Chapter 2

The Sleeping Chairman of the Group (1)

"A coma?"

"That's what they say."

"Then does that mean he'll stay like that forever...?"

"Not necessarily. They say they just don't know when he'll wake up. His body is perfectly healthy. It wouldn't be strange if he woke up tomorrow."

Several subsidiary presidents visited the hospital, but none were allowed to see the chairman. They only met with the doctors.

"Well, damn. Who would've thought his words would come true like this?"

"No kidding. The moment he talked about retirement, he went straight to the hospital."

"By the way, who was the idiot that headbutted the chairman in the elevator?"

"That's the ridiculous part... Apparently he's an intern. An intern from Trading."

"And what happened to the intern?"

"No idea. They still haven't decided what to do with him."

"President Choi at Trading must have a terrible headache right now."

"He does. He's probably tearing his hair out trying to decide whether to file charges, fire the kid, or let it slide as an accident."

Contrary to what the subsidiary presidents believed, President Choi of Trading had already made that decision on the very day of the accident.

***

"...But because of the chairman's age, they say it could be dangerous if he remains bedridden for too long..."

"Hey! What the hell is that bastard? Why is a guy like that an intern at my company?!"

At President Choi's roar, the executives could only sigh deeply.

"Which department is he assigned to?"

"Materials Division."

"Then why was he running around like that? Is he some former athlete? Or does he have no manners? Who runs through the lobby?"

After venting his anger, President Choi finally got to the point.

"Executive Kim."

"Yes, President."

Executive Director Kim, head of the Support Division, swallowed nervously. As both the head of Materials and the company's HR chief, he prayed the fallout wouldn't land on him.

"What should we do with the intern?"

"I think we should end it with a termination notice."

"Termination? The guy put the chairman in a hospital bed."

"Even so, we can't turn this into a major incident. If this gets into the media, it'll affect the stock prices of the entire group. And they say it was only a minor shock. We don't need to make it any bigger."

Only executives at the subsidiary president level and above knew Chairman Kang was in a coma.

No one believed that secret would remain hidden forever.

Still, as long as it didn't leak before the succession process was completed, that would be enough.

"He's only an intern, so there won't be any issues if we fire him?"

"That's correct."

Just as President Choi was about to finalize the decision, a secretary hurried in after knocking.

"What is it?"

"President, Vice President Kang from Construction is here."

Everyone except President Choi sprang to their feet.

This wasn't just any vice president.

He was the chairman's eldest son.

The first in line for succession.

At President Choi's glance, everyone filed out, and Vice President Kang entered with a smile.

"Oh dear, I hope I'm not interrupting a meeting."

"Not at all. We just finished. Please, have a seat."

Though he offered a chair, President Choi did not stand.

This was the last line protecting his pride.

No matter whose blood ran through the man's veins, he was still only a vice president. A president had no reason to rise for a vice president.

"Quite a remarkable day, isn't it?"

"It certainly is. What a mess..."

Watching the smiling vice president, President Choi asked,

"What brings you here personally?"

"I have a favor to ask. May I?"

Already trying to build his own faction? The moment his father collapsed?

"Our subsidiaries are different, so I doubt there's much I can do for you. But go ahead."

"It's about the employee who collided with the chairman today. Let's pretend the incident never happened and avoid any disciplinary action. No disadvantages for him."

Leave a worker who caused an accident of this magnitude untouched?

"People bump into each other around elevators all the time. It's hardly rare. I just think ruining a young man's life over something like that is excessive."

"He's an intern. He only has about three months left anyway. If his evaluation score drops, he'll never work here."

"Are his scores that bad?"

"The fact that he's interning in Materials instead of Sales at a trading company says everything. He probably failed in Sales and got dumped into Materials. He'll spend his remaining three months organizing office supplies."

Vice President Kang lightly tapped the table.

"Then that kid's lucky."

President Choi immediately understood what the crown prince was implying.

"If we fire him now, people will say he was fired because of today's incident. Regardless of his actual abilities. Is that what you mean?"

"Exactly. Wouldn't it be better if no one could say he was dismissed over a simple accident? Make him a full-time employee, keep him around for about a year, and then let him go. That seems like the cleanest approach. Of course, the decision is yours."

President Choi wasn't bowing because he was the chairman's son.

But opposing him over the dismissal of a mere new hire would make it look like he was declaring:

"I'm not on your side. I'm backing the second son."

If you were going to oppose him, it had to be over something far more significant.

"That sounds reasonable. We'll do it that way. I'll also instruct the department not to discuss the matter."

"Oh, thank you."

"It's hardly a difficult favor..."

With his business concluded, Vice President Kang rose.

"We should have a meal together sometime. There are a few things I'd like to discuss privately."

"Of course."

As the vice president turned to leave, President Choi threw one final remark at his back.

"You're awfully concerned about a single intern. Were you always this compassionate?"

Vice President Kang chuckled.

"Think of it as a small expression of gratitude. He stopped a certain old man with a terrible temper from changing his mind again."

There it was.

As expected.

The vice president wasn't worried about a lowly employee or the company's image.

Either way, thanks to the chairman's son, that intern had effectively won the lottery.

In an age like this, he had secured what everyone dreamed of:

A permanent position at a major corporation.

***

After rushing out of the hospital, Kang's first thought had been to go straight to the company.

But what could he possibly do there in this absurd situation where he'd ended up in another person's body?

