Park Junman sat with the microphone before him, gazing at Park Jinhyuk for a long while.
Sajeongman, seeing Park Junman remain silent, didn’t know what to do and simply stood awkwardly in place.
The other presidents seated there were much the same.
Since they didn’t know what kind of meaning Park Junman’s gaze held as he looked at Park Jinhyuk, they simply waited for Park Junman’s next move in silence.
However, Park Jinhyuk accepted those stares as if he enjoyed them.
Since it was something that needed to be made known eventually, he thought that revealing it in a setting like this would be just as well.
‘Now then. How do you intend to handle the negotiations for the sale of Biologics going on behind the scenes? Do you really think you can sell off a company that is sure to see its operation rate increase without anyone knowing?’
With his eyes, Park Jinhyuk threw out his question, and it seemed Park Junman caught it.
His silent lips finally began to move.
“That Executive Director sitting over there is my son, Park Jinhyuk. Stand up and show everyone your face so they know who you are.”
At Park Junman’s words, Park Jinhyuk adjusted his clothes and slowly rose from his seat.
Receiving the stares of more than a hundred people, Park Jinhyuk relished the feeling of euphoria.
‘It’s quite something, being under the gaze of all the DS Group presidents.’
With a confident expression, Park Jinhyuk stood up and flashed a smile to those whose eyes met his.
Park Junman, seeing Jinhyuk, allowed a brief smile to touch his lips before turning to introduce Park Sanghyuk, sitting across from him.
“Many of you have probably met Jinhyuk before. And that one sitting across from me is my second son, Park Sanghyuk. Sanghyuk, stand up and greet the presidents.”
At his father’s words, Park Sanghyuk rose hesitantly to his feet.
In stark contrast to Jinhyuk’s confident demeanor, Sanghyuk looked every inch the lesser younger brother at a single glance.
While Park Jinhyuk took in the gazes with ease, Park Sanghyuk bowed his head deeply as he greeted those watching him.
Unable to bear it, Park Suman tried to quietly tell Sanghyuk to sit back down, but even that scene failed to leave a good impression on those present.
With two sons of such contrasting natures before them, the presidents began to score them in their hearts.
Park Jinhyuk, with affiliate company presidents flanking him like wings, and his cousin, following his uncle’s orders.
Whichever scorecard one considered, this was a moment where Park Jinhyuk was being awarded higher marks.
“So. I heard you signed contracts with Pfizer and Novo?”
After quite some time, Park Junman finally spoke.
Yet Park Jinhyuk felt something odd in his words.
‘I don’t recall ever mentioning the name Novo, did I?’
Park Jinhyuk looked toward Sajeongman.
But Sajeongman looked so overwhelmed by merely standing before Park Junman that he seemed completely lost.
The others, too, paid no mind to the mention of Novo in Junman’s words, simply focusing on the fact that the chairman had spoken at all.
Park Jinhyuk ceased glancing around and looked Park Junman squarely in the eyes.
“Yes, that’s right. With just those two, I believe we can drive the plant’s operating rate to a very satisfactory level. President Sajeongman was only being conservative in his estimates. I actually believe we might hit even higher numbers, which is why I’ve requested the plant’s expansion.”
“You’re even requesting an expansion? Quite confident, aren’t you. Good. Sit down.”
At Park Junman’s words, Park Jinhyuk bowed his head in greeting and sat back down.
Seeing this, Park Sanghyuk lingered awkwardly on his feet before sitting, even though Junman hadn’t told him to do so.
With a sidelong glance at Sanghyuk, Junman signaled for the presentations to continue.
The presentations went on for over two hours even after Sajeongman’s turn.
During the presentation by DS Construction, there was a bold statement from Hyun Isu, expressing hope that this year the company would finally emerge from the pit of operating losses.
When the company, which had suffered hundreds of billions in operating deficits, declared that it now expected a turnaround to profits, Park Junman raised his doubts.
But thanks to a successful capital increase and the winding down of problematic businesses, Hyun Isu confidently explained before Junman that turning a profit was now a feasible goal.
