Acquiring a Production Company
Getting pushed here and there like this. Kim Mincheol was truly pitiable by now.
In the third room, Shin Jaewoo spoke up.
"Hey, Taeho."
"Yes, hyungnim."
"I'll take it from here."
He'd been surprised when Han Taeho said he'd chase the guy through all three broadcasts. He hadn't thought it would really happen. But given what had gone down before, Shin Jaewoo decided to trust him. And this time, he confronted him under the Jaewoos name.
It was a no-eat this time. And the target just happened to be someone Shin Jaewoo knew.
'StrawberryPudding.'
She was the woman he'd seen wandering around before. The one who'd even messaged him. Big-breasted like Nyanbyeol, but unlike her, she was a proper star streamer, not a cam girl.
"Uwaaaah! Why would you do this?"
She despaired at the four-digit no-eat shot by the big spender. And the food in front of her right now? Noodles, of all things.
"Noodles are the worst..."
She plopped her chest on the table and made a pitiful face. Right at that moment, Shin Jaewoo marveled at Han Taeho's skills.
"But damn, Taeho, you're impressive. How'd you predict that this MinHandler guy would make it all the way here?"
"After hyungnim gave the order, I did some digging. I already had tabs on which rooms he hits up, hyungnim. And everyone's checking it out now," he said.
Shin Jaewoo chuckled and fired off the Star Balloons first.
People were starting to recognize him now too. As the chat lit up like that, Han Taeho chimed in.
"That bastard's gonna bolt right now."
And Han Taeho dropped another update.
"He's probably shut down AsiaTV by now. Three times in a row. Twice to me, and the last one to hyungnim. Got his laundry aired out. He's fuming and logged off for sure," Han Taeho predicted.
And sure enough, Kim Mincheol never popped up on Han Taeho's radar again.
"You're Jawwn, right...? No, last time you no-eat'd me so I couldn't eat, and now you're healing me like this..."
While StrawberryPudding was rambling, a mischievous urge hit Shin Jaewoo.
"Ah, no... Jawwn, you're feeding me today, right? It was a healer!"
He didn't stick around to hear the rest. The target had been Kim Mincheol from the start anyway, not her.
For Shin Jaewoo, it was a meaningful moment.
'I knew Taeho was competent, but I didn't expect him to be this good.'
The way he toyed with the guy like he was in the palm of his hand was impressive. The opponent hadn't slipped his predictions even once.
And that was partly thanks to Shin Jaewoo's influence.
'You only make the mistake of charging in without properly scouting the enemy once.'
Han Taeho had learned that lesson hard. And now he was teaching it to Kim Mincheol.
Shin Jaewoo chuckled.
The world felt so much easier to navigate now.
'What's next from here?'
As he pondered that, Han Taeho spoke up.
"Hyungnim."
"Yeah?"
"If you're okay with it, how about I team up with my dad and take down Nimo Entertainment?"
"Your dad?"
"Yes."
Shin Jaewoo took it at face value. Just meaning he'd acquire Nimo Entertainment with his father.
But Han Taeho's words weren't that simple. Just like how his dad had worked under Kim Dong-su before, now he wanted to work under Shin Jaewoo.
"If we take Nimo, won't that just put money in Kim Dong-su and that boss guy's pockets?"
They were enemies now. Buying out their stocks with cash wasn't what Shin Jaewoo wanted.
Han Taeho paused at that.
"As expected of hyungnim. Pointing out what I missed..."
It wasn't really missed, of course.
'That's why I'm not after Nimo itself—I'm after poaching their people.'
But the sycophancy genius Han Taeho knew the timing. Better to play dumb now, butter up Shin Jaewoo in crude terms. His sycophancy senses tingled.
'Then later, I can say, "Hyungnim, I solved the homework you gave me like this."'
That was the thought flickering through Han Taeho's mind. Shin Jaewoo couldn't read that far, but he did look a bit puzzled.
'The Kim family holds the majority stake there... After splitting with Kim Dong-su, they probably won't negotiate.'
That was the odd part. They knew the share structure better than he did. It was weird if they hadn't thought of it.
"I'll trust you on this anyway."
He wanted guys like Kim Mincheol gone from that scene.
At Shin Jaewoo's words, Han Taeho shouted confidently.
