novelraw Chapter 43 : It Seems We Need to Completely Revise the Plan
Chapter 43 : It Seems We Need to Completely Revise the Plan
Chapter 43: It Seems We Need to Completely Revise the Plan
When Baek Min-woo left, only heavy silence lingered in the office.
Jeong Tae-soo sat there, eyes fixed on the tightly closed door, lost in deep thought. His face was a tangled mix of anger, curiosity, and an indescribable sense of possessiveness.
The one who broke that long, strange silence was Dan Tae-geon. Unable to contain his frustration, he spoke in a voice filled with discontent.
“Deputy Director, why are you putting so much effort into that brat? Wouldn’t it be easier to just get rid of him?”
Jeong Tae-soo let out a small chuckle and slowly turned his head. There was no way he couldn’t read the blatant jealousy and inferiority complex hidden in Dan Tae-geon’s tone.
“President Dan, you still don’t get it, do you?”
Jeong Tae-soo spoke quietly.
“So far, everything has proceeded exactly as that boy, Baek Min-woo, said—without a single deviation. Isn’t that proof of his exceptional ability to read the current trends?”
“Couldn’t that all just be coincidence?”
“If it’s all coincidence, then that makes it even more remarkable.”
“That bastard is too arrogant! He dares to speak to you so—”
“You and that boy serve entirely different purposes.”
Jeong Tae-soo cut him off. His decisive tone left no room for argument, and Dan Tae-geon could only open and close his mouth soundlessly.
“So there’s no reason for you to be jealous or feel inferior. Each of us just needs to play our role in our proper place, don’t you think?”
Dan Tae-geon bit his lip in frustration. In the end, Jeong Tae-soo’s words meant he was acknowledging that he stood beneath Baek Min-woo.
“But this is troublesome. My usual way is to destroy what I can’t have. Yet for some reason, I don’t feel like doing that with this one. Truly troublesome… what should I do about it….”
Jeong Tae-soo muttered to himself as he stroked his chin.
After a brief silence, a sly, cruel smile—like that of a snake—spread across his lips.
“Right… there was that way. I just have to make him crawl up to me on his own.”
His eyes gleamed coldly.
“If I tear down everything around him, he’ll eventually realize that I’m the only one left for him to rely on.”
At that moment, a chill ran down Dan Tae-geon’s spine. That smile—pure malice—was the smile of a predator staring at its prey.
“President Dan. Call everyone back in. This takes priority now.”
“Yes, Deputy Director. Right away.”
As Dan Tae-geon went out to bring back those he had driven out earlier, Jeong Tae-soo, now alone, raised one corner of his mouth again.
“Wait for me, Baek. I’ll make sure I have you.”
After leaving Jeong Tae-soo’s office and getting into the car bound for Yang Sobo’s mansion, I began sorting through the chaos in my mind.
‘First of all, no matter what it takes, I have to send Min-soo to America.’
Since I had refused his offer, Jeong Tae-soo would definitely resort to other means.
Knowing his nature, rather than attack me directly, he would first try to dismantle everything around me—to isolate me completely.
He was like a viper—once he bit down, he never let go. That meant Min-soo could very well become his first target.
I turned to Lee Cheong-ho, who was driving.
“Mr. Lee, can you find out who Deputy Director Jeong Tae-soo has met with over the past few days?”
Lee Cheong-ho glanced at me briefly through the rearview mirror before replying. His eyes remained on the road as he spoke in a calm, detached voice.
“I couldn’t track every single movement of Deputy Director Jeong Tae-soo, but…”
He began laying out the information he knew—so detailed and precise that I couldn’t help but be quietly impressed.
“That’s more valuable intelligence than I expected. It must not have been easy to obtain.”
Despite my remark, Lee Cheong-ho only raised an eyebrow slightly and said nothing more.
As the car fell silent again, I organized my thoughts.
‘So, Jeong Tae-soo met with Shin Man-cheol, the Chairman of the Korea Securities Exchange.’
I couldn’t yet determine whether the exchange’s movements were because of Jeong Tae-soo—or for some other reason.
‘Perhaps… Chairman Shin Man-cheol has broken ties with Park Jeong-ho.’
