Do-beom, forgetting entirely why he’d come, threw the question at Seong-ho in a rush. “You mean to restructure Ilhyeon Electronics?”

Before even hearing Seong-ho’s answer, Do-beom set the approval document down and showed his palm. “No. Ilhyeon Electronics is out of the question. Some other place… no, don’t restructure anything more at all. Wrap up what’s already underway and call it finished.”

Do-beom wore an expression of firm, absolute refusal.

Watching him quietly a moment, Seong-ho smiled, picked the document back up, and held it out to him again. “Chief. You know as well as I do that in a group-wide restructuring, there can’t be affiliates that get restructured and affiliates that don’t.”

At that, Do-beom’s face hardened, but Seong-ho didn’t stop. “Up to now we’ve cleared out the places that needed to go first, and that’s more or less finished. As much as that, now is the point where we need to move on to the group’s core affiliates. And as the first to go, I mean to take on Ilhyeon Electronics — the very heart of Ilhyeon Group.”

At that, Do-beom shut his eyes tight. No counter-argument came to mind. Opening his eyes again, he looked down at the approval folder Seong-ho held out and asked in a weakened voice, “Does it… absolutely have to be this one?”

“Yes. It has to be.”

At Seong-ho’s answer, showing not a shred of hesitation, Do-beom let out a deep sigh and spoke in a heavy voice. “If even Ilhyeon Electronics gets carved up… one wrong step and the whole of Ilhyeon Group could come apart. And if that happens, even the chairman’s choice to seat you as Head of the Restructuring Headquarters will become an object of ridicule.”

“Just watch.”

Seong-ho spoke with a voice full of conviction. “Even the people criticizing the decision now will all come around in the end.”

“I hope… I really hope it turns out that way…”

Do-beom, his voice drained of strength, took the document folder Seong-ho held out. “I’ll go back and approve it, then report to the chairman right away.”

“Thank you.”

Seong-ho bowed his head to convey his thanks. Then, looking at Do-beom — his face gone half to nothing in that brief span — he asked, “But what was it you came here for, Chief? Did you just want to see my face?”

Only then did Do-beom recall the reason he’d come. “Ah, right — I never said why I came.”

Wearing a bitter expression a moment, Do-beom relayed Chairman Tak-hyeon’s instruction to Seong-ho. “The chairman says he wants to go to the upcoming Federation of Korean Industries gathering together with you, Head Kim.”

“The Federation of Korean Industries?”

“Yes.”

Do-beom looked down at the approval folder a moment and said with a troubled expression, “Just know that the chairman isn’t bringing you along to introduce you there.”

“He means to bring me to speak about the restructuring directly in front of the business world’s top figures, doesn’t he?”

Seong-ho already knew exactly why he was going to the gathering.

Do-beom, who’d had his head lowered, lifted it to look at Seong-ho. Seeing the unexpectedly expectant look on his face, Do-beom asked, puzzled, “You know why you’re going and you’re still that pleased? One wrong step and your reputation could end up branded with disgrace.”

“What great meaning would it have if my reputation — such as it barely is — got a little worse?”

“No meaning at all?”

“No.”

Seong-ho, looking excited at the thought of attending the Federation of Korean Industries gathering, said to Do-beom, “If anything, I think it’s better this way — I get to speak about our Ilhyeon Group’s plans there directly.”

“You…”

Do-beom made to explain once more what kind of gathering that place was. But at the expectant look on Seong-ho’s face, he stopped himself.

He’ll understand once he’s actually been.

Feeling that whatever he said now, Seong-ho, who hadn’t yet been, wouldn’t take it in, Do-beom stopped trying to explain and only looked at him.

But Seong-ho knew very well what kind of place it was. In that former life, it was a gathering he’d attended alongside Mun-jong every year for over a decade. And what was more, he even thought that using this occasion could create an opportunity.

I’ll make sure my name gets properly stamped into their heads.

Seong-ho thought this was a good chance to imprint on people’s minds that what had been called “Ilhyeon Group’s restructuring” up to now was, in fact, “the Ilhyeon Group restructuring commanded by Seong-ho Kim.”

Watching Seong-ho’s expression brighten with anticipation, Do-beom shook his head slightly. To Do-beom’s eyes, it looked simply like the pleasure of getting to meet Korea’s business titans.

The Federation of Korean Industries held its regular gathering twice a year — once each in the first and second halves — where the business world came together to discuss what voice the economic sector should raise.

In its early days, conglomerate heads or company representatives themselves had attended such gatherings and spoken directly. No one knew a company’s situation as well as its head did, and it was thought that only when the head himself spoke could the weight of his words match that of the others.

But as time passed, attendance rates fell one by one, citing urgent business and the like, and eventually the gathering transformed into a place where proxies, rather than the heads themselves, voiced each company’s opinions. In the end, the Federation of Korean Industries gathering as it stood now had become something closer to a social get-together.

“Nervous?”

In the car heading to Yeouido, where the hall for the Federation of Korean Industries gathering stood, Tak-hyeon asked Seong-ho, seated beside him.

“No. I’m fine.”

“No need to be nervous. The Federation of Korean Industries is a gathering that came about under the leadership of my father — the founding chairman, Jung-seok Lee. When you get down to it, I’m as good as the owner of that gathering.”

Though it was something he already knew, Seong-ho nodded at Tak-hyeon’s words as if hearing it for the first time. He knew that was the better way to keep the conversation going with Tak-hyeon.

Just as he expected, Tak-hyeon’s talk continued. “We’re attending this gathering with the qualifications of the owner. So there’s no need to be nervous.”

“Yes, understood.”