Instead, he headed to a hotel, intending to lie down and sort through what had happened.

Unfortunately...

"Sir, it says you don't have enough balance."

The card he used for the deposit was pitifully underfunded.

The cash in this body's wallet was barely enough to buy the bowl of Yangpyeong hangover soup he'd eaten.

Still, while eating it, he once again realized how wonderful youth was.

Normally, half a bowl would've left his stomach bloated.

Now he could eat two full bowls of rice and feel perfectly fine.

Even walking quickly didn't leave him short of breath.

While eating, he'd searched through the wallet and checked the ID card.

Using the address on it, he took a taxi.

He didn't know the door lock password, but once he proved he was the resident, a locksmith opened it.

Carefully, he stepped inside.

"What the hell... This kid should clean once in a while."

It was his first time seeing the officetel.

A twenty-seven-year-old building.

Roughly twenty-six square meters of actual living space.

The studio apartment was smaller than the bathroom in Chairman Kang's mansion.

The only place to sit was the bed.

Lying down, he unlocked the phone.

Fortunately, modern phones no longer relied on patterns or PIN numbers.

Face recognition opened it instantly.

As he explored the phone, he couldn't help but laugh.

Words that would've been blurry before appeared crystal clear.

He laughed again.

This time because it was pathetic.

"This idiot talks about money nonstop."

His text messages were nothing but reminders about loan interest payments.

His KakaoTalk chats were filled with desperate requests to borrow money from friends.

Naturally, most of them hadn't even been read.

He checked photos.

Emails.

Nothing useful.

"What's wrong with this guy? Is he some kind of social outcast?"

As he sat on the bed looking around the cramped room, he noticed a laptop beside the sink.

"Right. These days they say a person's entire life is stored in their phone and laptop."

The laptop unlocked with facial recognition too.

"Now this is convenient. Maybe I should switch to one of these myself."

The first place he searched was the documents folder.

The ID badge identified him as an intern.

That meant there had to be job application essays somewhere.

Sure enough, he found a lengthy self-introduction letter.

"Let's see... what kind of guy you are."

Before he was even halfway through, he let out a sigh.

Not because of the mediocre qualifications.

Every sentence dripped with desperation and insecurity.

"A grown man with this little confidence..."

Line after line begged for a chance.

Please look kindly upon me.

Though lacking, I'll work hard.

I'll devote my body to Choi sung Group until my flesh is crushed and my bones are shattered.

The funny part?

The exact same application had been sent to more than a hundred companies.

"This idiot is lucky if he didn't accidentally write the wrong company name somewhere."

After alternating between sighs and laughter, he gained a rough understanding of the young man.

But he still hadn't found the answer to the most important question.

How could he return everything to normal?

As he flopped back onto the bed in frustration, his phone rang.

Park Jaewoo – Materials Team 2 Manager

"Who's this idiot?"

Chairman Kang ignored the call.

The manager, however, didn't seem familiar with the concept of giving up.

The phone kept ringing.

With a sigh, Chairman Kang finally answered.

"Hello..."

"HEY! HWANG JUNHYUN! YOU LITTLE SHIT! You discharged yourself? And if you're healthy enough to leave the hospital, you should've come straight to the company! Where the hell are you slacking off? You turned the whole company upside down! Get your ass over here! NOW!"

After unloading a torrent of abuse, the manager hung up.

No manners whatsoever.

"Look at this bastard..."

For the first time in his life, a mere team manager had called him a little shit.

He wanted to rush over immediately and see the man's face.

But he restrained himself.

What exactly would he say?

Still, part of him wanted to go to the company.

He needed to find out what had happened to his original body.

If his soul had truly entered this clueless young man's body, then his own body might already be dead.

"Maybe I should go take a look."

And if luck was on his side, he might uncover something useful.

***

"Executive Director Lee, you know something, don't you?"

"You must. Our father isn't the type to make an announcement like that out of nowhere. He's meticulous and plans everything."

Executive Director Lee Sangjae of the Strategic Planning Division felt overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of the two princes.

Still, he considered it a rite of passage that had to happen sooner or later.

"You've got the wrong person. I'm just as shocked and confused as you are. He suddenly announced it during the executive meeting this morning without giving me so much as a hint. Then the accident happened and now he's in a hospital bed. That's all I know."

"So it's certain he intended to step back from management? But he never revealed a successor?"

Kang Donghun, executive director of Choi sung Chemical and the chairman's younger son, couldn't hide the delight on his face.

A man who had never learned to conceal his emotions—

or perhaps had never needed to.

When angry, he threw whatever was nearby.

When irritated, he punched whoever happened to be standing beside him.

The possibility that his father might never wake up from his coma after failing to name his older brother as successor seemed to be the happiest news of his life.

"It is true that he said he would step down."

"Anything else?"

"No. That's why it's so baffling."

After looking back and forth between the two brothers, Lee continued.

"There was one additional thing he said after the meeting."

"What was it?"

The eyes of the eldest son, Vice President Kang Dongseong, lit up.

"To be precise... he said it would be fun to watch."

Donghun frowned.

"What?"

"Exactly that. Chairman Kang said he'd simply watch."

The two brothers exchanged glances.

Then both laughed.

"That old man's personality really is a disaster."

Though he laughed, the younger son's eyes were different.

He looked like a challenger stepping into a no-rules fighting arena.

The eldest son, meanwhile, looked irritated by the realization that he would have to fight an exhausting defensive battle.