Shin Man-cheol was, without question, a puppet chairman placed there by Park Jeong-ho. A story Park Jeong-ho once bragged about came to mind.
‘That Shin Man-cheol guy? He was my puppet. When everything blew up, I threw him to the angry crowd as bait. The people didn’t know any better and just cursed him endlessly.’
Thinking about it now, I wondered—did Shin Man-cheol really not know that?
Perhaps he had simply chosen to take responsibility by stepping down quietly.
‘But if Jeong Tae-soo and Shin Man-cheol have joined hands…? And if, in exchange for guaranteeing Shin’s safety after resignation, Jeong is trying to induce a liquidity crisis in the exchange…?’
As I considered that, the pieces began falling perfectly into place—frighteningly so.
By the time I finished organizing my thoughts, the car had stopped in front of Yang Sobo’s mansion. I stepped out without hesitation and went straight for his study.
Zhang Wei was waiting outside the study. His expression seemed to ask what business brought me here so late at night.
“I have urgent news for the Master.”
Zhang Wei nodded and knocked on the door.
“Master, Baek Min-woo has come to see you.”
“Let him in.”
I stepped inside the door Zhang Wei opened. Yang Sobo looked up from the newspaper in his hands and met my gaze.
“If you’ve come to me at this hour, you must have an urgent matter.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Sit first. Let’s talk comfortably.”
I sat opposite him, steadied my breath, and began.
“I just came from a meeting with Deputy Director Jeong Tae-soo. He told us to withdraw from the operation. He also said that tomorrow, the exchange will temporarily exempt sellers from having to deposit settlement differences.”
At my report, a faint twitch appeared between Yang Sobo’s brows. His eyes gleamed coldly.
“To withdraw…”
“He said he would keep his promise with you, Master. But it’s clear that he intends to seize control of the operation.”
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Sobo called out to Zhang Wei, who was waiting outside.
“Zhang Wei!”
“Yes, Master.”
Responding immediately, Zhang Wei opened the door and bowed.
“How much funding has been sent to support Deputy Director Jeong Tae-soo?”
“An initial payment of one hundred million hwan was delivered.”
I immediately added an explanation.
“Deputy Director Jeong made no comment about that sum. He likely regards it as his own share in this matter.”
“Hmph, so he swallowed one hundred million hwan just for granting me a favor, did he?”
A cold sneer twisted Yang Sobo’s lips.
“I knew he was greedy, but it seems his audacity far exceeds my expectations.”
Yang Sobo began tapping his finger on the desk—slowly, rhythmically. It was clear that countless calculations were racing through his mind.
After some time, he finally spoke, as if he had reached a decision.
“We must immediately retrieve the funds entrusted to Kim Jin-ho.”
It was a well-considered decision, yet I couldn’t help but feel concern.
“Would it be wise to move against Kim Jin-ho now? Deputy Director Jeong might retaliate.”
“One hundred million hwan was an easy treat to swallow, so I suppose this much can be overlooked. Deputy Director Jeong is a man who calculates profit and loss better than anyone.”
I was still uneasy, but when it came to the subtle psychological warfare among men of power like these, Yang Sobo’s judgment was far sharper than mine—so it would be fine.
“Zhang Wei. Retrieve all the funds I entrusted to Kim Jin-ho immediately. If that bastard embezzled any of it and there’s a shortfall, recover it by any means necessary. Just keep him alive. He still has some use left.”
“Yes, Master. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Zhang Wei bowed deeply and quietly exited the study.
Yang Sobo’s gaze turned back to me.
“Baek. What do you plan to do from here on?”
“I believe we’ll have to completely revise our existing plan.”
“Understood. We don’t know what tricks Deputy Director Jeong will pull, so be cautious. That man’s a master at stabbing others in the back.”
“Yes, I’ll remember that.”
For quite some time, I discussed the upcoming developments and the revised strategy with Yang Sobo.
His seasoned experience, combined with my knowledge of the future, gradually began to shape a new plan.
Late that night, I went to the secret office. As I opened the door, the savory smell of rice soup greeted me first.
Four men were having a late dinner.
When I entered, three of them instinctively tried to stand—except for Cheon Sang-do, whom I stopped with a gesture.
“It’s fine. I see you’re eating late.”
