Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Leveraging Opportunities
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A sense of bewilderment crept onto Chairman Lee Ki-ho's face as he feigned ignorance.
Perhaps sensing it himself, he watched me smile sardonically for a long moment before abruptly whispering something to the men around him.
“Yes, then…”
The men, having received their instructions, immediately led CEO Kim Chi-soo toward the auction hall.
Watching them go, Chairman Lee Ki-ho excused himself to Chairman Han and led me to a quieter spot.
“Hoo… I’d momentarily forgotten you were involved in the defense industry. How on earth did you know I was connected to the Brown Bear Project?”
“Someone trying so hard to compensate Mr. Kim Chi-soo, who suffered a setback while acting in the nation's interest, would naturally be connected to the Brown Bear Project, wouldn't they?”
“…”
I deliberately avoided mentioning Kim Chi-soo's incident—the attempted smuggling of cruise missiles.
There was nothing to be gained from discussing a matter tantamount to a state secret here.
Besides, even without saying it, Chairman Lee seemed to have already realized I was alluding to it.
Sure enough, he let out a hearty laugh.
“Haha, well now… Very well. What do you know about the second Brown Bear Project?”
“Well, let's see. I know that our government, having acquired some rather valuable technology from the T-80U tanks imported in the first phase, wanted to receive a variety of weapons in the second phase as well. But Russia refused. In the end, the second phase was scheduled to include portable anti-tank missiles, Murena-class hovercraft, and Ka-32A helicopters modified for firefighting.”
“…”
“And I also know that the government capitulated because they could no longer persuade the Russian government, which was incensed by Mr. Kim Chi-soo's incident.”
He stared at me blankly for a long moment.
Fortunately, he didn't ask how I knew such detailed inside information.
It was a wise move on his part, as there was no guarantee I would have given him a straight answer anyway.
“I'm sorry, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to make excuses about not having the ability to help in this situation.”
I said it just in case, driving the point home.
Chairman Lee Ki-ho let out a dry laugh, as if he'd had no intention of doing so.
“If excuses were going to work, I would have denied everything from the start. But why do you want to meet the person in charge?”
“For the good of this country, of course. No, to be precise, for my benefit and the country's. I can't give you the details right now. All I need you to do is arrange a meeting between me and the person in charge.”
Chairman Lee Ki-ho simply stared at me without a word.
Had he made up his mind? A faint smile appeared on his face as he extended his hand.
“Very well, if this settles the score between us. But I'll need some time. The person in charge happens to be on a business trip to Russia and won't be back in Korea for a couple of months.”
“I can certainly wait that long.”
I replied readily and shook his hand.
Just then, an impatient Chairman Han approached us. Chairman Lee Ki-ho's expression shifted instantly as he whispered to me.
“But isn't this a loss for you, Mr. Jin? If that's your only condition.”
On the surface, it might seem that way.
But if my plan succeeds, it could generate trillions of won in profit.
Giving up a few billion is no issue.
In fact, I'm grateful to have run into them in this unexpected place and seized this opportunity.
“Well, we'll have to wait and see whether it's something that can be dismissed as ‘only that.’”
***
[The winning bidder for Case 1998-80881 is….]
In the end, the winning bidder was Kim Chi-soo.
Chairman Han, who didn't know the full story, repeatedly asked why I had conceded so easily, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth.
“Well, there will be other opportunities. By the way, Chairman Lee Ki-ho seems to be much closer to the government than I thought.”
“Tsk, that's exactly why I'm always nagging him. What good can come from a money man getting close to the government?”
Chairman Han emphasized his philosophy.
He wasn't wrong, but applying that standard to Chairman Lee Ki-ho felt a bit ambiguous.
“Anyway, this has complicated things. What should we do?”
I didn't understand his sudden question and just looked at him.
He looked a bit awkward for a moment before speaking.
“You ended up giving up on the auction because of me. In effect, I failed to keep my very first promise. I'm asking what I can do to make it up to you.”
In truth, I had already received my compensation.
I hadn't given up to save face for Chairman Han in the first place.
But since he insisted on taking the blame, there was no reason to refuse.
I took a moment to think about what I could gain from him.
“Hmm…”
As I pondered, an idea suddenly struck me.
After all, in this era, it was a given that the value of almost any auctioned property would rise.
So, if I had more capital, couldn't I maximize my profits?
“If it's truly weighing on your conscience, then please lend me some money, interest-free.”
“Lend you money? Why all of a sudden?”
“On second thought, it occurred to me that I don't need to use the ten opportunities you offered me sequentially. If you provide the support, I'm thinking of participating in multiple auctions simultaneously.”
“…”
Chairman Han looked dumbfounded at my words.
But I wasn't wrong.
He had only said he would provide ten opportunities, not that I had to use them one by one.
“You're saying you want to secure several buildings at once?”
“That's right.”
