“Why would you even bother with something like that?”
Death and birth, mourning and celebration, black funeral attire and a pristine white wedding dress.
Funerals and weddings are polar opposites, yet they share some commonalities. They bring people together, offering a chance to see how much those you haven’t contacted in a while have changed. More starkly, they also reveal your social standing.
At these events, the person who receives the most attention isn’t the chief mourner or the host. It’s the most successful, influential person present.
Jin Do-jun’s wedding was practically a gathering of the business and legal elite. It was a place where power was stratified. The legal world was represented by the Chief Justice, the President of the Constitutional Court, and the Prosecutor General, along with heads of major law firms. The business world was a bit more nuanced.
Despite not having built a single factory from scratch, HW Group, which grew solely through mergers and acquisitions, was on par with Chairman Joo Tae-sik of Daehyeon Motors and Vice Chairman Jin Young-ki of Sunyang.
When Chairman Lee Hak-jae appeared, most of the political and business figures bowed their heads, and Chairman Joo Tae-sik even rushed over to guide him to the same table.
Vice Chairman Jin Young-ki, feeling isolated, consoled himself with the excuse that he should be with the family.
“Chairman Lee, I’ve heard some strange rumors. Are they true?”
Chairman Joo Tae-sik lowered his voice conspiratorially.
“What rumors are you referring to?”
“They say today’s groom, Jin Do-jun, is the real owner of Miracle.”
“Who says that? And the owner of an investment firm doesn’t really matter. No matter how big the firm is, the money belongs to the investors, doesn’t it?”
“If it were just that, I wouldn’t have brought it up. Founders of financial companies are no different from fund managers. But… they say most of Miracle’s funds are actually Do-jun’s money.”
“Do-jun is indeed a significant player at Miracle. But as you said, is it really that much? The founding president is Oh Se-hyun, isn’t it? And there’s a separate head at the U.S. headquarters.”
Chairman Joo pointed to a large round table in the distance.
“That foreign woman sitting over there, they say she’s the head of Miracle. Apparently, she has so much money that even the president meets with her.”
News had reported a series of meetings with prominent financial figures, starting with the Blue House.
“She’s invited to a luncheon at the Blue House tomorrow, right? It’s understandable. Have you forgotten? During the last financial crisis, she sent a whopping 10 billion dollars to Korea. Thanks to that, our banks were safe, and the exchange rate was stable. That’s practically IMF-level.”
“You benefited a lot from that, didn’t you, Chairman Lee?”
Chairman Joo nudged him with his elbow.
“They say Do-jun was the one who orchestrated it all.”
“That’s true. He worked hard as the intermediary.”
Chairman Lee Hak-jae continued the conversation nonchalantly, but he sensed that Jin Do-jun’s secret wouldn’t last much longer.
Plausible rumors are easy to imagine and thus easy to create. That means there are many false rumors circulating as well.
But there are also rumors that are hard to believe. If they’re hard to believe, it means they’re neither plausible nor easy to imagine.
That’s why no one creates them with an agenda. They think no one will believe them.
The real owner of Miracle, the owner of most of the investment funds—this implies his wealth is astronomical. It’s hard to believe one person could own all that money.
The more unbelievable a rumor, the more likely it is to be true, as anyone with experience in information knows.
For the people gathered at this wedding, who are quick to access and use information, the fact that Jin Do-jun’s identity was becoming a rumor meant it was getting harder to keep it under wraps.
‘The next Blue House luncheon will be attended by Do-jun. It’s getting harder to hide. Well… maybe there’s no reason to hide it anymore.’
Glancing at Chairman Joo’s expression, he saw him glaring at the CEO of Miracle from America.
“Damn, the world has changed.”
“Doesn’t it always?”
“No, it feels like the era of people like us, who run factories and sell products, is over. Now it’s the era of those who play with money. I’ve never had a solo meal at the Blue House.”
“Come on, that’s just to avoid any controversy over favoritism.”
“No, look at America. Wall Street controls the economy.”
Comparing two entirely different situations. And this man leads a company representing Korea.
Lee Hak-jae felt a sigh coming on.
The one who holds the money holds the power. In Korea, the chaebols hold the money, so they always hold the power.
Do-jun also holds the handle of a very well-sharpened sword. Is Do-jun a chaebol? Or is he one of those who play with money?
It was a sudden question.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
As soon as Seo Min-young entered the suite prepared at the hotel after the wedding, she flopped onto the bed.
When I lay down beside her, she snuggled into my arms. Stroking her hair, I said, “Let’s take a nap before we go.”
“What about the flight… Oh, right, it’s a private jet.”
“Yeah. It won’t take off until we’re on board, so we can rest as much as we want.”
She closed her eyes, seemingly reassured, but sat up abruptly after a few minutes.
“Let’s go.”
“Already? We can rest a bit more.”
“No, not to the airport.” “Then where?”
“Gunsan. We should pay our respects to your grandfather.”
Unable to stay lying down, I sat up.
“We can visit after the honeymoon. It’s not too late to see the elders then.”
“You say that, but you’re secretly pleased, right? Don’t you want to go? He’s the one you feel most indebted to. How many times did you think today how great it would be if your grandfather were here?”
