Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: New Weapon Development Project (1)
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Morning.
Everyone has their own way of starting the day.
Some with a cup of morning coffee, others with sunlight pouring through parted curtains.
"All wrapped up."
For me, it was the faint ink scent seeping into the gray newsprint that greeted me every morning.
-[Maeil Economic Daily] Ammunition Group throne war ends, Finance Director Han Hwa-gi arrested and detained. Prosecutors seek 9-year sentence.
-[Goryeo Ilbo] Ammunition Group to fully withdraw from Iraq desalination project. Plans to file complaints against insiders for embezzlement.
The rustle of newspaper under my fingertips felt different today.
Everything that needed sorting from yesterday was done. The Ammunition Group was fully in my hands.
On the desk, the corporate asset report listed dozens of affiliates leading to total assets of 50 trillion won.
Commercial real estate in Seoul, industrial complexes in Ulsan, massive financial holdings, and over 20,000 employees.
A laugh slipped out unbidden. But the swelling emotion stopped there, as memories of the pre-regression economy flooded my mind.
"Still... not enough. At this rate, we'll collapse in the coming wave of transformation."
The near future awaited.
With the Fourth Industrial Revolution and rapidly shifting industry structures, most chaebol groups that boasted and strutted would lose their former glory.
Some reduced to mere mid-tier domestic firms. Others buried under debt, filing for bankruptcy.
A precious few, however, rode the era's currents out to the open sea.
And if I knew the future ahead but shied from the big leagues, I had no right to this Ammunition Group chairmanship.
"A seat hard-won like this—I won't let it crumble again. Now, we'll make Ammunition Group the world’s best."
I nodded to myself, murmuring the vow.
I folded the paper neatly and tucked it to the desk's edge.
Stretching wide, I rose and immediately called for aide Yoo Se-na.
"Is the group morning meeting ready?"
"Yes, Chairman. All executives are waiting."
"Got it. Then... let's go."
* * * *
Click-clack, with each step, her high heels echoed off the marble floor. Eyes followed up to Seo Yun-ji, draped in high-end luxury from head to toe, patterns catching the gaze as she strode the lounge bar corridor of K Hotel in Yeouido.
Thick curtains dimmed the midday room. With staff all dismissed, the already drunk Kim Beom-ho waved at her.
"Oh! Seo Yun-ji! Thought it'd take longer—already here? Straight from the airport?"
"Crazy... look at that flushed face in broad daylight. Not even hiding you're from chaebol stock."
"Heh heh heh. Gonna live it up right to the end. Sit already. Quick."
Kim Beom-ho, T Group's youngest son, beckoned with a slack face. Seo Yun-ji feigned reluctance and sat beside him.
The pair on the long sofa. Lips drew silently closer, soon melding in a kiss that showed no sign of parting.
After a long, deep exchange, Kim Beom-ho opened his eyes first, fiddling her nose bridge.
"How'd you get even prettier after marriage? Fifteen years older, but Im Jae-ho the VP still holds up fine?"
"Bullshit. 'Holds up'? More like limp noodle."
Kim Beom-ho chuckled at her sharp retort.
His right arm roughly circled her waist as he downed his whiskey, then spoke.
"No wonder—prideful you comes all this way for a fling."
"Shut it. Get over here quick. Unless you wanna make me the pitiful woman."
Kim Beom-ho bit into the hookah pipe on the table, inhaling deeply. Before exhaling, he pulled her close for another kiss.
Fruit-scented smoke leaked from nose and mouth gaps, the tryst's heat rising.
Seo Yun-ji finally seemed satisfied, pushing lightly at his chest while feigning a pout.
"Honeymoon was boring as hell. Im Jae-ho's more business partner than husband. Zero fun with him."
"Heh heh heh. 'Fun,' huh...."
Grinning mischievously like a rascal, Kim Beom-ho shifted topics, something amusing sparking.
"Fun stuff lately's Ammunition Group. Han Hwa-gi ended up arrested, hands tied with the eldest son."
"Arrested? Took him down clean?"
"Ah, you were on honeymoon—didn't know."
Seo Yun-ji's mind chilled instantly.
The fire that blazed with her lover before her extinguished the moment Ammunition Group came up.
