Chapter 157
Chapter 157
Episode 157. A Visit for Misidentification
Kwak Chi-young, the Korean branch manager of TSF, was traveling by car.
Inside, he reviewed information about Oculus Fund and Irene Moretti, which Oh Han-sung had investigated, on his tablet.
“The headquarters is in Monaco, and it’s only been 10 months since it was established?”
“The business was registered three years ago, and it was practically established in Monaco 10 months ago. Before that, only minor sales were generated.”
Kwak Chi-young merely nodded at the additional explanation.
“Hmm… Irene Moretti entered the country about three weeks ago. She always travels with bodyguards… Her nationality is Slovenian. She’s listed as being from the town of Velenje, but is there no other personal information?”
“Nothing came up in the system. The rest is difficult to investigate without going there in person.”
The data had many suspicious points.
With that, Kwak Chi-young sighed and checked other details.
“Oculus Fund’s growth rate is insane. Looking at things like this…”
A familiar situation suddenly came to mind, and he continued speaking.
“…It’s a similar growth trajectory to MH Future Security. The timing is also similar.”
This was because the timing was as precise as the current liquidation list of companies.
However, it was only a faint suspicion, and there were too many leaps to make it a certainty.
“The CEO of Oculus Fund is a person named Patrick Cunningham. However, it’s known that the real boss behind him is Alvin Bates.”
“Alvin Bates? Who is that?”
“Nothing has come up besides the name. There’s no information on age, gender, or anyone who has actually seen them. Of course, it’s just a rumor, but it’s hard to dismiss its credibility since it spread after Oculus Fund began operating properly.”
Kwak Chi-young continued to look at the tablet, a question forming in his mind.
“Why haven’t I heard any rumors about such a person and company until now?”
“Until recently, it seems they operated through asset management, gaining word-of-mouth among large corporations. Then, they appeared in Monaco and became famous by expanding into official corporate investments and real estate.”
Kwak Chi-young’s doubts deepened, and he checked the estimated scale of funds managed by Oculus Fund.
“A company that’s only 10 months old has $5 billion in operating assets?”
“That’s also an estimate. There were also rumors that Alvin Bates personally manages over $2 billion.”
Combined, this meant Oculus Fund was managing approximately 10 trillion Korean won.
“Why on earth would a company like this be buying up small and medium-sized businesses in Korea? And even paying above market value for them.”
Kwak Chi-young’s plan was to deliberately bankrupt the companies on the liquidation list and extract their core assets.
The banks handling corporate loan assessments had already been sufficiently alerted, and domestic finance companies had been coordinated with.
All they had to do was wait for the companies, whose bond and commercial paper maturities were approaching, to collapse.
But the sudden appearance of Oculus Fund had completely ruined that plan.
“We’ll be arriving shortly.”
“I suppose I can ask the rest of my questions when I meet them directly.”
The car they were in entered the parking lot of the Seoul Frais Residence Hotel.
Getting out, Kwak Chi-young and Oh Han-sung bypassed the lobby and took the elevator upstairs.
A short while later, they arrived at the floor with the residence VIP rooms.
Na Seon-hwi, who had arrived earlier, was waiting in front of the elevator.
“Irene Moretti has not come out.”
Kwak Chi-young nodded at the report and entered the hallway.
This was because they had come to find Irene of Oculus Fund.
As they approached the room at the very end of the hallway, the bodyguards guarding the door stood in their way.
“What is this for?”
To the question asked in English, Kwak Chi-young replied with a benevolent smile.
“I’ve come to meet Irene Moretti.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No. However, it is an important business matter, so I must meet her. Please inform her, at least.”
Though his tone was calm, the atmosphere around them grew heavy.
Perhaps because of this, the bodyguard spoke into his wrist-mounted radio. Simultaneously, four other bodyguards emerged from a door behind Kwak Chi-young’s own security detail.
“I’m sorry, but Miss Irene does not meet anyone without an appointment.”
The 666 Unit and Irene’s bodyguards glared at each other, as if about to clash.
Then, the bodyguard who had been speaking made a subtle expression, as if receiving an unspoken instruction.
“…Who are you, and where are you from?”
“I am Kwak Chi-young, the Korean branch manager of TSF Investment.”
The bodyguard relayed this via radio.
“She says you may come in. However, it will be a one-on-one meeting only.”
At that response, Kwak Chi-young met Oh Han-sung’s eyes.
“I’ll go alone. You two wait here and don’t cause any trouble.”
“…Understood.”
The door then opened, and Kwak Chi-young stepped into the VIP room.
However, even after entering the living room, he saw no one and looked around.
Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Irene, who seemed to have just finished showering, emerged in a bathrobe, drying her long brown hair with a towel.
“Hello. I was just taking a shower.”
Hearing her speak in English, Kwak Chi-young was startled and quickly averted his gaze.
“My apologies for the intrusion.”
“It’s alright. Please sit and wait for a moment. I’ll be out after I roughly dry my hair.”
“Cough—! Please do.”
The sound of a hairdryer came from the room Irene had entered.
After some time had passed, Irene emerged in her bathrobe and sat opposite Kwak Chi-young, crossing her legs.
