Free Web NovelSong Hyunsoo let out a long sigh as if he couldn’t read anything from my expression.
“These days, Grandpa doesn’t really meet with anyone. But he sees you often, so I was curious what you two talk about. He rarely even gives time to his own grandsons...”
“Is that so?”
He nodded, frowning slightly, looking somewhat regretful.
“I think he took the recent presidential election loss pretty hard. Seems like he’s been hurt by a lot of people. Unless it’s something truly important, he stays holed up in his study. Only shows up at the table during family meals.”
That made sense.
I gave a sympathetic look in response, unable to say much more.
“We didn’t talk about anything special.”
It didn’t seem like Song Hyunsoo had high expectations to begin with. He nodded in easy acceptance.
“Yeah? Then that’s fine. When do you have time? Let’s grab a drink sometime.”
“I’ll make time as soon as I can.”
“Let’s meet up before I go abroad.”
“Sure. I’ll get going then.”
“Right, you said you had plans. Go on.”
“See you again, hyung.”
I left Chairman Song’s mansion and headed to my next appointment.
Once again, the meeting spot was in Yeouido.
Around the securities firms in Yeouido, people were pouring out of buildings more than usual. The streets were so jammed it was hard to tell if they were roads or parking lots.
“Whew... it’s like a warzone out here.”
After barely finding an open spot to park, I finally let out a breath. As I waited for Han Kyungyeong, I sorted through my thoughts.
‘How many shares does Grandpa have again?’
Trying to estimate from my pre-regression memories, I shook my head.
‘If I inherit all that, I could seriously intervene in the Ilseong succession war.’
Just then, the passenger door swung open. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
“What are you doing?”
Han Kyungyeong plopped down and asked.
“Oh, you’re here? Crazy day, huh?”
“Seriously. I thought I was going to die from the crowd even before the market opened. A few people got injured too. It’s total chaos out there.”
“Hahaha, I bet. Everyone’s panicking, right?”
Han Kyungyeong slumped into the seat, visibly worn out.
“Yeah, no kidding. If you hadn’t warned me, I would’ve been holding stocks too. Then I’d be out there fighting to sell like the rest of them.”
“So, what about the Ilseong shares?”
“Man! Don’t even get me started. Ilseong plummeted, then Daehyeon, Woosung, Seven—all of them crashed. No such thing as ‘too big to fail’ anymore.”
“Did you buy a lot?”
“Yeah. I scraped together everything I had and bought in. Spread it around, so it’s not that much.”
“Good. I’ll give you another 10 billion won. Buy more.”
Han Kyungyeong clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Whew... Talking to you makes a billion won feel like pocket change. You toss around numbers like ten billion, forty billion—just like that?”
I chuckled.
“So? You hate it?”
“...When everyone else was selling off in the afternoon, I was the only one buying. People started hovering around me, wondering what was going on. But no matter how much I bought, the price didn’t budge. Ten billion isn’t even a ripple in this market.”
I nodded.
When everyone’s selling, throwing in ten billion won won’t stop the bleeding.
Not that I ever intended to stop it.
“Once this is over, take a few days off. Go on a trip or something.”
“Come on, a vacation? Things are just getting interesting.”
Once traffic cleared up a bit, I slowly drove us to Han Kyungyeong’s place.
As he loosened his tie, I said casually,
“Hyung, start getting ready to go to the States as soon as this is wrapped up.”
“That fast?”
“Yeah. Let’s move quickly. I can’t fly out there often, so I’m entrusting you completely. Don’t let me down. I’m begging you.”
Seeing my serious expression, Han Kyungyeong sighed deeply.
It wasn’t the sigh of someone tired or fed up—it carried a sense of responsibility.
“Got it. From the look of things, just doing what you say will more than pay off. What do you want me to do?”
“That investment company we talked about before. We won’t be accepting any outside capital. I’m funding it entirely myself.”
“Okay.”
“And... James Han. There’s a guy scraping by on Wall Street by that name. Korean-American. Start by bringing him in...”
I listed the names of people we needed to recruit.
As soon as the company was set up, I planned to head to the U.S. myself.
“So I just get that started and wait until you arrive?”
“Yeah. As soon as I get there, I’ll wire 400 billion won to the company and assign everyone their tasks. I’ll personally handle the key investments, but you’ll need to keep everything anchored on your end.”
“Don’t worry.”
I patted Han Kyungyeong’s shoulder.
“I’ll get you flying on a private jet someday, so just hang in there for a bit.”
Just the mention of a private jet made him grin like a kid imagining it.
“Hell yeah! Let’s go take over the world!”
I laughed with him.
* * *
Despite a few days of chaos, South Korea recovered faster than expected. The plummeting stock market reversed into a rally, calming public anxiety.
But the Myeongdong private loan market was frozen stiff.
Grandpa had already cleaned up most of his anonymous accounts, so he didn’t take a major hit—unlike before.
Other loan sharks in Myeongdong, however, were in full panic mode.
‘Same goes for the Myeongdong “bosses.”’
The four under Grandpa—or rather, the three remaining now—were probably just as lost.
“It’s been a while.”
I stepped into the former Sledgehammer’s office, our agreed meeting place.
The three remaining bosses, already there, all stood up at once to greet me.
“Welcome, young master.”
Their reaction was completely different from before. I gave a slight smile and sat at the head of the table.
The bosses stood nervously, waiting for my cue.
“Sit down. You’ll hurt your neck.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once they were seated, I looked at each of them for a few seconds.
Kim Hosik, “Twin Blades,” avoided my eyes.
Shin Seongil, “Marauder,” hung his head.
