Chapter 2: The Cruel Truth
“CEO, is something the matter?”
“Director Gim, it’s nothing serious, but do you know which prison former Vice Chairman I Seongho is currently in?”
“Yes, his three-year prison sentence has been finalized, and he is currently in Uijeongbu Prison.”
“Only three years… He truly is a meticulous man. How thoroughly did he prepare… Anyway, I would like to see former Vice Chairman I Seongho one last time. Could you arrange a visit for me?”
“Yes, I’ll take care of it right away on our way out. Please head to the main gate now. I’ll have a vehicle prepared.”
Director Gim immediately pulled out his phone, made calls here and there, and guided me to the main gate.
He was truly a capable man. With his wide network and deep knowledge of the company’s affairs, even if he weren’t in his current position as chief secretary, he wouldn’t need to worry about his future. Chairman Gang had coveted him as well, so he could even end up as Chairman Gang’s chief secretary.
* * *
Separated by the bars of the visiting room, I Seongho’s face, seen after a long time, looked calmer than I had expected. Even as he faced me, his expression showed not a hint of agitation.
“Seho, I was surprised you suddenly requested a visit. I thought we were past the point of seeing each other?”
“…I stepped down from my position as CEO today. I’ve also surrendered all of my shares.”
“Keke, I see. Even from in here, all sorts of rumors reach me. You were in acquisition negotiations with those KMM bastards, weren’t you? Those guys are truly ruthless. They’ll use every means possible to lower the price by even a penny. Still, any ordinary chaebol would never accept such terms. That is so like you.”
“Letting go of the group like that gave me a strange feeling. At first, I thought my world was collapsing. It’s not much different now, but……”
“It was everything for your family, so of course.”
“Hankuk Jeonseon must have been everything to you as well. So why didn’t you dedicate yourself to the company, and instead drove it to that state?”
“You misunderstand. I loved the company too. It simply wasn’t my highest priority. Fundamentally, everything I did was to grow the company. I never once tried to ruin it. Well, I did line my own pockets quite a bit along the way, but I was merely a bit unlucky. The countless M&As I pursued ultimately dealt a fatal blow to the company, but at least at the time, I believed they wouldn’t be harmful. If it hadn’t been for the financial crisis, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad. If you blame the global financial crisis on me too, that’s a bit unfair.”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking you why you lined your own pockets!”
“Seho, why do you think Prince Suyang committed treason during the Joseon era?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Prince Suyang staged a coup because an opportunity too good to pass up had arrived. The fearsome Munjong died suddenly, and the newly enthroned king was just a brat who knew nothing. There wasn’t even a queen dowager in the palace to protect him. If he could just get rid of Grand Prince Anpyeong and Gim Jongseo, he could take it all. How could one endure not staging a coup in this situation? It was a heaven-sent opportunity.”
“You… you’d been aiming for this from the beginning?”
“Not from the very beginning… After the Chairman passed away, at first, I truly tried to assist you diligently. But as time went by, well, you were far too young. So gradually, other thoughts began to creep in. I suppose Prince Suyang must have felt the same. Anyway, that’s why I watched carefully to see just how much you actually knew about the company overall, and whether Madam had the ability to protect you.”
“After observing me like that, I must have looked like easy prey?”
“Yes, after watching, I had you figured out perfectly. Madam was quite literally an outsider to management. What would a woman who elegantly ran art galleries and laughed with other chaebol wives know? You needn’t even be mentioned. A clueless twenty-three-year-old brat was looking at only me with sparkling eyes—isn’t this truly what you’d call a heaven-sent opportunity? What started as taking just a little gradually grew larger. Truly, once you sit you want to lie down, and once you lie down you want to sleep—human desire is a strange thing.”
“Even in that situation, didn’t you think you should help me, since we’d been together all that time? You… are truly incredible……”
“Seho, Prince Suyang killed his own nephew. You called me uncle in private settings, but you and I are total strangers, aren’t we? We’re not even real family, so why talk about loyalty in business? The late Chairman was too naive. No matter how young you were, to make no succession preparations at all… Of course, he probably planned to put you in the business strategy team after you returned from studying abroad and gradually groom you, but does death come with a warning? After the Chairman passed away, seeing that neither you nor Madam mentioned the Chairman’s slush fund for over a year, I was certain. Ah! This kid has no idea the slush fund exists! He wasn’t told anything by the former Chairman! The ecstasy of that moment was truly… haha, even thinking about it now, it was incredible.”
“What? My father had a separate slush fund?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Did you really think the 60 billion won in the safe was everything? What’s in the safe isn’t exactly the slush fund. Where in our country is there a chaebol without a slush fund? Only the amounts differ. There are so many palms to grease when doing business; you can’t run a company without a slush fund. Anyway, it’s gone now. Why do you think I only received a measly three years? I spent quite a lot greasing the judicial and political circles, and I kept the rest safe for my retirement. A slush fund, after all, has no name tag—the one who takes it first is the owner.”
“You… you son of a bitch!”
“You and the late Chairman were both too soft. Other chaebols all have their chief secretaries or closest aides manage the slush fund. If they wanted to, they could honestly siphon off the slush fund in the middle. But in reality, no one who entertains such thoughts would dare lay a finger on it. They’d really end up dead. Double and triple layers of surveillance are set up to prevent such thoughts from the start. The distinction between the landlord and the overseer is clear. But your family wasn’t like that. With so many openings, how could I not want to poke at them?”
