Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 17

17. 4th. First Harvest (3)

I answered the phone casually.

“Yeah, Noona [older sister or female friend], what’s up?”

[Sungmin, did the Chairman say anything to you?]

“What do you mean?”

[The Chairman of Sekyung Group called Dad, asking him to sell my shares. Dad said he called the Chairman too.]

I had expected it, but Sekyung Group must be quite anxious because of me and Jang Hayeon. They probably asked him to sell our shares on the market to lower the stock price and acquisition cost.

“What are you going to do, Noona? Sell them all?”

[No. Dad refused Chairman Chae’s request. He told me to save up for my livelihood.]

Jang Hogun’s love for Jang Hayeon was extraordinary. He couldn’t acquire Daehan Telecom because of his father, so he was trying to give his daughter some pocket money?

My lips curved up slightly, but I composed myself and spoke.

“I heard it from Uncle Seungju too. He said Grandpa also received a call from Chairman Chae?”

[Should I sell my shares?]

“No. Grandpa said he doesn’t want to break his grandson’s rice bowl since he lost all the family money and has nothing to pass down. So he refused Chairman Chae’s request.”

She’s the person I love, but I have to deceive her for now. I had to make Jang Hayeon believe that Jang Hogun thought my grandfather’s private loan organization had collapsed, so I had to put aside my guilt for a while.

[I see. So we’re going to keep going like this?]

“We don’t know when another opportunity like this will come again. For us.”

I replied naturally, even with Jang Hayeon on the other end of the line and Park Taejin in front of me. I felt shameless, even to myself.

[Okay. Good luck.]

“Yeah. Take care.”

Park Taejin chuckled as I hung up the phone.

“Miss Hayeon will be very disappointed if she finds out later.”

“It can’t be helped. Business is business.”

Even if I like her, public and private matters must be kept separate.

I am a Haedong Group person, and Jang Hayeon is a Shinseong Group person.

Until that time comes.

***

The end of 1993 was warmer than ever.

Perhaps due to the butterfly effect caused by me, Daehan Telecom closed the year at ₩330,000 [Korean Won] per share even before the end of the year.

The heat continued into 1994, and the stock price hit ₩380,000 before mid-January, leaving Park Taejin and even me speechless. The stock price was rising faster than I knew!

But.

Selling at the peak is what fools do. As we had a large amount of stock, selling from the shoulder [selling before the price peaks] was the basics of stock investment.

Seeing the stock price rise rapidly, Park Taejin and I started selling enough shares to repay the money I and Jang Hayeon had borrowed, starting at ₩310,000 per share. As a result, I was able to keep 340,000 shares, and Jang Hayeon was able to keep 65,000 shares as net assets.

I had come back from the river of death [idiom for surviving a near-death experience] and had plenty of inheritance from my parents, so I just increased it a bit more. Unlike me, Jang Hayeon had 65,000 shares in her hands from nothing, so I wondered what kind of expression she would make when I showed her the bankbook.

“Did you… hire a technician without me knowing?”

“I only bought it from August with Hyung’s [older brother or male friend] help.”

After selling the stocks, I was renting out an entire restaurant with Jang Hayeon for a private dinner.

I had about ₩1 billion in cash left after paying off the loans, so I wanted to treat her and make up for not spending Christmas and New Year’s together. But Jang Hayeon looked at me with an unbelievable expression.

“No way. Where did you get such high-level information?”

Amid the string quartet’s performance, I wanted to ask Jang Hayeon, who had sparkling eyes, if she was really twenty-six years old. But I couldn’t ruin the points I had earned with such foolishness, so I focused on the main topic.

“Noona, do you remember the president talking about creating a new Korea when he read his inauguration speech?”

“How would I remember that? I was too busy working at the hotel.”

“Anyway, I got a feeling from it. There was also the cancellation of the second mobile telecommunications carrier selection at the end of last year.”

“Ah…!”

