Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Translation: Godtl
I thought it would take a bit more time.
They say when greed blinds a person, their reason becomes paralyzed.
For Oh Jae-hyun, his desire to control the group had overtaken his rationality.
"Do you know why I've come to see you again, President?"
"Yes. You must have returned because you're willing to purchase the shares for 900 billion won, correct?"
"Hah— Are you really going to sell them for 900 billion?"
"As I mentioned before, I have no intention of lowering the price by even a single won."
What a sly old fox.
This man knew.
He knew Oh Jae-hyun was currently backed into a corner.
"I'll buy them. But I don't have the means to pay 900 billion all at once."
"I hear you've got quite a pack of wolves circling around you, President."
"Even the fund managers I work with balked at the 900 billion figure and immediately tried to cut their losses."
It truly was an absurd price.
So outrageous that no one could blame them for calling it highway robbery.
But that's how prices work.
If someone is willing to pay because they need it, then that becomes the fair price.
"But if I can't acquire those shares... You heard yesterday, didn't you? I'll rot away in the plastic factory forever. Honestly, that might be a mercy compared to what's coming. Do you really think my brother will leave me alone after Father passes?"
"How dreadful to imagine."
The man pretended to sympathize.
"No 900 billion. But I absolutely must buy them. That leaves only one option."
"...You can't possibly be asking us to lend you the money?"
"Yes. Lend it to me."
I'd somewhat anticipated this.
Oh Jae-hyun's demeanor was utterly unshakable.
He knew full well that if they didn't sell to him, they'd never get that price from anyone else.
"One moment. May I make a quick phone call? I believe some consultation is in order."
"Isn't President Hwang the ultimate decision-maker here? Who exactly would you consult?"
"Heh. Officially, yes. But in reality, I've learned that being president doesn't always mean having the final say on everything."
A meaningful statement indeed.
Did that mean there was someone else who had orchestrated all of this from the shadows?
'Right. Something felt off. I knew it.'
Someone had anticipated the impending management battle at LK Group, secured shares at 300 billion, and was now selling them at triple the price—a true puppet master pulling the strings.
It never made sense that the president of a mid-sized securities firm could engineer such a scheme.
'Just who the hell is it?'
I didn't know who, but I wanted to see the face of this brilliant bastard.
＊＊＊
Someone must be talking about me.
My ears are burning.
[Hey. What do we do about this? Now that bastard's demanding we hand over 900 billion?]
The president's tone carried more amusement than urgency.
"He's asking us for a loan?"
[Yeah. Since he can't come up with 900 billion, he's essentially asking us for a loan now.]
"Is that even possible?"
[It's possible. It's not like we're actually going to scrape together 900 billion in cash for him.]
They wouldn't actually hand over 900 billion in cash—they'd lend shares equivalent to that value.
"How do you usually handle these loans?"
[What's so complicated about a loan? You take collateral and lend money. But even I've never dealt with 900 billion before... Honestly, how many securities firms out there would lend that much? KS wouldn't lend 900 billion in cash either. But in this situation, we'd lend our shares against collateral at a higher interest rate. With a fixed repayment date, of course.]
Still, for a conglomerate like LK Group, surely they could scrape together 900 billion somehow.
Since I'd set the price at triple based purely on intuition, I'd naturally assumed they'd pay up.
But collateral.
Collateral.
What could we possibly take as collateral for lending our shares?
[They've already poured a fortune into constructing LK Tower, haven't they? With the group's funds drying up, Oh Jae-hyun seized this opportunity to stage his coup.]
That's when it happened.
A sudden spark seemed to jump from the phone against my ear, startling me so badly I jerked my head away.
[Jin-ho? What's wrong?]
That wasn't just static.
Whatever it was, the sensation lingered so intensely I could still feel it in my eardrums.
"...Chairman. What kind of collateral could we possibly offer?"
[Well, it could be real estate, a certain stake, or even a subsidiary. 900 billion is quite a substantial sum after all.]
"What about LK Tower?"
[Wait. What? LK Tower?!]
At that moment, I felt another spark-like sensation between my eardrum and the phone.
Ah. So this is it.
My intuition is currently craving LK Tower as collateral.
[Do you have any idea how much money the group has poured into LK Tower?]
"5 trillion won, wasn't it? Probably."
[Exactly. And while the investment alone was 5 trillion, its current value easily exceeds 6 to 7 trillion. And you want to put it up as collateral for just 900 billion?! Do you really think they'd agree to such an absurd deal?]
"Wouldn't it work if the other party is desperate?"
[...]
Big Brother seemed momentarily speechless, as if at a loss for words.
[Our Jin-ho, you're truly a frightening person.]
＊＊＊
"..."
Something feels off.
It's been like this for several days now.
Ever since the meeting ended with that second son of mine and that thug-like securities firm chairman.
Chairman Oh had one lingering concern.
"That second son wouldn't suddenly lose his mind and recklessly try to buy up those shares, would he?"
He was furious with his second son too.
In the heat of what felt like a long-awaited, blood-boiling battle, when he finally felt certain of victory, he might have let some emotional remarks slip.