Hearing the answer, Tak-hyeon glanced sidelong at Seong-ho seated beside him — to see the nervous face he must be wearing despite his words. Tak-hyeon looked at his profile with interest, because not a trace of nervousness could be felt on his face. A gleam came into Tak-hyeon’s eyes, and he turned his head away, curious whether Seong-ho would show the same composure once they arrived at the hall, as he headed for the Federation of Korean Industries building.

“Chairman. It’s been a while.”

A white-haired man who looked to be in his late fifties bowed to Tak-hyeon.

Tak-hyeon looked at the white-haired man a moment, then nodded. “Right. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Thanks to you, Chairman, I’ve been well.”

The white-haired man lifted his head slightly and held out a hand. Tak-hyeon took it and shook it lightly, then introduced Seong-ho to him. “This is my youngest son-in-law. He’s come along today as my attendant.”

The white-haired man looked at Seong-ho at the introduction, then greeted him with a smile. “We met at Gyeong-eun’s wedding, didn’t we? Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too. Chairman Mun.”

Chairman Mun took Seong-ho’s hand and asked, puzzled, “You remember me?”

“How could I not know the chairman of Seongro Group? It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Hahaha. Right. I’m Yeong-gwang Mun of Seongro.”

Yeong-gwang Mun laughed heartily and looked Seong-ho up and down. Then he said to Tak-hyeon with a smile, “Your son-in-law is quite handsome.”

“What good is handsome? He needs to be good at his work.”

“I’ve heard plenty that he’s good at his work too. They say Ilhyeon Group’s restructuring is this young man’s work?”

Having said it, Yeong-gwang wore an expression that seemed to know something, and something not.

Tak-hyeon didn’t miss that look on his face. “Chairman Kim’s over there. Isn’t there someone you still need to greet? I need to have a word with Chairman Kim now, myself.”

Tak-hyeon had, in a roundabout way, told Yeong-gwang it was time for him to move along. Yeong-gwang caught his meaning, greeted them, and left.

Watching Yeong-gwang’s retreating back, Seong-ho spoke to Tak-hyeon in a low voice. “Chairman. Seongro Group is currently in a very precarious state.”

Under Tak-hyeon’s gaze, Seong-ho continued in a low voice. “Because of Chairman Yeong-gwang Mun’s aggressive investments, Seongro Group currently carries a very heavy debt burden. In particular, the beer company established as a joint venture with an American firm is crushing Seongro Group. Jaei Bank has already said it won’t extend the loan coming due, and the other banks will surely take the same stance as Jaei Bank. Right now, it would be difficult even to cover the 2 billion won note coming due next month.”

Hearing Seong-ho’s account, Tak-hyeon knit his brow. “Are you sure of this?”

At the question, Seong-ho glanced around and answered, “Yes. So it would be best not to get entangled with Chairman Yeong-gwang Mun any further. He may make a difficult request of you, Chairman. Wasn’t Yeong-gwang Mun’s father acquainted with the founding chairman?”

“That’s right. Yeong-gwang Mun’s father and my father were acquainted.”

“He may use that old connection as an excuse to ask you for help. And granting such a request would put you in a difficult position too, Chairman, so it would be best to avoid Chairman Mun where you reasonably can. I’ll speak to Chief Hwang about it as well.”

Having finished, Tak-hyeon gazed steadily at Seong-ho, who was still glancing around the room.

“Chairman. It would be best not to get entangled with Doa Motors either, over there.”

“Doa Motors too?”

Tak-hyeon’s eyes went wide as he looked at Chairman Seong-mun Kim of Doa Motors. Chairman Seong-mun Kim, seeming to have spotted Tak-hyeon from a distance as well, was approaching with a smiling face.

Seong-ho spoke to Tak-hyeon quickly, in a low voice. “It’s the same as with Seongro Group. Doa Motors is currently in a serious cash-flow crisis as well. It’s under heavy pressure not only from domestic banks but from overseas creditors too. So it would be best to keep your distance from Chairman Seong-mun Kim of Doa Motors as well.”

“…Where on earth are you getting all this?”

It was information that hadn’t come through the secretariat. At Seong-ho knowing such content, Tak-hyeon could only look at him with wonder.

But Tak-hyeon couldn’t hear Seong-ho’s answer.

“Chairman Lee. It’s been how long!”

“…Right. Chairman Kim. Have you been well?”

Before he knew it, Chairman Seong-mun Kim of Doa Motors had come up and greeted Tak-hyeon.

Seong-ho stepped back slightly behind Tak-hyeon and watched the two of them talk. His knowing the futures of Seongro Group and Doa Motors was because the details on those groups were written in detail in the leather diary. To prepare for a repeat of a similar situation from that former life, Seong-ho had recorded in detail, in the leather diary, when, how, and for what reason each company had gone under.

Once Tak-hyeon finished greeting Chairman Seong-mun Kim of Doa Motors, Seong-ho continued relaying information to him about the companies present at the gathering. “You may keep up your acquaintance with Chairman Jo and Chairman Park. Both of them are in decent financial shape. But steer clear of Chairman Kim over there. His financial state is worse than Seongro Group’s. He’s in a place with a high chance of collapsing, much like Seongro Group.”

Tak-hyeon looked at Seong-ho with a strange expression a moment, then received the greetings of the approaching chairmen. Because greeting the business titans who’d come by took priority over how Seong-ho knew such things.

Having finished speaking, Seong-ho stepped back behind Tak-hyeon again and thought to himself.

The things I wrote down to prepare for a financial crisis that might come around again someday — turns out I get to use them for the very IMF crisis I’m about to face again.

Finding it amusing that he was putting the leather diary’s contents to use not in some similar situation but in the very same one, Seong-ho watched Tak-hyeon carrying on his conversations with a smile on his face.

(End of Chapter 82)