It was just a random remark, but Jang Hayeon exclaimed quietly. She had paid off her debt in three months and still had 65,000 shares of Daehan Telecom, so how could she not believe me?

That’s enough about my bragging. Now it’s my turn to praise her.

“Still, you’re far from being a manager. I’m just getting my diploma, so I don’t know when I’ll catch up to you, Noona. What about the hotel?”

“You should put some saliva on your mouth before you lie [Korean idiom for ‘you’re lying’]. You’ve never been to our hotel, have you?”

“Really? Aren’t all the paintings in the hotel chosen by you, Noona?”

After taking a sip of wine, I asked back with an indifferent expression, and Jang Hayeon’s eyes widened.

“How did you know? I didn’t tell anyone?”

‘How would I know? Thanks to you, it was not the Korea Hotel, but the Korea Gallery, the Korea Salon.’

Jang Hayeon, who wanted to become a painter but couldn’t disappoint Jang Hogun’s expectations, entered the Department of Business Administration.

The Korea Gallery and Korea Salon were other names attached to the Korea Hotel thanks to her.

Hwang Nayeon and Jang Suyeon’s Shinseong Gallery was a hotbed of corruption that swept away masterpieces with money laundering and bribes for Shinseong Group.

Unlike that, the Korea Hotel’s main branch focused on exhibiting and selling works by promising domestic and foreign artists that Jang Hayeon had bought.

Whether it was because of her good eye, the Korea Hotel made tens of billions to hundreds of millions of won in profits every year from painting sales, and some of the profits were distributed to the original artists or used to support the cultural world, as Jang Hayeon wished.

Naturally, the Korea Hotel became a social gathering place for not only art world figures but also prominent figures, and based on that network, Jang Hayeon grew the Korea Hotel’s hotel business and duty-free shop business into the undisputed number one.

So Jang Hayeon’s aesthetic sense, discernment, and business sense could never be ignored.

I couldn’t say that here. She wouldn’t believe me, and I couldn’t tell her because the future might change, but now a direct answer was the best answer than a rambling explanation.

“I thought of you when I saw the paintings. It’s a feeling thing?”

As I spoke while looking at her with a soft gaze, curiosity arose on Jang Hayeon’s face.

“A feeling thing? What is it?”

“A bright, warm, cozy, soft, and refreshing feeling?”

At first, I thought she collected them because they made people feel good or because of her lingering feelings about her unfulfilled dreams. But…

[Jang Hayeon, she’s a child my dad brought in from outside. If it weren’t for that bitch, the hotel would have been mine.]

I was able to understand only after hearing from Jang Suyeon on my honeymoon that Jang Hayeon was an illegitimate child. Wasn’t she trying to fill the things she couldn’t fill inside with paintings?

“Are you learning mind reading? How did you…”

Looking at me, who was lost in old thoughts, Jang Hayeon couldn’t continue speaking with her small mouth open.

Was it because she recognized her inner self? I smiled and threw a jab at her heart.

“Isn’t it more important to know Noona’s heart than to use mind reading?”

“Ugh, cheesy.”

While talking and exchanging stories while looking at Jang Hayeon’s prim face, the teacups were already empty.

“What are you going to do when you graduate?”

“I’m going to America soon. I’ll have to get my diploma at the end of next month.”

“America? What about the company? I heard from my father that the chairman praised you a lot at the Federation of Korean Industries’ New Year’s party?”

She seems to know more about my family than I do. In the meantime, Grandpa even went to the Federation of Korean Industries for the first time in a long time and told me that he had praised me, so thank you.

I nodded slowly and said to Jang Hayeon.

“I’m going to take a good rest since I made money while studying for a year. I’ll bring you a gift when I come back.”

It wasn’t just a simple compliment, so I looked at her smooth wrist.

Would Cartier be good? Would Bulgari be good? I have to buy one for men and one for women.

