The Arnault family was a family of entrepreneurs.
The current patriarch, Bernard Arnault, had the support of his family, which allowed him to attend prestigious schools, but it was purely his own ability that built the luxury empire.
He moved to the United States, accumulated wealth through real estate, and then returned to France to acquire luxury brands, establishing his empire.
Because of this, Bernard Arnault was the most influential figure in the family, and the elder members treated him with a certain level of caution.
"Ahem, I don't necessarily object to arranging Delphine's marriage, but don't you think an Asian man is a bit… unusual?"
"What does skin color matter? If someone is highly capable, their nationality and race shouldn't be an issue."
"Is Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae really that exceptional? He's only in his mid-20s—aren't you overestimating him?"
Bernard looked around at the elders of his family.
They had spent their entire lives in France, and in some ways, they were like frogs in a well—unaware of the vast world beyond.
"Taewoo Group is the number one conglomerate in South Korea. As the heir to such a group, shouldn't we be evaluating him accordingly?"
"But still, it's only the top company in a small country on the outskirts of Asia."
"You all know that I have extensive connections in the United States, right?"
"Of course. We know you built many connections when you were in the real estate business there."
"Kim Min-jae isn't just the heir to Taewoo Group—he's also quite well known on Wall Street. Not because of Taewoo Group's influence, but because of his personal abilities."
Bernard had used his network to gather information on Kim Min-jae.
But even after mobilizing all of his connections, he couldn't uncover much.
He could only find fragmented pieces of information, yet even those were enough to prove that Kim Min-jae was extraordinarily capable.
More importantly, even with his influence, Bernard found that information about Kim Min-jae was being deliberately blocked.
And the ability to control information to such an extent was, in itself, a sign of power.
"Even so, he can't compare to our family, can he?"
"Taewoo Group's revenue is two to three times that of our family's businesses. Even in net profit alone, they earn several times more than we do."
The Arnault family had built a luxury empire.
Their revenue was massive, but their growth was still in its early stages.
"For now, there's a gap in revenue, but we're growing rapidly. In a few years, we'll surpass Taewoo Group."
"Our family's growth is indeed unprecedented, but it still can't compare to Taewoo Group's. They have their hands in nearly every industry."
"Enough with the pretense—just tell us your real reason. Why do you want to make the heir of Taewoo Group Delphine's fiancé?"
Bernard was slightly taken aback.
He prided himself on maintaining a perfect poker face, but in front of the elders who had known him since he was a baby, it was impossible to completely hide his intentions.
"Because I want our family to become the number one family in France. To surpass the Bettencourt family and become the most powerful in the country, we need Taewoo Group."
"If that's the goal, wouldn't a business partnership with Taewoo Group be enough?"
"Isn't there a better way than just collaboration? If we can make Taewoo Group subordinate to our family, we'll create an empire so vast that no one could challenge us."
Bernard Arnault spoke with a bright, innocent smile.
Like a child eyeing a toy they desperately wanted.
"Are you saying you want to acquire and merge Taewoo Group?"
"Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae is the sole heir and successor. If we can make him one of us, then Taewoo Group will effectively belong to our family."
"But what if the opposite happens? What if our family becomes subordinate to Taewoo Group instead?"
"Kim Min-jae may be the only heir to Taewoo Group, but our family is different. Delphine has four younger siblings beneath her. That scenario will never happen."
Bernard wasn't overestimating Kim Min-jae.
In fact, he was underestimating him.
He saw Taewoo Group merely as prey for the Arnault family.
"Do you really think this is possible?"
"Of course, it will take a very long time. Perhaps 20 years, or even longer. The difficult part will be keeping our intentions hidden, but for the sake of the family, what wouldn't we do?"
"So, you're saying you'll pretend to be a kind father-in-law?"
"Not pretend—I truly intend to be one. Especially for the grandson who will one day inherit Taewoo Group on our behalf."
Bernard had already mapped out his entire plan.
If he could absorb Taewoo Group into his family, he wouldn't just make the Arnault family the most powerful in France—he dreamt of making it the most powerful family in all of Europe.
*
A few days later.
An unexpected visitor arrived at the vice chairman's office.
"You really do love surprise visits."
"I wanted to deliver good news in person, so I left as soon as possible."
The surprise visitor was Delphine Arnault.
He hadn't expected her to return to Korea just a few days after leaving for France.
"Hearing that you brought good news makes me even more excited."
"The decision has been made—we're moving forward with the collaboration with Taewoo Electronics. Our family's designers will handle all of the designs, and you can freely use our brand's logo."
"That's even better news than I expected."
"But in return, all components used in the appliances must be top-tier, and they must be handcrafted. You have to promise that."
