Chapter 3: A New Dream
senior Lee Jeong-seok?
He’s a senior who was three years ahead of me in university.
We got pretty close through club activities.
Now, he’s sitting right next to me.
And the person sitting in front of me is a foreigner.
They look familiar.
Who could it be?
“Seon-su, it’s thanks to you. Who would’ve guessed that the person we met at the bar would turn out to be the Chairman of the St. Petersburg Foreign Relations Committee?”
So, the foreigner sitting in front of me.
Who is he?
“I didn’t know you could hold your liquor so well.”
I usually drink in moderation.
“Now, we just need to sign the contract.”
More than Lee Jeong-seok’s words, I’m distracted by the foreigner in front of me.
Suddenly, it hit me.
It’s Vladimir Putin.
The President of Russia.
“That’s when I woke up from the dream.”
It was the day I received my severance pay when I had that dream.
Right now, I’m on my way to meet senior Lee Jeong-seok.
I dreamed about meeting Vladimir Putin. And I couldn’t stop thinking about why I was with Lee Jeong-seok in that dream.
There was one thing I remembered.
It was the legendary story of how senior Lee Jeong-seok once worked at Samdo General Trading.
“He made the impossible happen.”
It was something that no one believed could succeed.
The gas supply contract with Russia’s Gazprom.
I had gone to see him because I didn’t have any money.
Of course, that was in my dream about the future.
And senior Lee Jeong-seok had told me how he returned to Samdo General Trading and became an executive.
It was a pep talk about not giving up on life and living it to the fullest.
But back then, all I asked for was to borrow some money.
“Hey! Seonsu!”
Just then, senior Lee Jeong-seok waved and greeted me.
“Long time no see, senior.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while. You should’ve kept in touch.”
“I’ve been busy with work.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
He spoke as if he knew something.
“Let’s go. My treat.”
“Beef?”
“Are you crazy? Do you think a salaried worker has that kind of money? Let’s go for pork belly.”
“Pork belly works for me.”
“Let’s go.”
Senior Lee Jeong-seok threw his arm over my shoulder.
It reminded me of our university days.
After a bit of pork belly and some soju, senior Lee Jeong-seok spoke with a flushed face.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
Up until now, we had only talked about our university days.
Suddenly, he was telling me I’d been through a lot.
“For what?”
“I heard you even went to trial?”
“You know about that?”
“How could I not? It was all over the news… And in the company, whenever two people gathered, they’d talk about that incident…”
“My name wasn’t mentioned in the news, though.”
“Just because your name wasn’t in the news doesn’t mean people didn’t know.”
I thought that might be true.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I got probation.”
“That’s good. But did you really do it?”
Senior Lee Jeong-seok found it hard to believe that I’d accepted bribes.
“If I say no, would you believe me?”
“Of course, I would. The Seonsu I know isn’t that kind of person. You’re the type of guy who’d ignore money lying on the street.”
“That’s such an old story…”
I remembered it.
It was a prank that senior Lee Jeong-seok had orchestrated.
They once placed 10,000 won on a path we frequently walked.
The bet was whether I would pick it up or not.
“That was a lot of money back then. Don’t you think?”
It was.
Honestly, I wanted to pick it up.
If not, I wouldn’t be human.
The reason I didn’t pick it up was…
I saw the seniors nearby.
A lot of people must have passed by, but it was still there?
It was obviously a trap.
“After that day, people started calling you ‘the sage.’ Haha.”
Talking about our university days felt strange.
It was like going back in time.
But I think it’s time to leave those feelings behind.
“You weren’t half bad yourself, senior.”
“Well, I was just too scared to do anything.”
“You avoided a lot because you didn’t want to cause trouble for others.”
“That’s true.”
“And now, you’re on the verge of being kicked out.”
Pause.
It felt like the alcohol was sobering him up.
Or maybe his mind was just clearing.
He wanted to forget his tough life for a moment by drinking with an old friend.
But I had brought up reality.
“What do you mean?”
He probably thought I wouldn’t know his situation.
“Just like you’ve heard things about me, I’ve heard about you, too. We have quite a few alumni, don’t we?”
That was a lie.
I had actually heard it directly from senior Lee Jeong-seok in the dream.
“Yeah, there are a lot.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“What do you mean, ‘what am I planning to do’? I’ll hang on as long as I can. If I get kicked out of the company, my wife will kill me.”
He got married two years ago and has a one-year-old son.
“What if the company makes it impossible for you to stay?”
