Free Web NovelA few days passed after I returned to Korea.
Because my China trip dragged on longer than expected, I stayed in Pyeongchang-dong, catching up on all the work that had piled up.
Manager Ma knocked, then entered with a cup of coffee.
I lifted my head from the mountain of documents. Finally—a moment to breathe.
Stretching lightly, I let out a small laugh.
“Ah, I can finally rest for a moment. I don’t know why I’m even busier after coming home.”
After a short stretch, I looked at Manager Ma.
“You brought the coffee yourself, so I assume there’s something to report?”
Normally the housekeeper brings my coffee.
If Manager Ma delivers it himself, it means the matter is urgent.
“Yes, Boss. Seo Jaehun requested a meeting.”
I raised an eyebrow while lifting the cup.
“He requested it? And who informed us?”
“The president of Ilseong Hospital contacted us directly.”
“So he still has some loyalty. Didn’t they all switch over to Seo Heekyung?”
“Yes. Most of the executives defected to Director Seo Heekyung’s side. They seem to think Seo Jaehun will never get out of prison.”
They weren’t wrong. I sipped my coffee and nodded.
“Why would Seo Jaehun want to see me? So it wasn’t suicide—he must have been attacked.”
“We are still investigating. However, the movements of the attending guard are suspicious.”
If Manager Ma called something ‘suspicious,’ it had to be serious.
I set the cup down and looked at him.
“Why? Did you find something?”
“We’re not certain yet. We need to dig deeper. But we did find that he recently bought a foreign luxury car. Paid in full. In cash.”
“Guards taking bribes isn’t new. Don’t we also pay that guy monthly?”
Since he was the guard in charge of monitoring Seo Jaehun, we paid him a monthly allowance under the label of ‘maintenance.’
But that wasn’t what Ma meant.
“No, Boss. That guard receives money from no one except us. And what we pay him isn’t nearly enough to buy a foreign luxury car outright.”
I rested my chin on my hand and thought.
So the guard either tried to kill Seo Jaehun...
or inflicted some similar level of pain.
Either way, we needed to investigate him thoroughly.
“Find out who bribed that guard. Our payments aren’t small. For him to pull something like this behind our backs... someone must’ve paid a lot.”
Valletze?
Seo Heekyung?
Someone entirely different?
Whoever interfered—I was curious.
“I’ll meet Seo Jaehun tomorrow. Let’s hear whatever nonsense he has to say. He’s still in Ilseong Hospital?”
“Yes. The prosecution accepted the director’s recommendation that psychiatric care and rest are needed. Prosecutor Jung Taehun said it was a decision from higher up.”
A reasonable decision. If Seo Jaehun died—suicide or not—while in custody, the prosecution would be in a difficult position.
A bit inconvenient, but unavoidable. I clicked my tongue and nodded.
“Fine. Prepare the visit.”
“Yes, I’ll schedule it.”
Manager Ma bowed and left.
Alone again, I returned to the mountain of documents, clearing them one by one.
* * *
Beijing, China.
Ministry of Public Security headquarters in Dongcheng District.
Deep inside the building, the interrogation room contained nothing but a table and two chairs.
Sitting in one of those two chairs, Wang Jianlin nervously chewed his thumbnail.
Dragged in by Public Security with no warning, stripped of his phone and everything else—he still couldn’t believe what was happening.
When foreign outlets started publishing exposés about Wanda Group and himself, he’d done everything he could to stop them.
But News Corporation refused to respond.
He used every connection he had—threats, bribes, persuasion—and finally, News Corporation took down all the articles.
He thought that was the end of it.
“What the hell... Why is Bo Xilai not picking up? What is he doing...”
The moment Public Security stormed the Wanda headquarters, he called Bo Xilai.
No answer.
He called Xi Jinping and the Princeling members.
Not one of them picked up.
And then he was arrested and dragged to the interrogation room.
A moment later—
The door opened, and Zhou Yongkang walked in.
“Minister Zhou...”
Wang Jianlin leapt to his feet.
“Why get up like that, Wang Jianlin? No need. Sit.”
The Public Security Minister himself walking into an interrogation room—
Zhou’s tone was polite, but Wang Jianlin felt something was very, very wrong.
Zhou dropped the thick stack of papers he brought onto the table.
Then he pulled out a chair and sat across from him.
“Wang Jianlin, do you know why you’re here?”
“Minister Zhou... surely this isn’t about those foreign articles? You saw all of them were taken down. All of it was false. I can explain everything.”
“Explain? Explain what? Do you think they were taken down because you tried hard? No. The government requested their removal. Not because your name was cleared. You caused Chairman Jiang Zemin and Chairman Hu Jintao both to lose face.”
The polite tone vanished.
Only irritation remained in Zhou’s voice.
“What... That small matter caused both Chairman Jiang and Chairman Hu to be disgraced? Let me speak to them right now.”
“What are you babbling about? You still don’t get it, do you? Wang Jianlin, you still think you’re the chairman of Wanda Group?”
“Minister Zhou, that’s a bit much. I am Wang Jianlin. Did you forget who my father is?”
Zhou’s lips curled in a mocking smile.
“Oh, I know. Everyone knows. Without your father’s name, you’re nothing.”
“What was that? This man becomes Public Security Minister and thinks no one is above him? I am Wang Jianlin! Wang Jianlin!”
Wang Jianlin shot up from his seat, face flushing red with rage he could barely control.
Zhou let out a cold laugh.
“Sit, Wang Jianlin.”
