Chapter 1616: Opening (1)

The trio of Kang Jin-Ho, Lee Hyeon-Su, and Goh Han-Bong left the spacious hall and walked upstairs to the conference room.

After they settled into their respective seats, Lee Hyeon-Su ordered the employees to set the refreshments on the table. Once everything was set up rapidly but professionally, the employees swiftly filed out of the conference room, allowing Goh Han-Bong to get the meeting started.

“First of all, I’d like to express our gratitude once more, Chairman Kang.”

Kang Jin-Ho briefly shook his head. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“Honestly, what you've done deserves far more than empty compliments. There are many cases of wealthy people operating foundations for the sole purpose of making themselves look good in public, you see? But someone with your financial leeway investing so much of your own wealth to establish a welfare foundation is almost unheard of.”

Kang Jin-Ho sheepishly scratched his nose. He couldn't help but feel a little strange while listening to the Prime Minister. Not because of the “empty compliments” part, though.

No, it had more to do with the fact that Kang Jin-Ho's initial motivation was a little different from what the Prime Minister was thinking of.

All Kang Jin-Ho wanted to do was run a handful of orphanages. But then, this matter kept ballooning more and more until it eventually reached this size. In other words, he never planned to launch a foundation this grand in scope.

“That's why I'd like to recommend you for the Order of Civil Merit, Chairman. Are you not interested? Yes, it might attract a lot of attention, but… Instead of the Mugunghwa Medal, how about receiving the Moran Medal?”[1]

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head in confusion. “Mugunghwa? Moran?”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled softly while explaining the situation. “Sir, the Mugunghwa Metal is the highest grade Civil Merit in our country. A person who has made a sizable contribution to the country will receive it. The Moran Medal is the second-highest grade.”

“Mm…”

“I agree that the Mugunghwa Medal is a bit of an overkill. An Order of Civil Merit of that grade should be awarded to someone who has dedicated their entire life to the service of the people, after all. If you had brought up this topic after some time had passed since the foundation's establishment, and if we had contributed greatly to our country's welfare system, then I wouldn't have any issues, but… Receiving such a prestigious award right after establishing it will present a problem.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded while listening to Lee Hyeon-Su. That sealed it for him. He should refuse this Order of Civil Merit.

“Since that’s the case, sir… How about receiving the Moran Medal instead?”

Rather than discouragement, Lee Hyeon-Su began his subtle coercion instead!

“…” Kang Jin-Ho frowned, unable to hide his unwillingness. He glanced at the Prime Minister next. “Let me clear something up first.”

“Yes, Chairman?”

“If someone else had opened up a foundation like this instead of me, would you have given that person an Order of Civil Merit, too?”

“Of course.”

“…Sorry?”

“Yes, we’d have given it to that person as well.”

Kang Jin-Ho stared dazedly at Goh Han-Bong. That wasn’t the answer he was expecting.

Goh Han-Bong grinned after noticing the puzzlement in Kang Jin-Ho's expression. “There are two purposes of awarding the Order of Civil Merit, Chairman. One is to recognize those individuals who have spent their entire lives to achieve something significant that will surely improve our country or serve as a great advertisement for our people's capabilities. The other goal is to spread the news of the recipient's achievement as much as possible so that many people can follow their example. And you undoubtedly belong to the second category.”

“…”

“I won’t deny that we were hoping to bolster our relationship with you even more through the Mugunghwa Medal. But the Moran Medal really is something you should accept, Chairman. Even if it’s someone else who’s done something similar to you, I’d still have recommended them for a medal.”

Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly waved his hand. “I understand what you’re trying to say, but please. Let’s pretend we’ve never had this conversation.”

“But, Chairman Kang…”

Kang Jin-Ho sighed softly after noticing how subtly insistent Goh Han-Bong was getting. “Let’s discuss this matter some other time.”

“Understood. It seems I’ve made you uncomfortable. My apologies.”

Goh Han-Bong deeply smiled. What a strange person Kang Jin-Ho was.

Other people would’ve started drooling, their eyes sparkling brightly, at the mere mention of receiving an Order of Civil Merit.

Jeong Hong-Geun would obviously jump at the chance, and the odds of Hwang Jeong-Hu accepting the award "unwillingly" after putting on a show of refusing it a few times were quite high, too. Besides, the plan to award Hwang Jeong-Hu with the Gold Tower of the Order of Industrial Service Merit was already underway, anyway.[2]

However, Kang Jin-Ho looked genuinely troubled by the idea.

Playing the game of politics for this long had allowed Goh Han-Bong to differentiate between those who were only putting on a show to build a bit of anticipation and those who were genuinely unwilling. And his instincts told him that Kang Jin-Ho belonged to the latter category.