“I’ll still hang on.”
In 1993, you couldn’t just fire an employee easily.
Everyone was a full-time worker.
“What if they stop giving you work and move your desk to the hallway?”
That’s the kind of pressure they would apply, forcing you to resign on your own.
“……”
Even though he was a good person, my senior had a lot of pride.
In the end, he’d be forced to resign under the company’s pressure.
But he’d risk everything to go to St. Petersburg alone and secure a gas supply contract with Gazprom.
With that in hand, he’d return to Samdo General Trading.
“I’ve got one last card to play. Once I pull it off, the company’s opinion of me will change.”
It was the contract with Russia’s Gazprom.
The company would never approve of it.
That’s just how things were back then.
The Soviet Union had only recently become Russia.
The political situation was highly complicated.
The mafia, in league with the former KGB, was also running rampant.
“It doesn’t sound like an easy task.”
I pretended not to know.
“Of course, it’s not easy. But if you work in trade and give up just because it’s hard, what’s the point?”
“What’s the matter?”
Lee Jeong-seok wondered if it was okay to tell Lee Seon-su.
His colleagues and superiors had dismissed his story as nonsense.
But he felt that Lee Seon-su might actually listen.
He had always been like that.
He was good at listening to others.
And he didn’t judge.
He simply tried to understand the situation.
“Do you know much about Russia?”
“The Soviet Union?”
Pretending not to know, so that Senior Lee Jeong-seok could excitedly explain.
That’s how most people act when they know something others don’t.
“You still call it the Soviet Union? It’s Russia now.”
“Isn’t it the same thing?”
“It’s not.”
The only real difference was the change from a Secretary-General to a President.
“Anyway, Russia is a country rich in resources. Their basic science is also excellent.”
The Soviet Union was indeed the first to launch a lunar probe before the United States.
Though the U.S. was the first to send astronauts to the moon.
“Did you know Russia supplies gas to Europe?”
“Gas? What kind of gas?”
Energy supply gas, of course.
“You don’t know this? So…”
Senior Lee Jeong-seok began to explain at length.
He talked about gas pipelines, how Europe would be in trouble if Russia stopped selling gas, and how, as long as gas was secured, Europe would surely buy it.
“So European companies must have a tight grip on the market. Isn’t the market entry barrier high?”
“It is. That’s why it’s worth trying. No one would expect a country far off in the East, like Korea, to try selling gas.”
That’s why everyone must’ve said it was reckless.
And, in fact, the question was something he’d heard from Samdo General Trading.
Senior Lee Jeong-seok had said:
“Why are people so afraid to take on challenges? I believe you must challenge everything.”
But didn’t you lose in your last business venture?
It affected the team’s revenue.
Naturally, the business division was impacted, and the company gave you a bad evaluation.
“That’s just like you, Senior. Taking reckless challenges and winning the heart of your wife, the queen bee of our college.”
“Haha. That was the most reckless thing I ever did. Challenging someone so precious when I had nothing.”
In a way, he was lucky.
Senior Lee Jeong-seok’s wife—well, the sister-in-law—was beautiful and came from a well-off family.
Maybe that’s why men couldn’t easily approach her.
She was also quite guarded.
But Senior Lee Jeong-seok challenged her in a way no other man had.
“Sigh. That’s why I can’t quit this company. If nothing else, I promised I’d never have to ask my in-laws for help.”
It hadn’t been easy getting married.
Her family wasn’t fond of the idea of her marrying the eldest son who took care of his widowed mother.
It wasn’t like his family was wealthy either.
So, in a way, Senior Lee Jeong-seok was easy to reel in.
When you’re drowning, you grab onto anything.
“Senior, what if the company tells you to leave?”
“I won’t leave.”
“But what if you have no choice?”
“Sigh. Are you trying to make me feel worse? Just drink.”
“I’m not asking this for no reason.”
Lee Jeong-seok paused, holding his glass mid-air.
He figured there must be a reason why Lee Seon-su was being so direct.
“What’s going on?”
“To be honest, it feels like the company betrayed me too.”
Lee Jeong-seok nodded, almost unconsciously.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“You didn’t do anything so wrong that you’d be forced out. You must’ve accomplished things all this time.”
Lee Jeong-seok downed his drink.
“To be frank, others have made bigger mistakes, and nothing was said to them.”
They had connections with the higher-ups.
Since he didn’t know how to make connections, it was inevitable he’d be pushed out.
