Chapter 35: Raising the Stakes

I welcomed Secretary Kim with delight.

“Secretary Kim, welcome!”

I put my hands together and bowed deeply, giving a polite belly-button greeting.

Secretary Kim lifted the corners of his mouth.

“Thank you for the warm welcome. Have you had dinner yet?”

“Yes. How about you, Secretary Kim?”

“Unfortunately, not yet.”

That meant he’d been incredibly busy.

It was clear that the reason Secretary Kim had rushed over without even having a proper meal was because of that gift.

“Since you’ve come all the way here, would you like to have dinner at our house?”

That was my gesture of goodwill for his errand.

“Fortunately, Grandma Okbun made dinner tonight as well. You know, Grandma Okbun’s cooking was the best in the Guro-dong shantytown, right?”

I leaned in close to Secretary Kim and whispered quietly.

“Once you taste it, you’ll never forget that magical flavor! It’ll be a meal you won’t regret.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Secretary Kim raised both hands.

He was carrying two large, heavy-looking suitcases.

“But unfortunately, I don’t think now is the time to be leisurely enjoying dinner. There’s quite a lot I have to deliver.”

“What’s all this?”

“The Chairman sent it. This one is a gift for Young Master Junghyuk.”

Secretary Kim extended the suitcase he was holding in his left hand toward me.

“A gift, meaning there are no strings attached, no requests?”

“Yes. In fact, Young Master, you’ve already paid the price. So, strictly speaking, you could even call it a reward.”

A gift and a reward are quite different.

A gift is given from sincerity and goodwill; a reward is given as compensation for merit.

“In fact, the Chairman hasn’t even fully paid his bribe yet.”

There were two things Grandpa had left out.

Apologizing to Mom, and giving permission for the marriage.

To soothe Grandpa’s anger and to get the written contract—no, the IOU—I had handed over three torn-out pages before all the bribe settlements were done.

“Let’s just say I’ve opened a line of credit with Grandpa.”

“You don’t need to worry about getting stiffed. The Chairman is a man of business ethics.”

“We’re family. It’s fine even if I take a bit of a loss.”

I grinned broadly.

But Secretary Kim shook his head.

“If you keep accepting one-sided losses, resentment builds up, even if it’s subtle. Layers of resentment eventually turn to blame. If there’s one thing the Chairman is strict about, it’s rewards.”

Secretary Kim carefully set the suitcase down at my feet.

“That’s why this suitcase has come to you, Young Master. But the reason I used the word ‘gift’ instead of ‘reward’ is because of how much the Chairman cares about you.”

The suitcase Secretary Kim said was for me looked heavy, even at a glance.

“The president of Taeseong Construction has just been dismissed.”

Fast!

To cut off the head of the construction company president, his own younger brother.

I had vaguely thought it would take at least several days, maybe even months, to wrap everything up.

“There are still procedures like the shareholders’ meeting, but the Chairman’s will is firm, so it won’t take long. You can take it as a done deal.”

“Grandpa must have opened the deodeok liquor, huh?”

“For your reference, the Taeseong Construction president had plain soju instead.”

I like it!

Just as I had asked Secretary Kim when I gave him the deodeok liquor.

“So, what happened to him? Police? Prosecutors? Or the Intelligence Agency?”

“You even predicted that?”

Secretary Kim lifted the corners of his mouth.

“Unfortunately, it was none of those.”

“Hm. If Grandpa is settling things this quickly but not taking a hard line, then…”

I sank into thought.

Secretary Kim waited patiently, an intrigued expression on his face.

“The president of Taeseong Construction was notorious for being incompetent, right?”

“That’s correct. But how did you know?”

Because I’d read the Taeseong Group reports.

Even though Taeseong Construction had become independent from the group, it had gone completely belly up not long after.

But I couldn’t just say that.

How to explain it… I’ve got it!

“Even with all the business Dad brought in, Taeseong Construction’s stock price was in the dumps—wasn’t it obvious?”

“That’s right. If the Chairman had only considered managerial ability, he wouldn’t have gotten even a half-decent position.”

“So, how many children does the Taeseong Construction president have?”

“Three. Both sons are married, and the daughter is unmarried.”

I got it!

I nodded.

“Grandpa let him off because he wants to walk his youngest daughter down the aisle.”

“Exactly. And she’s set to marry this spring.”

Secretary Kim smiled contentedly as he opened the suitcase.

“These are shares of Taeseong Construction. In addition to the 4% the president held, there’s another 3% gathered under borrowed names. In total, about 7%.”

When I’d wanted 100 million won worth of Taeseong shares, Grandpa had brought me 1% of Taeseong Construction.

But this was 7%.

“This is the president’s slush fund, which he’d been siphoning off over the years.”

“That’s quite a stash! Bearer bonds, gold bars, overseas real estate, even bundles of dollars.”

“We cleaned out the secret safe at the Taeseong Construction president’s house.”

It must have been Secretary Kim’s handiwork.

Something gangsters or loan sharks would do when they’re angry.

It was a solution I was also quite familiar with.

No wonder it made me laugh.

“Of course, you cracked the safe in the Taeseong Construction president’s office too, didn’t you?”

“That’s in here. That’s for Young Master Sungjun. Since it concerns the company, you see.”

Secretary Kim hefted the heavy suitcase he was holding in his right hand.

“We’ll bring more as we thoroughly shake down the Taeseong Construction executives. You can look forward to it.”

His words naturally inspired trust.

“This is all thanks to you, Young Master, for bringing the Ukwang Construction bribe ledger, and for completing the missing three pages.”

Completing it?

That made me chuckle.

