Corporate Villain
Copyright© 2025 by K.W
Chapter 33
-The first playoff game of the season between Daeyoung Monsters and Giants! Oh, this is unexpected. That person is...
-Yes, it’s Yoon Tae-sik, the head of Daeyoung Corporation, getting ready for the first pitch. As caster Jang Jun-hyun said, quite surprising.
In the living room of Pyeongchang-dong.
Chairman Kang Ki-young and Chairman Kang Man-ho were seated on the sofa, waiting for the broadcast of the Monsters’ first playoff game of the season.
-From the Giants fans’ perspective, it must be a bit disappointing, haha. We’re more accustomed to seeing him in a Giants uniform, watching the game, but ah ... today, he’s wearing a Monsters uniform, not in the stands but on the mound.
Until then, there was no particular change in expression on the faces of Chairman Kang Ki-young and Chairman Kang Man-ho.
But then...
-Oh, wait a minute, what’s this? Hahaha...
-Hahaha. He’s prepared quite an entertaining performance.
On the mound, Yoon Tae-sik tapped the ground with his spikes, suddenly took off the glove he was wearing, placed it on the ground, and began to strip off the Monsters’ baseball jacket.
At that moment, Chairman Kang Man-ho was startled.
Because his father, sitting right next to him, burst into a hearty laugh, even making a scraping sound from his throat.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ... That guy, that thing ... Ha ha ha ha...”
He burst into genuine laughter at the performance created by his grandson-in-law, clapping continuously.
“Ah, Yoon, that guy, he’s really something. Oh my, ha ha ha...”
Chairman Kang Man-ho himself found his son-in-law’s outfit just as funny.
But more than the humor of the situation, he pondered whether his father had ever laughed so freely and openly in recent years.
The son-in-law, with a face like a shield, began to take a pitcher’s stance with cheeky confidence.
Though he was watching through the TV, Chairman Kang Man-ho could vividly imagine the expression and determination his son-in-law had while standing there.
Then came the ceremonial first pitch!
The ball was far from the strike zone, but the catcher grabbed it and forcefully pulled it into the strike zone. Despite the slow pitch and the catcher’s fake motion, the Giants’ leadoff hitter responded with a swing and a miss.
The pitcher, expressing his gratitude to the batter, received a heartfelt salute from the batter, who showed sincere support for the Giants, tipping his helmet in thanks.
“Striiiike!”
As soon as the umpire called the unbelievable pitch a strike, the camera panned to Kang Moon-jung in the skybox, waving a lightstick while wearing a real Monsters uniform.
Neither the father’s nor the daughter’s smiles showed any sign of fading.
Chairman Kang Man-ho felt a newfound respect and gratitude for the son-in-law who had brought such a bright smile to his daughter, who usually seemed to be clad in armor.
On TV, Yoon Tae-sik, having just thrown the first pitch, bowed to the Monsters and Giants fans in turn before trotting off the mound.
The commentator continued.
“This may be one of the most memorable first pitches in the history of professional baseball in Korea.”
“Yes, indeed. Regardless of the outcome for any particular team, it seems like a wonderful first pitch that conveyed a heartfelt support for both teams and provided joy to all fans of Korean professional baseball.”
Chairman Kang Ki-young, with a pleased expression fixed on his face, said after a hearty laugh.
“I’ve been watching Yoon quietly these past few months...”
“Yes, Father.”
“He knows how to be loved, our Yoon.”
“...”
“It’s not easy for a woman to run a tough restaurant business alone, raising a child so confidently and uprightly. Seeing how she raised him all by herself, I thought she must be quite a remarkable person.”
Chairman Kang Man-ho was not unaware that he was giving the highest praise he could.
“Yes, I felt it from the first time we met.”
The live playoff game being broadcasted no longer held much significance for the two of them.
With just one performance of the first pitch by the son-in-law, the role of the Daeyoung Monsters for the year was practically over.
“She’s strong, isn’t she?”
“Very much so.”
“Yes, you may be much younger than me, but at the wedding, you seemed just as mature. Manho.”
“Yes, Father.”
In the palm of Chairman Kang Kiyoung’s left hand were two solid walnuts.
As he rotated them in his hand, massaging pressure points, Chairman Kang Kiyoung said,
“Being too cautious can lead to seriousness.”
“ ... Yes.”
“One must maintain a balance.”
“Yes.”
“While caution reduces mistakes, seriousness can lead to weariness and suffocation.”
