Reflection
“……”
Ma Sang-hoon glanced at James, who was seated before Chairman Kim, and gave a slight nod. As head of the Strategic Planning Office, a man who knew the chairman’s every move, he already knew exactly who James was.
The man dating the chairman’s youngest daughter, Su-ji.
After confirming James’s identity, Ma Sang-hoon reported information that might as well have been confidential.
“Once the full one trillion won of the third round of investment has been executed, we’ll secure more than forty percent of Duojardin’s shares. After that, through our biotech subsidiaries, we’ll begin distributing the diagnostic kits. The synergy effects from that, along with the increase in equity value, should bring the total projected profit to roughly seven trillion won over five years…”
“That’s enough.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Chairman Kim looked at James with obvious dissatisfaction.
“Look at this. He’s still going on about seven trillion won in profit!”
“That’s because you still don’t have the full picture, sir.”
“And you didn’t think to check?”
“……”
“Did you even have a company to put forward when you went to Duojardin? Of course not. You were just an individual. The information was all there for the taking. Are you telling me the Strategic Planning Office of ST Group couldn’t manage it?”
For ST Group’s Strategic Planning Office, this was impossible.
Of course we couldn’t. I only got in because I used magic to break through the entrance.
Everything about James’s infiltration of Duojardin and his meeting with CEO Tarantis had been possible only because of magic. Even if ST Group had sent people from Google or Apple, they would never have achieved the same result James had. But there was no way to reveal the truth about his magic, so he had to accept the rebuke with a sour expression.
“Well… I suppose it might have been possible, if things had gone well.”
Even if they had somehow pushed past the security guards at the building entrance, the obstacles would have remained. Simply meeting an internal employee had been effectively sealed off, and getting an appointment with Tarantis, the company’s CEO, would have taken months even if one had tried to arrange it in advance. So many people were trying to see her that she wasn’t someone you could just walk in and meet. On top of that, the company’s internal laboratory and production facilities were under strict security, and outside personnel were forbidden from entering.
“Exactly! One business trip to the United States would have done it. And yet you’re still throwing around a seven-trillion-won return.”
“……”
At Chairman Kim’s words, Ma Sang-hoon began to sense that something was wrong.
What is it? Why has this investment suddenly gone off the rails?
“…Was there some major risk we failed to uncover?”
Ma Sang-hoon’s question was directed not at Chairman Kim, but at James. If there was new information they didn’t know, then it had to have come from the man sitting in front of them.
James answered readily.
“Yes. There was a serious problem.”
“…How serious?”
“Zero.”
Duojardin’s expected return was 0 percent.
“Pardon?”
“You can think of it as meaning the company’s current value was zero. The moment you put money into it, you’d be throwing it into the void.”
“!”
“All the technology was fake, and Tarantis was a fraud. The production facility was nothing more than a polished shell built from investors’ money. I went there myself and confirmed it.”
“…Damn it.”
James had no reason to stop ST Group’s investment unless his information was true, so the chance of him lying was low.
“And the severe situation I uncovered at Duojardin is likely to come to light before long. It’s not something they can hide forever.”
“…If that’s true, then yes, it would.”
That was another point in favor of James not lying. There was no reason to invent a false story about something that couldn’t stay hidden for long anyway.
There’s no reason a man who could become part of ST Group would lie…
James, who might one day become the chairman’s son-in-law, had no reason to kick up trouble at this very moment.
“Ma Sang-hoon.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“We’ll let the faulty analysis report slide. We can just take it up with the outside firm.”
“…I’m sorry we failed to assess it properly.”
“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve heard you apologize.”
Ma Sang-hoon’s career, long praised for flawless execution, had been marked with a crack.
“I will strongly protest the investment firm that provided the due diligence for this analysis. We’ll also recover every last won of the funds already disbursed.”
“Of course we will…”
Chairman Kim had called Ma Sang-hoon over because he wanted to argue against James’s refusal, and now he began building up his case.
“ST Group prepared ten trillion won to invest in future growth. Now imagine if the target company had serious problems and we’d lost the whole thing.”
“It would have been a terrible disaster.”
“Terrible? It would’ve been the kind of disaster where we’d all have to link arms and jump into the Han River together.”
Ma Sang-hoon swallowed at the image of himself, linked arm in arm with the Strategic Planning Office staff, leaping into the Han River.
Gulp.
“And the man who stopped that investment is standing right here.”
Ma Sang-hoon’s eyes turned back to James.
“What do you think ST Group should do to repay James for bringing us information that saved us from an absolute crisis?”
“……”
Ma Sang-hoon’s mind spun like lightning.
“By my rough calculation…”
And he reached a conclusion. Like Chairman Kim’s own calculation, his included the ten trillion won in investment capital, the opportunity cost, and the value of avoiding disaster.
“The merit is enough to warrant transferring one of the company’s core subsidiaries.”
“Exactly. Your conclusion always matches mine.”
Chairman Kim Seong-oh had been thinking of giving James a subsidiary all along.
“……”
Deeply ashamed, Ma Sang-hoon lowered his head so far that he could not even bring himself to say thank you.
But at the word “subsidiary,” James sprang to his feet.
“Chairman!”
Are you really going to give me one? I can’t take that!
“Hmph.”
Even as James raised his voice, Chairman Kim looked at Ma Sang-hoon and said,
“Let’s hear what this pretty boy has to say.”
“Yes.”
James swallowed the rising irritation and spoke in a low voice.
