Free Web NovelKim Hakgwon, the president-elect, did not answer my question immediately.
But knowing the politician Kim Hakgwon, I could roughly guess what answer he was considering.
He wanted to make a mark in history.
“If you overcome the IMF crisis during your term and reform the reckless corporate culture of the conglomerates, won’t you be remembered as a good president even after your term ends?”
“Hahaha. A good president, huh......”
“Korea’s corporate culture has been heavily influenced by Japan. What the IMF is demanding this time, to me, ultimately sounds like they want us to shed the Japanese way and adopt the American system.”
American companies often raised funds not through bank loans but by issuing bonds and using the stock market.
What the IMF really wanted was for Korean corporate profits to be shared with speculative capital led by the United States.
Once Korea’s capital market was fully opened, that door would swing wide open.
“It will be humiliating, but this opportunity will never come again. The conglomerates will fiercely oppose it, but as long as you have the IMF as an excuse, they’ll have no choice but to comply. Push for the policies you want. That’s all you need to do.”
Kim Hakgwon listened to me attentively until the end.
“Thank you for hearing out my presumptuous words to the end.”
“Hahaha. No, no. It was helpful. Much of it aligns with my own thoughts. Not all of it, of course. My aides and bureaucrats are busy defending the interests of the conglomerates, but you—you're refreshing. You scratch exactly where I itch.”
My words wouldn’t drastically change policy, but I had thrown a small stone into the pond.
If they even recalled my words once when injecting public funds, that would be enough.
My conversation with Kim Hakgwon went on for quite some time afterward.
* * *
Eva arrived in Hong Kong and began leveraging her connections to dig into Peregrine.
Rumors of its bankruptcy were already rampant in Hong Kong’s financial circles.
“Eva?”
“It’s been a while.”
“Hahaha. I thought you had vanished into marriage somewhere after disappearing from Hong Kong, but here you are again.”
“Thanks to that, I learned a lot, Daniel.”
Eva happened to run into Daniel, her former superior.
“You didn’t have too much trouble, I hope? You still think I abandoned you?”
“Well, you didn’t help me at all, that’s a fact. But thanks to that, I met a great boss, so it doesn’t matter now. Enjoy your evening.”
Daniel looked flustered at Eva’s tone, but he didn’t stop her.
Leaving Daniel behind, Eva scanned the room, looking for someone.
When she spotted her target, she smiled and walked over.
“Andre?”
The man, who had been talking to someone else, turned his head at the sound of his name.
“Do I know you?”
“Aren’t you Director Andre Lee from Peregrine?”
“I am, but.......”
“Then I’ve found the right person. Hello. I’m Eva. Nice to meet you.”
Eva introduced herself with a bright smile, extending her hand.
Andre Lee, caught off guard, shook her hand.
“When you’re done with your conversation here, would you care to have a drink with me?” frёewebnoѵēl.com
Andre looked at her for a moment.
“......Alright. Just wait a little.”
“I’ll wait.”
Leaving those words behind, Eva walked away and sat at the bar.
“Snow White, please.”
She ordered her usual cocktail and looked around.
When she used to work at the bank, she had worked tirelessly in this very place to expand her connections.
She smiled faintly and took a sip when the bartender handed her the drink.
“Have you been waiting long?”
By the time her glass was half-empty, Andre Lee had approached.
“No, I’m just enjoying being back here after so long. Please, sit.”
Eva gestured to the seat beside her.
Andre took the seat, guided by her invitation.
“But how do you know me? This is my first time meeting you.”
“How many people in Hong Kong’s financial world don’t know Peregrine’s Director Andre Lee?”
“Hahaha. You’re gilding my face with gold.”
Andre Lee.
He was Peregrine’s bond director.
Born to a Canadian father and a Korean mother, he was of mixed Korean descent.
And he was directly responsible for Peregrine’s bankruptcy.
“The usual, please.”
Ordering his drink, Andre looked at Eva with a sly smile. free𝑤ebnovel.com
“So what brings a beauty like you to me?”
“Why so impatient?”
Eva met his gaze with a teasing tone, fully aware of his look.
The bartender set his drink down in front of him.
“Shall we talk over a drink?”
Eva lifted her glass.
“Sure.”
Andre raised his as well.
After sipping her cocktail, Eva spoke casually.
“Rumors are spreading all over Hong Kong’s financial world that Peregrine is in trouble.......”
The smile vanished from Andre’s face.
“Shibal.”
Andre muttered a curse in Korean under his breath.
“What are you trying to pull?”
When he spoke again, it was in English, but Eva smiled faintly and replied in Korean.
“Surely, that wasn’t directed at me, was it?”
“You speak Korean? No, it wasn’t. Just talking to myself.”
While Eva smiled, Andre’s expression remained stiff.
“Save your curses until you hear my proposal. How do you know I might not be your golden lifeline?”
“Hmm.......”
“I know your capabilities. You probably didn’t see the Southeast Asian currency crisis coming. Thanks to that, a company with a ten-year history like Peregrine ended up bankrupt.”
“Did you come here just to mock me?”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. I came with a proposal. I want to acquire Peregrine.”
“Acquire it?”
Andre’s stiff face shifted to one of surprise.
“Since I’m talking about buying a bankrupt company, you know I’m after the brand name. And isn’t it better to stick with me and at least get severance pay than to watch the company disappear with nothing?”
“Severance pay.......”
Andre frowned, pride wounded, but Eva gave him a seductive smile.
