< For the Music Genius - Episode 197 >
“You’re twenty this year?”
Kim Nam-cheon looked at me with a strange look in his eyes. It was as if he was looking at a treasure.
“Yes, sir.”
“Holhol, no matter how I look at him, his eyes are not ordinary. His face alone makes him look like a young man, but when he talks, his eyes shine like those of old men. Are you raising an old man inside of you?”
“yes?”
“I’m joking.”
It felt like my insides were being stabbed with a needle. Of course, if you add up the lifespan of my past lives, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there was an old man inside me.
At that moment, Kim Nam-cheon lifted his teacup, moistened his lips, and turned his gaze toward his grandfather.
“Dong-yool, I’ve heard enough about your grandson’s story from various sources to make my ears tingle. If you have time, I’d like to talk to your grandson a little more. Is that okay?”
“Of course, sir.”
Grandfather nodded briefly. Kim Nam-cheon’s gaze continued to scan his entire body like a snake.
It’s hard to believe that this is the gaze of an old man looking at a bachelor.
I really wanted to head to Seoul right away, but I had no choice.
“You said your name was Kang Hyun?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What do you think of the conversation that I had with your grandfather just now? If Jeil Group falls into the hands of President Son Il-sun, the media in South Korea will fall under Jeil Group within less than ten years.”
What should I say? I thought about saying I didn’t know and evading the question, but for some reason I didn’t want to do that. The more I talked to Kim Nam-cheon, the more likely I was to learn something I didn’t know.
“It is possible.”
Grandfather opened his eyes wide. However, Kim Nam-cheon smiled heartily as if he had expected this.
“How can I know how you think that?”
“It was exactly as the elder said. President Son Il-sun’s management philosophy is different from that of Chairman Son Jang-won. It’s easy to think of it as a royal authority. As the first chairman of Jeil Group, Chairman Son Jang-won has legitimacy and immense power. On the other hand, President Son Il-sun has more than one or two things to worry about. From his brothers to the executives who can be considered founding members of the group. While Chairman Son Jang-won absorbs his enemies with the word inclusiveness, President Son Il-sun is someone who cuts them down with a single stroke.”
This was my assessment of President Son Il-seon based on what I saw and felt in my past life.
Didn’t you maintain a management philosophy that was completely different from that of Chairman Wang? Of course, if you weren’t so cool and sharp, you wouldn’t have been able to survive in a battlefield without gunfire.
“Sir, may I ask you something?”
“Oh, is there anything you’re curious about?”
“Yes, sir.”
I became quite curious about Kim Nam-cheon’s vision. During the Japanese colonial period, he was called a Japanese stooge, and during the military regime, he was even called an opportunist.
In some ways, it’s like a bat parasitizing here and there. In other ways, it means that they have a deep insight into the future.
“What do you think are the chances that Son Kang-wook, the second son of Son Jang-won, will beat the eldest son, Son Il-seon?”
“Kkk, that’s an interesting question.”
A look of interest appeared on Kim Nam-cheon’s face. It seemed like he had never expected me to ask him such a question.
The grandfather swallowed hard and watched the conversation. Kim Nam-cheon answered without hesitation.
“30%.”
“… … !”
I couldn’t help but be surprised. The CEO Son Il-seon I had encountered in my past life was a person who stood out even among the so-called management masters. Didn’t some say that CEO Son Il-seon was a talent that surpassed Chairman Wang?
Of course, if it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t have been able to make the Republic of Korea the first republic. How can you expect a 30 percent chance of winning against such a CEO, Son Il-seon?
“Son Kang-wook is a sleeping dragon who has thoroughly hidden his body under the surface. However, he must have thought a lot since Chairman Son Jang-won suddenly became ill. If time passes like this and Son Il-sun takes over Jeil Group, he will try to cut off his own head right away.”
“Are you saying that President Son Il-seon is keeping Son Kang-wook in check?”
“That’s obvious. The person that Son Il-seon considers the biggest thorn in his side within the Jeil Group is his younger brother Son Kang-wook.”
In my past memories, I had no knowledge of Son Kang-wook. That was because by the time I became a scholarship student at Jeil Group, Son Il-sun had already become the chairman of Jeil Group.
As for the person named Son Kang-wook, he disappeared from the history of Jeil Group as if erased with an eraser.
However, if Kim Nam-cheon’s words that Son Il-seon greatly restrained Son Kang-wook are true, then it makes sense.
How much time had passed? It was already getting dark outside.
“Dongyul, come visit often. The older I get, the more I miss having friends to talk to.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you said your name was Kang Hyun?”
Kim Nam-cheon personally saw us off and added:
“Let’s meet often too.”
* * *
I was on my way back up to Seoul from Daegu. As I was driving on the highway covered in dust, my grandfather glanced at me.
“It seems like Elder Kim Nam-cheon really likes you, Hyeon-i.”
“Me?”
“Yes, he is not usually a very talkative person. He is especially not the type to reveal his inner thoughts without asking for anything in return. But didn’t Hyun answer the question you asked without hesitation?”
Even now, whenever I think about Kim Nam-cheon’s gaze, I feel like my body is curling up like a squid on a gas stove.