“Chairman, my company lives by my own strength. I have the ability for it. But if I ever need help, you’ll be the first person I run to. Give me help then, not now.”
By next year, once this year had passed, he would be able to swallow TY Telecom on his own.
“Are we strangers? That hurts my feelings.”
“…Ah.”
He had no answer, since the words were being thrown back at him.
“It’s not like I’m offering some huge affiliate. It’s only a small one with about three trillion won in annual sales…”
Ma Sang-hoon, hearing that the subsidiary was worth three trillion won in sales, chimed in.
“Chairman, three trillion is a little…”
“Too small?”
Ma Sang-hoon, who had expected to hear that it was large, nodded in agreement.
“Yes. It should be at least five trillion to be appropriate. If it’s only in the three-trillion-won range, you’d have to sell off two subsidiaries just to cover the liquidity gap from the failed investment.”
To Ma Sang-hoon, three trillion and five trillion were not all that different. As long as it was an ST Group affiliate, life outside ST Group would be difficult. But his desire to leave a good impression on the chairman’s future son-in-law, who seemed likely to occupy an important position in the group, had melted through everything else.
A capable man ought to be treated accordingly, Chairman. And we need to hold on to him firmly.
But Chairman Kim refused five trillion and insisted again on three.
“My boy, that’s when we’re talking about an outsider. This fellow is going to become family, so it’s fine to give him a little less.”
“Ah. In that case, do as you wish, Chairman.”
“……”
James found himself without a rebuttal in the two men’s back-and-forth.
“It’s not as if I’m being arbitrary. Ma Sang-hoon, who’s spent years at ST Group, agrees this is the right call.”
“Huu. With respect, no matter how I look at it, this is not a matter for ST Group. I can’t accept it.”
“Listen here, future son-in-law.”
James cut off Chairman Kim’s friendly use of “future son-in-law” and offered an alternative.
“It’s true that I care about Su-ji specially and cherish her, but we’re still young. If you want to give a subsidiary to someone, it should go to Su-ji. If we’re going to become family later anyway, it won’t matter who receives it.”
At James’s answer, Chairman Kim turned back to Ma Sang-hoon.
“Now you see why I keep calling him a pretty boy, right?”
“He only picks pretty answers.”
“Hah. Exactly. Our future son-in-law has a habit of speaking beautifully.”
Completely drained, James dropped back onto the sofa.
“Sigh. I really don’t need it. Give it to Su-ji instead.”
Even then, the chairman still carried on talking to Ma Sang-hoon.
“I can’t help thinking this pretty boy came out of nowhere.”
“That’s because you’re blessed with good fortune.”
“Heh heh heh. I agree.”
“Are you even listening to me?”
At James’s question, Chairman Kim ignored him and gave Ma Sang-hoon orders instead.
“Go ahead with the split. Separate out a solid affiliate worth around five trillion won, and adjust the shares. Clean it up neatly.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“…You’re really giving it to Su-ji, right?”
At the uneasy tremor in James’s eyes, Chairman Kim added another instruction, sounding as though he could not be bothered to resist any longer.
“Looks like I’ll have to hand it to Su-ji this time. Ma Sang-hoon.”
“Hmm…”
Ma Sang-hoon wore a worried look.
“She’ll do nothing and just pick the sweet fruit. She may be luckier than I am.”
The reason the youngest daughter would receive the subsidiary was not her own effort, but James’s merit.
“…The young masters will be worried.”
Ma Sang-hoon was thinking of the other two, who would get nothing from this restructuring. Splitting off a subsidiary and handing it over would be enough to make the sons, who had already come into the company and begun their education in management, feel threatened.
“How long have those boys even been in the company, and they’re already aiming at it? If they have a complaint, tell them to come argue with me themselves. Or have them bring in merit that matches it! Merit starts at a minimum of ten trillion won. Understand?”
It was impossible for the two men, who were still just low-level employees, to produce merit worth ten trillion won.
“Yes. I’ll calm them down.”
“And make sure you prepare generous VIP gifts and put them in our son-in-law’s car. He’d really be disappointed if he left empty-handed.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Ma Sang-hoon took James’s car keys and stepped away, leaving the two of them alone again.
“Satisfied now?”
“I’m grateful just to hear that it’s going to Su-ji.”
“Tsk. A man needs to have some appetite. What’s the point of refusing a solid affiliate?”
“I was taught to put my appetite in the right place.”
At James’s words, Chairman Kim recalled what he had said earlier and asked,
“You said you were going to buy a company, didn’t you? What kind of company are you trying to buy?”
“One with over ten trillion won in sales. I’m aiming for the holding company of a domestic conglomerate.”
“Oh. So you really do have ambition. When are you starting?”
James smiled faintly and answered with quiet confidence.
“I’ve already started.”
“!”
From this point on, James would be the one leading the conversation.
It’s a little early, but...
To be honest, he hadn’t planned on asking for help so soon. But now that he had confirmed that ST Group’s massive investment had been canceled, he could not let this golden opportunity slip away.
The money ST was about to invest right now is three trillion. With that, I can strip TY Telecom clean.
By now, the money James had secured had climbed to five trillion and then some.
Two trillion from my own pocket, three trillion from ST Group, and unlimited funds from the Vatican National Wealth Fund...
It was enough firepower to take every last share of TY Telecom, which was barely holding on at a market cap of six trillion won.
“Our future son-in-law has more drive than I expected. Hahaha.”
“If the Chairman helps me, things should go smoothly.”
He had turned down the subsidiary, but help was welcome.