Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Cheolhwa Semiconductor Acquisition Battle (2)
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There are relationships in life where the first impression is a total mess, but you end up building a solid rapport in the end.
I’ve had my share of those too.
That guy who started off treating me like a bloody newbie at drinking parties, talking down to me in informal speech about whipping chaebol discipline into shape.
“Oh, Chairman Han! You’re here? Come on, sit, sit. The warmed jeongjong’s still nice and hot. Let me pour you a full one.”
But after I stopped him from nearly acquiring Lehman Brothers—that nuclear bomb—he’s been nothing but sweet and deferential toward me, Kim Han-seong, Governor of the Korea Development Bank.
The aura around this middle-aged man sitting across from me had long shed any trace of the chaebol-hunting warrior. All that remained was the vibe of a kindly neighborhood uncle.
“Were you waiting long?”
“Waiting? Nah, I just got here too. Don’t worry about it—let’s get that glass filled.”
We chatted about this and that, the buzz slowly creeping in.
Inside a Japanese restaurant with crisp wanggol tatami mats. As the small ceramic sake cups made a few rounds, empty sake bottles started piling up on the table.
“If it weren’t for you back then, Chairman Han, I would’ve committed a grave sin in the history books. I still get chills thinking about it. Heh heh heh.”
“Ignorance is one thing, but it was staring us right in the face. If I hadn’t said something, that massive karma would’ve come crashing down on me too.”
Kim Han-seong, the Korea Development Bank Governor—a financial elite from the administrative exams, wrapped up tight in pride—nodded solemnly, clearly pleased with my response.
The buzz hit just right, his fondness plain as day.
I set my chopsticks down on the table and slowly brought up the real purpose of the visit.
“That’s why I’m here to say… it feels like another unwanted, bizarre karma is heading my way.”
“Karma? Heh heh, what kind of beast is trying to climb onto your shoulders this time, Chairman Han?”
“It’s a long story. It’s late, so I’ll lay it all out.”
The tale started with the Defense Ministry’s new weapons procurement project and soon flowed from the shallows into the deep currents of the main stream.
Seo Yun-ji and Im Jae-ho, the infighting in the Seo family of Cheolhwa Group, and [Shanghai Capital].
The story floated lightly atop the booze, drifting past Chinese shell companies until it reached the sea of Cheolhwa Semiconductor.
“…So, Ammunition Group wants to acquire Cheolhwa Semiconductor, now up for grabs on the market.”
“Hmm… So that’s how it is. Of course, Chairman Seo Guk-cheol isn’t the type to let a big fish slip away that easily.”
Kim Han-seong, arms crossed, rubbed the stubble on his chin as he pondered.
Just as I hadn’t expected much to begin with, his response was neither hot nor cold—perfectly neutral.
“It’s true the Development Bank is the majority shareholder in Cheolhwa Semiconductor. And yes, we hold the key to the sale.”
“But you can’t turn that key however you please, Governor.”
“Cheolhwa Semiconductor’s got more baggage than you can imagine. It’s not just the VIPs watching—there’s the opposition, the entire business world.”
Cheolhwa Semiconductor had passed through countless hands in modern history.
Potential aside, to the government, it was just an oversized ugly duckling.
And with the first by-election since the financial crisis looming…
That’s why Kim Han-seong shook his head apologetically.
“Fairness. An extremely high standard of fairness will be demanded. Sorry, but I can’t play favorites.”
“I think… there’s been a slight misunderstanding.”
I finished my cryptic remark and lifted my glass, savoring the aroma of the warmly heated jeongjong.
Soon, the fragrant grain scent slid down my throat with a soothing warmth.
I opened my eyes to find Kim Han-seong tilting his head in confusion.
Yeah, it’d be hard to grasp. It was nothing like the scenarios he’d experienced or imagined so far.
Because from the start… I hadn’t come here to make some shady backroom deal.
“Chairman Han…? What did you just say? Misunderstanding?”
Nothing else matters.
I… remember it all.
From the Development Bank’s bid price to the final acquisition amount Im Jae-ho of SA would scribble on a blank sheet.
I know every bit of it, right in the palm of my hand.
So all I need is genuine fairness.
I just have to block any unknown winds from outside sneaking in.
“Governor, just stick to your duties.”
“What…?”
“That’s the fairness I’m asking for from you. No need to worry about impropriety or anything like that. Just…”
Kim Han-seong’s eyes widened in shock.
Staring at me, so far outside his expectations, he gaped, speechless.
I tilted the sake pitcher, filling his glass to the brim with jeongjong and my intent.
“Thorough fairness. Please, that’s all I ask. Strict as a blade, so tight no rat hole exists for anyone to escape through.”
