TNS 03

Chapter 3

To seize a clear weakness and shake the opponent, making swift judgment and taking fast action was the top priority. Yet, for some reason, Cha Jun-hyung was nowhere to be seen in the director’s office, even though lunchtime had long passed. Seon-jae had already heard from the secretary that Jun-hyung had no external schedule today; he had merely left for a lunch appointment and was expected back by 2:00 PM at the latest.

And yet, look at the time now.

“3 o’clock.”

Seon-jae raised his wrist to check the time and tilted his head slightly. A sigh—whether of awe or mockery—escaped his lips.

“There really is a rat taking the company’s money for doing absolutely nothing.”

In truth, Seon-jae knew better than anyone that Cha Jun-hyung was a man completely ill-suited for the title of Managing Director. Since childhood, Seon-jae had never once considered him a proper competitor.

True to his image of a flashy exterior with zero substance, his cousin—who was three years older—contributed nothing whatsoever to the company’s business. Seon-jae, who was practically running the operations himself, had realized this early on.

The year Seon-jae graduated from university, Hankyeong Pharmaceutical suffered a major crisis when his father suddenly passed away.

Cha Ik-ho—the eldest son who had faithfully inherited the management philosophy of his father, the founder—was the key figure who had built Hankyeong Pharmaceutical into what it was today. Driven by his dedication to elevating Hankyeong Pharmaceutical to the number one position in South Korea’s pharmaceutical industry, he worked day and night and ultimately achieved his goal. However, due to prolonged overwork, his life came to an abrupt end when he suffered a heart attack in his office.

The death of CEO Cha Ik-ho from overwork changed the overall atmosphere of South Korea’s work culture, to say nothing of the business world. His passing was not merely the obituary of a corporate leader. The spirit he had built led to widespread self-reflection across the entire business sector, and the old-fashioned mindset that regarded excessive overwork as a virtue was completely overhauled in the wake of his death.

Companies, without exception, took Chairman Cha’s death as a cautionary lesson and began seeking ways to adjust their employees’ work hours flexibly to minimize their burden as much as possible. However, Seon-jae, having lost his father overnight, was forced to shoulder all the burdens under the title of Hankyeong Pharmaceutical’s heir without any preparation. From his day of entry into the company until now, he had to sprint forward without a single day of rest.

He gave his absolute best so that his father’s life-sacrificing labor would not be in vain, and he dedicated himself to company life more sincerely than anyone else to take over the CEO position—currently held temporarily by his mother, who had zero management experience—as quickly as possible.

Before he could even process the pain of parting with his father, who had passed away suddenly without time to settle his affairs, all the assets were transferred to his mother. Had his uncle not thrown the entire family into chaos out of dissatisfaction with that outcome, Seon-jae would not have felt such an overwhelming sense of urgency.

That Cha Ik-hyun—who had contributed nothing to the company’s operations or growth—took advantage of his brother’s absence to seize the Vice Chairman seat, and his son Cha Jun-hyung snagged the position of Managing Director, appeared on the surface like a temporary compromise to resolve internal conflict. In reality, however, it was nothing more than a precarious peace, like a landmine ready to detonate at any moment.

The sense of crisis—that letting his guard down for even a second would allow the father-son duo to grab him by the scruff of the neck and strip him of everything without a trace—forced Seon-jae to remain sharply on edge in every situation.

Driving himself forward with such sensitivity and sharpness, Seon-jae never stopped calculating the direction he needed to walk. If necessary, he had no reason to refuse an arranged marriage with a partner whose interests aligned with his.

Personal happiness was never an option on his list. The moment he was born bound to the constraint of Hankyeong Pharmaceutical, living his life as a tool for the enterprise became an inevitability and a destiny.

He had no room in his heart to spare for a luxurious emotion like love. For that reason, he had consistently held himself back in his relationship with Ha Yoon-seo, making sure not to cross the line of being mere partners.

Whether he had feelings for Ha Yoon-seo or not wasn’t particularly important. Nor was there any need for labels or definitions in their relationship. Since human Cha Seon-jae’s life was already subordinate to Hankyeong Pharmaceutical, he knew full well that he couldn’t afford to waste his heart on an unnecessary emotion like love anyway.

What was it, then? He wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life with Ha Yoon-seo anyway, so why did his stomach twist so violently at her words about considering marriage with Cha Jun-hyung?

“Executive Director…… I want to stop this.”

Was the fact that Ha Yoon-seo—who begged beneath him whenever they had the chance—was dreaming of a future with Cha Jun-hyung really something that should cause him to lose his self-control to this extent?

He knew better than anyone how harsh and cruel Ha Yoon-seo’s family was to her. He had watched her life from up close, seeing her extorted for money almost daily, threatened, and yet unable to break free, always returning with fresh wounds.

Although he was currently pulling strings behind the scenes to block her leech-like family from approaching her, there was no telling how long he could shield her like this. Because of that, from a long-term perspective, Seon-jae could not deny the fact that marrying Cha Jun-hyung might actually be a better choice for Ha Yoon-seo.

While it bothered him terribly that he had no idea where or how much of a mess that trash Cha Jun-hyung had been rolling around in, he was roughly a bit foolish, had more money than he knew what to do with, and possessed a clear social standing despite doing no work—so he would not be a bad spouse for Ha Yoon-seo.

At the very least, he was someone who could instantly pull her away from the life she had so desperately wanted to escape, making her choice of Cha Jun-hyung a thoroughly prudent decision.

As he quietly chewed on the thought, it struck him as absurd that he—who had stormed all the way to the Managing Director’s office with all sorts of emotions just to tear Cha Jun-hyung away from Ha Yoon-seo—seemed like the actual intruder here.

He found himself thoroughly ridiculous: he couldn’t offer Ha Yoon-seo anything himself, yet he was the one flying off the handle, stamping his feet, and sharpening his blade to shatter the relationship.

His stomach churned with lukewarm unease. Sinking into an empty mood, Seon-jae slowly raised his body from deep within the sofa. Swallowing a heavy sigh, he was about to open the door and leave quietly.

Just then, with a click, the door opened from the outside first.

“Department Head Kim, that’s why I’m telling you! Stop going around to those mom-and-pop shops and focus your sales on big hospitals. I’m telling you there will be demand in factory-style hospitals. Why can’t you seem to get what I’m saying, huh?”

As the double doors swung wide open, Cha Jun-hyung appeared, his arm slung over Department Head Kim’s shoulders tightly enough to choke him. His coarse, vulgar tone, infused with an intimidating yet characteristic sleaziness, mimicked an aura of power.

Department Head Kim was a veteran who had worked in the industry for 20 years, a symbol of Hankyeong Pharmaceutical who was hailed as the God of Sales. Yet here he was, his worth completely unacknowledged by a young, thug-like superior, hunching his shoulders and bowing his head like an old wooden puppet.

“Oh? Executive Director, you’re here?”

Stepping over the threshold into the director’s office, Cha Jun-hyung released Department Head Kim’s neck, whom he had been playing with just a moment ago. Like a young child who had spotted a much more interesting toy, he smiled brightly at the sudden appearance.

“Oh, Department Head Kim. You understood what I said, right? I’ll be looking forward to next week’s performance report.”

“Yes, Managing Director. Uh, then… regarding the current inventory…….”

“We’ll talk about that between ourselves later. Can’t you see our Executive Director is waiting?”