I’d Rather Live as a Villain

I’d Rather Live as a Villain – Part 4

(Please turn back now, immediately)

A pleasant excitement began to swirl on the face of Chairman Kang Ki-young.

Strategic Planning Team Leader Son Jeong-hyun.

Entering the study, he stood at a certain distance behind Chairman Kang Man-ho, who was sitting across from the chairman.

“Team Leader Son.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Find a new attendant for Moon-jung by today.”

“···Yes, I understand.”

It was an urgent directive, but Son Jeong-hyun, the head of strategic planning, seemed to immediately think of a suitable person as he furrowed his brow and nodded in response.

“Also, contact Mulsan and tell them to vacate the position of the European regional head within a week.”

At those words, Chairman Kang Man-ho was startled and straightened his posture.

“Father.”

“A week should be enough. I don’t care who’s currently in that position, but if they’re valuable, request a place for them at the group’s headquarters, and if they’re mediocre, transfer them to food services. If they can’t seize an opportunity like this, they don’t deserve the position of Mulsan’s head.”

“Are you really going to go through with this marriage?”

Despite his son’s urgency, Chairman Kang Ki-young let out a snicker.

“Moon-jeong is not my daughter. She’s your daughter. It’s up to her to decide whether to marry or not, and it’s up to you to give permission. What are you going to do if I meddle in everything?”

“Then why did you order to vacate the position at Mulsan?”

Chairman Kang Ki-young took a short breath before speaking.

“Was he trembling?”

“Pardon?”

“That guy earlier, Yoon Tae-sik. When he was making up answers to my questions, did he seem to tremble?”

“…”

“I didn’t see it. He looked me straight in the eye and said everything he had to say. How many people in our Daeyoung can do that against me?”

“But father.”

“Three years and three months? Moon-jeong, that guy. You’ve been secretly raising quite a fierce wolf cub. And right under my nose.”

Chairman Kang Ki-young snickered once again.

Then he spoke to Son Jeong-hyun, the head of strategic planning.

“First, sort out the instructions I just gave as quickly as possible, and then look into Yoon Tae-sik. Start with the kimbap shop his mother runs, check if there are any relatives who might cause a scandal later, how his relationships with women have been… overall.”

“Yes, I understand.”

After Son Jeong-hyun, the planning team leader, left the study, Chairman Kang Ki-young placed his hands on the armrests of his wheelchair.

Chairman Kang Man-ho quickly rose to support his father.

“Oh dear, oh dear…”

Chairman Kang Ki-young struggled to rise from his wheelchair.

He grabbed two walnuts that were on the desk and, refusing his son’s support, walked to the window with his hands behind his back.

The two hard-shelled walnuts were tightly gripped and turning in his palm.

“When I told you to quickly find a suitable match and pair them up, you wouldn’t even listen, and now look at you.”

Chairman Kang Man-ho closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“The guy’s already thirty-four. It’s not a young age. As Moon-jeong says, one strategic marriage for the company’s benefit is enough with Young-jin’s, and that’s it.”

Gazing out the window at the garden for a long while, Chairman Kang Ki-young finally voiced his thoughts.

“Those words from Moon-jung. Even if a chaebol serves jail time and orders a chicken to be delivered home upon release, it becomes a hot topic. ‘They’re no different from us, after all, just another human being…’ That’s what people comfort themselves with, and they even send their support. Is that not the sentiment of this country, South Korea, these days?”

“…”

“And if a single chicken can stir such public sentiment, wouldn’t Moon-jung’s marriage do the same?”

“But Father, this is…”

Cutting off his son’s words, Chairman Kang Ki-young spoke.

“I placed you in that seat just as my father placed me in mine.”

Chairman Kang Man-ho had no choice but to remain silent.

