» The Youngest Son of Sunyang
Chaebol's Youngest Son - Chapter 233
[233]Unpredictable Whirlwind 3
I turned my gaze away from the envelope.
What was inside the envelope would eventually be revealed, as it was prepared for me anyway.
Now, I had to open my ears wide. Every single word my grandfather was about to speak might be his last will, something I had to engrave in my heart and uphold without forgetting.
"This was prepared in a hurry, so I'm not sure if it will suit your taste."
The chef presented a small cutting board with a few pieces of sushi on it before us.
"What are you talking about? I know your skill well. I'll eat it with pleasure."
As my grandfather picked up his chopsticks, the chef wiped his hands and said,
"Please, you two, have your conversation. Call me if you need anything."
"The weather outside is fierce, you must have gone through a lot of trouble because of me."
"Not at all. I like the cold winter wind as much as fresh sashimi."
He bowed deeply to my grandfather and went outside.
"Try it. That guy's skill is as good as his perceptiveness."
Watching my grandfather put a piece of sushi into his mouth, I also picked up my chopsticks.
"How is it? Is it good?"
It wasn't particularly delicious, a lump of rice topped with a cold piece of fish on such a chilly day.
Noticing my expression, my grandfather hastily swallowed the rice in his mouth and took a sip of warm green tea.
"Oh dear, my teeth are sensitive. Should we have gone to a place with warm soup instead?"
"Shall I ask them to make some fish cake soup at least?"
"No. I merely needed a place to talk; I didn't call you here for a culinary pleasure."
My grandfather put down his chopsticks and drank more warm tea.
"Dojun."
"Yes."
"Earlier today, your father told me. He asked to completely separate the financial division."
"What? My father?"
The shares held by the financial subsidiaries allow them to exert 10% influence over Sunyang Group. But if they're spun off, that 10% influence disappears.
My grandfather saw my flustered expression and smiled faintly.
"Yes. But don't worry. I gave him a good scolding for talking such nonsense."
Seeing me relax again, my grandfather firmly grasped my hand.
"I want you to succeed me. But reality doesn't allow for that. The bond between parent and child, generations, age, time... reality is truly fearsome."
"It will only be vacant for a short while. Though others may pass through that empty seat in the interim, it will ultimately return to its rightful owner."
"Such big talk, haha."
My grandfather playfully slapped the back of the hand he had been holding firmly.
"For the past decade or so, watching our Dojun grow has brought me more joy and pleasure than the expansion of Sunyang Group. Even a large corporation, even a massive business, when you get right down to it, it's all just trade. And in trade, making money is unconditionally the most important thing."
I've made a lot of money, but can that truly be called 'trade'? In truth, it was nothing more than buying lottery tickets whose winning numbers I already knew. I've put in bone-grinding effort to learn management and business during that time, but it still falls far short of my grandfather's expectations.
Unaware of my true thoughts, my grandfather looked at me with pride.
"From that perspective, you are already the chairman of the greatest conglomerate in our country. After all, you've earned an unfathomable amount of money in just a decade."
I wanted to tell him just how much I had earned, but I feared my grandfather's already weakened heart wouldn't be able to bear it, so I merely offered a modest smile.
"In truth, I even question if Sunyang Group is truly necessary for you. If you continue on this path, you will undoubtedly establish a family enterprise that surpasses Sunyang in ten, twenty years."
"I only have money. I don't have power like you, Grandfather. Isn't the Chairman of Sunyang Group the very symbol of having both money and power?"
"Your ambition to possess such power also pleases me. As a man, it's only natural to have the grand ambition to wield influence and command over the nation, yes."
My grandfather's gaze, which had been full of admiration, shifted slightly, and he asked an unexpected question.
"Are you very disappointed?"
"What?"
"You thought I was still clinging to my shares... and that I would give you my remaining stake, didn't you?"
Since Chief Lee Hakjae must have mentioned it, it was too late to feign ignorance.
"To be honest, yes."
"So? Are you disappointed that I'm penniless?"
"I was disappointed, but I don't resent it. You gave me enough, and with that as capital, I've already secured more than a third."
"If that's what you think, then it's fine."
This was the truth. Hadn't I received more shares than expected when I acquired Sunyang Motors?
My grandfather picked up his chopsticks again, swallowed a piece of sushi, and slowly began to speak.
"The reason I called you here so secretly is because there are a few things I want to impress upon you."
"Please speak. I will listen attentively."
"I don't know how you'll claim the Chairman's seat at Sunyang. But you understand well that simply having a lot of money won't allow you to buy Sunyang Group whole, right?"
"Yes."
"But I believe your words. You will one day take control of Sunyang. I want to talk about what happens after that."
After becoming Chairman...
My heart pounded.
I had never thought about it. My goal simply ended at reaching that position. What would I truly do once I became the master of my grandfather's study?
Unaware of my thoughts, my grandfather took the process of reaching the Chairman's seat lightly. He naturally believed I would easily navigate that path and intended to tell me what awaited beyond the finish line.
Suddenly, I felt a sense of apology towards my grandfather.
"The Chairman's office at Sunyang is a truly brutal place. Before you know it, all your confidants disappear. Even those I considered friends slowly started to watch my every move."
But did my grandfather even have friends? Isn't a friend someone with whom you exchange glances as equals? I've never once seen anyone look at my grandfather from the same height.
