Puppet Show
***
Namdo Group Secretariat.
After finishing his call with Min-ho, Director Yang Sang-pil quietly set down the receiver. He stared at one corner of the room, lost in deep thought.
He had devoted his youth and passion to Namdo Group. To prove his loyalty, he hadn't shied away from the dirty work. Despite all his efforts, the result was nothing but being discarded like a pair of worn-out shoes.
The depth of his disappointment matched the depth of his loyalty to Chairman Han. With a long sigh, he reviewed the materials needed for his report once more.
Min-ho's plan was flawless. This was the only way he could survive.
Clutching the documents, Director Yang headed for the vice chairman's office.
The elevator doors opened on the top floor. Director Yang appeared without prior notice, catching the secretaries off guard. Their eyes met, and they couldn't hide their surprise.
"Director... you're here?"
"Is the vice chairman in?"
"Well... he is, but he said not to let anyone in right now."
"I thought his schedule was clear this morning. Does he have a guest?"
"No, it's not that..."
The secretaries couldn't bring themselves to say what was happening in the vice chairman's office.
Director Yang knew exactly what was going on inside. He'd turned a blind eye until now because it was the royal family's private life.
But things had changed. Behind him stood Min-ho, the grandson of JK Group.
There was no longer any reason to hesitate.
Ignoring the secretaries' silence, he strode toward the vice chairman's office. A flustered secretary rushed out to stop him.
"Director, I'm sorry. You can't go in right now..."
"You think I don't know what's going on?"
"No, sir. I'm sorry."
"Kim, you don't need to apologize. If you don't want to get mixed up in this headache, just step aside and shut up!"
Director Yang marched forward and flung open the door to the vice chairman's office.
The entangled man and woman inside scrambled apart, hurriedly fixing their clothes. He looked at them with pitiful eyes.
Despite countless warnings, they couldn't break their bad habits.
Vice Chairman Han Tae-young, who had farted and was now furious, shouted in embarrassment.
"Hey! Yang, don't you know about privacy?"
"This has nothing to do with work."
"Come on, you're a man too—you get it. Do I have to spell everything out?"
"Namdo Group is in a life-or-death crisis right now. You think this is the time for this?"
"What? What did you just say? Say it again."
"I said this isn't the time for this."
"I've been watching you, and now you're getting cocky. You think you can act up just because your dad's gone?"
Vice Chairman Han Tae-young shook his head side to side and glared at Director Yang as if he wanted to kill him. He grabbed the nameplate on his desk and hurled it.
Director Yang felt pathetic for having given everything to people like this.
He slammed the prepared documents onto the desk and reported as Min-ho had instructed.
"We've confirmed that Athena is acquiring stakes in Namdo Construction, Namdo Investment Trust Securities, and Namdo Distribution—three companies in total."
"What? What did you say? Athena?"
"Yes, Vice Chairman."
"That place... the one connected to my father through his ties, right? Isn't it?"
"It's the same company that fought the takeover battle for Yeonggwang Ilbo."
Director Yang gave dry answers, watching Vice Chairman Han Tae-young closely. It was just as expected—his face was full of bewilderment.
He'd always had his father to clean up his messes, but now that position was vacant. With additional scandals breaking, it was uncertain when his father would return.
To press the vice chairman, Director Yang spoke up.
"The chairman is absent. You need to make all the decisions now."
Vice Chairman Han Tae-young was incompetent. He was a figurehead from the start, with no ability to turn this around.
After pacing anxiously for a while, his face drained of color as he asked,
"What... what should I do? Huh? Director Yang, I don't know anything. What do I do?"
"Just follow my advice."
Director Yang's advice was Min-ho's orders. From kilometers away, Min-ho had seized Namdo Group by the hair.
"Are you thinking of defending the stocks with the company's retained earnings?"
"Yeah, right—that's it! We buy them back with company money, right?"
"The retained earnings are nearly depleted from land and facility investments for the Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Icheon, and Anseong factories."
Vice Chairman Han Tae-young whined like a child demanding a toy.
"Then what the hell do you want me to do?!"
"Go to Seocho-dong and report to the chairman. That's the only option right now."
"You mean there's something he can do?"
"Yes."
"Got it! I'll go—wait here a sec."
"I'll convene the executive meeting."
As Director Yang said, the vice chairman hurriedly dressed and rushed out.
Director Yang picked up the phone on the vice chairman's desk and called Min-ho.
"Yang Sang-pil speaking."
***
Meanwhile, following Director Yang's instructions, Vice Chairman Han Tae-young sped to Seocho-dong.
After a long wait, he finally met Chairman Han Du-hak in the reception room. The intense investigation had left him looking exhausted.
"I told you not to come here—why'd you show up?"
"Dad, we're in big trouble."
"Nothing could be worse than this. Just focus on Namdo Group, got it?"
"It's not that... it's Athena..."
The word "Athena" from his son's mouth made the thick vein on Chairman Han Du-hak's forehead bulge.
"What do those Athena bastards want?"
"They're attacking our group."
"Don't flap around—sit down and explain calmly. What exactly is Athena doing?"
"They're going crazy buying up construction, securities, distribution—everything!"
"Is what you're saying true?"