“If he wants to fight it out properly, why strip him of the gloves he’s struggling to put on, instead of making a ring for him? Do you plan to live alone forever? You can find a man to stand by your side even as you age, but not blood-related children. Think about Moon-jung’s age. If you miss this time, it could be tough. Don’t think of it as looking at a son-in-law, but through Moon-jung, see Moon-jung, and the grandchildren resembling Moon-jung’s mother. That’s what I believe is right.”

A smile spread across Chairman Kang Ki-young’s face as he turned his gaze away from the window.

With such an expression, he looked at his son and said,

“He says he’s someone you absolutely need right now. Let’s meet him. See if this guy has a good eye for people, or not. Even if we have to compete, at least let him have what he deems necessary before we start. That’s only fair.”

***

The first person came to the group’s secretariat just after lunchtime, a little past 2 PM.

I was already aware that my current position would soon undergo significant changes, positive or negative.

But I hadn’t anticipated that the change would come this quickly.

“Deputy Chief.”

“Oh? Director Chu.”

Director Chu Jae-young of the group’s secretariat, strategic planning team.

Unlike me, who was drafted into the group’s secretariat, he’s an elite among elites, having joined the strategic planning team of the secretariat from the start.

He’s also a talent who has been promoted to director without missing a single promotion.

If someone were to ask me which department in Korea’s major corporations seriously suffers from connections based on school ties or regional ties, I would answer without a moment’s hesitation that it seems to be the group’s secretariat.

No wonder there’s a saying that Daeyoung’s group secretariat is like a Seoul National University alumni association.

I understand that it’s an inevitable part of the job.

After all, the department that produces the most presidents of affiliated companies is the group’s secretariat, especially the strategic planning team, which cares for the owner family at the forefront.

For someone like me, who was drafted out of necessity and not a Seoul National University graduate, it’s not easy to be absorbed into the organizational culture of such a secretariat.

Sad to say, it’s only natural for me to be treated as an underling by the orthodox secretariat members like Director Chu.

From their perspective, I’m just affiliated with the secretariat, unlike them, I could be bounced to another place at any time.

“How did Chief Chu end up here…”

In a flash, I felt like I knew what was happening.

“Did you come alone?”

“Yes.”

The meaning behind Chief Chu’s solitary arrival was becoming clearer, thanks to the authoritative expression he was showing me.

First, I stood up from my seat and approached Chief Chu.

“Did you come here because of me?”

“Yes.”

Wow…

That was quick.

Sending someone over this fast?

“I haven’t heard any other stories yet?”

“You’ll probably get a separate call from the team leader soon.”

But why is he so stiff?

“From the team leader?”

“Yes.”

Not from Director Jang Dong-ju, who accompanies the chairman, but from Team Leader Son Jung-hyun, who serves as the eyes and ears of the chairman in the control tower?

That meant it was also the will of the chairman.

“From this moment on, I will be taking over the personal assistant duties for Executive Kang Moon-jung, in place of the deputy chief.”

It was clear that Chief Chu had no idea why the executive’s assistant duties had shifted from me to him, and he seemed to have come here without much thought, just following orders from above for the time being.

Just then.

“Who decided this?”

It was the executive.

Click-clack, click-clack…

With firm, unyielding steps, the executive approached from the direction of the office.

“Who?”

The executive glanced up and down at Chief Chu before inserting himself between us.

The previously rigid Chief Chu bowed deeply.

“Nice to meet you, Executive. I’m Chief Chu Jae-young from the group’s secretariat, the strategic planning team.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Kang Moon-jung. But listening to the conversation you two just had, I can’t understand the current situation at all? I never requested someone to be sent over. Who sent you?”

“Team Leader Son Jeong-hyun…”

Could Director Chu’s prideful nose really bend so easily?

It was almost pitiable.

“Team Leader Son? Hmm… So it’s a directive from grandfather? Okay. So starting today, Director Chu will be handling my duties?”

“…Yes.”

“And what about our Deputy Director Yoon? What will he do here from now on? Just twiddle his thumbs?”

