Park Jin-hyuk, who had been staring down at the documents in the car for a long time, closed the file and rubbed his eyes. Looking at paperwork in a moving car seemed to be making his eyes tired.
Even as he massaged his eyes, Jin-hyuk did not stop thinking.
‘These guys are quite messy.’
Jin-hyuk recalled what he had seen in the documents and repeated the thought. He had looked into it thinking a stray fire might break out during his fight with his uncle, but the situation was so shambolic that it seemed he didn’t even need to step in actively.
It felt as if, given the chance, they would hop onto the bus and try to grab the steering wheel themselves. It seemed like Jin-hyuk only needed to tell them which bus number to board.
Jin-hyuk rubbed his eyes once more to relax them, placed the documents on the seat next to him, and spoke.
“Did you say the BIS ratio was around 10% when we spoke last time? The number written in the documents you just gave me isn’t 10.”
At Jin-hyuk’s question, Kim Jun-woo, who was sitting in the front seat, replied quickly.
“Yes. It was definitely in the 10% range when I checked last time. However, whether losses were finalized or hidden losses were revealed in the meantime, it has fallen to the high 8% range.”
“It fell to 8% in that short time? What a mess. Are you sure they can even continue their banking operations? They won’t say the bank is closing just as we’re about to start, will they?”
“The Bank for International Settlements recommends 8% as the final line of defense. In the case of savings banks, I’ve seen bank licenses being revoked if it drops to the 5% range. Considering that, if one or two more cases blow up, the situation you’re worried about, Executive Director, could actually happen. Should we turn the car around now?”
“Hmm…”
Jin-hyuk tapped his knee with his finger for a moment as he sat. He was conflicted because if everything collapsed while the work was in progress, all his efforts would be for nothing.
Jin-hyuk organized his thoughts for a moment and spoke.
“It’s fine. Let’s proceed as planned. They’ll move faster since they’re desperate.”
Jin-hyuk thought this level of risk was worth taking. He even felt that the current situation of Hanuri might be the perfect circumstance to plot his move.
Following Jin-hyuk’s instructions, the car continued toward the meeting place and stopped at a location famous for its traditional Korean full-course meals.
Getting out of the car, Jin-hyuk took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment in front of the building.
‘I’m starting the act now.’
Jin-hyuk cracked his neck from side to side, trying to align his external demeanor with the scheme he was brewing in his heart. A man who had become an excellent actor through years of sales, Jin-hyuk intended to perform the same kind of play he had staged countless times during his days as Yu Jeong-geol.
He would deceive the person inside and use him to drag his uncle down as well. Jin-hyuk recalled his goal once more, transformed into his persona, and entered the building.
Following the employee’s guidance, he reached a room where a short, stout man had already arrived and was waiting for him.
“Oh, you’ve arrived early.”
“You’re the one who arrived early, President. I thought I hurried, but you were already here.”
“Ever since you said you wanted to meet, Executive Director, I’ve been waiting here with a mat laid out. Hahaha.”
Byeon Gwang-seok, the President of Hanuri Savings Bank who spoke with a boisterous laugh, shook hands with Jin-hyuk and sat back down. Jin-hyuk smiled back at Byeon Gwang-seok and observed him.
‘As expected, he’s nothing special.’
The first thing that caught Jin-hyuk’s eye was his value. These days, Jin-hyuk checked a person’s value before their appearance.
[12,000,000]
Considering his position as a bank president, it was an absurdly low value. It was enough to make one think that perhaps Hanuri Savings Bank was falling apart so rapidly because a person like this was sitting in the president’s chair.
While Jin-hyuk and Byeon Gwang-seok sat for a moment observing each other, the staff entered with the prepared food. Starting with porridge, water kimchi, and Tangpyeong-chae — which could be considered appetizers — various dishes began to fill the table.
“This place brews its own alcohol and serves it to special customers. Please, try some. The aroma is excellent.”
As soon as the liquor was brought in, Byeon Gwang-seok poured a glass for Jin-hyuk. Despite Jin-hyuk being the one who requested the meeting, the way Byeon Gwang-seok tried to play the host showed just how desperate his situation was.
Seeing Jin-hyuk accept and drink the liquor without hesitation, Byeon Gwang-seok picked up some food, placed it on Jin-hyuk’s front plate, and spoke.
“Seeing you in person, Executive Director Park, I wonder why we didn’t meet sooner. You’re very open-hearted.”
