For about one month after the announcement of the extraordinary general meeting, Park Jin-hyuk received countless requests for interviews.
It had become public knowledge that the person Park Su-man was dissatisfied with was Park Jin-hyuk. The media framed the situation as a showdown between Park Su-man and Park Jin-hyuk. Some outlets even dubbed it the “DS Rebellion,” comparing it to the Gyeyu Jeongnan, a famous historical event from the Joseon Dynasty where an uncle usurped his nephew’s throne.
“The media seems to have practically decided that Park Su-man is going to win.”
Park Jin-hyuk scanned the daily newspapers laid out before him. Perhaps because it was the hottest topic of late, and because today was the day of the extraordinary general meeting, the front pages of every daily newspaper—not just the business journals—were plastered with news about the DS Telecom shareholder meeting.
Most of the articles on the front pages were taking Park Su-man’s side.
“It seems they are looking at us even more unfavorably because we didn’t react at all to what Vice Chairman Park Su-man said one week ago.”
Vice Chairman Park Su-man had publicly criticized Park Jun-man and Park Jin-hyuk. In particular, he singled out Park Jin-hyuk as a factor hindering the growth of DS Telecom, arguing that the company must break away from the DS Group to grow into a global firm.
Though the underlying intent was transparent, Park Jin-hyuk did not voice any opposition. Meanwhile, Park Jun-man maintained his indifferent stance, acting as if he was leaving everything to Park Jin-hyuk. Seeing them act this way, the media even suggested that the DS Group might be internally conceding to the separation of DS Telecom.
In the midst of this, the DS Telecom labor union released a public statement supporting Park Su-man. They expressed a lack of trust in the existing management and claimed that the DS Group had neglected DS Telecom and its subsidiaries. They agreed with Park Su-man’s view that independent survival was a better judgment for the future. Furthermore, they launched a movement to delegate the voting rights of the shares held by employees to Vice Chairman Park Su-man.
The media used their own calculations to weigh the stakes held by Park Su-man against those of the existing DS Group. The exact result of the proxy battle would only be known once the boxes were opened, but since it was a matter of intense public curiosity, they used internal information networks to calculate the shares secured by both sides. The conclusion they reached favored Vice Chairman Park Su-man.
[The Day of Fate for DS Telecom]
Park Jin-hyuk nodded as he saw the large headline on the front page of the newspaper.
“Right, a day of fate. Except that fate won’t be for DS Telecom, but for someone else… Let’s go.”
Park Jin-hyuk stood up and strode out the door. Kim Jun-woo followed close behind. As Park Jin-hyuk walked, one or two people naturally joined the group until about twenty people were following him. When the car Park Jin-hyuk boarded started moving, ten cars followed in a line behind it.
Park Jin-hyuk had staged this appearance on purpose. Normally, he would have just brought Kim Jun-woo or one or two other staff members from the secretariat, but today was a special day. He had checked the number of people Park Su-man would bring for his entourage and prepared more than twenty people to match. It was a theatrical device intended to create a dramatic effect for a result that had already been determined.
When they arrived at the DS Telecom headquarters, the outside was already buzzing with people attending the meeting. Aside from the attendees, the media had formed a long line, tirelessly reporting on DS Telecom.
“It seems Vice Chairman Park Su-man isn’t trying to control the press,” Kim Jun-woo said, looking out the window.
Park Jin-hyuk smiled as he watched the reporters talking into their microphones.
“I’d do the same if I were my uncle. He wants to show off. Wouldn’t you? This is the day he breaks away from the DS Group to become the head of a respectable group of his own. In fact, some of those media outlets might have been invited by my uncle himself, telling them to come and cover the event.”
Kim Jun-woo agreed with Park Jin-hyuk’s words. Declaring victory at an event receiving such intense media attention would be like scattering flowers on the path Park Su-man intended to walk.
“But what a shame. The world isn’t that easy. What did Manager Kim say?”
“He said he would enter at the time we coordinated.”
“Really? Well, it looks like the stage is set, then.”
