Please Love Me
“....Sigh.. Seriously, this is...”
On top of that, Seongjeong Construction wasn't just some company he was worried about because of its representative. It was a firm with a high construction capacity ranking, and their apartment projects rarely had more than one or two defect repair cases after completion. If he acquired them, his construction company would be able to widen the gap with the second-ranked firm by more than double. It was so obvious that when he brought up the M&A to his father, the reaction was:
“Ac-acquire it immediately.”
“I should do some due diligence first...”
“Hey. You don't even need to do due diligence on Seongmin’s company. Didn't you see their financial statements? The debt ratio is 12.7%. Huh? They could just fold the business and become a bank. They’re overflowing with cash. Proceed unconditionally and immediately. Do it right now.”
“I feel like it’s a bit.... For now, he’s only expressed his intention...”
“You push it through, you idiot!”
That was how intense it had become. And now, this had turned into an even more serious problem. Because if he had to summarize it once more—
“...”
Eunbyul was Chairman Eun Seongmin’s eldest daughter. Judging by how much he cherished her, he was a father who adored his daughter. But Suhyun hadn't just tried to ravage her while drunk; he had also constantly let her be called a "crazy vixen." And even though he had "threatened her with a contract," he had somehow ended up ordering Eunbyul to spread her legs and even checked for the presence of her hymen. In that process, he had rudely and vulgarly spread her open with his own hands, and she had said, ‘...I haven’t shown it to anyone else.’‘That was my first kiss.’
On top of that, he had even compared her breasts to another woman's. He hadn't just compared them; he had touched them too. He had critiqued the design of her underwear. This was insane.
Seongjeong was a significantly important company, and in the long term, it could be a masterstroke to bolster his construction subsidiary, which was relatively weak among his affiliates. If this woman, Eunbyul, were to run home and say that she had been treated this way, and that Han Suhyun was a total piece of trash who was trying to take turns ravaging her and his ex-wife, Chairman Eun Seongmin would probably come over and slap him before he could even step into the Support Division office on Monday morning. And even if that happened, he wouldn't be able to say a word in his defense.
Of course, he didn't know that Eun Seongmin was the type of person who would understand even if he did all those things. In fact, when it came to the pregnancy part, Chairman Eun might have welcomed it with open arms.
“Hey, Eunbyul. No, Secretary Eun.”
“Senior.... Why all of a sudden....”
“...I’m sorry. I....”
He had no choice but to beg. Did he have to go this far just to swallow a company with a market cap of 13 trillion won? Yes, he had to. That’s how business works. No, beyond just business—
"...."
Basically, there is something every staff member in charge of M&A keeps in mind:
— 20% of all M&As show a successful conclusion.
— 10% achieve mediocre success. They secure organizational stability and generate a certain amount of revenue, but there is no synergy effect.
— The remaining 70% fail, and of those, 20% experience such severe deficits that the company's very existence becomes uncertain, leading to bankruptcy.
But unless the staff in charge were complete idiots, there was no chance of this M&A failing. If he processed the Seongjeong acquisition normally and successfully completed the merger, it would not only bring immense merit to his career, but with a single signature, he could turn a weak construction company into a blue-chip enterprise. Not only that, but what would happen next was truly fantastic.
Over 80% of the acquired company's assets were capital that could be immediately poured into business, and just by stopping construction work and depositing the capital in a bank, they could pay all the employees' salaries and still have money left over. Did it stop there? No. They would proceed with all ongoing construction projects in cash, without any loans. Then, sell them well > massive cash comes in again > use it to proceed with new construction projects > pour more capital into Social Overhead Capital (SOC) projects, where success is guaranteed as long as you have cash > build rest areas, build highways, build everything sturdily > sell them to the 'government' > endless cash flows in!
The moment he realized this cash flow, all the employees of the construction company would not only be able to take home 200% of their base salary as performance bonuses every year, but once they knew that the architect of all this was Han Suhyun, they would love him so much they’d want to hug him on the spot.
"Wow.... Seriously, man... Eunbyul, wow...."
