Ripples of Retaliation
***
Athena Seyoung, Minguk, and Dongyoung—the so-called three major dailies—had turned their blades on Chairman Kang to strike at The Times. Min-ho seized an accidental incident and transformed it into a golden opportunity. He catapulted the Chairman, mired in scandal, straight to stardom, dispelling all public suspicions in one stroke. Now it was time to unleash a dazzling counterstrike on those who had drawn first blood.
To execute this splendid revenge, he had temporarily received full authority from the Chairman. Choi, the lawyer who had been buried in his work, glanced up subtly to study Min-ho. He was reviewing reports as calmly as ever. Curiosity gnawing at him, Choi ventured a question.
"Young master, are you planning to deal with those three major dailies?"
"Of course. They fired the first shot—shouldn't we fire back a few missiles? Ask away if you have questions."
"I'm curious why you received full authority from the Chairman."
"Simple. All of Athena's funds are tied up in the stock market. What do you think I can do right now?"
"Your options are indeed limited."
"To be precise, I can't do anything right now."
Min-ho shoved back his chair and stood. He placed that morning's Seyoung Daily on the table and spoke.
"When hyenas lunge at a lion's prey, what happens if they just bluff and pass by with a growl?"
Choi set down his pen and pondered before replying.
"You can't rule out the chance they'll latch on and tear if an opportunity arises."
"You know what's going through their heads, right?"
"They can't make the impossible possible, but they can make the possible impossible. That's their thinking."
"Exactly. This isn't about Athena's CEO—it's about doing what I need to as his grandson."
"Do you have a plan in mind? I'll lend a hand however I can."
"I'll explain it at the meeting in a bit."
"Understood."
Choi reviewed some documents briefly, then posed a rather pointed question as if struck by a thought.
"Young master, suppose..."
"The hospital incident's bothering you?"
"Yes. I've never seen the Chairman so flustered."
"Grandfather's never raised his voice at Father before. And with me jumping in too, no wonder he was thrown."
"Suppose you clash head-on with him. What then?"
"It's a mountain we have to cross someday. We will, no doubt. No need to worry yet."
"Understood."
A knock sounded, and Section Chief Cheon Dong-gwan entered.
"President, the meeting's ready."
"Got it. Let's start right away."
***
Min-ho pushed open the conference room door. The team members seated there rose and bowed. After one last check of his materials, he dove straight in.
"I know you're all busy—thanks for prepping. Let's start with Section Chief Cheon. How's the investment going?"
"The market's buzzing with life for the first time in ages, thanks to the stabilization fund injection."
"And the returns?"
"We're at a total of 255% right now."
The investment was 30 billion won. Even excluding principal, they'd already cleared over 30 billion in profits. The staggering sum left the team gaping at Min-ho. It was seed money for building a major hypermarket, but to Min-ho, it was still a drop in the bucket. He'd earned 30 billion without batting an eye.
Cheon, however, saw it differently and cautiously shared his view.
"President, this isn't bad at all. What do you think about pulling the profits and reinvesting?"
"We've just reached the foot of the mountain. Can't head down after barely stepping on the dirt."
"So you're saying we'll push all the way to the target amount you mentioned?"
"It's going higher from here."
"Understood."
Next up was Real Estate Team Leader No Jun-hwan. Min-ho turned to him.
"No, how's the land acquisition?"
"We've marked areas with at least 6,000 pyeong including parking. Chang-dong, Mia, Wolgye, Mok-dong, Sangbong, and Wangsimni are practically locked in."
"You've greased the wheels—just need the funds to seal it?"
"Yes."
"They'll be ready soon. I'll handle the money—keep pushing."
Min-ho nodded and shifted his gaze to President Jo Dong-uk, who jumped right into his report.
"Circulation's tripling every month. And that scoop on JK Group a few days ago? The Times broke it first."
"How'd it land?"
"Never imagined anything like it. We sold out completely—couldn't keep up even with emergency print runs."
"Phone must've been ringing off the hook."
"Most calls I've ever fielded. Should we ramp up print runs? Or maybe regular evening editions?"
Jo couldn't hide his grin mid-meeting, thanks to The Times' sellouts. Min-ho shook his head with a faint smile.
"No scarcity, no frenzy. Keep it just shy of demand—scale up gradually by feel. No need to report it."
"Got it. One more thing."