Though he'd threatened to let the second son rot forever in the plastic factory, in truth, he planned to have the eldest put in a good word after some punishment and eventually reinstate him.
After all, the boy had decent achievements under his belt.
Especially that European hotel industry project he was handling—that needed his touch to wrap up properly.
"He can want to buy them all he wants, but he can't."
"Why? Aren't there private equity funds clinging to that second son?"
"Those fund sharks are the first to crunch numbers meticulously. No matter how badly they want to strip the company bare, 900 billion would feel like getting scammed. They wouldn't be confident of making that much profit either."
Private equity funds aren't in the business of running companies.
Outwardly, they might appear to buy companies for restructuring, but in truth, they're just looking to extract everything of value before discarding the hollow shell.
Of course, not all private equity funds operate that way, but the majority do.
Even by their standards, 900 billion was way over the line.
"Chief Yang."
"Yes, Chairman."
"Once this matter is settled, we'll need to restructure our governance."
"I was thinking the same thing."
The convoluted governance structure was ultimately about money.
Starting from Japan, as he built the company by taking investments here and there, his control began weakening, leaving him no choice but to adopt circular shareholding to compensate.
The problem was that compared to other companies, their circular shareholding structure was twice as complex, and above all, this incident made him realize that even supposedly friendly stakeholders could betray him at any moment.
"The eldest may be lacking, but all he needs to do is hold the position. The people under him will handle the actual work. But we can't have something like this happening again after I'm gone."
Throughout world history, kings have always passed the throne to their firstborn.
Because the firstborn was the most capable?
No. Whether capable or not, passing the throne to the eldest reduced future infighting among siblings over succession.
The LK Group was, is, and always will be ruled by the Oh family dynasty.
To ensure that, the governance structure needed an overhaul.
"And get in touch with that Gwangun Securities chairman."
"Huh? Why him...?"
"That 900 billion. I'm going to buy it."
"Chairman! You're going to buy that?!"
"Yes. To us, it may seem impossible for the second son to pull it off, but didn't we just get blindsided by being too complacent? Before that lunatic does something insane, I need to take the hit, no matter the cost."
"But with the group's current funds, it's impossible to..."
"Find every possible source. Borrow from the funds aligned with us, tap our friendly factions. And if needed, dig into the slush funds we've planted here and there. Whatever it takes to secure absolute control..."
Chairman Oh paused mid-sentence.
Suddenly, the whole world seemed to spin in a way that felt deeply unsettling.
"Chairman?"
"Chief Yang. I—I feel..."
Then, like a puppet with its strings cut, Chairman Oh collapsed limply.
"Ch-Chairman!!"
＊＊＊
Oh Jae-hyun had stormed out earlier in anger when they mentioned using LK Tower as collateral for the share loan.
It was a project into which LK Group had poured a staggering 50 trillion won—a matter of life and death for the company.
And they dared to demand it as collateral for mere 90 billion won in shares!
But after cooling his head and regaining composure, the deal didn't seem so bad after all.
Sure, those Gwangun Securities bastards were acting high and mighty now.
But surely even they couldn't possibly think of swallowing LK Tower whole.
It was purely symbolic collateral.
As long as repayments were made on time, as long as interest was paid properly, as long as no major issues arose in the company—it would remain just that: a formality.
"Still, I never imagined they'd dare propose using LK Tower as collateral. Even banks haven't taken LK Tower as collateral. And from a mid-tier firm like Gwangun? Isn't that too greedy?"
"Yes. I too naturally assumed banks would have first claim on LK Tower as collateral, but apparently not."
"Well, bank loans are one thing, but we've invested far more capital ourselves. There was never any need to pledge it as collateral."
"True enough. That is, if President Oh Jae-hyun hadn't drawn his sword against the Chairman."
Are they mocking me now?
Looking down on them for being mid-tier?
Though he had plenty to say, Oh Jae-hyun bit his lip hard.
It wouldn't do to provoke them now and risk them suddenly backing out of the deal.
"It's fortunate you're President of LK Hotel. Otherwise, you might not have gotten any collateral at all. And if you'd tried to pledge something like LK Tower, the process would have been far more complicated."
"What complications could there be? It's just symbolic collateral anyway. Once I secure management control and stabilize the company—though it may take some time—I'll repay it quickly."
"Indeed. The interest rate is quite substantial, so you'll want to repay it promptly. Haha."
Oh Jae-hyun quickly finished signing.
He wanted this over with—he never wanted to see this insufferable man's face again.
"This concludes the contract signing, correct?"
"Yes. As stipulated in the contract, these 5% shares now belong to President Oh Jae-hyun. Ah—I suppose I should start calling you Chairman now."
Even so, the title "Chairman" did lift his mood somewhat.
"Since you clearly have no desire to celebrate this contract with a banquet, I'll take my leave now. Congratulations, Chairman. I look forward to our future cooperation."
Oh Jae-hyun wanted to smack Hwang Dae-un's smug head as the man smiled and walked away, but he restrained himself.
Because what he'd so desperately wanted—control of LK Group—was now in his grasp.