“You said you are the Korean branch manager of TSF Investment?”
“My name is Kwak Chi-young.”
“I am Irene Moretti. You can call me Irene comfortably.”
“…Very well.”
Irene brushed her slightly damp hair upwards.
“TSF is a globally renowned investment firm. What brings the esteemed Korean branch manager of such a place here?”
As they got straight to the point, Kwak Chi-young felt a slight sense of relief and said,
“You’re from a place called Oculus Fund, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. I came to Korea to work as a strategic investment manager there.”
“So, the reason you’ve been acquiring companies recently is to establish a business base here in Korea?”
Irene smiled at his question.
“That’s right. We acquired them because we judged them to have investment value.”
“…In what way?”
Currently, eight of the companies acquired by Oculus Fund were on the liquidation list. Of course, that wasn’t all.
They were in the process of acquiring other companies as well. Given Oculus Fund’s actions, it was difficult to see their moves as intentionally targeting TSF’s Korean branch.
“I don’t think I need to brief you on that. More importantly, why are you, Branch Manager Kwak Chi-young, interested in what we’re doing?”
On the surface, there was no connection between the businesses Oculus Fund acquired and TSF’s Korean branch.
Naturally, it was difficult to comprehend why he was stepping forward like this.
“I’ve heard that Oculus Fund has considerable influence in Europe. And that you’ve been expanding your reach recently. Did you not know who the real owners of specific shares, bonds, and commercial papers were for the companies you acquired?”
Irene shrugged.
“I just follow the orders from above. But if we’ve acquired them, isn’t that also beneficial to you, Branch Manager Kwak Chi-young? If you hold the shares, you’ll gain profits, and the bonds and commercial papers will be settled without issue. It’s a win-win situation.”
With her explanation, Irene offered a more pronounced smile than before.
Kwak Chi-young’s brow twitched significantly, but he did not raise his voice.
“I believe Oculus Fund is aware that there are boundaries in business.”
“Don’t you think you need to cross those boundaries to make a profit? We judged Europe to be too small for Oculus Fund to establish a foothold.”
For a moment, Kwak Chi-young’s brow twitched again.
It was no different than being openly declared that they would encroach on his territory.
“Oculus Fund has a more aggressive disposition than I thought.”
“If you were to classify it as offense or defense, it’s closer to offense. So, is that all you have to say?”
“I’ll offer one piece of advice. No matter how important profit is, there must be limits.”
Irene’s smile did not fade.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“I don’t think there’s anything more to say. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Travel safely. Given my attire, I can’t see you out.”
With that reply, Kwak Chi-young clenched his fists and walked out.
The atmosphere between Irene’s bodyguards and the 666 Unit members standing in the hallway remained tense.
As Kwak Chi-young emerged, Oh Han-sung and his subordinates had no choice but to follow him.
“……”
Oh Han-sung, walking beside him, sensed Kwak Chi-young’s unusual demeanor and remained silent.
When they got into the elevator, Kwak Chi-young slowly began to speak.
“From now on, I want you to track Irene’s every move.”
“Understood.”
“And if you see an opportune moment, deal with her.”
At Kwak Chi-young’s instruction, Oh Han-sung spoke with a hint of concern.
“I recognized some of her bodyguards earlier.”
“…Who are they?”
“There are two. One is a former member of the Russian Spetsnaz, and the other worked for the BND. I encountered them when they were part of a mercenary unit.”
“Spetsnaz and BND? Can you find out where they belong now? We’ll proceed with dealing with Irene after confirming that.”
Based on his current mood, he wanted to kill Irene on the spot.
However, Kwak Chi-young also had his position to consider, so he intended to gauge the situation.
“I’ll find out as quickly as possible.”
“Sigh! There are too many complications. At the current rate, what kind of losses are we looking at?”
“The funds returning from the existing liquidation list’s bonds and commercial papers are approximately 80 billion. If we liquidate the shares immediately, we could secure an additional 30 billion. That leaves us with a shortfall of 370 billion.”
“…This is troublesome. To think they would target those specific companies.”
By then, the elevator had arrived at the underground parking lot.
“What about the remaining companies? Their maturity dates haven’t passed yet, so if Oculus Fund makes a move first, the situation will worsen.”
“We can’t just buy them ourselves, can we?”
From the beginning, the plan was to acquire the patents and stakes in other companies held by those businesses. Approaching them through legitimate means now would significantly reduce the expected profits.
“However, even a partial recovery might not be a bad option.”
Kwak Chi-young ignored Oh Han-sung’s counsel, fell into thought for a moment, and then said,
“The remaining deficit is 370 billion… Schedule a meeting with Chairman Yoo of S1 Finance.”
“Chairman Yoo Ji-young? But that side…”
Following the Baeseong Corporation incident, Yoo Ji-young had suffered significant losses when Bae Min-sook, who was aiming for the next chairmanship, collapsed.
Of course, TSF’s Korean branch was at the center of it all. Kwak Chi-young, the very person who caused those losses, was clearly not someone Yoo Ji-young would look upon favorably.
“We have no other immediate options. Once the plan is complete, the Korean branch will also be subject to liquidation, so we just need to hold on until then.”
“…Understood. I’ll contact them right away.”