Chapter 4

The Sleeping Chairman of the Group (3)

As Chairman Kang left the company, the reality weighed heavily on him: he only had one place to go.

Determined to escape this lifestyle as quickly as possible, he got into a taxi.

Back at the officetel, he lay down on the bed.

There was only one question on his mind.

Why didn't they fire him?

Because my body is fine?

Then there are two Kang Yonghos running around.

Chairman Kang shook his head, trying to dispel the growing feeling that he might no longer be Chairman Kang Yongho.

"No. My body isn't fine."

If his original body had truly recovered and returned to work, he would've summoned the idiot who collided with him in the elevator.

Even if he planned to fire the kid, he'd at least want to see his face first.

Keeping him employed wasn't his decision.

It was President Choi's.

But why would that man make such a decision?

If President Choi had acted differently from usual, someone must have influenced him.

And there were only two types of people capable of changing the mind of a subsidiary president.

One was Executive Director Lee Sangjae of Group Strategy.

The others were his sons.

A power broker like Director Lee couldn't simply be ignored.

And ignoring the words of the chairman's sons—one of whom might become the next chairman—was even harder.

After thinking it through, Chairman Kang arrived at a conclusion.

"So my body's condition is definitely more serious than a minor shock."

There was only one way to confirm it.

The hospital.

The same hospital he'd always used.

K University General Hospital.

Tomorrow, he'd spend the entire day observing what was happening there.

***

Finding the VIP ward wasn't difficult.

Actually getting inside was another matter.

Several large men in suits stood guard in front of the elevators.

Chairman Kang sat on a lobby sofa and considered possible excuses for getting upstairs.

But even that wasn't the real problem.

Even if he managed to ride the elevator, security personnel would undoubtedly be stationed outside the room itself.

Getting past them would be nearly impossible.

Still, counting the guards mattered.

If the situation wasn't serious, there would be two.

If it was serious, at least four.

Chairman Kang took a deep breath and stood.

The room was on the eighteenth floor.

He could flash his ID and claim he had an urgent message to deliver.

Since he knew the exact room number, getting past the elevator guards shouldn't be difficult.

But just as he started toward the elevators, he stopped.

Someone completely unexpected stepped out.

"Why is that old woman here...?"

At the sight of his wife, Chairman Kang immediately turned away.

"Ah... Right..."

He'd forgotten.

His wife didn't know Hwang Junhyun.

Quickly, he moved closer to her and her entourage.

She was speaking on the phone.

He couldn't hear everything from that distance.

Only scattered words reached him.

Son.

Group.

No hope.

As he moved closer, he could hear clearly.

"...The old man isn't waking up. Looks like he'll just keep sleeping..."

His feet froze.

Keep sleeping?

Me?

Wait.

Then why does that old hag look so happy?

***

"So... because my original body is still alive but hopeless, my consciousness remains in Hwang Junhyun's body?"

Which meant the opposite might also be true.

If that body stopped breathing, the consciousness inhabiting Hwang Junhyun might disappear as well.

"Well, now... I've never exactly been a saint, yet I've been given a gift like this."

For the first time, Chairman Kang wondered whether this entire situation might actually be a gift.

Perhaps heaven had allowed a dying old man to continue living through a young body.

When you're young, you don't realize how precious youth is.

Only after your eyesight fades, your hearing weakens, and even walking becomes difficult do you understand what a blessing youth truly is.

There was another way to look at it as well.

For a brief time, he could experience a life completely opposite from the one he'd always known.

Chairman Kang had been an only son.

His father was chairman before him.

Naturally, he inherited everything.

At forty, he became vice chairman.

After the IMF crisis of 1997, he became chairman.

Then he transformed a company barely ranked among Korea's top hundred into a conglomerate within the top twenty.

No one doubted his management ability.

Perhaps experiencing life as an ordinary white-collar employee from a humble background would be entertaining.

After all, he'd already enjoyed a life rivaling that of an emperor.

Still, living in poverty wasn't enjoyable.

Especially this bed.

The springs jabbed into his back so badly that he woke up multiple times a night.

He needed money.

Whatever time he had left, he wanted to spend it in something resembling a decent human environment.

"First things first. I need a bigger place. Fifty pyeong should be livable enough."

***

"H-Hwang Junhyun... Did you forget Excel too? Could the accident have affected your head...? Ah, sorry."

At least he understood the title of the document.

It was a list of raw materials purchased from outside suppliers by each sales division.

The lists had to be merged into a single document.

Apparently, that required Excel.

Of course Chairman Kang knew what Excel was.

The problem was that he only knew how to look at spreadsheets.

He had never learned how to use them.

As he stared blankly at the empty screen, a female employee nearly shouted before suddenly stopping.

The team manager was staring at her and shaking his head.