***

After parting with Jang Hayeon, I received a call from my grandfather and went to Samcheong-dong.

“Grandfather, it’s Sungmin.”

[Come in.]

I opened the door to the study and bowed to my grandfather, who was sitting at the ebony desk.

“Ehehehe! You rascal, did you have fun?”

“Yes?”

My heart sank at my grandfather’s sudden question as soon as I entered. Did he know I was meeting Jang Hayeon?

As cold sweat formed on my forehead in an instant, my grandfather frowned.

“What are you so surprised about when you’ve earned tens of billions in half a year? Tsk, tsk.”

“Ah… that? I wanted to surprise you, Grandpa, but you found out, haha.”

I was relieved, but I couldn’t show it, so I glossed over it with a laugh.

“Bring some refreshments.”

My grandfather watched the refreshments he had ordered through the intercom being placed on the table and moved to the sofa.

“This grandpa also invests in stocks for fun, but I’ve never earned as much as you. To make more than ₩50 billion in profits in half a year… you’re amazing.”

“No, Grandpa. I was just lucky.”

“Luck is something you can only catch if you have the skills, you rascal. I’ve lived for over seventy years and seen many guys miss the luck next to them, hehe.”

As my grandfather, who was laughing heartily, looked at me with a warm gaze, a bitter past came to mind.

Didn’t I miss Jang Hayeon, who was the best luck in my life, in the past? I will never miss that luck again.

“I will keep that in mind, Grandpa.”

“Okay. With the skills you’ve shown this time, you won’t be doing chores, will you? You’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes. I got a job as an intern, but I think I’ll be back at the end of February.”

I didn’t like lying to the most precious people, but I had to keep it a secret except for Park Taejin and Seon Haecheol.

Because the current me is just a proud grandson to my grandfather, and I’m far from being the successor to Haedong Group’s second chairman, Lee Daesu.

Furthermore, my father and Lee Myeongjin received my grandfather’s recognition by risking their lives and succeeding in the Iraq oil pipeline construction during the Iran-Iraq War. Considering that point, I had to pretend to work at another company and receive recognition.

Even while thinking about the things to come, my grandfather looked at me with regretful eyes.

“I won’t be able to see my eldest grandson’s face this Lunar New Year.”

“I’m sorry, Grandpa.”

“No. There’s a saying that suffering in youth is something you buy. Learn well and come back.”

I’ll be back, Grandpa. I’ll make you achieve the second founding with the suffering I’ll buy in America.

***

The next morning.

After finishing breakfast, Park Taejin and I arrived at Gimpo Airport, boarded an international flight to New York with Seon Haecheol, and were passing over the Pacific Ocean.

“Eurasian Airlines is good too. I thought only Juhan Airlines would be good.”

“It hasn’t been around for many years, but it’s decent enough.”

We were enjoying the comfort of first class and drinking at the in-flight lounge table.

“If the parent company is solid, it will continue to grow as long as it doesn’t overdo it, Young Master.”

“Taejin is right. It has solid cash flow with finance, real estate, and petrochemicals.”

“The advertisement is good too. The model is… Park Joomi, right?”

Eurasian Airlines is a major company of Daeho Group, a conglomerate that started as a bus company in Jeolla Province. Although it is smaller than Juhan Airlines, the industry leader, its friendly service and unique advertisements are increasing its awareness.

Above all, isn’t the current advertising model Park Joomi, who is famous for her youthful appearance? Knowing that she will be the model for the next 7 years, I was wondering if I should bet on this, but my interest disappeared after hearing Park Taejin’s words.

“Chairman’s money has been invested here quite a bit without anyone knowing. He said he would help the business run by someone from his hometown.”

“Really?”

“Almost all of it has been withdrawn now, but a lot of money was invested in the early days of its founding.”

Our family’s money had come all the way here… I couldn’t even imagine how much money my grandfather had hidden.