“ ... I will bear that in mind.”
“From what I see, you’re looking for a reason to seat one man in that position, while for another, you’re seeking a justification to give it up.”
At his father’s words, Chairman Kang Manho felt a sudden jolt! A shock as if electricity coursed down his spine.
“Do those reasons and justifications not feel like stubbornness, excuses made for your own comfort?”
“Father is...”
Chairman Kang Kiyoung was not one to be at ease.
After wetting his lips with his tongue and savoring the taste, Chairman Kang Kiyoung spoke,
“Isn’t it a better deal for the Kang family name to step back in Daeyoung, rather than risking the name of Daeyoung over something we can’t easily let go of due to our stubbornness? It’s not as if our Kang bloodline is going anywhere.”
“...”
“Daeyoung is not solely our family’s possession. We must avoid choices that turn all the shareholders against us, shouldn’t we?”
“ ... Yes.”
“If despite the time and opportunities given, one still cannot prove oneself, it means that’s as far as they go. On the other hand, proving oneself solely through one’s own efforts means there’s still a future. Moonjung is already thirty-four.”
“ ... Yes.”
“You were the same age when I appointed you as the vice president of electronics.”
Of course, times have changed a lot since then.
But now that the differences have become so clear, even Chairman Kang Manho himself thought that dragging things out in the name of caution seemed pointless.
To such a Chairman Kang Manho, Chairman Kang Kiyoung spoke casually,
“But you were wiser back then. You had an eye for people.”
“Yes, it seems so.”
“And more ruthless. Even more so than I, Kang Kiyoung, the most ruthless of them all.”
“ ... Is it Moonjung?”
Everyone has someone they can never forget until the day they die. It’s because of that gratitude that some people even leap into flames. When I was nothing, there was someone who saw me as something. And it was that someone who gave me the strength to rise up to be that something.
“...?”
“Isn’t Munjeong just that person for Yoon Seobang now? No matter what anyone says, it was Munjeong who made Yoon Seobang into something, with her ability. Without hesitation, she gives up her place beside him, making him into an indispensable, absolutely necessary presence for our Daeyoung. Where else can you find a greater quality than that?”
“ ... Yes.”
“It’s something even you couldn’t accomplish. Do you think Youngjin could do it? Does it look like there’s even a slight possibility?”
Chairman Kang Manho had no answer.
“I wish you wouldn’t spend your days so seriously, Manho, even if you are cautious, especially when the answers are all too clear. You’re the one leading Daeyoung at the forefront. It’s unacceptable to me that such a person can’t focus on Daeyoung because of his children.”
At the same time in Daejeon.
Taesik’s mother felt a tear well up as she watched her son receive enthusiastic cheers from many people on the TV screen.
She was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Ma’am, will we be able to eat today at some point?”
She had said she’d only watch her son throw the first pitch, but before she knew it, she was completely engrossed.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Is there someone you know on TV?”
“No, no.”
“You must like baseball. Even though it’s not even an Eagles game, why bother watching?”
“I’ll have it ready soon. Just wait a little longer.”
“Even the Giants are playing in the fall baseball, but these Eagles b*stards ... just thinking about it makes me furious. Ma’am, can I change the channel?”
“Yes, watch whatever you want.”
“These Eagles b*stards need the chairman to take up the bat once more.”
She wanted to boast.
That her wonderful son was her own.
That she bore him, suffering through the pain.
And that she was his mother-in-law.
That such a lovely and virtuous lady, unimaginable to them, was her daughter-in-law.
Yet, Taesik’s mother was the one who hadn’t invited the people from the commercial prosperity association or the neighboring shops to her only son’s wedding.
She didn’t care about not receiving the congratulatory money she had pre-emptively spread around through mutual aid.
The difference in the level of guests from both families.
She hoped it wouldn’t reflect the difference in level between her son and daughter-in-law.
As long as my son can be happy, as long as he can live with confidence and shoulders back like now, that’s all that matters.
Taesik’s mother thought to herself, smiling as she entered the kitchen to start preparing the ordered food.
No longer could one find the composure in Kang Youngjin, who had always been so self-assured.
It was only now that the strangeness of the situation began to sink in.
“Do you really have to do the gallery director job?”
The anxiety her husband began to feel was quickly spreading to his wife, Juyeonhee.
“If I don’t do that, what, you want me to just stay home and take care of the house?”
“I’d rather you do the director job than tell you to take care of the house.”
“And then?”
“Try learning about planning work for once.”