“Grandfather—!”
With a desperate shout, they rushed to the bedside. Chairman Wang’s fingers were weak but clearly moving.
At first, they thought it was merely a reaction to the voice. But upon closer inspection, it seemed as if he were writing letters with his movements.
Deok德…?
Focusing intently on the movement of his fingers, they observed closely several times. Indeed, Chairman Wang was arduously writing the Chinese character for “Deok德.”
It was baffling. Isn’t virtue about realizing moral and ethical ideals? No matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn’t figure out what Chairman Wang’s message meant.
“Grandfather, what does this mean? Virtue?!”
There was no way an answer would come. At that moment,
Beep beep beep beep!
The vital signs, directly connected to life, started shaking as if there was an earthquake.
The once tranquil room was quickly filled with the sounds of machines beeping.
With a clatter from outside, the attending physician and nurse hurriedly rushed into Chairman Wang’s bedroom.
“Please step out for a moment!”
With the old doctor’s stern order, they were practically chased out of the bedroom.
Their hands were covered in cold sweat, while their mouths felt dry as if filled with salt.
The housekeeper and the bodyguards were in the same state. All of them were nervously waiting for the doctor to come out of the bedroom.
How much time had passed? Thirty minutes felt like half a day.
“Whew.”
The old doctor came out of the bedroom, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“Chairman Wang’s vital signs were unstable due to the sudden expenditure of energy. For now, the only measure we can take is ensuring he gets plenty of rest. It’s important to avoid any contact with others and not to stimulate him.”
“Doctor, is there no way he can recover through internal medicine?”
“Although Chairman Wang is in better health compared to others his age, he is still elderly, so we can’t hastily decide on surgery. Even if surgery becomes necessary, it would be wiser to do so after he has sufficiently recovered his condition. But for now, his condition is improving, so as I mentioned before, avoiding any stimulation to the Chairman is the top priority.”
The housekeeper nodded as if she were part of a national rescue team.
There was no way to meet Chairman Wang anymore. The only solace was that he was safe for now.
However.
Deok德.
Until they left the Pyeongchang-dong mansion, the image of Chairman Wang’s wrinkled fingers and the character for virtue kept echoing in their mind, like a reverberation on a mountainside.
“Professor, what do you think about the Jeil Group?”
It was free discussion time in a law elective class. The topic was current affairs.
Professor Jung’s expression stiffened for a moment at a student’s question. No one in the room, except for the student and me, knew that he was a scholarship student of the Jeil Group.
“Jeil Group is undoubtedly one of the top companies in Korea. However, from a legal standpoint, it is true that Korean companies still have shortcomings. Compared to advanced countries, our legal systems are incomplete, and the lack of punitive damages results in indiscriminate side effects. This is one of the challenges Korea needs to address in the future.”
“What do you think about Chairman Son Jangwon collapsing?”
“Ahem.”
The student who asked the question was usually inquisitive. And wasn’t this a free discussion?
The biggest issue in Korea at the moment was none other than Chairman Wang’s hospitalization.
Professor Jung paused for a moment before speaking.
“Chairman Son Jangwon is not only the head of the Jeil Group but also a symbolic figure representing Korea’s business community. His current hospitalization is a significant issue. However, in my view, the Jeil Group may sway in the storm, but it will not collapse. This is because the management system of the Jeil Group has already been established by Chairman Son Jangwon’s successor, President Son Ilseon.”
It seemed Professor Jung was aligned with Chairman Wang and President Son Ilseon. The free discussion continued.
At first, the students were hesitant, but as time went on, they began to ask me many questions. Even if the questions were not related to current affairs, I answered them willingly within my capacity.
However, as time went on, the questions became increasingly excessive. If Professor Jung hadn’t given a stern look to the students, it would have felt like a fan meeting. After all, weren’t they looking at me as if I were a celebrity?
“I’m back.”
After class, I returned straight to the Ichon-dong mansion. I wanted to drive my favorite car to Namhansanseong, but I couldn’t. The character for virtue that Chairman Wang had written with his finger kept lingering in my mind.
“Kang Hyun, did you have dinner?”
“I had dinner with a friend at school.”
“Oh, I made galbijjim for you.”
“Thank you for the thought, ma’am.”
I couldn’t make the housekeeper set the table twice. Besides, the university cafeteria food I hadn’t had in decades tasted quite good.
But my mother and grandfather were nowhere to be seen.
As I walked to the living room, I saw my grandfather staring at the TV screen with an unusually serious expression. My mother and father were also looking at the screen with tense faces.
[Evidence related to Jeil Electronics’ accounting fraud has been reported to the prosecution. According to the information disclosed by the prosecution, an anonymous informant provided key details related to the accounting fraud at Jeil Electronics, and the prosecution deemed this information credible, leading to the arrest of Jeil Electronics President Son Ilseon, who was already under investigation for accounting fraud. With another storm expected in the stock market tomorrow, let’s connect with the reporter on the scene.]
The nine o’clock news anchor, with a tense face, announced the arrest of Jeil Electronics President Son Ilseon to the world.
My father’s face was clearly showing signs of shock. It was understandable, as he never imagined that the prosecution would go head-to-head with Jeil Electronics President Son Ilseon.
Moreover, additional evidence related to the accounting fraud had been reported.
Son Gangwook had started to take serious action.
“The meat is really delicious, isn’t it?”
The steak was so juicy that it oozed with a bright red hue.
Son Gangwook was eating the steak very deliciously with a sharp knife.
With the scenery coming through the glass windows of the high-rise building, it was almost comparable to a royal feast.