“Of course, I managed to recover somewhat with my next project.”
They must’ve supported a promising business.
“I also want to do that… but why won’t they let me?”
It will work out.
“I don’t know either. This damn company. Just drink.”
“Senior, if you were betrayed by the company like me, what would you do?”
Lee Jeong-seok, in the middle of refilling his glass, paused.
He didn’t want to think about what Lee Seon-su was suggesting.
“If that happened, wouldn’t you want to get back at them in a big way?”
“Haha. Me? Against the company? Against Samdo General Trading, the core affiliate of the Samdo Group?”
“Yes.”
“With what power? Do I look like a *chaebol?”
*(in South Korea) a large family-owned business conglomerate.
“Why do you think you can’t?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I still live in a rented house. What could I possibly do…?”
“I’m not saying you have to prove yourself with money.”
But in reality, proving yourself with money was essentially the same thing.
“Then how?”
“The business they laughed at you for! You make it succeed. Isn’t that enough?”
“Are you talking about the Gazprom project?”
“Yes.”
Lee Jeong-seok chuckled.
“You think something like that can be done by an individual? Only a big company like Samdo General Trading can pull that off.”
But you did it, Senior.
Even though you used Samdo General Trading’s name.
“Stop talking nonsense and just drink.”
“Senior, remember this one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“If the company betrays you, Senior, then at that time, you’re coming with me to Russia.”
“Haha. Sure. Let’s do that. We’ll just go as a trip.”
It won’t be a trip.
And Senior Lee Jeong-seok, I absolutely need you.
Why?
Because in my dream, we met Putin together.
And I feel that only by going with you can I prevent any other variables from arising.
“Shall we have a drinking game for old times’ sake, granting a wish to the winner?”
“What? Do you really think you can beat me? You’ve lost every time.”
“That was back when I was a student.”
“And you think it’s any different now?”
“It could be.”
Why else have I consistently worked out and taken all kinds of supplements?
“Alright. What should the wager be? The cost of drinks?”
“That’s too weak.”
“Then?”
“How about granting a wish next time?”
“Haha, fine, granting a wish it is.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“Neither am I.”
But Lee Jeong-seok didn’t take it seriously.
Lee Seon-su raised his hand.
“Auntie! Six bottles of soju here, please.”
Lee Jeong-seok also shouted.
“And glasses, please!”
Lee Jeong-seok thought there was no way he could lose.
Gimpo International Airport.
After meeting Senior Lee Jeong-seok, I started preparing to establish the company.
The plan was to establish the company not in Korea, but in Singapore.
There are many advantages to setting up a corporation in Singapore.
The corporate tax is lower.
And in Singapore, international transactions are easier.
There’s an energy trading market.
A Singaporean corporation is more likely to be trusted than a Korean one.
“Heh.”
I remembered the drinking game.
In the end, Senior Lee Jeong-seok collapsed.
Out of sheer stubbornness, he drank all six bottles.
For the first time since his wedding housewarming party, I visited his house again.
“Even sister-in-law was surprised, wasn’t she?”
It’s already time to board.
By the time I return after setting up the company in Singapore, Senior will likely be standing at a crossroads.
I asked a classmate working at Samdoo General Trading about Senior’s situation and heard that things aren’t looking good for him.
“Let’s see each other when I get back.”
Lee Seon-su walked toward the business gate.
“Wh-what? Bathroom entry management?”
“Yes.”
Lee Jeong-seok clenched his fist.
Now, they’re telling him to set up a desk in front of the bathroom and count how many people come in and out each day.
“This is also work.”
“It’s an unfair work order, Team Leader.”
“Sigh. What can I do? I’m just following orders too.”
“I will file a complaint.”
“You know refusing an order will negatively affect your performance review, right? You’ll get passed over for promotion.”
He had endured being excluded from all tasks.
He thought, at least he was getting paid for doing nothing.
He told himself he had to bear it for the sake of his family.
But this was too much.
“If you can’t even handle this task properly, you could face disciplinary action. From assistant manager down to associate.”
That’s basically what he was saying.
“If you find it so dirty and humiliating, just quit.”
Trembling …
But he had no choice but to hold back.
“Understood. I will follow the work order.”
Lee Jeong-seok turned weakly and headed for the bathroom.
Then, he heard the team leader’s voice from behind.
“If I were you, I’d just quit.”
Lee Jeong-seok gritted his teeth.
Suddenly, he thought of Lee Seon-su.
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