“Ah, Kang Hyun. I could have cleaned it myself.”
The housekeeper, who was collecting laundry, widened her eyes at the sight of the clean room.
“How old do you think I am to let someone else wash my underwear? Counting my past life, I’ve already hit fifty.”
However, the housekeeper still looked apologetic. While she found Kang Hyun admirable, she must have also felt uncomfortable.
“Ma’am, you know my family runs a laundry, right? If I don’t do the cleaning and laundry myself, my body aches. So, there’s no need to feel too sorry.”
At Kang Hyun’s words, the housekeeper’s eyes became moist. She had worked as a housekeeper for many years at the grandfather’s house. Naturally, she had known his mother as well.
The housekeeper wiped her eyes with her sleeve and quickly smiled.
“Kang Hyun, if there’s anything you want to eat, just let me know anytime.”
She treated him affectionately, almost like her own son.
“Kang Hyun, it’s time for breakfast.”
Seeing the table filled with food each mealtime reminded him of his past life.
During his days at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, whenever he went down to the countryside, his mother would prepare a feast that could break the table legs.
But I always barely ate, ignoring my mother’s dedication. What an ungrateful child I was.
Grandfather subtly moved the meat side dish in front of him to my side.
“Eat a lot.”
Grandfather said this single short sentence and continued his meal.
As the meal was coming to an end, the housekeeper brought out a tray with a cup of coffee and a cup of orange juice. The morning newspaper for grandfather was, of course, essential.
“Hyun, we’ll be having dinner outside today, just so you know.”
At grandfather’s sudden words, I looked up.
If it were an ordinary meal out, he wouldn’t have mentioned it separately.
No way.
‘Today is that day.’
A banquet where the third-generation heirs of conglomerates are invited.
A gathering that was only passed down as a secret among the affluent families. It was a gathering where not a single conglomerate group in South Korea was absent. Except for the founders, all the attendees were definite successors of their companies.
A gathering of people who would control the future of South Korea. Although I wasn’t too thrilled, having seen the affluent families up close in my past life, I was curious about how the legendary banquet would be.
“Hyun, today you will go to the company with grandpa, so get ready.”
“What?”
I almost choked on my orange juice and asked again.
“You little rascal, why are you so surprised? Didn’t you mention before that chemistry would be the material for future industries? If I had known you were so interested in chemistry, I would have shown you around the company much earlier.”
Grandfather smiled at me. Sweat beads formed on my back as if worms were crawling.
My grandfather must have been particularly touched by my thoughts, which I had expressed based on a liberal arts course I took during my college years when I was very interested in chemistry.
Dongju.
The factory site of Dongju Chemical was on par with subsidiaries of other conglomerate groups.
It was not for nothing that they were at the forefront of South Korea’s chemical industry. Additionally, my grandfather had arranged a field trip program for middle and high school students as part of social contribution activities, which attracted many talented individuals to Dongju.
Since the 1980s, he had been engaged in such activities, which could only be described as remarkable.
“Chairman, you’re here.”
My eldest and youngest uncles hurriedly came out to greet my grandfather. The executives were with them.
My uncles glared at me for accompanying my grandfather. But they quickly fixed their expressions, not wanting grandfather to notice. However, I didn’t miss that brief moment.
To think they felt so threatened by their young nephew, how foolish.
“Hyun, do you know what kind of factories will be built over there?”
Grandfather pointed to a place where civil engineering work was in full swing. They were leveling the ground by cutting through the hills.
In my past life, I had looked into Dongju Chemical. I wanted to find out how the company was run since it was absorbed by foreign capital less than five years after my grandfather passed away. By now, it must be.
‘A factory to produce circuit materials, photoresists, and polarizer plates, I guess.’
My grandfather was pushing ahead with building a factory for electronic product materials, foreseeing the future.
It was a brilliant choice, considering the future. But I heard that my uncles, filled with greed and ignorance, sold those factories after grandfather passed away. They gave up on the research because the business wasn’t immediately profitable. What a bunch of fools.
“Hmm. Future industry?”
I didn’t explain in detail. It didn’t make sense for a young grandson to know about display raw materials, and I didn’t want to give grandfather any unnecessary expectations.
“Yes, that’s right. Starting from that place, Dongju will spread its new wings.”
Grandfather seemed greatly satisfied with my answer. However, the faces of my uncles standing behind him frowned more and more.
“Executive Yoo. What do you think the future of the chemical industry will be like?”
At grandfather’s sudden question, my eldest uncle widened his eyes. He didn’t expect the question to be directed at him. The following executives stopped walking and perked up their ears.
“Like other industries, I think we should focus on high value-added industries. I believe the establishment of the display material factory that you, Chairman, are pushing is an excellent decision.”
“High value-added, huh? What do you think is necessary to achieve high value-added in the chemical industry?”
The questions continued like a riddle.
