“What brings you here?”
Park Su-man, Park Kyung-man, and a few others near them approached Park Jin-hyuk.
Park Su-man spoke with a look of surprise, while Park Kyung-man stood beside him, scanning Park Jin-hyuk from head to toe.
‘They say birds of a feather flock together.’
The value of the people standing with Park Su-man was higher than his own, but there was no significant difference. Given that Park Su-man, who possessed the lowest value among them, was acting as their leader, it was easy to predict that the rest of them were just as unremarkable.
“I heard there was an economic leaders’ dinner today.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t concern me, would I? Is that really a question you need an answer to?”
The affability Park Su-man had shown during the past DS meetings was nowhere to be found. Park Jin-hyuk was well aware that his uncle had been wearing a mask back then, and this was his true face. He also understood that Park Su-man wanted to show off by suppressing Park Jin-hyuk in front of the presidents and key figures of other companies.
That was exactly why Park Jin-hyuk pushed back. It was necessary to create the specific picture he wanted.
“You…”
Park Su-man started to speak but stopped and looked around. He seemed to be checking if the people surrounding them were the type who wouldn’t mind if he took things a step further.
‘It’s fine. It’s fine.’
After confirming that everyone present was on his side, Park Su-man turned back to Park Jin-hyuk and began to speak sharply with a cold smile.
“A dinner like today’s is no place for a rookie like you. You’ve barely learned how to walk. How could you think you could dine with the important figures who lead South Korea’s economy? I don’t know who dared to invite you, but…”
“The Chairman of the FKI sent the invitation personally. You certainly have a talent for making even the FKI Chairman look like a child, Uncle.”
Park Su-man was startled by Park Jin-hyuk cutting him off mid-sentence. He hadn’t dreamed that the Chairman of the FKI would have sent a personal invitation. This revelation also surprised Park Su-man’s companions. They looked at one another to verify the fact, but none of them had an answer.
“Is that… really true?”
“Did you think I came here just to loiter around a party, hoping for a free handout?”
Park Su-man found it hard to believe, yet he couldn’t simply dismiss it. Someone must have invited Park Jin-hyuk for him to be here. However, he never imagined that person would be the Chairman of the FKI.
Park Jin-hyuk looked around. Since a group of seven or eight people had gathered on one side of the FKI Building lobby, they were naturally drawing people’s attention. He realized that causing more of a scene might ruin his plans, so he decided to stop arguing with Park Su-man. He decided that now was the time to drop a hint and reel Park Su-man in.
“I heard Tae-hyuk joined Linkone.”
The sudden remark made Park Su-man stop considering whether to shout and forced him to stare at Park Jin-hyuk. It was no secret that Park Su-man’s son, Park Tae-hyuk, had joined DS Linkone, a subsidiary of DS Telecom. However, Park Su-man couldn’t fathom why that topic was being brought up now.
“Tae-hyuk is at the right age to start working. But was there a particular reason you sent him to Linkone?”
“What does it matter to you where I send my son?”
“It doesn’t matter. Not at all. But I heard a strange rumor.”
“A strange rumor?”
“I heard that Linkone is receiving an investment through DOCOMO in Japan.”
“That… is not something to be discussed here.”
Park Su-man tried to change the subject and leave quickly. He didn’t know how much Park Jin-hyuk knew, but they weren’t alone. Since people from other companies he was close with were present, any strange talk could lead to suspicious looks. If that happened, it could create uncomfortable situations for future business, so Park Su-man judged it better to avoid the conversation for now. He figured he could talk to Park Jin-hyuk later.
However, as Park Su-man turned to leave, Park Jin-hyuk threw out a comment that stopped him in his tracks.
“If Tae-hyuk hadn’t gone to Linkone, I might not have known. So, is Tae-hyuk the one in charge of the project they’re trying to pull off?”
“What are you accusing me of doing?”
Just as Park Jin-hyuk expected, Park Su-man couldn’t walk away and immediately snapped back. The names Linkone, DOCOMO, and Park Tae-hyuk had all been mentioned together. While the others nearby might not understand what those three terms meant yet, it was certain that if two of those words were mentioned together later, the third would naturally follow. And it was obvious that the name mentioned alongside them would be Park Tae-hyuk.
