Chapter 65: Do-jun, There’s Something I Heard…

“Do-jun. I’ve heard something… I need to confirm it with you.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

For some reason, the guy looked uncharacteristically serious today. Did he call me out for food just to blurt something out?

“Did you know about the Soonyang Automobile merger beforehand?”

How could those words come out of his mouth?

I couldn’t hide my startled expression. Jin Young-jun’s eyebrows twitched as he saw my reaction. Time for a direct approach.

“Yes, I found out a day before the announcement. Why?”

“How?”

“My uncle… no, Miracle’s CEO Oh Se-hyun asked me to propose it to Grandfather. He even gave me a detailed proposal outlining the merger terms.”

“Why ask you? He could just meet with him directly.”

“Hyung. Daehyun Group was monitoring Oh Se-hyun’s every move. If CEO Oh had gone to see Grandfather, Daehyun would have known about it first.”

He looked as if I was talking nonsense. Would this be enough to make it seem like no big deal?

But how did this guy find out? Did he put a tail on me instead of my uncle?

“Is that all?”

“What else would there be?”

“Don’t play dumb. Was all you did just delivering documents back and forth for this?”

Why is he suddenly acting like this?

He’s never once doubted his father would inherit Soonyang, taking the blessings of his fortunate birth for granted. Why the suspicion now?

Could that Hanseong Ilbo daughter be behind this?

Is he really going to marry her?

I don’t know everything about Jin Young-jun’s younger days, but he’s never married into a media family. His wife was the obedient daughter of a Soonyang subsidiary president.

Is something changing?

“Hey! Jin Do-jun. Are you going to talk straight?”

“Jeez, why are you shouting?”

His yelling snapped me out of my thoughts.

I can’t tell him the truth… what should I say?

“Actually, there’s a secret agreement between Grandfather and CEO Oh Se-hyun, but I can’t talk about it. I only found out by accident, and he strictly told me not to tell anyone until the official announcement.”

“Anyone? Am I just ‘anyone’? Am I a stranger?”

He looked like he was barely holding himself back from jumping out of his chair. It’s natural for the supposed crown prince to get agitated.

Should I rile him up a bit more?

“Yes, you’re anyone.”

“What?”

“Hyung doesn’t have any authority right now. Don’t you know that?”

“Hey!”

“So what? It’s an agreement between Grandfather and Oh Se-hyun, and no one else knows about it. It’s a secret deal between the two of them, not even Uncle or Chief of Staff Lee Hak-jae knows. Do you think you have more authority than them?”

That habit of his, getting frustrated and shouting first, he couldn’t fix it in his thirties, so he’ll never fix it.

Seeing that he’s marrying a different woman than in my past life, something might be changing, but his personality remains the same.

After his outburst, he’ll try to sweet-talk me, just like always, right?

“Hey, you little punk. Don’t you remember what I told you before?”

“What…? Oh, at the villa after the university entrance exam?”

“Yeah.”

Just as I thought, consistent as ever.

“I remember. You told me to become your right-hand man.”

“That wasn’t just some empty words. I’ll be a director next year. When you graduate from college, you’ll probably be a managing director or an executive director. I’ll make a spot for you by my side then…”

I raised my hand, cutting off Jin Young-jun’s rambling.

“Hyung. I’m not a kid anymore. I’m not some fool who’d blindly believe some unlikely future promise.”

“What?”

“This merger announcement was carried out without Uncle’s knowledge. Even though he’s the group’s vice-chairman.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Don’t you get it? The succession plan for Uncle isn’t set in stone yet. If Grandfather changes his mind even a little, it could fall apart at any time, wouldn’t you say?”

Jin Young-jun reacted sensitively to the topic of succession, pressing me further.

“So? Is that why you’re refusing to be my right-hand man? Are you trying to stick close to Grandfather and find your own opportunity? Huh? Are you going to compete with me, or rather, with our father? Seriously, I’m speechless.”

“Hyung-nim. Don’t frown so much. From my perspective, it’s just fun to watch. Anyway, as the youngest son’s youngest son, Soonyang Group has no ties to me, so I have no desire for it.”

“You’re serious?”

“Of course. And… honestly, what do I lack? Not to brag, but if I put my mind to it and studied hard for about two years, I’m confident I could pass the bar exam. You know? I’m a good student.”

“So?”

“I’d live my life as a prosecutor or a judge, speaking my mind freely. Socially respected, no worries about money. And you know my father’s doing well in the film industry right now? If I just reach out, beautiful actresses will fall into my hands. A third-generation chaebol prosecutor, the son of a film company president. How many women could refuse that title?”

Jin Young-jun’s eyes gleamed suggestively.

You pathetic fool. Perhaps the life he desires is exactly the leisurely life I described.

“So you’re going to turn down the second-in-command position at Soonyang Group?”

“Who said I was turning it down? I might consider it if the real number one offered, but you’re not number one right now, Hyung.”

“If I become number one, I might not keep you by my side. We have many cousins. And I might prevent even a single share of Soonyang Group from going into your hands.”

I scratched at his pride, and he resorted to empty threats.

“I told you, I have nothing to be envious of. Just protecting what our family already has is enough to live comfortably.”

It’s time to end this conversation. I’ve poked at his insecurities, and I’ve sufficiently conveyed that our family has no ambition.

“Honestly, being the youngest in a chaebol family is actually comfortable. My older brother, Sang-jun, dropped out of college and is studying at an art school in New York right now. We don’t cling to hopeless endeavors.”

Just plant the seeds of distrust and unease, and it’s over.

