Chapter 21: Who Can Beat This?
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan, who hadn’t done a solo interview with a major media outlet in the past five years, couldn’t help but let a slight smile escape.
“Is it all done?”
“Yes, thank you so much for your sincere answers.”
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan, who had been reluctant at first, surprisingly engaged earnestly in the interview.
“No, not at all. It was an unusual interview, so I enjoyed it as well. Thanks to you, it made me think I need to pay more attention to employee welfare. Secretary Lee?”
“Yes, Chairman-nim. I’ve taken note of everything you mentioned. I’ll implement it immediately once we return.”
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan nodded and then turned to look at me with a mischievous smile.
“So, what do you think? Was it worth 100 million won? It’s an amount of money that an ordinary office worker would have to work for years to save up. Do you have any regrets?”
“This is more than enough. The value of money is relative. For someone, it could be a life’s goal, but for someone else, it might be a stepping stone for the next step, right?”
“Hohoho… You’re quite the character. Yes, that’s the kind of guts a man should have.”
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan, who had always pursued manliness his entire life, nodded with a satisfied smile.
I felt like telling him honestly that I did this crazy thing because I saw the golden light emanating from him, but instead, I just smiled brightly, hiding my true feelings.
“So, what is your goal? Have you thought about what you want to do after graduation?”
In response, I fell into deep thought at Chairman Lee Seung-hwan’s question.
I had only thought about becoming a college student but hadn’t thought beyond that yet.
Surely, I too would have to decide on a career path eventually, but at this moment, it was hard to give a clear answer.
Seeing me deep in thought, Chairman Lee Seung-hwan smiled meaningfully and made an unexpected proposal.
“If you haven’t decided on a career path yet, how about joining Buksan Group? If you’re interested, I can place you in the Future Strategy Planning Office.”
“Uh, Chairman-nim?”
In his entire life, Chief Secretary Lee Bong-gu had never shown such open emotion, but today was an exception.
He couldn’t hide his astonishment as he looked at Chairman Lee Seung-hwan.
What kind of place was the Buksan Group Future Strategy Planning Office?
The Future Strategy Planning Office at Buksan Group was no ordinary place. As the control tower of Buksan Group, it was an organization that deliberated and decided on ‘Buksan’s future’ as its name suggested.
Its core duties included business coordination among subsidiaries, management diagnosis, HR, mergers and acquisitions, and more.
Being from the ‘Future Strategy Planning Office’ within Buksan Group meant a guaranteed position at least at the director level, akin to a golden lifeline.
Only the crème de la crème from top universities could enter this prestigious office.
Considering that Chairman Lee Seung-hwan rarely got involved in HR matters, offering this special position to someone who was still a college student was unprecedented.
However, the real surprise came next.
“No, I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline.”
“What?”
Chief Secretary Lee Bong-gu, too shocked, involuntarily raised his voice and then quickly covered his mouth, realizing his mistake.
“Hahahaha. Do you know what the Future Strategy Planning Office at Buksan entails before you’re turning it down?”
“Well, I don’t know the specifics, but I can tell it’s an impressive place just from the looks of it.”
“Then why are you turning it down? Even though I shouldn’t say this, it’s a place where even top talents from Korean University would die to get into.”
“Even so, isn’t it ultimately just being a salaried employee?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sure, it’s a place for brilliant and highly capable people to go, and the pay must be substantial. But in the end, it’s still about moving within the system of an organization as a salaried employee, isn’t it?”
“Well… that’s true.”
Chairman Lee nodded in agreement since what I said wasn’t wrong.
“Then I don’t want it. ‘Wild and free just like the sea!’ That’s my life motto.”
Was I out of my mind? No, no matter how good the job was, it wouldn’t pay more than 200 million won a year. Frankly speaking, even if I did nothing but breathe for a year, I’d still have over 500 million won sitting in my bank account.
Not that I planned to do nothing, but I certainly didn’t want to stress myself out doing a job I wasn’t suited for, no matter the salary.
