Max-Level Son of a Chaebol Family - Chapter 75
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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75. Let’s Hand It Over Quickly (2)
President Shim called the Factory Manager and several Work Team Leaders to gather the Staff Members who had come to work on the open ground.
The Staff Members who had been working hard even during the New Year holidays began gathering on the open ground without knowing what was happening.
“What’s all this about?”
“It’s not even weekday morning assembly time, but they’re suddenly telling everyone to gather. It’s strange.”
“I heard rumors that Taeseong Chemical is being handed over. Maybe it’s because of that?”
“Don’t tell me it’s restructuring? Are we getting fired?”
The Taeseong Chemical Staff Members couldn’t hide their anxious expressions.
Everyone walked over hesitantly, reading each other’s faces.
President Shim picked up the megaphone.
“Ah, ah! Attention Taeseong Chemical family members! I am Sim Won-cheol, president of Taeseong Chemical! The reason I urgently called you all to gather today is to convey the Chairman’s wishes!”
The murmuring grew louder at the mention of the Chairman.
“Due to time constraints, I’ll get straight to the point! We’ve decided to hand over our Taeseong Chemical to Wooguang soon!”
Sighs mixed with various emotions erupted from here and there.
Someone let out a long, deep sigh, someone else sighed in resignation, and someone else expressed bewilderment.
“Rather than talk about acquisitions and Equity Shares, aren’t you more curious about whether you’ll be fired from your jobs, whether you’ll receive your salaries, and whether you’ll get your severance pay?”
The murmuring grew louder at President Shim’s words.
For them, this was a matter of livelihood, a matter of their future.
As they say, survival comes first, and if they became unemployed, even making ends meet would become difficult.
“Taeseong doesn’t easily abandon family! Even though we’re handing over the company called Taeseong Chemical to Wooguang, Taeseong must embrace its family members!”
The whispering voices suddenly stopped.
Everyone focused like people grasping a thread of hope.
“Taeseong Construction needs your help!”
“Taeseong Construction!”
“Everyone, Taeseong Construction has completely changed recently! With the former president and Executives resigning all at once, Taeseong Chemical’s Executives have been promoted there!”
“Ah!”
“That’s not all! Taeseong Construction has won several major national projects this time! Our Taeseong Construction will handle the Subway Line 2 construction!”
“Oh!”
“Taeseong will also handle the Gangnam Seoul Express Bus Terminal and commercial complex construction! We’ll build cities in the Middle East, lay roads, and construct apartments!”
President Shim shouted loudly into the megaphone.
The louder President Shim’s voice became, the brighter the faces of Taeseong Chemical staff members grew.
“The President of Taeseong Construction has made a promise! A housing support policy for Taeseong Construction staff members!”
This was another agenda item I had President Shim inquire about.
“She said she would secure separate apartment units for Taeseong family members who wish to move into Taeseong Apartments!”
Father had decided to resume the apartment construction that the Former President of Taeseong Construction and executives had abandoned.
The locations where Taeseong Apartments would be built were Samseong-dong and Banpo-dong.
They had set aside quite desirable locations as apartment sites.
“Furthermore, she said she plans to support apartment loans through company loans!”
It was an era when bank thresholds were high.
It was also a time when institutional finance failed to fulfill its role properly, allowing private loans to dominate the market.
So while everyone knew that the Gangnam apartment sales boom was happening, they couldn’t buy apartments due to lack of cash.
Just then, Father was setting aside apartment units separately and even supporting company loans.
Everyone couldn’t help but be delighted.
“Apartment! Apartment!”
“Taeseong Construction! Taeseong Construction!”
President Shim shouted loudly with a smile.
“You can enjoy all the benefits that Taeseong Chemical provided at Taeseong Construction as well!”
“Excellent!”
“One more thing! She promised to recognize your work experience and pay grades from Taeseong Chemical!”
“Wow!”
“And one more thing! She will provide free heavy equipment training! Everyone, technique is competitiveness! With just one heavy equipment license, you won’t go hungry anywhere!”
“That’s right!”
The Taeseong Chemical staff members cheered enthusiastically.
“If anyone wants to stay at Taeseong Chemical and work with Woo-gwang, do as you wish! But if you want to transfer to Taeseong Construction and remain as part of the Taeseong family, write your name on these documents!”
