Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: How About a Draw?
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"What... is this?"
I smiled brightly and replied.
"It's the shareholder registry extract. Take a look yourself."
I could see Kenji and Kurogami Ryoma, standing behind him, both zeroing in on the document at the same time.
No need to stare that hard. I'd written it in huge letters right there on the front.
"Wh-what the hell is this? Who's Yu Sanghyeon...? And he has the shares...?"
"31%?"
The air froze in an instant.
"Th-thirty-one percent?"
"31...?"
The suits all tilted their heads repeatedly, as if wondering if they'd misheard.
"For reference, Yu Sanghyeon is me."
At my leisurely tone, Kurogami Ryoma—who'd been staring at neither the wall nor the floor—snapped his gaze straight to me. As I locked eyes with this yakuza heavyweight in a silent stare-down, Kenji slammed the table like it was all a joke.
Thud!
"This is forged... It doesn't make sense. How the hell could a punk like you have... have 31%? Do you even know where you are, spouting this nonsense?"
"Whether it's forged or not, you can verify it yourself. Honestly, I'm the one who's baffled here. Were you so busy playing at board games that you didn't even notice who was scooping up shares in your own company?"
Of course they wouldn't have noticed.
With overwhelming capital, I'd dumped all the shares in one go, regardless of whether the charts crashed or not. Then, using connections, I'd rushed through a family court petition for interdiction of competence in just days to align with the buyout timing, and barged right in here. No one could prepare for that kind of insane speed.
As I laid into them, someone cut in.
"So it was you."
A raspy, metallic voice. Ryoma's.
"A buyout speed too fast to even counter. A monster devouring everything greedily."
He seemed to have a rough idea about me. Since he'd orchestrated all this, at least he'd been keeping his eyes open. Even so, my acquisition had been too swift and ruthless for any response.
"When I got the report this morning, I suspected as much... 31% means you've already wrapped up deals with the bystanders and OTC trades."
"Nice to know there's at least one brain working properly here."
Grind!
I smirked with a quip, and Kenji ground his teeth like they might shatter.
"So what? Even if you've got 31% and crashed this board meeting uninvited, what changes? We still hold the majority here!"
I nodded calmly. Fair point, in his mind. Tsk tsk, still thinks his head's attached.
Time to leak more info.
"Here's another document. Take a look."
"What is this...? Something about a guardian for interdiction...? Ah... Ahh...?"
Kenji started piecing it together mid-sentence.
"...Thorough, as expected."
Ryoma closed his eyes gravely, his prediction confirmed.
"Yes. And the one who received those frozen 20% shares—this lovely young lady sitting here—is one with me. She's the one I'll spend my life with from now on."
"Wh-wh-what the hell are you saying all of a sudden?!"
Harumi's face turned beet red in an instant. She shot up from her seat and pummeled my chest with her tiny fists, but they were like kitten paws—utterly adorable.
I gently grasped her shoulders, turning her to face the same direction as me.
And pulled her into an embrace.
The body and heart of this little girl who'd endured so faithfully on her own.
"Isn't that right, Harumi?"
"Ah, uh, e-eek... Y-yes... sir..."
I brought my lips close to her ear and whispered low. She stuttered like she'd short-circuited, switching to polite speech.
Perfect. One-body declaration complete.
Game over.
"So now do you get how the board's stacked? Outsider me with 31%. Insider Harumi with 20%. You can do the math, so add 'em up. What's the total?"
Kenji, pale as a ghost, let his arms dangle under the table and muttered.
"51... 51%..."
Numbers hit faster than words. That's why people love them.
And the suits who'd been fed those numbers froze one by one. The beam projector's idle light flickered, mocking the silence in the room.
They all gawked in stunned horror, eyes darting wildly.
No one dared break the razor-thin ice of the atmosphere.
Kenji leaned forward, clutching his forehead. The black leather of his chair creaked and wrinkled in protest.
