Chapter 22: Strategy

Ten days had passed since the deal between Han Daehyuk and Kang Jisung quietly took shape behind closed doors.  

Just ten days.  

For some, they were days that simply slipped by, but for others, they were anything but.  

“What did those bastards just say?”  

Madam Han Kyungsook gritted her teeth at the news brought by the board.  

The directors shrank back, eyes darting nervously.  

They all knew that speaking up at a time like this could cost them their heads.  

Of course, that didn’t mean the situation would resolve itself.  

In fact, it escalated even faster.  

“President!”  

“Ugh, what now?”  

“Korea Milling just rejected our proposal…”  

“Why the hell would they do that?!”  

“They say they lack the funds, but the real reason is still…”  

“Damn it!”  

Han Kyungsook grabbed whatever was within reach and hurled it.  

Crash!  

The glass trophy shattered into pieces, and the atmosphere in the president’s office grew icy.  

Han Kyungsook pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to suppress her rage.  

“So, SJ and Korea Milling both backed out? That leaves just SAP?”  

“Yes, ma’am.”  

“Ugh, those bastards… They were all for it before, so why the sudden tantrum?”  

One of the directors swallowed hard and offered a guess.  

“SJ said they’re having funding issues. Korea Milling said the same, so… maybe someone’s siphoning off their capital?”  

“Who the hell would do that?! And why now?!”  

“Well…”  

A single company’s name floated into their minds.  

Ribbon Corporation, the company that had been part of the negotiations with those firms.  

The suspicion that Kang Jisung was behind this grew stronger.  

But they couldn’t be sure.  

Ribbon Corporation is a startup barely a few months old.  

Do they even have the capital to pressure conglomerates?  

There’s no way.  

The data they had suggested this suspicion was absurd.  

It made more sense to think another conglomerate had meddled in this mess.  

“President!”  

“What now?”  

“You should head to SAP immediately.”  

“…You don’t mean…”  

“It’s not certain, but if both companies pulled out for the same reason, SAP might be facing the same issue.”  

Their plan was falling apart.  

Han Kyungsook’s eyes twitched as she grabbed her bag.  

“Yoon, get the car. Now!”  

“Yes, ma’am!”  

Han Kyungsook jumped into her secretary’s car and raced to SAP’s headquarters.  

She hadn’t made an appointment, but she wasn’t worried.  

Anyone with a brain wouldn’t dare cross Kangseong Group.  

With that confidence, she arrived at SAP.  

Her eyes trembled like never before.  

“You. Who are you?”  

“…Good afternoon, President.”  

“I said, who are you?!”  

In front of SAP’s headquarters building,  

she came face-to-face with one of Kangseong Steel’s directors.  

An elite handpicked by her older brother to groom his son.  

Why was he coming out of SAP?  

“What kind of stunt are you pulling?”  

“Nothing of the sort.”  

“Nothing? You’re the ones who made SJ Group and Korea Milling turn their backs, aren’t you?”  

“We know nothing about it.”  

“Hey!”  

“President, there are many ears listening.”  

No matter what she said, the director’s calm, measured responses only soured her mood further.  

“Follow me.”  

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”  

“You…”  

“If I follow you now, I won’t have the face to meet my director.”  

Meeting another faction’s leader during an internal conflict?  

That’s a one-way ticket to being labeled a traitor.  

He wasn’t giving her any opening to pin that on him.  

Loyalty ensures a bigger paycheck down the line.  

“I’ll be going now.”  

Han Kyungsook glared at the director’s retreating back, her fists clenched, before getting back into the car.  

If Kangseong Steel was influencing all three companies, talking to them herself would be pointless.  

Even if Kangseong Foods held the upper hand in the food sector, it was just a small part of the broader industry.  

“Turn the car around. Back to the company.”  

“Yes, ma’am!”  

As the secretary cautiously pressed the accelerator, Han Kyungsook calmly calculated her next move.  

Why is my cunning niece involved in this?  

The moment Kangseong Steel got involved, it didn’t matter why those three companies changed their tune.  

With Kangseong Group’s intelligence network, they had enough dirt to deal fatal blows to those groups.  

So, the real question was why her third-party niece had stepped in.  

If I sell shares to raise cash, quietly collecting scraps would be the smarter play, wouldn’t it?  

The idea of a smarter play snapped Han Kyungsook to attention.  

“…Right. She made a deal that’s even more profitable.”  

And she could guess who the deal was with.  

Han Yeri, who controlled Kangseong Hotel and Shinsegae Department Store.  

Her sly, fox-like niece, who was her target.  

She blocked me like this.  

Han Kyungsook ground her teeth and let out a heavy breath.  

If things had come to this, there was no choice.  

Time to move to Plan B.  

Back in the president’s office, Han Kyungsook issued orders to the directors still lingering.  

“That fox of a niece beat us to the punch. Find ways to secure cash besides selling shares.”  

“President, but…”  

“The only way to secure cash besides selling shares is to sell land and buildings.”  

Those buildings and lands were set to hit record highs with upcoming news.  

Selling them would mean kicking away a stable revenue stream.  

Whether it was worth selling those cash cows to secure Kangseong Hotel’s shares was uncertain.  

“If our plan has leaked, we need to pause for now.”  