"Director. Let's begin immediately. We should convene the board right away to quickly sort out the transition."
"Yes, President. I mean—Chairman!"
The blade was ready.
Now was the time to wield it.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
But before he could even draw the sword from his waist and begin his dance of blades, the situation had already concluded.
And in the most absurdly anticlimactic way possible.
"Father's in a coma?!"
"We only just learned ourselves. He collapsed suddenly and still hasn't regained consciousness."
Could the shock of the management battle have caused his collapse?
No. He'd already been bedridden from old age.
It might seem petty, but truthfully, he'd taken advantage of his father's illness to stage this coup.
Yet just days ago, hadn't he been full of vigor, throwing his weight around?
And now this sudden collapse!
'Wait. If this is the case...'
In reality, this management battle wasn't between the first and second sons—it was between father and second son. And now the father had fallen.
The opposing king had been toppled.
The factions who'd been weighing their options, debating which side to support, would now clearly choose Oh Jae-hyun over Chairman Oh.
Which meant—
'We never needed these 5% shares at all?!'
The true winner of this battle wasn't Oh Jae-hyun.
It was Gwangun Securities, who'd just made 90 billion won without lifting a finger.
No. The true mastermind pulling all the strings behind the scenes was none other than Gwangun Securities.
＊＊＊
[With LK Group Chairman Oh Dong-young still unconscious, the management dispute has effectively ended in victory for LK Hotel President Oh Jae-hyun. Shareholders gathered under the consensus that the group must no longer remain unstable, appointing President Oh Jae-hyun as the new chairman...]
The tumultuous LK Group management battle that shook the nation had finally concluded.
A game that ended abruptly when Chairman Oh Dong-young collapsed from illness.
Perhaps sensing that things would never return to normal even if the chairman recovered, all shareholders who had been on his side defected to President Oh Jae-hyun.
"If we'd been just a little later, we really would've been screwed. The timing was absolutely perfect."
As hyungnim said, the timing was pure artistry.
Had our contract been even slightly delayed, Oh Jae-hyun wouldn't have needed to borrow that 900 billion won worth of shares from us.
The factions supporting the chairman would have naturally aligned with him instead.
"Now that it's all over, I'll tell you this. When you insisted on putting up LK Tower as collateral, I thought the deal was as good as dead. That bastard Oh Jae-hyun even stormed out cursing at the time."
"What? He cursed at you, hyungnim?!"
"Yeah. Must've pissed himself off too with his own words. That mid-level president punk had the audacity to arrogantly demand we accept LK Tower as collateral."
"That son of a bitch dared to—!"
"Enough. The man just got fleeced for 900 billion by us—let him vent a little."
I never imagined hyungnim would actually endure that bastard's curses.
"I'm sorry, hyungnim. Because of me... I should've been the one to take that abuse."
"Nonsense. Isn't this exactly what a president should handle? Besides, for 90 billion, who cares about insults? Even if they stole a few ears of corn, you'd have to laugh it off. Keukeu. That bastard must feel like we've gutted him completely."
Even in games, hyungnim always stepped forward as guild leader in situations like this.
The kind of person who knows exactly when to shoulder responsibility.
That's why he's always been someone I could rely on.
"I was shocked too at first. But thinking it over, it wasn't such a bad deal for him either. Even with LK Tower as collateral, as long as he repays the 900 billion to us, there's no issue. Just put out the immediate fire first, then scrape together the money to pay it back—simple."
The only problem was Chairman Oh collapsing right after the contract.
President Oh Jae-hyun must be drowning in regret over making that deal with us.
"But why LK Tower specifically? Honestly, any of their subsidiaries would've worked as collateral. It's not like they couldn't repay."
"Well... it just suddenly came to mind. Remember I got allocated space in LK Tower too?"
I was honestly puzzled myself.
Why specifically LK Tower?
There were plenty of other options—why did my instincts zero in on LK Tower?
"Probably impossible, but if their internal operations get shaken up again and cash flow dries up, we might just swallow the whole thing."
"That seems unlikely though."
"Just a fantasy. Even if it did fall into our hands, how would we operate it? It's the most expensive building in the country with a hotel attached."
Securities firms and funds are the same.
We only buy and sell.
We don't manage.
"Besides, now that Oh Jae-hyun's chairman, he needs to start generating revenue immediately—he's already aggressively pursuing new projects. The man's clearly capable. Seems he's already planted flags all over overseas markets."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Must've been a long-planned project. Progress stalled during the management battle, but he's pushing forward now. Particularly wants to establish a global hotel brand—targeting Europe heavily. He's poured significant funds into France specifically."
"Pfft—!"
I spontaneously spat out the drink I'd been sipping.
Hyungnim startled, immediately patting my back.
"Hey! Jin-ho! What's wrong? You okay? Are you hurt somewhere?"
"A-ah, no. I'm fine. Just went down the wrong pipe suddenly. Sorry."
"I'm not worried about the drink. You sure you're really alright?"
"Really, I'm fine."
I awkwardly wiped my mouth.
'But what was that just now?'
That inexplicable surge of disgust rising from my dantian the moment I heard "France"—what was that about?