A Genius Speaks with Money

Chapter 52

My office was on the top floor of the HJ Partners headquarters.

As the outside world became more tumultuous, this space became quieter.

A serene silence flowed as if all the noise and confusion could not cross the thick soundproof walls of this place.

The evening lights of the city were turning on one by one outside the window, but my gaze was even further away.

It was as if I was piercing through the interior of Daehan Group.

The screens installed on the wall were filled with things related to Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

I leisurely scanned the screens one by one.

Meanwhile, Choi Seo-jun put down the coffee cup he was holding and opened his mouth.

“By now, Daehan must have noticed our movements. Since we are purchasing Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering stock, they must have figured it out.”

I nodded slowly.“They probably did. Although all eyes are currently focused on the National Assembly, they will try to find out who is behind it.”

Choi Seo-jun’s expression gradually hardened.

“Representative, isn't it just a matter of time before it is revealed that we are behind this?”

“I suppose so.”

I answered Choi Seo-jun’s worry-filled question very calmly.

I was checking the shareholding structure of major Daehan Group affiliates while flipping through the tablet screen in my hand.

“Our stake in Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is less than 3%, isn't it?”

“It is for now. But if we continue like this, we will soon exceed that. Rather than that, how will they react?”

I withheld my words for a long while before quietly opening my mouth.

“If it is Chairman Nam Kun-ho, he will not stay still. They will probably approach us first.”

Choi Seo-jun raised his voice even more.

“Representative, right now this is not someone else's business.”

That heated gaze was burdensome, but I did not show it.

“Yes, I know that too.”

Choi Seo-jun was silent for a moment.

He seemed to feel frustrated by my reaction.

While I fully understood Choi Seo-jun’s heart, I simultaneously swallowed a sigh inwardly at the fatigue that came rushing in.

His worry was not wrong.

However, it was not my way to simply be anxious in front of a reality that could not be helped right now.

I faced Choi Seo-jun’s uneasy eyes and opened my mouth slowly.

“In the current situation, there are about two things we can do. One would be preparation and the other would be induction, right?”

“…Induction?”

“Daehan Group will definitely move. They will use their network, capital power, and all their connections to find us. They will search for information by crossing through the media, the Financial Supervisory Service, the National Tax Service, and even the prosecution.”

“…….”

I put down the tablet I was holding and continued my words.

“We just need to move on that premise. What kind of risks we are taking. We should induce them to misunderstand so that our real aim is turned in another direction.”

After pondering for a moment, Choi Seo-jun spoke.

“Representative, then are you keeping psychological warfare in mind?”

“Well. If you call it psychological warfare, Representative Choi, then it might be so. Since the current purchase of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shares is bait for us….”

Choi Seo-jun’s eyes grew wide.

“Then are you saying there is a separate real purpose?”

I smiled and answered slowly.

“It is still too early to say. However, you will know soon. What it is that we want. By the time they realize it, it will already be in our hands.”

It was then.

Choi Seo-jun’s cell phone placed on the table made a short vibration sound.

As soon as he checked the screen, his expression changed instantly.

“Representative, a report has come in from the Information Security Team.”

As I nodded, Choi Seo-jun continued.

“It seems they are trying to track the fund path we used through Daehan Finance. There are also circumstances where they contacted the Financial Supervisory Service to reveal if it was an illegal attempt.”

I picked up the tablet again, looking at the materials that just came in, and muttered.

“As expected, they are fast. It's just like Chairman Nam Kun-ho.”

“What should we do?”

“For now, it is better for our side to be exposed rather than Taeseong Heavy Industries being revealed. Let them continue the tracking. Anyway, they won't be able to find a trace of us working illegally anywhere. They need something to exist to find it, don't they? Hahaha.”

Unlike the relaxed me, Choi Seo-jun nodded, but his eyes were still filled with worry.

“Representative, wouldn't the Daehan side try to frame us by saying we used insider information?”

“Well, that could certainly happen. If such a thing occurs, we can use that against them.”

My gaze headed out the window.

I felt the illusion that the city’s twinkling lights were tangled here and there today.

“We must not be shaken. Only then will they become impatient.”

A firm conviction was contained in my voice.

“Daehan will definitely make a mistake. When that moment comes, it will be the timing for us to pull out the knife.”

Choi Seo-jun swept back his neatly combed hair with both hands.

Even if I told him not to worry, he had not been able to sleep well lately due to tension.

“Actually, I don't know the reason why you are so certain, Representative.”

Choi Seo-jun believed in my insight more than anyone else, but even so, his anxiety was not easily erased.

I slowly withdrew my gaze and looked at the tablet again.

On it, corporate names with complex structures were appearing.

“Because they also eventually move as people. Whether it is power or capital, in the end, people are the ones moving them.”

My voice became even calmer.

“And people are shaken by emotions. Just like you are now, Representative Choi. Fear, arrogance, suspicion… these emotions will hold them back.”

Choi Seo-jun lost his words for a moment.

It felt as if the pieces placed on a giant chessboard were slowly moving before his eyes.

I stood up from my seat without a word and walked to the window.

Looking down at the city lights, I threw out one last word.

“Soon, they too will be caught in the net we have cast. For a fish that has entered a fishing net, the more it struggles to escape, the shorter the time until it loses its life.”

