CH129 | VOC

December arrived.

The tumultuous year of 1998 was coming to an end.

Even restaurants, which had been struggling due to the economic crisis, were enjoying a brief respite as people cautiously opened their wallets for year-end gatherings.

I had also rented out a large restaurant for Chunha Trading’s year-end party, attended by hundreds of employees.

“Thank you all for your hard work this year! 1999 is just around the corner. Chunha Trading will continue to thrive thanks to your dedication! Let’s give a cheer! To Chunha Trading!”

I shouted the company cheer, slightly drunk, and the employees responded enthusiastically,

“Cheers!”

I sat down at my table. “Let’s drink!”

Maru and Park Jong-bum were sitting next to me, along with about twenty department heads.

The department heads started showering me with flattery as soon as I sat down.

“You’re glowing, sir!”

“Your speech was inspiring! It gave me goosebumps!”

I smiled, enjoying their flattery.

“I have a funny riddle for you. Want to hear it?”

“Of course! We’re all ears!”

“What do you call a hospital room used only by monks?”

I looked at the silent department heads and said,

“The critical care unit!”

The department heads burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.

“That’s hilarious, sir! Your sense of humor is improving every day!”

“This is too funny! Hahaha, my stomach hurts!”

I was pleased with their reaction, but Maru and Park Jong-bum were sitting there with grim expressions.

“What’s with the long faces? Wasn’t it funny?”

Maru sighed. “I give up.”

Park Jong-bum muttered, shaking his head, “The critical care unit…”

“What? The department heads liked it.”

“Do you think they’re genuinely laughing? That’s just a capitalist reaction.”

The department heads were always eager to please, but their excessive flattery today had a reason:

A major personnel reshuffle.

Chunha Trading had an unusual organizational structure. The number of employees decreased dramatically as you moved up the hierarchy.

A mid-sized company with thousands of employees and 500 billion won in annual sales only had two executives: Maru and Park Jong-bum.

There were only 20 department heads, but hundreds of section chiefs.

This unusual structure was possible because the three of us, me, Maru, and Park Jong-bum, made all the decisions.

We had been running the company ourselves, but it was no longer sustainable.

We were planning to promote Maru and Park Jong-bum and appoint a few department heads as executives.

Hence the department heads’ frantic attempts to curry favor.

“They’re desperate.”

It was an opportunity to become an executive at Chunha Trading, a company seemingly immune to the economic downturn, with zero debt.

I whispered to Maru, “Any problematic candidates?”

“No, everyone is qualified. We wouldn’t have promoted them to department head otherwise.”

I wouldn’t have promoted them without thorough vetting.

They were all carefully selected.

My obsessive vetting process was one of the reasons for Chunha Trading’s unusual structure.

“Investigate them thoroughly. They’ll be making decisions on my behalf.”

“Yes, sir.”

As we continued drinking, my phone rang.

“It’s CEO Kim.”

It was CEO Kim, who had taught me the junkyard business.

I hadn’t contacted him for a while because I had been busy, so I answered the phone cheerfully.

“Hello, sir! It’s been a while!”

But his voice was weak and despondent. – Park Sol, how have you been? I saw you on TV, you’re doing well.

“Not that well… Hahaha. But why do you sound so down?”

[…Park Sol.]

His voice was strained, and I sensed something was wrong. I asked cautiously, “What’s wrong, sir?”

His voice trembled.

[Park Sol, please save my son…]

* * *

I rushed to meet him and found him at a humble street food stall, already drunk.

“Sir.”

He looked up, his eyes dull. “Park Sol, you’re here? Let’s have a drink.”

I sat down across from him. “What’s wrong? You said ‘save my son,’ you scared me.”

“Have a drink first.”

I accepted the drink and asked cautiously, “Are you okay?”

He smiled wryly. “If I were okay, would I be calling you?”

“What happened?”

“I’m sorry, I always call you when something goes wrong. I don’t want to burden you, but you’re the only one I can think of.”

He took a sip of his drink and said, “Park Sol, do you remember my son? The one I introduced you to?”

I remembered meeting his son, Kim Yong-tae, when he had asked me to dissuade him from starting a business.

“Yes, the one who wanted to start a mobile phone business, right?”

“Yes, but he’s in big trouble.”

If someone who was running a business was in trouble, it was usually one thing.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes, he went bankrupt. And it’s bad.”

He lowered his head.

“It was going well at first. I don’t know if it was his skills or his luck, but he managed to attract investors, and he focused on exports. And with the rising exchange rate, he was making decent profits. I thought I had been wrong to dissuade him.”

