Chapter 83: Bargaining for Time

“It’s me. Get all our analysts together. And call Samjung Accounting Firm to send over all their accountants. Have the on-site inspection team on standby too. We’re having a meeting in ten minutes.”

While Oh Se-hyun gathered his people for the next day, I called my grandfather.

“Grandfather, can I come see you right now? There’s something urgent I need to discuss.”

I had to prepare for Dae-ah Construction potentially having ulterior motives. My grandfather was the only one who could stop them if they tried to act on any shady intentions.

Oh Se-hyun got out of the car in Yeouido, and the sedan sped across the Mapo Bridge.

I rushed into my grandfather’s study, out of breath, and he greeted me with a smile.

“Goodness, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack, you rascal. What is it? Did the IMF hit us again?”

“If the IMF hit again, I wouldn’t be running; I’d be flying.”

I still had 1.8 billion dollars left. The worse the foreign exchange crisis, the higher its value, so I’d have no choice but to fly.

“Confining you here and telling you to wait in the study must mean you need my help.”

“Yes, I desperately do.”

“Spit it out. Let’s see how much I should charge you.”

He always mentions money, but he always gives back more. Isn’t he always generous when it comes to his grandson?

“I’m going after Dae-ah Construction. It’s a necessary company to proceed with the Mapo DMC project this year.”

“Enough with the preamble. Skip what I already know and get to the point.”

“It’s clear the owner and management are bleeding the company dry. I’m planning to move in and take over before they can. What do you think?”

“Jackpot, you little devil! Ha-ha!”

My grandfather slapped the desk and roared with laughter.

Having lived for nearly eighty-two years and accumulated countless experiences, he understood things instantly.

He seemed to know exactly what was happening and what needed to be done.

“Who’s the president of Dae-ah Construction again? Kang…?”

“President Kang Mu-sung. His younger brother, Kang Mu-jin, is the managing director.”

“Managing director? Have you met him already?”

“Yes, I just confirmed things with him.”

“And confirming it made you certain they’re siphoning off funds?”

“Yes. Miracle contacted them as soon as we secured 5% of Dae-ah’s shares, asking to buy them back.”

“5%?”

My grandfather raised his eyebrows.

“I’ve heard there are many jackals in the stock market who try to profit by exploiting struggling companies like that. Sounds like Oh Se-hyun’s idea.”

Using a 5% stake to manipulate a company isn’t exclusive to failing businesses.

There are also those who acquire shares in healthy companies and become nuisance shareholders, only to sell them back at inflated prices.

However, the cost of securing 5% of a healthy company’s stock is astronomical, deterring ordinary predators.

“Yes. Dae-ah Construction’s stock price plummeted after Kukdong Construction collapsed, and rumors of its insolvency spread. It was easy to acquire without spending too much.”

“That’ll scare them stiff. Demanding an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting tomorrow will make their hearts leap into their throats.”

“Instead of a shareholders’ meeting, I plan to dig through their books tomorrow and secure evidence of their embezzlement.”

“Oh, so you’re planning to throw them in jail?”

“Yes. I need to recover all the company assets they’ve already embezzled. Then, after cleaning up the company, it’ll be a fresh start, don’t you think?”

“Hmm… you’ll get it on the cheap, then.”

My grandfather had clearly already finished calculating.

“The Kang Mu-sung family probably holds a significant amount of shares. You’ll need to get your hands on those to secure management control.”

“If they pay the penalties for embezzlement with the embezzled cash and assets, and the Kang Mu-sung family’s shares revert to Dae-ah Construction, the number of shares needed to secure management control won’t be that high. The company-owned shares…”

“The CEO can exercise those voting rights.”

“Exactly.”

My grandfather fell silent for a moment, sorting through the complex web of thoughts.

Finally,

“You have a long way to go but no time. Isn’t that right? You need to complete the acquisition and normalization of Dae-ah Construction by June at the latest to proceed with the Mapo project with your aunt’s husband, who will be the Seoul mayor.”

“Yes, what I want to ask for is precisely about that time frame.”

“Time is too precious to buy with money…”

“I’ll buy it. Even if you can’t buy a human’s lifespan, you can certainly buy a portion of a human’s life with money, can’t you?”

“Are you serious?”

“You bought the lives of ten thousand Soonyang Group employees with money in the form of salaries, didn’t you?”

“This rascal always knows how to make this old man wince. Heh-heh.”

His expression didn’t show any discomfort, only a slight smile.

“First, we need to put a travel ban on Kang Mu-sung and his entire family. And investigate the money they’ve already smuggled overseas. I’ll issue an order to the Ministry of Justice to investigate.”

Issue an order? Not a request?

The word ‘order’ rolled off his tongue naturally.

“Of course, that’s possible, right?”

“We’ll see how you do.”

I jumped up and went behind my grandfather.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and began to massage them gently.

“This isn’t enough, is it? Please, at least the travel ban.”

“Heh-heh. Massage me properly.”

My grandfather picked up the receiver.

“Chief Prosecutor Kim. Are you very busy?”

Thank goodness.

It was the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office. Just a bit of shoulder rubbing got the travel ban request granted.

“…That’s right. With the national economy in this state, bleeding a failing company dry to fill your own pockets is unforgivable… No, no. First, let’s stop them from fleeing overseas… Yes, yes. I’ll look into it further and let you know. Come by sometime soon. Let’s have a meal together.”

Hanging up the phone, my grandfather turned to me with a smile.

