68.
#The Reason Jeong Hayun Confronts
Haedo Group Headquarters, Chairman’s Office. Jeong Seo-in visited there after a long time. At her appearance, the secretaries in the chairman’s office stood up with perfect posture and bowed. She casually waved her hand and went straight to the door of the chairman’s office. When the secretary who followed her knocked on the door instead, one of the chairman’s secretaries approached with a troubled face.
“You’ll have to wait a moment. The Chairman is currently on a call.”
At the words that she couldn’t enter now, her face showed obvious displeasure.
“What kind of situation is this, calling someone and then making them wait?”
Although it was her father, Chairman Jeong, who had called her, and it was also Chairman Jeong who happened to be on another call at the appointed time, the blame fell on the secretarial staff.
“I’ll bring you some tea. It should end in about 10 minutes, so please wait a moment.”
“Never mind the tea. I’ll have some with Father later, so just leave it.”
Seo-in replied with an irritated voice and sat down in a chair prepared on one side.
“I wondered what wind had blown for the old man to suddenly call me…”
She was displeased with this treatment after being called to come. It was always like this. Even though she had learned enough and was running a logistics subsidiary with some success, Chairman Jeong had never properly acknowledged her. It was worse when Jeong Seo-hoo was alive. Saying that the son would eventually inherit everything, he never allowed her more than a supporting role. After Seo-hoo died in an accident, she thought things would change since she was the only child left, but this time she was overshadowed by her nephew, Jeong Hayun.
What an old-fashioned old man. What era does he think this is?
She thought she was being disregarded solely because she was a woman. If that wasn’t the case, there was no reason she should be pushed aside in favor of the young Jeong Hayun.
After waiting for a while, a staff member from the secretarial office made a call on the intercom and then approached Seo-in to tell her she could go in now. At those words, she stood up and immediately flung open the door to the chairman’s office. Even though he already knew she had arrived, Chairman Jeong frowned and glared at the sudden opening of the door without a knock.
“You shouldn’t scold me for not knocking when you’re the one who called me here and then made me wait, right?”
At her words implying that her father was the one who had erred first, the furrows between Chairman Jeong’s brows deepened.
“Why did you call me? You rarely seek me out unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
She asked as she sat down on the sofa in the chairman’s office. Chairman Jeong, not hiding his displeasure, approached and sat in the main seat of the sofa. Only then did the secretarial staff member who had followed her in ask what kind of tea they should prepare.
“We won’t be talking long, so there’s no need to prepare tea.”
Just as Seo-in was about to answer, Chairman Jeong declined first. At that response, Seo-in let out a short, exasperated breath, but not wanting to argue with her father, she just turned her head away.
“Why did you call someone whose face you don’t even want to see for long?”
Her tone became even more prickly. Seemingly indifferent to her attitude, Chairman Jeong placed a heavy envelope of documents in front of her, almost throwing it down.
“What’s this?”
Seo-in looked down at the envelope with just her eyes.
“Open it and see for yourself.”
At the unfriendly answer, she pursed her lips and picked up the envelope.
“Saudi Arabia?”
She asked, looking at Chairman Jeong after flipping through the documents briefly.
“Why this?”
The contents of the envelope were materials about the overall situation in Saudi Arabia. To her question about why he was showing this to her, Chairman Jeong frowned again. Certainly, compared to Jeong Hayun, Seo-in lacked intuition. She was doing the given tasks reasonably well, but she couldn’t see beyond that. Contrary to Seo-in’s thoughts, the reason Chairman Jeong didn’t consider her as a successor wasn’t because she was a daughter. Her shortsighted way of thinking was her biggest flaw.
“You must have seen in the news that we’ll soon be conducting cooperative projects with Saudi Arabia at a national level.”
If she didn’t even know that much, there would be no point in further conversation.
“I did see that. Are we going to participate too?”
She asked while casually flipping through the documents. Chairman Jeong barely held back a sigh that was about to escape. The Saudi Arabia project was a multi-faceted operation proceeding simultaneously in various fields, many of which overlapped with Haedo Group’s areas of expertise. It wasn’t a matter of considering whether to participate; it was a project that Haedo Group should naturally secure. The scale was also beyond imagination. It could generate profits several times larger than domestic projects.
“Prepare a presentation on which areas we can participate in, how we can participate, and what competitive edge Haedo has.”
At the sudden instruction, Seo-in’s eyes widened.
“Me? Really? You’re not going to make Hayun do it?”