“Your pride’s hurt, I see. But Andre, it’s Peregrine—you’re the one who ruined it. Instead of pride, shouldn’t you worry about how you’re going to live?”
“.........”
Andre couldn’t answer.
“Rebounding won’t be easy. What company would hire you? You’re the man who single-handedly brought down Asia’s most famous investment house.”
Eva felt a thrill inside.
The man she couldn’t even look in the eye back when she was in Hong Kong was now beneath her.
“I’ll give you a million dollars. Bring me internal documents.”
“Internal documents?”
“Yes. How much debt is there, which bonds can be recovered even if it takes time, how complex the shareholding structure is, and Chairman Tos’s weaknesses—those kinds of documents.”
Andre now looked outright shocked.
Eva hummed lightly, almost playfully.
“The better the data, the bigger your severance. Think carefully whether you want ten thousand dollars, a million, or more.”
With that, Eva stood up.
“And by the way, Andre, you’re married now, aren’t you? Looking at me like that... shouldn’t you feel sorry for your wife waiting at home? Anyway, call me. Here’s my card.”
She placed her business card in front of his glass and turned away.
Back at the hotel, Eva immediately called her boss, Kim Muhyuk.
— Hello.
Hearing Muhyuk’s voice on the line, Eva exclaimed excitedly.
“Muhyuk!”
— Eva? How’s Hong Kong? Been a while since you’ve been back.
“It’s fantastic.”
— How’s the progress?
Eva reported every detail, from her approach to Andre to everything she had uncovered so far.
— You’re doing well.
“Hoho. I’ll gift-wrap Peregrine and bring it to you, boss. Just wait.”
— Good. Keep up the good work.
“I’ll keep reporting if anything unusual happens.”
Still excited, Eva jumped onto the bed, her face beaming with a wide smile.
* * *
I chuckled faintly as I looked at the phone after hanging up.
‘Judging from how excited her voice was, she must be happy to be back in Hong Kong.’
Seeing my smile, Park Dongsu asked.
“Wa? What is it? A woman?”
Pulled from my thoughts, I lifted my glass and replied.
“A woman, yes.........”
“Who? Bring her here, kid! I know how to size up a woman better than anyone.”
“As far as I know...... that’s not true at all. Isn’t it time you settled down anyway?”
“What the hell are you talking about! No way. I’ll live like this until I die. I’m not passing my karma on to anyone else.”
Park Dongsu shuddered and emptied his strong liquor in one go. He had no desire to pass on his unstable future like walking on a razor’s edge to anyone.
“Once this job’s done, there won’t be much danger left. Think about it then.”
“There aren’t really any organizations in Korea left to rival us. A few small ones remain, but they’re nothing. Still, merging so quickly has left some cracks.”
Park Dongsu had forced large organizations nationwide to bow to overwhelming capital.
Some resisted, but he had demonstrated power to force them to join.
It wasn’t a single unified organization yet, but it was beginning to take shape.
“In that case, create an external enemy.”
“Yakuza, huh?”
“Yes. They’ll be coming to Korea soon.”
“Those bastards want to come to Korea? Should I just cut their heads off?”
“Yes, they’re not like domestic gangs. Handle it like a gangster should. Just keep it away from main roads or crowded places.”
“That’s basic.”
“Some inside your organization will probably sympathize with them. Keep an eye out. Take down the Yakuza coming here, and then push into Japan. Try taking their underworld too.”
“Hahaha, forget it. Korea’s enough for me. Japan, who cares.”
“Alright. Then do that. I’ll build a separate force for Japan.”
We clinked glasses and kept drinking.
“Oh, by the way, Yang Soohyeong will be out soon. You heard?”
At my words, Park Dongsu’s face brightened instantly.
“Thanks. He’s out earlier than I expected.”
“He wasn’t charged with anything serious, so it was easy to pull strings. You’ll send him down to Busan, right?”
“Of course. Who else would I trust with Busan? He’s my most ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) reliable brother.”
“Busan’s crucial. Seoul might have sporadic conflicts, but most of it will happen in Busan.”
“He’ll handle it. Look at Sanggeun. Maybe because he’s educated, but he’s running things like a pro. People even say I’m just the figurehead, and the real boss is Lee Sanggeun. Hahaha.”
Lee Sanggeun was indeed an exceptional man.
He was mediating between countless interests, listening to all sides, and coordinating them.
The smooth integration wasn’t just thanks to Park Dongsu’s power but also to Sanggeun quietly doing his part.
“Hahaha. And you’re fine with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? You think I’d get all pissed and start stabbing people because of that? Forget it. Thanks to you, I’m being called a boss when I was only ever meant to control a small district in Busan.”
“Don’t say that. No matter how much I helped, taking control of Korea’s nightlife isn’t easy.”
“It’s money, kid. Money. No need for knife fights anymore. Feed them, and they crawl on their own. Can’t tell if the world’s changed or if it was always like this. It’s confusing now.”
As Park Dongsu said, it was no longer an era where violence alone solved everything.
Money ruled everything.
The next morning, my head pounded from too much drinking.
After breakfast with my grandfather and a short rest, I headed out.
“Myeongdong, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
I was meeting Cheon Jiyoung for the first time in a while.
‘If I recall, Cheon Suhan’s release is next month, right?’
Cheon Suhan, who had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals, was due to be released in about a month.
“Oppa!”
When I stepped out of the car, Cheon Jiyoung greeted me with a smile, though there was a shadow on her face.
“Jiyoung-ah. It’s been a while.”
< A Good President, Huh...... > End
