Chapter 156
Chapter 156
Episode 156. The Land Grab Begins (3)
After finishing the call, Oh Han-sung approached Kwak Chi-young and said cautiously.
“I heard a few companies on the liquidation list have been sold.”
At that moment, Kwak Chi-young couldn't help but scowl.
“Sold? What do you mean!?”
“Including the ones just sold, a total of four have been sold.”
“Who bought them? Did you find that out?”
To Kwak Chi-young’s agitated question, Oh Han-sung quickly explained.
“I found out through the CEOs who sold the companies that it was a place called Oculus Fund. They said the sales were handled through a woman named Irene Moretti who came from there.”
“…Oculus Fund? Where is that?”
Woong—
Oh Han-sung’s phone buzzed again, receiving a message.
Inside was a business card sent by a subordinate.
【Oculus Fund】
Strategic Investment Manager
IRENE MORETTI
Kwak Chi-young’s expression, as he took the phone, contorted even more severely than before.
“For now, it seems we need to investigate this fund company, Oculus, separately.”
“What about the sale amounts? Explain everything you found out first.”
Oh Han-sung was equally perplexed. It wasn't just that someone had started selling; the situation suggested the liquidation list had been leaked somewhere.
But bringing that up first would be difficult given Kwak Chi-young’s foul mood.
“The one just sold went for 30 billion won. The others were confirmed to have sold for an average of about 45 billion won each.”
“So, they’ve poured roughly 200 billion won into selling companies? But those places don’t seem to have much merit. Could it be… that Dorothy woman?”
Now, Oh Han-sung had finally reached the topic he wanted. And as Kwak Chi-young said, the only person immediately worth suspecting was Dorothy McDaniel, the China branch manager.
“First, I will investigate Oculus Fund and this Irene Moretti.”
“Don’t miss a single detail. Find out everything. And mark all the other companies on the liquidation list as well.”
“I’ll move immediately.”
“As quickly as possible.”
As Oh Han-sung left, Kwak Chi-young, left alone, felt the relief he had just experienced vanish like the wind.
He glared sharply out the window at the darkening night.
“Whoever you are, I’ll tear you to shreds.”
* * *
Shinwoo received a call from Dorothy at the company.
[What do you mean someone made a move?]
This was because several companies Dorothy had handed over to him in the past few days had been sold to someone. Of course, Shinwoo had relayed this information, leading to the current call.
“As I told you. A company called Oculus Fund has been acquiring a large number of small and medium-sized businesses. Among them were six companies from the list provided by Branch Manager McDaniel.”
[Oculus Fund? Where is that company located?]
“The company is confirmed to be in Monaco. A woman named Irene Moretti from there has come to Korea and is buying up companies. As far as we’ve been able to ascertain, over 300 billion won has been invested so far.”
Perhaps due to the detailed explanation, Dorothy let out a muffled sound from the other end of the line.
[…Surely you didn’t leak the list, did you, CEO?]
The timing was so precise that the arrow of suspicion could only point directly at Shinwoo.
“It’s a deal with no profit or loss for me. And there’s no benefit for me to gain by passing the company list to someone else.”
Dorothy had just probed him out of frustration.
[There could be a profit you’re unaware of. And the timing is too strange to dismiss suspicion.]
“If I’m going to be suspected like this, who would dare do such a thing?”
[I don’t know. They could be thinking in reverse.]
It was a sharp, not-unreasonable point.
However, Shinwoo maintained a calm demeanor.
“Whatever you think, I don’t know what I need to prove. And given the current situation, isn’t the picture Branch Manager McDaniel wanted roughly taking shape?”
From the start, Dorothy wanted Kwak Chi-young’s plan to crumble.
[I wasn’t looking for half-success.]
“Then I’ll take half as well. MH Foods is fine, just resolve the MH Electronics matter for me. You should have taken that even if this incident hadn’t happened, shouldn’t you?”
Given the information he had provided earlier, Dorothy couldn’t easily dismiss this.
[It’s not a satisfactory outcome.]
“Then, let’s consider our deal concluded. The funds you sent this time have been returned, so there’s nothing more to discuss.”
[No, that’s—!]
Click—
Shinwoo hung up without waiting for Dorothy’s reply.
Jang Man-soo, who had been watching from the side, looked slightly worried.
“Is it okay to just hang up like that?”
“We’re not the ones with the fire on our feet, they are.”
Shinwoo held up his phone and sat down in an empty chair nearby.
“I wonder if this isn’t too blatant a betrayal.”
“This isn’t your first time doing a mission like this. The more so, the more shameless you need to be.”
“Honestly… a con artist has appeared.”
Just then, Lillian made a strange sound from the other side.
“Aaaah~ Aaaah~!”
Her voice was thinner and higher-pitched than usual. Moreover, her intonation had changed so much that if you didn’t see her face, you wouldn’t know it was Lillian speaking.
“Geez, my ears are bleeding. You’ve already done the practical tests, why are you still testing?”
Lillian scowled at Jang Man-soo’s grumbling.
“It’s just that the feel of the voice changer is different from before. And it seems to overheat faster than before too.”
“That’s because you’re too hot-blooded.”
“Do you want to die?”
Lillian made a motion as if to swing her fist and opened a large makeup box from under the desk.
At the same time, Jang Man-soo flinched at what he saw inside.
“Whoa, damn! You scared me. I thought it was a human head!”
“Is it that realistic? I am Irene Moretti, my other self.”