“But why…?”

He gritted his teeth.

“Hanho Savings Bank.”

“Pfft!”

I spat out my drink at the mention of Hanho Savings Bank.

“They suddenly cut off his funding and started pressuring him. His company, which relied heavily on investments, faced a cash shortage, and the investors started pulling out.”

I listened silently, my heart sinking.

“A perfectly healthy company, with good profits and sales, was crippled by those bastards. He barely survived thanks to a few loyal investors who believed in his vision.”

Ah, he survived.

I was about to sigh in relief when he shouted again,

“And then, while he was clinging to that sliver of hope, the defective semiconductor incident happened, and he was completely ruined!”

“Oh…”

“The cheap, defective semiconductors flooded the Chinese market, and his mobile phones lost their competitiveness. He had targeted the low-end market, but with the cheap labor costs in China and the defective chips, he couldn’t compete.”

“…”

He took a sip of his drink and said with tears in his eyes,

“His company went bankrupt, and the loans and investments turned into debt. I’m old, I don’t have much to live for, but my son? He’s only in his 30s, and he’s over 10 billion won in debt. Why is his life like this? He just… he just wanted to make a living, to pursue his dreams. Why did this have to happen to him because of external factors, not his own mistakes?! Why?!”

My eyes wavered as I looked at him, my heart filled with guilt.

Wasn’t it all my fault?

I had orchestrated Hanho Savings Bank’s ruthless debt collection and the defective semiconductor scheme.

I would have helped him if he had told me about his son’s company, but he hadn’t wanted to burden me.

“…Where is your son now?”

“I sent his wife and children to her parents’ house. He’s hiding somewhere to avoid the creditors. Sigh…”

He wiped his tears and said in a pleading voice,

“I’m not asking you to repay his debts. I don’t care about myself, but my son… please, just save my son. I’ll get on my knees and beg you.”

I jumped up and stopped him.

“No, please don’t! I’ll feel terrible!”

“No, you built your company from scratch. I didn’t do anything special. Why should you help me every time something goes wrong? Please, let me kneel! I’ll feel better if I do!”

I screamed inwardly,

‘Please don’t!’

I was the one who had ruined his son’s life.

I was already feeling guilty, and seeing him kneel would be too much to bear.

I said, desperately trying to stop him, “Don’t worry! I’ll take care of it!”

He looked up. “R-really? You’ll help him?”

“O-of course! I haven’t forgotten your kindness! I’m Park Sol! I’ll solve this.”

He said with tears of gratitude, “Thank you, Park Sol. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Looking at him sobbing, I shouted, sweating nervously, “I’ll take care of everything! I promise!”

* * *

I met with his son, Kim Yong-tae, after a long time. He was no longer the confident young man I had met before. His dark circles and haggard face showed the toll his struggles had taken on him.

“It’s been a while, CEO Park.”

“It’s nothing. I heard you’ve been through a lot.”

He lowered his head. “My father told me. You’re… you’re going to help me?”

“Yes, I owe your father a lot.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

He said with tears in his eyes, “If it weren’t for Hanho Savings Bank and those defective chips… I could have created a new market with my low-cost phones.”

“…Forget about the past. Focus on the future.”

I hoped he would forget about it.

“Do I even have a future?”

I said confidently, “Don’t worry! You have me, Park Sol!”

His father said to him, “Yong-tae, CEO Park might be younger than you, but treat him like an older brother. Do you think anyone else would help us in these times, just because of a past connection?”

Kim Yong-tae nodded. “Yes, Father. He’s truly a remarkable person, just like they say on TV. He could have ignored us, but he came to help us personally.”

I smiled awkwardly. “It’s nothing.”

“I would have jumped into the Han River if I hadn’t heard about your offer, CEO Park.”

His father scolded him. “You idiot! Don’t say such things in front of your father! The Han River?!”

“My family would be better off without me.”

“Even so! Do you want to die at my hands?!”

He sobbed. “I’m ashamed to face you, ashamed to face my family. I hate everything!”

His father looked at him with pity. “Yong-tae…”

“I used up all your retirement savings, and all I have left is debt! Creditors haunt my dreams! Life is hell! I’d rather be dead!”

They hugged each other and sobbed.

“It’s okay, son! You’ve suffered enough. CEO Park is going to help us, so you have to work hard from now on, understand?”

“Yes, Father! I’ll work hard!”

I looked at them and vowed silently,

‘I’ll save him. No matter what.’