“Yes, we were sorting through the information that came in today, and time just slipped away,” Ma Dong-jin replied.
Now that I looked around, the office was in a bit of disarray—clear signs that they’d been working frantically.
“Finish your meal first.”
“Have you eaten, sir?”
“Yes, I have. I’ll take a look at the ledgers while you finish.”
I answered Yoon Ji-seong and opened one of the ledgers stacked on the side of the table. Before long, the four finished their meal.
While the youngest, Kang Cheol-min, quickly cleared the dishes, Cheon Sang-do came to sit beside me and placed a cigarette between his lips.
“Say… you remember those fellas who bought Daegung stock with me under that young boss, right?”
I set the ledger down and looked at Cheon Sang-do.
“Why? Did something happen? You didn’t mention me, did you?”
“Now, what do you take me for? I didn’t say a word about you.”
He waved his hand dismissively and blew a long puff of smoke toward the ceiling. The acrid smoke drifted and scattered like heat haze.
“I had a drink with those fellas yesterday, and they were grumbling about how bad things are. Seems their two securities firms were among those who bought into Daegung stock this time.”
“Was that under Park Jeong-ho’s orders?”
“No. They said it wasn’t. Claimed they bought on their own judgment… maybe a bit too recklessly.”
“With the capital increase only half-successful, they must feel like their house is on fire.”
“Yeah, said it’s killing them. Don’t even need to see it to know.”
It probably was killing them. But still, why was he bringing this up to me?
As I looked at him expectantly for more, Cheon Sang-do exhaled another stream of smoke and spoke again.
“If Daegung stock crashes, the country’s securities market will be ruined beyond repair…”
“Right. It’ll take a long time to recover. And only a handful of securities firms will survive.”
“That’s exactly it.”
A sly glint appeared in Cheon Sang-do’s eyes. He leaned closer and spoke quietly.
“So what I’m saying is… maybe I should acquire those two securities firms later. What do you think?”
At his ambitious suggestion, I let out a quiet hum instead of answering.
Feigning nonchalance, Cheon Sang-do took a deep drag from his cigarette—but I could see him sneaking glances at me.
“Boss, do you really need to own a securities firm?”
“What are you talking about? I don’t follow.”
“When the securities market collapses, where do companies turn when their funds run dry? The private moneylending market. Don’t you want to return to your original line of work?”
At my words, the corner of his eye twitched. I had struck directly at his past—it must have hit a nerve.
“…Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get out of that filthy business, and now you’re telling me to go back to it?”
“If done small, it’s loan-sharking—but if done big, it’s finance. If you lend to companies struggling with cash flow, that’s just finance, isn’t it?”
“…”
“Think about it later, slowly. If you truly wish to grow a securities firm, I’ll help you. But personally, I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Just then, Kang Cheol-min and Yoon Ji-seong finished tidying up and returned to the table.
“Let’s talk business now.”
At my gentle prompting, Cheon Sang-do stubbed out his cigarette, grumbling.
“Always gotta mess with a man’s head first…”
Once everyone was seated around the table, I wasted no time getting to the point.
“Tomorrow, there will be a very important announcement. Normally, sellers are required to deposit settlement differences, but that will be temporarily waived.”
“What—what did you say?”
“What in the hell does that even mean?”
Kang Cheol-min and Cheon Sang-do both exclaimed in shock.
“Just as I said. The Korea Securities Exchange, fearing a chain of bankruptcies among securities firms, decided to exempt sellers from settlement deposits.”
“Ha… that’s insane! That means no matter how many sell orders you put in, as long as you buy the shares later and hand them over, you’re fine!”
“Exactly.”
“How’s the exchange supposed to handle that? How will they cover all that settlement money?”
“That’s not our concern anymore.”
“Well, you’re not wrong…”
Cheon Sang-do still tilted his head, unable to fully grasp it.
I looked around at my team and gave my final instruction.
“From now on, place unlimited sell orders. It doesn’t matter if the market absorbs them or not. Keep putting in orders—spread fear throughout the market. There’s no need to hold back anymore.”
Except for the securities firms tied to Park Jeong-ho, most would soon begin placing sell orders.
From this moment on, it was a battle against time.