Chapter 179
Chapter 179
Episode 179. A Regrettable Relationship (2)
Shinwoo entered MH Electronics' executive office.
Im Hee-yeon, who had been working inside, finished her documents and stood up.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“I had business at the headquarters, so I stopped by.”
“Oh? Would you like something to drink?”
“No, thank you.”
With that, he went to the sofa and sat down.
“What is it you’ve come for?”
“The reason I’m visiting today is regarding the technology patents for the new product scheduled for release as early as the first half of next year.”
Shinwoo presented the tablet he had been holding since entering the office.
On it were brief explanations of future technology patents, including the TGE8974 Battery developed by Jang Man-soo.
“This information… it’s the same material you sent a while ago. I was actually planning to schedule a separate meeting with Manager Jang Man-soo of MH Future Security.”
Im Hee-yeon understood the value of the technology patents developed there better than anyone. While it was an urgent matter, she knew they couldn’t exploit their relationship as part of the same family, so a fair offer was necessary.
“We’ve conducted unofficial initial tests internally, and once MH Electronics’ research institute completes the official commercialization tests, it should be ready.”
“…That’s incredibly fast.”
“It’s for the first half of next year’s product, so we need to prepare in advance.”
In response, Im Hee-yeon went to her desk, gathered some documents, and handed them over.
“This is the contract for the use of the technology patents. The usage fee is 5% of the net profit from the product.”
“That’s quite a generous offer.”
While 5% might not seem like much, assuming a net profit of 100 billion won, it would amount to 5 billion won. Of course, MH Electronics’ new product sales were unlikely to stop at that figure, meaning an enormous royalty fee would be generated.
“The commercialization, applicability, and potential for development of the technology are all extremely high. If you wish to continue using it, you’ll need to bear some costs to maintain the partnership agreement.”
Shinwoo felt a slight admiration watching Im Hee-yeon make such a bold decision.
“…It’s no wonder you rose to become the Head of Strategic Planning.”
“The Chairman doesn’t give significant positions to incompetent people.”
“That’s true.”
“And this is an investment proposal for MH Future Security and a delivery-exclusive contract linked with MH Distribution.”
As she explained, Im Hee-yeon handed over other documents as well.
Shinwoo accepted them, reviewed them one by one, and nodded.
“I understand the matter concerning MH Distribution, but does MH Electronics want investment from MH Future Security due to the losses incurred from the recent stock price defense?”
Following the technology appropriation incident with LAOJIA, MH Electronics’ stock price had no choice but to decline for a considerable period.
The estimated loss at the time was approximately 42 trillion won.
Of course, MH Electronics hadn’t stood idly by. They had purchased shares themselves to prevent the stock price from falling further and to secure their stake, which limited the damage.
As a result, MH Electronics had to bear significant losses in liquid assets, causing disruptions to its operations.
“That’s right. Although it was an order given belatedly by President Myung In-chul, not me. Frankly, it was a strategy that only incurred losses rather than fulfilling its defensive role.”
Shinwoo could guess Myung In-chul’s intentions behind such actions.
By having MH Electronics acquire a large volume of shares under such circumstances, if the largest shareholder were to change in the future, he could secure management rights and swallow the entire company.
Of course, Kwak Chi-young of TSF would be behind it.
“I see.”
“In any case, for that reason, MH Electronics had no choice but to request help from MH Future Security. Is it possible?”
“We’ll use MH Electronics’ shares as collateral. And there’s an additional condition, which I will discuss directly with the Chairman.”
Im Hee-yeon sensed a significant atmosphere from Shinwoo’s expression.
“Since it concerns MH Electronics, I think I should be aware… Can you tell me what the condition is?”
“It’s not something that has been definitively decided yet, so it’s difficult to say.”
An awkward atmosphere lingered.
Then, Shinwoo put the reviewed contracts into an envelope.
“We will deliver the contracts for review and execution. Are there any other matters?”
“No, that’s all for now.”
“Then……”
Shinwoo was about to get up when he heard Im Hee-yeon’s voice.
“Is that matter progressing well?”
She was asking about 666 Unit and TSF. Im Hee-yeon had been worried sick after hearing about their existence from Shinwoo in China.
“It’s not bad.”
Shinwoo answered cautiously, casting his gaze around.
Seeing that, Im Hee-yeon understood why he was acting that way.
“The Chairman advised me to conduct periodic checks. I’m doing surprise checks frequently, including here and in the conference room.”
She was referring to the listening devices and cameras. Myung Joong-hwan had told Shinwoo about what he had found and strongly cautioned him.
“…You did well.”
“So, can you tell me how it’s progressing?”
“It’s better if you don’t know. Therefore, please don’t try to find out by force just because I’m not telling you.”
Currently, Kwak Chi-young of TSF was cornered to a considerable extent. If attention were diverted elsewhere, it would be difficult to predict subsequent developments.
“I’m not trying to find out. But you can tell me to some extent, can’t you?”
Her worry had reached its limit.
Shinwoo, who had also begun to think that might be the case, cautiously opened his mouth.
“There is someone within MH Group who has joined hands with Branch Manager Kwak Chi-young of TSF.”
“What…?”
In fact, Im Hee-yeon hadn’t entirely ruled out that possibility. No matter how formidable TSF Investment was, it would be difficult to steer the situation in their favor without an internal collaborator.
