Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she wore a look as if she wanted nothing more than to start a verbal sparring match with Park Jin-hyuk right away.
But before she could say anything, Park Jin-hyuk opened his mouth first.
“Why do you think that person keeps talking so much about me? Even if I don’t listen, I know exactly what kind of things she’s saying—words meant to belittle me. It’s because she’s frustrated. Just like the person standing in front of me right now is frustrated, so is my mother over there, venting about me out of her own frustration. But tell me, is there any reason I should feel frustrated? I’m only amused, not angry.”
“What are you saying?”
At his words, her eyes widened as if she realized something.
But she wanted to hear it directly from Park Jin-hyuk, so she asked him to explain what he meant in more detail.
With a friendly smile, Park Jin-hyuk placed a plate of cherry tomatoes on his crossed legs and began to explain slowly.
“If you’re truly lacking, those who dislike you won’t even bother cursing at you. But if they think you’re even a little bit better, they’ll go out of their way to tear you down. Do you understand? When someone is talking bad about you, it means they see you as a threat. And threats are for my enemies to feel, not for me. So why should I be upset that they’re badmouthing me? Isn’t it only natural to be pleased, seeing how hard they’re trying to show with their whole body just how afraid they are of me?”
Finishing his words, Park Jin-hyuk stood up from his seat.
He handed the plate to Kim Jun-woo, who had been quietly sitting beside him until then.
“Let’s go. The stage is set. Time to collect. And, miss, it’s best not to get involved with me in a place like this. Understand? Let’s pretend we don’t know each other. It’ll only cause trouble.”
With that, Park Jin-hyuk took Kim Jun-woo and strode forward.
The woman who had been talking with Park Jin-hyuk moments before watched his back with a complex gaze.
She had gained a new perspective from seeing the world through his eyes, so different from her own up to now.
Leaving her behind, lost in thought, Park Jin-hyuk brushed his hands off and headed in a certain direction.
He had been putting off finalizing the main contract with Rohashu for today.
He had coaxed and stalled Rohashu’s requests to sign quickly and start production.
And he thought today would finally mark the end of that.
“Director, what exactly are we doing?”
Although Kim Jun-woo had followed after Park Jin-hyuk, he wasn’t sure what they were about to do. Making sure there was no one else nearby, he asked quietly.
Park Jin-hyuk poked Kim Jun-woo, who was still awkwardly carrying the plate.
“We need to make Hanseong pull out their supply, don’t we? We can’t just let Biologics keep running things as is. Right?”
“What do you mean…?”
Kim Jun-woo had no idea how Park Jin-hyuk planned to remove Hanseong Pharm’s supplies from Biologics right in the middle of an engagement ceremony.
But he didn’t press further.
He’d learned by now that just following Park Jin-hyuk would yield the answer, and that it was his job to carry out what was asked of him rather than question it.
Many people from the financial and political worlds had gathered at the engagement ceremony to congratulate Park Sang-hyuk.
Even though the invitations had been limited to important figures, about 200 people had shown up to offer their congratulations.
“Ah, come over here.”
As Park Jin-hyuk approached Park Jun-man, the latter beckoned him over and introduced him to the person in front of him.
“Minister Kim, this is my eldest.”
“Ah, I’ve heard about you. You must be Director Park, who’s been making waves lately. Nice to meet you.”
“Hello. I’ve heard a lot about you as well. You’re Minister Kim, aren’t you? It’s an honor to meet you.”
“The honor is mine. I hope you’ll look after me.”
“What are you saying? If people heard that, they’d laugh. It’s you who should be helping my eldest. Hahaha.”
Even the minister was bowing his head before Park Jun-man.
He also acted respectfully toward Park Jin-hyuk, who could be his son’s age, clearly defining their hierarchy.
‘In the end, money wins over power.’
Just like the age-old debate of chicken or egg, there’d always been arguments over which came first, power or money.
Some said money followed power; others claimed power followed money.
But in the end, it seemed the answer was that money held just a slightly higher place than power.