Suddenly, I became curious about what happened between my grandfather and Kim Nam-cheon. No matter how much I thought about it, there seemed to be no connection between the two.
“Grandpa, have you known me for a long time?”
“How could you not know? When Grandfather came to Seoul when he was young, he was already one of the wealthiest people in Joseon. Many people pointed fingers at him. He was even called a traitor to his nation. However, there is one thing that many people do not know.”
“You don’t know?”
Grandfather nodded briefly.
“Mr. Kim Nam-cheon not only provided funds for the independence movement, but he was also one of the few wealthy people who continued to provide political funds for democracy in the Republic of Korea. It was unusual. He continued to grow his family by walking such a tightrope. One day, I was curious and asked him why he acted as a spy between the Japanese and the independence activists. If the Japanese had caught him, he would have lost his life. But the answer I heard was outstanding.”
Gulp.
“They say he bought insurance in advance because there might be liberation. In some ways, he looks like a typical opportunist, but in another way, he is said to be a person with a vision for the future that is better than anyone else. It is no exaggeration to say that even the tycoons of the business world and seasoned politicians are afraid of him.”
It was a more surprising story than what I knew about Kim Nam-cheon. Of course, this kind of secret story was not even in Kim Nam-cheon’s autobiography.
As my grandfather said, Kim Nam-cheon was a man with great insight into the future. It was then.
“By the way, there’s one more reason why Chairman Son needs to get well soon.”
“One more?”
“Yes, sir, isn’t Hyeon very interested in you? Hyeon asked me again while you were in the bathroom.”
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what?
“How about marrying your great-granddaughter?”
* * *
30%.
Kim Nam-cheon clearly said that Son Kang-wook had a 30% chance of winning against Son Il-seon.
The reason why Kim Nam-cheon did not join hands with Son Il-sun was simple. Son Il-sun, who was even more of a snake than Chairman Wang, was an untrustworthy opponent.
‘What kind of person is this?’
I couldn’t help but be curious. Because there was virtually no information about Son Kang-wook.
Even now, he is sitting in the executive position of Jeil Trading Company and is not showing much of a presence. But who would have thought that Son Il-seon would be keeping Son Kang-wook in check like that?
[The stock price of Jeil Group is fluctuating day by day. Meanwhile, it has been reported that Jeil Electronics has been reported to the prosecution for fraudulent accounting. Jeil Electronics President Son Il-seon voluntarily appeared before the prosecution this afternoon, and experts are predicting that another wave will hit the stock market. Let’s connect to a reporter who is at the prosecution site.]
The news was filled with stories about Jeil Group that never stopped coming out.
The scene of President Son Il-seon appearing in person at the prosecution in a suit was continuously broadcast. The stock price must have been shaking like a storm.
“Director Kim, please purchase all stocks related to Jeil Group.”
“Are you talking about now?”
“Yes, especially the Jeil Electronics stocks that are thrown out as soon as the market opens, don’t worry about the price and just hold on to them.”
Director Kim Sang-guk seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.
If someone who doesn’t know sees this, they’ll think it’s crazy. If President Son Il-seon’s arrest is confirmed and the fraudulent accounting is revealed to be true, Jeil Electronics’ stock price will fall to the floor every day.
But I already knew that the future wasn’t like that. Now was the chance.
“Then I’ll work on some music now.”
Director Kim Sang-guk nodded and stood up from his seat.
I turned off the noisy TV and sat back down in front of the synthesizer in my studio.
I didn’t have to think much about it, because there was nothing more I could do regarding Jeil Group.
How much time had passed? It was the moment when the notes on the staff were filled up.
I could see the silhouettes of people moving busily beyond the workroom. They were moving so quickly that I could feel the outside area getting busier.
‘Who’s here?’
Wasn’t it a day when the gallery wasn’t open? In a way, the first gallery had to stay quiet for a while.
As the fraudulent accounting of Jeil Electronics was revealed, it was obvious that the prosecution would first investigate Jeil Group’s financial resources. The fact that Jeil Gallery and Jeil Foundation were connected was an open secret.
As I opened the door and stepped out, I saw Kim Mi-hyeon, an employee of Jeil Gallery, moving around hurriedly.
Several black passenger cars had already arrived outside the gallery.
It didn’t look like the vehicles that came out of the prosecution. However, it was a person who came to meet CEO Im Hye-ra while the storm was raging at Jeil Group.
That was when.
“excuse me.”
An unexpected voice came from behind me. My eyes widened as I turned my head. However, I quickly wiped my expression and left the place.
It was a series of people dressed in black suits. But the most striking of them all was the man standing at the front.
He was quite a man. The phrase “he had a great physique” would be very fitting. His broad shoulders and deep eyes were truly magnificent. Even his gait resembled that of a general.
He had a gentle smile on his face, but no one could know what he was thinking. He was the one who had never shown up in Pyeongchang-dong. He was Son Kang-wook, the second son of Son Jang-won, whom we had only seen in pictures.
At that moment,
Thump.
Son Kang-wook stopped walking and looked back at me.
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