Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Meshing Gears (2)
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“No way. No way. This… you can’t do it with this amount of money? No, how… how are you planning to jack it up even more from here?”
Kim Won-cheol waved his hands frantically, his face drained of color as he tried to stop me.
His slender eyes, usually sharp, had widened like candy drops upon seeing the harsh numbers scratched onto the white paper.
“One trillion! You’re saying you’ll spend one trillion more than the Ammunition Economic Research Institute’s estimate! This… this has to be a mistake, right? Right?”
His gaze fell reproachfully onto the paper.
The numbers, scrawled roughly with a blunt pen tip, screamed one thing.
This deal had nothing to do with finance or accounting logic. It was based purely on extreme human desire.
-4,700,000,000,000 won.
I’d pressed down hard, even thickening the final period.
Sinking deep into my chair, I replied in the most laid-back tone imaginable.
“You think I can’t tell a 3 from a 4?”
“No, no. Hear me out. Our math-whiz Chairman. This is the 15% rule. Fifteen percent.”
The balding math genius tried to remind me of the rule again.
On the scrap paper he’d grabbed from somewhere, a hasty calculation made with a clicky ballpoint pen caught my eye.
Simple arithmetic: subtract 15% from 4.7 trillion won.
“That means if they bid 3.995 trillion won or less, it’s back to negotiations, and if we renegotiate, we’re out of the Defense Ministry’s new weapons project.”
“I know. I know better than anyone, which is exactly why I did it.”
After tossing that out, I shifted my gaze straight ahead.
There they were: three faces, eyes gleaming at the sacrificial offering called Cheolhwa Semiconductor on the altar.
Different faces, each harboring different desires.
At the final moment, none of them showed any sign of a grand, decisive victory. They were too caught up maximizing their own gains to settle on the fine details.
“The details… will differ. For them.”
“Details?”
“Shared interests. The direction will be the same, of course. But when you look closely.”
Seo Guk-cheol, the chairman who planned to hand the entire Cheolhwa Group to his youngest son.
To him, the acquisition price itself wasn’t a big deal. All he cared about was securing the Cheolhwa Group holding company shares in exchange.
Arms crossed, the old man stared at the man and woman with clear displeasure etched on his face.
“They just want to wrap it up as fast as possible.”
I slowly raised my finger. It drew a straight line, landing on the man venting his anger at his wife.
Im Jae-ho, the vice president who’d have no qualms cutting ties with the messy Seo family once he had Cheolhwa Semiconductor.
“For him, the exact amount won’t matter much. Even if it’s a bit pricey, he needs to grow his electronics business fast and sever links with the Cheolhwa Group.”
And… just a slight shift to the left.
There, frozen mid-horizontal line, was Seo Yun-ji—a woman who wouldn’t hesitate at extreme measures for her survival and desires.
Her face flushed red, she spat out her rage like grinding her teeth.
“She’s angry. She knows she’s being ignored but is thrashing about for all she’s worth anyway.”
“W-What… do you mean?”
Kim Won-cheol looked puzzled, like he half-grasped it but not quite.
I flashed a light smile and tossed out a hint.
“She’s the middleman, isn’t she? Seo Yun-ji.”
“Hmm…”
“She wants to build power and stand on her own, but the bigger the money flowing through, the tighter the leash of dependency. So.”
I formed a square frame with my thumbs and index fingers, like a picture frame.
The two inside it, as if zooming in with a camera.
The moment Seo Guk-cheol and Im Jae-ho, staring at each other, gave the tiniest nods.
“Those two men holding the reins here will think like this.”
“Aha, I get it! Let me, let me say it!”
Suddenly like a kid with a sunflower head, Kim Won-cheol bounced up as if it was show-and-tell time. A lightbulb practically lit over his head.
The hand-raise was a bit embarrassing… but hey, it wasn’t the first time.
Beaming happily since I’d called on him, Kim Won-cheol grinned.
“Heh heh heh. Even if the ledger numbers spike right now, let’s make sure to tighten that middleman’s leash for good?”
“You could join me in picnicking on this mat, Secretary Kim. You’re free to head down now.”
-Ding-dong!
The brass bell rang out through the hall again.
Clearing his throat, Kim Han-seong, president of the Industrial Bank of Korea, shuffled slowly back to the podium.
“Ahem, the two acquisition hopefuls, please submit your proposed acquisition prices now.”
* * * *
The proposed acquisition price now tucked into a yellowed envelope.
After sealing it completely, I stood from my seat.
Despite Kim Won-cheol offering to submit it for me, I went up to the podium myself.
And at that moment, from the other side, someone—not a proxy—stood and walked toward the podium.
The click of high heels, her short black bob swaying: it was Seo Yun-ji.