“You seem to be mistaken about something. Winning an auction doesn't automatically guarantee a profit. It requires a thorough analysis of the property and…”
“You don't need to worry about property analysis. And to be honest, what I needed from you wasn't analysis, but your power. The power that prevents anyone from even attempting to muscle in on what I've targeted.”
“…”
His brow twitched for a moment.
But it was the truth, what could I do?
I wondered if I had offended him, but judging by the fact that his smile lines didn't even budge, that didn't seem to be the case.
“You're confident in your analysis of the properties?”
“Of course.”
“Well now… All right. Since I'm the one who broke the promise, I'll make a special exception and lend it to you interest-free for about three months. How much do you need?”
Three months was more than enough time.
The real estate market was already beginning to stir, slowly finding its footing again.
If I focused on Gangnam, where the movement was even more pronounced, the probability of failure was close to zero.
“Why aren't you answering? How much do you…”
“A hundred billion won should be enough. Combined with my own available funds, that should allow me to win bids for two or three large buildings simultaneously.”
“A hun-a hundred billion?”
***
“Chief! It's the first snow!”
One day in November, Secretary Kim burst into my office, making a fuss.
I glanced out the window to see that snowflakes were indeed falling, and the world had already turned white.
Only two pages remained on the 1998 calendar.
Today marked exactly ten months since I had regressed to this world.
Perhaps because I had experienced so many different things, the ten months strangely felt like just ten days to me.
‘Come to think of it, my first meeting with Chairman Han was already three months ago.’
To be precise, it had been a little less than three months.
But in those three months, with his help at the auctions, my cash assets had grown to a total of 100 billion won.
This was to be used as seed money for future share purchases.
“Well, I have to account for the increase due to the company's performance, but that can't be helped.”
“Sir?”
“No, don't worry about it. I was just complaining to myself. Anyway, with this much snow, it'll be hard to get around, won't it?”
A glance out the window revealed that the streets were snarled with traffic.
In this situation, any outside activities would be impossible.
It looked like I would have to conduct business over the phone today.
“Has there been any news from the Changwon factory?”
“No, nothing out of the ordinary. As scheduled, the mass production of sensor modules has begun, and they are being delivered.”
The development of the sensor modules commissioned from Samjung had been successfully completed.
If the parts had started arriving, it meant a prototype would be produced soon.
That meant in about ten days, it would be possible to conduct a performance test with relevant parties in attendance.
“There can be no mistakes in preparing for the upcoming performance test. Please keep that in mind and tell the factory to do their utmost to prepare.”
“Yes, I understand.”
As Secretary Kim hurried out of the room, I glanced absently at my desk.
“Hmm…”
I wondered when it had been placed there. An interim financial report from the research institute was sitting on my desk.
‘Come to think of it, is this the time of year when companies prepare their financial statements?’
Looking at the reports for the financial settlement, I suddenly felt the urge to check the total scale of my own assets.
To see just how much my wealth had grown since my regression.
The thought immediately led to action. Spotting the notebook where I had organized my list of assets, I began to check.
‘My current stake in Thales is 4 percent. Converted to cash, that's roughly 120 billion won. And I have 100 billion in cash right now, plus the 60 billion I've invested in the institute so far…’
Excluding the real estate I already owned, my assets amounted to about 280 billion won.
But that was just a number on paper. Considering the amount that would be spent on future share purchases, I had almost no leeway.
‘If only it weren't for securing the shares… Still, is it really something to be disappointed about? The institute is generating profits now.’
That was the comforting part.
The research institute, once a money-sucking demon, had now entered a phase of generating real profit.
The institute's growth was particularly astonishing; the fact that its profit growth rate was rising by 100 percent every month was a very encouraging development.
‘A monthly net profit of 5 billion won with only seven items commercialized… At this growth rate, by the end of next year, when a third of the developed items are commercialized, I could aim for a net profit of at least 200 billion won.’
In this era, that would be on par with any major corporation.
No, considering Jaewoo Aerospace's net profit for this year was about 150 billion won, it meant my institute could surpass at least Aerospace by next year.
If it continued this high-speed growth, it would be a massive help in securing a significant stake in Thales later on.
‘Tsk, if only I could take the institute public right now, it would solve everything in one go…’
If that were possible, I could have generated at least a trillion won in available capital.
The technologies I possessed were highly influential, and I held a considerable number of patents.
But right now, not only did it not meet the listing requirements, but the timing was also inappropriate.
‘In conclusion, aiming to become the second-largest shareholder of Thales will only be feasible around the end of next year, when the institute's profits are maximized…’
Just then, my cell phone rang unexpectedly, and Chairman Jin's name appeared on the screen.
Wondering why, I pushed aside my brief curiosity and answered the call. He spoke in a low, serious tone.
-I have something urgent to discuss. Come to the house after work if you have time.
"What's going on?"