At Byeon Gwang-seok’s attempts to cater to his mood even with minor actions, Jin-hyuk saw his own past self from the Yu Jeong-geol days overlapping with the man.
‘Yes. I’m sure. You must be desperate. But today, the one who needs to be desperate isn’t you, it’s me.’
Jin-hyuk put on an awkward expression in response to Byeon Gwang-seok’s smooth-talking attitude. His thoroughly calculated performance was beginning.
Byeon Gwang-seok smiled at Jin-hyuk as he refilled his empty glass. However, Jin-hyuk only tasted the abalone porridge in his bowl and did not try to make eye contact with Byeon Gwang-seok.
Byeon Gwang-seok watched Jin-hyuk intently for a moment, then picked up his own glass, downed it quickly, and spoke.
“By the way, what brings you to see me?”
Thinking they had exchanged enough pleasantries for a first meeting, Byeon Gwang-seok went straight to the point. Jin-hyuk did not stop eating his porridge even as he heard his words.
Seeing that Jin-hyuk did not answer immediately, Byeon Gwang-seok lowered his head for a moment and stirred his untouched porridge with a spoon. It seemed he was becoming anxious because Jin-hyuk was avoiding his gaze.
However, finding it difficult to wait for Jin-hyuk to open his mouth, Byeon Gwang-seok spoke up again.
“I don’t know why DS is calling us separately to talk.”
Byeon Gwang-seok judged that beating around the bush wasn’t good in this situation. There was a gap as wide as heaven and earth between Hanuri Savings Bank and the DS Group. He thought there must be a reason why the DS Group, which usually had no reason to meet with anyone at the savings bank level, had taken the initiative to see him.
That was why he brought it up himself before the other party could. He was worried that if he wasn’t careful, they might just exchange greetings, eat, and end the meeting.
After Jin-hyuk finished the porridge in the small bowl, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and spoke.
“I am not here as a representative of DS Group or DS Pharmaceutical, where I am currently employed.”
Byeon Gwang-seok looked at Jin-hyuk with an expression that said he expected as much. He had come to the meeting imagining a likely scenario, and he was actually feeling satisfied that Jin-hyuk wasn’t speaking in circles.
“I requested to see you for a personal matter.”
“A personal matter?”
Byeon Gwang-seok guessed what Jin-hyuk was about to say but feigned ignorance. And Jin-hyuk was already inside Byeon Gwang-seok’s head.
‘I should start casting the line.’
Jin-hyuk picked up his glass, drained it, and spoke.
“I need money.”
“Money? You mean you, Executive Director?”
“Yes. You probably looked into my situation roughly before coming here, didn’t you?”
“Hahaha. It’s embarrassing to say I looked into it. Since you are in a position that receives everyone’s attention, everyone knows even without trying to find out.”
“Yes. That’s right. It’s a fact everyone knows. So, I won’t hide it and tell you straight. I don’t have much money in my pocket right now.”
At Jin-hyuk’s words, Byeon Gwang-seok nodded.
“It’s a well-known fact that you invested most of your money in a foreign company. And everyone knows that it wasn’t a bad investment destination.”
“Yes. It’s not a bad investment. And it’s a foregone conclusion that my investment will grow as that company is expected to show good results soon. But that’s that, and since I don’t have cash on hand right now, I’ve ended up in a bit of a difficult situation.”
“If you need money urgently… aren’t there other ways? You could ask the Chairman, or take out a loan using your shares as collateral — there must be many ways, right?”
“It’s awkward to use those methods right now.”
The fact that Jin-hyuk didn’t have cash was something even Byeon Gwang-seok knew. However, he didn’t know the specifics of why Jin-hyuk was trying to raise money. Byeon Gwang-seok quietly waited for Jin-hyuk’s next words.
Jin-hyuk leaned forward slightly, wearing an extremely troubled expression. Seeing Jin-hyuk looking as if he were about to ask for a favor, Byeon Gwang-seok’s eyes began to shine.
“I need to raise money quickly without other people knowing.”
“Without other people knowing? How much do you need?”
He was the son of the DS Group head. Even if he didn’t have cash in his pocket, he was someone who could easily pull together billions of won. Since such a person said he needed to raise money quickly and secretly, Byeon Gwang-seok was curious about the amount first.
“How much can you provide? I’m thinking of a minimum of 200 billion won or more.”
“Pardon? A minimum of 200 billion?”
