Free Web NovelGreedy people tend to blur their vision.
The more they have, the worse it gets.
The man sitting in front of me, Han Hyunsoo, fit that description perfectly.
Greedy, yet the power in his hands was not entirely his.
He had no reason to refuse my offer.
“All right. I accept your proposal.”
Han Hyunsoo accepted my offer with a relieved expression.
“But how will you bring Heaven’s Church and Hwasung Group to me? You wouldn’t have come here unless you had a method, right?”
I was not going to attempt to shake them with words alone, without a practical method—that would be too petty.
“Let’s start with Hwasung Group first.”
“You mean separate it from Heaven’s Church?”
“If that were possible, would you have sat idle until now? It is not as easy as you say.”
“......”
You could probably spin off a few subsidiaries, but that would barely scratch the surface.
The profitable core businesses were inseparable from Heaven’s Church.
And those were tangled in complex shareholdings with the Han Sungjin family, making extraction difficult.
But there was not no way.
“Issue convertible bonds without President Han Sungjin knowing. Set the interest rate at zero percent, but include a clause that they can be converted to stock at any time from one year later. You can secretly convene the board and pass that, can’t you?”
“Would that work with just the holding company?”
“You can do it for the holding company and all subsidiaries. If something goes wrong, it’s better to at least have the subsidiaries separated.”
If it failed, Han Hyunsoo could lose everything he had. So I proposed a fallback.
“Success could win you everything, and failure could cost you everything...”
“To gain big, one must take risks.”
Han Hyunsoo tapped the arm of the sofa in thought for a long while.
“All right. Let’s do it.” freēwēbηovel.c૦m
“I will send an expert to discuss the details. We can’t have any mistakes with something like this.”
“You mean Han Kyungyeong?”
I shook my head. Han Kyungyeong was an investment specialist, but not for this kind of operation.
“No. Eva, CEO of Future Investment. She’s the expert for this.”
Eva was indeed specialized in this sort of thing. If even Hwasung couldn’t be handled, then who could?
After thinking it over several times, Eva was the right fit.
“Ah, I know. You mean the woman they call the Witch of Hong Kong?”
“The Witch of Hong Kong?”
“Yes. In business circles she’s called that. The Hong Kong witch. A woman with no mercy.”
I laughed aloud without meaning to.
A witch, huh. If I told Eva that name, she’d give a quite entertaining reaction.
Brave but fragile—knowing Eva well, the nickname made me smile.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I didn’t know Eva had that nickname. Witch... a strange title for her.”
“If you look at the impact Eva has had on the business world since the foreign exchange crisis, you wouldn’t call her that lightly.”
True—I gave the order, but Eva was the one who carried out the moves publicly.
Someone who didn’t know might think Eva had sown chaos.
“Anyway, I’ll send Eva soon. She’ll explain the plan in detail then.”
“Thank you. If it’s Eva, I can trust her. I’ll do it.”
But this alone was not enough to cause sufficient turmoil.
The method I’d described was a convertible bond requiring a year.
“So this alone is insufficient. By the way, how is your relationship with your mother?”
“Mother?”
Even now, Han Hyunsoo used the term “mother.” That suggested they had a close relationship.
“Yes. Mrs. Kim Geonja is the key to this. Can you move her?”
“Hmm... My relationship with my mother isn’t bad, but whether she’ll join such a thing is....”
“Tell her you will hand over Heaven’s Church.”
Han Hyunsoo tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Hand over Heaven’s Church to whom?”
“To Mrs. Kim Geonja, and Hwasung Group to you. That would be reason enough to join forces.”
“......”
“You’re not that interested in religion anyway, are you?”
“That may be, but....”
He didn’t answer readily—greed surfaced when the idea of handing power to someone else came up.
“Of course it would be ideal to have everything. But realistically, teaming up with your mother is the best course.”
His hesitation was short. In the end he chose the most rational business option.
“All right. I’ll see if I can persuade my mother. Mr. Kim, what should we do next?”
“I hear Mrs. Kim Geonja and President Han Sungjin are not on good terms.”
“......”
“You won’t ask how I know, I suppose. The rumors have been widespread.”
It was an open secret that Han Sungjin’s scandalous relations with female followers and other complications had long since strained their relationship.
But as leaders of the two factions within Heaven’s Church, neither could choose divorce.
The Church presented itself as a family community.
That’s why the annual mass weddings among followers were held in grand fashion.
If I promised Kim Geonja the leadership once Han Sungjin was gone, she would likely grab it gladly—even if it meant seizing a devil’s hand.
“Mrs. Kim would be pleased if President Han were gone. She’d be the second-most powerful person. Since she does not seem ready to retire, the best path is to get her the pulpit first, and later have you inherit it.”
Han Hyunsoo nodded in agreement.
“First, get your mother to stir up an internal power struggle. The justification can be manufactured as needed—money, media, or power. If you need anything, request it through Eva. I will grant every reasonable request.”
