Chapter 79: No Way Back

The Grim Reaper peeked into the president’s office of Taeseong Chemicals, chuckling to himself.

[Who is that young lady? All dressed up as gaudily as a courtesan, and she keeps smacking on something?]

‘Ah, that’s just the café girl chewing gum.’

[Gum? Now that’s a curious thing.]

At the suggestion that they discuss the terms of Taeseong Chemicals’ acquisition over tea in the president’s office, even the presidents of Woo Gwang’s subsidiaries all trooped in together.

Intent on making things difficult, each one deliberately asked for a different kind of tea.

Annoyed, President Shim called the café near the factory.

That’s how, on the very first day of the new year, the café girl ended up making a delivery.

“Who ordered coffee~”

The café girl turned around, popping her gum loudly.

“Ahem, here.”

“Over here, too.”

“And this way.”

As she walked by, the presidents of Woo Gwang’s subsidiaries glanced at her from behind and raised their hands.

Unfolding her bundle, she revealed a steel tray decorated with rose patterns, with a thermos and a coffee tin atop it.

President Shim respectfully gestured to Chairman Kim of Woo Gwang.

“Please start with your order. They call it an espresso double shot.”

“Espres… what?”

“Espresso double shot. Served Italian style.”

“So, how much sugar and creamer?”

“None. Just a small amount, strong flavor, as bitter and potent as possible.”

“You sure have a way of making things complicated. Just means black coffee, right?”

The pretty café girl kept popping her gum as she heaped coffee into the cup.

Half a cup of water to five spoonfuls of coffee!

She handed Chairman Kim of Woo Gwang a cup of that strong black coffee, winking with one eye.

“If you don’t like it, order coffee from Italy. Next customer?”

Thanks to the bold café girl, Chairman Kim could only let out a hollow laugh.

“So this is how Taeseong does things? I see what kind of hospitality you offer.”

“Well, considering it’s a holiday and even the secretaries are off, I thought expensive café coffee instead of the usual barley tea was enough to show our sincerity.”

President Shim flashed a sly smile at the café girl, who was preparing a Dulduldul.

“I think you’ll be surprised when you hear the terms Taeseong has prepared for the acquisition. Chairman Kim, today is your lucky day.”

“Drop the bravado. I only came for a cup of tea and I’ll be on my way.”

“Oh my, so there was a reason you ordered coffee as bitter as gall.”

President Shim sipped sweet, milky coffee.

“You’ll be here for at least three hours. Hot water’s free, so feel free to dilute as much as you want.”

“You’d better present terms that will sway my mind. I still have several subsidiaries to visit today.”

He made it clear he didn’t intend to waste time.

“You heard that, didn’t you, miss? Looks like you’ll be serving coffee to these gentlemen for three hours. You sure you won’t fall behind on deliveries?”

“One, two, three, four… forty-one. I’ll just make a call to my madam and let her know to cancel the other deliveries, okay?”

She was quick with calculations.

Ring ring!

“And to the secretary’s office, one cup of Ssanghwa tea with two raw egg yolks floating on top, please.”

“Oh, then that’s a win for me~”

And so, the real negotiations for the acquisition of Taeseong Chemicals began.

---

The presidents of Woo Gwang’s subsidiaries immediately started nitpicking at every turn.

“You say you’ll hand over the warehouse stock and all inventory, but that’s hard to believe. Should we review the dumping terms step by step?”

“You’re not just handing over the business contacts, are you? How will you handle the promissory notes?”

“From raw materials to transport vehicles. What about the disposal of movable and immovable assets?”

Every time they questioned something in detail, President Shim pulled a stack of documents from the cabinet and handed them to the respective subsidiary president.

“Why are you handing this to me? Just summarize it verbally.”

“The equipment list and safety inspection records are missing, aren’t they?”

“For all your big talk, it doesn’t seem you’re well prepared for negotiations.”

President Shim’s face flushed red and pale by turns.

He had plenty of retorts in mind.

Each time, he resisted, fingering the note the café girl had secretly delivered.











President Shim took a deep breath.

“If you’re curious, look it up for yourself right here. I won’t stop you.”

He gestured to the mountain of documents piled on his desk.

The presidents of Woo Gwang’s subsidiaries surged forward and began rifling through the paperwork.

“This is the raw materials delivery ledger!”

“Oh, there’s even a promissory note settlement book!”

“There’s a research report on the adjustment of Taeseong Shampoo’s mixing ratios!”

These were highly confidential documents that were never to be shown to outsiders.

The subsidiary presidents’ eyes gleamed as they eagerly shoved the documents at President Shim, firing off questions.

“What was the result when you changed the ingredient ratios? Was there a noticeable difference?”

“I have questions about the Taeseong Chemicals sales books and the profit statement.”

“I see there’s a report on new product development for Taeseong Toothpaste. I’d like to see the sample prototype, too.”

Leaving the Woo Gwang subsidiary presidents to their own devices, President Shim sat down on the sofa.

Like Chairman Kim, he crossed his legs and finished his now-cold coffee.

All this time, he’d been so harassed by their demands that he hadn’t even had a chance to sip his drink.

“Chairman Kim, does Woo Gwang always decide things by majority vote?”

Whether or not Chairman Kim raised an eyebrow.

“Our Taeseong always follows Chairman Cha’s decision. You saw it yourself at the year-end party, right?”

Grandfather had publicly declared before everyone that he would hand over Taeseong Chemicals to Woo Gwang.

The subsidiary presidents had neither objected nor argued.

Rather, they actively supported Grandfather, helping to bring in investors.

