Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 32

32. 10th. After Impact (3)

A few hours before Lee Sung-min and Jang Ha-yeon spoke on the phone.

As soon as Go Seung-ju finished his meal with Lee Soo-han, he called Lee Dae-soo and Tae Jae-ho to inform them of the business proposal he had received that day and headed to Samcheong-dong.

Go Seung-ju, getting out of his car in the parking lot, tilted his head, noticing more large sedans than he had anticipated.

It was customary within the group for agenda items for each business to be discussed by Lee Dae-soo and himself with the affiliate representative in charge of the relevant business in the reception room. The fact that all the core executives, who had nothing to do with this matter, were gathered… it felt ominous.

Go Seung-ju went into the main building, confirmed with the house manager that Bae Jae-hoon, Jo Young-chan, and Lee Myung-jin had also entered, and then went into the reception room.

“You’ve had a long day coming here. I heard you met Lee Soo-han for dinner?”

“Yes.”

After answering, Go Seung-ju subtly scanned the faces of Bae Jae-hoon, Tae Jae-ho, Jo Young-chan, and Lee Myung-jin. They didn’t seem to know why these members had gathered, even though it was a distribution sector business.

Lee Dae-soo, oblivious to the atmosphere, opened his mouth.

“I see. Give me what Lee Soo-han handed over.”

After receiving the documents from Go Seung-ju, Lee Dae-soo put on the magnifying glasses on the table and examined the documents with hawk-like eyes.

“That bastard Hogun is trying to catch his sister and in-laws by dragging in my own flesh and blood. It’s quite expensive to borrow my own flesh and blood, but… damn it.”

Bae Jae-hoon, flustered by Lee Dae-soo’s rough tone after taking off his glasses, asked,

“What do you mean, Chairman? Chairman Jang Ho-gun’s in-laws… ?”

“I’m talking about the Hwang family of the Choguk Ilbo [a major newspaper]. It seems like he’s planning to send a warning to those bug-like bastards.”

Bae Jae-hoon and the others did not understand Lee Dae-soo’s thoughts.

It was an open secret in the business world that the Hwang family had stolen the Choguk Ilbo shares, which were Shinsung Group’s hidden assets. They knew Jang Ho-gun was keeping them in check, but why was Lee Sung-min needed?

“Please explain it in more detail, Chairman.”

This time, Tae Jae-ho exchanged glances with Bae Jae-hoon and then asked Lee Dae-soo.

Although he seemed like a friendly neighborhood uncle among the employees, he couldn’t tolerate even the slightest flaw. Wasn’t this the business he was in charge of?

Lee Dae-soo sighed and looked at Bae Jae-hoon, asking,

“You know Jang Ho-gun’s eldest daughter, right?”

“Are you talking about Jang Ha-yeon of Korea Hotel? The one that every chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] family is after?”

“That’s right. Her mind, appearance, and demeanor are comparable to our eldest grandson.”

Not only Bae Jae-hoon but also the four people nodded at Lee Dae-soo’s words. It was Lee Dae-soo’s assessment, who had no personal feelings when it came to judging people, but wasn’t Jang Ha-yeon a publicly recognized top marriage prospect in the business world?

“But that child, Jang Ho-gun brought her in from outside when she was a baby. She’s not from the Hwang family’s bloodline.”

“Yes?”

Unlike Go Seung-ju and Lee Myung-jin, who knew about it from the Gangnam Terminal incident, the three CEOs were stunned by Lee Dae-soo’s words. Jang Ha-yeon, whom Jang Ho-gun was so proud of, was an illegitimate child? Even those who had shared joys and sorrows with Lee Dae-soo for over 30 years were hearing this from Lee Dae-soo for the first time.

Lee Dae-soo raised his hand to calm them down.

“There’s no need to make a fuss. Don’t breathe a word of it to anyone. Seung-ju and Myung-jin, the two of you as well.”

Everyone changed their expressions after seeing Lee Dae-soo’s piercing gaze. They were overwhelmed by a sense of pressure that they should never speak of it.

***

Standing in front of the five nervous people, Lee Dae-soo continued in a calm voice.

“Hogun wants to show the Hwang family that he has my grandson next to that child. That way, they won’t even think about doing anything foolish. It would be even better if my grandson became his son-in-law.”

Now the faces of the five people seemed to grasp the situation. They had instigated it, but to think that Haedong Group had fallen so low that he would throw money at them and try to use his daughter as a shield!

Whether Lee Sung-min became his son-in-law or not was not important. No insult could be greater than this.

