The Chairman Who Wants to Play and Eat

Episode 9. I will become a catfish.

That night, I had a nightmare.

‘I, as your father, will always be your strength. You don’t need your brothers. Regardless of what your grandfather thinks, the successor I have in mind is now only you, Sang-yoon.’

It was a dream where Vice Chairman Hyun Deok-jae, my father, said this.

And he said it in a very serious tone.

“Huff, huff.”

The path to becoming the next successor,

As if determined to push me onto that lonely and arduous royal road, he stood there holding a golden crown he had somehow obtained.

I don’t know how much I ran away. Even after waking up, I was drenched in cold sweat.

It’s a dreadful nightmare I’m afraid to dream again.

‘Why on earth did I have such a dream?’

I couldn’t sleep anymore.

This can’t go on.

If the scores keep piling up like this, something will happen someday.

It’s a moment when a decisive move is needed.

Grandfather’s words are right. To pursue my dream, I felt I needed to take on risks more actively.

Ding ding.

Just then, the alarm rang.

It was exactly 4 AM, the time to wake up. Time to start the day’s work.

At the same time,

“Sir, are you ready?”

The voice of Deputy Lee Beom-seok, who had come to escort me, echoed from outside the door. Today, I couldn’t be more pleased to hear it.

“Please come in.”

I flung the door open. Deputy Lee, startled, stood there.

I asked,

“Did you bring the materials I requested?”

“…I’ve prepared everything so you can review them while we move.”

“You left them in the car, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

Today’s schedule is tighter than usual. The travel distance is also long.

After studying in Gangnam, I have to move to Gwanak to attend two 2-credit classes, then, without time to eat, head back to the headquarters in Gangbuk for the monthly meeting chaired by the president.

But that’s good.

Being busy is better.

I wanted to escape as quickly as possible from the terrible dream that still haunted me.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes, understood.”

Seeing me hurry, Deputy Lee also began to move faster.

“Oh, and sir.”

“Yes?”

Last night, I urgently asked Deputy Lee to add one more appointment. It seems he wants to talk about that.

“The reporter from Dongseon Ilbo. Are you really planning to meet him?”

“That’s why I asked, isn’t it?”

“You’ve been refusing interviews all this time, but suddenly it seems you’ve changed your mind.”

He then started to ramble on about how he called the reporter late at night to set up the appointment, and the reporter, as if waiting, readily agreed.

“So? What’s the problem?”

To my question,

“I just have a bad feeling. Reporters, you know…”

“There’s nothing to worry about. We’re just going to talk. Reporters are people too. You just need to handle them well.”

“It’s not that simple, sir.”

“Mr. Lee.”

His words grew longer again.

“Do you think I would have given such an order without any thought? I have my own considerations, so stop worrying and just drive properly.”

He spoke curtly. The man scratched his head.

“…I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize. As a secretary, it’s your duty to give such advice. Let’s not use unnecessary expressions like ‘sorry’ between us.”

“I will do as you say, sir.”

The conversation paused for a moment.

Soon, the engine started, and the car began to move.

“Mr. Lee, from now on, just do as I say without any doubt.”

I added.

“Yes, I understand.”

“Then I will focus now.”

“Yes, sir. I will play Chopin’s Etudes, which you like, during the ride.”

Soon, the sound of classical music filled the car.

Finally, there was some leisure. He opened the thick file he had prepared.

‘Well organized.’

He is indeed a capable employee.

In just a few days, he gathered the information I wanted.

Among them were hard-to-find materials on the semiconductor business status of other companies like Jeongsang and Geosan.

Despite the tight schedule, he showed the sense to neatly categorize and bind them for easy reading. He is not just any secretary.

‘Mr. Lee has done his part, and now I just have to do mine.’

What I have to discuss with the reporter has nothing to do with this.

It’s nothing special.

I can talk for an hour or two about study tips or college entrance strategies that they might like.

When you look back later, they are things that don’t really matter.

But that wasn’t the only reason.

There was a picture I had to show the reporter.

‘A textbook on the basics of semiconductors, and this semiconductor status report.’

I will take it to the interview.

Naturally, the reporter will see what book I’m reading and what I’m studying.

It’s a kind of performance.

There are two purposes for exposing this.

‘The first is the role of the catfish that my grandfather wanted.’

If you put a catfish, a natural enemy, in a loach farm, the loaches will move actively to avoid being eaten, and their survival rate will increase.

The term “catfish effect” comes from this.

It’s the effect my grandfather wants.

He hopes that my appearance at the meeting will awaken the executives who have been complacent with their comfortable lives and rewards.

In that case, I need to show something appropriate.

It would be dangerous to betray my grandfather’s expectations.

But it’s also problematic to be too immersed in the role.

If I do too well, my grandfather might give me a high score.

I absolutely refuse that.

Moderation is best in everything.

That’s why I called the reporter.

‘The signal that Seonghyeon is also entering the semiconductor business, which the two companies, Jeongsang and Geosan, are targeting as a new growth business, will definitely be a minus point if I show it to the reporter on my own.’

I aimed for these two effects.

Isn’t it too risky?

No, it’s not.

If someone questions me about leaking company secrets, I can just respond like this.

I’ve never seen any secrets, and anyway, I have no influence on the group’s grand strategy.

No one would think I would play such a role.

Because I’m a college student, not an executive.

Such an excuse works.

Maybe the attacker will be counterattacked instead.

‘That’s what they call a trump card, right?’

This time, it’s a perfect plan.

If I successfully execute this plan, I can lose all the points I’ve accumulated with the chairman and quietly live as just another grandchild of a chaebol family.

I am looking forward to it.

The morning air was fresher than yesterday.

“We’ll arrive soon.”

“Okay.”