Scratching the back of his head, Chairman Kang said,

"Why can't I remember? Was I good with Excel?"

The woman glared at him.

"Excel was the one thing you were actually useful at."

The team manager quickly stepped in.

"Hwang Junhyun still seems to be suffering from aftereffects. Assistant Manager Jo, please handle it. Upload it to the intranet under Hwang Junhyun's name. Even if he's an intern, he should look like he's doing something. Fair enough?"

"...Yes."

Judging by the pout on her face, she was furious.

Assistant Manager?

Chairman Kang casually glanced at her ID badge.

Jo Hyeyoung – Assistant Manager

Looking around Materials Team 2, she was clearly the ace.

There was another male assistant manager and a male staff employee.

Everyone seemed to watch Jo Hyeyoung's reactions carefully.

"Hwang Junhyun, give me your intranet ID and password."

She didn't even look at him.

So she missed him scratching the back of his head again.

"That's... my memory..."

Assistant Manager Jo merely sighed.

She didn't even bother expressing irritation anymore.

That reaction meant she'd given up entirely.

And because of her, Chairman Kang remembered something important.

His own chairman-level ID and password.

The credentials that could access every document on the group's internal servers.

An account capable of viewing—and deleting—everything.

Secret reports.

Confidential documents.

Executive submissions.

Even reports that only the chairman himself was permitted to see.

For the first time, he appreciated the decision he'd made years ago when he forced the entire group into digitalization despite fierce opposition.

***

"Chairman, I agree that ordinary operations should be computerized as quickly as possible. The new government has already declared IT a national priority. But digitizing highly confidential documents..."

"Exactly. What if we're hacked? Internal information could be exposed."

Chairman Kang listened to the elderly executives—many of them loyalists from his father's era—argue against the proposal.

Finally, he spoke.

"So you gentlemen would prefer to live like the First Emperor of Qin?"

"...Excuse me?"

"Isn't that what you're suggesting? Those top-secret documents aren't written by you personally. Your subordinates create them. How do you silence those subordinates? Kill them?"

The room fell silent.

"And those documents exist on paper. What's stopping someone from making hundreds of copies? Then they're stored in archives. What if someone steals them? More importantly, they're created on computers before they're printed. What about those files? They're sitting on the creator's hard drive. Are those safe from hackers?"

No one could answer.

Chairman Kang surveyed the room.

Every face looked unhappy.

"Chief Kim, perhaps you should ease the concerns of our elders. Explain it."

At the far end of the room, a nervous young IT team leader activated his microphone.

"If we construct firewalls using world-class security systems, only a handful of elite hackers in the world would be capable of penetrating our network. And they aren't interested in us. They target governments and multinational corporations."

He continued:

"On the other hand, there are plenty of thieves in Korea capable of breaking into our document storage rooms. So wouldn't digitization actually be safer?"

A perfect answer.

Chairman Kang nodded.

"I simply want people to work more conveniently and efficiently. I don't want to waste time worrying about hackers or thieves."

Nobody yet understood what he really meant.

"Let's say someone hacks us. Let's say they steal documents full of our illegal activities. I don't care."

His voice gradually rose.

"What I want is a world where they can't do anything with those documents."

The room stiffened.

"Look at Sunyang Group. Illegal activities are printed in newspapers and broadcast on television, yet prosecutors don't even file charges. Sometimes the media won't even publish the story in the first place."

He pointed toward the table.

"Instead, the hacker gets investigated. The whistleblower gets arrested. The person who leaked the documents ends up in detention. Do you think Sunyang Group worries about internal security?"

The executives finally understood.

And became even quieter.

"When you possess enough power, security becomes irrelevant."

Chairman Kang's gaze swept across the room.

"We should focus on convenience and efficiency. Risk exists everywhere. My goal is to build enough power that those risks no longer threaten Choi sung Group. Understood?"

"Yes, Chairman!"

That was the day Kang Yongho truly became chairman.

From that moment onward, Choi sung Group's highest priority was no longer revenue growth or profit maximization.

The group poured money into prosecutors' offices, the National Assembly, the judiciary, and the media.

Former officials were hired into the legal department for enormous salaries.

News executives who had suppressed unfavorable stories were brought into the public relations division with lavish compensation.

For years it seemed like pouring water into a bottomless bucket.

But after a decade, the results appeared.

Among Korea's elite, a saying began to circulate:

"Money from Choi sung Group never causes trouble."

The group had acquired power that surpassed its position in the business world.

And the young IT manager who had spoken up that day?

He was now the CEO of Choi sung ICT.

***

Chairman Kang closed Excel.

He opened the company's internal network system.

Glancing around, he confirmed that everyone was focused on their own work.

No one was paying attention to him.

Carefully, he entered the chairman's ID and password.

Then he pressed Enter.

And...

Bingo.