Park Jin-hyuk finished speaking and opened the car door. Seeing him step out, his attendants all exited their cars at once and fell in behind him. The media crews who had been filming in front of the DS Telecom headquarters swarmed toward him the moment he appeared.
“Executive Director Park Jin-hyuk! How do you expect the results of today’s extraordinary general meeting to turn out?”
“Are you confident in a victory?”
“Did the DS Group foresee that something like this would happen today?”
“If DS Telecom is separated, how will the DS Group be restructured in the future?”
“Even when Vice Chairman Park Su-man announced the separation, you focused on preventing the DS Telecom stock price from rising rather than trying to secure more shares. Is there a reason for this?”
They thrust their microphones toward him, trying to get a comment by any means necessary. However, the attendants blocked the reporters, refusing to let them get close to Park Jin-hyuk. He ignored their questions and entered the DS Telecom headquarters without a word.
Inside the building, employees were busy organizing things for the attendees. They stopped what they were doing when Park Jin-hyuk and his entourage appeared. The attendees were the same. It was as if the heavy atmosphere exuded by Park Jin-hyuk’s group had settled on their shoulders; they could only stand still and watch as the group moved toward the main auditorium where the meeting would be held. This happened everywhere Park Jin-hyuk moved. He had brought the entourage specifically expecting this effect.
When Park Jin-hyuk finally appeared in the auditorium, the large hall instantly fell silent. The atmosphere was such that everyone reacted to every single movement made by Park Jin-hyuk, one of the main protagonists of today’s meeting.
“Hahaha. You’re early.”
Noticing Park Jin-hyuk’s arrival, Park Su-man deliberately approached him to offer a greeting. Not long ago, Park Su-man had shown a sharp, hostile attitude. Now, however, he had returned to the demeanor he showed when they first met at the monthly presidents’ meeting, welcoming Park Jin-hyuk warmly.
Park Jin-hyuk smiled back and responded to Park Su-man’s words.
“You arrived even earlier than I did, Uncle.”
“This is where I work, so I should come early and greet the guests. Isn’t that the duty of the owner?”
“The owner? As far as I know, the owner of this place is not you, Uncle.”
“Yes. That may be true until today. But in a little while, the owner will change. From my older brother to me. Hahaha.”
He laughed loudly, even tilting his head back. It was as if he could already see the upcoming situation unfolding naturally; Park Su-man was unable to contain his joy.
Park Jin-hyuk fixed his gaze on a man appearing behind Park Su-man.
“It has been a long time.”
“How have you been? It’s been a while.”
President Byun Kwang-seok of Hanuri Savings Bank offered Park Jin-hyuk a greeting.
“What brings you here?”
“I came because the Vice Chairman invited me. Since he said he would even hold an inauguration ceremony for the chairmanship while he was at it, I couldn’t possibly miss it.”
“Is that so?”
Byun Kwang-seok scanned Park Jin-hyuk’s expression. Park Jin-hyuk was the one who had contacted him first and made the initial proposal. However, Byun Kwang-seok had rejected Park Jin-hyuk’s hand and instead grasped Park Su-man’s. Since this was something that would naturally upset Park Jin-hyuk, Byun Kwang-seok was observing him from behind Park Su-man, worried that the young man might be angry.
However, there was no change in Park Jin-hyuk’s expression. He merely looked at Byun Kwang-seok with an indifferent gaze.
“Please understand. I had no choice. Our bank’s situation hasn’t been very prosperous lately… You understand, right?”
“I have nothing to say about your choice, President Byun. That’s business. There is nothing to understand or not understand.”
“As expected, you are broad-minded.”
Relieved by Park Jin-hyuk’s attitude, Byun Kwang-seok finally stepped out from behind Park Su-man and stood fully in front of Park Jin-hyuk. It wasn’t as if Park Jin-hyuk had used violence or threatened him with a weapon, but he had acted out of an instinctual urge to hide. Now, seeing Park Jin-hyuk accept the situation so calmly, he tried to take a step closer to rebuild a good relationship.
“However, you should be prepared to take responsibility for that choice.”
Byun Kwang-seok, who had been about to reach out for a handshake, froze on the spot. He couldn’t dare to approach after hearing Park Jin-hyuk’s words, which were so cold they carried a literal chill.