Lillian lifted a mannequin head, adorned with a wig and a special effects mask, and introduced it.
“It wasn’t this elaborate before. Didn’t you usually just use a basic mask and add makeup?”
“Back then, I only used it for disguise. And the Korean cosmetics worked well. I’ll have to use it for a while, so I made it a bit more detailed.”
The true identity of Irene Moretti, who had purchased the companies Kwak Chi-young intended to bankrupt, was Lillian.
Of course, the Oculus Fund, to which Irene Moretti belonged, was the same. The company might be based in Monaco, but its true owner was Jang Man-soo.
Shinwoo watched Lillian, who was bickering with Jang Man-soo, working on the disguise mask.
“You said there were no watchers among the companies we sold?”
“We secured six, so they’ll probably start watching now. They might even try to kidnap me.”
“Keep your bodyguards close from now on. Only move directly when it’s truly dangerous.”
“I’ll be careful.”
As they chatted about various things, Shinwoo’s gaze shifted to Jang Man-soo.
“What are you doing now?”
“I sent investment lists for overseas stocks and real estate to Oculus Fund. Including funds to send to DAX. And the funding details needed for the next sale.”
“Thanks to you, Oculus Fund has become enormous.”
“I needed separate funds to manage from the beginning.”
Oculus Fund had started right after Jang Man-soo joined MH Group. Since then, it had generated separate profits from MH Group, and once it grew, it established its headquarters in Monaco.
“It’s all thanks to your good work.”
“The plan was set by the boss~! Without it, what would I have done in this situation?”
For this operation, capital was the most crucial element.
Then, Lillian, who was working on the special effects mask, opened her eyes slightly.
“You guys are amazing, praising each other…”
“You’re the noisy one.”
Jang Man-soo, of course, retorted.
“You’re even noisier?!”
“Just finish your work. Don’t pick a fight for no reason.”
Shinwoo shook his head at the two’s bickering.
Knock knock—
Then, the door was knocked, and Jang Jin-ho cautiously poked his head in.
“CEO. We have a visitor.”
“A visitor?”
By then, Lillian had closed the makeup box.
In that situation, Jang Jin-ho replied without entering, “It’s Eom Ayoung, CEO of Breath Film.”
“CEO Eom?”
The last time they met at the filming of the movie ‘Extreme Detective’ was the first and only time.
Shinwoo was bewildered by her sudden visit.
“What should I do?”
“Ah, I’ll step out. Let me know if there’s any trouble.”
“Ok.”
“Take care~!”
Shinwoo received their farewells and went out into the hallway.
Standing there was Eom Ayoung, wearing a sky-blue two-piece skirt suit and long, wavy brown hair that reached her chest.
As soon as Eom Ayoung saw Shinwoo, she smiled brightly.
“It’s been a while, CEO Baek. How have you been?”
“Yes? Ah, I’m always the same. Please, come inside. Do you have a preferred drink?”
“Coffee is fine for me.”
Jang Jin-ho, who was behind her, stepped back upon hearing this.
Shinwoo and Eom Ayoung sat facing each other on the sofa inside the CEO’s office.
“What brings you here today? I heard the movie filming is almost in its final stages.”
“Thanks to you, it’s in the wrap-up phase. And I heard you’ve become the CEO of MH Distribution, so I came to congratulate you.”
“Ah…”
For such a simple reason, Shinwoo found himself at a loss for words.
“When a company of this scale is established, they usually invite people for launch ceremonies or founding events, but it seems you don’t hold such events, CEO Baek.”
MH Distribution was acquired for a staggering 1 trillion won from Baesung Distribution.
As Eom Ayoung said, for something of that magnitude, there should have been a lot of fanfare for future investments and economic connections.
However, Shinwoo and his colleagues hadn’t considered such things at all.
“I was a bit busy with work and didn’t get around to thinking about it.”
“It seems so. An accounting audit by the prosecution… In that situation, it’s hard for anyone to have the leisure.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
During the conversation, Jang Jin-ho entered and placed coffee and canned drinks down.
When a canned drink was placed in front of Shinwoo, Eom Ayoung looked at it curiously.
“You seem to like cold things. The weather is still quite chilly, though.”
“I just like canned drinks.”
There was a habitual reason, but he didn’t mention it as it was unnecessary.
“I’ve felt it before, but you have many peculiar traits.”
“…What do you mean?”
“My family is also an owner family, so I see a lot around me. Because of that, I’ve often witnessed the unique arrogance displayed by second and third-generation chaebols.”
Before being the CEO of Breath Film, Eom Ayoung was the youngest daughter of the QA Group chairman. As a result, when she occasionally mingled with peers from families she had known since childhood, there were many things that made her frown.
“Is that a compliment?”
“Of course. CEO Baek, you have none of that. You actually give off a feeling of being older than me.”
Eom Ayoung, who had turned 28 this year, was three years younger than Shinwoo.
“If you feel like my insides are old… this last remark doesn’t seem like a compliment.”
“Haha! It’s really not. It means you’re mature for your age.”
As such conversations unfolded, Shinwoo felt a gaze upon him from somewhere.
The CEO’s office was separated from the colleagues’ offices by a glass wall, about halfway. And now, he could see the eyes of Jang Man-soo, Lillian, and Wei, who had joined at some unknown time, peeking over the semi-transparent boundary.
‘Why are those guys secretly watching this?’
Woong—
Just then, a message from Jang Man-soo arrived on Shinwoo’s phone.
【Fighting!】