I’d Rather Live as a Villain

71 I intend to take on that role.

“The fact that Yu Sung Cosmo massively bought up Mulsan stocks was a topic loud enough to cause a stir in the entire stock market, wasn’t it?”

At the Daeyoung Hotel Sogong branch.

The guests gathered here were all more uncomfortable than my wife and I about the electronic transfer incident involving Vice President Kang Young-jin.

It was to the extent that it felt like they were anxious beyond mere discomfort.

And everyone present seemed to have no concern for lunch, expressing disappointment at the lack of assertiveness from my wife and me.

It was as if they had been tightly wrapping up their words inside and now, at this opportunity, they were spewing them out without filter.

“The retail investors following Yu Sung Cosmo’s investments even created their own community to evaluate Yu Sung Cosmo’s investment strategies,” they said.

I know all too well what kind of frustration they are unable to hide.

I, too, once felt that same frustration they are experiencing now.

But after getting to know Kang Mun-jung more deeply, not just as a contractual partner but as a real husband, I had to admit that even this pace of progress was the best for her.

My wife is not someone who hesitates at the moment when she must act.

Yet, she knows how to be patient.

It was clear that she felt something was lacking to act impulsively without weighing the pros and cons.

That’s why I arranged this meeting through my wife.

The requests you can’t make directly through these people,

I will make them on your behalf.

The difficult, embarrassing, or ambiguous tasks that you can’t handle yourself, I will take care of them all.

That’s why I’m by your side.

So, maintain your pride until the end.

You keep your pride, and I will help you maintain it.

That’s our common goal, yet paradoxically, it’s also a role we must uphold separately.

“From the original 40,000 shares, we’ve added another 90,000 shares. This purchase of 90,000 shares happened right after dumping 110,000 shares of chemical stocks.”

“We were actually expecting that the aggressive purchase of Mulsan stocks by Yu Sung Cosmo, after dumping the chemical stocks, was the result of some private discussions between the president and Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im. Isn’t that what everyone thought?”

I believe that these people, at least in their hearts for Daeyoung, are sincere.

My wife has made no promises to them.

She has given them no burdens, no pressure.

It’s simply that these people themselves want to push my wife as the next successor of Daeyoung.

If not, why would they earnestly request a more aggressive approach when they seem to burst with impatience at my wife’s defensive moves?

“Even if that wasn’t the case, shouldn’t we see it as Yuseong Cosmo reaching out first to the president with a supportive hand for succession?”

“That’s correct, President. While it may not be necessary to balance power with such matters, nonetheless, there is the VR Group, the in-laws of Vice President Kang Young-jin. The atmosphere of support from Yuseong Cosmo towards Vice President Kang Young-jin’s side might have been the catalyst for the current succession structure, don’t you think?”

Everyone gathered here was discussing under the premise that if Kang Young-jin had not secured the VR Group as his in-laws, such a succession structure would never have been possible in the first place.

“Try to intentionally narrow the gap with Yuseong Cosmo. Distribution, and commerce. Aren’t there too many opportunities to form strategic relationships with Yuseong Cosmo?”

The worries seemed to flow too extremely, so I eventually opened my mouth.

“Isn’t the conversation getting a bit too heavy for a meal? Haha.”

At my words, everyone at the table began to laugh lightly, seemingly embarrassed by the sudden surge of seriousness.

I too put on the brightest smile I could muster and calmly spoke again.

“The service staff keep coming in and out, how about we move to a more private place?”

“A more private place?”

“How about we have a separate gathering without our President Kang Moon-jung here? He’s too uptight, isn’t he? No fun at all.”

I deliberately lightened the mood, winking at my wife sitting next to me and continued the joke.

“Just comfortably among ourselves, moving to a separate place, it might be good to openly share the things we can’t comfortably discuss in front of President Kang. This can’t be done this way, and that needs caution because of this… When talking with President Kang, it tends to become clearer what we shouldn’t do rather than what we can.”

With that, everyone looked at me with expressions mixed with anticipation, as if now the conversation could truly begin.

