The Youngest Son of Sunyang

"Making Kang Musung our consultant?"

"Yes."

Oh Sehyun's furrowed expression revealed his true feelings.

Although the position of a corporate consultant had long degraded into a mere ceremonial role, it was not a place for the former CEO who had committed misconduct to sit comfortably.

"He said he would sell all the stocks, so Chairman Kang will have everything that comes with the consultant's salary. Well, we'll have to pay him quite a bit for his salary, though."

"Are you sure he accepted the conditions?"

"The entire family couldn't avoid prison, and they decided it's better to share the stock proceeds as a fine than have it all seized by the government. So they accepted. Kang wanted 30% of the stock proceeds over ten years."

Upon hearing the 30%, Oh Sehyun's furrowed face relaxed. It seems he expected at least half.

"Well, that's reasonable... But still, he'll be getting a higher salary than the Dae-ah Construction CEO?"

"At first."

"At first?"

"Yes. We'll pay as promised for the first couple of months, and then we plan to reduce it significantly."

Oh Sehyun's furrowed expression returned. "What kind of trickery is that?"

"He also need to experience the miserable feeling of not getting a salary."

Oh Sehyun shook his head and burst into laughter. "Euhaha. Have you ever seen such a ruthless guy!" After laughing for a while, enough to make tears gather in the corners of his eyes, he sat up straight. "At first, we'll pay for a couple of months, and then because the company's financial situation isn't great, we'll reduce the salary?"

"No, it's not like that. We're just delaying the payments. We have to pay the salary according to the contract."

"When will you actually pay it all, and when will you pay the overdue salaries? You don't even know, do you?"

"The times are tough. We'll have to tighten our belts until Dae-ah Construction turns a profit. Heh heh. Do-jun, that chairman Kang is going to run wild. It's not that we won't pay, it's that we can't pay."

"I understand. Wasn't that what he kept saying to Dae-ah Construction employees? He promised to pay the overdue salaries as soon as the situation improves." Oh Sehyun looked at me with a sly smile. "Is this a strategy? Or revenge?"

"What do you mean?"

"This cunning guy. Did you want to let hims experience this once, like, what is this? Or did you use it as a way to secure the stocks?"

"Both. Heh heh."

"What will you do if he files a lawsuit?"

"It will only add to his suffering. we will drag out the legal battle for years. If he drags it out for so long, he will get tired of it. And during the lawsuit, he won't receive his salary either."

"He may have avoided prison, but he's still waiting for the suffering of not receiving his salary in old age... I'll happily watch that guy suffer."

"Oh, by the way, Uncle."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"There's something I shouldn't forget to mention when negotiating a significant salary reduction."

"What's that?"

"It's a request to share the suffering until the company stabilizes."

"I'll never forget it. Haha."

The two of us shared a pleasant laugh, feeling like we had achieved a small measure of justice.

"Oh, and I'm thinking of visiting Israel for a while."

"What? Israel? Why suddenly there?"

It was Oh Sehyun, with eyes widened into circles instead of laughter. Even to me, it seemed like a truly unexpected destination. Israel.

"I'm planning to go for a short while to attend a lecture. There's a pretty excellent professor there."

Oh Sehyun burst into laughter as if he couldn't believe it.

"A lecture? You? You, who don't even go to the university right next door?"

"Oh, this lecture isn't related to law. It's in the field of engineering, which is a bit challenging for me."

"Listening to a lecture won't necessarily make you learn something..."

"You have to sow the seeds for the future in advance."

"When do you think those seeds will sprout?"

"To be honest, I'm worried that I might have missed the sowing season. So, I can't give you a definite answer."

This was a fact. I had recorded the information from the special economic report in my notes, but there was no exact timing. It only mentioned that it was in the late 1990s.

It was something happening across the sea. If I was too late, it meant I was going on a trip to Israel, but if I wasn't too late, it meant I was sowing properly.

"I-IsraeI?"

"Yes. Why are you so surprised? Don't tell me you don't have a passport?"

Assistant Manager Kim Yoon-seok scratched his head and hesitated.

"Please get your passport quickly and make flight and hotel reservations. We'll be gone for about a week."

"Yes, Director."

Kim Yoon-seok, who was going abroad for the first time in his life, hurriedly left my living room but then returned.

"Director, what about the flight tickets...?"

"Assistant Manager Kim, this time, treat yourself to a first-class experience."

This time, he dashed off as if he were flying.

While the students rushed to school on their first day, I flew to Israel.

The flight time from South Korea to Tel Aviv, Israel, alone exceeds 14 hours. Avoiding the airspace over the Middle East due to its risks adds another several hours to the journey.

"Director, those kids even remember the names of first-class passengers." Assistant Manager Kim whispered while glancing at the flight attendants.

"The round trip flight to Israel takes roughly 24 hours. That seat costs over 7 million won, right? If someone is willing to pay 700,000 won a day, I'm ready to memorize their entire family tree."

"Oh..."

"Enjoy the services these ladies provide. It's all on company dime. Let's order whatever we want to eat and have a drink or two. It's a long flight, so we can have a drink and catch some sleep."

After a few glasses of wine, Kim cautiously opened his mouth.

"Director, it's what Manager Jin Yeong-jun said."

"Yeong-jun, my brother?"

"Yes. He's been appointed as a senior executive at Sunyang Construction. I really wanted to become an executive in the electronics division, but Vice Chairman Jin Yeong-gi ignored me and sent me away."