Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Interlocking Gears (3)
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“What an end of days, end of days. Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
Laborer Kim had been knocking back makgeolli at the neighborhood bar since early evening. His eyes were fixed on the battered old cathode-ray tube TV in one corner of the shop.
-T Group’s second son and director Kim Beom-ho’s affair with SA-Cheolhwa Techwin CEO Seo Yun-ji has the whole world buzzing, and now drug-related charges are also under investigation.
Clang. A dented makgeolli cup slammed roughly onto the table.
Along with it came a single outburst from the red-faced drunk.
“Those rich bastards! Doing shit even the neighborhood dogs wouldn’t touch!”
“Hey, Kim hyung. Drunk again already?”
“Drunk my ass! Look at that bitch. Ditching her own husband to shack up with some other guy!”
Seo Yun-ji’s photo on the screen. As various charges against her scrolled by, the feed cut to the anchor delivering the next story.
-Thanks to the controversy surrounding CEO Seo Yun-ji, the Cheolhwa Semiconductor acquisition battle has taken an unexpectedly dramatic turn.
-The Industrial Bank has sided with Ammunition Group in its final fairness evaluation. It’s believed they put considerable thought into the recent scandal, though some are saying…
Thwack! Laborer Kim slammed his palm on the table.
He wiped the makgeolli from his mouth with his sleeve and spoke up.
“That’s right! Damn straight! If a massive company like Cheolhwa Semiconductor fell into those scumbags’ hands, it’d go belly-up in no time! Straight to bankruptcy, I’m telling you!”
“Oh man, Kim hyung! Quit drinking and let’s go already! Acting all high and mighty just ‘cause you’ve been bankrupt once yourself.”
“What? You little punk mouthing off like that!”
Crash! The bar’s atmosphere heated up in an instant.
As the drunks started brawling, furniture flew through the air, and a few plates hurtled toward the TV.
“Oh lord! Stop fighting already! If you’re gonna beat each other up, do it at home! Not in my bar!”
The bar’s elderly owner collapsed to the floor, bursting into tears.
Right in the middle of the village farce, the CRT TV—now cracked from a direct hit by a plate.
Amid the static fuzz on the screen, the feed suddenly switched. A “LIVE” label appeared in the upper left corner.
In front of a police station in Seoul, with Seo Yun-ji standing there, head bowed.
-Yes, SA-Cheolhwa Techwin CEO Seo Yun-ji is now at the photo line. We go live to the scene.
* * * *
“CEO Seo Yun-ji! Adultery, drug use—are you admitting to all the charges?”
“I will cooperate fully with the investigation.”
Seo Yun-ji followed the standard script for post-scandal remarks from chaebol families.
She parroted the model responses her lawyer had prepared—“I don’t recall,” or “I don’t remember”—like a trained bird, over and over.
Amid the thunderous camera shutters, she reflected on a far more humiliating moment than this one.
“You useless bitch! Just like your mother! Dropped you without a shred of responsibility and died on her own damn whim!”
Chairman Seo Guk-cheol of Cheolhwa Group, bedridden over the Cheolhwa Semiconductor fiasco.
His face, ravaged by illness, was so darkly shadowed that he could drop dead any second without raising an eyebrow.
“Cough, cough! You… trash of a girl! Because of you, the Seo family succession at Cheolhwa Group is all fucked up! I can’t even stand the sight of you—get out!”
Chairman Seo Guk-cheol struggled to lift his cane with an arm that wouldn’t rise.
Seo Yun-ji clutched the arm he’d struck—not painful, yet aching all the same—and lifted her head.
“CEO Seo! People are saying these charges are the main reason the Cheolhwa Semiconductor acquisition failed—what do you think?”
“I have nothing more to say.”
With those final words, Seo Yun-ji left the photo line.
Her lower lip, bitten out of habit.
Her expression turned vicious the moment the camera flashes hit her back.
As she walked silently into the police station, her eye twitched. Beneath the heavy makeup, one reddened cheek stung fiercely.
The cheek her nominal husband, Vice President Im Jae-ho, had slapped.
“What the hell are you?”
Ptoo. Seo Yun-ji spat a bloody glob onto the floor and stared straight into her husband’s eyes.
“Didn’t I say we’d be a show-window couple? Are you stupid? Why make a fuss now?”
“Ha! You still high on that shit? You made this mess, and you’ve got the nerve to flap your gums?”
Vice President Im Jae-ho rolled up his sleeve again. Seo Yun-ji stepped forward, right into his space.
Ignoring her bruised cheek entirely.
“Defense Ministry new weapons development project. We’re doing it. Cooperate.”
“You’re insane. Cheolhwa Semiconductor is done. No reason to help your family, and no way it saves your ass either!”
“Excluding that Seo family that doesn’t even treat me like blood. Just you and me. I’ve got a way. Benefits us both.”
Vice President Im Jae-ho, now in a bind after the Cheolhwa Semiconductor deal fell through.