He also made sure to highlight that all these achievements had been made under Park Jinhyuk’s leadership as division head.
At those words, Park Junman simply nodded without saying anything more.
Yet everyone present understood.
In the competition for the next leadership, Park Jinhyuk was at least one or two steps ahead of Park Sanghyuk.
But Park Suman wasn’t about to let things end like this.
After the presentations, during the ensuing meeting, he brought up Sanghyuk’s engagement and the company Daekwang, which would become his in-laws, emphasizing his expectation for West Air’s rapid rise.
He also demonstrated group-level support for Sanghyuk’s West Air, lending his weight to the younger son’s side.
Junman, saying nothing further, simply closed the meeting by expressing his hope that this would be a year of new growth for DS Group.
Even after hours of tedious meetings, people lingered instead of leaving, moving busily between Jinhyuk and Sanghyuk.
Seeing everyone busily calculating whom to align themselves with, Jinhyuk tried to make a quick exit.
After all, his body was exhausted from flying straight here after a long flight.
But as he tried to leave, an employee from the chairman’s secretarial office approached him.
“The chairman would like you to stop by for a moment.”
“The chairman?”
Jinhyuk nodded.
As he’d more or less expected this, he told Hyun Isu and Kyung Daeyong to go on ahead, and only brought along Kim Junwoo as he headed to the chairman’s office.
Unlike the noisy, crowded lower floors, the 35th floor, where Junman’s office was, was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
“Wait here.”
Jinhyuk left Kim Junwoo waiting outside and entered the office.
Though he’d visited several times before, the heavy atmosphere of the chairman’s office still weighed powerfully upon Jinhyuk’s shoulders.
“You called for me?”
“Yes. Have a seat.”
Jinhyuk sat down in front of Junman, who had been waiting for him on the reception sofa.
“You’ve caused quite a stir while I was away.”
“A stir? I’ve been so busy running around handling company matters, I haven’t even had time to cause trouble.”
Junman got right to the point as soon as Jinhyuk sat, but Jinhyuk straightened his shoulders and answered without wavering.
“I won’t say anything about the inheritance your grandfather left you, or how you choose to use it. I know you’re not the type to squander money. But this time, you’ve gone too far. You could have discussed it with me and proceeded, but you acted on your own, and now things are bound to get complicated.”
‘He already found out?’
Jinhyuk had sent money to Novo and flown here straight after.
Yet in that brief time, Junman had found out that Jinhyuk’s assets had been moved.
He had always known the chairman would eventually discover it, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.
A person in the head seat of a group could hardly be simple, but the more he learned, the more Park Jinhyuk realized Park Junman was no ordinary man.
Deciding it was best to come clean rather than make things worse by trying to fudge the issue, Jinhyuk nodded and replied honestly.
“I’m sorry. Even if it was money under my name, I should have consulted you first, but I acted entirely on my own. I won’t let it happen again.”
Junman silently stirred the tea before him with a spoon, his gaze lowered.
He didn’t look particularly angry as he pondered something.
But it was clear from his demeanor that he wasn’t pleased with the current situation.
“Was it Novo? The place you invested in? You invested there and even demanded exclusive production rights for twenty years? Now it’s gotten troublesome. Thanks to you, my plans to sell Biologics have hit a serious snag.”
Jinhyuk’s eyes went wide at Junman’s direct words.
That he’d discovered the use of the funds was understandable.
After all, those managing the assets wouldn’t keep their mouths shut to DS’s owner forever.
But now, Junman was mentioning not only the use of the funds, but the target, what Jinhyuk aimed to do with it, and even the details of what he’d tried to discreetly investigate and prevent—all at once.
For the first time, Jinhyuk looked at Junman with true astonishment.
Now, thinking back, perhaps when Junman had asked during the meeting whether it was President Kyung or President Sa who had negotiated the contract with Novo, it had all been a calculated act.
‘Did he do that just to introduce me? What’s with this guy?’
