Chapter 39
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: To Prevent War...
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Kangyul shook his head without a word.
He simply couldn't guess what Grandpa Baek was getting at.
"It's luck. No matter how outstanding your leadership, how vast your wealth, or how bold your decisions—they're all useless against someone born under heaven's favor."
"...I'm not lucky, though."
'No way he's about to tell the guy who got blown up by a Daepodong missile that he's got good fortune.'
But that impossible guess turned out to be spot on.
Grandpa Baek had formed a rock-solid misunderstanding.
"I still can't forget Young Master Kangyul's first birthday party. When you snatched the lottery ticket I'd bought as a joke and toppled backward, this old man's heart nearly stopped from the shock."
'...So that was the ticket Grandpa Baek had bought.'
Baek Sangang smiled warmly, lost in pleasant reminiscence.
"Later, when I learned that ticket had won first prize, it hit me. The eldest young master might be one of those born with heavenly luck. That hunch soon hardened into conviction. So I sent mere driver Jang Deokcheol to buy another ticket—and wouldn't you know it, that one won first prize too."
"That was just luck. If anything, it was your luck that I ended up with Grandpa Baek's ticket, not mine."
Baek Sangang shook his head.
Conviction was already etched deep into his features.
"I'm no lucky man myself. Heh heh. Never won the lottery once in my life. It had to be the young master's luck."
'...Man. Now I feel even guiltier.'
By Grandpa Baek's logic, Kangyul had swiped the one—and only—lottery win of the old man's entire life.
Kangyul scratched his head, utterly speechless.
He sure as hell couldn't blurt out that he'd known the winning numbers in advance.
"And after that, you've kept astonishing me. Starting an investment firm, snapping up a school, scooping land on the cheap—and that land shot up several times over in a flash. The banks? Forget about it. Haha. All from a mere eight-year-old child."
Come to think of it, Baek Sangang had every reason to misunderstand.
Even Kangyul had to admit his future-knowledge plays often defied logic.
"Sigh. Fine, you're right, Grandpa. But you didn't summon me just to confirm that, did you?"
Baek Sangang shook his head.
"I want you to carry on what I've built. My seat is one hordes of people have lusted after but never claimed. Even Chairman Im Myeonghan, your father, the eldest young master."
"...The general manager spot at the Mandarin Hotel?"
Kangyul's incredulous echo drew a hearty laugh from Baek Sangang.
"Better to show you than tell you."
No sooner had Baek Sangang spoken than one wall slid open, revealing a massive screen that flickered to life.
The display showed YTN News.
'What the hell is this guy up to?'
"It's Young Master Kangyul's workshop day today—time to fire off some celebratory salvos, eh?"
"Salvos? No, that's really not—"
—...Breaking news! Moments ago at around 3:02 PM, North Korea launched a missile projectile into the East Sea from the Dongchang-ri area in North Pyongan Province. Dongchang-ri houses North Korea's ICBM launch site! With zero warning signs detected, the military has gone on high alert…!
"...You don't mean this, right now?"
But Grandpa Baek's salvoes were far from over.
He thumbed the remote, and the screen switched to a KOSPI stock chart.
"Seonjin Electronics just touched one million won recently. How about we push it to 1.2 million today?"
As if his words were a binding incantation, Seonjin Electronics' stock price rocketed upward.
[961,000]
[972,000]
...
[1,050,000]
[1,061,000]
[1,193,000]
[1,200,000]
And sure enough, it peaked at 1.2 million won before easing back down, just as Baek Sangang predicted.
'...Insane. How is this even possible?'
Kangyul gaped mutely at the monitor.
"The power this old man wields isn't the Mandarin Hotel."
Baek Sangang's wrinkled hand lifted the teacup to his lips.
Slurp—
With his throat freshly moistened, he spoke more easily.
"It's the money and manpower scattered across the Republic of Korea. 120 billion won can fire off one North Korean missile. The same cash makes stock manipulation child's play. And if I set my mind to it, I could push for a National Assembly member's expulsion. Presidential approval ratings? With enough money and pull, impeachment becomes reality."