Lee’s voice seemed to be filled with worry and concern.

*

I finished the study session at the Gangnam headquarters. I headed to the meeting place.

“Hello.”

At a coffee shop in Gangnam,

As soon as I entered, a man with a bird’s nest on his head, as if he had a sleepless night, recognized me and greeted me first.

It seemed to be reporter Won Dong-sik, with whom I had arranged an interview.

“Reporter Won?”

“Haha, yes. That’s right. Hyun Sang-yoon…”

“You can call me Mr. Hyun or just Sang-yoon, whichever you prefer.”

As I took the initiative,

“Then I’ll call you Sang-yoon.”

He joked as he guided me to a seat.

“There must be a reason why you suddenly accepted the interview request.”

“For the juniors.”

“Oh, come on. I know everything.”

“What?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Usually, when a journalist is needed by a chaebol family like yours, it’s for one of two reasons: to promote or to suppress. I’m considered a professional, so you can be honest with me.”

“Did Deputy Lee coach you to say that?”

“Haha, I can’t hide anything from you.”

“To get straight to the point, both are wrong.”

I placed a book on the table.

The reporter’s eyes sparkled.

“I’m just here to talk about studying. I have no other purpose. I’m still just a twenty-year-old college student.”

“And a chaebol family’s young master.”

“It’s not important.”

“To me, it is important. What people want is not just a story about studying, but a story about a rich kid who studies well. I write what people want. Because I’m a journalist.”

So, is this what you want to say?

If I weren’t a rich kid, I wouldn’t be here, and there would be no interview with a journalist.

That’s right. I got hit.

I have no intention of denying it.

But do you know?

If I were in the position of my grandfather or father, I wouldn’t be calling a regular journalist like you. I would call the desk with advertising money as a weapon and make them write the article I want.

Oh, of course, I have no intention of going to such a position.

So, this is the only way for me.

A moment of silence flowed,

“But weren’t you a law student?”

Reporter Won finally brought it up. It was a question he had been waiting to ask since earlier.

“That’s right.”

“But you’re reading an interesting book. At first, I thought I saw it wrong. No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like a law book…”

He trailed off.

“It’s a basic theory book on semiconductors.”

So I made it clear once more.

“Semiconductors?”

“The more you study, the better. Semiconductors are one of them.”

“Is this off the record?”

“No, you can write it if you want.”

“You’ll regret it. Let me remind you again, I’m a journalist. I write what people want.”

Then he added that the fact that a rich kid from the Seonghyeon family, who went to law school, started studying semiconductors would be enough to become a hot topic in the city. Much more than just a story about a rich kid studying.

There was one thing he didn’t know.

That’s what I wanted.

But, I said nonchalantly,

“I know. If you weren’t a journalist, I wouldn’t have a reason to meet you.”

He laughed at my words.

“This time, I got hit.”

Contrary to his tone, his eyes were shining. He leaned back comfortably against the backrest and said,

“Actually, I came out without much expectation, but it seems I’ve met someone more interesting than I thought. Mr. Hyun Sang-yoon. I’ve been outdone. I understand well that you are not just someone who came out for an interview with a successful candidate from Korea University.”

The conversation started to flow.

“Let’s make a deal. It seems we both have something we want from each other.”

“Alright. How shall we do it?”

“The method is simple. One side provides the article, and the other writes the desired article. Give and take, how about it?”

“Hmm.”

He pretended to ponder.

“It wouldn’t be a bad deal for you either, Mr. Hyun Sang-yoon. It might sound like self-praise, but I have the skills for it. It’s reassuring to have a good journalist on your side.”

Won Dong-sik said.

I believe him. Lee Beom-seok would have naturally recruited a good person.

Anyway, this is the result I wanted.

“Alright. Let’s do it that way.”

“You made a good decision.”

Won Dong-sik stood up and bowed his head slightly.

“In that sense, let me formally introduce myself once again. I am Won Dong-sik, a reporter from Dongseon Ilbo. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Hyun Sang-yoon.”

The title changed. For now, he decided to be on my side.

*

After that, it moved on to a relatively normal(?) interview.

‘If you could give some advice on study methods?’

‘Focus on school textbooks, and study diligently without any tricks.’

‘Lastly, could you say a word to the junior examinees across the country who are aspiring to enter Korea University?’

‘You can do it. Seong-hyun and I will cheer for you.’

It was the usual kind of conversation.

But there was something more important.

‘Semiconductor.’

I hoped that carrying around a semiconductor book would be read as a signal that Seong-hyun would enter the semiconductor business in the future.

It doesn’t matter if it’s not.

Even if it just becomes a topic, that’s enough.

Just the fact that a freshman who just entered university did something beyond his limits could make me lose points with my grandfather.

While lost in various thoughts,

“Are you ready?”

I arrived in front of the headquarters.

Already, black luxury sedans were entering the building one by one.

These were the executives gathered for today’s meeting.

There are more than ten people at the president level, and if you include the vice presidents, there are dozens.

“How long will it take?”

“It should take about 10 minutes.”

“Then let’s rest for a moment.”

I put down the file I was holding for a moment.

2:31 PM,

Less than 30 minutes remained until the crucial moment.

Once I go up, every word I say will have a significant impact on my future.

There are two paths.

‘Will I be dragged along and become the chairman, or will I quietly inherit a few buildings in Gangnam and live a comfortable and enjoyable well-being life?’

It all depends on the hands of Chairman Hyun Byung-gun, who will be watching my attitude.

‘If I have to become a catfish, so be it.’

It doesn’t matter.

If I have to become a catfish, I will. As long as I am a fish.

I can become even more.

As long as I don’t become the owner of the fish farm.

If I can, I will gladly become Chairman Hyun’s good grandson.