Until now, Park Junman had always seemed like a stubborn, ordinary father.
He’d never shown more than the barest irritation at his son’s mischief, and sometimes even acted as if he didn’t care what happened to DS, making Jinhyuk feel strange.
But now, with just a few words, he proved that everything moved within his grasp.
And it wasn’t even as if he’d learned these things over time.
It seemed he may have learned of the contract with Novo the moment it was signed.
As Jinhyuk stared, wide-eyed, Junman began to unveil even more shocking information.
“Do you know why I didn’t assign you to the Strategic Planning Office? Because there’s something you need to do at DS Pharmaceuticals. That’s why, when you said you wanted to go to DS Pharmaceuticals, I thought you’d understood my intentions and volunteered. But it seems I was wrong. You didn’t even know what you were supposed to do there.”
“What is it I’m supposed to do at DS Pharmaceuticals?”
“The sale of Biologics. I wanted you to sell it to Hanseong Group yourself. Once you’d successfully restructured DS Construction and sold Biologics, I was going to fasten the Sword of the Victorious General to your side and seat you at Strategic Planning. But now… you’ve turned Biologics into this mess. What do you plan to do?”
“Was it really necessary to sell Biologics? Why did you want to sell it? And to Hanseong Group, of all people?”
“What about Hanseong Group? Because they’re the ones who made things difficult for us? So you think we shouldn’t sell to them?”
Junman knew everything.
Jinhyuk had expected as much, but even so, he couldn’t understand why Junman would act this way while knowing so much.
“If they hadn’t made things difficult, I’d have made things difficult myself to sell it off anyway.”
“Why is that? It’s already established, and it’s going to be the core business of the next generation. Why would you go so far as to deliberately sabotage it just to sell?”
“At the time, DS Construction was struggling because it couldn’t fill its order backlog. And we needed to show that the pharmaceuticals arm was entering new business. That’s why I approved Biologics. But in the future DS Group I envision, DS Pharmaceuticals will never be the protagonist. If this new business keeps taking root, what do you think happens? We need to sweep it aside and clean things up so we can focus on our core businesses.”
“But we can’t just throw away money like scattering it to the wind, can we?”
“Billions? We can lose that much. The businesses that will feed us in the future will be worth tens or even hundreds of trillions. If losing a few billions lets us grab hundreds of trillions, do you really think those billions matter?”
At Junman’s fierce tone, a new question arose in Jinhyuk’s mind.
‘Just what sort of thing is he planning that he talks of tens, hundreds of trillions?’
Compared to whatever business existed in Junman’s plans, Biologics was but a mere grasshopper.
A grasshopper that would disappear with the passing of summer into winter.
Perhaps that was why he had left everything alone.
As long as the world he dreamed of wasn’t damaged, he had no concern for what others did.
No matter where DS Construction ended up, or how Hanseong Group schemed to take Biologics, as long as his plans weren’t derailed, he left them be.
But now, the picture Junman had painted was starting to show cracks.
That was why he had called Jinhyuk directly, and was now showing him both the stick and the grand vision.
“How was the young lady from Cheongwoo Group you met the other day?”
At Junman’s sudden mention of the matchmaking meeting, Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes and stared at him.
Still, the look on his face was full of dissatisfaction.
“I don’t think she was interested in me. It seems my past actions bothered her.”
“Was it really her, or was it you who wasn’t interested?”
‘How much does he actually know?’
Junman had revealed his interest in anything that could affect his ambitions, including Novo and Biologics.
Now, he wasn’t even hiding that he watched over Jinhyuk’s personal life, as if it was all in the palm of his hand.
This was not simply the behavior of a father keeping an eye on his child.
Jinhyuk was left wondering just what kind of future Junman dreamed of.
“I think it’s fair to say neither of us is interested.”
“Is that so? Well, take an interest anyway. That young lady is included in the future of DS I have in mind.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Having spoken, Junman leaned back, resting his head on the sofa’s cushion for a moment.
Jinhyuk fixed his gaze, his brow furrowed, at the older man.
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