“Minister Zhou, I demand a lawful investigation. Return my phone so I can call my lawyer. Otherwise, I won’t say anything.”
Zhou scoffed.
“You still don’t understand?! The fact that a Princeling like you was dragged here means you’re finished. A lawyer? Don’t make me laugh. Sit down while I’m telling you nicely. Or do you want to get beaten before you come to your senses?”
“Minister Zhou, I—”
“You bastard, when I tell you to sit, you sit! Do you enjoy making me curse? You can’t read the situation, so you get thrown away. Does your brain not work?”
Wang Jianlin’s eyes widened.
He had never been treated like this before.
He never imagined a Public Security Minister would hurl curses at him.
“Last warning. Sit. That was the final polite request.”
Faced with Zhou’s frigid stare, Wang Jianlin hesitated—then sat down.
“I’ll tell you one thing. You will never leave this place. Even if your dead father came back to life, you still wouldn’t. Resist if you want—your body will pay the price. Think before you talk. Understood?”
“Why are you doing this to me? What crime did I commit? Isn’t everyone doing it? Taking foreign currency out? It’s not some mortal sin. You do it too, Minister Zhou!”
Zhou shrugged. He wasn’t wrong.
Every high-ranking official did minor illegal things.
But just because everyone did it didn’t make it legal.
Especially in China, where being outside the Party’s favor could cost you your head—law didn’t matter much.
“You should’ve known your place before stretching your legs. You’re an idiot.”
Zhou clicked his tongue and stopped talking.
Seeing his contemptuous gaze, Wang Jianlin closed his eyes in despair.
* * *
I arrived at an upscale Korean restaurant in Gangnam where we planned to meet.
When I walked in, Hyunseong, who was already waiting, smiled.
“Your face looks good. I’ve never seen you look like that.”
“You’ll be like this too when you get married. It’s having a sanctuary.”
No reason to mention I’d already failed once. I smirked and stepped into the private room.
As soon as we sat down, Hyunseong poured tea.
“How’s the investing going?”
“Good. Reading and reviewing investment plans every day. They never stop coming.”
“That just means a lot of founders are waiting for your funding.”
We chatted over tea.
Soon the food arrived.
“Let’s eat first. I’m starving. This place is good. Go ahead, Hyunseong.”
I picked up some japchae and took a bite.
Hyunseong tried a skewer and nodded.
“Not bad. We can come here for private talks next time.”
We caught up while eating—it had been a while.
After finishing the sujeonggwa they served for dessert, I rubbed my stomach.
Something I would never do in front of most people.
“Ahhh, I’m full. Haven’t overeaten in a while.”
Hyunseong’s lips curled upward.
He really had softened since getting married. It suited him.
“You’ve changed a lot. You smile easily now. Is Mijin treating you that well?”
“Quit the nonsense. Let’s talk business.”
I nodded and set down the bowl.
“How did it go?”
Now that I’d kept Jiang Zemin from interfering, we could fully push Tencent. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Hyunseong wetted his lips before answering.
“Let me start by saying the reaction wasn’t great. Both game companies were agitated. They said Tencent isn’t ready, so why would they sign with them?”
Both companies.
Well... right now Tencent isn’t appealing.
Later, Korean game companies would cling desperately to Tencent begging for distribution,
but today they were just a messaging company.
I understood, but I had to make this deal happen.
Tencent wouldn’t rise in the gaming industry until after 2007.
The earlier I pushed them in—the better for me.
“So? Did you persuade them?”
Hyunseong nodded.
“I pushed with the shareholding angle. I got word that next week, Tencent’s executives and Zhang Zhidong will come to Korea personally. That’s probably when we’ll sign the MOU. The finer details will take negotiation, but it’s basically going through.”
“Zhang Zhidong is coming personally? They must be serious.”
I hadn’t expected Zhang Zhidong to come himself.
My reaction made Hyunseong ask curiously:
“He’s important?”
“He’s Tencent’s number two. They must be desperate. If he’s coming personally, they’re betting the company’s future on this deal.”
Contrary to popular belief, Zhang Zhidong was more active in gaming than Ma Huateng.
Honestly, from what I’d seen, it wasn’t impossible that Tencent’s real growth driver was Zhang, not Ma.
“Really? And you said you’re their largest shareholder, right?”
“Korea has a 50% limit on foreign ownership in Chinese companies. Even if I max out, it caps at 49.9%. The rest is scattered here and there. But effectively, I am the owner.”
Hyunseong whistled in amazement—a rare reaction.
I raised a brow.
“Setting up my own fund and investing taught me one thing—it’s not easy. How do you succeed every time you invest? You’re ridiculous.”
“I take losses too. And I didn’t do it alone. Kyungyeong ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) and Eva are good at their jobs.”
That was true.
Knowing the future didn’t mean I could do everything alone.
If I were on my own, I could never accomplish everything I wanted.
Not just Kyungyeong and Eva.
Hyunseong here, and Myungsoo who entered politics—everyone worked hard in their own sphere for me.
That’s why I could sit where I was now.
“Don’t sell yourself short. Anyway, I’ll attend the negotiation myself. I have to support the Korean game companies too. You get it, right?”
“You worry too much. I told Tencent to give Korea the best terms available. The deal nearly fell apart once already, and choosing Tencent carries risk. So squeeze them as much as you want.”
This was shaping up to be fun.
Watching how Hyunseong negotiated would be entertaining.
Smiling broadly, I continued my conversation with him.
