Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

Of course, just because Chevron was listed on the New York Stock Exchange didn’t mean I could buy shares without limit.

Still, I was confident I could secure enough of a stake to block [N O V E L I G H T] this man’s path.

“If Dreamhigh becomes the largest shareholder, we could take the head off someone like you, Director Michael. Want to try it?” ƒreewebɳovel.com

“.......”

At my calm words, Michael’s eyes wavered.

“Do you think I can’t do it? I guess Advisor Rice didn’t explain me properly. Anyone who sets themselves up as my enemy, I crush completely—even if it costs me a great deal.”

“.......”

“Director Michael. Threats are for people who have weaknesses. Or when you hold an overwhelming advantage over the other side. Otherwise, it’s worse than shouting into empty air—just meaningless noise.”

“Charlie. Did you mean what you just said?”

I thought he was smart, but he was still clinging to his pride.

“I meant it. If I pick up the phone right now, I can start accumulating shares immediately.”

“......I only meant that we should join hands and do well together.”

I curled one corner of my mouth and sneered at him.

If this had been the will of Chevron’s entire board, he wouldn’t have tried such a clumsy threat.

They would have moved first to pressure me, then guided the conversation after.

“Director Michael. Were those words today the will of Chevron’s board—or just your own?”

“.......”

“Your own call, isn’t it? You said yourself not many people even know exploration is starting again at Block 7. You wanted to secure participation in Block 7 and strengthen your position inside Chevron.”

This whole situation was born of Michael’s ambition. Someone had clearly egged on his hunger for advancement.

Michael said he learned about Block 7 while investigating Yugansk Oil.

But I was certain the leak came through Japan.

Michael was also the head of marketing for Asia, and he’d been in discussions with Japanese stakeholders for years.

If so, obtaining the information wouldn’t have been difficult.

The expected reserves in Block 7 were significant. If he could even get a foot in the door there, Michael’s influence inside Chevron would grow enormously.

“If you wanted to use me, you should’ve negotiated—not threatened. Half-baked threats don’t work on me. I’m the kind of man who says what he needs to say in front of the U.S. president, the Russian president, and the Chinese chairman. And yet a single Chevron director thinks he can threaten me?”

Chevron—no, the entire oil cartel. If I fought them head-on, it would be hard for me as well, but it would be hard for them too.

If they could offer up one man like Michael as a sacrifice and take my hand, they’d do it without hesitation.

“Do you understand what you’ve done? You dared to make a pathetic threat against me. Do you think I’m afraid of you? Not a chance. It might take longer and be more annoying, but I’ll build the pipeline, and I’ll develop Block 7. Because I decided I would.”

Michael only bit down on his lips, unable to say a word.

“Up to now, you’ve used your title as a Chevron director to crush people with force, haven’t you? That’s why you lost. You should’ve chosen your targets. Thanks to that, I’m in a very bad mood. I thought, for once, I’d met someone I could actually talk to.”

I shook my head, exaggerated on purpose.

“If instead of threatening me, you’d simply been honest and asked for help, I might’ve considered it. Building a line to Chevron and the oil cartel is something I’d welcome too. You should’ve done your homework on me before coming. I don’t understand why you’d commit this kind of rudeness.”

“......I only came because I thought something like that could happen. And it wouldn’t be good for you either.”

Before Michael even finished speaking, I burst out laughing.

With him staring in confusion, I laughed for a while—then erased the mirth in an instant and said,

“Still trying to test me with lines like ‘it wouldn’t be good for you’ and ‘it could happen.’ You’re not ready to talk yet. Leave.”

“Charlie.”

“I told you to leave. There won’t be a second warning. Learn what kind of person I am, and contact me again. When you’re ready to have a real conversation, we’ll arrange another meeting.”

After I finished, I sent a look to Manager Ma, who stood solidly by the study door.

Manager Ma walked over at once and spoke to Michael.

“Director Michael. Please stand.”

Michael glanced at Manager Ma, then rose without protest.

“......I’ll contact you again.”

With those words, Michael turned away.

Manager Ma saw Michael out and came back.

“Word about Block 7 will probably spread through the oil industry quickly. Before more people try to interfere or stick their spoon in, we need to move fast. Once the North Korea schedule is finished, we should fly straight to Japan.”

“Understood, boss. I’ll prepare it.”

“And... what do you think about that guy? Is he worth using? To me, he looks like the type who could become a loyal dog if you polish him up.” freewebnσvel.cѳm

I like ambitious people. Ambition is what moves a man.

If he had no ambition, he wouldn’t have come to me—he would’ve taken the information straight to Chevron’s board.

And with the oil cartel’s cooperation, he would’ve pressured the Korean and Japanese governments, choosing a path that guaranteed participation in the exploration.

The Michael I saw with my own eyes was overflowing with ambition.

That was why, one day, he’d climb all the way to Chevron’s chairmanship.

His plan was to threaten me, get what he wanted, then use that as a weapon to expand his influence inside Chevron and the oil cartel.

“If the boss decides to use him, then use him.”

As always, the answer was blunt. But since Manager Ma—who had an excellent eye for people—didn’t object, it seemed he agreed with me.

“Keep marking everyone who entered this time. Find out everything—what they talk about, who they meet.”

“Understood.”

I liked him even more because he wasn’t someone without desire.

People with no desire are harder for me to deal with.

Looking down at the coffee cup Michael had emptied so cleanly, I gave a small snort of a laugh.

“Let’s see when he calls.”

* * *

Several days had already passed since I met Michael.

