Since it was the day his father was returning home, Seok-won left work a little earlier than usual and headed back home.
As he stepped through the front door, he saw Madam Jo elegantly sipping tea while reading a fashion magazine on the sofa, dressed in a comfortable home dress.
"You're home?" she asked, lifting her head.
"Yes. Where's Father?"
Setting down her teacup, she replied, "He's in the study. Go greet him first."
"Alright."
Nodding, Seok-won placed his briefcase on the empty sofa.
"You haven't had dinner yet, have you?"
"No, I came straight home from work."
"Gunsan-daek made your father's favorite chueotang today, so you should have some too."
"Really? That's perfect—I was craving something spicy and hearty."
After saying he would greet his father first, Seok-won headed toward the study.
He knocked lightly, then pushed open the heavy wooden door, stepping inside to find Chairman Park seated comfortably on the sofa in casual attire.
"Father, I'm home."
Chairman Park straightened his posture, took off his reading glasses, and responded, "You're early."
"It's the day you're returning from your trip, after all."
"Hmph. It's not like this is my first business trip—what's the big deal?"
Still, there was a faint smile at the corner of his lips, as if he didn't entirely dislike the gesture.
Knowing this, Seok-won simply ignored his father's gruff response, unbuttoned his jacket, and sat down on the empty sofa to his right.
Watching as his father leaned back into the seat, he asked, "Did everything go well in China?"
"All I did was attend the factory expansion ceremony, show my face, and cut a ribbon. There wasn't much to go well or not."
Seeing his father's indifferent attitude, Seok-won smiled and responded, "Your presence alone as chairman signals that our group values the Shenyang factory. That helps build relationships with local officials, making future cooperation much smoother."
No one had explicitly explained this to him, yet Seok-won had accurately grasped the true purpose behind his father's trip.
"Hmph. Not bad."
Just as Chairman Park was feeling pleased with his son's keen insight, something suddenly crossed his mind, and his expression turned serious.
"That aside, what's this about gifting me a private jet out of nowhere?!"
"It's exactly what it sounds like—a gift."
Seok-won casually shrugged, as if he had simply given his father a bottle of whiskey for his birthday.
Chairman Park stared at him in disbelief.
"It's not a model airplane—who in their right mind gifts a real private jet worth hundreds of billions of won?!"
"Here it is."
At Seok-won's sly response, Chairman Park Tae-hong furrowed his brows.
"Don't joke around."
Still smiling, Seok-won calmly continued.
"You heard from Secretary Gil that I recently made a pretty big profit from a venture investment, right?"
"That—was it Netscape or something? You invested in that company and then sold your shares?"
"Yes. Fortunately, the investment turned out well, so I decided to give you a gift."
Chairman Park straightened his back, as if this was a topic he had been waiting to bring up.
"Since we're on the subject, I heard you made a whopping $1 billion from selling your shares?"
"To be exact, $1.08 billion."
"Huh…"
Chairman Park let out an involuntary sigh.
A billion dollars was already an astronomical sum, but to have exceeded that? It was almost unfathomable.
"To make that much money from a single investment… Unbelievable."
Though part of him felt slightly overwhelmed, a stronger sense of pride swelled within him as he looked at his son—someone who clearly had a remarkable talent for investment.
Just then, he suddenly recalled the heated argument they had when Seok-won was about to graduate from Harvard. Back then, he had insisted that Seok-won return to Korea to join the family business, but his son had fiercely resisted.
"What if I hadn't forced him to come back? What if I had let him stay in the U.S. and run his own investment firm as he wanted?"
This was the same Seok-won who was flawlessly handling his responsibilities at the securities firm while also securing massive investment returns.
If he had been given the freedom to pursue his own path, perhaps he would have achieved even greater success by now.
As his thoughts trailed in that direction, Chairman Park was struck with a deep sense of regret.
"Maybe I failed to recognize his true potential and held him back, keeping him caged when he should have been free to spread his wings."
Swallowing down the belated guilt that crept up inside him, Chairman Park cleared his throat.
"I appreciate the gesture, but there's a limit to what's acceptable as a gift. A private jet is excessive."
"Still, it was convenient for you, wasn't it?"
"It was as comfortable as home—wait, hmph."
Realizing too late that he had almost walked right into Seok-won's trap, Chairman Park's eyes widened in annoyance.
"Regardless, business class on a commercial flight is more than enough. Return it."
"It was custom-made specifically for you, so it's non-refundable."
"Then sell it to someone else."
"You know that even home appliances become second-hand the moment you plug them in, right? If we sell it as used, we wouldn't even get half of what we originally paid. That would be such a waste."
Seok-won's calm and persistent responses made Chairman Park slightly annoyed.
"Then why did you buy something like that without even asking me first? The fuel costs alone will be enormous, not to mention all the other expenses! You'll end up draining your pockets dry, you fool!"
The costs of operating a private jet weren't just limited to fuel. There were also crew salaries, maintenance and inspection fees, airport and hangar rental charges—it all added up to a substantial sum.
Of course, as the owner of a major conglomerate ranked within the top 50 in the business world, he could easily afford it.
Although it wasn't his style, if he wanted to, he could find a suitable justification and have the company cover the jet's expenses—a common loophole many corporate executives exploited.
In fact, across all industries, from large corporations to smaller companies, there were plenty of business owners who blurred the line between company funds and personal wealth.
"Besides, this is before the IMF crisis hit. Not to mention, most of the first-generation founders are still actively managing their businesses, making such behavior even more prevalent."