“Removing the chariots, the cannons. What kind of game are we playing? In a situation where I should be adding pieces to my board, you’re asking me to play without even the pieces I have, which can be quite disheartening for those who support me.”

With that, I made sure to express that I understood the position of everyone gathered a hundred times over and then looked at my wife, seeking permission.

“If you’re here, I have to be careful too. Then there’s no point in having arranged this meeting.”

“How did I become so uptight?”

“How? No, you were born uptight.”

“Who? Me?”

“Would that be me?”

Within the world of Daeyoung, there was an image that Kang Moon-jung had. The jokes exchanged between my wife and me seemed awkward to those present because of it.

My wife, who had always wrapped herself in a meticulous and strong image.

From now on, I planned to gradually reveal the true face of Kang Moon-jung to these people, from under the hard image that covered her.

In fact, that was the purpose of asking my wife to arrange this meeting.

I had already prepared the executive room on the 13th floor of this hotel.

* * *

“As Mr. Ko mentioned earlier, distribution and commerce can certainly form strategic relationships with Yuseong Cosmo.”

The 13th-floor executive room.

The place, entirely made of glass, was sealed off from the outside world by lowering the blinds.

And there, they began a serious discussion, ensuring no service staff could enter until the story was over.

“Department stores and duty-free shops in distribution could certainly launch aggressive promotions against Yuseong Cosmo’s products, and our trading company could also help with a more systematic and strategic approach to the overseas market for Yuseong Cosmo’s products.”

It was a statement I made to show that I, too, had not been oblivious to such thoughts, just like them.

And it was important to reveal what kind of thoughts Kang Moon-jung had on the matter.

“However, distribution and trading. We have been achieving meaningful sales growth on our own. Moreover, distribution has already had a smooth business relationship with Yuseong Cosmo through department stores and duty-free shops, and trading has been forming a positive relationship as Yuseong Cosmo has decided to purchase a large volume of our stocks. Given this situation, Mr. Kang Moon-jung’s stance is, why would there be a need to develop a deeper strategic relationship with Yuseong Cosmo?”

He added this after.

“If Yuseong Cosmo were to propose a deeper strategic relationship first, we might consider it after weighing the conditions, but if distribution or our trading company were to propose a strategic relationship to Yuseong Cosmo first, wouldn’t that be publicly admitting that we lack confidence in Daeyoung’s succession competition and need the help of external forces?”

Then, CEO Go Eun-hee cautiously opened her mouth.

“Are you saying you have confidence?”

“That’s always been there. Right now, Mr. Kang Moon-jung is as concerned about the succession competition as he is worried that the competition might cause unnecessary damage to Daeyoung.”

“Damage?”

I nodded briefly at CEO Go Eun-hee’s puzzled look and immediately spoke up.

“Primarily, it would be the relationship with Yuseong Cosmo that has been discussed since the restaurant earlier. The distribution board can maintain its dominant position simply because it’s the distribution board, but is there a need to lower our stance and make Yuseong Cosmo an influential entity in Daeyoung’s succession competition?”

Only then did the people gathered realize that my wife was looking much further ahead and moving forward than they had thought.

“Vice-chairman Kang Soon-im and Yuseong Cosmo are strictly observing Daeyoung and Daeyoung’s succession competition with a business mindset. That’s how you should understand it. When VR Group was confirmed as the in-law family of Vice President Kang Young-jin, they quickly sold off a large amount of electronics and distribution stocks and purchased chemical stocks.”

“……”

“And this time, they’ve sold off a large amount of those stocks and purchased stocks in trading. They’re clearly an opponent who will switch sides whenever it’s business-advantageous, so why should Daeyoung’s distribution and trading show such desperation to them?”

In this regard, I wanted to applaud my wife’s courageous decision.

“Yuseong Cosmo is a smart company. They know which side to support for their benefit. I’m not sure about when Mr. Kang Moon-jung was a director, but now he’s a president. Could Yuseong Cosmo make a mistake against such Daeyoung Distribution? If Mr. Kang Moon-jung makes a mistake along with them, that mistake won’t just end as a simple mistake for Yuseong Cosmo, will it?”

