Lights Don't Go Out in the Annex - Chapter 36
CHAPTER 36
“How’s Hyun Gyucheol’s trial going?”
Kwon Kyungrok asked with a thoughtful look as if suddenly remembering something, while he glanced at the elevator’s number panel. Director Gong politely nodded and immediately responded.
“It’s progressing without any issues. According to the lawyer, considering he’s a first-time offender and has reached an agreement with the victim’s family, they are expecting a relatively lenient sentence of 2 years. It’s not significantly different from what we initially estimated.”
There were the only people in the fast-moving elevator towards the top floor of GK Group’s headquarters building, Chairman Kwon and Director Lee Jihoon.
“Hmm, make sure to keep a close eye on his prison life. Check in on him often to see if he’s having any difficulties in prison. If he needs anything, make sure he gets it right away.”
“Yes, we’re in constant contact. We’re also preparing additional measures to ensure he adapts well even after being transferred to the prison once the trial verdict is finalized.”
“Indeed. You never know when or how someone’s heart might change if they find prison life harder and lonelier than they expected, as it’s human nature.”
Chairman Kwon took a deep breath and cleared his throat, a raspy sound of phlegm echoed. He turned his gaze away from the elevator doors, which he had been facing, and looked at Director Gong and spoke.
“While he seems to be cooperative and submissive for now, I can’t help but feel uneasy.”
Between being diagnosed with a stroke and being treated with medication, Chairman Kwon’s once sturdy, large frame had deflated like a punctured balloon, but his mean, unforgiving gaze remained as fierce as ever.
“We need to thoroughly investigate his surroundings and isolate them completely. We can’t afford to overlook any small details, as the easier things seem, the more room there is for mistakes. Did you say that the only family left to Hyun Gyucheol is his daughter?”
“Yes, Hyun Gyucheol’s daughter took a hiatus from the school she was attending at the time and was wandering off when we arranged for her to work at the mansion, making it easier for us to monitor her.”
Director Gong politely nodded and continued.
“Thanks to your consideration, the family has been living in the mansion since she was young, so she seems to have adapted quickly, and doesn’t appear to be in any suspicion or resentment.”
Apparently pleased with Director Gong’s answer, Kyungrok nodded solemnly as he finished each sentence.
“Contrary to your fears, she hasn’t had any contact with Hyun Gyucheol so far. She’s requested a visit a few times, but he refused.”
“I see. When you get a chance, take a look at the room where his daughter is staying.”
“We perform scans every month. Nothing suspicious has come up yet.”
“Hmm, it seems his daughter is completely unaware of anything.”
“Yes, ever since Hyun Gyucheol’s wife passed away, she hasn’t returned to the mansion and has mostly lived at her school. She seems to have some sort of guilt because it happened during a time when her relationship with her father was estranged.”
“That’s good.”
Chairman Kwon smiled in satisfaction. At the same time, the elevator beeped. When the elevator doors opened on the top floor of the building, Kyungrok adjusted the cane he held in his right hand and slowly stepped out.
The after-effects of his stroke left him with a slight limp. It was around the same time that Chairman Kwon, known for his hobby of collecting supercars, lost interest in cars and driving. Not only did he lose interest, but in fact, driving had become a terrifying experience for him.
It was a devastating crisis for Chairman Kwon, whose reputation as the head of one of Korea’s leading companies, loved and respected by the entire nation, could have collapsed in an instant. His reputation that had once plummeted to the ground and socially criticized due to a scandal involving his mistress Shin Joo-ah was a disgrace he could never accept again in his lifetime.
Over the past twenty years, he had poured astronomical sums into social welfare and various charitable activities. And he would not let his clean and noble image be tarnished again for any reason.
Having his image, which he had managed to clean and nobly wash by risking a large amount of investment that brought tears of blood, to be covered in shit again was a disaster that he could never tolerate as long as he lived and must be avoided at all costs.
And now he had the people, the connections, and the resources at his disposal to do just that. As the head of the giant GK Group, he was determined to maintain his spotless reputation as long as he lived.
“This way, Chairman.”
Following the elevator closing, Director Gong quickened his pace to guide the way. As he opened the door to the conference room, those who had been seated at the desks arranged in a U-shape inside all turned their heads towards the door at once.
Beyond the panoramic windows of the spacious conference room, the endless forest of buildings along Tehran Road stretched out. The dazzling skyline, adorned with buildings featuring various avant-garde designs, sparkled brightly under the scorching summer sun.
In the conference room, the quarterly business status report was in full swing. Normally, Chairman Kwon himself would preside over the meeting, bringing together key executives from each division. But since he had been diagnosed with a stroke and had been in the hospital for some time, he had delegated it to the head of strategic planning, and had been receiving separate reports from his home.