Tae Jae-ho, with a stiff face, said to Lee Dae-soo,

“I won’t do this business, Hyung-nim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend]. That bastard Jang Ho-gun… he’s treating us like pushovers!”

His temper, which he had been managing well since becoming CEO, finally erupted. To use the company and Lee Dae-soo’s eldest grandson, to whom he had devoted his youth while serving Lee Dae-soo like an older brother, as mere objects… As if his name couldn’t be hidden, Tae Jae-ho growled like a tiger in his younger days.

“Calm down, Jae-ho. What’s wrong with you when Hyung-nim is staying still?”

Unlike Bae Jae-hoon, who sharply pointed out Tae Jae-ho’s behavior, Jo Young-chan gently soothed Tae Jae-ho.

“Don’t be too angry, Hyung-nim. Seung-ju and Myung-jin are holding back, aren’t they?”

“No, President. It’s my fault for not knowing it was this kind of deal.”

Go Seung-ju, realizing his mistake, waved his hand with a flushed face, but this time Lee Myung-jin comforted him.

“Why is it your fault, Hyung-nim? Jang Ho-gun is no ordinary snake… I’m sorry, Father.”

Lee Myung-jin quickly bowed his head after seeing Lee Dae-soo’s stern expression while mocking Jang Ho-gun. Seeing this, the three CEOs also cleared their throats or lowered their eyes with awkward expressions.

An chaotic atmosphere that other groups could not even imagine.

It was possible because those not in this room, including Park Tae-jin and Sun Hae-cheol, as well as Lee Myung-woo, who had passed away, were not ordinary people.

They had all lived like parents, siblings, and teachers and disciples, beyond the positions of owner and employees, so they were angry, comforted, and apologized as if it were their own business.

Lee Dae-soo, the eldest of them, relaxed his expression as if understanding everyone and opened his mouth.

“Do you all remember? What Myung-woo and Hogun wrote.”

“Are you talking about that…?”

“Yes.”

Lee Dae-soo nodded at Bae Jae-hoon’s answer, then got up from his seat and walked to the desk, returning to his seat with a faded yellow envelope from the drawer.

The expressions of the five people hardened as they saw the envelope with two fingerprints on the table with a thud.

When Lee Myung-woo and his wife died and Lee Sung-min fainted, didn’t those in this room, along with Sun Hae-cheol and Park Tae-jin, personally search Lee Sung-min’s, or rather Lee Myung-woo’s, house in Itaewon to find that? Because other people shouldn’t know.

Lee Dae-soo tapped the envelope with his fingertips and said,

“As you all know, this contains a written oath that Myung-woo and Hogun would marry off their children. The reason I hid this was not because of Ha-yeon, but because I didn’t like that child’s father. I thought he would devour my grandson and eat away at our family…”

He trailed off, then wore a gentle smile. That smile held anticipation.

“If my grandson continues to grow as he is now, he won’t be devoured. He might even devour Shinsung. You can think of it as getting back the money taken by Hyung-nim Byungho with interest, hehe.”

The fact that they had just made such a fuss because of Lee Dae-soo, but the person responsible was saying this and laughing… The five people couldn’t hide their bewildered feelings.

Lee Dae-soo looked at them with a mischievous smile.

“You all know that my grandson has changed since last year, right? Seung-ju protected our money last year, so I think he’ll be able to stretch his legs and sleep well when he gets home… Jae-hoon, is the Kazakhstan business going well?”

Suddenly the story of the business came out, but Bae Jae-hoon straightened his back as if showing confidence.

“We’ve decided to invest 250 million dollars in April next year and receive 50 percent of the shares. We’ve favorably concluded local political and business rebates and worker wage negotiations, and dividends will be paid from the third year after the investment.”

Acquiring the rights to the Kazakhstan copper mine business was a celebration for the trading division led by Bae Jae-hoon. Although it would be announced to the media in April next year, they were expecting to receive more than 100 million dollars in dividends every year from the third year.

Lee Dae-soo, nodding with a pleased expression, called Lee Myung-jin.

“Myung-jin, you’re having fun these days too, right?”

“Yes, Father. The Gangnam Terminal construction is also going smoothly, and if the Seocho-dong residential complex is completed by the end of ’96 and the sale is completed, we’ll take 70 percent of the profits. The safety diagnosis service is also proceeding without a hitch for the Seongsu Bridge, Gwangjin Bridge, Hapjeong Station, and Dangsan Railway Bridge reconstruction.”

