The Chairman Who Wants to Play and Eat

Episode 18. From now on, it’s my job.

The completion ceremony was over.

“What on earth is this all of a sudden?”

On the way back to the headquarters,

Chairman Hyun Byung-gun, who couldn’t shake off his bewildered mind, asked Chief Joo Yong-hoon, who was sitting in the front seat of the Rolls-Royce.

He wasn’t asking out of curiosity.

It was just that he couldn’t bear not to say anything.

“Korea University seems to have decided to reward you for this matter, Chairman.”

That reward was now in the form of a tangible object, held close to the current chairman’s chest.

“A degree from Korea University for me? And in law, no less. Do you think this makes any sense, even as a reward?”

“Why wouldn’t it be possible, Chairman?”

“It’s not possible, my friend.”

“Even if you say that, isn’t it already a done deal? I think it would be better for you to accept it pleasantly.”

All of this was because of the second event following the scholarship award ceremony.

Chairman Hyun Byung-gun closed his eyes.

He recalled the earlier event.

‘…The second event is to award an honorary bachelor’s degree in law to Chairman Hyun Byung-gun of the Seonghyun Group, who has made significant contributions to the development of legal research at Korea University by donating a library and providing scholarship funds. Chairman Hyun Byung-gun, please come forward to receive the award from the president.’

The announcer’s voice seemed to echo in his ears.

He opened his eyes again.

Even though he said it was impossible, he was holding the bachelor’s degree certificate close to his chest as if it were very precious.

Seeing this, Chief Joo smiled gently.

‘He must be pleased.’

Even though he says otherwise.

It had been a long time since anyone had seen Chairman Hyun like this.

An honorary degree itself is not particularly surprising.

Chairman Park Jung-sang and Chairman Son Dae-woon had been collecting honorary degrees from domestic and foreign universities as if they were trophies.

Chairman Hyun also had a few.

But this time was different.

It wasn’t just any place.

It was Korea University, no less.

Isn’t it the undisputed top comprehensive university in the country?

An honorary degree from such a prestigious university would be as proud as a grandchild receiving an acceptance letter from Korea University.

It properly stimulated Chairman Hyun’s pride. It brought him great joy.

This was also thanks to the young master.

Chief Joo thought so.

Even though he hadn’t said anything, he had been deeply troubled by the succession issue, and it pained him that he couldn’t offer any help.

It was a matter he couldn’t bring up lightly.

It was a problem that only Chairman Hyun could solve.

‘No, perhaps now the young master could solve it too?’

He dismissed the thought.

It was not yet the time for that.

He looked ahead again. The road stretched straight before him.

It felt like the future of Seonghyun, stretching vigorously forward.

“Wait a minute! Could it be!?”

At that moment,

A thunderbolt struck out of nowhere. It was Chairman Hyun’s voice.

“Ch-chairman?”

“These people, could it be because of Sangyoon?”

“What do you mean, sir…?”

“Yes, that’s it. Cunning people.”

He ground his teeth.

“They give me a degree and later say, ‘Oh Chairman, you received the degree, so you must pay the price. Stop talking and hand over Sangyoon to the legal profession.’ Isn’t that what they’re saying!”

It was something he could never tolerate.

His eyes burned with anger over something that hadn’t even happened.

“No matter how grateful I am for the honorary degree, I can never send Sangyoon to that school. This is that and that is this. This must be made clear. Chief Joo, remember that. Do you understand?”

At that moment,

“Do you think our intentions were well conveyed?”

“Of course. We’ve done this much, so Chairman Hyun will change his mind someday.”

President Chun Jong-tae of Korea University returned to his office after the event.

The dean of the law school followed him.

He was the one who had come up with the idea of awarding an honorary law degree to Chairman Hyun Byung-gun.

‘Does that make sense?’

At first, President Chun had questioned it.

But he knew deep down that it would work.

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

It wasn’t just any university, it was Korea University.

Even if it was honorary, awarding a degree was not something to be taken lightly. There were clear standards and strict evaluations to be met.

Moreover, it’s not just any major, but law.

