Representative Yoon Hyun-gil was begging for forgiveness until his voice was hoarse.
His head was covered in blood, and perhaps due to excessive bleeding, he could barely hold himself upright.
"Shall I tell you how to survive?"
"If you tell me how, I will do anything!"
"If you promise to be a lifelong bait, I will let you live."
"If you say become a worm, I will become a worm."
Representative Yoon answered reflexively.
He had no idea how difficult it was to be the bait I was talking about.
"Keep pretending to be at odds with Tae-woo Group like you have been. Then people who sympathize with you will stick to your side. Just report them to us."
"I will do that. I will report everyone who comes to my side and even find and report their weaknesses."
"And give up on your dream of the presidency."
"I've already given up on that. How could a bait possibly challenge for the presidency?"
Representative Yoon dribbled saliva as he answered.
If I had revealed his weaknesses from the start, he would never have reacted like this.
But I slowly isolated him and revealed his weaknesses when he was mentally weak.
Now, Representative Yoon was completely broken mentally and had become a loyal puppy that wagged its tail at everything I said.
"The connections you built up will never come back. You may have to eat alone in Yeouido for the rest of your life."
"I will be grateful just to be able to eat alone."
"I will throw you a maintenance allowance, so don't get greedy for anything else. No owner likes a hunting dog that eats the bait given by someone else."
"I will live off whatever Tae-woo Group gives me for the rest of my life."
Representative Yoon Hyun-gil was a kind of trap.
He had low recognition in the general public, but within Yeouido, his recognition was quite high.
So naturally, a politician who intended to attack Tae-woo Group would seek him out.
Unaware that it was a trap.
"Remember, we are watching you 24 hours a day."
"I won't have any foolish thoughts, even in my dreams. If I do, I will take my own life."
Representative Yoon flinched as he looked at the photos scattered on the floor.
Photos capturing scenes he thought no one would know about.
Though the photos weren't obtained by Tae-woo Group, Representative Yoon had no way to know the source.
He could only be certain that Tae-woo Group was watching him around the clock.
"We will send people to monitor your aides as well."
"Thank you. I will live with the will to repay this favor forever."
"Repay the favor? How could bait repay a favor? It's simply used because it has value."
"I will work hard to maintain that value for life."
Seeing Representative Yoon's miserable state only made my anger rise.
Because of a person like this, grandfather had to stand before the prosecution's photo line.
To prevent this from happening again, I had to turn Representative Yoon into a trap and throw him into Yeouido.
***
That evening.
After finishing the meeting with Representative Yoon, I returned home.
Click. When I arrived home, I noticed blood stains on my shoes.
It was the blood that had dripped from Representative Yoon's head.
I shoved my shoes into the trash can and walked into the living room.
"You're late again today."
"Still not asleep?"
"I can't seem to fall asleep. The thought that I've wasted my life keeps coming to me, so I can't lie down."
It was the grandfather, feeling helpless after the prosecution investigation.
Though he had risen to lead the top-ranked business group in the industry, the helplessness of being unable to avoid the prosecution's investigation had drained him greatly.
"I've taken measures to ensure something like this doesn't happen again."
"No matter how hard you try, if you fall out of favor with the regime, there's nothing you can do. Anyone running a business in Korea has to endure this kind of humiliation."
"I will make sure you never have to go to the prosecution office again."
"That's impossible. Think about it: if the president asks for money, who can refuse? If that happens, the next regime can use it as leverage to imprison any business leader they dislike."
Only five years.
During that time, the president wielded absolute power.
Entrepreneurs had to maintain good relations with the president to operate their businesses smoothly.
But if the president changed after five years, they could be retaliated against just because of their ties to the previous president.
No matter how well connected you were, if you slipped up even once, you had to board the prison train.
"Can't you just be close to many politicians, regardless of party?"
"The ruling party has various factions, and so does the opposition. It's impossible to hand out money to all politicians, so how could that work?"
"Shouldn't Tae-woo Group grow enough that it doesn't have to watch the regime? I'm confident I can make Tae-woo Group that strong."
"Good. I also believe that if it were you, you could make Tae-woo Group such a group."
Why was grandfather showing such a reaction?
I wondered if it was a joke and studied his expression, but his face was more sincere than ever.
"Thank you for trusting me."
"Since I trust you, I want to fully entrust everything at Tae-woo Group to you and focus solely on the new business in Vietnam."
"Do you mean you will take a short break in Vietnam?"
"I mean I will hand over the chairman position to you and leave for Vietnam forever."
"That's far too early! How can I possibly run Tae-woo Group without you, grandpa?"
Grandfather said nothing.
He just leaned weakly against the sofa.