"They already are. We're manufacturing them exactly as you requested. We'll meet every condition you set."
That much was no issue at all.
The premium line of products wasn't meant for mass production anyway—it was a limited, custom-made collection designed to elevate Taewoo Electronics' brand image.
As long as they could market the fact that they were producing these products in collaboration with the Arnault family, they were willing to sacrifice profitability.
"But there's one thing I'm curious about. May I ask?"
"Of course, ask anything."
"Why doesn't Taewoo Group run a department store business? If you owned one, it would have created many opportunities for collaboration. I'm just saying it's a bit of a shame."
"Taewoo Group used to own department stores, but we sold them because they didn't align with our long-term business strategy."
"That's unfortunate. Our family is planning to launch several luxury brands in Korea, but we're still deciding which department store to partner with. Many stores are eager to work with us, but none of them feel quite right."
I also felt a slight sense of regret.
Korea's luxury market was expanding year by year.
Before my regression, it had grown to the point where Korea ranked among the world's top ten luxury markets.
But reopening a department store business now was out of the question.
People already criticized Taewoo Group for expanding too aggressively. If we moved into the department store industry as well, who knew what kind of backlash we'd face?
"I can share Taewoo Group's market analysis with you. Our planning department has a detailed report on the strengths and weaknesses of all major department stores nationwide."
"Really? I'd appreciate that very much. In return, may I treat you to a meal?"
"You came all the way to Korea. It's only right that I treat you instead. I'll take you to the best restaurant in the country."
I went out to dinner with Delphine.
Along with a fantastic meal, we shared some of the finest wine, spending a pleasant afternoon together.
*
The next morning.
I arrived at work with a slight hangover.
Noticing right away, the head of the planning department handed me a daily report along with a hangover relief drink.
"It looks like you drank quite a bit with the heir of the Arnault family."
"She may look delicate, but her liver is unbelievably strong. I don't even remember how many bottles of wine we went through."
"That must have been tough."
"Judging by the stack of reports, you have a lot to update me on this morning."
"Yes, these are the latest updates regarding India, as per your instructions to closely monitor the situation."
I straightened my posture.
We had invested heavily in India, so I couldn't afford to overlook any details.
"I know the Hur Jun drama has started airing. How is the viewership?"
"We don't have exact ratings yet, but the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Especially because we aired the Queen Heo documentary beforehand—it had a huge impact."
The drama Hur Jun was essentially the start of the Korean Wave (Hallyu).
In Korea, it had achieved nearly 65% viewership ratings. It had also gained popularity in China, Iraq, Turkey, and Japan.
India would be no different.
Particularly since we had aired a documentary on Queen Heo beforehand, helping local audiences connect with Hur Jun as more than just a foreign historical figure.
"I'm glad to hear it's doing well. How long will it be on air?"
"It's a 64-episode series, so it'll run until early next year."
"Perfect. That aligns well with India's general election season."
Securing an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Korea depended heavily on our country's brand image.
That was why the success of Hur Jun in India was so important.
"The planning department has prepared a variety of promotional events, and we've also arranged for the Hur Jun cast to visit India."
"Excellent work. Are there any other reports?"
"I have an update regarding the illegal election funds case."
The issue of illegal election funds was far from over.
Legal battles could last for months—or even years.
"Has something new come up?"
"The prosecution released an interim report, revealing that three more of the country's top ten corporations are involved in the scandal."
"Honestly, it would be faster to find a company in Korea that isn't involved in election funding."
"That's exactly what everyone thinks, which is why the prosecution is also investigating Taewoo Group."
It was inevitable.
If most of the top ten conglomerates were implicated in the scandal, who would believe that the largest one—Taewoo Group—was completely uninvolved?
Naturally, the prosecution was conducting an intense investigation.
"Have they found anything? As the saying goes, 'there's no place you can shake without dust coming out,' but in our case, we really don't have any ties to this."
"Thanks to our efforts to ensure transparency after the foreign exchange crisis, the prosecution hasn't been able to find any evidence against us. Of course, if they dig into our past before the crisis, they could bring something up. But the statute of limitations has expired, so they likely won't go that far."
Hearing the planning director's words, I felt a wave of emotion.
How much effort had we put into securing Taewoo Group's transparency?
We had eliminated slush funds completely and implemented multiple layers of external audits on our financial records.
"So the political scene will be in turmoil until next year because of this scandal."
"It looks like this situation will continue at least until the 17th general election in 2004. The real problem will begin once the election is over and things quiet down."
"There's no way the political world will leave us alone. We need to act before that happens."
I was tired of being at the mercy of politicians.
Ironically, the only way to prevent that was to embed our own people in politics.
Not career politicians tangled in a web of competing interests—
But politicians who would work exclusively for Taewoo Group.