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan, who had been watching me with keen eyes, suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha! It looks like I’ve met my match today. To think that there would be a day when someone would reject an offer directly from Lee Seung-hwan of Buksan. Well, even the highest-ranking official can’t force someone who isn’t willing. Hahaha!”
I briefly checked to see if he was offended, but he actually seemed to be in a better mood.
“And you asked me what my goal is, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan leaned in a bit closer.
“I want to become water. And in the future, that water will become the sea.”
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan smiled at my cryptic answer and asked with interest.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“Water takes the shape of whatever it is contained in, doesn’t it? It can be a small droplet or a raging ocean.”
A slight look of surprise flickered across Chairman Lee Seung-hwan’s wrinkled face.
“You’re right. You mean you want to be flexible. So, what about the sea?”
“The sea embraces everything. No matter how many rivers in the world flow into the sea, the sea never overflows.”
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan’s wrinkled face grew slightly solemn.
Lost in thought, Chairman Lee Seung-hwan’s eyes finally regained focus, and he suddenly apologized.
“Sorry about that. I’ve been troubled by a problem, but thanks to you, I’ve found a clue to the solution.”
“I was just sharing my life philosophy… I’m glad If it is helpful. Should we get up now? I think we’ve already exceeded the scheduled time.”
“Hahaha. I guess this old man here held you up for too long. But you know what? No matter how much I think about it, I feel like I received more than I’ve given today. I’m a businessman through and through, and I despite one-sided deals like this the most. So… would you accept this?”
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan rummaged through his pockets and pulled out his wallet, handing me something.
I took it without knowing what it was, I took it and looked closely.
[BUKSAN Lee Seung-hwan Chairman]
It was an extremely simple business card with black letters boldly printed on a luxurious gold background.
“Uh, Chairman-nim, no matter how much you say so, that business card…”
Chief Secretary Lee Bong-gu, who was standing nearby, looked back and forth between the business card and the chairman.
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan, seemingly unfazed, smiled kindly and said,
“It’s my personal card. Since you’ve rejected my job offer, I no longer have a reason to contact you anymore, do I? Please keep me company as an old man’s friend from time to time.”
“It would be an honor for me. I admire you too, Chairman-nim. There’s so much I can learn from you.”
Chairman Lee Seung-hwan paused for a moment, then burst into a hearty laugh.
Though he’d heard words of respect countless times, it was the first time in nearly 30 years since someone directly told him they liked him.
“Hahaha! I’m the one who’s honored. You say you like me? Puhaha!”
Seeing Chairman Lee Seung-hwan laugh so heartily at everything I said made me feel good as well.
This must be why people say reactions are important in relationships.
Anyway, since I had been drawn to the golden light and ended up here, I considered my initial goal achieved.
And so, the 100 million won meal came to an end.
I was convinced that it had not been a wasted meeting.
As expected from a business tycoon, there was much to learn from him, and I unexpectedly even received his business card.
The weight of a personal business card from a conglomerate chairman surely wasn’t light.
How valuable my connection with Chairman Lee Seung-hwan would become in the future was something only time would tell.
***
Two days before the Human Resources Management assignment presentation.
At a café near Hanyeong University that we used as our study spot, Joo-hee, Yoo-jin, and Ga-haeng arrived one by one.
“Did everything go well with your meeting, oppa…?”
“Please tell us that it went well, hyung.”
I smiled broadly at the three with earnest eyes.
“Of course it was successful. I’m Song Dae-woon. The man of determination who gets things done.”
“Yay! Amazing! Seriously amazing!”
“No way… I honestly didn’t even expect it… Wow. As expected of the ‘Madros’ Chae-yul! So cool!”
Joo-hee and Yoo-jin each grabbed one of my arms and jumped up and down, while Ga-haeng gave me a thumbs-up.
“Show us! I’m so curious.”
“Me too, me too.”
I confidently took out my smartphone and played the saved video.
“Hold on… why does that old man look really familiar?”
Ga-haeng, who was watching the screen with a hesitant expression, stroked his chin and tilted his head.
“Yeah, I definitely feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before…”
As Yoojin also expressed puzzlement, Joo-hee suddenly clapped her hands.
“I remember! He looks just like Chairman Lee Seung-hwan of Buksan Group.”
