’t forget that you are the people who must stand at the very front of that wind and lead Ilhyeon Group.”

Seong-ho gave the staff a brief inaugural address, then told them what needed to be done. “First, your task is to compile the corporate status of every Ilhyeon Group affiliate. Starting from basic financial statements like revenue and operating profit, right down to how many chairs there are and how many pens are in use — grasp all of it. And when that’s done, you must approach even the changes in the market each company sits in, bottom-up. That’s all for today; I’ll give the detailed instructions separately going forward.”

Having given brief instructions, Seong-ho turned to Gyeong-deuk. Gyeong-deuk smiled awkwardly under his gaze.

“If the talk’s roughly finished, I’ll show you to your office. Follow me.”

As Gyeong-deuk volunteered to guide him and walked ahead, Seong-ho followed. And as the headquarters staff scattered to their own seats, the first day of Seong-ho’s return began.

“You can use this.”

Seong-ho looked over the inside and outside of the office and said to Gyeong-deuk, puzzled, “Isn’t this your office, Managing Director?”

“It was, until recently.”

A bitterness crossed Gyeong-deuk’s face a moment. But soon erasing it, he smiled and said, “Now you’re our Planning Office’s… no. It’s headquarters now. Right. You’re Head of Headquarters, so you should use this office. Come in.”

Gyeong-deuk gestured for Seong-ho to come in and talk, and shut the door himself. Sitting first on the reception sofa, he broached it. “Don’t worry. I’ll wrap things up and hand in my resignation soon.”

“What do you mean?”

Seong-ho sat on the empty sofa and asked with a look that couldn’t understand.

Gyeong-deuk gazed at Seong-ho a moment to see whether he was sincere or teasing him. But thinking that knowing changed nothing, he put the erased bitter smile back on his face. “You’ve come, so now I have to go.”

Forcing an even brighter smile, he said, “I know it all. So you needn’t play dumb. That’s… harder on the heart.”

About to say pitiful, Gyeong-deuk turned the expression aside as much as he could. Because he figured grumbling at Seong-ho would change nothing. But Seong-ho’s thinking differed from Gyeong-deuk’s.

“You have to go? Is there some reason? A reason you’d have to quit the company, I mean.”

Gyeong-deuk looked at him strangely. Even having put it so obliquely, Seong-ho’s not getting it made him wonder whether the man truly failed to understand. So Gyeong-deuk said it plainly, without dressing it up. “I’m a managing director. You’re a director. Isn’t this exactly what a company does when it means to push someone out? Slotting a junior — someone of lower rank than me — in above me.”

Saying the present situation aloud himself, Gyeong-deuk felt the troubled feeling crowd in more, and could only wear a gloomy expression. “Enough now. My face isn’t thick enough to sit here clinging and playing dumb. That’s why I said I’d quit cleanly, so take it as such.”

“If that’s the reason, you don’t have to go.”

“What?”

As Gyeong-deuk looked at him, flustered, Seong-ho spoke in a voice neither slow nor fast. “It seems you’ve misunderstood, Managing Director. I didn’t come in above you to push you out. My rank before I quit the company was director, so I’ve simply returned as director — and fundamentally, at headquarters level, the Head belongs to the body of presidents, and the Deputy Head is treated at vice-president level. You’re actually being promoted.”

“Vice-president? I’m being promoted to vice-president? Is that true?”

“Of course.” Seong-ho smiled back at the delighted Gyeong-deuk. “I want to work with you, Managing Director — but it seems you don’t want to work with me?”

“No. No. I do want to. Why wouldn’t I?”

Gyeong-deuk raised both hands, expressing his denial fervently, and a full bloom of a smile spread over his face. “It’s really true? I’m being promoted to vice-president?”

“Because it’s become the Restructuring Headquarters. And one more person will be brought in as Deputy Head. Please understand — with it becoming headquarters level, reinforcing staff was essential.”

“Ah, of course I understand. What’s there not to understand?”

Not a trace of bitterness could be found on Gyeong-deuk’s face any longer.

“Managing Director. Whatever instruction I hand down, I’d like you to be on my side.”

“Naturally. If I’m not on the Head’s side, whose would I be on? Don’t worry. Whatever happens, I’m on the Head’s side.”

Gyeong-deuk beat his chest with his hand and crowed. Seong-ho held out a hand to him with a smile, and Gyeong-deuk took it in both of his, saying several times over that he’d count on him going forward.

And so Seong-ho returned to Ilhyeon Group.

Seated in the meeting room, Seong-ho looked around at the team-leader-level personnel of the former Strategic Planning Office — now Restructuring Headquarters. They looked at Seong-ho, the newly arrived Head, with tense faces.

“The reason I’ve gathered you like this today is to press one thing upon you.”

At his words, the team leaders looked at him with faces gone tenser still. Because they couldn’t guess what he’d say.

Seong-ho looked them over once and said, “I think those present here know of the restructurings I carried out at Ilhyeon Watch and Ilhyeon Hotel.”

At that, everyone nodded and fixed their gazes on him. Feeling the gathered eyes, Seong-ho went on. “You’ll all know already, but let me briefly state the difference between the two. The Ilhyeon Watch restructuring could be seen as a soft one. It amounted to no more than changing the business’s direction using the resources already on hand.”

Hearing him, the team leaders all recalled the situation at the time and nodded.

“Ilhyeon Hotel was a somewhat harder restructuring than that. A more sweeping overhaul than Ilhyeon Watch took place — clearing out staff, changing vendors, and so on. And within that was the clearing-out of the executives who’d managed things loosely.”

Seong-ho stopped a moment and looked at the team leaders. Under his gaze, they swallowed dryly. Because a strong feeling came that his next words were important.

And just as they thought, something appalling came out of Seong-ho’s mouth.

(End of Chapter 74)