Chapter 39
“Senior, I am Jang Wooseok. I’ve heard a lot about you before.”
Wooseok spoke with sparkling eyes and reached out his hand.
Kim Jongseok smiled brightly and held Wooseok’s hand.
“Ah, so you are Jang Wooseok?”
“Huh? Do you know me?”
“I heard you come to the shop often to eat tteokbokki. I also heard about you often from my mother. She bragged a lot that there was a student who acted like a grandson, spoke well, and greeted her well.”
Wooseok seemed flustered for a moment and blinked his eyes, then soon raised the corners of his mouth.
“Gasp, no way, really? It’s a bit embarrassing that you heard that, Senior.”
“I’m telling you it’s true. She praised you so much, saying you were smart and took good care of your friends. Hahaha.”
“Ugh, Grandmother gave too much of a spoiler.” Wooseok was bashful, with even his ears turning red.
Then Kim Jongseok also smiled along.
I, Lim Hyunjun, quietly approached through that harmonious gap.
Wooseok introduced me.
“Senior, this is Lim Hyunjun from our class. He’s an incredibly smart guy. He’s going to become like you later.”
Kim Jongseok turned his head again and looked at me.
His gaze was soft, but I felt the crack hidden behind it.
I bowed my head and greeted him politely.
“Hello, I am Lim Hyunjun. I enjoyed the lecture today. Thank you.”
“I am more thankful that you listened well.”
I carefully took out a business card case and held it out to him.
On the card I handed over, only my name and cell phone number were simply written on a white background.
“I see high school students carry business cards these days too.”
I answered as if it were nothing.
“It’s because I like to prepare in advance.”
Perhaps because it was not common for a high school student to carry a business card, Kim Jongseok thought it was strange for a moment.
However, he did not show it and took out his own business card, giving one each to Wooseok and me.
At the moment Wooseok was about to say something, someone called Wooseok’s name from the back of the auditorium.
“Hey, Jang Wooseok! The teacher told you to come to the faculty office.”
Wooseok frowned immediately upon hearing that sound.
“What’s with the timing, really. Senior, I’ll be back soon. Just a moment…. Please stay for just a moment.”
Leaving those words behind, Wooseok moved busily.
Once Wooseok disappeared, the warmth remaining in the air gradually subsided.
A short but heavy silence flowed between me and Kim Jongseok.
Kim Jongseok looked at the business card he received from me and raised his head.
“By any chance, do you have any worries?”
“No. However, there is something I would like to tell you.”
“Is that so?”
I continued speaking while keeping my gaze fixed on Kim Jongseok.
“Someone said this. That the world is more frightening when it collapses quietly.”
At those somewhat meaningful words, Kim Jongseok’s pupils shook minutely.
Although he did not show it, his heart was reacting bit by bit.
I took one more step forward.
“If you stop, the world does not change.”
Kim Jongseok’s expression gradually hardened.
A quiet but firm voice dug deep into Kim Jongseok’s heart.
“Someone must act when it is time to step forward. Only then does it change. However, since you are a person, you feel a fearful heart. I hope you know that you are not fighting alone, Senior. If you need help, please contact this person.”
I took out another business card and held it out to Kim Jongseok.
It was a business card with the name of HJ Partners Representative Choi Seo-jun written on it.
Taking the business card, Kim Jongseok’s eyes wavered.
‘HJ Partners?’
That name was familiar.
Despite being new, it was a company whose name was frequently mentioned in the industry recently.
How could he not know a company that became a huge topic by acquiring a deficit-ridden company recently?
It was a place that showed significant movements in a short period.
Kim Jongseok looked at the business card once more.
The representative’s name was clearly written as Choi Seo-jun.
However, the person who handed the business card was the high school student, Lim Hyunjun.
“How do you know about this place?”
To that question, I replied with a smile.
However, that smile felt like a weight that was not light at all.
‘Lim Hyunjun…. Lim Hyunjun, I see….’
There was one name passing through Kim Jongseok’s head.
He remembered the high school student who received Taeseong Electronics shares in an article a while ago.
Kim Jongseok concluded that Lim Hyunjun was a third-generation member of the Taeseong Group.
A minute wariness spread in his eyes.
“Do you happen to know something?”
I laughed lightly.
“Well. If you think so, Senior, I might know something. But what is clear is that if you have the courage to step forward, I am willing to help.”
After finishing my words, I bowed my head and turned around quietly.
Kim Jongseok looked at my back as I exited the auditorium for a long time without a word.
In his dazed head, my words from a moment ago were slowly seeping in.
After leaving the auditorium and finishing classes, I headed to HJ Partners.
The luxuriously decorated office was quiet and tidy.
Outside the window, a view that could only be seen from a high floor opened up the sight.
I sat in a leather chair and took out the business card I received during the day.
On it, clear letters were written.
[Kim Jongseok, Technology Development Team Leader, Daehan Shipbuilding &
Marine Engineering]
I placed that business card on the desk.
Unlike the predicted future, the world began to drift apart bit by bit.
“Daehan Shipbuilding &
Marine Engineering, huh….”
I slowly reached out and turned on the laptop.
What appeared on the screen was the internal private network of HJ Partners.
I immediately began to type a message.
[Representative Choi Seo-jun]
– I request internal data related to Daehan Shipbuilding &
Marine Engineering.
Please check specifically focusing on the technology development team and supply affiliates.
After sending the message, I stood up from my seat and walked toward the window.
The sun was setting outside the window.