He realized this as he watched high-ranking figures from every field bow their heads to Park Jun-man.
When Park Jin-hyuk appeared by Park Jun-man’s side, the center of the party began to shift toward him.
“Hello.”
“Oh. Yes, and you are?”
Someone with tens of billions displayed above his head came up to greet Park Jin-hyuk.
“Nice to meet you. I’m the editor-in-chief of the Korea Daily.”
“Ah, the Korea Daily. Hello.”
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Hello, I’m OOO, managing attorney at Daeyang Law Firm.”
“Ah, Daeyang Law. I once owed you a favor, didn’t I?”
“A favor? Not at all. We were worried that our attorneys might have troubled you by visiting. Chairman Lee was insistent that things be handled quickly, so I hope you’ll understand.”
“I do.”
People began gathering around Park Jin-hyuk.
Now that the DS successor had appeared, everyone wanted to make an impression.
As he had expected this, Park Jin-hyuk warmly greeted each newcomer.
He also glanced slyly at a particular face in the crowd.
‘It’s almost time for someone to move.’
After all, Park Sang-hyuk was supposed to be the star of today, so someone was bound to get uncomfortable with all the attention shifting to Park Jin-hyuk.
He guessed that someone would soon step in to restore balance and draw the focus away.
“There you are.”
Sure enough, someone uneasy with the situation approached Park Jin-hyuk.
“If you’ve arrived, you should greet your mother first, you know. Goodness… Hohoho. So many people are here. I hope you’re all well?”
Oh Seo-young came up and looped her arm through Park Jin-hyuk’s.
She looked around at those who’d greeted him and spoke.
“He’s still young and doesn’t know proper etiquette yet. He should’ve greeted his elders first. I’m sorry. I’ll take Jin-hyuk with me for a bit.”
Oh Seo-young was all smiles as she spoke.
But the meaning in her words was different from her expression.
The people present seemed even more flustered than Park Jin-hyuk by her blunt words.
However, Park Jin-hyuk took both her appearance and her words in stride.
He was almost grateful she’d intervened sooner than expected.
“I suppose there’s somewhere I need to pay my respects. I’ll see you all later.”
He bid the others farewell and turned away.
“Shall we?”
Park Jin-hyuk followed Oh Seo-young, curious where she’d take him.
As they walked, he looked around.
The room was filled with people bearing higher numbers above their heads than anyone he’d met today.
It seemed that anyone who wielded real power in Korea’s political and financial circles had gathered here.
And among them, Oh Seo-young led him to a group of especially distinguished figures.
“You should greet your maternal grandfather since you’re here.”
At her words, Park Jin-hyuk turned to look for Lee Jong-mu.
But Lee Jong-mu was nowhere to be seen.
Just as he was about to ask why she mentioned his grandfather when he wasn’t even present, a portly man greeted Park Jin-hyuk.
“It’s been a long time. You’ve grown.”
Park Jin-hyuk turned from Oh Seo-young to look at the man.
Wearing thick black-rimmed glasses, the man’s face bore a resemblance to Oh Seo-young.
‘Maternal grandfather? Ugh, what a tangled family tree.’
Without betraying his inner thoughts, Park Jin-hyuk smiled politely at the man.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes. I heard you joined DS Pharmaceuticals. I’d wanted to meet you, and now, thanks to Sang-hyuk’s engagement, here you are. Sit down.”
Oh Seo-young’s father and chairman of Hanseong Group, Oh Jung-heon, gestured to a seat.
Park Jin-hyuk followed his hand and sat, glancing around.
Next to Oh Jung-heon, who had a value of 500 billion, stood people with values in the hundreds of billions, all watching Park Jin-hyuk.
They were likely the heads or near-heads of groups anyone would recognize.
“What are you all doing here?”
As Park Jin-hyuk sat down, a middle-aged man holding a wine glass approached.
Turning toward the voice, Park Jin-hyuk’s eyes sparkled when he saw the number floating above the newcomer’s head.
