[065] A World Where Villains Live 4.
“Do-jun, I’ve heard some things… I need to confirm them with you.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Today, this guy seems unusually serious. Why did he suddenly invite me out for a meal just to say this?
“Did you know about the Sunyang Motors merger beforehand?”
How could such words come out of his mouth?
I couldn’t hide my surprise. Seeing my expression, Jin Young-jun’s eyebrows twitched. In situations like this, it’s best to be straightforward.
“Yes, I found out a day before the announcement. Why do you ask?”
“How?”
“My uncle… I mean, Miracle’s CEO Oh Se-hyun asked my grandfather to propose it. He even provided a detailed proposal with the merger conditions.”
“Why would he ask you? Couldn’t he just meet directly?”
“Young-jun, Daehyun Group was monitoring CEO Oh’s every move. If he had gone to meet my grandfather, Daehyun would have known first.”
I spoke as if it was no big deal. Does it seem like nothing now?
But how did he find out? Was it him, not my uncle, who had someone tailing me?
“Is that all?”
“What else would there be?”
“Don’t you get what I’m saying? Was your role just to pass documents back and forth?”
Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?
He never doubted that his father would become the owner of Sunyang and accepted his fortune as a given, yet now he’s showing such suspicion.
Could it be that the daughter from the Hanseong Daily is egging him on?
Is he really going to marry her?
I don’t know everything about Jin Young-jun’s younger days, but he never married into a media family. His wife was the daughter of a compliant Sunyang affiliate president.
Is something changing?
“Hey! Jin Do-jun. Aren’t you going to speak clearly?”
“Whoa, why are you shouting?”
His outburst snapped me out of my thoughts.
I can’t tell him everything… What should I say?
“Actually, there is a secret contract between my grandfather and CEO Oh Se-hyun, but I can’t talk about it. I found out by chance, and they made me promise not to tell anyone before the official announcement.”
“Not anyone? Am I just anyone to you? Am I a stranger?”
He looked like he was barely restraining himself from jumping out of his chair. Considering he thinks of himself as the crown prince, his reaction is understandable.
Should I provoke him a bit more?
“You are just anyone.”
“What?”
“You don’t have any authority right now, Young-jun. Don’t you know that?”
“Hey!”
“What do you want me to do? It’s a contract between my grandfather and CEO Oh Se-hyun, and no one knows about it. Not even my uncle or Director Lee Hak-jae. Do you think you have more authority than them?”
His habit of getting annoyed when he doesn’t get what he wants, he couldn’t fix it at thirty, and he won’t fix it now.
Seeing him with a different wife than in my past life suggests something has changed, but his personality hasn’t.
After a fit of irritation, he usually tries to coax with sweet words. I bet it’s the same now.
“Do you remember what I told you before?”
“What…? Oh, at the villa after the college entrance exam?”
“Yeah.”
As expected, he’s consistent.
“I remember. You told me to be your right-hand man.”
“That wasn’t just talk. I’m getting promoted next year. When you graduate, you’ll probably be a director or executive. I’ll make a spot for you by my side then…”
I raised my hand to stop Jin Young-jun from rambling.
“Young-jun, I’m not a kid anymore. I’m not foolish enough to believe in a future promise with little chance.”
“What?”
“The merger announcement was made without even my uncle knowing. He’s the group’s vice chairman, after all.”
“What are you saying?”
“Don’t you get it? My uncle’s succession plan is still incomplete. If my grandfather changes his mind, it could fall apart at any time.”
Jin Young-jun reacts sensitively to the succession issue, pressing me for answers.
“So? Is that why you’re refusing to be my right-hand man? Are you sticking close to grandfather to find an opportunity? Huh? Are you planning to compete with me, or rather, with my father? Unbelievable.”
“Don’t frown so much, Young-jun. From my perspective, it’s just entertaining to watch. I’m the youngest son of the youngest son, so Sunyang Group has nothing to do with me. I have no ambitions for it.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. And honestly, what do I have to lose? Not to brag, but if I set my mind to it, I could pass the bar exam in just two years. You know I’m good at studying.”
“So?”
“I’ll enjoy life as a prosecutor or judge, respected in society, with no financial worries. And you know, my father is doing well in the film industry. With a little effort, I could have beautiful actresses in the palm of my hand. How many women would refuse a third-generation chaebol prosecutor or judge, the son of a film company president?”
Jin Young-jun’s eyes gleamed with a peculiar light.
Idiot. Maybe the life I described is exactly what he wants.
“So you’re going to throw away the chance to be the second-in-command of Sunyang Group?”
“Who said I’m throwing it away? If the real number one offers, I might consider it, but you’re not number one right now, Young-jun.”
“If I become number one, I might not keep you by my side. We have many cousins. I might even block you from getting a single share of Sunyang Group.”
Scratching his pride, he resorts to empty threats.
“I told you, I have nothing to lose. Even if we just keep what we have now, my family won’t be envious of anyone.”
It’s time to wrap up the conversation. I’ve provoked him enough and made it clear that my family has no greed.
“Honestly, being the youngest in a chaebol family is quite freeing. My brother, Sang-jun, dropped out of college and is attending art school in New York. We don’t cling to hopeless pursuits.”
Finally, I just need to plant seeds of distrust and unease.
“Young-jun, let me give you one piece of advice.”