It can’t be given to just anyone.

Since they gave something like that, Chairman Hyun must have realized how sincerely Korea University wants Hyun Sang-yoon.

The purpose was solely one thing.

To secure Hyun Sang-yoon.

“Just in case, Dean Oh, you should keep paying attention. Make sure Hyun Sang-yoon doesn’t slip out of our sight.”

To that,

“What’s there to say?”

The dean immediately chimed in.

“Talking isn’t enough. You need to act.”

“Don’t worry, President. Who am I? I’m Oh Sung-kwon, your direct junior, the one who used to fetch genealogy records for you since school days.”

“Goodness, people.”

Indeed it was.

‘Yes. Oh Sung-kwon was quite the expert at fetching genealogy records from seniors.’

President Chun sipped the warm tea brought by his secretary, calming his uneasy mind.

Their thoughts were the same.

For the first time in a while, a talent that must be secured had appeared among the first-year students.

President Chun thought.

He must secure the talent that would bring the ‘Hyun Sang-yoon effect’ to the stagnant Korean legal community.

‘If not with a bachelor’s degree, then with a master’s, if not with a master’s, then with a doctorate. This must be done. Absolutely.’

There was a reason.

From the beginning, there was a reason they started with a bachelor’s degree instead of giving a doctorate.

Each had their own dreams and ambitions as the night deepened.

‘Why are my ears so itchy?’

It’s strange these days.

My ears itch several times a day. I don’t know the cause.

Should I go to the hospital?

*

The next day,

“It’s been a while since you came to work.”

Five o’clock in the morning,

Before the day breaks.

After finishing my morning routine of reading the newspaper and doing some light exercise, I stepped out of my room’s living room to find Deputy Lee Beom-seok already waiting at the door.

As expected of a talent from the secretary’s office, he never loses his composure for a single moment.

That’s something to be admired.

“Is that so? Shall we go?”

I said,

“I have organized and prepared the semiconductor TF work progress that you couldn’t review in the car.”

“You’ve prepared that as well. How thorough.”

“You couldn’t pay attention because of the exam, could you, sir?”

He scratched his head with a smile.

“Of course, it’s my job. You don’t have to praise me by saying ‘good’. It’s embarrassing, haha.”

…He’s an oblivious person.

I shouldn’t emulate that kind of sense.

Anyway,

I tried to deliberately appear sloppy with the tasks I was assigned, but even that seems difficult now.

There’s no way I wouldn’t know what’s going on just because of one exam.

Of course, I know everything.

But I planned to pretend not to know when I got to the company.

So I hoped this kind of report would come in.

‘It seems that the young master is having a hard time balancing school and work. I apologize, but he is missing some company tasks.’

Then,

‘Oh dear, tsk tsk. If you can’t handle even that much, what are you going to do? I wanted to hand over a company to you with an honorary degree, but it seems difficult. Chief Joo, look for a small building in Gangnam. I’ll give it to him when I die.’

The chairman would have said something like that.

Just imagining it makes me happy.

I salivate.

Although my imagination has been shattered because of Deputy Lee, who has thoroughly organized everything.

I went outside.

The car started.

“Oh, I heard about your exam.”

“Of course.”

“Well, I’m saying this as a senior from school, but I’ve never seen anyone take an exam like that. Throwing away all the multiple-choice questions and scoring a perfect 50 points on the essay questions… a monster…”

Ahem, I cleared my throat.

“Sorry. It’s just that… I’ve never seen a monster like that before.”

“So?”

“Even in the TF, everyone said the same thing. They all recognized you as a genius since the semiconductor exam.”

I had nothing to say.

Zap,

Instead of answering, I glared at the back of his head as he drove.

But Assistant Lee, oblivious to my feelings, started enthusiastically recounting what happened in the semiconductor TF.

“Manager So Byunghwa has been promoted to deputy director. He is focusing all his efforts on establishing the Seonghyun Global Semiconductor Research Institute. Manager Go Hakjun is forming a research team and is busy distributing tasks in collaboration with Dr. Cho.”

