The Chairman Who Wants to Play and Eat

Chapter 35. There will be plenty of opportunities to praise, after all.

I arrived at Gimpo Airport.

It was the familiar air of Korea after a long time.

“Shall we go out?”

There shouldn’t be anyone waiting for me.

I hadn’t informed anyone of my arrival time this time, fearing that people would crowd around like they did when I departed.

But then,

“Thank you for your hard work during your time away, young master!”

The head of the secretariat, Joo Yong-hoon, was personally there to greet me at the arrival hall.

I was momentarily taken aback.

It was unexpected, and I wondered if something like this had happened before as I glanced at Deputy Lee Beom-seok, who also seemed to have changed color.

He hadn’t received any prior notice either.

It was clear that this was at least a first-time occurrence.

‘What a surprise.’

There was no helping it. I had no choice but to step forward.

“Mr. Joo, what brings you all the way here? I never expected this.”

“Was your long flight comfortable?”

“Oh, yes. Thanks to you.”

“Haha, hearing you say that puts my mind at ease. Please follow me. I have arranged for a vehicle.”

Something feels off.

It seems like something my grandfather, who had been eagerly awaiting my return, orchestrated.

“Where is the chairman?”

When I asked,

“Don’t get distracted and go directly to the young master. It’s a direct order. The chairman has cleared his schedule for this afternoon.”

As expected.

So I said one thing.

“Well, it looks like the vice chairman will have a tough time for a change.”

“He’ll have to check on the night construction at the first semiconductor plant, which is nearing completion, so he won’t be back at headquarters until tomorrow.”

This is all my fault.

Poor father.

I vowed to achieve my goal quickly, even for his sake.

It was then.

“Assistant Lee.”

“Yes!”

“What are you standing around for? Move quickly.”

“Yes!”

My response came out briskly.

“The young master will be taken in the car that I and Chief Cha brought, so you should follow behind in the young master’s vehicle that’s parked. Do you understand?”

The instructions continued.

It seemed Assistant Lee had no issues adjusting to the time difference.

After months of living in America, he had become a bit lazy (?) but was now starting to move again.

“Shall we go?”

“Let’s. But where are we going? Samcheong-dong?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Director Joo smiled brightly.

“The chairman will be coming soon as well. He mentioned he has many questions to ask, so be prepared.”

I nodded.

Prepared, huh?

That was a pleasant thought.

The doubts I had just moments ago were clearly resolved.

He must have been holding back while I was in America.

Thinking like that, it all makes sense why you waited so eagerly for my return.

You set the day of my return as the D-Day.

Then what?

‘Is that day finally here?’

My heart raced.

Hope blossomed.

‘No wonder the air feels so good.’

The struggles were worth it.

If America is the land of opportunity, then indeed, South Korea is the land of hope.

*

“You’ve worked hard.”

The face of Chairman Hyun, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, remained unchanged.

“No, it’s thanks to your belief in me that I was able to pursue what I wanted in America. Thank you.”

“Don’t be so stiff. Where in the world would a grandfather stop his grandson from doing what he wants?”

He looked pleased.

In particular, he seemed greatly satisfied that he had brought me back without letting anyone else steal the spotlight.

There must be one reason for that.

Soon, he would have to bring up the words he had been holding back all this time.

‘If you were just a grandfather, you could only support your grandson’s wishes. However, as the chairman of Seonghyeon and the highest authority over thousands of employees, I must hold you accountable for the immense losses you’ve caused our Seonghyeon. Two million dollars, take responsibility. There will be no more opportunities for you. Do you understand my words?’

I swallowed hard.

The words I had been waiting for finally came today.

But,

“How was America?”

······It seemed it wasn’t the right time yet.

I collected my thoughts and answered.

“America is a land so vast and rich that it cannot even be compared to our country.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, especially Silicon Valley, where I was, is a place filled with outstanding talent, innovative support from the state government, and investments from global investment firms. I thought it was a country overflowing with opportunities.”

It was a textbook answer.

Why was I suddenly going by the book?

There is a reason.

After all, the chairman has already decided to dismiss me. I cannot disappoint him any further. That would cross a line.

That was the judgment I made.

I thought it was acceptable to give this much of a response here.

“That’s true.”

At my words, Chairman Hyun clapped his hands.

“From the moment you first suggested we enter the semiconductor business, and as our Seonghyeon has been diving into various cutting-edge electronic industries, I’ve always felt it.”

“I figured you would be capable of that, Grandpa.”

I added a supportive remark.

“I was worried that you might just be goofing off while trying to broaden your horizons, but it turns out that was unnecessary concern. If you’ve seen that much and done that much, it’s enough. You’ve worked hard. You’ve really worked hard.”

The chairman’s questions continued.

From inquiries about X-DOS to semiconductor techniques like stacking and trench etching,

I answered them all.

Thanks to that, the conversation about movies was absent, and the atmosphere was increasingly leaning towards the negative.

This shouldn’t be happening.

My eyes darted around.

‘He keeps drinking.’

The glass in front of the chairman kept emptying.

I began to feel increasingly anxious.

Once he gets drunk, he’ll feel good, and when he feels good, the chances of him scolding me over the movie discussion will decrease.

At this rate, it’ll be too late.

I need to act quickly.

“But about the movie…”

Just as I was about to struggle to get the words out.

Knock, knock,

I heard a knock on the door from outside the room.

“Chairman, it’s Manager Joo.”

He’s not someone who usually interrupts in situations like this. Today, however, he’s experiencing an unexpected turn of events.

No, more than that,

Why suddenly?

At such an important moment?

“What’s going on?”

“I apologize for the interruption. I must speak with you about something concerning the young master.”

“Is it Sang-yoon? Why is Sang-yoon suddenly—?”