"The three majors?"
"Yes. They're flooding with JK Group stories right now—practically deifying Chairman Kang Jin-gwang."
"Desperate thrashing. Ignore it."
Now Athena Distribution President Yang Sang-pil's turn.
"Yang, settling in okay?"
"Same work, different chair."
"Good. Everything I asked for ready?"
"Quick rundown: Newspaper paper's dominated 85% by Solhan, Daehan, and Ilsam."
"Offset ink market?"
"Smaller than paper. Wonam and Soljin have it locked."
Choi, listening intently, seemed to catch on to Min-ho's plan from Yang's answers. He gulped down his water to steady his shock.
Yang, oblivious, asked,
"Mind if I ask how you'll use this info?"
"That's what I'm about to explain. Listen up, everyone."
Min-ho held up a newspaper from the table for the team to see.
"What makes up this paper you see here?"
A simple question that sparked a flurry of thoughts.
The Times President Jo answered confidently.
"Articles."
"Not abstract—literally."
"Literally..."
"Think: what's most crucial to making these scraps of paper I'm holding?"
Choi, who knew Min-ho's style best, raised a hand quietly.
"Paper and ink."
"Spot on. As Yang said, a handful of firms monopolize newspaper paper and offset ink."
The strategy dawning on them, the team buzzed.
"President, you don't mean..."
"The only way to kill all three majors at once. This time, we hit 'em from behind. You all get the rest, right?"
Theoretical, sure—but Min-ho was dead set on making it real. Issuing one paper took countless reporters' sweat. Abstract. But concretely? Paper and ink were non-negotiable. Cut those off smoothly, and even top dailies were dead in the water.
True to his bold word to the Chairman, Min-ho chose a nuclear option to uproot them. The team knew his daring style, but this was beyond imagination. They shook their heads in awe.
Couldn't just gawk. Yang jotted notes and spoke up.
"Perfect in theory. But we need one thing."
"Speak freely here—lay it out."
"Excluding Seyoung Daily, the other two are private firms."
"Can't seize control?"
"Yes. To grab paper and ink at once, we need a killer card."
"Secretary-level insight. Theory to reality needs a real weapon."
Yang pondered, pen twirling, then raised another point.
"Even with the card, if they don't bite, it fizzles."
"Sounds like the three majors control their cash flow."
"Take Seyoung: their subcontractor squeeze is infamous—no late payments, and even those are promissory notes."
"Details."
"To hike dependency, they delay funds and pay in notes."
Pragmatic advice. Min-ho nodded.
"Grab our hand, and they've crossed the Rubicon."
"Sorry, but my take: low odds of success, high risk of failure."
Ex-secretary Yang was ruthlessly realistic. But he missed one thing: Min-ho was royal blood, holding cards no one dreamed of.
As if expecting this, Min-ho smiled lightly.
"Secretary chops don't fade—very realistic. But you're missing one thing."
Yang frantically checked his papers. Nothing overlooked.
"Some connection or tie I don't know?"
"Nope. Just one thing I've got: unlimited funding."
"Pardon?"
"If Athena had bottomless cash, how would you crack this?"
He'd pulled the Chairman from the swamp, then snagged full proxy without pause. Chairman Kang Jin-gwang backed him solidly—funds were effectively infinite.
The team stared, dumbfounded.
"Yang, know the world's easiest thing?"
"Not sure."
Min-ho snapped his fingers.
"Solving it with money. Lock down ink and paper, and not even their grandpas can save those bastards."
Finally grasping the big picture, Yang nodded.
"Seyoung shakes them with cash alone. Solve that, and the scales tip our way."
"Exactly. Yang, you have ties there, right?"
"Yes. Met them often at Namdo. Can call now if you want."
"Five firms total. Same spots as usual—set meetings for tonight."
Min-ho's pace was relentless. Rounding up five CEOs in hours? No small feat.
Yang looked troubled.
"Tough to gather them all at once. I'll meet separately and relay."
"Tell them it's a summons from Chairman Kang Jin-gwang."
"The Chairman himself?"
"Problem?"
"No. None."
"And add this: skip, and those notes are worthless anywhere in Korea."
One word from the Chairman turned notes to trash. Cash choked? They were goners. The Chairman's test—and Min-ho's chance to propel The Times further.
Meeting wrapped, Min-ho headed out with Choi to the rendezvous.