Chapter 503: Juyoung Hong (30) |
At Kyungmoon High School.
It was another typical day for me.
But it didn't seem to be like that for other students
"Given Myongjin's terrific oil deal this time, don't you think it's inevitable that the ranking of Korea's top business conglomerates will change? Currently Mirae is the biggest, followed next by Myongjin, Daesung, and Kusan, while Daeyu trails far behind."
"I guess so. After all, there are no other energy sources as powerful as oil yet. Besides, our country has to import oil from abroad."
"No matter how much I think about it, I just can't believe it was Myongjin, not Mirae, that made it happen this time. Even my father shook his head as if he couldn't believe it."
"Hey, my dad said the same thing. I guess nobody expected that because it was obviously beyond Myongjin's capabilities."
They whispered here and there about Myongjin's giant oil deal with ExxonMobil and Chevron.
Since Kyungmoon was not an ordinary high school, but a special school attended by the children of the top 1% upper class in the political and business world, the students here enthusiastically discussed the Myongjin news when I appeared at the school. Of course, I was not so happy as to express my joy at them yet.
Anyway, I leisurely leaned over the back of my chair and enjoyed the gentle breeze.
Of course, lots of my classmates criticized my overly lax attitude, which really stood out after I got perfect scores in all subjects.
But they stopped blaming it any longer when I proved that I got all A's without cheating at all.
Soon the bell rang, announcing the end of the 4th period, so I walked slowly to the dining room with Bora Yon, who usually had lunch with me these days.
She opened her mouth first while we were moving together.
"Thanks."
"For what?"
Of course, I knew what she was referring to.
She said, "I heard that Mirae people got a call from Myongjin early in the morning about the oil trading business. Actually, it's Mirae, not Myongjin, who was in an urgent situation, but Myongjin reached out first because of somebody that I had in mind."
"Um…I'm not saying this because I'm a son of the Myongjin Group chairman, but I think Mirae had better be careful because they might soon lose the number one position in the business rankings."
"To be honest, I have no choice but to admit that, but isn't it too early?"
"Well, who knows? Hahaha."
I didn't give her a definitive answer because I didn't have to tell her about it.
Besides, the future of Mirae was part of my grand plan.
Anyway, I moved to the school dining room with her as someone who changed completely, while basking in the renewed fame of the Myongjin Group.
In the past, my classmates used to compare me with Bora negatively behind my back.
"Well, it's true that Juyoung has changed, but isn't he still inferior to Bora?"
"I guess so. Besides, Bora is supposed to take over Korea's top business conglomerate Mirae Group later, but Juyoung has an elder brother and sister. And his elder brother is a graduate of Seoul National University."
"Right. One of the reasons why the future of the Myongjin Group is bright is because his brother Kiyoung is one of Myongjin's top executives."
"Well, don't you think Juyoung and Bora can make a nice couple because of that? I guess it's a good idea if Juyoung marries into her family…"
"Shut up, man! I don't think it's fair to Juyoung. As you know, Chairman Hong of the Myongjin Group is not the type of man who wants to have his younger son marry her with the aim of taking over Mirae…"
Obviously, that was their dominant perception of me in the past.
But it has changed completely since then. So much so that people thought she and I looked like a good campus couple.
During lunchtime at Kyungmoon High School.
Spit!
One of the seniors heading for the dining hall spat on the floor.
And the student who spat was grimacing as if he was in a very bad mood and said to his classmate next to him, "Man, this stupid bastard is acting in a conceited manner these days as if he's our hero. What do you think?"
"Who are you talking about?"
"Shit. Don't you know who I'm talking about? Can't you see that guy with your own eyes? Do you like the way he is swaggering like that?"
"Yeah, he really sucks…" Suchol Kim said faintly.
He could not disagree with Kyongyoung Lee, whose grandfather was the godfather of the Korean private loan market, and who controlled the underground economy. Juyoung once said Kyoungyoung really sucked, challenging him directly. So Suchol could not help but reply timidly.
As if he noticed Suchol's timidity, Kyongyoung said, "Tut, tut, you're a coward, bastard!"
"..."
Suchol could not say anything.
His father's company was thriving as a primary supplier for a large corporation, but he currently owed a huge debt to Kyongyoung's grandfather because of financial difficulties, so Suchol had no choice but to be submissive to Kyongyoung.
The only consolation for him was that he could part with this guy upon graduation since this was the last period of his senior year. Looking forward to that graduation day, he followed Kyongyoung reluctantly like a cow that was being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
Kyongyoung was literally born to a very rich family. He had nothing to fear because of his grandfather who was believed to have more cash than even the business conglomerates because he dominated the underground economy.
But he did not wage a fight against those classmates from the conglomerates who were born to rich families like him because of his grandfather's background as the ruler of the underground economy. And he was not dissatisfied with that fact. Rather he liked it.
Even though his friends had to be prudent about their words and deeds, he didn't have to because his father was a hidden player in the underground economy.
If he had any problem, he could solve it easily with money.
Anyway, he did not have to be greedy about anything, but it was in his senior year at Kyungmoon High School that he began to be greedy about money for the first time.
At that time, he saw Bora Yon, who was a freshman.
Of course, he didn't fall in love with her at first sight like a third-rate novel. As a matter of fact, he met lots of girls who were much more beautiful than Bora. What really made him interested in her was her background, namely, her status as the next successor of the Mirae Group.
Even though he was not greedy about anything, in particular, he now coveted her background so much.
'I don't think the Mirae Group will have Bora marry the son of another business group chairman because her would-be fiance will be a son-in-law who lives with her family…'
Bora was the one and only heir to Mirae Group Chairman Junghwan Yon. Of course, there were lots of people connected to each other by kinship in the Mirae Group if they took into account Bora's father or mother's families, but everybody knew early on that Chairman Yon had chosen her as his successor. There were even rumors that the chairman had begun to train her in management.