The grandfather’s eyes turned toward me as he questioned. The head secretary continued, standing by the door.

“You arrived in Korea a few hours ago after a flight of over ten hours. According to the staff who accompanied you, you hardly slept on the plane because you didn’t stop studying. You must be exhausted.”

The grandfather asked me.

“Is that true?”

I inwardly blamed the secretary.

What was the point of saying such a thing, especially to the head secretary? But it was already spilled water.

“Yes.”

“Why did you do that? Tsk, you should take care of your health while working.”

“I’m sorry, grandfather.”

Chairman Hyun suddenly shot up from his seat.

“Right. I got carried away with my ambitions and didn’t think about how difficult that long flight would be for you.”

No, you don’t have to hold back on your ambitions.

You should scold me right away about that misguided film investment.

I shouted this inwardly.

But it was a cry without meaning, without use.

“I hadn’t thought that far. I almost made a big mistake. Let’s get up quickly. We can talk about what’s left later; it won’t be too late.”

That was the end of it.

There was one fortunate thing.

He added the caveat that it wouldn’t be too late to talk later. He was determined to scold me in the end.

That thought eased my heart.

A spark of hope remained.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

‘Let’s wait. It’s not far now.’

I thought this to myself as I took a reluctant step forward.

On the way back to the family home,

Inside the black Rolls-Royce, Chairman Hyun and Director Joo were engaged in conversation.

“That kid.”

“Are you referring to Young-Sang?”

“Yeah.”

Chairman Hyun’s slightly tipsy voice rang pleasantly.

“You mentioned before the break that our Young-Sang seemed to have grown a lot.”

“I believe I did say that.”

“Now that you see him again, what do you think? Doesn’t it seem like he’s grown even more during the break?”

Director Joo smiled softly without a word.

There was no need to respond.

Even before he could hear it, Chairman Hyun’s broad smile was already hanging on his face.

“That Hollywood movie you invested in.”

“Is it the one called Future Killer?”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, he brought it up.

At those words, Chairman Hyun’s eyes widened.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then, if that kid’s eyes saw real gold, it’s not just a few specks in the stream but at least finding a hidden mother lode, wouldn’t you say?”

Director Joo nodded.

Because it was indeed true.

“Hahaha.”

Chairman Hyun burst into laughter.

“No wonder that kid seemed to have something he wanted to say for a while now; it looks like that’s what he wanted to talk about.”

“I think I interrupted your conversation without realizing it.”

“That’s right. You were quite oblivious. Hahaha.”

The laughter continued for a long time.

“It seems you can take your time to finish what you wanted to say later.”

“You’re right.”

Chairman Hyun slowly leaned back against the chair.

From noble mtl dot com

“Let’s take it easy. After all, there will be plenty of opportunities to praise that guy in the future.”

*

Meanwhile,

“Thank you for your hard work today, young master.”

“Thank you as well. Please go inside.”

Huff,

It was only after parking the car in the garage that Lee Beom-seok let out a long sigh he had been holding in.

It had been a long day.

This was the first moment of leisure he had since arriving in the country.

Since joining the secretary’s office, there hadn’t been a single day without busyness, but today was undoubtedly the busiest day of all.

Still,

Thoughts of young master Hyun Sang-yoon lingered in his mind throughout the commute home.

It was a few days ago.

“The first round of the bar exam is in early July, right?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Please get me the exam papers. You need to have them ready before I go back to Korea.”

At first, he didn’t understand the reason.

So when he received the instruction, he thought perhaps it was for the sake of gathering materials.

It wouldn’t be strange at all to stockpile past exam questions in advance, as they might be hard to obtain later.

He never thought he would actually attempt them.

No matter how exceptional one might be, it would be too much for a first-year undergraduate to take on.

The young master was no different.

Even if one were to think positively, merely reading through them for reference would be the limit of possibility.

That’s all he thought.

But it wasn’t the case.

“I plan to solve them on the way. I have time, after all.”

He said he would solve the problems.

No, it wasn’t just solving them.

That’s how he passed the time on the flight back to Korea from America. As if he were solving a puzzle.

It was an idea that no one could have unless they were a young master.

I thought it was just a joke.

No matter how brilliant he was, I believed it was impossible to solve everything in those several hours.

But once again, I was wrong.

It was just before landing.

‘Here it is.’

‘······What is this?’

‘What do you mean, what is it? It’s the exam paper you gave me earlier. I solved it all.’

It was astonishing.

He was returning the thick bundle of past exam questions, filled with traces of his work.

‘Really? Did you really solve all of it?’

I couldn’t believe it.

So, even though I knew it was a foolish question, I asked.

‘Of course. Why would I pretend to solve it?’

The expression on the young master’s face was one of annoyance at such trivial inquiries.

I asked if he wouldn’t grade it.

There was no answer.

He simply issued a stern command that he would be taking a short nap and not to wake him until we arrived.

I could ask no more.

It was over.

Once we landed in Gimpo, there was no time to think of anything else.

There wasn’t even a moment to catch my breath.

When I came to my senses, I was on the way home.

That was precisely why the bundle of past exam questions he had returned to me was still safely tucked in my bag.

Suddenly, a curious thought crossed my mind.

‘But I wonder what score I’ll get?’

Sleepiness washed over me. But curiosity took precedence.

I sat at my desk. I picked up a red pen.

I placed the exam paper on one side and the answer sheet on the opposite side, and slowly began to grade each question one by one.

And,

‘······I was right. I was right. Next, I was right again. And then, next. Again······.’

Countless circles began to form.

Sleep fled away.

‘What, what is this?’

Even while seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe it.

His eyes, shocked beyond measure, were growing wider and wider, unable to expand any further.