In a vast room filled to the brim with luxurious furniture and fancy decorations, in the center sat a long, silver-plated dining table.
There were multiple old men chatting along and smiling with one another as they ate their seasoned filet mignon steaks. The smell filled the air, giving off a mildly subtle beefy aroma with a hint of butter.
They all wore high-end suits, expensive watches and chains, with neat leather shoes that matched their suits. Each had two designated bodyguards aligned on the back wall not too far behind them.
At the end of the table, a man with a husky, deep voice spoke, "Are you all enjoying your food?"
Behind the man was a singular bodyguard, who couldn't possibly be older than 18. He had no facial hair and certainly lacked the defining features of an adult. Despite that, he was quite tall, had a sharp jawline, calm navy eyes, short black textured hair, and was quite handsome in a striking way. He wore a suit unbefitting of a mere bodyguard.
Regardless of his age, the boy carried a sense of maturity. He constantly observed the room, and danger seemed to emanate from him.
The rest of the old men, who you could tell were CEOs, Chaebols, or other Chairmen, unintentionally ignored him and continued with their chatter.
The man sighed and mumbled, "This is why I prefer one-on-one meetings."
The boy noticed his displeasure and pulled his hands out from behind his back, cupped his hands, and made a loud clapping sound that rang throughout the whole room, gaining everyone's attention.
The man smirked, "My apologies for disrupting your meal everyone, but in case you all forgot, we are here for business, not to make friends. Right?"
The other men straightened their posture and coughed. "Yes, that is right, we apologize..." one of them spoke.
The men around the table nodded and adjusted their ties, reclaiming their dignity. Chairman Kang wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned forward.
He began speaking in a steady tone, "Now that I have your attention, let us begin."
One of the CEOs cleared his throat and offered a careful smile. "Of course, Chairman Kang. First, we'd like to say we appreciate your invitation. The proposal you sent was very interesting indeed."
Kang nodded. "I'll be blunt. Seoryeon Group plans to expand into several new industries this year. Construction, security, logistics, private military contracting, and more. Each of your companies controls a valuable piece of that puzzle."
Another Chairman adjusted his expensive watch as he looked at the time and leaned forward. "Joint projects are always delicate. Profit shares, management rights, and risk allocation must be discussed thoroughly before we can follow through with a partnership. But quite honestly, Chairman Kang, the terms you've provided are a bit..."
"Harsh?" Kang replied. "Sure, it's harsh, but necessary."
Another CEO gave a small, nervous laugh. "Yes... Harsh is one way to put it. Your company would hold primary authority over the entire project while the rest of us assume all of the risk with little to nothing to gain."
Chairman Kang smiled faintly. "That is correct."
Murmurs moved around the table. One of the older Chairmen folded his hands and spoke carefully. "We are not small businesses, Kang. Equal partners expect equal respect, considering you're not only asking for us to assist in these 'projects' of yours but to also give up bits of stock too."
Kang looked directly at him. "And respect is earned by capability. Seoryeon built this proposal. We provided the infrastructure, the manpower, the security, and we'll be the ones doing all the actual labor. Without us, there is no joint project at all."
Another CEO flipped through the documents in front of him. "Your expansion plan is ambitious. No one can deny that. But the distribution model you suggest leaves very little incentive for cooperation. Furthermore, you seem to be mistaken. None of us here need this project, only you do."
"Is that really so?" Kang answered. "If that were the truth, would any of you have come to this meeting despite seeing the proposal and distributions beforehand"
The room went silent, everyone processing what Chairman Kang had just said.
"Success requires ambition. Ambition requires confidence. Confidence requires courage. How many of you, besides the nepo babies, ever achieved anything without taking a risk?"
Not one person dared speak. "If even this small step is beyond your courage," Kang continued, "then perhaps I would be better off handling it all myself. Though it's a hassle, at least I know it will still succeed."
He let the words sink in before leaning forward, placing his hands on the table. "Look at the numbers. Seoryeon assumes seventy-five percent of the workload and the largest share of responsibility. The rest of you are expected to provide five to ten percent. Yet some of you still act as if I am taking from you unfairly. I am not asking you to sacrifice for me, but I am offering an opportunity."
Chairman Kang stood up from his seat and approached the door, his bodyguard following behind. "I'll leave you lot to discuss, any of you who do not desire to be apart of this project, leave. Any who do, stay here until I'm back. You're welcome to finish your food of course, I'll be in my office in the meantime."
The door clicked shut behind Chairman Kang.
Silence filled the room. No one spoke. Several men looked down at their plates. Other stared at the documents in front of them as if seeing the numbers for the first time.
One Chairman scoffed and pushed his chair back. "He's full of himself," he said. His voice sounded firm, but his eyes drifted back to the proposal. After a pause, he stood and straightened his jacket. His bodyguards followed him out.
Another CEO leaned forward and flipped through the pages again. "Full of himself or not," he said, "Seoryeon already controls most of the groundwork. Security, logistics, manpower. If we walk away, they will still move forward."
Two more men stood and left. The rest remained seated.
An older Chairman folded his hands. "Private military contracts. Infrastructure control. Internal security." He exhaled slowly. "If we do not enter now, we will never enter later. We all know Chairman Kang, once he starts dominating the industry, he won't let anyone else in..."
The silence returned for another half-hour. Then a pen touched paper. One Chairman signed his name, followed by another. One by one, signatures filled the page.
After another half-hour, Chairman Kang entered the room once more. "Oh my, a lot more of you remained than I had anticipated. That's fantastic."
Chairman Kang looked at the empty chairs, "Hah, it truly is hilarious. The only people who left were the two nepo-babies and the youngest one here. It's unfortunate, but they'll never get anywhere they want to be in this lifetime."
Chairman Kang returned to his seat and adjusted his cuffs. He glanced at the signed documents and nodded once. "Good. Then we are all aligned."
One of the remaining CEOs forced a smile. "It seems we had no real choice."
Kang looked at him. "You had a choice, but you simply chose correctly."
The CEO replied, "Of course, it was an offer that was simply too good to refuse is what I had intended to mean."
The room stayed quiet.
Kang turned slightly to his left, "Siwoo."
The boy stepped forward at once. He placed a slim folder on the table in front fo Kang, then returned to his position.
A Chairman questioned, "How old is that boy? Isn't he a bit young to be doing this line of work..."
"Not in the slightest," Kang replied. "He listens perfectly, he's tall, strong, and smart. What else is needed?"
Kang rose from his seat again. "We will move quickly before another corporation catches on. Contracts will be finalized within the week. Any delays will be taken as withdrawal." He smiled faintly. "I dislike wasting time, as you all know."
No one objected. The meeting ended soon after. The men stood, exchanged brief nods, and left in silence as their bodyguards followed close behind.
When the room finally emptied, only Kang and the boy remained.
Kang looked at him. "You handled yourself well despite it being your first time, Siwoo."
Siwoo bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, Chairman."
Kang turned toward the window overlooking the city with a fresh cup of coffee in his hands. "This was only the first step. From here on, things will become dirtier and louder, and I'll need you to handle those things."
Siwoo bowed his head slightly again. "I understand, Chairman."
Kang smiled. "Good, now notify 'Executor Delta', we have a few individuals we must silence ahead of schedule."
Siwoo stood straight up, "No disrespect, Chairman, but is Delta necessary? Not only is he absurdly cruel, I can-"
Kang cut him off, "No, you're too inexperienced to handle this type of job yet."
"Understood..." Siwoo spoke, bowing his head one last time and walking out of the room.