A Genius Speaks with Money

Chapter 26

As soon as the announcement of the company-wide personnel transfer for Taeseong Construction was released, the internal bulletin board and employee messenger were buzzing all day long.

While lists of departmental movements and promoters were being posted one after another, there was a name that stood out by far.

It was none other than Jeong Seong-pil.

Jeong Seong-pil was promoted not to Manager, but to Senior Managing Director.

Although it was just a single change in rank next to his name, the company atmosphere fluctuated as if exploding.

“Senior Managing Director? Wasn'

t he a manager?”

“From Manager straight to Senior Managing Director? Skipping over Director and Executive Director?”

It was hard to believe.

A case of jumping from Manager directly to Senior Managing Director was the first since the founding of Taeseong Construction.

Someone nodded, saying ‘It was a result worthy of that’, but someone else whispered, asking ‘This is obviously someone pushing him’ from anyone'

s perspective.However, the fact that no one could deny was that the three syllables of the name Jeong Seong-pil had risen to the new center of Taeseong Construction.

Executive Director Lee Tae-jun was staring intently at a line in the personnel notification email with his hand holding a coffee cup paused.

[Jeong Seong-pil - Promotion to Senior Managing Director]

It was just one line, but it flickered before his eyes like a red warning light as if mocking him.

“…From Manager straight to Senior Managing Director?!”

At the words he spat out quietly, Manager Bae Jeong-su, who was standing nearby, carefully opened his mouth.

“The internal bulletin board is in an uproar right now. Since Senior Managing Director Jeong is said to be coming to work immediately. Around the afternoon, for a greeting toward the meeting room….”

“That'

s enough.”

Lee Tae-jun cut him off and stood up abruptly from his seat.

The coffee cup he was holding shook, and a few drops splashed onto the desk.

“Of all things, Jeong Seong-pil at this time….”

He slowly drew in a breath.

He had to endure it.

He knew that he should not show his feelings right now.

However, he could not possibly hide the unpleasantness piled up in his chest.

Jeong Seong-pil only had a bit of luck following him with the Iraq case.

Rising from Manager directly to Senior Managing Director was not a normal route.

“…Whose work is this? Is it Yoon Jae-hyuk? Or….”

He muttered while slightly shaking his head.

“Something is suspicious, no matter how I look at it.”

Lee Tae-jun'

s eyes narrowed.

***

The hallways of Taeseong Construction headquarters were quietly excited with a tension different from usual.

Someone pretended to come out to print on purpose, and someone else hovered in front of the meeting room while holding a coffee cup.

“Is he really coming as a Senior Managing Director?”

“It'

s a direct flight from Manager to Senior Managing Director. Omitting Director and Executive Director altogether.”

“Well…. It'

s a hundred times better than someone who only occupies a seat and doesn'

t take responsibility like a certain person.”

“Like Executive Director Lee Tae-jun?”

The sound of quiet laughter spread.

Executive Director Lee Tae-jun was already being called a person who was quick-witted but lacked substance among the employees.

His reputation was not good because he flattered those above him and acted irresponsibly toward his subordinates.

His appearance of having many words during meetings but avoiding his seat when taking responsibility had been out of people'

s favor since a long time ago.

In such a company atmosphere, Senior Managing Director Jeong Seong-pil'

s appearance had a meaning beyond a simple promotion.

He was the person who revived the trust that Taeseong Construction had lost in the meantime.

As the elevator opened, it became quiet all at once as if even the air had stopped.

Jeong Seong-pil walked out.

Senior Managing Director Jeong Seong-pil, wearing a dark gray suit and a calm navy tie, walked down the hallway without a word.

A strangely heavy weight was carried in his steps.

Respect and expectation surged within people'

s gazes.

Before long, the hallway near the meeting room had turned like a welcome event venue.

Not a single person struck up a conversation, but everyone was watching his steps.

At that moment, an employee who was near Jeong Seong-pil carefully bowed their head.

A small voice spread gently.