“Oh wow, you’re right! I’d believe it even if someone said they were the same person.”
“He is the same person.”
“What?”
Yoo-jin looked at me with an expression like I had just said something completely absurd.
“It’s really Chairman Lee Seung-hwan of Buksan Group.”
“…”
An awkward silence fell between us.
“What!?
“Really? The actual Buksan? What? Why? How?”
The kids’ shouts nearly turned the café upside down.
Thank goodness, we were the only ones there, or we would have been quite the disturbance.
After calming them down with great effort, we continued watching the video.
As the ten-minute interview ended, Ga-haeng murmured in a daze.
“This is… game over.”
The others nodded with equally dumbfounded expressions, agreeing with him.
“Who can beat this? A solo interview with Chairman Lee Seung-hwan of Buksan Group…”
Soon, cheers broke out.
“Oh my Gosh! This is insane! How on earth did you get this? Huh? Should I kiss you on the cheek?”
“No, I’d rather be slapped.”
I had to give Yoo-jin a stern look for casually saying something so outrageous.
“But seriously, how did this happen? Chairman Lee Seung-hwan is famous for hardly ever appearing in the media.”
As business students, they had a decent knowledge of prominent business figures.
“Well… let’s just say I got lucky?”
How else could I explain it?
I couldn’t exactly tell them that I happened to see a golden light emanating from the chairman on TV while eating chicken and beer with them, spent 100 million won to arrange a meal with him, and then managed to get an interview in the process.
“Meeting such an important person… can you really just get lucky like that?”
“Think about the meaning of my name. It’s Da-woon, which means ‘great luck’ in Chinese. I’m the embodiment of good fortune.”
“Yeah, that’s right! The important thing is that you did it. As expected of ‘Lucky Man’. Dae-woon oppa, I always believed in you!”
Yoo-jin, trying to be cute, started playfully massaging my shoulders, while Ga-haeng clicked his tongue, looking unimpressed.
“What a load of crap. You were the one who spent all day messaging us on KakaoTalk, worried about what we’d do if Da-woon hyung came back empty-handed.”
Embarrassed by Ga-haeng’s remark, Yoo-jin’s face turned red.
“Ahem. It was just in case oppa felt too much pressure, so we wanted to have a Plan B… you jerk!”
While the two of them bickered, Joo-hee looked at me with sparkling eyes and asked,
“But the interview seemed so relaxed. It felt like you were just chatting with a friendly grandpa in the neighborhood. He looked so intimidating on the news.”
“He’s actually very kind, contrary to how he seems.”
“Oppa, you’re so lucky. If you use this in your resume when you apply to Buksan Group later, you’ll almost certainly get in.”
I had already received a special offer from Chairman Lee Seung-hwan for the Future Strategy Planning Office, but I didn’t mention it.
As I always said, I was aiming for a completely ‘normal’ college life.
“Anyway, this is enough, right?”
“Of course. Oppa, you can rest easy now.”
“Can I really do that? This is still a team project.”
“Nope! You did the heavy lifting, so what more do you want to do? Are you trying to make us freeloaders? From now on, do nothing! Don’t even breathe!”
“Won’t I die if I stop breathing, Yoo-jin?”
“Oh, right? Then just keep breathing. Leave the rest to us. The three of us will pour our hearts and souls into finishing this project.”
Joo-hee and Ga-haeng nodded firmly in agreement with Yoo-jin’s words.
“You really worked hard, hyung! I’ll handle the presentation.”
“No, I’ll do it. I’ve always wanted to try presenting.”
Standing confidently at the podium and giving a great presentation was on my bucket list.
Plus, I was the one who met Chairman Lee Seung-hwan, so I was the only one who could answer any questions that might come up.
“Got it. the three of us will work all night to make the presentation materials so good that even the chairman will be impressed.”
“Okay! Let’s not forget, this one assignment will determine our grades.”
With just a few words, their fighting spirit burned even brighter.
And so, time flew by, and the much-anticipated presentation day quickly approached.
TL Note: “Madros Chae-yul” translates loosely to “Sailor Chae-yul”