I took a sip of my cocktail and said to Seon Haecheol.

“Uncle, should we acquire an airline later when we make a lot of money?”

“What?”

“What’s the point of having a lot of money? There has to be something visible.”

With the money and knowledge I earn, I can prevent Eurasian Airlines from becoming a rag [failing company]. Above all, isn’t it a company that my grandfather touched?

It would be a thing of the distant future, but Seon Haecheol stared at me with a dumbfounded look as I spoke half-jokingly.

“Hey, you. Is an airline a neighborhood convenience store? How much money does it take to run it? Did you get too much strength in your shoulders because you made some money this time?”

“You never know what will happen in the future. You don’t know how much I’ll earn.”

“Is that why you used that name?”

“My name? John Davison Lee?”

Seon Haecheol chuckled and sipped his whiskey.

“Yeah. Are you the oil tycoon Rockefeller? I don’t know how much Claire and the other guys laughed.”

Seon Haecheol told me about how Claire and the members who joined the new company laughed. They said that a young friend has too big of a dream, and they wondered if he would do his job properly because of his name.

That’s understandable.

The name I’m going to use is the same first name and middle name as John Davison Rockefeller, the richest man in human history? It’s a name made with my Catholic baptismal name ‘John’ and my father’s baptismal name ‘David’.

“Dreams are better when they’re bigger, right? That way, you don’t lose your fighting spirit and you don’t get bored, hehe.”

Seon Haecheol clicked his tongue as I shrugged my shoulders and laughed nonchalantly.

“No matter how much of a gambler you are like the Chairman or Myeongwoo… haha, this is really something.”

“Isn’t being able to dream anything a privilege of being in your 20s, haha.”

Park Taejin took a sip of his martini and took my side, and Seon Haecheol frowned slightly.

“Oh? Are you taking his side because you’re his roommate?”

“I’m the Young Master’s personal secretary, haha.”

Seon Haecheol smiled and drank his alcohol as Park Taejin shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

“How’s the atmosphere?”

“Everyone is just waiting for you to come. They’re gathering together as minors [people who are not part of the mainstream] and saying they’re going to give Wall Street the finger.”

The members Seon Haecheol recruited at my request were not WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) [dominant ethnic group in American high society], who are the mainstream of American high society, even though they were good at their jobs. It seemed like they were burning with anger because the big deals that make money in the financial industry created by the Yankees were only being circulated among the WASPs.

“America is a fun country. It’s like a salad.”

“That’s right. Isn’t it a super-sized salad mixed with patriotism?”

“What if you sprinkle a dressing that’s stronger than patriotism?”

“Then they’ll be loyal to the person who sprinkled that dressing, hehe.”

Seon Haecheol replied casually, but I will pour a lot of dressing with a stronger taste on them in the future. I will make them think of me first with a dressing mixed with wealth, fame, power, and ambition.

As I drew the work I would do in the United States in the future, I confirmed the most important thing.

“What’s the shareholding ratio?”

“You have 91 percent, me and Taejin have 3 percent each. Claire and the rest of the guys have 3 percent combined.”

“Uncle, I’ve been wondering this for a while, but why did Claire Lawrence join?”

“Claire?”

“Yes. I saw what you gave me before, and it said she was in the top 5 percent of Triumph. She could have gone somewhere else…”

I secretly wanted to hear the answer, but Seon Haecheol shook his head.

“She’s a woman with a lot of stories. I can’t tell you, even if it’s you.”

How did he bring such a person into my company? In-house romance? In-house politics?

As I drank alcohol without shaking off my doubts, Seon Haecheol patted me on the shoulder.

“What’s certain is that she’s someone who will never harm you. She might even be helpful. Claire put in $5 million when she founded the company. You know?”

“I know. She also invested 1.5 percent of the stock, right? That’s why I want to see her more.”

She seems like a woman with a lot of waves… Claire Lawrence, what kind of woman is she?