As my words ended, a serene silence settled in the office again.

Even at that moment, some strategy would be being made somewhere in the headquarters of Daehan Group far away.

However, no matter what move they made, the initiative was already in this room.

***

My expectations were not wrong.

Nam Kun-ho of Daehan Group was already keeping a close eye on the movements of HJ Partners.

No matter how much the media was boiling over with news of the National Audit, that veteran hunter never left his own gap neglected.

In the chairman’s office on the top floor of the Daehan Group headquarters, Nam Kun-ho was receiving business reports without even leaving for home.

He sat in front of his desk and stared at the screen coming from the monitor.

On the screen, a list of funds that recently began concentrated buying was appearing along with a graph of the stock price fluctuations of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

The company name written at the very front was HJ Partners.

Park Se-dong, who had been holding his breath, cautiously placed a file on the desk.

“Chairman. This is material confirmed through the internal analysis team and the Financial Supervisory Service. Among the funds purchasing Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shares, HJ Partners is the place that has increased rapidly.”

Nam Kun-ho did not even move.

He only slowly moved his gaze to the file and asked briefly.

“Is it definitely not related to the Taeseong side?”

“On the surface, it is so. There were no directly connected affiliates, and there were no changes in the shares owned by the Taeseong family. These are numbers that are not even understandable in terms of the amount to be considered a purchase by an individual.”

“That is why I am even more concerned.”

Nam Kun-ho tapped on the desk with his finger.

His intuition was noticing something unpleasant.

However, everything was only circumstantial, and nothing had come out.

Since nothing like this had happened until now, it was a frustrating matter even for him.

At that time, Park Se-dong continued his words.

“And I have found out one more thing. I have secured the details of medical expense support from the Taeseong General Hospital side. It is not a small amount of support, but rather long-term support for treatment costs, and the amount is quite significant.”

Nam Kun-ho’s gaze changed for the first time.

Park Se-dong opened the file and pointed somewhere.

“If you look here, this patient Kim Ha-yun. She is the daughter of Mr. Kim Jongseok, the former Technology Development Team Leader of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The entity providing the support is HJ Partners.”

One corner of Nam Kun-ho’s mouth went up.

If it was Kim Jongseok, was he not the culprit who caused Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to be in this shape?

If the company supporting him was indeed HJ Partners, it was clear.

“Did Kim Jongseok request it personally?”

“It does not seem to be so. From the hospital side as well, it appeared to be simple support carried out without the guardian’s consent. However, the timing is exquisite. It took place just before Kim Jongseok resigned from Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.”

This time, Nam Kun-ho was wearing a bright smile.

That smile was strangely cold and eerie to the point of being hair-raising.

“That guy Kim Jongseok is not just a whistleblower. I thought there would surely be something. It was these guys.”

Nam Kun-ho pointed at something with his finger toward Park Se-dong.

Realizing what he meant, he poured alcohol into a glass and handed it to Chairman Nam.

“President Park, from now on, will investigate all fund flows related to HJ Partners. From where they draw money to who they have contacted. It doesn't have to be illegal. Reveal everything that is suspicious.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Nam Kun-ho picked up the glass and took a sip as if lost in thought for a moment.

After that, he opened his mouth again.

“How is it going with the media?”

“Stories that HJ Partners is behind it are already circulating among several media outlets.”

“Really? Then link it together as if it were a fact, saying it is certain. It would be perfect to frame them by saying they used stock manipulation or insider information.”

Park Se-dong hesitated for a moment and spoke cautiously.

“But there is no clear evidence yet. Rather, we might face a backlash.”

Nam Kun-ho leaned his body deep into the chair.

“Look here, Park Se-dong. The scariest thing in the world is not the truth. Do you still not know?”

The corners of his mouth slowly went up once again.

“If you make people believe it is so, then that becomes the truth. Isn't stock price ultimately a psychological battle? Just like it goes down if people are anxious and goes up with expectations.”

Park Se-dong bowed his head and replied.

“I understand. I will touch the media side immediately starting tomorrow.”

Nam Kun-ho drank all the alcohol remaining in the glass and then muttered lowly.

“Finally, it’s going to get a bit interesting.”

After spitting out those words, he tapped something with his finger.

“Ah, this son of a bitch…. It is quite a heart-wrenching story. Did they say that if a child dies first, you bury them in your heart? Euhahaha.”

Hair-raising laughter spread throughout the chairman’s office.

Park Se-dong knew clearly what the meaning of the words Nam Kun-ho spat out was and what he wanted.

If there was anything he wanted, he had never failed to achieve it until now.

Nam Kun-ho was precisely that kind of person.

Park Se-dong quietly moved his gaze toward Chairman Nam Kun-ho.

Several decades had passed since he began assisting him closely.

However, today was the first time he felt Chairman Nam was terrifying.

Although he was maintaining his composure as much as possible on the outside, he had a premonition from his laughter.

Nam Kun-ho had never had an enemy until now.

To him, who basically did not trust people easily, there was no way he had no enemies.

That was possible because he had removed every person who could become an enemy.

This time as well, he would persistently dig into his prey and would not let go of the nape of the neck until they died.

That was the truly scary point about Nam Kun-ho.