“But we can’t ignore my father’s influence.”
“I know. But within the country, he is no match for me. Trust me and proceed.”
Of course I did not know exactly how far Han Sungjin’s influence extended.
But as long as I—Kim Muhyuk—was active in Korea, it would be hard for him to outweigh me.
As we spoke I sketched my blueprint in my head.
Japan would be plunged into chaos between mafias and Koizumi vs. Daedonghoe power struggles.
Heaven’s Church would be embroiled in a fight between Han Sungjin and Kim Geonja, and in the middle of that I would cut off Choi Sunman’s limbs.
“Even if my mother and I join forces, the odds are low. Han Hyunjin and Han Hyunwoo stick to Father like glue and live off his crumbs.”
“Then shouldn’t you remove at least one of them as a warning?”
Han Hyunsoo recoiled in surprise.
“Remove?”
“Yes.”
“......”
“Any case that the prosecution would investigate? The more sensational the better.”
Reluctantly, Han Hyunsoo spoke in a small voice.
“Are you asking me to become a whistleblower? That would come back to haunt me when I inherit the Church.”
“There’s no need for you to take the lead. Choose someone inside and send them to the prosecution. I don’t think they’re innocent. What would the media like? Scandalous relations with female followers—something like that would be good bait for the prosecution.”
Scandalous sexual conduct among core members of a cult was a story the media and prosecution would relish.
They’d get a light sentence, and serve as a warning.
“So pick either Han Hyunjin or Han Hyunwoo and get rid of one.”
Han Hyunsoo closed his eyes and sighed. The thought of betraying brothers bothered him.
‘Not sure if he’s still too clean-hearted.’
To survive, I had to be willing to fight at all times—especially when power was at stake.
Whether real power or financial influence, if you didn’t kill first, you died first.
This decision would show his resolve.
If he was willing to walk a bloodstained path, I might genuinely help him.
If not, he would just be a card I used once and discarded.
“I’ll prepare the materials and hand them to you by tomorrow. Make sure they never leave prison.”
“Sexual crimes alone won’t be enough.”
“Han Hyunjin murdered someone. We have evidence. It wasn’t intended to be used like this, but—”
One eyebrow of mine lifted unconsciously. Han Hyunsoo was colder than I’d expected.
“Murder....” fгeewebnovёl.com
He hadn’t actually killed anyone? I hesitated and glanced at him.
“Several followers died.”
“It depends on what the evidence is. And that would impact Heaven’s Church. A murder within the sect, especially if the assailant is President Han Sungjin’s eldest son, would draw attention—from the media and the public alike.”
“Is that what you want? Chaos within Heaven’s Church? To topple Father’s hegemony, you must dig into the rot and the pus.”
That was a good line.
Meeting him in person was different from reading the files.
His willingness to walk a bloody road pleased me most.
“All right. Scandalous relations and follower murders. That should keep them behind bars for life. Send the materials to our side tomorrow and I’ll handle it.”
I stood and extended my hand.
Han Hyunsoo stood and took my hand.
When our gazes met, a cold light barely visible beneath his greed flashed in his eyes.
‘This might turn out more fun than I thought.’
If Heaven’s Church fell into his hands, my range of playable cards would increase.
Religion is a powerful tool for controlling people across time and place.
Whether or not he knew my thoughts, Han Hyunsoo just smiled.
The next day.
In the afternoon a box Han Hyunsoo had sent arrived at my Myeongdong office.
He had used a courier to erase traces of connection—amusing.
He was being thorough.
I opened the tightly sealed box. Inside were videotapes, photographs, and a rather thick paper envelope.
I set everything on the table and opened the envelope first.
Inside was a thick dossier. As I flipped to the first page, I could not help but be surprised.
This wasn’t material prepared in a day or two.
Dates and times were recorded precisely.
Who did what, when, and where were all organized by the five Ws and one H.
“Quite a cheeky trick. They put on a show. This might be fun.”
A smile came naturally to my face. Chief Ma asked me,
“Do you like it?”
“A little. With a bit of support he seems like someone who could remove them all and take Heaven’s Church. Being ruthless when necessary means he isn’t afraid to get his hands bloody.”
At my positive answer Chief Ma’s face hardened.
“Still, he’s not a pleasant man. The look he gave the secretaries in the elevator had lust written all over it. He’s the same breed. Not someone to keep close.”
“I don’t plan to keep him close. Cults aren’t run cleanly. But just because the dung stinks doesn’t mean you can’t use it. If I can move that influence however I want, I’ll use it.”
Chief Ma seemed reassured and closed his mouth.
A loyal, dull man—he worried about dirt splattering on me.
“If you’re worried, Chief, you can watch. If he turns out to be someone we must not leave alone....”
I smiled broadly and patted his shoulder lightly.
“We can tidy things up later if necessary.”