“Hello, Senior Managing Director Jeong.”

Jeong Seong-pil nodded his head slightly.

And he took one more step.

The hallway in front of the meeting room was stirred.

Quick-witted employees left their spots before long.

Some stood while holding coffee and checked the atmosphere.

Only whispering flowed lightly within the tensed silence.

One person was quietly watching that scene from beyond the transparent glass.

It was none other than Executive Director Lee Tae-jun.

He was standing leaning against the glass window with his arms crossed.

His gaze was fixed on the figure who had just stepped off the elevator in the middle of the hallway.

The gaze of every single employee standing in the hallway moved following Jeong Seong-pil.

What was reflected in their eyes was not a simple superior.

It was enough to be seen as a leader they could sincerely expect something from.

That spectacle was slowly eating away at Lee Tae-jun'

s insides.

“…What a sight, acting all important just because he'

s a Senior Managing Director. It'

s ridiculous.”

After he spat out the monologue, veins suddenly bulged on the back of his hand.

“I endured while doing that crap for how many years…. That person in one go.”

How much flattery and political maneuvering had he done while sticking right next to President Lim Do-hyun until reaching this position.

How many years had it been that he spent holding his breath, bowing his head to the upper line and changing his face to his subordinates.

But a person named Jeong Seong-pil returned as a Senior Managing Director amidst everyone'

s cheers just for the reason that he worked silently.

Executive Director Lee Tae-jun thought he would soon rise to a place higher than that position and repeated it several times in his mind, but he could not help his insides being twisted.

The respectful gazes of the employees toward Jeong Seong-pil felt like they were tightening his windpipe.

Before long, Jeong Seong-pil came not to the meeting room but all the way to the office where Executive Director Lee Tae-jun was staying and knocked on the door.

A moment later, Jeong Seong-pil opened the door, entered, and carefully offered a greeting.

“Hello, Executive Director Lee.”

A single short greeting.

However, it was driven into Lee Tae-jun'

s ears like a dagger.

He quietly balanced his teeth and bowed his waist.

“Congratulations, Senior Managing Director Jeong Seong-pil.”

Lee Tae-jun'

s eyes, without a hint of a smile, narrowed as if being torn, and a cold anger was quietly boiling in his chest.

“Do you have a moment?”

“Of course. I was planning to visit and greet you anyway.”

The two sat facing each other on the sofa inside the office.

An awkward silence flowed.

Lee Tae-jun maintained a forced smile and offered coffee first.

Jeong Seong-pil only nodded his head slightly.

Lee Tae-jun brought up the words first.

“I understand that the Iraq issue has been settled to some extent. It'

s quite a relief.”

“On the surface, it is.”

Jeong Seong-pil continued his words calmly.

“However, if you look inside, there are many strange points. For example, the President'

s response was more passive than usual. Normally, he would have pushed strongly from the beginning.”

At that moment, the area between Lee Tae-jun'

s eyebrows trembled very slightly.

“Since the President is a person who draws such a big picture. He might have been watching the situation.”

Lee Tae-jun responded while pretending to be relaxed.

Jeong Seong-pil gazed at him for a moment.

That gaze looking from the front was soft, but an atmosphere flowed as if he knew everything.

“That might be so.”

Jeong Seong-pil did not laugh.

Nor did he particularly set an edge.

He just calmly read the opponent'

s reaction.

Lee Tae-jun slowly put the coffee cup held in his hand down on the table.

His expression remained the same, but a minute tension lingered at his fingertips.

Jeong Seong-pil said as he stood up from his seat.

“I think I will be seeing you often in the future, Executive Director Lee.”

“Yes, I will also look forward to it.”

Lee Tae-jun also stood up accordingly.

He said those words, but hundreds of thoughts were flowing simultaneously in his head.

Jeong Seong-pil bowed his head lightly like a final greeting.

Then he opened the door and left the office.

The moment the door closed, Lee Tae-jun quietly balanced his teeth.

“That bastard…. He didn'

t come just to say hello.”

