Chapter 305: Digging Deeper into the Mystery Man

“He was vague, but it’s certain he’s loaded. Maybe not the sole owner of all of Miracle’s assets, but he definitely has the power to mobilize trillions, no, perhaps even tens of trillions of won.”

“He said that himself?”

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi’s eyes were fixed on his son.

“No. If he had said it outright, I might have dismissed it as boasting. It was his demeanor.”

“Demeanor?”

“Yes.”

Jin Young-jun couldn’t reveal everything that had happened a few hours ago.

The way the man had stared him down, the words slowly rolling off his tongue, the smile playing on his lips, the intense glint in his eyes.

Admitting that his imposing presence and attitude had made his heart pound was even more difficult.

“That’s right. The tongue can lie, but the body can’t. So, what was his demeanor like?”

“He looked down on me. I was already insignificant in his eyes.”

“Confidence, you mean?”

“More than that.”

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi knew exactly what his son had seen and felt.

The attitude that oozes out when your pockets are deep, the casual ease someone displays when they’re far stronger than you.

These two things had been ingrained in him like his own limbs throughout his life. As the eldest son of Korea’s top conglomerate, everyone bowed before him, and no one dared to meet his gaze directly.

When he met with the scions of other chaebol groups, no matter how much they tried to act high and mighty, he found it laughable and simply nodded along.

But he couldn’t hide the look in his eyes, the attitude that placed them beneath him. Even Joo Tae-shik of Daehyun Group was naturally regarded as a subordinate, it wasn’t a battle of pride, it was just the way things were.

Now, holding the reins of a group that had been halved, he truly understood.

That he himself projected the same kind of attitude towards others.

At the Federation of Korean Industries meetings, the gazes of the other group chairmen made him inexplicably uneasy, and even insignificant remarks stung his pride.

And he felt it clearly.

The casual confidence in their eyes, the victor’s smile playing on their lips.

“Father, what if Do-jun uses tens of trillions of won to sweep up all our shares in Electronics and Corporation, and all the other subsidiaries…?”

“That’s pointless.”

“Pardon?”

“Trying to buy up everything, and you worrying about it now, are both pointless.”

Jin Young-jun also knew it was a futile worry. He just wanted to confirm it once more.

“If someone could just buy up Soonyang Electronics and Soonyang Corporation shares on the stock market and take over the company, the word ‘chaebol’ would have vanished from our vocabulary long ago. Those second-generation owners currently acting like chairmen would just be shareholders with a 1% stake. They’d be drooling over how much they’d get in dividends each year.”

“I know that too. But there’s always a chance, isn’t there?”

“It’s not that flimsy. To take over Electronics and Corporation, we’d have to go bankrupt like your uncle, so deep in debt we couldn’t handle the bonds and had to step down ourselves. Otherwise, there’s no way they could take it.”

“There are also shares held by institutions that aren’t on the stock market, right? If Do-jun buys them up by offering three or four times the price….”

“Institutional shares are practically controlled by the government. Why would the government want to change Soonyang’s owner when there’s nothing in it for them?”

He said it, but a sliver of unease remained in Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi’s mind.

There was only one way to quell this anxiety. To push ahead, even if it meant making some waves, to ensure the share structure favored his son’s succession.

It wouldn’t be easy. Complaints would erupt from every corner, and voices would rise in opposition. His own kin might come at him with blazing eyes.

* * *

“Hyung-nim, it’s Do-jun.”

— Huh? Oh…. Do-jun. What’s up?

“Your honeymoon went well, and you’ve started your new life, but I felt bad I hadn’t said hello, so I called.”

— Don’t worry about things like that…. I’m the one who feels bad for missing the wedding.

Jin Kyung-jun was busy promoting Soonyang Electronics’ first smartphone at the Soonyang Corporation’s Australian branch.

Whether he was truly working hard or just marking time, he was constantly being shuffled around to overseas branches after finishing his studies abroad.

“How could you come all that way just for a commemorative photo? Don’t worry about it.”

By now, he must be wondering why I really called.

We weren’t the kind of brothers who called each other regularly just to chat, especially considering his father, Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi, and I were at odds over the management rights.

— So, how’s married life?

“We dated for so long, it’s pretty much the same. Feels like my girlfriend just lives here now? Haha.”

Jin Kyung-jun didn’t join in my laughter. A long call would only make him uncomfortable.

— I see. Anyway, thanks for the call, and let’s talk again. I’m a bit busy with work.

“Okay. I kept a busy man on the phone for too long, didn’t I? You coming back soon? I’ll buy you a drink when you do. See you then.”

— Soon? I don’t have any plans to go back to Korea anytime soon.

Got you, you little sneak.

“Really? There’s a widespread rumor that Uncle is starting the group succession process again. Did I get it wrong?”

Jin Kyung-jun was silent for a moment. Then, his voice came through the receiver, stiff and cold.

— Are you trying to drive a wedge between us? Or stir up trouble?

“Just telling the truth…. Not trying to drive a wedge, but let’s go with stirring up trouble.”

— You bastard…!

“I’m just telling you the facts. Whether that becomes a wedge or trouble is not up to me…. What’s worse is that Kyung-jun hyung won’t inherit a single penny, right? If you’re happy just being a nobody with no influence in the group, just rotating through overseas branches, then hang up.”

One, two, three, four, five….

I counted in my head, but he didn’t hang up.

— Is it true?