“They’ll keep raising their prices, and we’ll just take losses, President.”  

Han Kyungsook knew.  

If she thought calmly and rationally, this plan had failed before it even started.  

Stepping back and waiting for the next opportunity was the right move.  

But.  

I can’t just take this lying down.  

A Kangseong Group executive can never just sit back and take a hit.  

If her fox-like niece struck her, she had to strike back.  

And crush her so thoroughly she’d never dare try again.  

Utterly and completely.  

“Secure the cash and prepare alternatives. Within three days.”  

“President.”  

“Get out!”  

At Han Kyungsook’s roar, the directors glanced at each other and left.  

Left alone, she put a cigarette to her lips, one she rarely smoked.  

She couldn’t live with being humiliated like this.  

“Yeri, let’s see who wins.”  

 ***

You got your favor, so bring me the iron ore, properly.  

I shook my head at the text on my phone.  

If I don’t deliver the iron ore properly, she’ll turn the tables and tear me apart.  

“But at least the urgent problem is solved.”  

Ribbon Corporation has dodged the crisis of being torn apart.  

Now it’s time for a counterattack.  

“Boss, the bakery owners are all set.”  

“Good. Tell them to open right away. And wish them strength for today.”  

Today, <Neighborhood Bakery> officially launches as a franchise.  

The quiet interior work and promotional material prep nearly killed me with exhaustion.  

But those grueling days are over.  

“The articles?”  

“Sent them out. They’ll probably go live today. What about the regional PR team?”  

“They’re heading out today. They said it’s best to go when it’s crowded for maximum effect. I told them to take good care of them, right?”  

“Yes, I confirmed multiple times.”  

“Good job.”  

All the branches will open simultaneously, and the prepared articles and PR plan will roll out.  

If all this groundwork pays off,  

Ribbon Corporation will gain a solid cash cow.  

“They’ve opened. Articles are out too.”  

“Great work. Later, visit the branches and check the vibe.”  

“What about you, boss?”  

“I’ve got to go make more money.”  

“With what?”  

“You’ll see. Just wait. I’ll pull off a big one.”  

“Gambling addiction hotline is 1336.”  

I left the warehouse, ignoring Yuha’s weird comment.  

I could’ve done it from the office, but I came out because I knew she’d have something to say.  

Not that I’m avoiding her or anything.  

This time, it’s not exactly a morally clean way to make money, so I feel a bit guilty.  

Why are you picking up so late?  

“We opened today. Of course I’m busy.”  

Is that more important than our deal?  

“It’s just as important. How can you compare a big score to a cash cow?”  

So you’re not doing it?  

“Oh, I’m doing it.”  

I grinned and said,  

“Going in now?”  

Yes.  

“Got it.”  

That’s the end of the conversation.  

Just act as we agreed beforehand.  

“Alright, let’s do this.”  

***  

A volatility interruption (VI) hit Kangseong Foods’ stock.  

A massive dump of shares flooded the market, causing it to hit the lower limit repeatedly.  

That alone was enough to shake up the stock market, but shortly after the VI was lifted, another one triggered.  

This time, it wasn’t because too many shares were dumped.  

They were being snapped up so fast it hit the upper limit repeatedly.  

Even someone with no stock market knowledge could tell this was blatantly abnormal.  

And anyone with a bit of knowledge would say,  

“It’s a pump-and-dump.”  

“Someone’s inflating the price to sell high.”  

Someone’s big score was starting to unfold against Kangseong Foods.  

As this cycle repeated a few times, retail investors who knew nothing began piling in, and from then on, the stock kept hitting the upper limit.  

As if they’d been waiting for it.  

Of course, this was blatantly unnatural.  

Inside Kangseong Foods, there was nothing but screaming.  

“We have no such news. Yes, yes. The Fair Trade Commission might…”  

“It’s probably just rumors circulating among the public…”  

“There’s no such plan. This is purely…”  

The relevant departments were swamped fending off reporters’ calls, while shareholders screamed in panic.  

Han Kyungsook, who urgently convened the board, shouted,  

“It’s that bitch Han Yeri! She’s trying to snatch up even a sliver of shares, that fox!”  

From the moment she was convinced Han Yeri had sabotaged her last plan, the culprit was set in her mind.  

Han Kyungsook felt her blood pressure spike as she glared at the directors.  

“What do we do? Speak!”  

“What if we start acquiring Kangseong Hotel’s shares? It might be better to hit back.”  

“What nonsense! We need to defend our stock first. The amount of shares floating out there is significant. We could lose over 1% of our stake.”  

Chaos.  

“1% won’t even get them a major shareholder position. We should just absorb theirs!”  

“Kangseong Foods and Kangseong Hotel have different valuations! Protecting ours is the better move!”  

“So we just burn money like this?”  

Pandemonium.  

Han Kyungsook’s blood pressure spiked again at the directors’ arguments.  

But this time, she couldn’t just say no.  

A single decision here could move billions.  

Just a few billion, but those billions could trigger a butterfly effect.  

That much was predictable.  

After hearing all the directors’ opinions, Han Kyungsook made her decision.  

That decision would later lead to the dismantling of Kangseong Foods’ signboard.  

But that was something she’d only realize later.