Park Jin-hyuk turned his gaze back to Park Su-man and smiled.
“I might not be able to greet you in a little while, so I’ll say it now. I hope you get along well in the future.”
“Indeed. Once you see the results, your heart will ache so much that you won’t be able to look at me. I don’t intend to intentionally go to my young nephew just to brag, either. So, I will keep your words about getting along well in mind. And don’t worry about the telecommunications affiliates of the DS Group, including DS Telecom. I’ll take charge and grow them well.”
Instead of a verbal reply, Park Jin-hyuk responded with a face full of ridicule. Normally, Park Su-man would have been offended by such an expression, but today, it felt more like a declaration of surrender, so it didn’t bother him. Today, he felt like he could wear a bright smile and benevolently accept anything said to him.
Park Jin-hyuk gave a slight bow and passed Park Su-man. As he was about to pass Park Kyung-man, who had been merely watching the interaction, Park Kyung-man tossed a casual remark his way.
“I’m next.”
Park Jin-hyuk stopped mid-stride and slowly turned his head to look at Park Kyung-man. Hearing him speak as if he were delivering a notice made Park Jin-hyuk burst into laughter in spite of himself. Unlike Park Su-man, Park Kyung-man found the laughter offensive and frowned.
“You will continue to crumble like this. That is what happens if you don’t acknowledge our devotion to DS.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you telling me this? Were you working for me? Weren’t you working for the person in Hannam-dong? Then you should go tell him. What am I supposed to do when you’re taking it out on the wrong person? Oh my. Uncle. Since you’ve worked hard all this time, why don’t you just take DS Electronics with you? Shall we do that?”
Park Kyung-man, who had intended to declare war on Park Jin-hyuk, froze at those words. He looked as if he hadn’t expected Park Jin-hyuk to react this way.
“I did a little digging and found that you also seem to have dipped your toes into this matter, Uncle.”
Whether it was because Park Su-man wasn’t enough or because he felt safer involving Park Kyung-man, it turned out Park Kyung-man had also become entangled with the Hanuri loans.
“Yes. I also joined in what my brother is trying to do. Are you upset that both of your uncles have banded together to intimidate their nephew?”
“Upset? Not at all. You did very well. Thanks to you, things have become much easier.”
“What do you mean, easier?”
“You’ll see in a little while.”
Park Kyung-man had intended to lash out at Park Jin-hyuk as compensation for the jealousy he felt toward his successful nephew and his anxiety about the future, but he ended up gaining nothing. He could only stare at Park Jin-hyuk’s back as the young man walked away without even a goodbye.
As Park Jin-hyuk sat in his reserved seat, Kim Jun-woo sat beside him and whispered.
“It seems they’ve prepared a lot.”
Everything was so well-organized that it hardly felt like an extraordinary general meeting. Usually, when such a meeting was held, there were always people looking for a handout, but not a single one was visible. There were no people trying to sell voting rights like scalpers, nor were there professional “meeting crashers” who demand money in exchange for not causing a scene. Whether they were stopped at the front or if a blacklist of potential troublemakers had been used to block them in advance, not even a trace of them could be seen.
“He wouldn’t want a swarm of flies at the place where he might declare his victory. Good. It’s clean thanks to that.”
Everyone entering the auditorium was composed. Since they were people who had taken time out of their busy schedules to exercise their precious votes, there was no sign of excitement anywhere.
As the empty seats were filled one by one, Park Su-man, who had been greeting people as he moved around, also found his seat. Sitting in the same front row as Park Jin-hyuk, Park Su-man looked at him before sitting down. Toward Park Jin-hyuk, who sat with his arms crossed and legs stretched out without any expression, Park Su-man flashed a sly smile.
‘I should have moved personally from the beginning rather than trusting my sister-in-law.’
Perhaps because he was excited at the thought of gaining what he had long yearned for within the next hour, Park Su-man’s face turned slightly red. He sat down and waited for the meeting to begin.
Finally, the moderator for the extraordinary general meeting stepped forward and announced the start of the proceedings.
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