Episode 10
Inhyeok’s long legs strode coolly across the lobby of the Taekang Group headquarters.
Among the neatly dressed employees in suits, he stood out conspicuously in his all-white training suit from head to toe.
“Huh? Isn’t that Tae Inhyeok? The chairman’s second son!”
“I think so? I heard he was in the U.S.—did he just stop by Korea briefly?”
Long-time executives in the group recognized him instantly.
“The eldest son, the vice chairman, is handsome too, but the second son is on a whole other level. At that point, even a training suit looks good on him because of his face.”
“But what’s he doing at the company all of a sudden? Wasn’t he sent abroad because he lacked ability?”
“Tsk, you don’t know anything. He may look like that, but he’s an elite who graduated early and double-majored in business and law. Could it be he’s finally going to participate in management training now?”
Some gazed at him with admiration, while others watched with curiosity and wariness.
Whether he didn’t hear the whispers or was simply used to them, Inhyeok stepped into the executive elevator with an indifferent expression.
In front of the elevator doors that opened on the top floor stood the secretary-general in his late fifties.
He was the right-hand man of Taekang Group’s chairman, Tae Hyeongnam, and also the owner of the contact saved as “Do Not Answer 2” in Inhyeok’s phone.
Thirty years ago, the year Inhyeok was born, the secretary-general had joined the company as a chauffeur and worked his way up to his current position by handling Chairman Hyeongnam’s scandals, big and small.
Whether he stayed through all the chaos of the dysfunctional family out of loyalty, or simply because cleaning up Hyeongnam’s messes suited his temperament, no one could say.
“Long time no see, young master.”
The greeting was polite but dry.
“You’ve aged a lot since I last saw you.”
“No one can outrun time.”
The secretary-general offered a mild smile.
After a brief exchange, the secretary-general knocked on the chairman’s office door.
A brusque voice from inside told them to enter, and the heavy door swung open.
Before stepping inside, Inhyeok added to the secretary-general,
“Ah, don’t bring any tea. I’ll be out before the water even steeps.”
Inhyeok entered the chairman’s office.
In front of the sunlit floor-to-ceiling window.
A distinguished-looking middle-aged gentleman sat behind a long desk.
At an age when others would be enjoying a quiet retirement in a silver town, he was the chairman of Taekang Group, who dominated Korea’s construction industry and commanded its semiconductor and automotive sectors.
Hyeongnam, with his stiff shirt collar starched upright, wore a tie knotted suffocatingly tight to the top.
He had recently taken a fourth wife, and whether he was diligently managing himself or not, his body had grown stout.
If anything had changed from before, it was that his black hair had turned completely white, and the stubborn laugh lines around his mouth had deepened slightly.
The long, horizontal monolids beneath his straight eyebrows were sharp, and his firmly set lips mirrored his obstinate stubbornness.
“……”
Hyeongnam observed his second son, whom he hadn’t seen in ten years, with an inscrutable gaze.
Inhyeok met his eyes head-on, unflinching and confident.
Though it had been a long time, neither showed any sign of warmth.
“Are you back in Korea for good?”
“Since when did you care about where I am? Just do as you’ve always done.”
“Is Jaeyoung doing well?”
“You get daily reports through the people you attached to him. Why ask now?”
As Inhyeok responded sarcastically to each question, Hyeongnam couldn’t help but frown.
“You’re long past the age for teenage rebellion, yet you’re still an immature brat. Haven’t you had enough fun playing around in the U.S. to come to your senses by now?”
“It’s true I’m immature, but hearing it from you feels a bit unfair, you know?”
“What?”
“Not satisfied with marrying a woman my age for the fourth time, you want me to call her ‘stepmother.’ What kind of irresponsible father does that?”
There was probably no one else in the world who spoke to him like this.
“So why did you call me here? I’m swamped.”
“Hmph, could a jobless bum be busier than me, the chairman?”
Hyeongnam was unaware that Inhyeok had established and was running an investment firm.
Though Inhyeok was the real owner, the public face of the company was a close associate.
To avoid Hyeongnam’s surveillance, maintaining the image of a drunken, good-for-nothing playboy was more advantageous.
After giving his son a disapproving once-over, Hyeongnam got to the point.
“Enough chatter. Come into the company and learn the ropes from your brother.”
“Ugh. Teaching me would just stress my brother out. What if your only heir gets sick from the pressure?”
Conversations with Inhyeok always went like this.
Inhyeok was a sore spot for Hyeongnam.
He was impossible to hold onto, yet letting him go felt wasteful because of his striking resemblance and brilliant mind.
His eldest son was competent enough, but Inhyeok was truly in a league of his own.
Before elementary school, he had mastered five languages through self-study; in middle school, he turned ten million won of allowance into three billion through stocks in a year.
If he joined the company, he could solidify the group’s foundation and expand its influence.
But after moving to the U.S., Inhyeok seemed interested only in throwing loud parties, showing zero interest in management.
Thus, Hyeongnam had no choice but to position his eldest son as the successor.
“How much longer do you plan to wander around outside?”
“Until I get tired of playing.”
“Do you really have not even a grain of interest in my wealth?”
Inhyeok shrugged.
“It’s not like you can take all that money with you when you die.”
Hyeongnam let out a sigh at the circular conversation.
Talking further with Inhyeok would only raise his blood pressure.
“Anyway, you have nothing more to say besides telling me to join the company, right? I’ve got shopping to do.”
“……Fine. Go ahead.”
“Yes.”
As if he’d been waiting for the dismissal, Inhyeok sprang to his feet.
Thud. The door closed, and Hyeongnam, pressing a hand to his temple, pushed the intercom button for his secretariat.
“Bring me a headache pill. And a stomach pill too.”
Even when stock prices fluctuated wildly, he never got a headache and stomachache simultaneously. But conversations with Inhyeok always left him like this.
A moment later, as the secretary-general brought the pills, Hyeongnam paused and asked,
“So, where is Inhyeok staying now?”
“XX-dong, XX Apartments.”
“He said it’s a high school friend’s place, right?”
“Yes. It belongs to ice hockey player Lee Hajun.”
Hyeongnam, lips pressed tightly, pondered for a moment before shaking his head briefly.
The secretary-general, sensing his thoughts, reassured him.
“I don’t think you need to worry. While living in the U.S., he only ever dated women.”
Finally relieved, Hyeongnam tossed the pills into his mouth.
“By the way, what on earth made that punk Inhyeok come to Korea all of a sudden? He’s not the type to move without a reason.”
“Shall I quietly look into it?”
After a moment of contemplation with a deep gaze, Hyeongnam shook his head.
There was only one person in this world who could control Tae Inhyeok.
“When you have time, tell Inho to come to the house.”
After meeting Hyeongnam, Inhyeok visited an imported car dealership.
Strolling among cars priced close to a small city apartment as casually as if he were out for a neighborhood walk, Inhyeok stopped in front of a red car.
“It’s sleek and well-designed… Why does he hate it?”
As Inhyeok muttered with a regretful face, the employee following him asked,
“Would you like to take it for a test drive?”
“No. I already have one.”
Inhyeok clicked his tongue regretfully and shifted his gaze to the car beside it—a bright yellow car resembling forsythia blossoms.
“I’ll take this one. Payment in full.”
Inhyeok nonchalantly pulled out a black card as if buying cigarettes from a convenience store. Just as the employee, beaming, reached for the card, Inhyeok asked,
“It can be delivered immediately, right? I have somewhere to be.”
Inhyeok lifted his lips into a slight smile—a handsome smile that could make even a man lose his composure.
“Of course, sir!”
The impossible had to be made possible
