Chapter 229: Are You After My Grandfather’s Position Too?

“Are you also after your grandfather’s position?”

“Well, rather than aiming for it, I’d say I merely hope to be in that position someday.”

“Someday? When is that?”

“I don’t know either. But I have a very strong advantage, so I can afford to be patient.”

“Advantage? Are you talking about your age?”

“Yes. Whether it’s in ten or twenty years, if I prepare slowly, wouldn’t it be possible someday?”

“You’re the one who’s good at playing innocent, Hyung-nim. Hahaha.”

The old man chuckled and spoke to the grandfather.

“Ten years, my foot! You look like you’re itching to sit in the Soonyang Group chairman’s office right now.”

His tone was as if he could see right through me.

However, since he wasn’t hitting the nail exactly on the head, he clearly wasn’t a fortune teller or a face reader.

Why did Grandfather insist on meeting this old man?

“Do-jun.”

“Yes.”

Grandfather blinked once.

“I have some things to discuss with this cranky old man, so why don’t you go outside?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

My kneeling legs were starting to feel numb, so it worked out well.

I quietly stood up, bowed my head, and went outside.

* * *

“Hyung-nim, you didn’t come all the way here just to show off your grandson, did you? What’s the matter?”

“I came to ask a favor for this kid.”

The old man’s expression abruptly hardened.

“Are you unwell?”

“I’ve used it up as much as I could. It’s broken down to the point where it can’t be fixed. It seems like I don’t have much time left.”

Chairman Jin poked his left chest with his finger.

“Hyung-nim!”

“Don’t make a fuss.”

Chairman Jin quietly picked up his teacup.

“I don’t intend to delay my departure. I’ve lived long enough and have no regrets.”

The old man could only bite his lip and remain silent.

“You’re eating well in this place with good air and clean water, so you should be good for another ten years, right? Just look after this kid during that time.”

The two old men didn’t make eye contact until they had emptied their teacups.

Finally, the old man opened his mouth.

“Is this kid going to inherit the group?”

“Why ask when you already know? The most capable one will take it.”

“Your nasty temper hasn’t gone anywhere. You only gave your grandson a measly 10%, how’s he supposed to fight? Especially amongst those ruthless bastards!”

“It’s not 10%. I gave him more. No… it’s more accurate to say he took more.”

“Took what?”

“My shares. Hahaha.”

“What are you talking about? Why don’t you speak plainly?”

“He took Soonyang Automobile, and this time, he took Soonyang Card. You’ve heard of them, haven’t you? Miracle Investment and HW Group, formerly Ajin Group.”

“Yes. But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Those two companies belong to this kid.”

“Huh? What nonsense… ?”

“I don’t know the details either. Anyway, I gave him a small patch of pasture, and he used that as seed money to build all this. Just looking at the outward scale, it’s in the top 20 domestic groups, and the money he’s invested in the US is beyond my counting. Of course, it’s true that I gave him some shares when I handed over Soonyang Automobile. But everything this kid has, he built with his own strength.”

As Chairman Jin finished his explanation, the corners of the old man’s lips lifted.

“Looks like you cherish this kid quite a bit, Hyung-nim.”

“It’s the truth!”

“Nonsense! Young-gi and Dong-gi are glaring daggers, so you secretly set up a separate company and are funneling everything to him. Your excessive affection is going too far. Isn’t this too much?”

Chairman Jin chuckled at the old man’s reaction.

“You don’t believe me, do you? The kid came with a fistful of dollars, demanding I hand over the automobile when he was twenty. You should have seen my face back then….”

Chairman Jin recounted the events from his grandson’s childhood to this year’s acquisition of Soonyang Card in a calm but detailed manner.

The old man showed a variety of expressions while listening to Chairman Jin’s story. Sometimes he frowned, sometimes he was amazed, but mostly he just listened blankly.

When Chairman Jin’s long story ended, the old man shouted.

“Bring more tea here! A full pot!”

When the refilled teapot arrived, the old man closed his mouth again and drank the tea like water.

“If he’s that sharp, I don’t need to look after him. Frankly, among your sons, Dong-gi is somewhat capable, but he’s nothing compared to this kid. If we just leave him alone, he’ll take everything….”

“It’s the time we leave him alone that worries me. If this kid were thirty, I wouldn’t be concerned.”

“Why? Are you afraid your sons will devour him before he grows bigger?”

Chairman Jin didn’t answer easily and just drank his tea.

“Just help him. For exactly ten years.”

Chairman Jin cut to the chase and answered after a long pause, and the old man carefully observed him.

All that was visible was the figure of an obviously weakened old man awaiting death and a grandfather worried about his grandson; not even a trace of the business tycoon who held the nation’s economy in his hands could be seen.

After letting out a long sigh, the old man slowly opened his mouth.

“I’ll take care of him if I see fit. But if he even pretends to be a chaebol, I won’t let him near my house.”

Only after hearing the old man’s confirmation did Chairman Jin’s stiff face relax.

“Your wife said she’d make us food, is she still preparing it? My breakfast has been digested. Tell her to bring it out.”

“You say you’re practicing crossing the river Styx day in and day out, but your appetite is still the same.”

“Doesn’t your wife make a killer beef and rice soup? Just thinking about it makes me suddenly hungry.”

“What are we going to do? This morning’s soup is radish greens soup. Hehe.”

* * *

Perhaps it was due to the successive breakfasts, but Grandfather fell asleep as soon as he got into the car. I was dying of curiosity about who that old man was, but I had to wait until he woke up.

