Chapter 180: Chapter 180. The Future of Twelve Years Later, Part II
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
From the hospital, on the way ho, I said, holding my wife’s hand. “It’s just as well that it is a simple cold.”
“Yes.”
“You have to be careful, though. Just like the doctor said, don’t go anywhere today and get so rest. Okay?”
My wife nodded twice.
“If you’re sick again, call right away.”
“Yes, by the way, why did you turn off your cell phone? I kept in touch.”
“Oh, I had sothing important this morning.”
“Uh… really? Is it on now?”
I lifted my cell phone and showed it to her. There were still ‘three missed calls’ on it. “Yes. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. But I called your secretary and it was connected right away.”
“I’m glad it was.” I nodded and said to Secretary Park, who was driving in the front seat. “Good job, Secretary Park. Thank you.”
With a slight nod to the rearview mirror, he answered, “Not at all.”
——
Park continued to drive. Soon the car carrying us arrived at the company building. Then, as soon as we got out of the parking lot, he said, “Ah, boss. Well… this is a very ambiguous ti to go, but I think we’ll have to go out again. The next eting is up.”
“Ah, we have a schedule, right?”
“Yes. Ti is up. You can go up and down, but you have to co down almost imdiately.”
“Then I’ll just send my wife up, and return.”
“Yes, boss.”
My wife looked at and asked, “What’s going on? Is there anything you need to do?”
“Yes, you know the new companies? I need to go and say, ‘I’m your master.’ I should show them my face, and receive a vow of loyalty.”
I had an important job today, the eting with representatives of the newly acquired Suyeon Construction. My wife was so sick that I forgot for a mont. I said, pushing the elevator’s up button.
“Well, everybody will be nervous.”
“That’s right. By the way, we will have a company dinner tonight.”
“A company dinner?”
“Yes. A big deal is done and I decided to buy a good al for Vice President Jang and the directors…”
Today, I was determined to get drunk after a long ti. However, I was sorry to have to leave my sick wife alone.
“Shall I just eat dinner and co back? You’re sick.”
“It’s okay. It’s a light cold. A company dinner is a job, too. Don’t drink yourself unconscious.”
At the words, I said with a big smile, “Hmm. Don’t worry. I’m a pretty strong drinker, as I’m different from anyone. To co back, being drunk and riding on soone’s back…”
My wife slapped on the arm and said, “That’s enough. All of a sudden, you’re telling the old story…”
“Why? It’s all our mories. Well, if it weren’t for those things, we wouldn’t have been married like this.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
She seed to think of the old days when she had been drunk and carried by ; she smiled and laughed. Soon the elevator arrived and stood in front of us.
“Anyway, I’ll be back before ten. Take good care of yourself.”
“Yes.”
—
After sending my wife ho, I ca back to the parking lot where Secretary Park was waiting.
“If we go now, will we be late?”
“We’re not going to be late, but I think we need to drive a little faster.”
“Then let’s go a little faster. Let’s go.”
“Yes, boss.”
———————-
At the Suyeon Electronics building, not too far from the Invictus Investnt building…
As soon as I entered the parking lot and got out of the car, Vice President Jang ca out to greet .
“Are you here, boss?”
“Yes. Have you all t?”
“Yes.”
“How was it?”
“They are all nervous. I think they are worried about what kind of person the boss is like and how they can look good.”
“Aha. What about the Tak family?”
“Most of them were fired. There are a few people left in bookkeeping, but they’re practically gone. The people who ca today were either chosen as substitutes or only those who will be chosen.”
“Well, that’s great.”
I headed for the elevator with him. In front of the elevator stood the loyal n of Invictus Investnt; Director Kim, Director Jung, Director Kang, and so on. They looked at and bowed.
“Are you here, boss?” They held an elevator for .
“Yes, let’s go,” I replied, gesturing for them to go. While we were going up to our destination in the elevator, I told Vice President Jang, “I’ve been thinking about the na of this company this morning.”
“What is it?”
I brought up a story that I had made up. “I was reading the newspaper this morning, and my na appeared in the article, as a genius investor.”
“It is common, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but… it wouldn’t be bad to just na it using my na. There’s a brand we’ve built up, so far, Sang-hoon Han. I thought about naming it the SHH group. Vice President Jang, what do you think?”
At my words, Vice President Jang said, “It’s a little simple, but it’s not bad. To na it after the founder… is not too common for Korean companies, but…”
His assessnt was, in fact, “just so.” I agreed with that. It was just so. It was not good, it was not bad, except for having the company nad after would be helpful in People Search.
‘But if it wasn’t for People Search, I wouldn’t have nad it SHH.’ I told him, thinking about it. “Well, I see.”