“Hahaha…! Then, let us discuss this matter at another time. Shall we get to the main topic, then?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Goh Han-Bong grew slightly tenser while leaning forward. "The social workers responsible for not doing their jobs with the orphanages you've taken over will get punished soon. Those who have clearly accepted bribes to look the other way are already in the custody of the National Prosecuting Authority. Once their sentences are set, they will officially get fired.”

Kang Jin-Ho silently nodded, prompting Lee Hyeon-Su to ask a question.

“But… What about those who didn’t accept bribes?”

“We’ll investigate how bad their workload was, then punish them appropriately.”

Lee Hyeon-Su rubbed his chin. “I see. That sounds fair, doesn’t it?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded again in agreement. It wasn't as if he had a strong animosity toward those civil servants, after all. He didn't want to punish someone too harshly for being negligent with their work.

Of course, there was no reason to be merciful to those who accepted bribes and colluded with corrupt directors and managers.

Yes, I get that I’m being greedy here. Even so…

He understood that not everyone was willing to give their all to their work every single day. The way he saw it, demanding them to do so was yet another form of violence.

Goh Han-Bong sighed deeply. “However, we have a slight problem.”

“Sorry?”

“In most cases, these people tried to be smart by using gangsters as their intermediary to exchange money. Which actually made it easier for us to catch them. However, in order to punish those civil servants who dealt directly with the directors, we need to interview the directors involved. But the problem is that… Those directors have gone missing.”

“…!”

Goh Han-Bong stared weirdly at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Mister Lee, I was wondering if you know anything about…”

“Ahahaha~! I have no idea what you’re talking about. No, let me rephrase that. We have no idea.”

“…?”

Goh Han-Bong grew even more suspicious just then.

It was way too coincidental, now wasn't it? After all, Kang Jin-Ho's Seongsim Foundation just so happened to take over the problematic orphanages, while all the former directors responsible for causing those problems had mysteriously vanished into thin air.

Lee Hyeon-Su awkwardly tried to change the subject. “Whatever the case might be, it all worked out, wouldn’t you say?”

Goh Han-Bong chuckled softly. It’d be a lie to say he was 100% onboard with this solution, but he didn’t want to corner these two with this matter, either. Not only did he lack the power to do so, but he also agreed with Lee Hyeon-Su about things working out favorably, anyway.

Goh Han-Bong nodded gently. “Whatever happened, allow me to express my gratitude.”

“…Sir?”

“We're grateful that you have taken over the existing orphanages. Once you have invested a lot of money in a new project, it'd be natural for you to want everything to be new, after all. That's how the human mind operates, isn't it?”

Lee Hyeon-Su contemplatively nodded. Unless one didn't have enough money to make that happen, everyone would think about doing things that way.

“Paying attention to the plight of other orphanages wouldn't have been a priority for you, yet… It feels like you've taken care of things that we at the government were responsible for. For that, I have no excuses, Chairman.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Goh Han-Bong carefully studied Kang Jin-Ho. He might have interacted with Lee Hyeon-Su many times recently, but that wasn't the case with Kang Jin-Ho. It was rare to speak to him face-to-face like this.

What a peculiar person he is.

Objectively speaking, Kang Jin-Ho was a criminal. Not just any, but a criminal who had committed some truly heinous crimes, to boot. Thinking about the number of people this man had killed was enough to send a creepy chill down Goh Han-Bong's spine.

Yet, someone like that established a welfare foundation. And he wasn't even doing it half-heartedly, either. He had sunk an eye-watering amount of money into creating a foundation that now boasted one of the largest operational scales ever seen in the country. The number of orphanages it'd be able to manage should exceed a dozen, and then some.

Wasn’t Kang Jin-Ho being a hypocrite here? Probably not.

Being a hypocrite made sense if there were benefits to be had. But the way Goh Han-Bong saw it, Kang Jin-Ho had nothing to gain by opening a welfare foundation. Wasn’t he also restricting the media from covering this opening ceremony because he didn’t want the attention?

If it were some other chaebols, they would only go through the motions to set up foundations under their names before releasing various press releases to get flattering articles published everywhere. But not Kang Jin-Ho. He said no to newspapers voluntarily offering to cover the opening ceremony!

I can’t get a reading on this guy.

Was Kang Jin-Ho a villain or a saint?

However, was there a reason to pick one? When Goh Han-Bong knew that every human being possessed the heart of an angel and a demon?

Kang Jin-Ho was probably the type whose two disparate sides could activate in the most extreme manner imaginable. Since that was the case, Goh Han-Bong prayed that the only side of Kang Jin-Ho he'd ever see would be the saintly side.

“Chairman, some documents related to the foundation were found to be somewhat inadequate. Do you mind taking care of them as soon as possible?”

Lee Hyeon-Su raised his hand slightly. “Allow me to handle them, sir.”