Almost two hours later, when Grandfather, who had enjoyed a deep sleep, opened his eyes, I cautiously asked about the old man’s identity.

“Joo Byung-hae, he was Soonyang Group’s top contributor.”

Joo Byung-hae? It was a name I didn’t recognize. If Grandfather called him a top contributor, he would have at least served as the president of a core affiliate, yet the name was unfamiliar.

“When did he work for Soonyang Group?”

“It wasn’t just working for them. I met him when I started the textile factory in Daegu after the war. Did we have the technology? Did we have the machinery? The man who went to Japan to buy used machinery and even brought back Japanese technicians to operate those machines was that old man.”

If that was the case, he wasn’t just a top contributor, he was practically a founding contributor.

“He was a truly remarkable friend. When I made plans, he pushed them forward. Even when I hesitated because I wasn’t sure, he’d say let’s start first and then take action. He was also incredibly bright. If he had stayed with me, he might have taken the chairman’s position long ago.”

“Why is he living like that? Since when…?”

Honestly, my first thought was whether Grandfather had driven him out.

As the group grew, Joo Byung-hae’s position would have become increasingly significant, and he might have demanded to share the fruits of that growth. Grandfather wouldn’t have accepted that.

But my guess was wrong.

“It’s been over twenty years, so it’s been a long time. He’s the one who spat at me and turned his back on me when you were very young.”

What was this new story? Turned his back?

Grandfather frowned for a moment, as if recalling that moment. How painful must that memory be?

“It was when the new military regime seized power and brandished their guns and bayonets. Military regimes are always like that. They try to seize the wealthy first.”

Wasn’t Soonyang the company that thrived by aligning itself well with that regime?

“Everyone was being cautious and gave money when asked, and if they were told to build factories in certain regions, they wouldn’t hesitate to break ground.”

“So, he resisted the new military regime?”

“No. There’s no way. Joo Byung-hae, that friend of mine, was also a businessman to the core. His thinking was that it was enough if he extracted more profit than the money he gave to the regime.”

“Then regardless of the situation at the time….”

“No. It’s related. Do you know of Dongmyung Group?”

How could I not know?

Wasn’t that the company that was the undisputed number one in the business world until the mid-1970s?

But as soon as the new military regime came into power, it was absurdly confiscated in the form of a nominal national contribution and disappeared without a trace.

“Yes. I’ve heard bits and pieces.”

“Joo Byung-hae was very close with Chairman Kang of that Dongmyung Group. He followed him around calling him Hyung-nim and received a lot of help. Thanks to that, I also received some help.”

Whatever the cause, a competitor disappeared. Would that have been a reason for the two to part ways?

“The business world was all lying low. No one dared to step forward. It was obvious that trying to help Chairman Kang would make them the second company to be confiscated.”

Only twenty years ago, power could destroy companies. That was proof that the size of companies wasn’t that large. But that’s impossible now. The size of major conglomerates has become so immense that the government can’t touch them.

“Did Joo Byung-hae perhaps start a campaign to save him?”

“No. No matter how close they were, he couldn’t afford to go down with him, could he? My friend Byung-hae also said to lie low and stay quiet like a dead mouse. He said that if we took responsibility for Chairman Kang’s later years, we would have done our duty enough to avoid criticism.”

“But why…?”

Grandfather smiled bitterly and continued.

“I didn’t stay still. I immediately started making connections with the new military regime. National contribution doesn’t involve cash, does it? If the government holds onto the companies, what would they do with them?”

I understood immediately. Indeed, Grandfather wouldn’t have missed such an opportunity.

“Out of Dongmyung Group’s six subsidiaries, I practically got Dongmyung Industries, Dongmyung Heavy Industries, Dongmyung Development, and Dongmyung Food for free. Thanks to acquiring them, our Soonyang’s heavy industries sector grew enormously.”

Indeed. That’s how it happened.

Now a rough picture was forming.

“When Byung-hae found out about that, he was furious and jumped up and down. He said that even if business ethics had fallen to the ground, we had to uphold human ethics. How could I do something that would kill the fallen Chairman Kang twice…? That was the first time I saw him get so angry. It was also the last time he got angry at me.”

I understand why Joo Byung-hae was so furious.

It’s like when my house goes up for auction, and a close friend waits for it and buys it cheaply. It’s hard to avoid criticism.

“So, he’s been living like that since then?”

“Yeah.”

“Considering you parted on bad terms, the relationship between you two seemed no less than real brothers?”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. For about five years, the rejections I faced were unbelievable. But as he gets older, what can he do? He misses the past, he misses people, and he’s become soft. It’s been a long time since we’ve been like friends, like brothers.”

Then the only remaining question is one.

Why did I have to greet that old man?

“Even when I’m gone, think of him as me and visit him often.”

“Yes. I will serve him like my great-uncle.”

“Yes, if you have difficulties, ask for his help and advice. Unless it’s something really unusual, he’ll give you an answer.”

“He seems like a wise man.”

“He is wise. That’s why I discuss all the details of the group’s affairs and seek that old man’s opinion, isn’t it?”

Another Lee Hak-jae.

But there are things he falls short of compared to Chief of staff Lee. I wanted to see how big that difference was.

“Do many people in the group remember him?”

Grandfather smiled with a twinkle in his eye.

“Many do. All the guys who have some clout in the group learned their trade under that friend of mine. They’ll bring gift baskets to greet him without fail during holidays, won’t they? If they can’t make it, they’ll at least call.”

So that’s how it is?

Even for a retired old man, if he has influence, playing cute like a grandson isn’t that difficult, is it?