As soon as Jeong Seong-pil passed the hallway and got on the elevator, he immediately took his cellphone out from inside his jacket.

He pressed a button and made a call somewhere.

After the signal rang a few times, a calm voice was heard.

-This is Yoon Jae-hyuk.

Jeong Seong-pil opened his mouth.

“This is Jeong Seong-pil. I just met with Executive Director Lee Tae-jun.”

-How was the atmosphere?

“He reacted quickly, as per his personality. His eyes were excessively full of wariness. It seems highly likely that he intervened directly.”

-Do you mean that President Lim Do-hyun moved directly?

“It is not certain yet, but I think so.”

In the meantime, Jeong Seong-pil had been watching President Lim Do-hyun, including the Iraq case.

Yoon Jae-hyuk was silent for a while.

Jeong Seong-pil waited.

A moment later, the Vice President'

s voice was delivered again.

-I should look into the budget line as well.

“Yes. I will first organize the items passed with Executive Director Lee'

s approval among the Iraq-related approval documents since the second half of last year.”

-I see.

Yoon Jae-hyuk answered shortly and added.

-Senior Managing Director Jeong. It'

s better to be careful with this case. You know what I mean, right?

“I understand.”

-If any traces of contact with the outside are seen, report it immediately.

“Yes, Vice President.”

When the call ended, Jeong Seong-pil quietly put his cellphone into his inner pocket.

There was not a single inch of hesitation at his fingertips.

Having gotten off the elevator, he looked around for a moment and then moved his steps to a quiet place.

In a deserted corner, he took out a different cellphone from before.

After a short signal, someone'

s voice was heard.

-…Yes.

Jeong Seong-pil checked the surroundings once more and then opened his mouth calmly.

“He reacted as you expected. Seeing that his wariness is excessively high, it must mean he has something to hide.”

The opponent was only listening without saying anything.

A weight was felt in that quiet silence.

“I plan to move slowly.”

-Yes, I understand. However, you will have to move cautiously.

Click.

The call was terminated just like that.

After turning off the cellphone power altogether, Jeong Seong-pil put it into a deep pocket inside his jacket.

Then he moved his steps as if nothing had happened.

***

I, Lim Hyunjun, was sitting on a sofa in a quiet office, staring intently at a tablet screen.

Complicated data went back and forth on the screen as if passing by.

My fingertips moved quietly, but my gaze was shining sharply.

For a moment, my lips, which had been still, slowly curved as if being distorted.

It was a characteristic habit that came out whenever I concentrated.

At that time, the door opened quietly and Choi Seo-jun walked inside.

“Representative, you came out early today as well.”

“Good morning, Representative Choi.”

Seo-jun approached carefully and took a peek at the tablet.

Seeing the data I was looking at intently, it was something unusual.

“What are you looking at so hard? Are you studying?”

Only then did I lift my gaze and show a mischievous smile.

The relaxedness of a person who looked one step ahead was felt in that gaze.

“It'

s not studying. It'

s just that there'

s something I want to buy.”

“Something you want to buy?”

“Yes.”

I continued speaking while tapping on the tablet screen.

“It'

s a bit expensive. But if I buy it well, it'

s quite a decent item.”

That way of speaking sounded like a joke, but Choi Seo-jun knew that the intention hidden behind the smile was not light at all.

In my expression as I trailed off and looked back at the tablet, there was the gaze of a hunter who had captured his prey.

Choi Seo-jun looked at me and suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

‘Is he starting something again.’

Even though it must have been words thrown like a joke, strangely, one side of his chest tightened coldly.

He knew better than anyone that the Lim Hyunjun in these moments never let things pass lightly.

At that moment, as my fingertips flipped the screen, a logo was seen as if passing by.

The word ‘PREZO’ flashed and disappeared momentarily.

Choi Seo-jun seemed to have seen that logo, as he narrowed his eyes.

And he quietly muttered to himself.

“You aren'

t surely planning to buy that company, are you?”