Michael followed his schedule as planned, and nothing particularly unusual was found.

Even when we bugged their lodging, nothing noteworthy came up.

“Manager. The approval for entering North Korea came through, right?”

“Yes. Starting next week, we’ve been granted entry for one week—eight people total: you, me, and the security team.”

Hearing Manager Ma’s briefing brought back memories of my first trip to North Korea.

I nodded and gave additional instructions.

“On the way, arrange the schedule so we can stop by the Kaesong Industrial Complex and look around the construction site. And contact the North Korean government through the hotline.”

“Yes, boss.”

Nodding, Manager Ma held out the documents he had been carrying.

“This is the list of Chevron’s major shareholders you requested.”

When I opened the paper envelope Manager Ma handed over, there was a single sheet inside.

“Vanguard holds the largest stake, and after that it’s State Street Corporation.”

Chevron’s history runs in parallel with the history of the American oil industry.

Its predecessor was Standard Oil, founded by John Davison Rockefeller—the man known as America’s oil king.

He grew Standard Oil into a company that handled about ninety percent of the world’s crude supply.

But maybe because it had grown too large, Standard Oil’s monopoly produced all kinds of damage.

In the end, the U.S. government created antitrust laws that could break up monopolies, and split Standard Oil into thirty-four companies.

Over a long hundred years, those fragmented companies repeatedly merged and split again.

Most of today’s major oil companies, in one way or another, bulked up by acquiring firms born from Standard Oil’s breakup.

Chevron, too, was a company formed through the post-breakup reorganization of Standard Oil of California.

“Rockefeller really was something.”

Before the importance of oil was widely understood, he moved fast and jumped into the oil business.

As a result, he monopolized the global oil market.

Easy to say, but even thinking about it now, it was a truly legendary achievement.

Even today, the descendants of the Standard Oil he built still lead the oil market—proof enough of his influence.

And his family, as one of America’s powerful lineages, continued to exert influence.

But even the Rockefeller family didn’t own Chevron.

After the breakup of Standard Oil, Rockefeller could no longer participate in management, and over time Chevron’s ownership shifted to shareholders.

Chevron’s ownership was widely distributed across institutional investors, mutual funds, and individual investors.

“Vanguard Group at around seven percent. State Street Corporation around six percent. Fidelity Investments around five percent....”

There was no corporation or individual holding more than ten percent.

U.S.-based asset managers held the shares in a balanced spread, and by aligning, they controlled the board.

Chevron’s market cap was currently under 200 billion dollars.

To secure ten percent would cost at least 20 billion dollars—and once accumulation began, you’d have to plan for up to twice that, assuming the stock price would rise.

There was no reason to force that kind of investment into a company where, even after pouring in enormous money, you still couldn’t take control.

“Which is why it’d be perfect if Michael became my man.”

I set the envelope down and toyed with my phone.

After sorting my thoughts for a moment, I made a call. Before long, the line connected.

— Oh, Muhyuk.

“Hyung. Busy? How are things over there these days?”

— Same as always. Working in the daytime, dragged to parties at night.

Han Kyungyeong complained that it felt like running on a wheel.

“Hang in there until the election is over. The mood in the U.S. has shifted hard, right?”

— Yeah. Bush’s approval rating dropped, then climbed even higher than before. No matter how much ‘we don’t negotiate with terrorists’ is U.S. policy, nobody’s going to like a president who lets his own citizens die. He rescued the hostages safely, and on top of that, wiped out every terrorist involved in the abduction. Of course the numbers went up.

It looked like public opinion was flowing exactly as expected.

After hearing a quick update on the U.S. situation, I moved straight to the point.

“Hyung. Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

I read out the list of firms that held five percent or more of Chevron.

“Do you know anyone among the leadership of the asset managers I just mentioned?”

— Most of them, yeah. But it’s more like we exchange greetings in passing, not people I’ve done business with. Why?

I explained roughly how the situation was unfolding.

And when I reached the part where Michael had threatened me, Han Kyungyeong couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

— What? Puhaha! That bastard’s insane. He threatened you? If he wants to die, it’d be cleaner to jump out of a plane—why do something like that? Does he want a messy death?

“I considered accumulating Chevron shares and taking a seat at the board, but the effect is too small compared to the money it would take.”

— Exactly. Most major oil companies traded on the NYSE have fragmented ownership, so grabbing ten or twenty percent in a sloppy way doesn’t get you anywhere. They aren’t companies you can win with a simple stake fight. And if a force like that appears, the U.S. Treasury won’t just sit and watch either.

As expected, Han Kyungyeong thought the same. Even if the ultimate extravagance is spending money like water, this was too inefficient.

“So here’s the thing. For now, build some connections with them.”

— You trying to get Director Michael fired?

“Maybe. That depends on how he chooses to act. But a partner like Chevron wouldn’t be bad. I figured it might be good to set up a line, at least.”

— If that’s what you want, wouldn’t ExxonMobil be better? They’re the biggest oil company after Aramco.

Han Kyungyeong immediately voiced doubt.

“They’re too big. Chevron’s better because they’re comparatively smaller.”

— Fair point. Chevron and ExxonMobil probably have similar shareholder structures anyway.

“Can you do it?”

— Hah! Can I do it? Muhyuk. I’m Han Kyungyeong. I’ve got plenty of influence on Wall Street. I’ll build the network exactly how you want. And since it’s election season, it’ll be easy to approach them naturally.”

Han Kyungyeong boasted with confidence.

Hearing his voice, unchanged as ever, made the corners of my mouth lift throughout the call.