“Am I smiling right now? How do you know me so well?”
“Stop smiling and pack your things. Let’s make a quick trip. If it’s too late, we can leave tomorrow. We can use this room tonight, right?”
“I’ll show you just how useful a private jet can be. Just wait and see. Heh heh.”
Leaving Seo Min-young, who looked at me with wide eyes, I called the staff overseeing the wedding and honeymoon.
“We’re heading to Gunsan to see my grandfather, so please prepare. And have the private jet ready to depart from Gunsan. There’s an airport there, right?”
“I’ll confirm and let you know immediately. Will you be traveling to Gunsan by car?”
“That would be more convenient, right?”
“I’ll inform you as soon as everything is ready. Please relax in the meantime.”
Once the staff left, she gave me a thumbs-up.
“Oh, now it really feels like I’ve married into a chaebol family.”
Sitting beside me again, her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“A few days ago, my parents told me something really interesting.”
“What was it?”
“Did you know a famous matchmaker in Gangnam was trying to set us up?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Apparently, as soon as you entered college, your grandfather started looking for a bride for you. I was at the top of the list.”
“Really?”
Seo Min-young nodded vigorously.
“Yeah. These days, matchmakers don’t arrange formal meetings. They create natural opportunities for people to meet and develop feelings before setting up a formal introduction. The matchmaker must have thought it would be easy since we were in the same school and department.”
“Heh heh. They miscalculated.”
“Right. They didn’t know you wouldn’t be attending school.”
Now I understood why she wanted to visit Gunsan first. She wanted to show that things had turned out as her grandfather had hoped.
At that moment, the staff returned cautiously.
“Everything is ready. However, using Gunsan Airport is not possible, but you can use the nearby Muan International Airport. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine.”
We discreetly set off, avoiding the eyes of the reporters.
“How do you feel?”
She laughed as she watched me absentmindedly touch the gravestone.
“If it was going to end up like this, I should have married you while your grandfather was still alive.”
“Regret is always too late, no matter how early. So we should live without doing things we’ll regret.”
“Oh, are you lecturing me already? Is that a nag?”
Right, we shouldn’t do things we’ll regret.
“Let’s go. Since we’re here, let’s pay our respects.”
“Respects? To whom?”
“To someone who was like a brother to my grandfather. I used to come down to see him occasionally, but he didn’t come today. We sent him an invitation… My grandfather always insisted I visit him often.”
Holding her hand, I headed to the home of Grandpa Joo Byung-hae, who was like a great-uncle to me.
“Well, aren’t you a thoughtful one. Delaying your honeymoon to pay respects to your grandfather first! You’ve married well, young man.”
He laughed heartily, slapping his knee.
After offering some words of wisdom, he looked at me and quietly asked, “I heard you ousted Dong-gi and took everything he had.”
Even from afar, it seemed he had many ears in Seoul.
“He stepped down, taking responsibility for poor management.”
“That’s the official story. Your grandfather always said that no one else had ambition and ability like you, and he wasn’t wrong.”
“Has my grandfather ever been wrong?”
“Plenty, you rascal.”
After a hearty laugh, he continued, “But he always turned things around to make himself right. He made it so that he was right and everyone else was wrong. You’ll need to do the same to take over Sunyang.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, great-uncle.”
He seemed pleased with the title, his smile unwavering.
“By the way, I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“Take your time relocating your grandfather’s grave.”
Now he knows I have that kind of power. With Grandma gone and only my uncle left holding the reins of a diminished Sunyang, there’s no one to stop me if I decide to move the graves.
“When I’m too old and tired to tend to the graves, I’ll let you know. Then you can move them to Seoul.”
“Yes, and I’ll make sure to bring Great-Uncle along too.”
“You’ve learned how to say what people want to hear. Clever boy. Ha ha.”
He chuckled and stood up.
“Off you go now. An old man shouldn’t keep you too long on your wedding day.”
“I’ll come visit again, Great-Uncle.”
As Min-young Seo bowed respectfully, he beamed at her.
“Hey, newlywed! Congratulations on your marriage.”
Se-hyun Oh, waiting for us in Kota Kinabalu, pulled me into a bear hug.
“So, your grand rise ends with a bang. It’s all downhill from here. Heh heh.”
He whispered in my ear as he led us to the resort.
If Min-young hadn’t glared at him and sent him packing, our first night of the honeymoon would have been spent drinking.
We took a full week to relax, leaving no room for regrets.
It was the first time I completely erased thoughts of work and shares from my mind.
After a week, we returned.
I went back to the battlefield, and my wife, Min-young Seo, returned to her workplace.
On my first day back, after greeting a few people, I sat down with Chairman Hak-jae Lee.
He tossed a stack of business registration certificates in front of me.
“Are these all the leeches sucking us dry?”
“Yes. Construction, heavy industry, machinery, chemicals—there’s a ton.”
Chairman Lee, who knew the inner workings of the group better than anyone, had no trouble identifying the unnecessary subsidiaries and partner companies siphoning off money.
“These are the people connected to those leeches.”
He handed me a list, glancing at me for a reaction.
I knew what that look meant.
Sorry, Chairman, but this time, I can’t go along with your wishes.