"Thank you, hyungnim! I won't let you down."
He left the Kim Mincheol matter mostly to Han Taeho. Then curiosity sparked in Shin Jaewoo's mind.
The entertainment business Han Taeho had mentioned earlier.
'Could I pull that off?'
He wasn't confident in proper management. He was just thinking on the level of acquiring the Lumière Hotel before.
Tap, tap.
His fingers drummed the desk.
'Come to think of it, there was still money left in the trust after the Lumière deal...'
The money he'd handed to the trust company: 300 billion won. The hotel acquisition hadn't even used half.
The rest was sitting there untouched.
Shin Jaewoo's eyes gleamed.
'Maybe I can do something with that.'
His eyes sparkled. If he was going to invest it, what would be best?
And honestly, he hadn't called on Lee Sooyoung much lately.
'Might as well... ask her.'
There was one reason he hadn't called her often. She was a Panta Bank employee, not his own staff. Jeong Junyoung had said to treat her like a personal secretary, but it felt burdensome from Shin Jaewoo's side.
'Now that I have a chief secretary anyway.'
So her role had naturally shrunk.
He messaged Lee Sooyoung after a long while. And was it his imagination? She seemed to have been waiting for his call.
Lee Sooyoung kept picking up her smartphone and putting it down.
She'd come into the office, but she felt eyes on her.
'Haa.'
VIP Business Division Exclusive Secretary Team. Until recently, she'd been swamped. Shin Jaewoo had given her plenty to do.
He'd relied on Panta Bank's help for all sorts of things.
But that had dropped off sharply.
'He must've hired his own staff.'
It was probably inevitable.
And from then on, she'd started what they called "salary Lupin"—drawing a paycheck for nothing.
No work. The VIP team was like that overall. Unless a client specifically ordered something, you just waited around. That slacking only flies once or twice.
If you're idle, the company gives you looks.
'Did I fall out of favor with the client?'
They'd even ask stuff like that.
Lee Sooyoung bit her lip.
'Should I have pushed harder?'
Her pay was performance-based from the start. The more clients called her, the higher her salary. And like with the trust business before, landing client funds meant more work.
"Hoo."
She sighed. After waiting forever for a call.
'Huh?'
Finally, a KakaoTalk message popped up.
Her expression flipped, and she shot to her feet.
"The client's calling me out—gotta head out for fieldwork!"
The looks from around her changed. She'd been the salary slacker moments ago. Now there was expectation mixed in.
"Good luck!"
"Nail a contract and it'll be even better!"
She hurried off amid those words. It was urgent. She had to meet Shin Jaewoo ASAP.
'I can't keep living like this.'
And she was starting to realize it too. She couldn't stay at Panta Bank like this. People respect bank employees, but her position was ambiguous. Not quite a banker, not quite Shin Jaewoo's employee.
So she arrived at the Seongbuk-dong mansion.
"Oh my. You've come."
Lee Jinshil opened the door. Truth be told, this irked her too.
'This house should've had my room...'
She'd wanted to move into Shin Jaewoo's Seongbuk-dong place. Then she wouldn't have to commute to the bank and deal with the stares.
But Lee Jinmyeong and Lee Jinshil had ruined that dream.
'My spot...'
She'd take it back. With fierce resolve, she stepped inside.
And then Shin Jaewoo's offer.
"Ever thought about switching jobs? Not as a Panta Bank employee, but as my actual secretary. I'll match your current salary as a base."
There wasn't a hint of hesitation in his words.
"Yes! I'll do it!"
"Yes! I'll do it!"
Her answer came like she'd been waiting. Straightforward and refreshing.
"Great. Then handle communications with the bank for me."
Shin Jaewoo smiled.
"And... there was leftover money in the trust, right?"
"Ah, yes. No new orders from you, so I left it untouched."
Letting money sit idle was a loss. Bank deposits at least earned interest, but the trust structure meant Shin Jaewoo paid fees instead.
"Thinking of putting it to use."
He wanted to try a new investment.
Shin Jaewoo smiled. (Though calling it an "investment" might be a stretch.)
"I wanna acquire a production company."
"A... production company?"
Shin Jaewoo nodded.
A production company. Time to snag one and turn his favorite webnovels into dramas or shows.