“Myung In-chul, that person, has joined hands with Branch Manager Kwak Chi-young and orchestrated these events. Including the incident with the Chairman last time.”
“…Is that true? But why would Myung In-chul?”
Myung In-chul, the eldest son of Chairman Myung Joong-hwan, was someone who would inherit MH Group just by waiting.
She couldn’t understand why such a person would go so far as to join hands with Kwak Chi-young of TSF and stir up trouble.
“It wasn’t entirely unexpected, was it? That incident at the cafe also happened.”
“That was……”
The situation where Im Hee-yeon, who met Shinwoo for the first time in 23 years, had nearly died. It happened to coincide with the timing of MH Electronics’ on-site inspection.
Given that traces of a 666 Unit operative were found in such circumstances, it was natural to be suspicious.
“Of course, that was the only point of contact at the time. Myung In-chul had no further contact with Kwak Chi-young after that.”
“…That’s right. There were a few suspicious activities, but I couldn’t be sure because I was sidelined.”
Shinwoo let out a long sigh.
“Hoo—! Anyway, that’s the situation. I’ve also informed the Chairman about the matters Myung In-chul orchestrated.”
“So that’s why the personnel appointments were made that way this time?”
“We can’t completely rule that out.”
From Myung Joong-hwan’s perspective, there was no evidence to punish Myung In-chul. At the same time, as a family member, he couldn’t do nothing about the betrayal, so he took his own measures.
“Alright, I understand for now. Thank you for telling me even that much.”
“By stepping forward for MH Electronics, it’s inevitable that we will end up checking Myung In-chul along with MH Construction. If that happens, they won’t stand idly by either.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Upon hearing her reply, Shinwoo gathered his tablet and contracts.
“I’ll be going now……”
Vrooom— Vrooom—
As he was about to finish, his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a WAVE CHAT message from Jang Man-soo, who was at the company.
【Mansu (MANDU): Anomalous record detected regarding the West Sea. Assemble within 30 minutes.】
This was the result of investigating suspicious activity in the West Sea area, found on Ahn Deok-chil’s smartphone.
“…I need to go quickly.”
“What happened?”
“I can’t explain it.”
Shinwoo said so and immediately went outside.
Among the people waiting outside the door, Rick approached Shinwoo and spoke in Code.
“Mkuu, uliangalia ujumbe? (Captain, did you see the message?)”
“I saw it, that’s why I came out quickly.”
They immediately boarded the elevator and went down.
.
.
.
All the colleagues were gathered in the Operations Room Zero office of MH Future Security.
Once Shinwoo and Rick arrived and sat down, Jang Man-soo began his explanation.
“While checking the patrol records in the West Sea, I found something strange. An uninhabited island called Dongryeolbigyeokdo, at coordinates captured by Ahn Deok-chil’s smartphone. On the dates someone visited that island, the patrol area excluded it.”
“Are there similar cases on other dates?”
To Shinwoo’s question as he listened, Jang Man-soo continued.
“Of course. There were similar records even before Ahn Deok-chil reappeared.”
“What about the personnel responsible for setting the patrol areas?”
“We investigated that, naturally. Upon investigating the background of the head of the Taean Maritime Police Station, who was ultimately in charge, his spending habits became extravagant compared to his income.”
Jang Man-soo projected an image onto a screen on one side of the office.
Lillian, watching it with them, understood and said,
“His income hasn’t increased, yet he purchased an expensive apartment in Seoul. If there are no records, it means he paid in cash or has other accounts.”
“They’re not fools, so if it’s illegal funds, they’d use nominee accounts. That’s why we traced it back through the purchase location, and it was correct.”
They had traced back the payment account of the person in whose name the apartment was purchased.
As the screen changed, account details scrolled by.
Wei let out a sigh at the content.
“Wow, 50 million won every month? Is that a monthly subscription? How many Netflix accounts could that pay for?”
At that moment, Rick replied.
“If paying for Premium, 2,941,176 people.”
When he stated the figure down to the decimal, everyone turned their gaze from Jang Man-soo to Rick.
Then, Wei said with a laugh,
“Rick still answers only the calculable parts during mission briefings.”
“Sorry, sorry. I can’t break the habit.”
“If you want to study, you should settle down in any country, take the GED, and go to college.”
Despite his bear-like physique and rugged appearance, Rick had a thirst for knowledge.
The other colleagues knew this well, and they hoped he would pursue what he wanted after retirement.
“I’ll try it later.”
Shinwoo felt the same, and as he listened to Rick’s reply, he said,
“If Korea is okay, you could try taking the naturalization test and prepare. Here, Mansu would help you, and if it’s America, Lillian is there.”
“I’ll think about it, Captain.”
“Okay, okay! Rick’s college entrance exam isn’t important right now.”
The conversation, which had briefly veered off course, returned to Jang Man-soo’s words.
Jang Man-soo confirmed that the colleagues’ attention had returned.
“Anyway, the money was deposited into the nominee account once a month. But the dates are not periodic. Furthermore, the reason we’ve all gathered today is that funds were deposited into that account two days ago.”
Everyone’s expression turned serious.
Shinwoo immediately grasped the situation and said,
“It means someone is going to that island called Bigeokdo.”
“Bingo~! So, when we hacked into the nominee account holder’s computer, the patrol area for a specific time was changed three days later.”
They had even figured out the exact schedule.
Shinwoo nodded and began to ponder.