Free Web NovelPatrick arrived at the Vice Chairman’s office.
“I’m Patrick from Goldman Sachs.”
“I’m Seo Jaehun.”
After shaking hands, Patrick and Seo Jaehun sat facing each other.
“There are too many eyes watching. I’d prefer to speak privately.”
Patrick looked around the office as he said it, and Seo Jaehun nodded.
“Fine. Everyone, step outside.”
“Vice Chairman.”
Lee Seokmin called out. Seo Jaehun turned his head toward him.
“What is it? Is there a problem?”
“We need to know what kind of conversation you’re having. Only then can we plan ahead.”
“Since when were you this hardworking? Forget it. I’ll tell you later, just wait outside.”
When Lee Seokmin hesitated, Seo Jaehun spoke coldly.
“Or are you having other thoughts?”
“N-no, sir. I’ll step out.”
Lee Seokmin bowed his head and left the office. The room quickly grew silent.
Once everyone was gone, Patrick skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point.
“Dreamhigh asked us to sell or delegate the Ilseong Electronics shares we hold. But we believe in your ability, Vice Chairman Seo. That’s why, in the upcoming shareholders’ meeting, we intend to support you.”
“Do you understand the situation I’m in right now?”
“Yes, I do. You’re under investigation by the prosecution, and public opinion isn’t on your side. But don’t worry. We plan to move the U.S. government to negotiate with the Korean government.”
There’s no such thing as goodwill without reason. Seo Jaehun looked at Patrick with suspicion.
“And your reason for helping me is?”
“I told you already—we trust you. You’re Chairman Seo Yonggeon’s son. How could someone like you lack ability?”
“......”
What a mouthful of flattery. And dragging his father’s name into it—how irritating.
Seo Jaehun shook his head and glared at Patrick.
“Let’s stop with the nonsense.”
“Oh my. You’re rougher than I heard.”
Patrick made an exaggerated gesture and laughed, but Seo Jaehun ignored it and continued.
“You’ll negotiate with the Korean government to protect our management rights? It’s already too late. They’ve secured 48% in friendly shares. With the voting rights of Ilseong Life and Ilseong Fire restricted, there’s no way to win no matter what we do. And yet you say you’ll help a man doomed to lose?”
Patrick shrugged under the sharp tone.
“The management rights may pass to them, but the shares held by you and Chairman Seo won’t disappear, right? You can obstruct any business, just like they did to you.”
“......”
“Combine your family’s shares with ours, and it’s enough. Of course, we won’t be at the front—you’ll have to move yourself.”
Seo Jaehun let out a hollow laugh. Ridiculous.
That was as good as admitting they just wanted to use him as a frontman.
“Listen here, Vice President Patrick. Do you take me for a pushover?”
“Of course not. Everyone knows Ilseong’s true owner is you, Seo Jaehun. You’re just going through hardship now because of Kim Muhyuk. But if he were to disappear—what then? Sometimes you have to step back to bide your time.”
“Disappear?”
“It’s just an expression. What was that Eastern saying again? Enduring hardship for vengeance?”
Patrick’s slippery attitude disgusted him.
Realizing they wanted to use him as a card against Kim Muhyuk, Seo Jaehun’s eyes turned cold.
He didn’t trust anyone—not his father, not his sister, not even the man sitting before him.
“So you want me to become your puppet and fight Kim Muhyuk? Ha. That’s insane. You don’t know me at all.”
“Oh, I think we know everything about you. Everything.”
Patrick raised the corners of his mouth in a slimy smile.
“Strangely, people in Korea don’t seem to know much about Kim Muhyuk. In the U.S., he’s already classified as a person of interest. He’s made up his mind. If you don’t side with us, you’ll collapse. You’ll rot in prison for life. Once the Ilseong Group shield is gone, no one will protect you.”
“And if I side with you, you can stop that?”
Finally, Seo Jaehun dropped the formalities.
His tone showed not a shred of respect.
“We can’t protect Ilseong’s management rights, but we can keep you out of prison.”
Patrick answered in the same casual tone.
Seeing the persistent suspicion in Seo Jaehun’s eyes, Patrick smiled faintly.
No point talking more—he wouldn’t listen anyway. Patrick stood, giving his final message.
“You have a week left. No—six days, to be exact. We’ll wait for your answer until then. If we don’t hear from you before the shareholders’ meeting, we’ll sell all our shares to Kim Muhyuk. And once the shares are in his hands, he’ll never sell them again. You’ll never get Ilseong Group back.”
“......”
“I’ll take my leave now. Think carefully before you answer.”
Patrick turned around. The office door opened, and he disappeared.
Seo Jaehun stared at the door for a long time, grinding his teeth.
“That bastard...”
A flash of killing intent flickered in his eyes.
* * *
Patrick had accepted Han Kyungyeong’s proposal, and I arrived at the Baekje Hotel where he was staying.
After getting out of the car, Han Kyungyeong and I went straight up to his suite.
“Welcome. I’m Patrick.”
“I’m Kim Muhyuk.”
“James.”
Patrick greeted us with a smile.
He turned to Han Kyungyeong with an exaggerated gesture and spoke cheerfully.
“Oh, James Han! I’ve heard a lot about you. They call you a legend on Wall Street.”
“That reputation is exaggerated. Compared to what you’ve done, it’s nothing.”
“Haha, modest as always—very Korean. Come, sit. I’ve been curious about the man who commands someone like James.”
Patrick guided us inside.