She pushed off the still-nuzzling Kim Beom-ho, propping her chin, muttering.
"That ruthless...? Han Seo-jun?"
"Nah, what venom's that kid got? Must be Kim Won-cheol the trusted aide or Seo Taehu pulling strings. Han Seo-jun just stamps."
Kim Beom-ho shook a fist like hammering a seal, mimicking the motion.
Lying back, using her thigh as pillow, he slithered hands upward like a snake.
"Heh heh. So we gotta hit the bed for our stamp quick. Thud."
"You ruined the mood bringing up work. Already headache from SA-Cheolhwa Techwon."
"Ey, new company's barely started—no rush."
"Rush is on you, Kim Beom-ho. Anyway...."
SA-Cheolhwa Techwon.
Joint venture of SA Group—top of the industry under VP Im Jae-ho—and middling defense firm Cheolhwa Group.
Seo Yun-ji, CEO from this marriage alliance, felt her own pressures.
Concubine's daughter barely on the family register. Clinging to the edge of management via a fifteen-year age-gap marriage rope.
Thinking of her two half-sisters—legitimate daughters who'd tormented and scorned her—deep creases furrowed her brow unpleasantly.
"Anyway, gotta head back this afternoon. Work starts right from incorporation."
"Already? Big deal brewing? Spill. Quick."
Seo Yun-ji's lips curved at his prodding. As if fresh thrill hit from her project, her cheeks flushed deep.
"Defense Acquisition Agency."
"Defense Acquisition Agency? Another bid! Decent size too. Heh heh. Buy related stocks early—nice profit?"
"Not sure yet, dummy. It's... a new weapon development project. Requirements are pretty strict."
She trailed off.
The agency's new weapon dev project envisioned a platform for future digital battlefields.
From frontline grunts to JCS commanders at the core. Rifle bullets to massive ballistic missiles.
All digitized for unified control—demanding advanced IT.
"But we can do it. Definitely."
Seo Yun-ji exhaled hookah smoke long, face alight unhidden.
Yet her pale thighs quivered with odd emotion. Kim Beom-ho, head still on them, teased.
"Ooh. Bold Miss Seo Yun-ji scared of something? Look at those shaky legs."
"Ha, scared? Me? Listen up, Kim Beom-ho."
She scoffed, pinching his cheeks lightly like kneading dough.
Her voice brimmed confident—no, haughty.
"Fear? In business, that shit doesn't exist. Ridiculous. Because."
Not to another, but to herself, she declared assuredly.
"Han Seo-jun—that moron—I'll beat him for sure. Overwhelmingly."
* * * *
Group morning meetings: peak tension for Ammunition Group's top execs.
From chairman's office elevator down, corridor secretaries lined both sides, bowing deep, greeting loudly.
"Good morning, Chairman!"
"Ah. At ease, at ease."
Not some black-suited gang—staff drilled military-stiff.
This scene reflected my late father the ex-chairman and grandmother the regent's styles. I thought inwardly.
'Corporate culture like this has limits....'
Not Silicon Valley casual, but this rigid hierarchy needed change.
Reform ideas piled in my head. In the conference room, I took my seat amid excessive ceremony.
"Hard at work early morning."
"No, sir, Chairman!"
Meeting kicked off with their booming chorus. Org restructuring and finances wrapped, a new item arose.
Bold print, marked priority report. Feed for next decade-plus, easing in-house tech dev:
"Defense Acquisition Agency... new weapon development project?"
"Yes, Chairman. I'll explain."
Ammunition Electronics' President Lee Taek-gyu stepped up—odd, unrelated seeming—but explanation convinced.
High-IT defense platform needed Electronics as control tower.
Ex-volleyball college athlete, Marine ROTC officer, he squared broad muscled shoulders, exuding confidence.
"Let me lead this, Chairman!"
"Makes sense... Electronics handles control for military smart gear: displays, semis, sensors."
"Yes! I'll deliver a killer blueprint on schedule!"
His zeal sparked unease creeping up my back.
Set top-down guidelines first, or review bottom-up? I opted for field input.
"Then... draft a few concepts by month-end. No more items? Meeting adjourned."
Even then, I hadn't felt it skin-deep.
Ammunition Group's culture... more boot camp than I imagined.
.