Once a company went public and got listed on the stock market, it was no longer solely the founder's property—it belonged to the shareholders. Yet, many Korean business leaders still treated their companies as their personal assets.
"And to be honest, that attitude won't change much even in the future."
Many of the scandals involving chaebol families stemmed from this deeply ingrained mindset.
A prime example was the infamous "nut rage" incident.
As Seok-won pondered this, he suddenly recalled the face of Go Ah-hyun, the eldest daughter of Hojin Group, whom he had met through his mother, Madam Jo, in what was essentially an arranged date.
Unconsciously, a shiver ran down his spine.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Ah, no. It's nothing."
Seok-won quickly brushed it off and put on a reassuring expression.
"And don't worry about the maintenance costs. Do you really think I'd just hand over a private jet without thinking about how to manage it?"
Chairman Park frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I set up a dedicated company to manage and operate the private jet."
"...!"
"I also leased a private hangar at Gimpo Airport, so you don't have to worry about a thing. Just enjoy the flights."
Chairman Park was completely taken aback.
The thought that Seok-won would go as far as establishing an entire management company had never even crossed his mind.
For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Then, as if a dam had burst, he unleashed a flood of scolding.
"You brat! Are you telling me you started a whole company just to operate a private jet?"
"Not just one jet—two."
"What?! What do you mean, two?"
"Since I was ordering yours, I figured I'd get one for myself as well."
At Seok-won's nonchalant reply, Chairman Park Tae-hong's eyes doubled in size.
Technically, the order of events was a little different, but it wasn't an important detail, so Seok-won glossed over it.
"So… you're saying there are two private jets?"
"Yes."
Seeing his son nod so casually, Chairman Park pressed his fingers to his temple.
These weren't cars—they were private jets, each worth hundreds of billions of won. And yet, Seok-won was acting as if he had simply picked up a couple of luxury sedans.
At this point, Park couldn't tell if his son had an extraordinary sense of boldness or if making such a fortune at such a young age had made him reckless.
As Chairman Park wrestled with his thoughts, Seok-won flashed a grin.
"You don't think Netscape was the only thing I invested in, do you?"
"Are you saying you've made other investments too?"
"It'd be difficult to explain everything in detail, but I've put money into various places. And the capital I'm managing is probably much larger than you're imagining."
Chairman Park looked at him with a skeptical expression.
"Is that really true?"
"Yes."
Seok-won answered brightly, then suddenly snapped his fingers as if he had just remembered something.
"Oh, right. I also recently acquired Gucci."
"...Gucci?"
Chairman Park blinked in confusion.
The only Gucci he knew was the luxury fashion brand.
His son must have noticed his bewilderment because Seok-won gave him a reassuring nod.
"Yes, the Gucci you're thinking of."
At that moment, something clicked in Chairman Park's mind like a bolt of lightning.
"Wait… does this have anything to do with that trip to Europe you took recently?"
"I went to Florence to meet with Gucci's executives."
"Hah!"
Chairman Park let out a deep exhale, completely at a loss for words.
Chairman Park Tae-hong's mouth fell open in shock.
At this point, he could no longer keep up with the sheer scale of his son's ventures.
"So just use the private jet without worry. It's not like I bought you a gift I can't afford. Since you already have it, you might as well make good use of it."
No matter how luxurious first-class seats were, they couldn't compare to the comfort of a private jet.
Lately, his wife, Jo Deok-rye, had been fussing over his health, making sure he took ginseng and herbal medicine. If anything, having a private jet would make his travels easier and contribute to his well-being.
"W-Well… okay."
Chairman Park, still dazed from the barrage of shocking revelations, stared blankly at Seok-won as he replied.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."
"Mm, go ahead."
Seok-won stood, gave a polite nod, and left the study.
As the door closed behind him, Chairman Park slumped into the sofa, still unable to shake his shock.
"I thought he was just a young dragon still growing his scales, but it turns out he's already soaring into the sky."
It was already mind-blowing that his son had made a fortune by investing in a U.S. venture company, but now he had gone and acquired Gucci—a luxury brand that Mido Department Store had struggled to bring into their retail space.
"Come to think of it, when my wife was pregnant with him, she had a dream of a dragon ascending to the heavens…"
People always said that those destined for greatness showed promise from an early age, and even his son's conception dream had been extraordinary.
"Well, of course. He's my son, after all."
Chairman Park nodded to himself, mumbling under his breath.
Once his initial shock faded, a slow chuckle escaped him.
His son wasn't just surpassing his father—he was effortlessly achieving things that Park himself had never even considered.
His eldest was preparing to inherit the group, while his younger son was carving his own path.
How could a father ask for more? Both of his children were strong, capable, and reliable.
"I had planned to hand over the securities and venture capital firms to Seok-won, but now that I think about it… That hardly seems enough. I doubt he'd even consider it a real inheritance."
Chairman Park shook his head, half in disbelief.
He had never imagined he'd be thinking this way, but despite his surprise, he couldn't deny that he felt nothing but pride.
In fact, he was so pleased that he couldn't stop himself from grinning.
"Maybe I was too hasty in pulling back the funds I entrusted to him. Should I reinvest now?"
Clicking his tongue in regret, Chairman Park looked visibly torn.
But the money he had taken back had already been used to acquire the former Sampoong Department Store site. It wouldn't be easy to free up those funds again anytime soon.
As he stroked his chin in deep thought, a decision slowly took shape in his mind.
"I may be a little late, but it's time to stop holding him back. From now on, I need to let him spread his wings and make the most of his talents."