VIP Golf and the Shadow Acquisition
Heo Sang-gi arrived at the golf course early. It was a course on the outskirts of Seoul. Having gotten there first, he waited for his companions. When someone finally showed up, he sprang to his feet and bowed deeply.
“You’ve arrived, General Manager.”
“Ah, yes. Heo Manager, I thought I’d introduce you to an important guest today. Don’t mess this up.”
“Of course, General Manager. When have you ever seen me slip up? Haha.”
Heo Sang-gi groveled without a shred of pride, like it was second nature. The man who had summoned him here—the general manager of Lumière Seoul, Go Seong-gyun—cut an impeccably gentlemanly figure on the surface. He even used polite speech with Heo Sang-gi, who was younger and lower in rank, showing a refined demeanor. But Heo knew better. It was all an act.
This old fox has a terrifying side hidden underneath.
Still, who could this “important guest” be that the old man was introducing so specially?
“...You know Panta Bank, don’t you, Heo Manager?”
Go Seong-gyun’s abrupt question made Heo Sang-gi’s eyes widen.
A banker!
And not just any banker, or Go Seong-gyun wouldn’t bother meeting them. He’d already called them an important guest—someone high up in the bank.
“Hahaha, of course. Aren’t they... our hotel’s major shareholder?”
Panta Bank owned Lumière Seoul and held a 6% stake in Lumière Hospitality. Not controlling, but hardly insignificant. At current valuations, that was worth around 12 billion won.
Not a small sum. Enough to make even General Manager Go Seong-gyun tread carefully. Of course, it wasn’t enough to threaten his position, and financial institutions weren’t supposed to meddle in operating companies anyway.
“The person we’re meeting today is the head of Panta Bank’s VIP Division.”
A heavy hitter, as expected. In hotel terms, that was like a general manager. Though comparing Panta Bank’s scale to Lumière Seoul’s was apples to oranges.
A big shot like that coming here...
Heo felt the tension—and the thrill. Calling him to a meeting with someone of that caliber meant Go Seong-gyun thought well of him. This was his chance.
“For someone like that to come all the way here...”
“So do it right. No mistakes.”
“Of course, General Manager.”
As Go Seong-gyun issued his final warning, his expression shifted, his gaze fixing on one spot. Heo instinctively knew.
He’s here.
A man in his mid-30s to 40s strode toward them with unhurried steps—around Heo’s age.
“Sorry I’m late. I heard I was early, but here I am holding things up. General Manager Go Seong-gyun.”
“Haha, no, no. How could I not know how busy you are, Branch Head? Ah, this is our hotel’s guest services manager. He loves golf, so I brought him along today.”
“I’m Heo Sang-gi. It’s an honor to play a round with you, Branch Head.”
Heo bowed low. The man smiled and extended his hand. Heo grasped it reverently, thrilled.
“Jeong Junyoung.”
“...The honor is mine.”
Heo Sang-gi and Jeong Junyoung shook hands and headed inside. But before they could properly set foot on the course, they stopped. Jeong Junyoung had received a call.
“Hm? Lee, run that by me again. Where?”
It was a holiday, but Jeong seemed unfazed, diving into business as usual. Heo could relate—he felt a kinship.
VIP division... Sounds a lot like what I do.
Customer complaints didn’t care about days off. Hotels didn’t really have weekends anyway.
“So... what a coincidence. What’s the client thinking? Yeah. Yeah. Ah, got it. Well... nothing more for me to handle, right?”
The call wrapped up quickly as Heo watched. Jeong Junyoung ended it and gave Go Seong-gyun and Heo a strange look. Heo felt uneasy under that gaze.
“Is something... wrong?”
He couldn’t help asking, even if it was rude. Jeong chuckled and shook his head.
“No, it’s nothing.”
He trailed off mid-shake, piquing their curiosity. But he clammed up.
“Nothing.”
He repeated it, leaving them hanging.
“No fun in spoiling it early. And it’s not my place anyway.”
Something was definitely up. From then on, Heo couldn’t shake the nagging feeling.
Something’s off...
Go Seong-gyun felt it too, but they couldn’t pry.
“Well, shall we get to the golf?”
Jeong said with a grin, his face alight with anticipation for what was coming.
Lumière Seoul—the hotel where Shin Jaewoo’s aunt worked. As he entered, he recalled her words.
They loved it.
Back when Oh Miyoung was still in college, she’d done an internship here. That’s why she held this place special.
Lumière Hospitality owned Lumière Seoul.
Hospitality-something... Awkward name.
Shin Jaewoo was quietly buying up shares through the market.
Not dumping huge sums, though. Less than 100 million won. Pocket change.
“...At this rate, I won’t get what I want.”
He paused. Even this small spend had orders filling fast, pushing the price up about 30 won. Time to get serious. And he had a reason to shift strategy.
“So... you want to acquire Lumière Seoul without your name attached, right?”
“Yes.”
Lee Sooyoung pondered Shin Jaewoo’s firm reply before speaking.
Every method had its way. She outlined it.
“In that case, we can lend you our name... via a trust.”
A trust: simply put, the trust company lends its name. Shin Jaewoo (settlor) hands over his money; the trust company (trustee) manages and invests it, passing profits back to the settlor or beneficiary. Ownership shifts to the trustee, hiding the true owner.
“Of course... you’ll pay fees periodically.”
Fees, yes—but true anonymity.
He’d prepared for that.
“How much?”
“Hard to say exactly here, but think around 0.5% annually.”
Lumière Hospitality was roughly 200 billion won.
Half would be 100 billion.
That’d run about 500 million won a year. Not nothing, but his perspective had shifted.
Just in case, 200 billion...
At 0.5%, that’s a billion yearly. Manageable.
“...Let’s do it.”
They moved fast. He haggled the fees down hard. Top-tier VIP perks.
“How could we charge you that?”
Standard trusts ran 0.5% on assets. But his handler reworked it. Jeong Junyoung couldn’t attend but pulled strings.
Amount: 300 billion won. Setup fee: 0.3%, or 900 million. Management: flat 500 million yearly. Plus 200 million for the M&A handling.
Already 1.6 billion in fees.
Money flowing out felt real now.
“...I wish my aunt knew how much I’m doing for her.”
Shin Jaewoo’s lip twitched. He’d hidden it with the trust—no bragging to Oh Miyoung. He’d keep it secret if he could. But deep down, part of him wanted recognition.
“...Not that I’ll tell her.”
Panta Bank’s trust division would handle the acquisition now. Goal: over 50% of Lumière Hospitality.
“B-Bro, you came. H-Haha...”
Han Taeho greeted him like he hadn’t expected it. Shin Jaewoo was used to the “bro” treatment by now.
“Yeah. This better be a solid property.”
“C’mon, of course. Would I scam you?”
Han Taeho played it cool, even joking. Shin Jaewoo nodded. No need to rag on him today. Someone else was joining them.
“Oh my. You must be Taeho’s bro... Nice to meet you. I’m Oh Jeongmi, real estate agent.”
“Nice to meet you. Shin Jaewoo.”
Oh Jeongmi—Han Taeho’s mother. She’d show him properties today. His first building purchase.
But he hadn’t expected her first pick to be here.
Coming back like this...