“I’m suddenly curious just how cold the Ammunition Group’s calculation was for this deal. Of course… that coldness doesn’t always lead to good results.”
She slipped her seal into the clear acrylic box and spoke to me.
Her cheeks flushed red, lower lip faintly marked from biting it, left hand clenching and unclenching.
She hoped I’d been cold to her, yet she herself was swept up in heat.
Holding up my seal over her face, I opened my mouth.
“You hope I was cold. The kind who evaluates corporate value with the strictest yardstick.”
“If you’re anxious, you can go through the revision process right here. I can accommodate that much.”
Her shoulders trembled slightly, her smile awkward.
Her wavering eyes said it plainly.
Her reaction, and the outcome it would bring… everything was exactly as I’d predicted.
“Someone once said those in positions of responsibility must be endlessly cold.”
“What does that…”
“But this time, I flipped the formula. Endless hot desire—that’s the key I saw.”
Thud. My seal in the yellow envelope dropped to the bottom of the acrylic box.
It landed right on top of what Seo Yun-ji had just submitted.
She shot me a glare, annoyed for a split second.
But instinctively… I knew.
In the psychological war surrounding the Cheolhwa Semiconductor acquisition, the winner wasn’t any of those three—it was me.
“No plans to change the proposed bid price. It’s… exactly the right amount. Enough to claim victory.”
* * * *
Kim Han-seong, gripping the mic, adjusted his silver-framed glasses with a finger and placed the sealed envelopes from both parties on the desk.
Red stamps of the two companies’ titles gleamed on the yellow envelopes.
The one he chose to open first… was the Ammunition Group’s.
“Ahem, first, the Ammunition Group. The amount proposed by the Ammunition Group in this Cheolhwa Semiconductor acquisition is…”
The white beam projector up front. Connected to the scanner, the screen slowly revealed the numbers I’d scrawled with my fountain pen.
“4 trillion… 4.7 trillion won! The Ammunition Group’s proposed amount is 4.7 trillion won. Any errors?”
I confirmed the submitted amount at Kim Han-seong’s words.
At the same time, I lifted my head to look at the other side.
The three fake family members whispered urgently, diving into calculations.
“Did it… work?”
We didn’t have long to wonder.
Kim Han-seong’s hand moved straight to the seal Seo Yun-ji had submitted.
Rip. The envelope tore open, silence descending.
The only sound was someone’s breath over the mic.
“Now, we’ll announce the remaining one.”
All eyes in the room focused.
Kim Han-seong’s slightly hoarse voice rang out.
“SA-Cheolhwa Techwin. SA-Cheolhwa Techwin’s proposed amount is…”
Hands clenched tight from the mounting tension.
Hoping only that my gut choice had hit the mark, I wiped the cold sweat beading on my upper lip with my sleeve.
And finally, the result.
“3.999 trillion won. SA-Cheolhwa Techwin’s proposed acquisition price is 3.999 trillion won.”
3.999 trillion won.
Mine was 4.7 trillion, and it couldn’t be 15% or more apart… so.
“Woooaaah! Chairman! This is a mega hit!”
Kim Won-cheol suddenly turned barbarian warrior, bellowing without a care for the stares.
As my brain lagged, still recalculating, the math whiz secretary showed me the answer.
“Look at the calculator! Subtract 15% from 4.7 trillion… 3.995 trillion. So…!”
“49 billion… a 49 billion won difference?”
I barely remember what Kim Won-cheol said next.
Just that my ribs suddenly ached like they were crushed—he must’ve hugged me hard.
In a mega acquisition over 4 trillion won, 49 billion won decided the fate.
That tiny sum proved one thing to me.
I had at least the minimum qualifications to sit in this seat.
* * * *
Crash! Something shattered, white smoke rising.
On the Industrial Bank’s VIP terrace stood Im Jae-ho, vice president, breathing raggedly beside a broken phone.
“49 billion won! Just 49 billion won?!”
Fairness evaluation was still pending, but losing on price meant a minus score was inevitable.
Roaring into the void, Im Jae-ho’s remaining fury turned squarely on Seo Yun-ji.
“You pushed to lower the price so we’d end up like this?!”
“You crazy bastard! You made the final call on that price!”
Even she was fuming, hurling her entire cigarette pack to the floor.
Her hand still shook, lighter in grip, as she spoke.
“Cut the bullshit and prep for the fairness evaluation. This time, do it my way. If you try leashing me again… we’ll end up the same!”
Sharp words from his nominal wife. Im Jae-ho barely suppressed his rising anger.
But the message from his secretary soon after was enough to burn away what little patience he had left.
“What? Didn’t I tell you not to come up?!”
“V-Vice President. It’s urgent… Just in from the group legal team. So, um…”