“Hyung-nim. Let me just say one thing.”

Guessing I was about to say something important, he leaned forward.

“The second and third uncles, and your aunt and uncle-in-law. They’re all very ambitious. They won’t be easy to deal with. They won’t just sit back and watch the entire Soonyang Group fall into your family’s hands.”

“Did you think I didn’t know that? Father will take care of everything. Our family isn’t just sitting idly by either.”

He spoke confidently, but his eyes widened at my smirk.

“Could it be… is the secret agreement you know about related to the succession plan?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“Hey!”

“Again, again. Hyung-nim. Please, stop shouting!”

“Ah, m-my bad. Do-jun. Tell me something. I’m the eldest grandson of this family. I can’t just stand by and be taken advantage of.”

“Hyung-nim. Originally, the throne should be passed down to the eldest son and then the eldest grandson for the country to be at peace. If the second or third son inherits, it’s always followed by a bloody purge. That’s why I hope Uncle, then you, Hyung, will take the Soonyang Group chairman position. That way, our family won’t be harmed.”

“O-of course!”

Giving him some praise made his stiff expression melt away.

I couldn’t see it when I was his subordinate, but looking at him from the same level now, his true colors are visible.

I’ve seen his heavy and strong demeanor for over a decade, but that was all the weight of the vice-chairman title. His true self is only this much.

“With the Soonyang Automobile merger, the shares that Soonyang Automobile held in other subsidiaries will flow to other subsidiaries, right? And that subsidiary will become an important company within the group. Am I right?”

“That’s right.”

“What if someone other than Uncle takes control of that company? The group might be split apart.”

“Is that what the secret agreement says?”

It’s something you could figure out with a little thought, so what’s so secret about it?

“The title of the agreement I saw is everything.

. That’s it.”

“Restructuring governance structure?”

“Yes.”

Soonyang Group’s governance structure involves cross-shareholdings between subsidiaries and even involves financial institutions, making it difficult for anyone to grasp at a glance.

Numerous experts scrutinize the stock market every day and constantly revise it because it’s so complex.

Since our family owns such a small amount of shares, we could lose control in an instant without this complex structure.

“Well, I’ve given you as much help as I can. Now it’s up to Uncle and you, Hyung, to defend it.”

I smiled at Jin Young-jun, who was now looking at me with a pleased expression, unlike at the beginning.

“Let’s order now. I’m hungry.”

“Oh, okay.”

Watching Jin Young-jun call for a waiter, I wondered what would happen next. The claws they had been hiding because of Soonyang Automobile would be revealed, at least a little. It’s time to see whose claws are the sharpest.

* * *

After a three-day review, when Miracle Investment was selected as the acquirer of Ajin Group, the people at Soonyang Group cheered.

Even though the route was complex, they had acquired Ajin Group without spending a single won.

“…However, as clearly stated in the acquisition proposal, the merger of Soonyang Automobile and Ajin Automobile is the priority. We hereby announce that the selection of the acquirer will take effect upon the completion of the merger process between the two companies.”

Oh Se-hyun didn’t smile even after seeing the news announcement.

It was probably because it felt like Soonyang Group had acquired Ajin Group.

“Uncle. It’s okay. We weren’t just a decoy. Soonyang Automobile is the decoy.”

“I don’t know. In this M&A world, you get dragged around by the strong ones. The initiative has now passed to Soonyang.”

He couldn’t shake the thought of the hard-earned dollars flowing into Soonyang Group.

“By the way, when is the acquisition payment due?”

“Immediately after the merger. It’s 1.2 trillion won, so we need to move 1 billion dollars.”

“So, sometime early next year?”

“You’ll have to ask your grandfather about that. If they expedite the merger process, it could be by the end of the year.”

Oh Se-hyun stared intently at the computer monitor, checking the current asset details.

“All together, it’s 3.2 billion dollars… with the current exchange rate at 1,100 won… that’s a little over 3.5 trillion won.”

“How much money is tied up?”

“600 million dollars. As you said, we haven’t made any new investments this year and have only held onto cash. We’ll recover all of the 600 million dollars next year.”

This was a decent defense.

The money I invested, recalling my memories, had returned more than a hundredfold.

I even entertained a pointless thought: what if a fund manager who was flying high on Wall Street, not someone like me who had been living as a servant, was reincarnated?

Wouldn’t someone like that seize the position of the world’s richest person in an instant?

“I’ll move 1 billion dollars for now. So it’s ready for payment at any time.”

I quickly waved my hand.

“No. Leave it. It won’t be needed until after the end of the year anyway.”

Oh Se-hyun took his eyes off the monitor and began to look at me.

“Did you perhaps…”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Did you also sense it? That the current rise in the exchange rate is a bit strange?”

“Isn’t everyone trying to ignore it while feeling uneasy? It’s jumped 250 won in a month. Don’t you feel like dollars are flowing out like the tide?”

“Won’t it stabilize around the end of the year?”

He’s not someone who wouldn’t notice, yet he’s asking a pointless question. Everyone thinks like that. They’re trying to hide the approaching typhoon caused by the bankruptcies of big companies and the upcoming presidential election.

“The rise in the exchange rate is different from dollars flowing out. If dollars are flowing out, doesn’t that mean holding onto tens of trillions of won is useless? On a deserted island, a box of bread is more valuable than a hundred billion in cash.”

“Bread that you can’t buy even if you have money…. You mean dollars?”

When I nodded, Oh Se-hyun turned his gaze back to the monitor with a grim expression.

The exchange rate fluctuation graph is ominous.