Leaning back into his chair, Baek Sangang looked utterly drained—yet towering in stature.
"Even after this, you still refuse my seat?"
'Firing North Korean missiles at will? Manipulating stocks with a mere whim?'
This went far beyond mere wealth.
Kangyul nearly fell under the spell of that colossal power but shook his head clear.
'No way that kind of influence comes without strings attached.'
Besides, Kangyul had never been the greedy sort.
All he needed was enough pull to live easy and look after his family.
His status as Seonjin Group's firstborn and his own funds satisfied him just fine.
"...Phew. Sorry, Grandpa."
Kangyul rose and bowed deeply.
"I just don't think I'm cut out for a seat that huge. Launching missiles whenever? Ugh, my hands'd shake too much—I couldn't."
The more Kangyul spoke, the broader Baek Sangang's smile grew.
He'd never dreamed of refusal.
No one ever had.
"I'm the type who knows his limits. Doesn't feel like my league."
Kangyul watched Baek Sangang's face carefully as he spoke.
"...Grandpa, you'll still buy that land, though, right?"
"Kehahaha! The land goes without saying."
"You're the best, Grandpa."
Kangyul drew the unstamped contract from his breast pocket and offered it.
"Soyul. Wrap this up."
Slide—
The door parted at Baek Sangang's command, admitting a sharp-eyed man.
He stamped it crisply and handed it back to Kangyul.
Kangyul inspected every detail before tucking the folded contract safely away.
"Thanks so much, Grandpa. Gotta run—the company workshop awaits."
"Of course. This old fool stole too much of the eldest young master's time."
"Nah. I'll drop by again soon."
Kangyul bowed politely and made for the exit.
Then he paused, turning back to Baek Sangang.
"Oh, Grandpa—just to be sure. With all that power of yours... could you stop a war with North Korea?"
"A war, you say?"
"Yeah. Not some empty threat—a real one. Soldiers marching south."
"If they're hell-bent on it, defusing things would cost a fortune."
"How much?"
Kangyul's eyes lit up at the implied yes.
Baek Sangang's finger tapped the teacup lightly.
A bright, resonant porcelain chime filled the room.
After a thoughtful pause, Baek Sangang replied.
"To keep egos intact on both sides—one trillion each. Factor in payoffs to neighbors and everyone mobilized... roughly three trillion won."
"...Three trillion. Got it. If it ever happens, I'll bring the cash and beg the favor."
Baek Sangang's smile deepened; Soyul, standing behind, scowled fiercely.
Opposing faces, shared sentiment.
Astoundment.
The sum was so staggering it barely registered—his breezy "I'll bring it later" beggared belief.
"...See him out."
Slide—
Soyul opened the door and ushered Kangyul away.
Alone now, Baek Sangang's smile evaporated.
'The eldest young master is even odder than this old man figured.'
In South Korea at least, Baek Sangang wielded godlike sway.
Kangyul was the first ever to turn down succeeding him.
'But that's precisely why he passed the test.'
Had he lunged eagerly, Baek Sangang would've tossed him pocket change and left him content as a chaebol scion.
Instead, Kangyul shattered expectations.
'Three trillion. If he actually delivers... this seat...'
Slide—
Soyul returned from escorting Kangyul.
"Well?"
"...Just some weird kid."
"Kehahaha. Could be. Still, if Young Master Kangyul brings three trillion for real, I'll yield this seat."
'What the hell makes that runt so special!'
Soyul's face crumpled anew.
Head bowed low, it escaped Baek Sangang's notice.
"But we'll set a deadline. Who'd you say gets bumped up to North Korea's People's Army Supreme Commander next?"
"Kim Jong-un."
Kim Jong-un was presumed dead alongside Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-nam—but he lived.
Gravely wounded and in hiding, for now.
"Right. Link up with him. Exactly five years from today. In 2016, we'll spark a South-North war. Then we can sit back... and see if the young master delivers the cash."
Five years hence—that was six years ahead of the war in Kangyul's dreams.