The Tables Have Turned
Jung Sung Construction headquarters, the CEO's office.
When the vice president opened the door and stepped in, Jung Hyun-il was just hanging up the phone.
"Park Han-soo called."
The vice president stopped in his tracks.
"Chairman Park Han-soo called you personally?"
"Personally."
The corner of Jung Hyun-il's mouth curled upward.
"The article ran this morning, and before lunch even rolled around, the phone rang. He sounded desperate, too."
The vice president took his seat. He kept his expression carefully neutral, but he couldn't keep the smile entirely off his lips.
The plan had been his. Watching Jung Hyun-il revel in it, he felt quietly relieved.
He held no illusions about a reward, of course. He had served at Jung Hyun-il's side for years, and such things had never come.
But he knew better than anyone how to carry himself at moments like this.
"Your strategy worked brilliantly, as expected, sir."
"Ha! You make it sound like I did it alone. You helped, didn't you?"
Jung Hyun-il laughed heartily and settled into his chair, and the vice president nodded and spoke up.
"Then we'll assemble a team and open negotiations with Shinsung right away. I already roughed out the terms yesterday, so—"
"Hold on."
Jung Hyun-il raised a hand.
"I think we can let it sit for another day or so."
"...I'm sorry?"
The vice president looked up.
"The one under pressure is them. Why should we come running?"
He leaned back in his chair as he said it, ease dripping from his voice.
Seeing that, the vice president understood. A few days ago, in this very office, Jung Hyun-il had been ranting and raving—tutting about how some old fossil had dared lecture him about PF loans. That memory must be replaying in his boss's head right now.
"You know what that old man said to me?"
There it was.
Jung Hyun-il began recounting the story, and there was no bitterness in his voice as he dredged up the humiliation—quite the opposite. He was savoring it. The positions had flipped, after all.
"He asked me if I even knew what PF was. Not the textbook answer, mind you. He said that to me—to the CEO of Jung Sung Construction."
He clicked his tongue and laughed.
"Backed into a corner, and still he had the gall. Pride intact to the very end."
"..."
"And now look—he's the one calling. Money trouble changes a man."
Jung Hyun-il tapped the armrest with his finger.
"Let them stew."
A short instruction, nothing more.
"If he spends all night worrying about the bank run and can't sleep, he'll come to the table with a different attitude tomorrow."
The vice president smiled.
"A masterstroke, sir, truly."
"Reach out tomorrow afternoon. And not from me directly—let the working teams talk. It would be beneath my dignity to go running personally to buy one little savings bank."
Jung Hyun-il gestured at the documents laid on the table.
"He'll come crawling on his own by tomorrow anyway, so polish the terms. How much can we shave off the market price?"
"Accounting for the distressed PF loans, ten percent is safe—but with the bank run on top of it, we could push for fifteen."
"And the board?"
"We fill it with our people, naturally. We replace the existing management and put Professor Yoon In-chul—your own pick—up front, and even the Financial Supervisory Service will have nothing to object to."
Jung Hyun-il nodded, wearing the face of a man divvying up the assets of a company that was already his.
"Good. When we open the table tomorrow, let's close it in one pass."
"Understood. I'll have the planning office contact the Shinsung side tomorrow afternoon."
Knock, knock—
At the sound of the knock, both men turned toward the door.
The secretary entered. Something was different—her expression was strange.
"Sir, we've received a call from Shinsung Savings Bank."
"That was fast. What do they want? Settling this by end of day, are they?"
Jung Hyun-il asked with his arms crossed, the very picture of leisure.
"They're asking that what you said today be treated as though it never happened."
The office went quiet. In that instant, Jung Hyun-il's crossed arms dropped.
"...What?"
"They are withdrawing their negotiation offer. They say there is nothing further to discuss—"
"Hang on. They're the ones who called me first thing this morning. And now they want to pretend it never happened?"
The secretary had no answer.
Jung Hyun-il's gaze swung to the vice president.
The vice president said nothing either, and the smile from five seconds ago was nowhere to be found.
"Verify it."
Jung Hyun-il's voice had dropped low.
"Find out everything—every single thing that happened at Shinsung. Now!"
His fury began to echo through the office, and the vice president scrambled into motion.
"Welcome."
That same evening, the Ribbon Capital office.
Kim Jong-soo had said over the phone that after informing me of his conversation with Shinsung, he would come straight to the office—and I honestly hadn't expected him to actually show up.
Come to think of it, I had always gone to him in Bukchon; Kim Jong-soo had never once come looking for me.
"So this is the office?"
The first words out of Kim Jong-soo's mouth as he opened the door and stepped inside.
A space barely over thirty square meters, three desks. Four monitors lined up along the wall, and a sofa tucked in the corner. That was everything.
"Aren't you a man of means?"
"This is plenty for us. After all, the entire staff is me and the trader over there."
At my nod toward the desk, Han Jae-yi rose from her seat and bowed her head in greeting.
"Good evening. I'm Han Jae-yi."
Kim Jong-soo looked at her. His gaze lingered for a moment.
Then he turned back to me and spoke.
"Is it just that you're young? You're full of surprises in every way."
I had a fair idea what he meant.