“The Chairman has arrived.”
As Chairman Kwon entered, the employees hastily stood up. Managing Director Hwang Incheol, who had been sitting at the head table, rushed over and respectfully bowed deeply to Chairman Kwon Kyungrok, escorting him to the head table.
“Mr. Hwang, you’ve worked hard.”
After lightly tapping Incheol on the shoulder, the chairman sat down leisurely in a wide leather chair and placed the black cane he was holding on the table. His piercing ash-gray eyes scanned the room. For a moment, tension descended on the conference room, and the executives straightened their backs.
The chairman’s gaze lingered for a moment on the sullen face of Kwon Taegyeom, who sat at the back of the table to his left, his jaw clenched and chin on his hand. Unlike the reactions of those around him, who swallowed dryly and tensed up as his gaze lengthened, Taegyeom looked dull and bored.
“Please continue.”
Kwon Kyungrok tore his gaze away from Taegyeom.
It was the steady voice that announced the return of the chairman.
* * *
“These quarterly indicators can be positively evaluated for achieving additional growth despite a decline in valuation. However, especially in times like these, it’s important to lead supply ahead of demand to create a big cycle.”
“You’re absolutely right, Chairman.”
As Hwang Incheol fervently recorded the Chairman’s words in his notebook and bowed deeply, the atmosphere in the meeting was generally smooth.
Although there was no significant change in Chairman Kwon’s expression after hearing the quarterly business performance reports, he seemed somewhat satisfied with the company’s results, which, while not meeting expectations, maintained a steady upward trajectory compared to competitors’ sharp declines.
A subtle scent of tea wafted through the office. It was high-quality leaf tea specially prepared by Hwang Incheol for the Chairman. Its leaves were known to have properties that purified blood and blood vessel walls, making it good for stroke prevention. The tea had been meticulously brewed multiple times in an iron pot, had a sweet and fragrant aroma.
While Hwang Incheol eagerly leaned forward in his seat, leaning towards the Chairman, and fully engaged in the conversation, on the opposite side, Kwon Taegyeom sat deeply reclined, absently sipping his tea, with a bored expression on his face. He made it evident, without concealing it, how annoyed he was to be sitting among these elderly men.
“By the way, my teacup is empty.”
Chairman Kwon said as he placed the meeting materials on his lap on the table.
“Mr. Hwang, please fill it up.”
Incheol, who was about to call his assistant, stopped dead in his tracks. The Chairman’s brief sentence implied that he wanted Incheol to leave the room for a moment, essentially asking him to step outside in the pretext of bringing in some more tea. It’s one of Chairman Kwon’s trademark tactics, a way of hiding his intentions in a simple sentence.
There was no way that Incheol, once the Chairman’s closest and most loyal henchman, who would go in and out of his young lover’s house to fetch her underwear without being seen, could not fail to recognize the meaning behind his words. After a long time, he climbed up the management ladder, step by step, to reach his current position.
When Chairman Kwon was away for a while due to health issues, Incheol’s position in the company had risen rapidly. There was no way the Chairman, who was astute about the flow of power, did not know this.
His sudden decision to bring his first son back to the company, whom he had abandoned in the US, must have been made with all this in mind. He doesn’t do things half-heartedly. Chairman Kwon was a man who always looked ahead and knew how to strategically utilize his pieces on the chessboard.
“Yes, I will go and refill it. Chairman.”
Incheol stood up with a submissive smile and left his seat. As Hwang Incheol left the office and the door closed behind him, the chairman turned to Taegyeom.
“Mr. Hwang, Taegyeom, I’ll tell you about him. Back in the day, he was a nobody with a seaweed stench from the countryside. I even sent him to graduate school and raised him to where he is now.”
Picking up his cane, which he had laid across the table, Kyungrok gripped the top of the cane with both hands and held it upright.
“But even a silkworm has to eat mulberry leaves, right? And everyone has a limit to how far they can climb. It’s best to live within one’s means. Incheol knows that. That’s his most valuable quality, which I value the most.”
There was a strange look in Chairman Kwon’s eyes. However, Taegyeom still looked bored, as if he was listening to a story that had nothing to do with him.
“Soon, I’ll have you take the position of Chief Strategic Planning Officer. Make him sincerely support and mentor you like he did to me. You will serve me as loyally as that guy groveled to me.”
As Kyungrok spoke, Taegyeom smiled with a touch of bitterness, placing the teacup he had been sipping on the table with a clank. It was the first time he had shown a change in his demeanor.