[3 trillion]
Someone with a number far surpassing those nearby was approaching Park Jin-hyuk.
“Chairman Han, welcome. You’re just in time. I was about to talk to Jin-hyuk—why don’t you listen in as well?”
Oh Jung-heon rose to greet him.
Chairman Han greeted Oh Jung-heon and others warmly.
After offering congratulations to Oh Seo-young, he looked down at Park Jin-hyuk, who was still seated.
Chairman Han seemed to recognize him, glanced once, and then took a seat.
“So, what interesting things were you discussing? I didn’t realize everyone was gathered here—I was left standing awkwardly over there.”
Chairman Han gestured with his head.
There, a group of bespectacled men were engaged in heated discussion.
At a glance, they looked like government officials or people from the legal world—faces marked with the word ‘study.’
Chairman Han, apparently uncomfortable with their company, brushed himself off and smiled at Oh Jung-heon.
“Are you discussing the bio industry with your grandson?”
“We were just about to start.”
“Really? This will be much more interesting.”
Showing genuine interest, he sat back and sipped his wine, smiling at Park Jin-hyuk.
Park Jin-hyuk wondered who this man with the impressive number above his head was.
But for now, dealing with Hanseong Group was more pressing.
After all, attending Park Sang-hyuk’s engagement was mostly for this very purpose.
“So, everyone’s curious, aren’t they?”
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you heard from your father? About DS Biologics, under DS Pharmaceuticals. You’re supposed to be in charge, right?”
“Oh, that?”
Turning his gaze from Oh Jung-heon, Park Jin-hyuk looked around.
Oh Jung-heon seemed slightly flustered when the conversation stalled.
But quickly regaining his composure, aware of everyone’s eyes, he spoke to Park Jin-hyuk again.
“Get things organized. The announcement about the sale will come soon. As you probably know…”
“Oh, is that what you wanted to talk about? I’m afraid that might be difficult.”
Before Oh Jung-heon could continue, Park Jin-hyuk cut him off.
Oh Jung-heon’s brow twitched at Park Jin-hyuk’s blunt refusal—not only interrupting him, but outright rejecting the notion.
“What do you mean by that?”
“If a well-run company gets sold, there will be a lot of talk behind the scenes, won’t there? People will question your motives, whisper about secret deals…”
“That’s not for you to worry about. Your father probably named you lead on this to support you… but I don’t care either way, as long as we can take over Biologics without a hitch. So just do your part and prepare without any funny business.”
“Let me say it again. There’s no way we’ll let go of a thriving company.”
Even as Park Jin-hyuk spoke firmly, Oh Jung-heon didn’t lose his smile.
To him, Park Jin-hyuk was still just a child.
“It’s not up to you to decide. Everything’s already been arranged.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“Do you really think a little order from Pfizer and that… what was it? That company I’ve never even heard of—do you think their supply will make a difference? Even Pfizer’s order is just a short-term thing. Don’t pin your hopes on it.”
“Rohashu was here not long ago as well.”
“Yes, I heard. They offered you Pitaflu production, right? But can you actually do it? Are you willing to give up Truxima just to produce Pitaflu?”
“That depends on my own will, doesn’t it? If it boosts Biologics’ plant utilization, I’m willing to do it.”
“Really? Then there’s no choice. We’ll have to pull our supply…”
At Oh Jung-heon’s words, those nearby began whispering among themselves.
They all knew Hanseong Group accounted for a significant portion of the new CMO business DS Pharmaceuticals was launching.
People started to doubt whether Biologics could endure if Hanseong pulled out their supply.
Many wondered if Park Jin-hyuk had poked the lion’s whiskers for no reason.
“Is it really necessary to go that far? If you do, DS and Hanseong might end up at odds.”
Sensing the shifting mood, Park Jin-hyuk tactfully took a step back.
He was adjusting the tension without Oh Jung-heon noticing, steering the conversation just as he wanted, while the latter still saw him as a mere child.