This was not a situation Park Su-man wanted. He had placed his son there to oversee the project because he had no one else to trust, but now his son was at risk of being swept up in a potential scandal. As a father, he didn’t want that to happen, which was why he couldn’t ignore Park Jin-hyuk’s words.
“I’m just asking. Why are you reacting so strongly? You’re making it awkward.”
“Don’t go around saying nonsense.”
Park Jin-hyuk squinted and tilted his head slightly as he looked at Park Su-man. His expression suggested that Park Su-man’s behavior was the suspicious part. Acting like he had a guilty conscience, Park Su-man flinched and leaned back. Seeing this, Park Jin-hyuk burst out laughing.
“There really is something. Linkone. All right. I’ll keep that in mind. Linkone, DOCOMO, and ‘Park Tae-hyuk.’ I’ve got it.”
Park Jin-hyuk emphasized Park Tae-hyuk’s name. He glanced at the people standing with Park Su-man as if telling them to remember the name, and then he smiled.
Park Jin-hyuk didn’t know exactly who those people were. But he was certain that anyone hanging around Park Su-man would be the type who loved to gossip. Now, those people would surely view Linkone, DOCOMO, and Park Tae-hyuk as a single, connected package. Even if he didn’t know exactly what Park Su-man was plotting through Linkone, he felt he had successfully tied his uncle’s hands by using his son.
“Well, I’ll be going inside now. Enjoy your talk and come up when you’re ready.”
Park Jin-hyuk turned and headed inside first. He could almost feel the expression on Park Su-man’s face without even looking back.
Kim Jun-woo walked quickly to catch up to Park Jin-hyuk’s side and whispered.
“There definitely seems to be something going on with Linkone. Should I dig a little deeper?”
“No. We can stop looking into Linkone now. I don’t know exactly what he was planning, but he won’t be able to do anything through Linkone anymore anyway.”
Kim Jun-woo stole a glance behind him. Park Su-man was still staring in their direction. His distorted face and furrowed brows clearly showed how incredibly upset he was.
Kim Jun-woo spoke carefully in a voice only Park Jin-hyuk could hear.
“What would you have done if Vice Chairman Park Su-man asked the FKI Chairman if he really invited you?”
The truth was, Park Jin-hyuk was here because he had asked Park Jun-man for a favor. Since only representatives of each conglomerate group were invited, it wasn’t strictly appropriate for Park Jin-hyuk to be there. However, Park Jin-hyuk needed to meet Park Su-man in this specific setting. He knew that provoking him here would have a much greater effect. That was why he had asked Park Jun-man, and saying the FKI Chairman had sent the invitation was merely a bluff to use against Park Su-man.
“My uncle? Asking the FKI Chairman if he invited Park Jin-hyuk?”
Park Jin-hyuk barely managed to stifle a laugh at Kim Jun-woo’s words.
“Just as I can’t easily meet the FKI Chairman, my uncle can’t either. And even if they did meet, do you think he’d spend that precious, short conversation time talking about me? No matter how foolish he is, he’s not that bad at discerning priorities.”
He stated unverifiable facts as if they were true. Whether his uncle believed him or not wasn’t the issue. What mattered was that he was here and the conversation they had. With a satisfied expression, Park Jin-hyuk entered the banquet hall where the dinner was being held.
—
Park Su-man and Park Kyung-man followed Park Jin-hyuk slowly into the banquet hall. They chatted with others about different topics, avoiding any mention of the conversation with Park Jin-hyuk. Those who had overheard were curious about what Park Jin-hyuk said, but since the involved parties didn’t bring it up, they simply kept those three keywords in mind.
As time passed and the guests mingled over food and drinks, the group dispersed, leaving only Park Su-man and Park Kyung-man. As if he had been waiting for this moment, Park Su-man brought up what Park Jin-hyuk had said earlier.
“Doesn’t he know?”
“Whether he knows or not isn’t the point. What matters is that everyone there heard the Linkone story.”