Byeon Gwang-seok, who had expected a conversation about 10 billion won at most, found the calm expression he had maintained since arriving at the seat cracking. He took a drink and thought.
‘Why?’
The word ‘why’ filled Byeon Gwang-seok’s mind, but he didn’t dare say it out loud. He felt that because Jin-hyuk’s words defied common sense, an even bigger situation than the current one might be crashing down toward him. A thought began to shroud him that it might be better not to hear it at all.
But Jin-hyuk was not one to let go just because Byeon Gwang-seok tried to avoid it. Toward Byeon Gwang-seok, who was instinctively showing signs that he shouldn’t listen further, Jin-hyuk spoke first.
“The amount I’m thinking of is around 500 billion won.”
“Urgh.”
Byeon Gwang-seok almost spilled his drink without realizing it. He covered his mouth with his hand to catch the liquid and hurriedly looked back at Jin-hyuk. The number 500 billion was not an amount one could ignore just by looking away. Jin-hyuk put on a pitiful expression while receiving Byeon Gwang-seok’s gaze.
“You must be curious, right? Why I need that money.”
Byeon Gwang-seok nodded involuntarily. The moment he heard the number 500 billion, he became more curious about the purpose than the money itself. Jin-hyuk spoke to Byeon Gwang-seok, who was staring directly at him, with the most bitter expression he could muster.
“Since you probably know about the relationship between my uncles and me within the DS Group, I won’t bother explaining that part.”
*Gulp.*
Feeling as if a secret of the DS Group was finally coming out of the person involved, Byeon Gwang-seok swallowed the saliva in his parched mouth and stared at Jin-hyuk’s lips.
“I just heard the news that my uncle is buying up shares of DS Telecom.”
“DS Telecom? No way… a management battle?”
“Yes. I might have to engage in a share war with my uncles over DS Telecom soon.”
“No. Isn’t DS Telecom completely controlled by the DS holding company?”
“We thought so too. However, we’ve heard news that several investment companies that invested in DS Telecom might turn their backs on us. It’s not clear yet whether they’re doing that because they have doubts about management ability or because they expect the stock price to rise once a share war begins, but in any case, they are taking a wait-and-see approach without giving us a firm assurance that they will vote our way.”
“Is it… okay for you to tell me this?”
Byeon Gwang-seok had asked the question to Jin-hyuk without even realizing it. He felt that this fact must be a top-secret matter that no one within DS would know except for those at the very top.
“I’m telling you because I’m asking for your help.”
“We… could make 500 billion… Did you come here knowing that?”
“I came here because I knew, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell me it can’t be done.”
Byeon Gwang-seok was about to tell Jin-hyuk that it was an absurd story, but he closed his mouth. He realized that Jin-hyuk must have called him because he knew.
Byeon Gwang-seok decided he should be honest with Jin-hyuk, since Jin-hyuk had shared a top-secret matter of the DS Group.
“Fine. We can make it happen. But you’re saying this knowing that it will become a serious problem if this gets out, right?”
“Is that not why I contacted Hanuri, because I was willing to take that risk? If I were trying to obtain funds safely and within the bounds of the law, I would have gone to a commercial bank, not Hanuri.”
Byeon Gwang-seok nodded. If it were the DS Group, they could have gone to a large commercial bank instead of Hanuri. But if that happened, the fact that Jin-hyuk was raising funds to prepare for a share war would inevitably be exposed. Then, because of the stock price jumping before the share war even began, a situation could occur where 1.5 or two times more funds than required would be needed. Knowing this, Byeon Gwang-seok understood why Jin-hyuk had come to him.
Byeon Gwang-seok poked at the dried yellow croaker in front of him with his chopsticks without giving an answer. After hearing Jin-hyuk’s words, his face had turned red from the few glasses of liquor he’d had, and his appetite had vanished. He just wanted to stall for time by poking at the fish to give himself room to think.
After being silent for a long time, Byeon Gwang-seok looked up at Jin-hyuk. Expressions of misery, urgency, and the need for help were crossing Jin-hyuk’s face. The confidence that had filled Jin-hyuk’s face only thirty minutes ago had disappeared.
‘There must be something more that I don’t know.’
Byeon Gwang-seok felt that it didn’t just end with needing 500 billion won. He couldn’t find any certainty in Jin-hyuk’s face that 500 billion won alone would allow him to gain the upper hand in the share war.