President Shim held up the paper and waved it back and forth.
It was a job transfer agreement hastily created while the Taeseong Chemical staff members were gathering at the open ground.
“Taeseong trusts you! Taeseong stands with you! Whether it’s Taeseong Chemical or Taeseong Construction, it makes no difference! Please trust Taeseong and join us!”
“We trust you!”
“We’ll follow you!”
“We’ll go with you to the end!”
The Taeseong Chemical employees whistled and cheered loudly.
The factory was bustling with the enthusiastic response from the staff.
Looking down at the happy people, President Sim smiled contentedly.
“Now, let’s hurry! If we hesitate, there might not be any positions left at Taeseong Construction and we’ll regret it!”
The Taeseong Chemical workers rushed over in droves to write their names on the documents.
These were people who wanted to transfer to Taeseong Construction.
At the tables lined up next to the platform, the work team leaders helped with filling out the documents.
President Sim came down from the platform and walked toward me.
“This has lifted one burden from my mind. I thought Young Master would be happier than anyone, but is there something bothering you?”
I couldn’t answer easily.
The more I looked around the factory, the more my heart sank like mud.
The Grim Reaper glanced at me and cleared his throat.
[Ahem, it really doesn’t look good, does it? Should I erase them again?]
When I asked the Grim Reaper if he could see people who would be hurt in the Taeseong Chemical fire accident, he immediately put orange arrows above people’s heads.
Even roughly counting, there were over a hundred orange arrows floating around, so I couldn’t help but feel troubled.
‘The chemicals aren’t carelessly left around, and safety regulations are being thoroughly followed.’
The factory was running systematically and stably.
It was evidence that President Shim of Taeseong Chemical had been managing it meticulously.
“President Sim, all members of Work Team 1 in Factory 4 have agreed to the job transfer and finished signing.”
A man in his thirties wearing a work jumper issued by Taeseong Chemical handed over a thick document bundle.
“That’s Team Leader Kim for you. The work team you lead is always quick.”
President Sim smiled with satisfaction.
“Did the entire work team come out? Everyone’s working hard even during the holidays.”
“The holiday pay is pretty good. Everyone came out to earn even a little more.”
“How’s your daughter? Is there any improvement?”
“Thanks to President Sim, we’ve really benefited from the company medical insurance, but phew, we need to get a surgery date scheduled soon. It’s difficult.”
A name tag was sewn onto his jumper with an overlock stitch.
【Kim Gap-yong】
He was the very man whose name Uncle Cheol-gu had written down in the statement.
The reasons Uncle Cheol-gu had taken notice of Kim Gap-yong were as follows.
-First, he had contacted Kim Gwang-pil of Wookwang Construction several times despite having no personal relationship with him.
-Second, he had a private meeting with the Wookwang Hospital Director through Kim Gwang-pil’s arrangement.
-Third, he was cornered by medical expenses to the point of needing bank loans and even private loans.
-Fourth, he had taken out a large life insurance policy with Taeseong Life and had not canceled it.
These were the reasons Uncle Cheol-gu had caught the scent of a suspicious person.
‘But why is there a Path to the Underworld countdown floating above that person’s head too?’
The letters clearly written above his head read [10 days].
That’s why I was puzzled.
‘Usually, people who cause accidents tend to slip away from the scene smoothly. Did Uncle Cheol-gu get it wrong?’
Come to think of it, Uncle Cheol-gu had said there were two unresolved questions.
-First, Kim Gap-yong’s name was not in the deceased Kim Gwang-pil’s bribery ledger.
-Second, Kim Gap-yong did not transfer his daughter to Wookwang Hospital for surgery.
To that, one more question of mine was added.
-Third, the Path to the Underworld countdown was flashing above Kim Gap-yong’s head.
Kim Gap-yong looked at me and tilted his head.
“President Sim, who is this child? Is he perhaps your nephew?”
“He’s Chairman Cha’s grandson. He said he wanted to tour the Taeseong Chemical Factory, so I brought him along.”
“Ch-Chairman’s grandson, you say?”
Kim Gap-yong’s eyes widened.
“Hmm, a factory tour. There are many dangerous things in the factory, so you mustn’t touch anything carelessly. You also can’t run around or hide while playing hide-and-seek. Also…”
Did I have to listen to nagging even though I came with President Sim?