Lee Myung-jin had nothing more to wish for if things continued as they were these days.

Haedong Construction was pouring money into various construction orders, safety diagnosis services, demolition, and reconstruction. Steel, heavy industry, and cement also saw a significant increase in performance related to equipment supply and construction equipment, so employees were expecting how much bonus they would receive.

“Jin-ho Hyung-nim’s family must be quite desperate because of the Iraqi accounts receivable. To be satisfied with only 30 percent, hehe.”

Lee Dae-soo chuckled, feeling pleased that he had humiliated Myung Jin-ho’s Taehyun Group, who had taken as much money as Jang Byung-ho, and then called Jo Young-chan.

“Young-chan, are you managing the Jonggeum profits well?”

“Thanks to giving money to Myung-jin’s side and lending money to Shinsung Electronics, nouveau riche [newly rich] bastards come to the window with wads of cash every day. Interest income is also good thanks to Sung-min’s stock-backed loans. It’s a bit of a shame that we’ve laid out loans to food companies, but aren’t you going to deposit the money as we earn it? Haha.”

Only after confirming that even Jo Young-chan was satisfied did Lee Dae-soo look at Tae Jae-ho with a subtle gaze.

“Jae-ho, are you really not going to take Shinsung’s deals?”

Tae Jae-ho licked his lips. Everyone was having fun getting involved with Lee Sung-min, but wasn’t he the only exception? Even ‘Big Brother’ had relieved his worries about his eldest grandson, so there was no reason not to.

“Geez, I feel like I’d be a fool if I didn’t… I’ll do it. I’ll do it, hehe.”

“Thank you. After the department store business is over, I’ll attach my eldest grandson when you open the discount store next year.”

As Tae Jae-ho let out a hearty laugh as if he had lost, Lee Dae-soo showed a satisfied expression and called Go Seung-ju.

“Seung-ju, meet Lee Soo-han and say that if Sung-min and Ha-yeon get married, Shinsung will receive consulting on the condition that they don’t do the distribution business. The Yeongdeungpo shopping mall was contracted before, so there’s no way around it, but if Jang Ho-gun is going to use my grandson as a shield for his daughter, the math has to add up, right?”

It was an absurd condition, but Lee Dae-soo was confident.

Even ordinary people are unhappy when their spouse gives their family or in-laws money to live on. Even for chaebols, it’s the same when that ‘living’ is changed to a business or affiliate. It’s the same thing.

Realizing this, Bae Jae-hoon smiled.

“You’re planning to stab him by aiming for Jang Ho-gun’s marriage agreement, aren’t you?”

“That’s right. Jang Ho-gun will be more desperate than me. Isn’t there no one in that family to protect Ha-yeon? Jang Ho-gun can’t openly protect her because of his in-laws, hehe.”

To Lee Dae-soo, Jang Ho-gun was like Sun Wukong [the Monkey King from Journey to the West] in the palm of Buddha’s hand. That’s why Lee Dae-soo was making such unreasonable demands.

“Even if he still wants to keep my grandson as his son-in-law after all this, he’ll give up the distribution business. If he withdraws from the work he started because he doesn’t like that, he’ll lose face, and he’ll be kicking out the only guy who will cherish and protect his daughter, so he’ll have a headache.”

“Still, Father, if you do that, Sung-min will…”

Lee Dae-soo raised his hand to Lee Myung-jin, who was worried about his nephew, and stopped him from speaking.

“Of course, even if the deal falls through, I’ll entrust the consulting to the two children. There’s no other woman as suitable for our grandson as Ha-yeon. If that happens, Ha-yeon and Jang Ho-gun will owe our family, and the relationship between the two will deteriorate, so Jang Ho-gun won’t be able to eat away at our family.”

Everyone nodded, looking at Lee Dae-soo with knowing eyes.

Wasn’t he trying to prevent Jang Ho-gun from gaining a foothold in the distribution business or preventing Jang Ha-yeon from carrying the family’s wealth to Shinsung when she became the eldest grandson’s daughter-in-law? Whether voluntarily or involuntarily.

Either way, it was Lee Dae-soo’s way of resolving his resentment towards Jang Ho-gun, who was indirectly responsible for Lee Myung-woo’s death. Go Seung-ju, who knew that fact well, nodded.

“I understand, Chairman. I’ll contact you as soon as I prepare the proposal.”

Seeing Go Seung-ju accepting his intentions, Lee Dae-soo said for the last time.