“How far has the investment progressed?”
“We’re just at the stage where negotiations with DOCOMO are beginning. There’s still a long way to go until completion… This is why I asked you why you were sending Tae-hyuk to Linkone.”
“I needed someone I could trust to handle it.”
Park Kyung-man gave Park Su-man a look of frustration and pathetic pity before looking away and sighing deeply. Park Su-man understood why Park Kyung-man was frustrated. He also knew what he had done wrong. Because of that, he couldn’t say a word in response to Park Kyung-man’s exasperation.
After watching Park Kyung-man sigh for a while, Park Su-man glanced toward where Park Jin-hyuk was and spoke tentatively.
“But why didn’t he say anything about DS Telecom? Do you think he realized that buying DS Telecom stock was just bait to distract him?”
At Park Su-man’s words, Park Kyung-man also looked toward Park Jin-hyuk. If Park Jin-hyuk knew that Park Su-man was buying up DS Telecom stock, there was no way he could be acting this calm. That stock purchase was intended to be the decoy. Yet, things were far too quiet. He looked so defenseless that it was impossible to tell if he knew or not.
“Does he not know?”
“There’s no way…”
“No, it’s not entirely impossible.”
Park Su-man felt a bit relieved when Park Kyung-man stopped sighing and turned his head. Worried that Park Kyung-man would keep nagging him about sending Tae-hyuk to Linkone, Park Su-man continued to push his point to change the subject.
“When we bought the stock, we used alias accounts and different brokerage firms and branches. He might not have been able to track it.”
Park Kyung-man didn’t agree with Park Su-man’s opinion, but since he couldn’t explain the current situation otherwise, he didn’t argue. Park Su-man continued to press his view as if trying to brainwash him.
“Exactly. He couldn’t have tracked it. Think about my brother. If he knew, would he have stayed quiet? You think he’d just ignore the fact that we’re buying up DS Telecom stock? That’s impossible. I can’t even imagine such a thing.”
When Park Su-man mentioned Park Jun-man, Park Kyung-man began to nod and gradually accept the idea. He also couldn’t understand the Park Jun-man he knew just standing by and watching in such a situation.
“Wait! I think we had it wrong.”
Park Su-man slapped his knee with a grand gesture and looked at Park Kyung-man. With a look of sudden realization, he spoke.
“We threw out the DS Telecom stock purchase as bait, hoping to finish the job while my brother and Jin-hyuk were distracted by it… but because we were too careful, the DS Telecom purchase didn’t get noticed, and Linkone got exposed instead.”
“How could that be? Linkone is just one of forty subsidiaries, but DS Telecom is a major pillar of the DS Group. To think they’d miss DS Telecom…”
Park Kyung-man stopped mid-sentence as if something had occurred to him as well.
“Tae-hyuk.”
Park Kyung-man paused and looked at Park Su-man. Park Su-man seemed to share the same thought; he turned his head away to avoid eye contact, but his face was filled with embarrassment.
“Jin-hyuk might have been watching Tae-hyuk from the beginning, knowing that you would eventually drag him into whatever you were trying to do. That’s why he might have missed the DS Telecom bait we threw out. Anyway, this is why I told you not to use Tae-hyuk…”
“What’s the use of talking about that now? Instead of that, let’s discuss what to do next. What do you think is best?”
Park Kyung-man took another deep breath and glanced around. Realizing no one was nearby, he lowered his head and spoke in a voice only Park Su-man could hear.
“Since things have turned out like this, let’s put the plan to seize DS Telecom through Linkone on the back burner. We need to rethink this.”
“Then what about the DS Telecom stock we bought? Do we just sell it off?”
“Is there a reason to sell it now? As time passes, it will only become harder to trace. There’s no need for us to act first. Let’s hold onto it and rethink our next move.”
“Right. Whatever the case, we have to take over Telecom before we can take over Electronics.”
A look of ridicule flashed across Park Kyung-man’s face at Park Su-man’s words. He had a feeling that his uncle’s greed would one day ruin everything, and a sudden intuition told him that he might eventually become the one standing against him.