"Why would I come all the way here to lie to you?"
"Damn it!"
He thought they'd hit rock bottom, but there was still a basement below. Namdo Group was being uprooted and shaken.
Charges kept piling up, and he had no idea when he'd get out.
Chairman Han Du-hak flung his chair aside, but that was all he could do.
"Dad, don't get mad—tell me what to do in a situation like this."
"Use the retained earnings to block them. Call all the affiliate presidents and executives for a meeting. Sang-pil will handle the rest."
"But Director Yang... didn't we agree he'd take the fall for the Namdo Chemicals incident instead of you?"
Realizing his mistake at his son's words, Chairman Han Du-hak went pale.
He sensed this was no coincidence. He'd fallen into Min-ho's meticulously laid trap.
Clutching his head with both hands, he collapsed to the floor.
He'd pinned the Namdo Chemicals phenol leak on Director Yang Sang-pil and already given his statement.
He thought that would settle everything, but The Times dropped a bombshell exclusive.
Chairman Han Du-hak, caught in dirty deals with the Ministry of Construction, now faced additional charges in the Su-seo land preferential allocation scandal.
A prison sentence was inevitable. If Director Yang went down too, no one would be left to protect Namdo Group.
Retracting his statement to save Director Yang would lengthen his own sentence. But shifting full blame for Namdo Chemicals would leave the scapegoat position empty.
Chairman Han Du-hak was in a perfect checkmate. Removing the wart was a problem; leaving it was a problem. Every move was a bad one.
He couldn't advance or retreat. He tried to convince himself it was coincidence, but no haphazard plan could produce this picture.
He racked his brains, tearing at his hair, but no solution came.
In this situation, Director Yang Sang-pil was the only one he trusted.
"Listen to me carefully from now on."
"Okay, what do I do?"
"Go to Sang-pil. Tell him to sell assets, get loans—whatever it takes to secure cash and block them."
"But Director Yang's up for prosecution soon. What about that?"
"I'll drag things out somehow. Leave the rest to Sang-pil."
***
Yeouido, Athena.
As Namdo Group buzzed frantically, Min-ho was meticulously monitoring the situation from Yeouido.
"Section Chief Cheon, you checked Namdo Group's stock prices?"
"Yes. It's less than yesterday, but all Namdo affiliates are down over 5% today."
"Lawyer Choi will prepare the funds. Start quietly accumulating Namdo Distribution shares from today."
"Understood."
Section Chief Cheon Dong-gwan stood, hesitating unusually as if he had something to say. His eyes were fixed on the documents, but Min-ho could tell.
"If you have something to say, spit it out. A question?"
"Well... the workload's increased. I'd like to hire some staff."
"Why hesitate over that? Hire as many as you need."
"Actually... there are some guys I worked with back in my business days. Can I bring them in? Their backgrounds are clean—no issues."
Cheon Dong-gwan's business had failed due to his own greed, leaving his followers jobless overnight. He still felt indebted to them.
"I've noticed this before, but you have a strong sense of responsibility, Section Chief Cheon."
"No, sir. They were at the prime of their careers, and because of me, they couldn't build experience before leaving."
"You still keep in touch?"
"Yes. They're all at some factory now, probably because of me. It weighs on me."
In a time needing extra hands, trustworthy people were a good pick for Min-ho.
"Bring them. But if they don't measure up, it's like they were never hired."
"Understood. Thank you."
As Section Chief Cheon left, President Jo Dong-uk of The Times entered like a baton pass.
"President, I have a report."
"Faster than I expected."
"We finished background checks on all Namdo Distribution shareholders as you requested yesterday."
Min-ho nodded as he examined the documents Jo handed over.
"How'd you pull this off in a day?"
"We have straws everywhere—piece of cake."
"Good work. Keep up the follow-up coverage."
"Yes, sir."
Jo finished his brief report but lingered, fidgeting like Cheon.
"What's with everyone today? If you have something to say, out with it."
"Well... the staff are curious about you, President."
"More specifically?"
"How about joining us for the upcoming company dinner? Just a humble suggestion."
The Times was on the 14th floor, Min-ho on the 15th. Despite the proximity, he'd never shown his face to the reporters, who were dying of curiosity.
With a sly smile, he replied,
"I'll decide after seeing the follow-up reports."
"Then you'll probably join us."
"It all depends on you, President Jo."
"Of course. I'll head down now."
Min-ho turned to Lawyer Choi, who was frowning at the documents Jo had left behind.
"When Lawyer Choi frowns, there's a problem. What's with Jo's materials?"
"If we expose scandals like these, most would get prison time. In short, we expect cooperation from Namdo Distribution shareholders..."
"Hold on—phone first."
Min-ho picked up the receiver.
"Yang Sang-pil speaking."
"Status over there?"
"Proceeding as instructed. I've ordered the Namdo Distribution shareholders to the head office conference room in two hours."
"Good work. I'll be there on time."
"Yes, see you soon."
Lawyer Choi, overhearing, looked shocked at the idea of entering enemy territory alone.
"Young master, please tell me I heard wrong."
"You heard right. We're planting our flag in Namdo Group's head office conference room. Prepare to depart."
Min-ho headed to Namdo Group with Lawyer Choi.