“If my grandson doesn’t seem like he’ll be eaten up in that family, I’ll let him do as he wants. Keep the story of the marriage agreement buried until I say so.”

With those words, Lee Dae-soo sent the five men out and picked up the phone.

“It’s your grandpa. Shall we have breakfast tomorrow morning and have a cup of tea in the reception room?”

He had let him go at the age of twenty, telling him to take responsibility for his own words and actions, but tomorrow he wanted to call his eldest grandson and check his true feelings.

***

The next morning.

Having received a sudden call from my grandfather, Park Tae-jin and I entered Samcheong-dong with tension.

Throughout the meal, my grandfather, Go Seung-ju, and Lee Myung-jin looked at me with different, meaningful eyes and smiled, making me feel like I was going to get indigestion.

After the meal, Go Seung-ju and Lee Myung-jin went to the company, Park Tae-jin went to the detached house, and I went to the reception room with my grandfather to drink tea.

“It’s been almost half a year since our puppy wore his graduation cap. What have you been up to?”

“I’m studying distribution, logistics, and textile materials, Grandfather.”

These days, I was spending my days organizing the future trends of the three industries by recalling my memories.

If what I heard from Park Tae-jin was correct, the resource development and heavy industry-related businesses of Haedong Corporation’s trading division were also progressing smoothly, so I had to take care of the remaining food.

Grandfather opened his mouth with a stern expression.

“Don’t just study, exercise and get some fresh air. If you just stick to your desk, you’ll ruin your body, you bastard.”

“Even if I don’t, I exercise for two hours every morning. I also spar with Tae-jin Hyung.”

I knew my grandfather was worried, but I was doing well on my own.

The reason my body endured even after working like a dog in my previous life was thanks to exercising with Park Tae-jin for two hours a day.

Because of this, every day since my body recovered, I had been doing three major weightlifting exercises after stretching from dawn, or sparring with judo, taekwondo, or kendo that I had learned from Park Tae-jin.

Perhaps because his worries were unfounded, my grandfather cleared his throat and drank his tea.

“Hmm… still, I hope our eldest grandson will start his social life as soon as possible. Have you heard anything from the company you worked for before?”

I was a little taken aback, but I continued to answer my grandfather’s question as if water was flowing.

“I heard they’re in the process of hiring. I heard it will be late because of the American university system.”

“Those Yankee bastards are arrogant now as they were during the 6.25 War [Korean War]. It was an eyesore to see them throwing chocolates at children like they were zoo monkeys… Ugh, damn bastards.”

My grandfather frowned and grumbled, perhaps recalling the days when he served as an interpreter officer during the Korean War. Seeing that, I suddenly had something on my mind and asked.

“Grandfather, why did you join the army back then?”

“Why are you asking?”

“You didn’t have to go with our family’s wealth back then. I heard from my father that even the gold and land documents that I received from the Japanese right before liberation while giving them food and cloth were enormous…”

It was something I had always been curious about in my previous life.

If I had gathered all the assets and all the employees in the Haedong Corporation stores or branches across the country with my great-grandfather at the Busan branch right before the war, I wouldn’t have had to go to the army… Why did you do that?

Grandfather wiped the smile off his face and said with a stern face.

“It’s all in the past. I’ll tell you when the time comes.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“That’s right… Yesterday, I heard from Chief Go about the deal that the Shinsung bastards offered. You asked Ha-yeon for it first, didn’t you?”

It was the question I had been waiting for, so I answered calmly.

“I asked to cover the investment costs for the discount store business starting in the fall. Even if our family and Shinsung are enemies, isn’t it an opportunity to make money? It also erases suspicions of private loan funds.”

I am the eldest grandson of the family that is known as the first in the country to have a lot of cash. Even I was doing odd jobs, so Jang Ho-gun would be convinced that our family’s private loan funds had been smashed.

Grandfather was already looking at me with crescent eyes and exclaimed.

“Hooh… you thought that far?”

“Yes, Grandfather. Isn’t there anything as exhilarating as deceiving the enemy and stealing their coffers?”

“That’s right. It’s important to keep my people warm and full, but I have to make sure that my enemies starve three meals a day. It’s even better if you put up a smokescreen, hehe.”

Seeing him laughing heartily, I had a feeling that things would go well.

And that feeling was not wrong.

“Chief Go will meet Lee Soo-han and handle it well. I’ll let you know when you sign the contract, so prepare diligently.”

Listening to my grandfather’s words, it seemed that the department store consulting would be successful. I wonder how good Jang Ha-yeon’s skills are?