“You’re truly irredeemable trash!”
“Well, say what you want. I don’t care at all anymore. After everything that happened to you, that’s all the cursing you can muster—as expected, you’re too soft. The world we live in is a jungle where the strong prey on the weak. Even if it hadn’t been me, you wouldn’t have lasted long. Since you’ve given up all your shares too, you’ve truly become a pauper now, haven’t you? If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have withdrawn it all and would’ve left some for you. There was originally about 300 billion won, but I couldn’t leave any evidence, you see. My apologies.”
“How can a person do such things and be so shameless?”
“That’s the kind of person I am. And in the end, the one who laughs will be me. That’s just the nature of a slush fund. There’s no evidence or trace whatsoever. That’s what a slush fund is. Money that you must never let go of, because once it escapes your hands, you can never grab it again! Yes, like the helium balloons they sell at amusement parks. I’ve said all I needed to say. From now on, grit your teeth and live a little harsher. Don’t let yourself be played like a sucker.”
Having said his piece, he turned his back without hesitation and walked straight out of the visiting room.
Having had everything that should have been rightfully mine stolen from me, I was left powerless, while he, who had freely plundered what belonged to others, was shamelessly brazen.
Had I really been that stupid? Whose fault was this situation? Was it mine? Or was it I Seongho’s?
After hearing all his true feelings, the world spun dizzily around me, and I couldn’t get up from my seat.
* * *
Ending my meeting with I Seongho, I cut off contact with everyone who knew me. I simply couldn’t muster the will to trust people anymore. It was then that I finally realized how terrifying human malice could be. Though it was far too late……
I liquidated my remaining assets, moved down to Jeju Island, and opened a small café. Without any goals, I simply lived each day listlessly. It was only after five years on Jeju Island that I barely managed to pull myself together. After pondering what to do, I started stock investing, which I’d enjoyed in college. The café and stocks. Immersing myself in something like that, I finally had the leisure to look around. Time passed and flowed, and on a certain day in 2022—nine years after that cruel day—an elderly gentleman came to see me.
“Hello? Owner, I am Yu Ilho.”
“Ah… hello? I’m sorry, but I believe this is our first meeting. What brings you here……?”
“I graduated from technical high school, joined Hankuk Jeonseon immediately afterward, and retired eight years ago.”
“Ah~ so you’re from Hankuk Jeonseon? A pleasure. However, I am a man who no longer has any connection to Hankuk Jeonseon.”
“I know very well. I was there in person on the day you held the press conference. It’s just that my son immigrated to America long ago, and since I’m getting on in years, he’s been urging me to come to America these past few years… After much deliberation, I’ve decided to immigrate this time.”
“That’s wonderful. Family should live together.”
Right, family should live together… What am I doing? Since that day, I hadn’t met even once with my mother and that kid Seyong, who had left for America.
Mr. Yu took something wrapped in a silk cloth out of his bag and began carefully unwrapping it.
What appeared inside was an antique-looking flute.
“It is a family heirloom. My father said it was the Manpasikjeok, but honestly, I don’t believe it. However, it is indeed an old flute passed down through generations.”
The famous Manpasikjeok of the Silla era? Such a precious relic couldn’t possibly pop up here out of nowhere, could it?
“Yes… but why give a family heirloom to me……?”
“I’m leaving Korea now, but my late father earnestly told me, ‘This flute must never leave Korea.’ Perhaps it was modeled after the legend of the Manpasikjeok. I don’t believe it, but as a son, I felt uneasy about ignoring my father’s earnest wish, so I wanted to entrust it to the owner I respected the most. My wife passed away last year, and I don’t have a single relative left in Korea.”
“Me… you’re saying you respected me the most?”
Wasn’t I a foolish person who had been stabbed in the back and lost everything? And you say you respected someone like me?
“Owner, I’ve lived a long life. I don’t have many days left. The previous Chairman cherished employees like family, and thanks to him, I was able to safely provide for my family and raise my children well. Hankuk Jeonseon was my everything. And you, Owner, in the worst situation, did not hesitate to make the greatest sacrifice possible. How could I not respect you? If I must inevitably entrust this heirloom, I wish to leave it with you.”
At least there was one person who believed I hadn’t lived a bad life. That was a relief.
“Strangely, this flute doesn’t make a sound. They say it’s been that way for generations. All the holes are properly drilled, too. Perhaps that’s why my ancestors considered it extraordinary and cherished it. I humbly ask you to take good care of it.”
Leaving those words behind, Mr. Yu departed without lingering.
And that night, I ended up seeing shocking news.
[Former Vice Chairman I Seongho of Hankuk Jeonseon acquires Hankuk Jeonseon in a lightning deal!]
[Investment genius I Seongho’s bold declaration! Will restore Hankuk Jeonseon to its former glory!]
[How did I Seongho get his hands on Hankuk Jeonseon? Multiplied his wealth with Bitcoin!]
I Seongho—that man had finally gotten his hands on Hankuk Jeonseon using my father’s slush fund that he’d plundered from me.
That day, cursing I Seongho, cursing my incompetent and powerless self, I fell into a drunken stupor.
If I were born again, I would never live so powerlessly…….
As tears streamed from my eyes and my consciousness grew hazy, from somewhere, the clear sound of a flute rang out, and soon darkness fell.