“Hmm…”

“Daeyoung Department Store and Daeyoung Duty-Free Shop are responsible for nearly 40 percent of Yuseong Cosmo’s domestic offline sales. If Daeyoung Distribution decides to stop promotions for Yuseong Cosmo’s products for just one quarter, Yuseong Cosmo would essentially go into a panic state. Yuseong Cosmo might end before Daeyoung’s succession competition does.”

Of course, I had confirmed the sincerity of my great-aunt, who had been concerned about my wife and me through several meetings.

But this was not the place to bring out such formless, ever-changeable sincerity and authenticity.

“Yuseong Cosmo, without having to show humility in distribution and trading, will inevitably have to side with Mr. Kang Moon-jung because of the shares of Daeyoung they hold. And the shares they hold there won’t be decisively significant. Daeyoung’s management rights are impregnable.”

No one could doubt or deny this content.

“The management rights aren’t designed so loosely that they can be shaken by external forces. Vice-chairman Kang Soon-im. In the end, from the current Daeyoung’s perspective, they are just external forces. What’s important isn’t the intervention of meaningless external forces like Yuseong Cosmo, Hanshin Newspaper, or VR Group… It’s the choice of Chairman Kang Man-ho, Chairman Kang Ki-young, isn’t it?”

I hit the nail on the head.

“Compared to Vice President Kang Young-jin, there are too few people in the group who are Mr. Kang Moon-jung’s people. Even today, despite so many people attending the founding anniversary event, the only ones who have joined us here are you present.”

“President Kang Moon-jung simply doesn’t like to engage in such things, so there’s nothing we can do.”

The frustration of CEO Go Eun-hee was palpably transmitted to me.

“Yes, that’s why I’ve arranged this meeting without President Kang Moon-jung.”

The people gathered here began to look at me with various expressions, each interpreting my words differently.

“Unlike other executives who play golf together, or create separate dining out opportunities, here is a person who, instead of such networking, dedicates their time solely to their role at Daeyoung, even sacrificing sleep.”

“……”

“If we’re lacking people around our supported candidate just because we’ve neglected such camaraderie, then we really have a problem, don’t we?”

At my words, everyone present nodded firmly with their lips sealed.

“President Kang Moon-jung is indeed not good at such things. It’s not a matter of pride, but rather a disposition of not wanting to ask for favors or befriend others with an agenda. Of course, that’s not something to boast about. To lead a huge organization like Daeyoung, one must do even what they’re not good at. However…”

“……”

“If we’re going to place all that responsibility solely on President Kang Moon-jung’s role, then it’s unfair to expect even more from my wife, who is already overwhelmed with her duties.”

I wiped the smile off my face and looked seriously into the eyes of each person present.

And continued.

“It’s ironic. Everyone uses President Kang Moon-jung’s image as ‘the sole legitimate successor of Daeyoung’ when it’s convenient, but when she’s truly needed, no one steps forward. And yet, everyone just expects to gain an advantage in the competition with Vice President Kang Young-jin.”

“Cough…”

“So, from now on, I plan to take on that role. I’ll play golf with other executives, create networking opportunities like this one. And if necessary…”

I implied that my nature and life experiences are vastly different from my wife’s.

“I will also relentlessly exploit the weaknesses of others, just as they are doing to President Kang Moon-jung right now.”

At my words, everyone present seemed to feel a chill.

I was sincere.

Relieved that my sincerity seemed to have been well conveyed, I opened my mouth again.

“I’ll bear the brunt of it, so just leave the responsibility to me and help out. I think I’ll be asking for a lot of help in the future, is that alright with you?”

CEO Go Eun-hee was creating an atmosphere in response.

“That’s music to my ears. I was so annoyed by those who just huddle together, neglecting their duties and engaging in politics. Hearing you speak so candidly, Executive Director, feels like a breath of fresh air, doesn’t it? Don’t you all agree?”

“Of course. And responsibility is something we share, Executive Director. After all, an executive’s position is ultimately precarious, isn’t it? We wouldn’t have come this far together if we were afraid of being ousted should the succession go to Vice President Kang Young-jin.”