Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Shanghai Capital (2)
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Rain fell in a steady drizzle outside an art gallery near Itaewon. The metaphysical building, with its gray-white concrete exterior accented by colored glass, looked particularly gloomy today instead of beautiful.
Han Hwa-gi stood under the eaves adorned with silver decorations. Moving alone without his secretary, he folded his open umbrella and shook off the raindrops.
The damp sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor, seeping into the darkness where the lights were off. Then, signs of another presence began to emerge from the opposite direction.
The two men recognized each other. They stopped right in front of a corner where a Song Dynasty landscape painting of the Yangtze River region hung.
“I appreciate you making time despite your busy schedule. There are just too many prying eyes at Hotel Florence these days.”
Han Hwa-gi nodded silently.
The faint light from a lamp in front of the landscape painting cast shadows on them.
“Ever since that board meeting, those gossips in the family association keep poking around. It’s a problem.”
“I understand. So, what’s so urgent that you called me out like this?”
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by the rumble of thunder.
At the same time, a grave expression crossed the face of Honorary Advisor Han Deok-sul.
“Yoo Tae-chon… he’s trying to sell off all his shares in Ammunition Securities.”
“Yoo Tae-chon?”
Fierce winds and rain battered the window outside.
The window frame rattled, and the landscape painting in front of them flickered in the darkness under repeated flashes of lightning.
Only after the rain eased a bit did Honorary Advisor Han Deok-sul’s words come through clearly.
“Word is, brokers in Yeouido are sniffing around. Well, those guys just care about their commissions anyway.”
Han Hwa-gi squinted one eye and bit his lower lip. A metallic taste of blood instantly filled his mouth.
‘Yoo Tae-chon… what’s he thinking? What does he want to achieve by making a move at this exact timing?’
A nagging unease. And bewilderment.
The sudden change from the old loan shark who had been so obsessed with Ammunition Securities left Han Hwa-gi feeling deeply unsettled.
And that unease turned into certainty with the next words from the old man before him.
“This is just my guess, but Ammunition Securities might be the weak link.”
“The weak link? You mean the circular investment structure?”
“Was it Yoo Se-na? Yoo Tae-chon’s daughter—she’s under that Han Seo-jun guy. She must have heard something from Kim Won-cheol for sure.”
Kim Won-cheol.
The man who, just two years ago, had upended Ammunition Group’s circular investment structure overnight.
Back then, no one in the finance headquarters could access the core details due to the late chairman’s orders, leaving the full structure still shrouded in mystery.
“These rat bastards…”
Han Hwa-gi clenched his fist, his face hardened.
It felt like every time something was within his grasp, it slipped away like grains of sand, turning into futile rage.
In his mind’s eye appeared the face of his nephew, smirking like the landscape painting before him—part of this world, yet somehow detached from it.
“This is just my theory, but… Han Seo-jun probably thinks it’ll end with separating the financial affiliates this time.”
Honorary Advisor Han Deok-sul cautiously shared his thoughts.
Unaware of the greater movements beyond, he advanced carefully on the chessboard divided into squares, like a mere pawn.
“So, Yoo Tae-chon’s attempt to sell his shares fits right into that line of thinking. If that’s the formula…”
An old knight with a long beard trailing beside his sheath.
Poised to whip his mount and charge forward at any moment, he urged the king beside him to advance.
“Wouldn’t the key to opportunity actually be on our side? They’re not prepared for war yet.”
“Aiming for the timing before the affiliate separation…”
“Exactly. If we buy up all of Yoo Tae-chon’s Ammunition Securities shares through Shanghai Capital, we can seize the high ground in the group control battle.”
The king, positioned at the safest center of the board’s edge, overseeing the game.
Carved from black ivory, the heavy king stared down the other white king directly ahead.
With a clear path unobstructed by any pieces, Han Hwa-gi believed that just a slight move from him would decide this grueling match.
-Flash!
Another streak of lightning illuminated the outside amid the sound of rain. As Han Hwa-gi stepped forward, a smile aimed at checkmate crossed his face.
“The shareholders’ meeting is about two weeks away, I hear.”
“Have you… made your decision?”
“We can’t waste this tight timeline. Let’s move quickly. And you, sir, please fulfill your role as the bridge.”
* * * *
High above Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. Inside the plane at cruising altitude, everything felt steady and level.
My belly, which had solid abs just yesterday, now had a layer of fat accumulated on it—along with Uncle Kim Won-cheol’s. Of course, that uncle always had a bit of a gut to begin with.
“Ugh, my stomach’s acting up. I think I ate too much at the banquet last night.”
“And yet here you are eating more right now. How about some consistency between words and actions?”
The uncle who claimed to be full but called the flight attendant for more drinks and snacks—talk about a mismatch.
Sprawled in the gold-trimmed seat, gorging himself freely, he looked like some Roman noble’s son.