"Then go to Vietnam for a while. I will do whatever it takes to lead Tae-woo Group in the meantime. But don't ever talk about retiring again."
"The inheritance procedures are all done. Just take the chairman seat. Like Chairman Jang, I will become an honorary chairman and retire quietly."
"Don't speak so weakly. How would Tae-woo Group run without you? You must come back no matter what."
"I'll go to Vietnam first and think it over."
I still needed grandfather's shadow.
He was a godlike figure at Tae-woo Group, and I needed more time to follow in his footsteps.
But I also couldn't hold on to him forever.
If I forcibly kept holding on to someone who had been broken down by the prosecution investigation, the situation would only get worse.
The best thing now was to wait for him to gather his thoughts in Vietnam and return.
***
The next day in the chairman's office.
Chairman Kim Tae-jung and his chief secretary were enjoying their morning coffee.
Basking in the morning sunlight, Chairman Kim Tae-jung looked notably different from yesterday as he sipped his coffee.
"I've decided to stay in Vietnam for a while."
"So you've finally made up your mind?"
"To make Min-jae work harder, there's no other way. The competent one keeps trying to pass the work to his grandfather. I have to force him to work somehow."
"Then I'll have to go to Vietnam with you. How could I miss the chance to accompany you?"
"Oh no, you should stay here. You're still young—you shouldn't be slacking off already."
They exchanged smiles as they talked.
The chief secretary had already heard about this plan from Chairman Kim Tae-jung.
To further grow Tae-woo Group, Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae had to be kept busy, and extreme measures were necessary for that.
A retirement threat.
If Chairman Kim Tae-jung left Korea for Vietnam,
Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae would have no choice but to lead the company.
The chief secretary was the first to suggest this approach.
"You're planning to enjoy tourism in Vietnam for a whole year, huh?"
"I'm not sure I'll have time to enjoy sightseeing. From battery factories to automobile and electronics factories, a considerable number of new factories are being built in Vietnam."
"The affairs are handled by the staff. You can just stroll around and oversee things casually."
Chairman Kim Tae-jung was a workaholic.
But recently, a change of heart had occurred.
Tae-woo Group had risen to the top of the business world, and with Chairman Jang Young-joo, who had been active in the same era, passing away, he wanted to relieve the burden on his mind.
Besides, his grandson was capable.
He wanted to pass all the responsibilities immediately, but it was natural that his grandson would resist.
He had been quite nervous when appointing him as vice chairman.
So this retirement show was just a gradual way of handing over the burden.
"I'll tell the heads of the affiliates that the chairman is personally overseeing factories worldwide."
"Min-jae will handle it. These days, when I attend management meetings, everyone's just watching the vice chairman's moves. There's no need for you to step in."
"That's true. So I'll spend three to four months cleaning up here and then follow the chairman to Vietnam."
"Is that how it's going to be? Do as you wish. Ha ha ha."
Chairman Kim Tae-jung and the chief secretary looked brightened by the thought of a break.
They gathered closely, searching for good resorts in Vietnam and even looking up popular restaurants.
***
I had a headache starting from the morning.
No matter how much strong coffee I drank, the headache didn't go away, and I had to take the headache medicine the chief of planning brought.
"Didn't things go well?"
"My business with Representative Yoon Hyun-gil went smoothly. But another issue has popped up."
"What kind of issue?"
"The chairman wants to retire. The prosecution investigation must have caused him a lot of mental shock. But if he suddenly does this, you can imagine how difficult this is for me."
"Did the chairman really say he wanted to retire?"
"We agreed that he would take a short break in Vietnam first. He said he'd collect himself and then return to Korea."
"Phew!"
The chief of planning sighed in relief.
I wanted to have a daytime drink with the chief of planning, but I had so much work that there wasn't time for that.
"The iPhone launches next month. It will be released simultaneously in the U.S. and Korea, so thorough preparation is essential."
"All Tae-woo Electronics Mart branches are getting ready. We'll be able to sell the iPhone in every branch nationwide right at launch."
"Can you supply to cellphone dealerships too?"
"Yes. We have plans to supply the iPhone to all dealerships nationwide at the same time."
"But there are concerned voices coming from Tae-woo Telecom."
The Tae-woo Telecom president couldn't even meet my eyes.
So he must have been complaining to the easygoing chief of planning.
"What did he say?"
"He was worried that the iPhone's Wi-Fi feature would cause a drop in Tae-woo Telecom's sales."
"I'll visit Tae-woo Telecom and explain the situation myself."
Only one month left.
The iPhone I'd been preparing for years was finally launching.
There were many things to watch out for and a mountain of tasks for me to handle personally.
And yet, the grandfather was leaving for Vietnam.
If only it weren't the grandfather. Ugh.