“I believe he’s on standby for reassignment.”

“Not a suspension but waiting for reassignment? That’s a relief. But speaking of which, he’s someone I work with, and his transfer was decided today without my knowledge? Even if there was a directive from grandfather, it feels like I’m being ignored, and I don’t like that feeling.”

“I’m just…”

After showing a sly smile to Director Chu, who was cringing, the executive muttered to himself.

“Our Team Leader Son. I didn’t see it coming, but you’ve become a disappointment as of today.”

The executive immediately made a call from there.

As expected, the person on the other end was Team Leader Son Jeong-hyun.

“Yes, Team Leader. It’s me. Something very interesting is happening here. Someone from the group’s secretariat has come? Chu…”

“Chu Jae-young.”

With Director Chu’s response, the executive smiled again, nodded in thanks, and continued the conversation.

“Director Chu Jae-young. You say you’re here to take over my duties starting today, but this is news to me. What’s going on? I mean, of course, I know it’s grandfather’s directive. But you can’t just insert or remove my people at will, can you?”

I reassured Director Chu, who was excessively tense over the executive’s shoulder, with a nod, as if to say it would be okay.

“Even if it’s grandfather’s directive, if it’s not meant to ignore me, shouldn’t you at least call me before sending someone over? Like, ‘I received such and such directive, and unavoidably had to send someone’… It’s not something you can do behind my back. And you say it’s grandfather’s directive, but what am I supposed to say, tell them not to come? Right?”

The executive’s words were absolutely correct.

“In your eyes, Team Leader, does no one else exist at Daeyoung besides grandfather? It doesn’t seem like it, does it? What misunderstanding? You’re the one acting in a way that leads to misunderstandings.”

And the next words he said moved me slightly.

“How shocked must the person be, who was doing their job well, to suddenly be confronted by a replacement and told, ‘From now on, I’ll be doing your job, move aside’? No matter how much they anticipated or braced themselves, such an unexpected move would startle anyone. There’s no way it wouldn’t. I saw the whole thing being delivered with just that nuance.”

It was strange.

If it had been the old me, I would have felt more uncomfortable, as if sitting on pins and needles, if someone was put in a difficult situation because of me. But now, I didn’t feel that way at all.

“Knowing why this personnel move is happening, yet you proceed like this, am I to understand that this is your true intention towards me and Deputy Director Yoon?”

After finishing the call with Team Leader Son, the executive took a step towards Director Chu.

“Director Chu?”

“…Yes, yes, Executive Director.”

“Do you know Deputy Director Yoon’s phone number, or not?”

“Yes, I have it.”

“Before coming here, did you contact Deputy Director Yoon to take over his duties, or did you just come?”

“Well, that is… as soon as I received Manager Sohn’s instructions, I came right away…”

“That. Is. To. Say.”

The executive’s face was etched with a weary expression, as if asking why one couldn’t understand simple instructions.

Of course, even then, I hadn’t imagined that the executive, following the Chairman’s orders, would send back Assistant Manager Choo, who was dispatched by Manager Sohn.

“I get that you came straight here, but did you give Deputy Director Yoon a heads-up over the phone before coming? That’s what I’m asking.”

“…I didn’t, I just came.”

“Ah, so this is what this phrase was made for. ‘The company is running so smoothly’… Is that what you’re saying? That you were too busy rushing over immediately after receiving the instructions, or are you saying that you didn’t even think to give a heads-up to Deputy Director Yoon, who, although in a different department, is still a superior and colleague in the same group?”

“That, that is…”

“Go back, back to the group secretariat.”

A major blunder!

Defying the Chairman’s orders?

Is this even allowed?

The executive’s voice, as cold as ice, was slicing through the tense Assistant Manager Choo.

“Even if it’s an order from the grandfather, the Chairman himself, I won’t entrust my side to someone who can’t think and judge for themselves, not even for a moment. Go back. Right now.”