“Please have only the person responsible for the Taeseong Chemicals acquisition negotiations remain here. The rest should leave.”

“And why should I do that?”

“How else can we have a proper discussion about the acquisition terms?”

“I’m not the one who needs to worry about the mood. It’s you. You’re the one who needs to persuade me.”

Chairman Kim smiled.

“You said Chairman Cha entrusted you with full authority to negotiate the Taeseong Chemicals acquisition, didn’t you? If these talks break down, won’t you be in trouble?”

“I won’t have any trouble. I’ve already resigned.”

“Resigned?”

At that moment, the subsidiary presidents of Woo Gwang, who’d been noisily debating, fell silent all at once.

But the brief stillness soon turned into an even greater buzz.

President Shim had pulled this move to go toe-to-toe with Chairman Kim of Woo Gwang.

“Do you see this?”

He waved a bundle of resignation letters, signed by Taeseong Chemicals employees earlier.

On the top page, the name ‘Shim Won-chul’ was clearly written.

“As you all know, Taeseong Chemicals is changing hands overnight. What else can we do but step aside?”

“Didn’t you already side with Taeseong’s youngest? You could just join under him.”

“Could a Taeseong Chemicals president like me go to Taeseong Construction as an executive? Or could I demand the president’s post at Taeseong Construction, which His Excellency has already recognized?”

“Hmm, then perhaps under the eldest or second son…”

“And the Chairman would just let that slide?”

President Shim shrugged his shoulders.

“Decide. Will you send the others away and speak to me alone, or will you go with the majority?”

“Everyone, quiet.”

At Chairman Kim’s raised hand, the subsidiary presidents instantly fell silent.

Not a sound was heard; a hush as if the room itself was dead.

“To your seats.”

They obeyed Chairman Kim’s order without hesitation.

They were so calm now, it was hard to believe these were the same people who’d been in an uproar just moments ago.

The entire commotion up till now had all been a ploy to gain the upper hand in the acquisition negotiations.

“Maybe Chairman Cha makes decisions on his own, but I’m different. This is how we do things at Woo Gwang.”

Chairman Kim jerked his chin.

“Go on. What’s your real reason for handing over Taeseong Chemicals so cheap?”

“I don’t care what happens to Taeseong, whether it sinks or swims. It’s not my concern.”

Oh, that was the exact line I’d suggested if Woo Gwang didn’t believe it—he’s using it word for word!

“Whatever happens to Taeseong Chemicals, whether Taeseong loses hundreds of millions, I don’t care, cut it open if you want!”

That’s right! Well done!

“If today’s negotiations for Taeseong Chemicals fall through, Chairman Cha himself will take the reins, won’t he?”

“So a Taeseong negotiation team led by Cha Taeseong? Then why did you secure negotiating rights for the acquisition?”

“I needed at least that much authority to meet Chairman Kim one-on-one. Just take the whole thing!”

President Shim set his coffee cup down with a thud.

“If you go through with the acquisition now, not only will you get profits in the hundreds of millions, but you’ll also get all these precious extras. Why hesitate? Frankly, I can’t understand that.”

He pointed to the mountain of documents—Taeseong Chemicals’ top-secret files.

Having seen them with their own eyes, the subsidiary presidents of Woo Gwang nodded.

“From tomorrow, you’ll be negotiating directly with Chairman Cha. Depending on how it goes, it could take months or even years, and Taeseong will openly keep running the factory, selling products. Of course, all these documents will be destroyed, too.”

President Shim clapped his hands.

“You’re lucky. If you hadn’t come today, you wouldn’t have landed this windfall. Of course, there are a few conditions.”

“Let’s hear them.”

“I want the acquisition finalized before my resignation is accepted.”

He had been told to finish everything today.

“One more thing. For those from Taeseong Chemicals who haven’t yet submitted resignations…”

“Who knows if they’re Taeseong’s spies. All of them will be dismissed.”

That resolved the issue of what to do with those Taeseong Chemicals staff who couldn’t come in during the holidays. Done.

“If you want to take all Taeseong’s reserves and top-secret documents, you’ll have to be clever. Chairman Cha will no doubt make excuses about facility inspections, repairs, or promissory notes…”

“From the moment I sign the acquisition contract, everything belongs to Woo Gwang and is managed under Woo Gwang’s responsibility. Taeseong won’t be allowed to so much as lay a finger on it.”

“Then we’d better put that in the special clauses.”

A perfect match.

Negotiating directly with the decision-maker really did make things move swiftly.

‘Now, even if a fire breaks out, Taeseong can’t be held liable!’

President Shim swallowed dryly.

“There’s one important issue left.”

“Equity settlement.”

As with most things in life, the most important issue in a corporate acquisition is, naturally, money.

“I’ll take over all of Taeseong’s shares.”

“At least fifteen billion. I understand you’re strapped for cash because of the steel business. Can you manage that?”

President Shim prodded him gently.

“How about just transferring Woo Gwang’s shares to Taeseong in exchange for cash?”

“I can’t do that.”

Chairman Kim put down his coffee cup.

“My reputation’s already been badly tarnished. No way I’m letting Taeseong Chemicals go quietly. Not a chance.”

“Understood. Then, for the fifteen billion…”

“Promissory notes.”

President Shim was momentarily at a loss for words.

“You mean all fifteen billion?”

“Why not?”

It was a shamelessly brazen answer.

“Didn’t expect that at all, huh? No need to be so shocked…”

Rustle.

With trembling hands, President Shim drew out a slip of paper from his pocket.

On it, the following was written:











Chairman Kim’s eyes widened.

“What?”