Sensing I was about to say something important, he leaned forward.
“Your second and third uncles, and your aunt and uncle-in-law, they’re all ambitious. They won’t just sit back and watch Sunyang Group fall into your family’s hands.”
“Did you think I didn’t know that? My father will handle it all. Our family isn’t just sitting around.”
He spoke confidently, but his eyes widened at my sly smile.
“Do you… is the secret contract you know related to the succession plan?”
“It could be, or it might not be.”
“Hey!”
“Again with the shouting, Young-jun. Calm down!”
“Oh, sorry… Do-jun, please tell me. I’m the eldest grandson of this family. I can’t just sit back and let things happen.”
“Young-jun, traditionally, the throne should pass to the eldest son and grandson for the kingdom to be at peace. When the second or third son inherits, it often leads to bloody purges. So I hope my uncle and you take the chairman’s seat in that order. That way, our family won’t suffer.”
“Of course!”
His tense face relaxed with a bit of flattery.
When I was beneath him, I couldn’t see it, but standing side by side, I can see his true self.
For over a decade, I saw him as heavy and strong, but that was all due to the weight of the vice chairman title. His true self is just this.
“With the Sunyang Motors merger, the shares held by Sunyang Motors will flow into other affiliates. Those affiliates will become important companies in the group, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What if someone other than my uncle takes over that company? The group might split.”
“Is that what’s in the secret contract?”
It’s something anyone could figure out with a bit of thought, so how could it be a secret?
“The contract I saw only had a title. ‘Plan for Restructuring Group Governance.’ That’s it.”
“Restructuring governance?”
“Yes.”
Sunyang Group’s governance is so complex, with cross-shareholding among affiliates and involvement from institutions and financial sectors, that no one can grasp it at a glance.
It’s so intricate that numerous experts constantly monitor the stock market and make daily adjustments.
Because our family’s shareholding is so small, without such a complex structure, we could lose control in an instant.
“I’ve given you as much help as I can, Young-jun. Now it’s up to my uncle and you to protect it.”
I smiled at Jin Young-jun, who now looked at me with satisfaction, unlike before.
“Let’s order some food. I’m hungry.”
“Oh, right.”
As I watched Jin Young-jun call the waiter, I wondered what would happen next. The Sunyang Motors issue would reveal the hidden claws of everyone involved. It would be interesting to see whose claws are the sharpest.
After three days of deliberation, Miracle Investment was selected as the acquirer of Ajin Group, and the people of Sunyang Group cheered.
Though the process was complicated, it was as if they acquired Ajin Group without spending a single won.
『…However, as clearly stated in the acquisition proposal, the merger of Sunyang Motors and Ajin Motors takes precedence. The effectiveness of the acquirer selection will occur upon the completion of the merger process of the two companies.』
Even after the news announcement, Oh Se-hyun didn’t smile.
It probably felt like Sunyang Group had acquired Ajin Group.
“Uncle, it’s okay. We’re not just playing second fiddle. Sunyang Motors is the one playing second fiddle.”
“Well, in this M&A world, the strong always lead. The initiative has now passed to Sunyang.”
He couldn’t shake the thought that the hard-earned dollars would flow into Sunyang Group.
“By the way, when is the payment for the acquisition due?”
“Right after the merger. We’re talking about 1.2 trillion won, so we’ll need to move a billion dollars.”
“That soon? You think it’ll be next year?”
“Well, you might want to ask your grandfather about that. If we push the merger process, it could be by the end of this year.”
Oh Se-hyun stared intently at the computer monitor, reviewing the current asset details.
“Altogether, that’s 3.2 billion dollars… With the current exchange rate at 1,100 won, that’s just over 3.5 trillion won.”
“How much of it is tied up?”
“Six hundred million dollars. Just like you said, we held off on new investments this year and kept it in cash. We’ll have all 600 million back by next year.”
Not bad at all.
The money I invested, squeezing every bit of memory and effort, had returned a hundredfold.
I couldn’t help but indulge in a pointless fantasy: what if someone like me, who once lived like a servant, was reborn as a high-flying fund manager on Wall Street? Wouldn’t they instantly become the richest person in the world?
“I’ll go ahead and move the billion dollars, just to have it ready for any payments.”
I quickly waved my hand to stop him.
“No, leave it. We need to hold off until the end of the year anyway.”
Oh Se-hyun finally tore his eyes away from the monitor and looked at me.
“Are you…?”
“Am I what?”
“Are you sensing it too? The exchange rate hike seems a bit off, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe everyone’s just trying to ignore it out of anxiety. The rate’s jumped 250 won in a month. Doesn’t it feel like dollars are flowing out like a receding tide?”
“Won’t things stabilize by the end of the year?”
He wasn’t the type to miss these signs, yet he asked anyway. Everyone’s thinking the same thing. With major corporations on the brink of collapse and a presidential election looming, they’re trying to hide the approaching storm.
“There’s a difference between the exchange rate rising and dollars leaving. If dollars are leaving, holding tens of trillions in won becomes useless, doesn’t it? On a deserted island, a box of bread is worth more than a hundred billion in cash.”
“Even with money, you can’t buy bread… You’re talking about dollars, right?”
I nodded, and Oh Se-hyun turned back to the monitor with a troubled expression.
The exchange rate fluctuation graph was looking ominous.