"It's... fake."
The legal advisor next to him forced out the words. Even he sounded uncertain. No surprise—with a sharper legal mind like Ryoma silent, he'd look ridiculous calling it fake.
"N-no... This can't be the end. Right? R-Ryoma-san. Right?!"
Ryoma stood expressionless, but perhaps drawing false courage from his presence, a smile crept onto Kenji's lips. It wasn't genuine, though. That grin radiated fever. Peel off his padded vest, and his back would be soaked in cold sweat already.
"Yeah, 51% is impressive. But so what? Think you're a god with 51%? Th-this is a board meeting. The board decides and proceeds...!"
True enough.
But the board executes; the shareholders' meeting votes.
The board is absolutely under the thumb of the shareholders' meeting.
A bladeless hilt is useless no matter how you swing it.
Yet Kenji, the fool, still thought he held a sharp blade.
"If you're gonna spout stupid shit, just shut up and listen."
"Wh-what?!"
Look at that moronic face.
Pffft.
I bit my lip to stifle the laugh and said,
"My apologies. Haha. My Japanese isn't fluent yet."
Tick, tock.
I glanced at the second hand passing 12 toward 1 and spoke calmly.
"Some are calling it fake, but no need to verify. It'll all come out at the upcoming extraordinary shareholders' meeting anyway."
"Extraordinary shareholders' meeting...?"
I flicked my wrist, sending another document flying.
The suits, their spirits fully broken, finally raised the white flag.
"A-hem! Um... Teacher... if I may ask... what agenda do you plan to address at the extraordinary meeting...?"
What a pointless question. Obvious.
"The agenda's simple. Dismissal of legal advisor, executive director, managing director, representative director... In other words, your entire board. All dismissed."
With every word, their faces rotted one by one.
Thrilling.
"...Plus partial articles of incorporation amendment. But I'm not chairing it. It'll proceed by the book. I'm just voting. Should be an exciting shareholders' meeting, right? Haha."
I poured ice water on the already frigid mood.
"Anyway, what was it? The board decides and proceeds? Sure... Go ahead. Pass any agenda today. File disclosures tomorrow, shake hands with clients, whatever. But the moment my announced extraordinary meeting hits the public, everything you've disclosed becomes 'provisional.' Whatever you resolve today is a three-day sandcastle. Got it? If you want it easy, do nothing and stay quiet."
The AC was unchanged, but their body temperatures plummeted. The executive rifled through papers for any loophole; the legal advisor clammed up, realizing talk only drained energy.
Someone gulped loudly—audible to everyone, no mic needed.
I didn't look.
Anyone meeting my eyes now would gasp.
I didn't want anyone breathing freely.
Kenji finally spoke. But the vibe was different.
"Le-let's negotiate."
There it was. The herbivore classic: "H-how about we call it a draw?"
Save that for manga with gamblers.
I shook my head.
"No negotiations."
One director, who'd been blankly staring at his tablet, looked up. Our eyes met; he silently tapped his keypad. I glimpsed "sale"—probably ordering a share dump right now.
The moment a Kenji ally decided to sell, the power balance tipped irreversibly.
"Ah...? Ah..."
Kenji trailed off. The room was dead silent save for the tapping of smart devices.
I rose slowly and headed for the door. My chair barely made a sound.
"Remember: everything passed here today is 'provisional.' So just crash out. Go home and see your wife for once."
In other words, cut the meaningless crap and fuck off home quietly.
These jungle vets would get it.
"Harumi?"
"Y-yes. Ah, uh, yeah!"
"Kamijo-san, you too. Let's go. It's chilly."
Kamijo, who'd watched me throughout, met my eyes and grinned with an excitement I'd never seen. He gave a shallow nod to the board.
"Well then. Pardon the intrusion."
I turned the conference room doorknob.
All that's left now is dismissing Kenji and reinstating Harumi as the rightful owner...!