Goh Han-Bong sighed deeply. "My sincerest apologies on this one. If only… If only the administration would remain the same. I could have done everything in my power to accommodate your needs. However, not doing a thorough job will give our opponents the… ammunition to use against us if they take over the administration later, you see? Of course, even the opposition party would think twice about getting on your bad side, but still.”

“We need to stick to the rules when it comes to matters of the surface world. That's what you're saying, isn't it, sir?”

Goh Han-Bong nodded. “Yes.”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled. “You're right, sir. It's not something difficult, and we only have to submit the required paperwork, so… I'll get it done as soon as possible.”

“Thank you. Please.”

***

After ending their discussion, the trio returned to the hall. However, Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but groan loudly at the state of the hall waiting for them.

“What are they doing?”

Goh Han-Bong grimaced, too. “Mm… They are like oil and water, after all.”

Jeong Hong-Geun and Hwang Jeong-Hu, sitting on opposite ends of a lengthy table, were busy insulting each other while making deep scowls.

The pretext was with Hwang Jeong-Hu, and his ability to insult wasn't bad, either, so theoretically speaking, he should be unleashing a one-sided barrage on Jeong Hong-Geun right now. However, perhaps unsurprisingly, Jeong Hong-Geun was no pushover himself, either.

He knew how to be sarcastic at the appropriate times and kept up with Hwang Jeong-Hu quite easily.

“If you like Japan so much, why don't you emigrate there? Why are you still sticking around in Korea, you stinking old fool?!”

“You don't have to worry about that, since I'll be frequenting Japan from now on, anyway. As for you, behave yourself and obediently stay home in South Korea, okay? And while you're doing that, dig a grave for yourself, too. Even I can tell you don't have many days left.”

“Oh, really now? Hahat! Why? You wanna call the police and report it?”

“Have you finally gone senile? What police are you even talking about?”

Kang Jin-Ho squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t mind these two bickering away. Not at all.

However, why did they have to bicker like some immature children?!

“Please stop, you two.”

When Kang Jin-Ho walked over and groaned loudly, Hwang Jeong-Hu tutted away.

“Listen, Jin-Ho! You'd better watch out. This bastard will stab you in the back without warning! Why did you have to bring someone like that to a wonderful occasion like this one?”

Kang Jin-Ho said nothing and simply glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su instead.

Lee Hyeon-Su stiffly looked away while whistling awkwardly.

I mean, they are famous people, aren’t they?

Kang Jin-Ho and Jo Gyu-Min had given their all to establish this welfare foundation. Since that was the case, Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't sit back and watch the opening ceremony of such a foundation pass everyone by without at least some level of fanfare.

“C-come on, everyone. How about we take a group photo together?”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “A group photo?”

“Yes, sir! Photos will remain forever, after all. You don't need to worry, as I will make sure the photo comes out beautifully!”

“But we’ve already taken plenty of photos while cutting the ribbon, though?”

“This and that aren't the same, sir. We should take a photo featuring only us, you know?”

Lee Hyeon-Su gestured at the waiting cameraman in the distance, prompting the latter to pick up his camera equipment and rush over to where Kang Jin-Ho and the others were.

“Chairman Kang, please stand in the middle. Thank you. And Mr. Prime Minister, please move to the left side of Chairman Kang. And on the right side…”

Before the cameraman could finish his sentence, Jeong Hong-Geun expertly sidled up to Kang Jin-Ho’s right.

Hwang Jeong-Hu yelled in unhappiness. “Get away from there, you fool!”

Jeong Hong-Geun tutted. “Complaining about losing your spot at your age? How uncouth! Just stand over there, you old fart.”

“What the hell, you pro-Jap punk!”

Kang Jin-Ho squeezed his eyes shut again.

I want to go home already.

He inwardly swore never to bring these two together in one place ever again, no matter what!

“Then… Smile for the camera!”

As the camera flash went off, Kang Jin-Ho sank into his thoughts again.

With this, he had finally dealt with one hurdle. What a lengthy struggle this had turned into.

“Chairman Kang! Please smile for the camera! Smile!”

“…”

You think I can smile in this situation?!

Kang Jin-Ho groaned deeply instead.

1. “Mugunghwa” is the Korean name for the hibiscus flower, while “moran” is peony. The Mugunghwa Medal is the highest-grade Order of Civil Merit awarded in South Korea, while the Moran Medal is the second highest. In total, there are five grades, with “Dongbaek/camellia” as the third, “Mongnyeon/magnolia” as the fourth, and “Seongnyu/pomegranate” as the fifth grade.

2. The Order of Industrial Service Merit, just like the Civil Merit, has five grades, the highest being the Gold Tower medal. The others are: the Silver Tower, Bronze Tower, Iron Tower, and the Tin Tower.