TOIGC 14

Chapter 14 …

Prepare for the Future (1)

“Understood.” “You aren’t going to ask why?” “You didn’t ask for my opinion, Young Master. You gave an order.”

Hearing the exact response he had anticipated, Yoongi concluded that his assessment of Ryu Geuntae was spot on. It made him realize once again that this man was practically built for the role of a secretary.

‘The more I look at him, the more I want him.’

Even so, that didn’t mean Yoongi placed absolute trust in Ryu Geuntae just yet.

“Why don’t you talk to your mother and father about living here with me? If you’re going to visit this often, that is.”

At Choi Gihyeon’s suggestion, Choi Yoongi gave an awkward chuckle and scratched his left arm.

“I’d love to live with you, Grandfather, but my parents feel a bit uncomfortable around the others. You know how it is.”

Hearing his ten-year-old grandson give such a sad yet accurate answer, Choi Gihyeon felt the exact same sentiment.

‘Maybe I built up too much success… or maybe I had too many children…’

Back when he was simply running a large trading company, his kids seemed to genuinely enjoy family life. Then again, thinking back, that was probably just because they were young; now that they were grown, greed for money had taken over.

‘It’s not as if I can tear down the success I’ve built. To ensure none of my children get left behind, I have no choice but to build even greater success.’

As Choi Gihyeon quickly collected his emotions and looked back at Yoongi, the boy spoke up again.

“Grandfather.” “Did you come here to ask for another favor?”

Looking at his grandfather’s playful expression, Yoongi could sense the loneliness hidden behind that smile.

“There’s that, but before we get to it, a thought crossed my mind.” “What is it?” “Why don’t you just come live at our house, Grandfather?” “Hmm?” “I want to live with you, and you want to live with us too. So wouldn’t it be better if you stayed at our house for your day-to-day life?” “Ho…”

Choi Gihyeon stroked his stubbly chin, intrigued.

“Is that not possible?” “Nothing stopping me on my end. But I doubt your mother and father would like the idea…” “My parents wouldn’t like you? That’s ridiculous.”

A broad smile spread across Choi Gihyeon’s face at the strong denial.

“Even if my parents object, I’ll pitch a fit. I’ll tell them I’d rather starve for a month if it means living together, so please come stay with us.”

Hearing his grandson say the exact things he desperately wished to hear, Choi Gihyeon scooped him up in a big hug.

“Give it a year or two, and I won’t be able to lift you anymore.” “Later on, I’ll lift you up instead, Grandfather.” “Bwahaha! Sounds like a deal. Anyway, what favor did you want to ask?”

Setting his grandson back down, Choi Gihyeon caught his breath, feeling a slight strain from the effort.

“I instructed the secretary you sent to buy up as much land near Cheonggyecheon as possible with my money, but could you keep an eye on him to make sure he isn’t slacking off?” “Why are you trying to buy land in Cheonggyecheon?”

Choi Gihyeon asked out of genuine curiosity. Granting his grandson’s request was no trouble at all, but he wondered why the boy had specifically singled out land around ‘Cheonggyecheon.’

“While studying, I learned that the population of Seoul is steadily growing.” “That’s true.” “And people inevitably need grocery stores to live.” “Also true.” “If the population grows significantly, we’ll need more or larger grocery stores.” “Indeed. Just look at department stores, for example.” “So I plan to buy up land in advance. Learning from my secretary, I realized I still lack a lot to start a business right now. That means I’ll have to start later, and by then, Seoul’s population will have grown even more, and land prices will shoot up. So I figured buying early would yield a much higher profit.”

Choi Gihyeon nodded, persuaded by his grandson’s reasoning.

“Ho… In that case, would it be wise for Samwoo Group to buy up land in Seoul as well?”

Surprisingly, Yoongi shook his head.

“No.” “Why not?” “Samwoo Group has plenty of other areas that need investment. I don’t have anything else to invest in right now, but Samwoo Group does. That’s why I don’t think Samwoo Group needs to follow my lead on this.”

Yoongi wasn’t wrong. Buying up land in places like Jamsil or Gangnam right now would certainly yield astronomical returns decades later, but for Samwoo Group to expand its scale beyond that, it couldn’t afford to sink capital into real estate speculation just yet. On top of that…

‘I’m the one who needs to own the land, not the company.’

Besides, with the new military junta rising to power soon, revealing that a single conglomerate held massive tracts of land would likely prompt them to dissolve the group entirely. Dissolving a conglomerate would free up a massive amount of real estate; there was no way the junta would pass up an opportunity like that. Given the choice, Yoongi judged that it was far better to quietly scoop up prime pockets of land himself. If it was just a small piece of land, Samwoo Group could use bribes to alter the junta’s plans, and the military regime wouldn’t go out of its way to forcibly seize ‘small plots’ from a friendly corporate group.

‘Unless it’s a massive plot of land, that is.’

Firmly trusting the instinct he had sharpened through decades of getting stabbed in the back, Yoongi waited for his grandfather’s response.

“If you put it that way, I’ll do as you say. But if I send someone else to monitor the secretary, the secretarial office will find out that you’re buying up land in Cheonggyecheon. Are you fine with that? They might try to jump on the bandwagon. Or would you rather I block them from jumping in?”