“Heh heh heh… The booze belly’s a separate thing, you know. Anyway, that Bin Salman guy’s got some real guts. Lending us the royal jet like this.”
“He’s the number one contributor to the regime change, after all. They want to show some grand generosity on their side too.”
The Saudi royal jet flew northwest. Its destination: Geneva, Switzerland.
Having received 60 billion won from Yoo Tae-chon, I was finally heading to the Swiss bank where my father’s secret funds lay dormant.
Just in case my uncle’s surveillance net caught on, I’d reported to group headquarters that I was on a business trip to Saudi Arabia.
“Uncle’s lackeys at the Saudi subsidiary still think we’re at the banquet right now.”
“Keh keh keh. Must be so jealous, those guys. That banquet was quite the spread. Anyway…”
Uncle Kim Won-cheol pushed aside his half-eaten ham and melon, clasped his hands behind his head, and muttered at the ceiling.
“Bin Salman. We could’ve squeezed some big investment out of that guy with his generous style. Don’t you regret it?”
“Ah… about that.”
Toward the end of last night’s banquet, Crown Prince Bin Salman had called me aside.
In a lush garden you’d never imagine in a desert climate.
Strolling on the moist grass, comfortably humid, he broached the subject casually.
‘You’ll officially take the chairman’s seat soon, right? I hear only the shareholders’ meeting is left.’
‘We’ve crossed the 90% mark. Time to claw our way up the final ridge through hell or high water.’
‘You’re climbing the hard way. Isn’t there an easier path, like asking me for investment like with Cocoa Bank?’
Finishing the recollection, I turned to look at the seat beside me.
Uncle Kim Won-cheol lay there with a mischievous grin, clearly testing me on purpose despite knowing the answer.
“What’s to regret? It was a given either way.”
I held a glass wine glass.
My reflection in the swirling purple liquid looked brimming with confidence, even to me.
I repeated verbatim the answer I’d given Crown Prince Bin Salman under the streetlights last night.
“It’s controlling stake for the entire Ammunition Group. If foreign capital gets involved in a defense company, it’s a headache.”
“Heh heh heh… You see it clearly. When I retire and go fishing someday, I’ll rest easy.”
“We’ll see if you get to go anywhere. That fishing trip.”
“Hey! How long do you plan to work me to the bone?”
Swallowing my inner vow never to accept his resignation anytime soon, I turned my gaze to the plane window.
At the same moment, the captain’s announcement came over the intercom.
-Dear noble guests of the Saudi royal family. This flight will soon land at Geneva International Airport in Switzerland. Please fasten your seatbelts.
As the announcement ended, I felt the plane tilting downward.
Beneath the clouds, the compact cities of Europe sprawled densely.
Somewhere down there… my father’s meticulously hidden secret funds must be slumbering.
* * * *
Geneva, Switzerland.
This quaint city nestled against the southern Alps, blanketed in pristine eternal snow, was lined with modest low-rise stone buildings in every alley.
Near the lakeside road, at a spot with a small wooden sign featuring a bunch of keys as its emblem.
No one would know what lay hidden in the basement of that tiny building, untouched even by tourists.
“From here on, only the account heir may enter.”
A middle-aged man in a suit with his hair slicked back using pomade.
Looking like the butler of some ancient castle, he was the chief officer managing my father’s secret fund account at the private bank.
“I’ll be right back. Wait here a moment.”
“Whew… To think the day would come when we’d dig this up and use it. Do it right.”
The small cylindrical elevator descended to the underground vault. Though the exterior bore heavy traces of age, the inside seemed equipped with state-of-the-art security.
A staff member entered something on the screen by the door. Soon, with a deep rumble, the first iron gate swung open.
“Inside, there’s a computer. Enter the ID and password, and the second gate will open.”
“Is the bankbook inside that second gate?”
“The certificate left by the original depositor is there. Bring it out, and we’ll transfer to whatever account you designate.”
I stepped through the first iron gate.
In stark contrast to before, this was a pristine modern space devoid of any traditional elements.
At the center stood a monitor displaying a simple screen for just the ID and password.
“Finally… it’s within reach.”
A complex twelve-character ID mixing letters and numbers.
The time from first meeting Uncle Kim Won-cheol to wresting it from Vice President Yang Taek-su flashed before me like a panorama.
The time when I had to prove my own worth—and my qualities as chairman.
“Turns out Father was quite the interesting man.”
I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a worn scrap of paper.
A small laugh escaped my lips as I read the black ink scrawled with the secret account’s password.
“It wasn’t just money set aside for his own security.”
And now it all made sense—Former Secretary Han Yulsan’s vehement reaction.
The stubborn old man’s obsessive worry for the group’s future stemmed from right here.
I extended my fingers again and slowly entered the password, character by character.
Perhaps my regression was no mere twist of fate, but destiny unavoidable.
-Save the group