If I had known this would happen, I should have brought Secretary Kim instead.
When I looked up at President Sim with displeased eyes, President Sim cleared his throat.
“Team Leader Kim, I wasn’t planning to ask you to guide Young Master around the factory. I’ll escort Young Master myself, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
“Ah, yes. It’s just that he reminds me so much of my own daughter that I reflexively… I’m sorry about that.”
Kim Gap-yong scratched the back of his head and smiled innocently.
Seeing his naive smile, I suddenly felt puzzled.
‘This person is supposed to bring me benefits?’
If a fire accident occurred at Taeseong Chemical, Taeseong would suffer enormous losses.
The rough paper that Uncle Cheol-gu had written on glowed golden, not brown.
So it was only natural to be confused.
“President Sim, what kind of person is Team Leader Kim?”
“He’s diligent, responsible, reliable, loyal, good at his job, meticulous, and takes good care of his colleagues. He’s a proud worker of Taeseong who performs beyond expectations wherever he goes.”
President Sim’s evaluation was generous.
Team Leader Kim, hearing such praise to his face, didn’t know what to do with himself and fidgeted.
Though he clearly didn’t know where to put himself, the corners of his mouth that had risen wouldn’t come down.
“I’ll work even harder for Taeseong in the future, as much as you trust and rely on me!”
Kim Gap-yong shouted loudly.
I took off my gloves and extended my bare hand.
“Please take good care of me.”
“Yes, Young Master. I’ll also take good care of you!”
Kim Gap-yong also took off his dirty cotton gloves and grasped my hand.
Suddenly, my vision rippled with blue light.
‘Huh?’
This was something I had experienced once before.
On the day I was discharged from the hospital, when I touched the Wookwang Construction Bribery Ledger in Uncle Cheol-gu’s jeep.
I had glimpsed Uncle Cheol-gu’s future of being dragged to the Seobinggo Water Torture Room for interrogation.
* * *
This place where blue light rippled.
The distinctive smell of disinfectant wafted from everywhere, and a person in a nurse uniform passed through the corridor.
I realized where this was.
‘Taeseong Hospital!’
Kim Gap-yong pleaded with the doctor.
“I’ll somehow manage to get the hospital fees. So please, please don’t tell me to be discharged like this.”
“Go to the Administration Department and pay the overdue hospital bills first, then we’ll talk.”
The doctor turned his back and walked away, and Kim Gap-yong quickly followed after him.
“This month’s salary will include holiday pay and overtime pay, so it’ll be quite a lot. So please, just until then, have some consideration…”
“I think we’ve shown enough consideration so far. You’re already behind by nearly a million won.”
Kim Gap-yong’s words became as fast as his footsteps.
“I’ll take out more private loans, so please don’t stop the treatment. The child is in a lot of pain.”
“Whether you take private loans, get a bank loan, or get an advance on your salary, I don’t care about any of that.”
The doctor firmly shook off Kim Gap-yong’s hand that was gripping the hem of his medical gown.
“What I know is that you have to pay the hospital bills to continue treatment, and if you can’t pay the hospital bills, you have to vacate the hospital room. That’s our hospital’s basic principle.”
“Doctor!”
“The hospital isn’t a place that does volunteer work, is it?”
The strength completely drained from Kim Gap-yong’s hands.
It was because he knew the doctor’s words were absolutely right.
But even knowing that, he had no choice but to cling on once more.
“But are you telling me to give up on a living person’s life? They say Taeseong is one family. I work for Taeseong too!”
“Say that to the Administration Department. I have another appointment, so I’ll be going now.”
The doctor went down the stairs without looking back.
Kim Gap-yong also squeezed his eyes shut and leaned against the hospital corridor.
His face was distorted with despair and resignation.
“Damn it!”
There was a man swaggering toward such Kim Gap-yong.
“Hey, I heard that this month’s salary with holiday pay and overtime pay will be quite a lot? Why are you reporting that to the doctor instead of me?”
I immediately recognized who he was.
‘Bulgwang-dong Gasoline! Why is that bastard coming out here?’
He was a private loan shark notorious for being vicious and annoyingly exploitative.
That bastard had clung to the Namsan Leech his whole life, squeezing the lifeblood out of poor people.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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