Then, slightly turning my head, I asked the other three directors, “Directors, what do you think?”
“I think it’s good. If it’s your opinion, there’s no other opinion.”
“I like it, too. Even the boss has a lot of fa overseas.”
“It’s a good idea to na it after the boss.”
The three spoke to in rather flattering voices. And as I heard them, I thought, ‘How many of these people think it’s actually good? One? Two?’
There weren’t many people who could say ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, boss.’
‘… of course, even if there were different opinions, I would have pushed ahead with it. Anyway… SHH is good.’
Then, the elevator door opened. The directors went out first and beckoned . “This way, boss.”
I asked as I walked along with them, “So, how many people did you say I would et today? Seventeen people?”
“Yes, exactly seventeen people.”
Including Suyeon Electronics, Suyeon Construction, and its subsidiaries, the total number was seventeen. This was due to the chaebol’s unique octopus-style expansion, which ranged from toy companies for children to companies that supplied popcorn, nachos, and baked squid to the view-box theaters. Usually, these companies were distributed to the relatives of Tak family, in such a way, ‘You’re one of Tak family, take this.’ Among them, there were also many companies that were used for tax evasion.
In other words, it was the legacy of Tak Woo-kyung.
“I think it’s inefficient to keep everything together… I think we should combine them in a proper way.”
“Yes, I think so, too. Once all the remaining Taks are out, we are going to sort out the equity relationship.”
“That’s good.” I walked down the hall nodding my head.
Director Chung, who was walking ahead, opened the door of the hall as he said, “This way, boss.”
I walked in that direction. Inside, a total of seventeen people stood, waiting for tensely. They said, lowering their heads in unison as I walked forward at a moderate pace, “I’ve seen you for the first ti, boss.”
I stopped at the top seat and studied them. As Vice President Jang said, they were looking at with tense eyes. I grinned at them. I would be a little nervous if I was normal, but I knew my future. I would not fail. The soon-to-be SHH Group companies would see trendous growth in the coming years. I opened my mouth with a confident tone of voice, “Nice to et you all.”
———————-
The elevator door opened, and I entered the house with care. A voice ca from the inside.
“You’re early?”
Soon, my wife in her pajamas ca to see .
“Didn’t you sleep?”
“No. What about the company dinner? Didn’t you have that?”
“No, I did, but… I didn’t drink much.”
My wife sniffed the air around for a second, and she nodded. “Hmm. That’s true.”
I said with a wave of hands. “Don’t take the sll. The baby in your belly will sll the liquor, too.”
It was ten past nine. As soon as the dinner began at 7:30 p.m., I quickly made progress, drank only moderately, and ca back ho to see if my wife was okay.
“What about the fever? Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m much better. I think a day’s sleep will make feel better.”
“It sounds great. Go get so rest. I’ll take a shower.”
After taking a shower, my wife was already sleeping in bed. She might have waited for even though she had been sleepy. I lay quietly beside her, lest I wake her up. Then, I picked up my cell phone. ‘… It’s 9:20…’
At 8:50 p.m., an email would have arrived. I was going to read it, but being mildly drunk, I gave it up. I didn’t think it would work out well even if I would look at the news.
‘I’ll have to read the two emails together tomorrow morning.’
I fell asleep thinking about it.
———————-
The next morning…
When I woke up, I found that there was no wife beside . I went out of the bedroom and went to the living room. There was a noise in the kitchen.
“Ah-young, are you cooking?”
“Yes.”
I went there. I could sll sothing tasty.
“It’s yukgaejang, hot spicy at stew. Eat and go.”
“How about your cold? Are you okay?”
“Yes, it’s still a little chilly, but I think the fever’s almost gone. I don’t have a headache.”
I approached my wife and touched her head. Apparently, the fever had gone down.
“Good.”
“It must have been a simple cold.”
“Good. When the doctor cos next week, listen carefully. You are pregnant. You should be careful every ti.”
“I get it. I get it.”
——
I went to work after eating the yukgaejang that my wife had cooked for .
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, boss.”
After saying hello to Secretary Park after I arrived, I turned on the computer and opened the email box. There was still the email which had arrived at 8:50 p.m. yesterday; ‘Gm 12 Hours After, Gm 12 Days After, Gm 12 Weeks After, Gm 12 Months After, Gm 12 Years After.’ I quickly read it. Then, at 8:50 a.m., five more emails ca in again. By the way, in these future news that I read in a series, I found sothing strange.
‘Wait a minute…’ What is this?’
The more I read the email, the bigger the idea grew. With the email open, I mumbled, holding my hand on my chin.
“What the Hell is wrong with this?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)