Yoongi shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter if they jump in.” “Why?” “There’s already a massive gap between the capital the secretarial staff can mobilize and what I can. And if they jump in and make a profit, they’ll have no choice but to be loyal to me down the road, right? Just sticking by my side makes them richer than they are now.” “Have you considered that those secretaries might leak your plans elsewhere?” “People never share an opportunity with others once they see a genuine chance and certainty to make real money—especially not with those they look down upon. I read that in a book, and it left a huge impression on me.”

For a brief moment, Choi Gihyeon almost let an admiring “Oh…” slip out, but he swallowed it down and nodded calmly.

“Alright. You may head out now.” “Thank you, Grandfather!”

Yoongi gave his grandfather a tight hug before stepping out. And when 7 PM rolled around, Ryu Geuntae entered Choi Gihyeon’s study.

“Did you call for me, Chairman?”

At Ryu Geuntae’s polite greeting, Choi Gihyeon nodded with a deeply stern expression. It was a complete 180-degree shift from the grandfather he was in front of his grandson—he was now the embodiment of cold, razor-sharp authority.

“Report on what you’ve been working on lately.” “Yes. Up until recently, I was tutoring him for two hours every evening, and a few days ago, per Young Master’s orders, I began purchasing land in Cheonggyecheon.” “Land in Cheonggyecheon?”

Though he already knew, Choi Gihyeon feigned ignorance as he asked.

“Yes, Chairman.”

Ryu Geuntae offered no unnecessary commentary and stuck strictly to the facts, causing the conversation to pause momentarily. Soon, however, Choi Gihyeon shifted to a heavier, more serious tone.

“What’s your assessment of Yoongi?”

For the first time, a trace of what could be called ‘excitement’ touched Ryu Geuntae’s voice.

“He is remarkably competent.” “Remarkably competent?” “Yes. His ability to absorb knowledge far exceeds what a third-grade elementary student should be capable of. Watching his concentration while studying, the only way to describe it is that he studies with a deep, burning vengeance.” “To that extent?” “Yes. Young Master is that starved for knowledge. That’s why I spend about eight hours preparing materials before each tutoring session with him.” “Eight hours?”

Ryu Geuntae nodded.

“Otherwise, teaching Young Master for two hours would be impossible. He thoroughly reviews previous lessons and previews upcoming ones on his own, so he routinely moves beyond the planned study scope. His learning speed is so fast that I cannot proceed at a normal student’s pace.”

Hearing the report, Choi Gihyeon wanted to smile internally, but he suppressed it with superhuman patience and asked one more question.

“Then what do you think about assigning a more specialized tutor to Yoongi? Management is something you can keep teaching him, but I mean for other subjects.”

Ryu Geuntae shook his head cautiously.

“I believe it would be better to leave it up to Young Master.” “Trust Yoongi’s judgment, you mean?” “Yes. Young Master speaks up directly whenever there’s something he wants to learn. Forcing a study direction on him from our end might actually be dangerous.” “So he’s pacing himself on his own…” “Yes. Furthermore, since the field Young Master is interested in is management, it would be best to leave both the direction and pacing entirely up to him. Providing the best possible support whenever he makes a request will yield much better results, in my assessment.”

“Coming from someone watching him up close, you might be right.”

As Choi Gihyeon narrowed his eyes slightly, he could feel Ryu Geuntae gulp nervously. Even Ryu Geuntae, who maintained a cool composure in front of Yoongi, couldn’t fully withstand the oppressive aura Choi Gihyeon radiated.

“There’s one more thing I want to ask.” “What is it, Chairman?” “The chief of staff recommended you to me, didn’t he? And you seem remarkably capable. Why did you apply to Samwoo Group instead of somewhere else? Skip the clichéd line about thinking Samwoo Group had better prospects.”

Ryu Geuntae hesitated for a moment—a truly brief moment—before speaking with difficulty.

“…That is because I am from the Honam region.” “Ah, Jeolla Province?”

At Choi Gihyeon’s tone, a glimmer of hope swept across Ryu Geuntae’s face. There wasn’t a trace of regional prejudice in his voice.

“Yes, Chairman.” “That makes a bit of sense, then. So our company wasn’t your first stop?”

Ryu Geuntae nodded.

“To be completely honest… I was repeatedly rejected in interviews due to my home region. When I hid my background and got hired, it was eventually discovered, forcing me to leave two companies.” “Did our hiring managers not discriminate based on region?” “Well…” “Does it have something to do with the chief of staff?”

Hit right on the mark, Ryu Geuntae felt his heart nearly leap into his throat.

“Th-that… is correct.” “What’s the connection?” “I… was the military senior of the chief of staff’s son. Back in the barracks, when drunk senior soldiers went wild shooting guns, I saved his life. That was how we met.”

Up until the 1970s military service era, drunk senior soldiers getting hold of firearms and clashing was a real occurrence—especially when divided by regional factions. Of course, even while drunk, most shot at walls knowing a fatality would cause massive trouble.

“Regardless, he recommended you because you have talent, right?”

Looking down at him with cold eyes as he referred to the chief of staff as ‘that guy,’ Choi Gihyeon caused Ryu Geuntae to drop to his knees and prostrate himself flat on the floor.

“Please forgive me!” “No, based on what you’ve shown so far, his choice wasn’t bad. So I’ll keep watching you. If you serve my grandson well, both you and that guy stand to benefit. But if you try to use my grandson for any underhanded motives…” “That will never happen!”

Looking down at Ryu Geuntae, whose forehead thudded against the floor, Choi Gihyeon’s inner thoughts were completely filled with concern for his beloved grandson.