“Is this enough to satisfy you?”

“Thank you.”

I put more strength into the hand massaging his shoulders.

“To proceed quickly, get solid evidence tomorrow when you review the accounting records. Use that to file charges of embezzlement and breach of trust against the management. Then, if the National Tax Service and the prosecution move in at once, they’ll surrender.”

“Surrender?”

I wasn’t sure of the exact meaning of ‘surrender’ in this context. What kind of surrender did my grandfather mean?

My grandfather took my hand, stopped the massage, and sat me down.

“Do-jun.”

“Yes.”

“What exactly is your goal in acquiring Dae-ah Construction?”

“To successfully complete the DMC project this year….”

“Let’s stop there.”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, let’s think about what comes after that later.”

Focus on the immediate goals and select only the tasks that need to be done right now. The more urgent things are, the more we should focus on short-term goals rather than long-term ones. That’s what he meant.

“Now, to proceed with your aunt’s husband after the local elections in June, you need to seize control of Dae-ah Construction by the first half of this year at the latest. Right?”

“I suppose so.”

“If the prosecution gets involved and you secure evidence, then a trial for breach of trust and embezzlement begins? It will take years to collect the money from their pockets, seize it, and return it to the company. In the meantime, Dae-ah will go bankrupt, and the creditors will agonize over how to handle it. It will be at least two years before it lands in your hands.”

Again, the problem is time. I reached out to my grandfather to shorten that time. Now, he was giving me the answer.

“Then, Grandfather’s ‘surrender’ means something else.”

“Yes. Give them a way out so you can settle things quickly.”

“A way out…?”

“The prosecution’s investigation and the National Tax Service audit should only be used for intimidation. Make them choose between becoming penniless and having their entire family imprisoned in two years, or handing everything over now and escaping abroad with enough to live on.”

A jolt of electricity ran through me.

When I first heard the word ‘surrender,’ I could vaguely sense a hidden meaning, suggesting room for negotiation.

What truly shocked me was the power to control the pace of the prosecution’s investigation.

He uses the prosecution like his own sword. Drawing it from its sheath when he wants and sheathing it again when he wants… Starting and stopping investigations at will. Including the National Tax Service….

My grandfather’s power didn’t come from Soonyang Group’s money and stocks.

It was built up over a long period.

He gave money to public officials, and in return, they sold their conscience. The moment they sold their conscience, they became vulnerable to my grandfather again….

This cycle continued, becoming the power of Soonyang.

Even if I poured out my trillions of won right now, I couldn’t gain my grandfather’s power.

My trillions of won were probably several times the amount my grandfather had spent. But what bridged the gap was time.

I bitterly realized how reckless my earlier statement about buying time with money was. It was like an electric shock.

Regaining my composure, I said,

“I’ll accept their surrender, so will you continue to keep the prosecution and the National Tax Service moving, Grandfather?”

“We’ll see how you do.”

“I’ll do my best.”

I bowed my head and spoke in a sweet tone, and my grandfather smiled playfully.

“Don’t try to sweet-talk your way out of it.”

“Then tell me what you want. I’m all ears. Heh-heh.”

I replied jokingly, but my grandfather’s expression turned serious as he pondered.

When my grandfather finally spoke, his request was unexpected.

“When you acquire Dae-ah Construction, most of the management positions will be vacant, right? They’ll all be kicked out with pocket change, obviously. Right?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll send people. Put them in those positions.”

It was a difficult request to answer easily.

If the management was filled with my grandfather’s people, who would Dae-ah Construction belong to?

If all the key decision-making executives, including the CEO, were my grandfather’s people, Dae-ah Construction would merely be a subsidiary of Soonyang Construction.

When I hesitated, my grandfather asked,

“You don’t have people anyway, do you? If you’re not using my people, do you have someone else in mind?”

“There are many capable people at the failed Dong-ah Construction and Kukdong Construction. And Dae-ah Construction was planning to promote several department heads to director positions. It would be good for a change of atmosphere.”

“Oh, you’ve thought that far ahead?”

“Is it a bad idea?”

“Bad? Of course, it’s bad. Heh-heh.”

It was a clear mocking laugh.

“Construction company executives are practically gangsters. They handle rough laborers on construction sites and have weathered desert sandstorms. They even have the guts to forcefully remove squatters. These are the guys who direct sites while drinking makgeolli every lunchtime… If you mix those kinds of guys and put them in positions of power? They’ll be fighting amongst themselves every single day.”

I knew that people from construction companies were rough, but I thought those above the executive level would be more politically minded. Was I wrong?

My grandfather looked at my bewildered face as if I were an amusing toy.

“Torn, aren’t you? You can’t tell if the cup I’m offering is poison or medicine? You’re worried that a company filled with your grandfather’s people will be swallowed whole by Soonyang Group? Heh-heh.”

“Ah, no. As I said, Dae-ah Construction belongs to Soonyang Group.”

“You think I’d believe that, you rascal? You, with your insatiable greed? Ha-ha.”

I frantically waved my hands, but it was no use against my grandfather, who could see right through me.

“You have no time, no power, no people… All you have is money. If you refuse my request, Dae-ah Construction and whatever that DMC thing is will disappear. Isn’t that right?”

He was right.

Worrying is a luxury you can only afford when you have options.

And I had to trust the consistent pattern of what my grandfather had given me.

People.

He might be giving me people again.

The gangster-like executives to control Dae-ah Construction. Was his hidden meaning that I should make them my own people?