It was a question implying that even if Haedo Group participated, wouldn’t Jeong Hayun naturally be in charge? It seemed she hadn’t been paying attention because she thought there wouldn’t be a role for her from the start.
“Hayun will prepare too, but you should prepare on your side as well. I’ll put the one who gets the final selection in charge of the entire project.”
The surprise on Seo-in’s face soon turned to delight.
“Really? No changing your mind later, okay?”
Seo-in was well aware of the importance of this project. If it succeeded properly, she could firmly establish her position as the next successor to the Haedo Group.
“What wind has suddenly blown for our father to do this?”
Even while pleased, she didn’t fully trust Chairman Jeong. For the past few years, even after Seo-hoo’s death, Seo-in had always been pushed behind Hayun.
“Did Hayun do something wrong?”
“……”
“Huh? Really? Was there actually something he did to go against you?”
Seo-in made a fuss, unable to believe it. Although he was a much younger nephew, Hayun had been more formidable than expected. Until now, he had never given Seo-in an opportunity to wedge herself in.
“Don’t tell me it’s about marriage?”
If it had been an internal company issue, rumors would have reached her ears, but there had been nothing of the sort. So it wasn’t likely to be a work-related mistake. Considering Hayun’s age now, the remaining issue could only be about marriage. It was crystal clear that as much as Chairman Jeong had high expectations for him, he would try to choose a perfect match according to his wishes for the marriage as well.
Would Jeong Hayun quietly comply with that? Seo-in thought he definitely would. Even though young, he was a guy with clear ambitions to take over the entire Haedo Group. He seemed like someone who could easily handle a strategic marriage and have plenty left over.
“It seems to be true.”
Seo-in expressed surprise when she saw Chairman Jeong furrowing his brow instead of answering. She couldn’t understand how Hayun would confront Chairman Jeong over such a trivial matter.
“Who were you trying to set him up with for him to rebel?”
Now she was purely curious. She wondered what kind of match would be good enough for Hayun in her father’s eyes.
“Congressman Choi Min-guk’s granddaughter.”
“The ruling party’s floor leader? But did that family have someone suitable to be Hayun’s match…?”
After pondering for a while, she frowned.
“The daughter of the congressman’s second son?”
Even as she asked, it didn’t seem plausible. Seo-in was more interested in the social gatherings of political and business families than in company affairs. With her own son and daughter approaching marriageable age, she had thoroughly investigated the children of most notable families.
“That’s unexpected.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t consider her as Hayun’s match.”
“If not for Hayun, then who… No way, for Dawoon?”
Seo-in’s voice jumped. It was surprising in many ways. It was shocking that Chairman Jeong, who had been consistently indifferent to the point of being cruel, was now intervening in Dawoon’s affairs. But it was even more incomprehensible that Hayun was confronting Chairman Jeong over such a reason.
“Anyway, what a funny guy. Well, he always did get serious when it came to Dawoon’s matters. I guess he really didn’t like the match for Jeong Dawoon.”
At Seo-in’s muttering, Chairman Jeong’s face hardened even more. Yes, Hayun had always been excessively involved in Dawoon’s affairs.
‘Grandfather, please be a shield so that no one can touch or speak carelessly about my siblings, especially Dawoon.’
He recalled Hayun’s image boldly demanding this of him even before Seo-hoo’s funeral was over. Back then, he had thought it was just about protecting his young siblings who were left behind. But was that not the case? Even Seo-in described him as a funny guy, and Chairman Jeong himself couldn’t understand Hayun’s attitude this time.
Confronting him over mere Jeong Dawoon?
How should he understand this? Was there something he was missing? Was Dawoon just an excuse, and did Hayun have some other scheme?
After deliberation, he called Seo-in. If someone appeared to confront Hayun head-on, it might become clearer what Hayun was thinking.
***
“The Chairman has called for President Jeong Seo-in.”
At Director Park’s report, Hayun raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk. It was exactly as he had predicted, without the slightest deviation.
“Let’s confirm one last time.”
Hayun turned to face Director Park and opened his mouth with a smile.
“Director Park, have you firmly decided on your stance?”
At Hayun’s question, Director Park nodded gravely and answered, “Yes.” At that response, Hayun’s smile deepened.
“You won’t regret accepting my proposal.”
He replied lightly and stood up from his seat.
“Now that they’ve started to move, let’s begin on our side as well.”
Hayun’s eyes gleamed distinctively, like a predator eyeing its prey.