My eldest uncle’s face was covered in cold sweat. Even meeting his father privately was scary, but facing him in this formal setting made his mind go blank, like a child.
“Uh, I think we need to recruit a lot of talented individuals.”
Grandfather’s expression darkened. My youngest uncle also seemed tense. The executives were swallowing nervously.
‘Tsk.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly. What did he learn in college to give such a one-dimensional answer to grandfather’s question?
Even though it was the 90s when on-the-fly management prevailed, for someone who had risen to the position of executive, to stammer like that.
At that moment, grandfather looked at me with a peculiar gaze. As if asking, do you know the answer, Kang Hyun? I avoided his gaze with a cough.
It’s not that I didn’t know the answer.
‘The cash cow for the chemical industry differs from other industries.’
The chemical industry is fundamentally different from the electronics and automotive industries.
Unlike traditional industries that constantly release new products and build new conveyor belts in factories, the chemical industry continuously builds the foundation for future industries based on basic materials.
In short, nurturing existing talents was much more necessary than creating new ones.
How do I know this so well?
Because I had seen the inside stories while cleaning up after the Jeil Group’s mess in the legal team in my past life.
Later, Jeil Group naturally extended its reach to chemical technologies, and the competition to recruit chemical engineers from rival groups was intense.
Have you ever heard of a war without gunfire? I was right in the middle of it.
Grandfather glared at my eldest uncle and then walked away. My eldest uncle’s face was full of distress, while my youngest uncle looked relieved that the question didn’t come to him. But then.
‘I think I’ve seen him somewhere.’
One of the executives standing behind my youngest uncle looked familiar.
“Hyun, what do you think of grandpa’s office?”
Grandfather personally showed me around the chairman’s office. It was distinctly different from the offices of other companies’ chairmen in its simplicity.
It’s not that it was small. The bookshelf filled with well-thumbed books, the old desk, and the sofa showing signs of age all reflected grandfather’s character.
On the old desk, there was a frame with family photos. The one that stood out the most was a childhood photo of my mother holding a violin.
‘As expected, grandfather misses mother.’
While I was carefully examining the chairman’s office.
“Hyun, what do you think management is?”
Grandfather looked at me with a serious face and asked. This felt strange. It seemed like grandfather was deep in thought after my eldest uncle’s unsatisfactory answers.
What should I say?
“Isn’t it about making sure everyone lives well?”
It was a simple answer, but in a way, it was the most appropriate answer a 14-year-old boy could give.
I had no great desire for business. I had already lived a life full of vanity; I didn’t want to cling to materialism and power again.
“Grandfather.”
There was one thing I wanted to change if I could alter the past.
“You told Yooha’s grandfather last time. That having something beyond one’s means is worse than being short of it. I think that’s true.”
My eldest and youngest uncles were people for whom even the position of executive was too much. For the future of Dongju Chemical, it was right to let professional managers handle the management later.
Grandfather looked at me with a peculiar gaze.
“I wish our Hyun was older.”
Grandfather’s voice was filled with genuine regret.
At that moment, something caught my eye.
“Grandfather, is that a turntable?”
An LP turntable from the past. A relic that disappeared with the advent of cassette tapes and CDs.
Even though it was decades ago, there weren’t many places still using turntables. Maybe at a live cafe in Misari.
“You know what a turntable is, Hyun. There are many LP records here.”
Grandfather opened a drawer next to the turntable. It was filled with LP records, each one immaculately clean without a speck of dust.
“Grandpa enjoys listening to music here.”
I never imagined grandfather had such a hobby. Seeing me staring intently at the LP records, grandfather picked one from the numerous records.
It was a plain blue record with no writing on the album jacket. As I wondered what song it was, grandfather carefully placed the LP record on the turntable.
Tick.
As the turntable’s tonearm touched the grooves of the LP record, there was a moment of silence.
I was momentarily captivated by the analog scene, then came to my senses at the sound of the music.
The serene melody of the violin and the piano keys.
“Beethoven’s Violin Sonata Spring, 1st Movement.”
A violin piece that arguably best reflects Beethoven’s character.
The refreshing and sweet melody gently tickled my ears, and the harmony between the violin and piano accompaniment was perfect. They synchronized their tempos, speeding up and slowing down together as if running a three-legged race. It was like watching forsythia bloom and flower seeds scatter in the light spring breeze.
However.
‘Not a professional.’
The piano keys were following the violin. A subtle difference. As the violin’s melody slowed and the beat faltered, the piano filled the gaps like a ghost.
This happens when there’s a significant skill difference. However, even an amateur would find it hard to distinguish this performance from that of a competent violinist.
When the performance ended.
Grandfather looked at me with a curious expression, surprised that I knew the title of the piece.
It was a famous violin sonata, but it was unusual for a 14-year-old, who could be considered a classical music novice, to know the title.
I wondered if he knew who performed this piece.
“This performance.”
Gulp.
“Was done by mother, right?”