Between the high-rise buildings of Seoul, the red sunset sat down longly.
That red light seemed to overlap with the crisis covering the entire industry.
Even in the beautiful scenery, my mind was only more complicated than ever.
While all shipbuilders were struggling in deficit, Daehan Shipbuilding &
Marine Engineering alone made a profit.
Rather than an achievement, it felt like a trace covering up a disguise.
I muttered while staring out the window.
“If everyone is suffering a loss but only one person is making a profit…. That might not be ability, but the result of avoiding someone’s eyes.”
My eyes shone coolly.
“Senior Kim Jongseok. If you keep your mouth closed until the end, I will make you open that mouth.”
Those words were a determination and a notice at the same time.
I had no intention of leaning only on memories of the past anymore.
I decided to create the future myself.
***
At that time when I was standing by the window looking at the sunset.
The crack I had predicted began to cover the entire industry.
The inside of the conference room at the Taeseong Heavy Industries headquarters in Seoul was filled with unusually heavy air.
The curtains were half-drawn, and the lights were shining dimly.
In the center of the long table sat Lim Man-cheol, the head of Taeseong Heavy Industries and the younger brother of Chairman Lim Man-seok.
Unlike his older brother, he had a warm and round impression.
The custom suit that unfailingly wrapped around his protruding belly and his reddish face made it look as if he had a drink.
Though he might look lax, he knew the survival tactics needed to survive in the Taeseong family better than anyone.
It was an atmosphere as if a bottle of soju would be held in his hand instead of a water bottle.
In fact, he was usually spotted more often at golf courses or taverns than at the company.
He was known as a symbolic figure in the board of directors, and the actual management was handled by the president and executives below him.
However, the atmosphere in the conference room today was different.
The air had sunk heavily enough that even he could feel that something was going wrong.
Lim Man-cheol cleared his throat once and looked toward the financial director.
“So, hmmm…. Is what you just said real? You said we had a deficit?”
The financial director, Choi Sang-gyu, looked at him warily and nodded carefully.
“Yes, Chairman. As of the third quarter, the net loss is 27.4 billion won, and the operating profit margin is minus 6.2%.”
“Ummm…. I see.”
Lim Man-cheol pointlessly closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair.
That appearance was closer to a dazed expression, like a person who hadn’t sobered up, rather than a person who was contemplating.
“No, well. Still, last month… What was it? Didn’t some offshore plants come in? Where did it all go?”
“That was from last year’s orders. There are no ongoing projects at present. The order backlog is at its lowest level in history.”
This time, the Head of the Strategic Planning Office added.
“It is a crisis across the shipbuilding industry. Not only small and medium-sized shipyards but most mid-sized groups are scheduled to announce deficits this quarter.”
“If everyone is in deficit, well, it’s not just us. Ahem.”
Lim Man-cheol let out a hollow laugh and struck the desk with his fist.
“Then what about Daehan Shipbuilding &
Marine Engineering? What happened there?”
At Chairman Lim Man-cheol’s words, the conference room became quiet again.
The financial director answered while flipping through the report with a troubled expression.
“That place is an exception. The net profit for the second quarter was 3.4 billion won. If subsidiary performance is included, the operating profit is estimated at 5.8 billion won.”
Lim Man-cheol’s eyes grew slightly large.
“That place is in surplus?”
“Yes. According to what I heard, the analysis is that the orders for government-related offshore drilling rigs and defense-related contracts were effective.”
“…Defense?”
Lim Man-cheol frowned and muttered as if talking to himself.
“Defense, huh….”
As if something came to mind, the corners of his mouth slid down.
A piece of data that his older brother, Lim Man-seok, had been watching closely and receiving separate reports on suddenly occurred to him.
An investigation into suppliers related to government defense projects.
At that time, he didn'
t give it deep meaning.
Thinking about it now, there were parts that strangely overlapped with the performance of Daehan Shipbuilding &
Marine Engineering.
That matter, which had passed quietly, might not be unrelated to this current situation.
Lim Man-cheol let out a heavy sigh and leaned his body against the backrest.
One hand passed over the report placed on the table, stroking it indifferently.
Fine wrinkles soon formed on his forehead.
The complexion that had only the remnants of alcohol was gradually being dyed dark.
Strength entered the fingertips that had been tapping slowly, and the paper crumpled slightly.
Soon, the conference room was filled with Chairman Lim Man-cheol’s voice.
“Then, this isn’t the time for us to be sitting around leisurely. If things go wrong, we could get wiped out too.”
Only then did the working-level staff realize what he meant, and tension surrounded their faces.
Lim Man-cheol raised his body from the backrest and spoke in an unexpectedly clear voice.
“That… What is it? Daehan Shipbuilding &
Marine Engineering. Dig into that place in more detail. I mean things like the partner companies they contracted with for supply, or internal circumstances.”
Lim Man-cheol trailed off and then looked up sharply.
“It’s strange to be making money alone in a situation like this. Do you think I only drank alcohol in this business? The one who awkwardly covers their eyes and ears is the first to get bitten.”
In an instant, the inside of the conference room became quiet.
Lim Man-cheol, who they thought of only as Chairman Lim Man-seok’s brother who liked alcohol and had a protruding belly.
However, he too was a person who had lived as a member of a chaebol family for a long time.
Even if he looked relaxed and lax on the outside, Lim Man-cheol knew.
That this shaking was not a simple slump in performance.
His long-term intuition was the first to notice that this crisis Taeseong Heavy Industries was experiencing could spread much deeper and wider than expected.