Before the conversation even began, I corrected him.
“James is not my subordinate.”
“I understand that 99% of Dreamhigh’s shares belong to you, Kim Muhyuk. James owns only 1%.” freёwebnoѵel.com
“He’s my friend, my brother, my partner. He’s not someone you can describe with a word like subordinate. I find that term unpleasant.”
“Ah, I see. My mistake, then. I apologize.”
Patrick bowed his head slightly toward Han Kyungyeong, who nodded back.
Han looked at me with a faintly curious expression, but I ignored it and spoke to Patrick.
“I enjoyed watching what happened in Argentina and Brazil.”
“Haha, that was child’s play compared to what Dreamhigh has done. On Wall Street, they say there isn’t a single bank that hasn’t been beaten by Dreamhigh.”
“They made money thanks to us too.”
“Indeed. You gave them losses and even bigger profits in return—no reason for anyone on Wall Street to hate Dreamhigh.”
Patrick uncapped the whiskey bottle on the table and poured into three glasses.
He added ice, then slid one glass toward each of us.
“Let’s talk over a drink.”
Patrick took the first sip, and Han and I followed.
After putting my glass down, I pointed out the part that caught my attention.
“So you’re saying Wall Street views Dreamhigh favorably?”
“Yes. There’s no reason they wouldn’t.”
“Then why did you ignore my request to sell the Ilseong Group shares?”
Patrick shrugged, following my gesture of setting the glass down.
“Because selling now would be stupid. Ilseong Group is one of a kind in Korea. We’re long-term investors, not short-term speculators.”
“You people can’t possibly be unaware of my history with Ilseong. I offered double the current price. No matter how high its growth potential, no one knows how long it’ll take for the stock to double. Who’d believe that excuse? Not even a child.”
Patrick replied calmly, still relaxed.
“Every company you’ve touched has grown. Take Apple, for example. Its stock price has already tripled. You were the one who kept buying when everyone else was selling. The same with Amazon. And in Korea, there’s Joongwoo Group—an excellent model. If it were listed, it would’ve been a great investment for us, but unfortunately, it’s private.”
After the NASDAQ crash and the terrorist attacks, Apple’s stock had dropped 90% from its peak.
I’d been buying it all the while, and now Dreamhigh was Apple’s top shareholder.
“Dreamhigh moves against the times. I also know you’ve poured massive funds into oil futures. I followed your lead there and profited myself.”
Patrick smiled faintly and took another sip of whiskey. Then he continued.
“I also know about your history with Ilseong Group. Ah—and the recent incident in Japan.”
So he even knew about Japan. That wasn’t /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ something mere Wall Street intelligence could uncover.
He’d just confirmed with his own mouth that someone was behind him.
“How much for the shares?”
“How about trading them for Apple’s shares?”
Absurd.
Apple would become the greatest company in the world after the iPhone launch. And beyond that, I could never sell them because of my promise to Jobs.
Steve Jobs didn’t own many shares. Having once been expelled from his own company, he was paranoid about losing it again.
So I had promised him—I would never sell my Apple shares until the day he died.
“I can’t sell Apple shares. I made a promise to Jobs.”
“Then we won’t sell the Ilseong shares either.”
“......”
So this was deliberate provocation. There’s no way he didn’t know about my relationship with Jobs.
Noting the stiffness in my face, Patrick smirked.
“Then perhaps exchange them for Yahoo shares?”
“Yahoo, huh. You think that’s a fair trade?”
I planned to sell all my Yahoo shares soon anyway—but there was no reason to tell a man who was testing me.
“Dreamhigh holds, what, 7.8% of Yahoo? That’s what I heard. That’s about three times the value of the Ilseong affiliate shares under my control.”
“Sounds like you’re not interested in negotiating.”
“Haha, you’re right. We won’t sell the Ilseong shares no matter what. We’ll interfere in everything you do.”
Before I could respond, Han Kyungyeong spoke first.
“Vice President Patrick. Should I take that as a declaration of war against Dreamhigh?”
“War?”
Patrick burst out laughing. He laughed so hard his eyes teared up, then spoke coldly.
“James. Maybe you’ve never failed, but you overestimate yourself. Do you really think Dreamhigh can take on all of Wall Street alone?”
“Why not? It was Dreamhigh that looted those fat old men on Wall Street once already. What’s stopping us from doing it again?”
“Winning once by chance isn’t called victory. If Wall Street decides to turn its back on you, Dreamhigh won’t survive.”
Patrick’s mocking tone made Han’s temper flare.
I jabbed his thigh with my finger and shook my head slightly.
He was angrier than usual. Saying more would only give them something to exploit.
Han exhaled a quiet sigh and closed his mouth.
“Patrick. Enough wordplay.”
“Haha, you’re the one who asked to meet, and now you—”
“Listen, Patrick. I’ve been watching to see how long Valletze’s dog would keep barking, but you’re getting out of line. You think I’m some pushover? Maybe it’s time I showed you what madness really looks like.”
The smile vanished from Patrick’s face. Finally, that’s better.
I smiled faintly, meeting his gaze. I could see the flicker of unease in his eyes.
Confirmed. I’d been wondering how to find Valletze’s dog on Wall Street—but here he was, standing right in front of me.
“You really thought I wouldn’t notice? What you’re doing now is as good as a declaration. Valletze wants war with me? Then that’s exactly how I’ll take it. You’ve just declared war on me, Patrick. Can you handle the consequences?”