“……”

“Assistant Cho Miyeon, true to her background in the general affairs department, is doing her utmost to support Dr. Cho Youngdae’s settlement. Assistant Kim Inrak is set to join the training team soon. It’s all written there. You’ve read it all, right?”

Instead of saying, “I’ve told you everything,” I slammed the document down.

“Dr. Cho is arriving tomorrow, right?”

I asked.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“We should go to the airport to greet him.”

“It’s written there, but that’s also Assistant Cho’s job. So…”

I cut him off.

I had to find my work before it was too late.

“Even if it’s Assistant Cho’s job, from now on, it’s my job. I’ll do it. I won’t miss it. I’ll inform the TF, so let’s prepare together. Understood?”

Even if it’s not my job, it has to be my job.

I can’t trust anyone anymore.

From Assistant Lee to the semiconductor TF members, it’s no longer possible to use them to tarnish my reputation.

A new person is needed.

Dr. Cho Youngdae,

To use him to get my bad stories to the chairman, I have to meet him first.

This is an opportunity.

I can’t miss it.

*

Meanwhile,

Dr. Jo Young-dae, who arrived at Gimpo Airport, felt his heart swell with emotion.

‘Finally, I’m back.’

At 19, he entered the physics department at Korea University.

At 21, he graduated early.

Immediately after, he went to study in the United States, where he completed his master’s and doctorate in physics at Ohio State University. He then joined Bell Labs and developed the MOS-FET within a few years.

It was a technology that became the standard for integrated circuit (IC) design as soon as it came out.

He became a world-renowned star semiconductor engineer overnight.

That was decades ago.

‘Phew.’

The young man with black hair who crossed the Pacific with dreams of glory had now returned with a head full of white hair.

The homeland he saw through the airplane window had changed significantly from when he left.

It was unrecognizable.

This was exactly what he wanted to see. Choosing his homeland.

If it were just for money, he wouldn’t have chosen Seonghyeon as his partner.

There were many places he could go.

There was also Bychron and Intech.

He had even received an offer from the Japanese company ENC to become the head of a global semiconductor research institute they were about to establish in the United States.

There was also Jeongsang and Geosan.

All of these places offered far better conditions than Seonghyeon.

Nevertheless, he chose Seonghyeon.

Because there was something more important than money.

In fact, if he wanted to earn money, he could have earned as much as he wanted. Information was abundant.

Money just wasn’t that important to him.

He simply wanted to lead the scientific development of his homeland for the rest of his life.

He thought Seonghyeon was the place where he could do that.

He didn’t want to rest for even a second.

He wanted to start working as soon as possible.

If possible, right after getting off the plane.

*

Even though his body had aged, his mind had already returned to the fresh and confident young man in his twenties who had once left Korea.

‘But that can’t be possible.’

He had grown older now.

The fiery spirit of his youth had faded, and he had become someone who could adapt to his surroundings. It was a kind of resignation.

Others would find it hard to match even half of his passion.

The first schedule would undoubtedly be to rest for a few days while sightseeing from the accommodation, and then to have a few casual conversations with the executives for show. At least at first, it would be like that.

But,

‘Did he say his name was Hyun Sang-yoon?’

That friend seemed a bit different, but Jo Young-dae wasn’t sure.

Thinking that, he walked out to the arrival hall,

[ Welcome Dr. Jo Young-dae ]

A placard caught his eye.

‘There it is.’

It was hard to miss with the large Seonghyun logo on it.

Two young men were standing below it.

‘One who looks a bit older must be an employee, and the other one… Could it really be that Hyun Sang-yoon came out himself?’

“Dr. Jo!”

A young man who had recognized him shouted.

It was a familiar voice.

It was definitely Hyun Sang-yoon.

He approached.

“You must be tired from the long journey. We’ve spoken on the phone before, right? Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Hyun Sang-yoon.”

Good heavens.

The moment Dr. Jo saw his eyes, he knew.

Those intense, determined eyes that said he would never let go, those eyes were real.

He had a premonition.

Choosing Korea,

And selecting Seonghyun as a partner might be the best decision he had ever made, an inexplicable premonition.