"The first thing you must endure is solitude. Do not carelessly open your heart to your inner circle and claim them as friends. Such luxuries are not for a Chairman. You must bear the loneliness of having no friends..."
"Grandfather."
"...?"
"I have never had friends until now. All my relationships with people have been nothing more than transactions. I do have people I respect and admire, but that is all. I don't need anyone to share the burden placed on my shoulders."
"Transactions?"
"Yes. Anyone can work under me. But I don't expect loyalty from them. It's enough to give them what they want and take only what I need from them."
"Is that the method of the new generation? Haha."
It was a laugh whose true meaning I couldn't discern. My grandfather gazed at me for a moment before speaking.
"I was going to teach you something, but it seems there's no need."
"No, I am still very lacking."
"Don't bother with unnecessary modesty. You're only lacking in one thing."
"One thing?"
"Yes. Look. Everyone with a mouth in this world curses me, and everyone with fingers points them at me. They call me a symbol of crony capitalism, a chaebol that habitually uses illegal means and loopholes, a vicious old man who squeezed subcontractors dry to amass wealth, and so on."
Even as he spoke these words, he didn't seem angry. It was simply a story he wanted to tell me.
"But do you think any of those rascals aren't afraid of me? Not a single one can utter such words in my presence. Even politicians are like that. I've stood before the National Assembly's hearing three times. The assemblymen who hurled all sorts of accusations at other group chairmen merely watched my expression, like dogs wagging their tails, when they faced me."
"Is that because of fear?"
"Yes. Transactions are fine, and respect is fine. But at their core, there must be fear of you. Fear is precisely the source of the power you desire."
Those 'dogs' watching his expression wouldn't be doing so solely out of fear. The substantial sums of money he provided them periodically—that weight couldn't be ignored either.
The carrot and the stick — that was the true source of my grandfather's power.
My grandfather firmly grasped my hand again.
"I heard that you always speak respectfully and treat the people who work for you with courtesy."
"Yes. Most of them are older than me, so I tend to be careful."
"Do that in moderation. If you keep petting a dog because it's cute, it'll try to climb onto the dinner table."
"Understood. I will be stern with them sometimes."
"Good. I have no more nagging to do. Now, I have a request for you."
"Please say anything."
"Even if you become the master of Sunyang, don't disdain our blood relatives too much; create suitable positions and distribute them among them. Aren't they all my children, after all?"
"Of course. Aren't they family?"
To put my grandfather's mind at ease, there was nothing I couldn't say. I could even tell a bigger lie than this.
What was a little strange was my grandfather's reaction. He merely seemed to have said what he needed to say; he didn't appear particularly concerned.
As if he had finally gotten everything off his chest, he pushed the envelope he had kept at the bank forward to me.
"Now, you manage this."
"This...?"
"Take it out."
I put my hand into the envelope, and what I felt was a thick notebook.
A leather cover, pages stained black with grime. No way?
As soon as I turned the cover, I swallowed dry.
It wasn't 'no way' at all.
Names, dates, places, and amounts meticulously recorded.
It was precisely the ledger that contained every detail of the Sunyang Group's slush fund disbursements.
"I started recording that when the new military regime seized power. With a single word from the president, an entire group could collapse, so I couldn't live in constant anxiety, could I? That's why I made preparations everywhere and wrote everything down, without missing a single detail. I thought I'd expose it all if the need arose."
Sunyang's money was famously known to cause no repercussions, even if taken. Even when the group chairman was summoned to parliamentary hearings or stood trial in court, not a single word about bribes ever emerged.
"So, there was no need to expose it."
"Yes. But even as governments changed, I continued to record everything without fail. Those who took my money would all know that ledger exists. And that I would never reveal it."
This ledger my grandfather was pointing to was a silent threat by its very existence.
"I never shoved that ledger in their faces and threatened them just because things didn't go my way. Instead, I gave them more money and made them follow my will."
Threats aren't made with words. Holding a bomb in your hand is a threat in itself. You hold a bomb in one hand and offer money with the other.
It was obvious which of the two they would choose.
"Did you personally record every single detail?"
"I don't know about the few pennies given as payments to minor officials or rookie politicians. Lee Hakjae or the affiliate presidents handled that themselves without reporting to me."
Since frontline prosecutors and judges, first-term assemblymen, and working-level officials in government ministries were considered 'small fry,' I could surmise the standing of those whose names were on this ledger.
"Take out the other envelope too. That will also be useful."
The second envelope contained a stack of bankbooks, cards, and a bundle of keys.
"Anything under my name will be scattered among various foundations. The media will trumpet that I'm donating my personal assets back to society. And those who know it's an obvious trick will curse me for it."
"Then this... is it held under borrowed names?"
My grandfather nodded his head.
"These are domestic and international accounts. There are shell companies and accounts opened with forged passports. All domestic bank accounts are under borrowed names."
"Grandfather. I have plenty of money. I have enough to use, so this money can go elsewhere..."
As I spoke, carefully putting the bankbooks back into the envelope, my grandfather shook his head.
"Are you going to use your precious, hard-earned money as bribes for those trashy rascals?"
"What?"
"If you need to grease palms here and there, use that money. It's hard to trace, so it will be safe. And those accounts, you continue to use them. If you create any untraceable funds by illicit means, put them into those accounts. It's safe."
People to manage discreetly, and the money and accounts needed for that management.
At this very moment, I couldn't help but feel that I had gained half of my grandfather's power.