“You knew?”

“The whole bribe ledger was typed, except for the missing part, which was handwritten. So that’s what happened.”

Secretary Kim grinned as well.

“In the end, I made the right choice. Bringing Mr. Park Cheolgu to you before taking him to the Chairman.”

“It was an excellent choice.”

I gave him a thumbs up.

The day Secretary Kim had brought Cheolgu-uncle to me, his words came to mind.

-I can put a knife to Mr. Park Cheolgu myself after negotiations with Young Master fall through, and not a moment sooner.

-Mr. Park Cheolgu, let me make this clear. Who do you think you owe your life to? You’d better be grateful to our Young Master Junghyuk for the rest of your life.

Seems Secretary Kim also played a significant role in that “counter to the afterlife” flashing above Cheolgu-uncle’s head.

Secretary Kim bowed politely.

“Getting Mr. Park Cheolgu to open his tight lips was also your skill and capability, Young Master. Thanks to you, Taeseong could plug a leaking barrel. It’s only fitting the Chairman rewards you.”

Come to think of it, there was something I wanted to ask Secretary Kim.

“Since we’re on the subject of the Ukwang Construction bribe ledger, I’m curious about something.”

“What would you like to know?”

“How did you deliver the bribe ledger? By letter? Or face-to-face?”

“Oh? You guessed even that?”

Secretary Kim pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses.

“I sent it by letter.”

“Well done. Given Grandpa’s personality, I figured he’d call in all the names listed in the ledger and make a big show of it, but he’s more patient than I thought.”

“Because of the nickname ‘Flame Bulldozer,’ people usually make that assumption. The Chairman partly intended that perception as well.”

“In that case, it’s certain that Ukwang will bear the brunt of any backlash, not Taeseong…”

At that moment, the front door burst open.

“What’s going on here?”

It was my father.

‘That was an important part!’

Father glared at Secretary Kim with cold eyes.

“What are you up to, keeping a child out here like this?”

“You misunderstand.”

Secretary Kim gestured at the suitcase he’d said was for me.

“I was just explaining the gift the Chairman sent.”

“Really? Gathering a child outside this late at night without a guardian doesn’t seem all that above board to me.”

“Then may I continue my explanation inside, in front of the guardian?”

Secretary Kim easily lifted both suitcases at once and smiled.

“It just so happens I brought some pretty heavy things in both hands tonight.”

“Come in!”

I was delighted.

“Dad, you can’t turn away a guest who’s brought gifts at the door!”

“Hmmm.”

“He’s my guest. So just for a bit, it’s fine, right?”

“…If you insist. Secretary Kim, you have five minutes.”

Father turned his back.

“I’m afraid five minutes might not be enough. Here’s a message from the Chairman: ‘Does Taeseong crumble just because it loses one little chemical company?’”

“…!”

Father, who’d been about to step inside, froze in his tracks.

The Taeseong Group security guards, who were taking the suitcases from Secretary Kim, couldn’t hide their surprise.

But Secretary Kim spoke calmly, regardless.

“And here are the instructions the Chairman gave me: He wants an estimate of how much loss we’d take if we liquidate our Taeseong Chemical shares ourselves.”

“…!”

Father clenched his fists.

So did I.

The security guards inhaled sharply.

One of them couldn’t help but ask,

“D-Did the Chairman really say he’d give up Taeseong Chemical?”

Secretary Kim didn’t reply.

He simply relayed the rest of Grandpa’s message.

“For this year’s year-end party, you’re to attend with Ms. Lee Sujin and Young Master Junghyuk.”

“…Father said that?”

To show up at an official event with an illegitimate child.

I could already picture what would happen.

Father couldn’t hold back and turned around.

“Did Father really say that?”

“Of course.”

Secretary Kim straightened his collar.

“Five minutes is really too short to give a proper report.”

“Have a cup of tea in the study before you go.”

“Thank you. Although I doubt one cup will be enough, I’ll follow the Young Master’s wishes.”

Secretary Kim strode forward without hesitation.

Even with the biting winter wind swirling around, not a hair was out of place, the creases of his trousers were razor-sharp, and his shoes were polished to a mirror shine, not a speck of dust to be seen.

The security guards left outside couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.

“What on earth is going on?”

“Taeseong Chemical is a business worth 30 billion won!”

“When we first invested together, it was a 1 billion won business, and the Chairman grew it into a 30 billion company.”

“If we liquidate Taeseong Chemical now, the losses will be massive…!”

As I followed Secretary Kim inside, the security guards immediately fell silent.

But the quiet murmurs behind my back didn’t quite fade away.

Not that I cared.

My steps toward the entrance were light.

‘So he’s really going to liquidate Taeseong Chemical?’

Grandpa had made a decision.

Even if it meant taking a loss big enough to make him sick.

‘If Grandpa is willing to take that kind of loss just to accept my mother, then I need to roll up my sleeves and help with all my might.’

Life is always give and take.

If you’ve received goodwill, it’s a man’s duty to return it in kind!

‘But there’s no need for Grandpa to take the loss! Let’s find a way for him to snatch up Taeseong Chemical for free and squeeze hefty compensation out of Ukwang! And one more thing!’

Year-end Night.

A gathering of important business and political figures—a charity bazaar and support meeting to help the less fortunate during the holiday season.

‘Should I patch up the hole left by the Taeseong Construction president and executives at the same time?’

That means I’ll need to make the stakes even bigger.

‘Hmm, I guess I’ll have to invite a few more people to the Year-end Night event.’

If he gets an invitation, Master will be thrilled and come running.

And the other underground financial big shots will surely do the same.