If he had just been resting comfortably at home until now, once he knew who Eunbyul’s father was, and once he grasped the influence that had, his brain began to spin as fast as it did when he was working at the company—
“No, why all of a sudden to me....”
“....I feel like you must have been quite offended because I told you to take off your panties and looked so intently.”
“Oh, come on. No. Not at all....”
At first, he had wondered what this was all about, and why it had to be Seongjeong? But the fact that the Chairman’s surname matched hers, the fact that she had recited the phone number without any hesitation, and looking at her now, she did look a bit like the Chairman...
“Is there anything uncomfortable about your company life....?”
“...?”
It was the tone of a company commander meeting a new recruit whose father was a three-star general, but.... he had no choice. That Doowon was overwhelmingly large? If he had called up companies ranked 2nd to 10th in the business world like a gang leader and given them a lecture while he was still young, Doowon would probably have been dismantled that very day.
Seeing him cater to her, Eunbyul laughed as she slowly listened to him rambling on. It felt like things were working out strangely well. Eunbyul thought, ‘....What is this feeling?’
She had been begging her father all along. Even until the day before he got married, she had kept pleading with him to connect her with Suhyun. But there had been no news, so Eunbyul had thought it didn't work out because her father wasn't on good terms with Doowon, and she had stopped being greedy. Or to be more precise, she had stopped showing her greed through her father.
However,
“Should I bring more wine?”
“....Ah, aren't you drinking, Senior?”
“Oh, I... I’m fine.”
What is this? Why is it working out so well now, when it didn't work no matter how greedy she was before? Seeing him act so politely and respectfully, even more than how one would treat a chaebol daughter, Eunbyul thought.
Then,
“...Have you met my father, Senior?”
“Oh, of course. Naturally. There was something I didn't tell you about the work we do.... Regarding the new city development project, your father....”
As he said that, he hurried to talk about things she hadn't even asked. It felt like the roles of the secretary and the executive director had been reversed. He was briefing her with a passionate voice,
“Thanks to your father showing great vision, our company was able to save a significant amount of costs.”
“Aha.”
“Not only that, but for us, in the future, if Seongjeong wishes, for construction projects we proceed with, especially SOC or small rest area construction projects, we can outsource them entirely and form a joint venture...”
“I see.”
“Of course we should do that. We’ve received so much. Business is about giving back as much as you’ve received....”
Eunbyul, who had been listening like that, looked at him, laughed even louder, cut him off, and said,
“Especially the subway work is difficult for us, but with Seongjeong stepping up...”
“Giving back as much as you’ve received....?”
“....That’s right. I should give back. By all means, when you go back today, to your father...”
“Senior.”
He shut his mouth. Because the daughter of the Seongjeong Chairman was speaking.
“Dad is planning to sell the company.”
“...!”
Oh, right. Yes. You know that too. That is the most important thing. But it’s hard for us to say the important things directly,
“I’ll tell him to make sure Doowon can acquire it.”
“O-oh.... Why, the reason suddenly, no. I mean, yes? Uh....”
“I didn't know the Executive Director liked me that much. I thought there was no connection between my father’s company and the Executive Director.”
“No. Not at all. What great people they are. We weren't that close originally, but we became very close through this consortium. That’s right. Your father must be thinking the same thing. Wait, I think I have a business card in my wallet...”
As soon as he heard that, he tapped the table slightly and fixed his gaze on Eunbyul. He had already received a definitive answer from Chairman Eun Seongmin, but if she added her strength like this, he would be able to proceed with the M&A right away. Not only that, he could cook other unfavorable conditions to be advantageous to him. For example, when acquiring a certain amount of shares, he could slightly lower the acquisition price per share.
“Instead, you said you would give back as much as you received, right, Senior?”
“....Ah, yes. That’s right. I will provide a kind of stock option to Secretary Eun as much as possible, so....”
“I told you money isn't important.”
Jia, who had been listening quietly, glared and looked up at Eunbyul, who was sitting in her chair,
“Then what kind of....”
“Please...”
Eunbyul lifted her chair slightly, moved closer to him, and mentioned exactly what he should give back:
“...love me.”