Noh Ikseon, “Snake,” stared straight back, clearly unwilling to yield.
Their personalities were clear from that alone.
“I called this meeting, as you’ve probably guessed, because of the Real-Name Financial System. The Myeongdong loan market’s frozen solid, isn’t it?”
At my words, their expressions stiffened.
I smiled leisurely.
“It’s tough for you too, right, bosses?”
“No, not really. Chairman Cheon had already cleared most things, so we didn’t suffer too much.”
Sure, loans handled with Grandpa’s money probably weren’t affected.
But any shady side deals they’d pocketed were toast, no doubt burning them up inside.
Their fake calm was pitiful, almost amusing.
“Oh come on~ We all know the game. Everyone here had a side hustle behind Chairman Cheon’s back.”
They had no response to my blunt remark.
“There’s a reason I came alone today without Manager Ha. I wanted an open talk with just you. I get it, really. If you handle rice cakes, you’re bound to get some crumbs on you, right? You worked hard for that money—it must hurt to lose it all.”
Everyone except Shin Seongil looked visibly uncomfortable.
From that alone, I could tell Shin hadn’t skimmed anything off the top.
Noh Ikseon, the eldest, stepped up to speak.
“Do we really have to talk about this now? We’re already stressed enough over the financial system.”
Kim Hosik gave a subtle nod of agreement.
I sneered internally.
“Boss Noh, I’m not here to pin blame. If I were, would I have come alone? You all know what happened to Sledgehammer, don’t you?”
The mention of Yoo Jigang made their eyes tremble—clear fear.
“...Are you threatening us?”
“Threatening you? If I wanted to do that, it’d be easier to visit each of you one by one.”
I tilted my head as if to say, “Why would I bother?”
Noh Ikseon backed off immediately.
“Why does this feel so tense? I’m here to give you options.”
“Options?”
“Yes. A choice—between my uncle and me.”
As soon as I brought up the succession issue, their expressions changed.
Shin Seongil looked entirely uninterested, though.
“And if we choose you, what do we gain?”
Again, Noh Ikseon took the lead.
I decided it was time to shut this down.
“Boss Noh. If you think I can’t succeed Chairman Cheon without your support, then just leave. I didn’t come here to ask for approval—I came to offer a chance. Got that?”
They exchanged glances, reading each other’s faces.
Shin Seongil spoke first.
“Then I’ll be going. All I have to do is follow whoever Chairman names as heir. I don’t need this headache. May I leave, young master?”
I nodded.
“Yes. There will be no repercussions. You’re free to go.”
Noh Ikseon and Kim Hosik looked startled as Shin stood.
He bowed to me politely.
“I’ll see you again, young master.”
Without hesitation, he left the office.
‘I don’t get it. That guy’s more loyal to Grandpa than anyone. Why betray me? Grandpa did choose me as his successor...’
I couldn’t figure it out yet, but I’d deal with Shin Seongil another time.
For now, I turned my focus to the other two.
“What about you two?”
They didn’t respond right away and sat in silence, thinking hard.
I leaned back on the sofa, arms crossed, and waited.
“...We’ve been around the block. Even if we work under the Chairman, we’re still veterans of Myeongdong. Without our support, you won’t find it easy.”
What a foolish move after all that thinking.
These idiots must’ve forgotten what I told them last time.
“Boss Kim, do you agree with that?”
“Yes.”
Oh? So they’ve teamed up?
I dropped the polite smile from my face.
As the tension thickened, both froze like frogs before a snake.
“Sigh... Why is it that when I speak kindly, people always try to climb over me? Boss Kim, Boss Noh. ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Do you really think anything you do will change who Chairman chooses as heir? Why are the servants eyeing the master’s table?”
Their faces twisted in discomfort.
“I told you before—if you’re a servant, act like one. If you’re skimming some money on the side, I can overlook that. But trying to sit at the master’s table? That’s too much.”
“Isn’t that going too far?”
Noh Ikseon snapped, face reddening.
But I wasn’t done.
“Boss Noh, do you need to taste it to know if it’s shit or soybean paste? What—did my uncle promise you something? Independence, maybe?”
Noh Ikseon flinched hard at the word “independence.”
“You think independence means anything if someone hands it to you? Unless you earn it yourself, it’s all the same.”
I sneered openly.
“Let’s say you support my uncle, push me out, and he takes Grandpa’s place. Even if that one-in-ten-thousand chance happens... do you think he’d let you live easy? Do you think he’d just forgive those who overturned the master’s table?”
I looked past Noh’s red face and turned to Kim Hosik.
“Twin Blades. You think the same? Did I not make myself clear last time?”
“...”
“Just live off what I give you. At least I don’t plan to discard you like my uncle would. No—I’ll bring you into the light so your kids can be proud of you.”
That got a reaction.
“Into the light, you say?”
“How long are you going to live off high-interest loans? You should be running a legit business. That’s what I have planned—an official lending company. Legal interest only.”
“Then it’s not really loan sharking...”
I looked at him with disappointment.
“That’s for punks on the street. You guys should start acting like real bosses, don’t you think?”
“...Is there a way to make that happen?”
I smirked and held up five fingers.
“Just give me five years. Five years, and I’ll get you out in the open. That’s what I can promise. You don’t believe crap like someone ‘granting you independence,’ do you?”
I stood.
“Think it over and get back to me. And sure, go ahead and tell Chairman Cheon. Just don’t expect a friendly reunion if we see each other again.”
As I turned to leave, Noh Ikseon called out to me.
“Young master... Can we really move into the light?”
Without a hint of hesitation, I smiled.
“Of course.”
< The Servants Are Eyeing the Master’s Table? > End.
