Chapter 1

Prologue – Who Am I?

The presidents of the 16 subsidiaries gathered in the conference room on the 37th floor of the Choi sung Group headquarters held their breath as they waited for Chairman Kang Yongho's final words.

Though Chairman Kang was already seventy years old, he was not the type to ramble. He always spoke in the most concise terms possible and never used the metaphors old men were fond of. He said only what needed to be said, with precision, and despised whining, idle chatter, and excuses.

As a result, executive meetings never lasted more than thirty minutes.

But today, for some reason, he had been reminiscing about his old exploits and even praising the subsidiary presidents—something he had never done before.

No one failed to realize that such a lengthy introduction meant he was about to announce a decision of enormous importance.

Retirement.

And succession.

It was obvious.

"...So, here's the thing. I'm not what I used to be. My memory's getting fuzzy, and reports don't sink in at a glance anymore. It's frustrating."

That was a lie.

Just yesterday alone, he'd berated people dozens of times with a memory sharper than that of any subsidiary president.

Reports didn't sink in at a glance?

He had spent this very meeting catching typos and pointing out incorrect figures.

"So I'm thinking it's time to stop working and spend my days tending bonsai trees and playing baduk. The Group Strategic Planning Division will begin succession preparations. I expect everyone's full cooperation."

"Yes, Chairman!"

The sixteen presidents responded in perfect unison.

The smile instantly vanished from Chairman Kang's face.

"Well, damn... Back in the old days, when a king announced he was handing over the throne to the crown prince, all his ministers would beg him not to. But it seems our presidents can't wait for me to step down. Not a single one of you objected."

"N-No, Chairman!"

"Chairman, you've misunderstood!"

The flustered presidents hurriedly spoke up, but Chairman Kang had already risen from his seat and left the conference room.

The moment he was gone, sighs erupted from every corner of the room.

"Goddamn it, what were we supposed to do? Kneel in the lobby and cry, 'Your Majesty, you must not retire!'?"

"Isn't this taking the joke too far? Announcing retirement and succession like this?"

"I don't think it's a joke. The man never jokes. If he said it, he means it."

"He could at least tell us who's inheriting the company. There are two princes, and he hasn't even named a crown prince yet. What are we supposed to do? Damn it."

Anger.

Irritation.

Anxiety.

The atmosphere in the conference room only grew heavier as those emotions mixed together.

***

"Chairman, are you serious?"

Following him into the chairman's office, Executive Director Lee Sangjae, head of the Group Strategic Planning Division, asked with a grave expression.

"Of course I'm serious. Why would I joke about something like that?"

"Chairman, we haven't prepared anything yet. And to announce it so suddenly..."

"I already told them. We're starting preparations now. What's the problem?"

Lowering his voice, Director Lee replied,

"You're missing the target."

The question of who would inherit the group—or how it would be divided between his two sons—had never been addressed.

"The target? The successor?"

"Yes."

"I don't know either."

"...Excuse me?"

"What? Do you think I'm some king choosing a crown prince and handing over a throne? The moment I announce a successor, someone's going to raise his head and charge forward. Then others will start lining up behind him."

"Surely you don't mean to just sit back and watch the chaos?"

"Does it look that way?"

Of course not.

Everyone knew that until the day his strength finally failed him, Chairman Kang would remain on the bench directing everything, not sitting in the stands as a spectator.

"I want to see it. See what kind of fools crawl out. See who's bold enough to raise their head. Sounds fun, doesn't it?"

Chairman Kang slowly stood up.

"Let's go. I'm hungry. Sundae soup, or hangover soup?"

"Let's have hangover soup. Shall we go to Yangpyeong?"

"Sounds good. Maybe a shot of soju too. It's been a while since I've had a drink in broad daylight."

Director Lee followed behind him like a shadow.

Every time they stood waiting for an elevator, Director Lee felt uncomfortable.

When the new headquarters building had been constructed, someone had suggested installing at least an executive-only elevator if not one exclusively for the chairman.

Chairman Kang had glared and shouted,

"Don't be ridiculous! What am I, an emperor? Are executives nobles? Why build a private elevator when waiting a minute is all it takes? If the young people let us go first, that's our private elevator!"

Back then, Chairman Kang probably hadn't realized that his act of being an unpretentious, down-to-earth chairman was causing every employee in the company to suffer whenever they encountered him at an elevator.

Of course, he still didn't know.

When the elevator finally arrived, Director Lee positioned himself by the buttons.

Even if the elevator stopped on every floor, nobody would get on the moment they saw the chairman inside, so Director Lee always had to keep pressing the CLOSE button.

When they reached the first-floor lobby and the doors opened, Director Lee was so busy holding down the OPEN button that he couldn't react to what happened next.

"Chairman!"

The instant the doors opened, someone came flying forward and slammed directly into Chairman Kang's head.

Chairman Kang's prediction that someone would charge at him to seize control of the group had come true in a completely different way.

Who could have imagined someone would literally ram his head into the chairman?

The headquarters lobby descended into utter chaos.

The emperor of the building had fallen.

No one knew who the other person was, but he instantly became the man who had attempted to assassinate the emperor.

An ambulance rushed in and carried away the emperor.

A second ambulance arrived and carried away the would-be assassin.

***

"A coma?"

"That's correct."

"Not unconscious?"

Chairman Kang lay peacefully in a VIP hospital room as though asleep.

Yet the hospital director insisted he was in a coma.

Director Lee felt his insides burning.

"So you're saying his body is perfectly fine, but he's in a coma for reasons you can't determine?"

"Yes. But please don't worry too much. Most patients wake up within a few days."

"And if it's not 'most cases'?"

"It's rare, but some patients remain in a coma for months... or even years."

Only one word came to Director Lee's mind.

COMA.

***

When Chairman Kang opened his eyes, irritation immediately surged through him.

Because he hated one thing above all else.

Noise.

Murmuring.

Shouting.

Electronic beeps piercing his ears.

As he sat up, he felt something strange.

His body felt light.

Normally, every time he got up after lying down, aches and pains would make him groan involuntarily.

Now, not a single part of him hurt.

"Ah, Mr. Hwang Junhyun, you're awake?"

A young doctor approached and shined a flashlight into Chairman Kang's eyes.

Then the doctor held up his fingers.

"How many fingers do you see?"

"What?"

"How many fingers?"

Chairman Kang brushed the doctor's hand aside.

"Forget that. Call Director Lee."

"...Pardon?"

"And where the hell am I? Where did Director Lee go?"

"Can't you tell? You're in the emergency room."

The emergency room?

Something was wrong.

"Where's my phone?"

The doctor's expression twisted in annoyance.

"It's right there by your pillow."

On the bed were a phone, a wallet, and what looked like an ID card.

But none of them belonged to Chairman Kang.

"What the hell is this?"

Chairman Kang picked up the phone.

Then he saw his reflection on the screen.

And realized he hadn't asked the most important question.

Where Director Lee was.

Where this place was.

Why he was here.

None of those questions mattered.

There was only one question that absolutely had to be asked.

Who am I?