“Of course.”

— You’re going to mess it up again with your crazy schemes, aren’t you?

“Oh no, not anymore. I lost 600 billion won last time trying to stop the succession. By the way, hyung should at least thank me for stopping it back then, shouldn’t he? I feel a little left out.”

— You crazy bastard!

The sound of the receiver being slammed down echoed in my ear.

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi’s second son. He’s five years younger than Jin Young-jun, and there’s a daughter between them.

This family isn’t modern enough to care much about daughters.

In fact, looking back, Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi had intended to give a considerable portion of the subsidiaries to his second son, Jin Kyung-jun. That was when they had control of the entire Soonyang Group.

But the greedy Jin Young-jun wouldn’t have stood for that.

I don’t remember exactly, but there were prosecutor raids and subsequent trials, and Jin Young-jun seized the opportunity to swallow up his younger brother’s share.

I remember Jin Kyung-jun flying into a rage after being released on probation.

Didn’t he trash the chairman’s office, smashing everything?

That alone showed that Jin Kyung-jun had his fair share of greed.

He won’t sit still if he finds out that the succession process has begun without him, far across the sea. He’ll immediately fly back to kick the table before his older brother, Jin Young-jun, gets to eat… whether it goes as planned remains to be seen.

If Jin Kyung-jun finds himself short on the resources to wreck things, I plan to actively help him. It’ll be easier for me if their side of the family is broken and divided.

* * *

“I think our last conversation ended with you cursing me…. Are we going to continue that conversation?”

“If you’re trying to be funny, don’t. It’s not.”

A few days later, Jin Kyung-jun called again, but it wasn’t an international call.

He suggested meeting for drinks, preferring a discreet location.

He wanted to keep his return a secret, and to avoid prying eyes, home was the best option. Especially since it was my new marital home. I considered it a housewarming.

“Where’s your wife?”

Jin Kyung-jun asked, glancing around the house.

“The legal profession is a dirty job for public servants. She hasn’t gotten home before midnight in days. It’s kind of nice for me.”

“She’s too exhausted to nag when she gets home?”

“Something like that. By the way, how’s hyung doing? Are you and hyung-soo-nim getting along?”

“For a couple who barely knew each other before getting married, it’s going okay.”

Marital discord’s primary cause is a lack of money.

If you can spend freely without financial worries, life’s tolerable. Even without a fairytale romance, a comfortable life fills that void.

“Judging by how quietly you arrived, I guess you haven’t told anyone you’re back?”

“Yeah. I came straight here from the airport. My family and the company don’t know. I told them I’m on a business trip to New Zealand.”

“You’ve changed quite a bit, haven’t you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I thought you’d rush straight to Uncle, but you came to me first.”

“I want some accurate data. I’ve been out of the country, so I’m lacking information.”

He wasn’t the immature playboy who used to bring singers and actresses to his villa. He’d learned to control his temper and swallow his pride to get what he needed.

“Are you sure the information from me, the guy who’s always stirring things up, is reliable?”

“I’ll filter out the noise. And… sometimes you have to bite even when you know it’s bait. It’s better than biting without knowing it’s bait, right?”

Judging by his sly smile, he was talking about Jin Tae-joon.

“You’re talking about Tae-joon hyung?”

“I heard you cost him a hundred billion won? The company covered 60 billion won of it, though.”

I learned something today. How much personal money Jin Tae-joon had lost on derivatives….

Kyung-jun hyung seemed surprised by my surprised expression.

“You didn’t know? About him losing money?”

“I knew he lost money, but I didn’t know it was 40 billion. Tae-joon hyung has a lot of money.”

“You’re one to talk, throwing away 600 billion won in taxes. Now, let’s get back to what we were talking about on the phone. What subsidiaries can I get if I talk to Father?”

“Subsidiaries that aren’t officially part of the Soonyang Group. Companies that can’t use the Soonyang name.”

“What?”

“Uncle won’t make the same mistake as Grandfather.”

Jin Kyung-jun frowned. He didn’t quite understand what I meant.

“He believes the group’s current state is due to Grandfather’s succession method. Splitting the shares allowed external forces like HW Group and Miracle to nibble away at the group. He thinks if Grandfather had passed everything to the eldest son, Uncle, none of this would have happened.”

“I have ears. I’ve heard HW Group and Miracle are in your pocket. So, the external force is you, isn’t it?”

“What you think is your business. But wow, you’re well-informed. Do you have people in the headquarters feeding you rumors?”

“What you think is also your business. Anyway, is it true that’s what Father thinks?”

His face twisted further.

“Has he ever mentioned the inheritance to you, even once? Uncle is turning seventy soon. Chief of Staff Baek Jun-hyuk has been running around Myeong-dong trying to manage nominee shares for ages.”

Jin Kyung-jun fell silent.

If his father’s mind was made up like that, there was little he could do.

All he could do was throw a tantrum in front of his father like a child, but how could he bring himself to do something so pathetic?

His silence stemmed from frustration, the reality not aligning with his desires.

I offered him a suggestion.

“Want me to tell you a way? Flip the table over.”

“What?”

“Do you know what made Grandfather like me for the first time?”

“What are you trying to say?”

His face was still furrowed, but I could see curiosity flickering in his eyes.

“If I can’t have it, I’d rather break it. I think I said something like that.”

“What? When was this?”

I still vividly remember Grandfather’s satisfied smile when he heard those words.