The man had spent decades in the Myeongdong money markets. In that world, handling money had been a man's business.
The sight of a young woman sitting at a trading desk was bound to look strange to him.
"Director Han Jae-yi has earned us trillions of won."
Kim Jong-soo's eyes shifted.
"Her ability has no equal in this country."
Kim Jong-soo looked at Han Jae-yi again. It was a different look than before.
That was the good thing about this old man. He had his prejudices, but when it came to money, he never let pride get in the way.
"...Huh. Impressive."
He let out the short remark and sat down on the sofa.
"Care for a cup of tea?"
"Just a glass of cold water will do."
At that, Han Jae-yi started to move, but I raised a hand to stop her and brought the water over myself.
Kim Jong-soo drained it in one gulp and spoke.
"I'll be honest with you."
His voice had changed from moments ago, and his face was grave.
"I only half believed you. When you told me to put the cash in first and take repayment at deposit rates, I honestly wondered if I'd just end up eating the loss outright."
"And the result?"
"Just as you said it would be."
Kim Jong-soo looked at me.
"When I mentioned deposit rates, Park Han-soo's expression changed. He looked like he was wondering what game I was playing. But just as you predicted, the man asked me himself. Why go this far for us, he said."
"And that was when you got to the real matter."
"That's right. I asked for a chance to join the acquisition, and he sat there silent for a long while. Then he finally spoke."
Kim Jong-soo gathered his breath and went on.
"Apparently it stung his pride that Jung Sung got the first call. And then along comes a stranger offering unconditional cash—no strings. For a man drowning, that must have felt like air."
He paused.
"Two old men sat down for a talk, and looking back on it, the script was written by you."
I gave a small bow instead of an answer.
Kim Jong-soo went on with a chuckle.
"At my age, this is a first."
Not words a man throws around lightly after decades in the private lending market. Not from someone who'd weathered thirty years in Myeongdong—and Kim Jong-soo's eyes had changed accordingly.
It had been Kim Jong-soo who first pulled me into this game, but he had never trusted me fully. Now, that had changed.
"So the board has opened, it seems. What's your read?"
At Kim Jong-soo's question, I shook my head.
"Open, yes—but the scales haven't tipped."
"Meaning what?"
"Chairman Park Han-soo will be grateful that we lent him the money. But gratitude isn't a reason to take our side."
Kim Jong-soo nodded. His face said he'd read at least that much himself.
"He'll likely entertain both offers. Compare which terms are better, which better matches his own convictions."
"Will Jung Sung just sit still?"
"Those aren't the type to sit still. They're the ones who triggered a bank run—once they learn who slipped cash in behind the scenes, they'll move."
"Then is there an answer?"
"There is. If Professor Yoon In-chul—the man I mentioned before—joins us, the board changes completely."
At this point, the only card left for Jung Sung to play was political influence. So we would simply change the face on our side of the table.
"A former banker turned economics professor. With him, the regulators can be satisfied—and Park Han-soo gets a dignified reason to entrust his bank?"
"Precisely."
"Any word from him?"
"He seems to still be deliberating..."
Bzzzz—
Before I could finish, my pocket buzzed. I checked the screen and gave Kim Jong-soo a slight bow.
"Excuse me. One moment."
I answered the call.
"Yes. Yes, very good. Would tomorrow work for a meeting? Yes."
I hung up and looked at Kim Jong-soo.
"The answer has come. Chairman, you'll need to meet Professor Yoon In-chul yourself."
"And what am I supposed to do this time?"
"What you always do."
"What I always do?"
"He's someone we'll be walking with from now on. Don't hide anything—listen to what he has to say, and say what needs saying. That will serve you better."
"And if he takes a dislike to me?"
"Then we look for another face. This project, after all, is yours, Chairman."
The Shinsung Savings Bank acquisition was proceeding under Kim Jong-soo's name.
I would build the board behind the scenes, but standing at the front would be him.
The responsibility, and the rewards, would both be his.
That was what made Kim Jong-soo move. A man only runs with his whole heart when he feels the work is his own.
Kim Jong-soo nodded.
"I haven't met this many people in years."
"Shall I meet him for you, then?"
"No."
Kim Jong-soo rose from his seat, smiling.
"As you said—it's my business. So I'll do the meeting. Well then, I'll be off. Set the time and place and let me know."
"Yes, understood. Safe travels."
I saw Kim Jong-soo out. The moment he was gone, Han Jae-yi came straight over to me.
"The old man's looking at you differently now, isn't he?"
"He is. Last time there was some doubt in his eyes—now that's gone."
"By the way—Director? Me? And... I didn't earn that money on my own, you know."
Han Jae-yi spoke as if recalling what I'd said to Kim Jong-soo earlier.
"You are. I decided just now. I figured you'd want a proper title to use publicly, Senior. And the money—we made it together, so it counts as yours too."
A smile spread across Han Jae-yi's face.
"Well then, Director—back to work with you."
"Yes, sir, CEO sir!"
Han Jae-yi answered in exaggerated playfulness and returned to her desk, and I sat down with a smile of my own.
Once Yoon In-chul joins, all that's left is building the consortium properly.
With that thought settled, I turned to designing the consortium in earnest.