* * * *
-Crash!
The sound of a ceramic plate shattering, dread filling the house.
Seo Yun-ah, Cheolhwa Group’s eldest daughter, her face twisted with venom, screamed at the housekeeper.
“Auntie! You swapped the meds like I told you, right? Did you do it properly?”
“I… I did, ma’am. Just like you ordered—I swapped out the two white pills for the ones you gave me…”
“You dare talk back? Don’t you get what’s happening? Because you saved that old fart’s life, look at the mess we’re in!”
The trembling housekeeper clearly irked her.
Seo Yun-ah raised an arm, ready to strike.
Then, footsteps from the stairs—and a voice cut through the tension.
“You think she saved him on purpose? The old man’s got nine lives, that’s all. God, sis… think before you act.”
“What?”
Seo Yun-mi, the second daughter, poised behind black-rimmed glasses.
She was the one who’d planned to swap their father’s meds for ones with severe side effects.
Yet unlike her raging sister, Seo Yun-mi stayed cool and composed.
“Here, read this first.”
“What’s this scrap of paper?”
Seo Yun-ah snatched the document from her sister. It was a medical report from Busan Cheolhwa Medical Center, detailing Chairman Seo Guk-cheol’s condition.
“That old fart’s got at most a year left. Wouldn’t be weird if he dropped dead sooner.”
“One year… So we’re halfway there?”
“Yeah, for now.”
Seo Yun-mi approached the terrified housekeeper.
With a patently fake smile, she stroked the older woman’s hair.
“Our auntie’s innocent, right? Isn’t that so, auntie?”
“Y-yes… Th-that’s right.”
“But… there are ways she could become guilty. Know what they are?”
She pinched the housekeeper’s cheeks with both hands like claws.
Her knuckles bulged with veins from the force, and the housekeeper thrashed in terror, eyes welling up.
“Mmph, mmph…”
“The moment you flap your gums carelessly, auntie, you’re a criminal in my book. Not just you—your parasite daughter holed up in that annex too!”
The housekeeper hit the floor hard after the shout. With shards of indelible fear lodged in her heart, she fled at the eviction order.
“You’re one vicious bitch yourself.”
“As if you’re any better, sis? Anyway… halfway success. Time to think.”
Seo Yun-mi perched on the sofa arm, lighting a cigarette.
Gray smoke curled up to the chandelier, and her sister pressed her.
“So what now? Just let it slide?”
“Let it slide? Sis, you really have no clue? That concubine bitch Seo Yun-ji was bad enough—now another one? And a son!”
Seo Yun-mi glared at her sister, eyes bloodshot.
Exhaling smoke like a sigh, she muttered a vow to herself.
“The old man’s bloodline obsession is obvious. One year’s not short—we do everything we can, now.”
She pulled a photo from her clutch bag. A boy grinned brightly beside an unnamed nun.
The youngest heir to Cheolhwa Group, triple-protected, untouchable directly.
A half-smoked cigarette butt ground into the boy’s still-boyish face.
“Seo Yun-seok, right? This bloodline won’t climb over me—not in his wildest dreams.”
* * * *
Guangzhou, basement of some hotel.
Slot machines blared in the foreigners-only casino, lights flashing temptations of dolphins, octopuses, starfish, and lucky sevens.
Lee Taek-gyu, former president—his face flushed since arriving in China—sat before one.
“Okay… Stop there!”
He slammed the red button with all his might. But gamblers’ hopes always betray them.
Two sevens in a row, but never a third.
“Ah… So close. One more pip and I’d have had it.”
“Aw, hyung-nim. Still not had enough? Time to call it quits?”
“Nah, just a shame. Damn, chips are gone already.”
Lee Taek-gyu smacked his lips at Baek Deok-gyu’s wave-off and stood.
In thirty minutes at the machine, he’d lost about ten million won—enough to make an average person weep blood and clutch their guts in regret.
To him, though, it seemed like mere pastime.
“Eh, money comes in, we play again. SA-Cheolhwa Techwin’s a good gig. Boosts a defector’s cred.”
“See? Just listen to me, hyung-nim. But now…”
Lee Taek-gyu offered more than just manpower.
Decades of know-how from Ammunition Group.
It all melted into SA-Cheolhwa Techwin like snow on boiling water.
His beaming smile worried Baek Deok-gyu a bit.
Arm in arm, he lowered his voice.
“Just watch your mouth wherever you go. One whisper about ghost companies…”
Up to the hotel they went.
In the sealed elevator, no ears around, Baek Deok-gyu spoke.
“Get labeled a Chinese industrial spy? Bam—life over before you can squeak.”