“This is freshly caught Korean beef from Hoengseong. I specially ordered it for you all. Since there are many people, the expense was high, but what can I do? I held back for the beloved executives. Please, help yourselves. Hahaha.”
Of course, even for a second-generation chaebol, buying Hoengseong Korean beef wouldn’t have cost that much, but Son Gangwook spoke with a sincere expression.
Lined up around the long dining table were middle-aged men with bitter expressions. Despite eating fatty beef, their faces looked as if they were eating persimmons, all showing dissatisfaction.
“Chef, please bring some soju here.”
With Son Gangwook’s words, soju glasses and green bottles, which seemed out of place, were placed on the dining table.
Son Gangwook personally got up, picked up a soju bottle, and poured it into the glasses.
“I don’t have a taste for wine. For Koreans, isn’t it soju with meat? Everyone, let’s drink together.”
Son Gangwook lifted his soju glass and gulped it down.
“Ah, sweet.”
Although the soju had a high alcohol content, he looked as blissful as if he had eaten chocolate.
On the other hand, the executives’ faces were still uneasy. It was like they were at an uninvited funeral rather than a dinner party.
“I know why you’re all upset. It’s because my brother was arrested. Since you were all in the same boat as my brother, you must have felt a lot of psychological pressure these past few days.”
“Executive Son, why did you call us here?”
“Good question! Director Kim.”
One of the executives asked Son Gangwook with determination.
“I know all the problems of the executives sitting here. To put it nicely, they’re problems. To put it bluntly, they’re corruptions.”
“Executive Son, that’s harsh!”
“Director Kim, harshness hasn’t even started yet. With my brother arrested, not only the reputation Jeil Group has built but also the stock price is shaking. Honestly, I can’t understand people like you who are rife with corruption. If it were up to me, I’d want to fire you all right now, but what can I do? For now, I have to be satisfied with just sending my brother away.”
Son Gangwook’s expression, which had been playful until a moment ago, suddenly changed.
The aura emanating from his tall stature and his deep eyes, reminiscent of a tiger, were enough to remind one of Chairman Wang.
The executives, who had been eyeing each other nervously, fell silent. At that moment,
“I’ll be blunt. I’m giving you all a chance.”
“A chance?”
“Yes. Everyone makes mistakes, and it’s okay as long as you don’t repeat them. This applies only to those who seize the opportunity. Who’s going to be first?”
“What do you mean, Executive Son?”
The executives’ faces were filled with tension. Seeing this, Son Gangwook put down his soju glass with a faint smile.
“Who’s going to betray my brother first?”
It felt like the calm before the storm. Ever since President Son Ilseon’s arrest was confirmed, the stock market had been shaking like waves.
But it didn’t seem like it would end here. Of course, Son Gangwook wouldn’t cause such a big stir without any plan.
‘He’s planning to make a decisive move while President Son Ilseon is detained.’
Didn’t they say that when the tiger is away, the fox becomes the king?
But Son Gangwook wasn’t a fox; he was another tiger. A very cunning and shrewd tiger.
He would mercilessly reveal his claws to seize the vacant Jeil Group.
Damn it!
At this rate, history would indeed change. Chairman Wang had collapsed, and President Son Ilseon was arrested. It was different from the life I knew. I couldn’t let this continue.
“Hyun, what brings you here at this late hour?”
It was dusk. The reason I visited my grandfather’s study was simple. It was to unravel the secret that had been entangling my mind.
I explained everything that had happened at the Pyeongchang-dong mansion to my grandfather without leaving out a single detail.
“Deok虎?”
“Yes, Yooha’s grandfather definitely wrote that character with his finger.”
“Deok虎…”
My grandfather furrowed his brows, deep in thought. But no answer came.
Of course, it was too little a clue to infer anything just from the character for virtue.
However, Chairman Wang wouldn’t have written it without a reason. At that moment,
“Could it be?”
My grandfather’s furrowed brows relaxed as he spoke.
“Is he referring to Teacher Deoksu德水?”
“Teacher Deoksu德水?”
“Yes, you wouldn’t know, but a long time ago, there was someone who helped Chairman Son a lot.”
Who could he be talking about? During my time as a Jeil Group scholarship student, didn’t I memorize Chairman Wang’s autobiography?
But there was no mention of Deoksu in Chairman Wang’s autobiography.
“When Chairman Son was establishing Jeil Trading, the predecessor of Jeil Group, Teacher Deoksu helped him a lot. Chairman Son, who was a wholesaler in Hamgyeongbuk-do, was able to safely grow Jeil Trading in Seoul thanks to Teacher Deoksu’s help. For Chairman Son, Teacher Deoksu was probably like a mentor or a father figure.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard of this.”
“Of course, he didn’t like to reveal himself, so I’ve never met him in person either. I only heard about him occasionally when Chairman Son and I would share a drink. Chairman Son used to say that Teacher Deoksu had much better insight and skills than he did.”
I couldn’t believe it. The titles used to describe Chairman Wang were numerous. He was called the king of investment, a sage, and even a master of management.
It was hard to believe that there was someone in Korea so outstanding that Chairman Wang belittled himself in comparison.
“It seems Chairman Son wants you to meet Teacher Deoksu.”
“Grandfather, that doesn’t make sense.”
Of course, wasn’t he the mentor Chairman Wang revered? If he were alive, he would be as old as Kim Namcheon, if not older.
It was hard to believe he was still alive, given his age.
“Why doesn’t it make sense?”
“Sorry?”
My grandfather said firmly.
“Teacher Deoksu is still alive.”