In his current position, where he needed achievements to prove himself to shareholders, it was enough to halt his rising hand.
“…….”
Vice President Im Jae-ho’s trembling eyes.
At his jaw, gesturing for her to speak, came a proposal far more viable than expected. One too tempting to refuse outright.
“China. We’ll acquire a Chinese semiconductor firm. Through a company bridged by [Shanghai Capital].”
* * * *
Ammunition Group headquarters, top floor—chairman’s office.
Pop! Finishing his morning schedule a bit late, he walked in to a blast of confetti assaulting his eardrums.
“Whoa, you scared me!”
“Surprise. President Han. Congratulations!”
As expected, only one person in all of Ammunition Group would pull something like this.
Uncle Kim Won-cheol, party hat and sunglasses on, recorder in his mouth.
The cheap recorder leaked a wheezy tune, awkwardly playing a melody fit for a birthday song.
“Congratulations. Congratulations. On acquiring Cheolhwa Semiconductor.”
“Why make a separate fuss, you embarrassing old man. Weren’t you at the celebration party with me just yesterday?”
After the successful Cheolhwa Semiconductor acquisition, Ammunition Group’s Hotel Florence hosted a lavish party.
Politicians and business leaders galore. The company itself must’ve been a headache—cabinet ministers weren’t enough; even the prime minister showed up.
“Chairman Han Seo-jun, congratulations! Cheolhwa Semiconductor… or should I say Ammunition Semiconductor now. I hope it rises to the top tier!”
“Haha… thank you, Prime Minister.”
“Thank you? I should be thanking you. When young entrepreneurs step up, things get done fast. Ho ho ho.”
The prime minister’s handshake still throbbed in his fingertips like a bruise. The hairy brute had gripped like a wild beast.
“The prime minister seemed pretty expectant. Hell, he was acting like a human bidet.”
“Human bidet… bit of a weird ring, but it fits. Prince Bin Salman was there too, after all.”
Prince Bin Salman, who’d played moneybags in the Cheolhwa Semiconductor acquisition.
In a private room, he’d laid out everything from the Defense Ministry new weapons project to the IT industry roadmap ahead.
“So… we maximize IT capabilities through that project, then jump straight into smartphone OS development.”
“Hardware to software, all integrated. If it works, recouping investment’s a given.”
“We’ll devour the global market fast. Two years… three at most.”
The roadmap starting with <Cocoa>.
Prince Bin Salman took kindly to the idea of owning the small world in his palm.
Along with a promise of unlimited funding.
Drawing the blinds to let in the winter sun, he rose and leaned on the desk’s edge.
“Now all that’s left is the Defense Ministry new weapons development project. Get over that hill, and we’re done.”
“It’s basically over already. With Cheolhwa Semiconductor in the bag, our industrial facilities score is near perfect.”
“That’s only if they stay collapsed. From what they’ve done so far… they won’t go down easy.”
Seo Yun-ji and Vice President Im Jae-ho.
Even after the scandal that rocked the nation, no word of divorce or lawsuits.
Just lurking in the brush, claws hidden beneath, maintaining silence.
Standing, he spun the large wooden globe beside him with force.
“First off, Director—you’ll have to work hard.”
“Me? More work? On top of this?”
The globe whirred around.
With it, memories buried somewhere in his mind began surfacing.
The spin slowed. A familiar space under his fingertips.
The very place where outsiders had watched this unfold.
“We’ll create a new division at group HQ. Dedicated solely… to overseas intelligence gathering.”
Guangzhou.
Where [Shanghai Capital] had set up the ghost IT company for Seo Yun-ji.
* * * *
Chairman Seo Guk-cheol of Cheolhwa Group, felled by the failed Cheolhwa Semiconductor acquisition.
The ones grinning widest at the news? His blood daughters, Seo Yun-a and Seo Yun-mi.
“You heard, right? That damn old fart keeled over.”
Eldest sister Seo Yun-a, practically swelling with glee, raised her voice in excitement.
“No handing the group to that bastard spawn anytime soon. Thank God. Right?”
“Sigh, sis. You really think that’s the right take?”
Second sister Seo Yun-mi eyed her sister with pity.
Twice as sharp as her sibling, she didn’t see this as good news.
Documents on the table. Already vetted by corporate law experts, they held unexpected contents.
“What… is this? Cheolhwa Group share restructuring plan? Crazy… he’s really doing it? The old fart?”
“He’s convinced his days are numbered. So he’s going for the unthinkable.”
Chairman Seo Guk-cheol, visibly fading. With time running out, only drastic measures remained.
Securing succession to the Seo family. Side effects be damned.
Even if it meant carving off Cheolhwa Group’s limbs to foreign capital—it was worth it.
“The old coot’s lost it! Now… what do we do?”
“What do you mean? Only one option left.”
Seo Yun-a grabbed the documents and approached the fireplace.
One by one, she fed the papers into the roaring flames and spoke.
“Before that mad delusion becomes real… we burn it all first. The old fart. And that blood-clot bastard too.”