Chairman Kim of Woogwang quietly stared at President Shim.
“What an interesting fellow. You’re saying you predicted all of this?”
“In corporate mergers and acquisitions, when is promissory note trading not involved? What matters are the ratios and the conditions.”
“That’s the problem.”
Chairman Kim tapped the wording on the paper with his fingertips.
“Taeseong’s preferential negotiating rights regarding the re-acquisition of Taeseong Chemicals?”
His eyes flashed coldly.
“And you want to substitute transferring shares based on the ratio of promissory notes? According to the rules of the private money market, at that? Ha!”
Chairman Kim crumpled up the paper and tossed it over his shoulder.
“These terms are excessively favorable to Taeseong, don’t you think? You think I’ll accept something like this?”
“Let me ask to confirm. Is the promissory note issuer the Woogwang Group holding company?”
“No, it’s Woogwang Construction.”
President Kim of Woogwang Construction flared up and spoke out.
“Hyungnim!”
“You said you’d show results, didn’t you?”
Woogwang Construction’s president looked quite troubled.
President Shim spoke up.
“If Woogwang deliberately defaults on the promissory notes, Taeseong will lose the entire company without getting a single penny.”
A defaulted promissory note is no different from a scrap of paper.
The premise of a promissory note is the company’s credit, and if the company goes bankrupt, that credit is worthless.
“Are you going to use Woogwang Construction as a sacrificial card?”
“If you want to snatch a 15-billion-won company for free, Woogwang Construction will have to go under first. Woogwang Construction is still a Woogwang affiliate.”
“But Woogwang Construction aroused the Blue House’s suspicion by setting a fire during the forced eviction of the shanty town in Guro-dong, then bribed the media to blind the President’s eyes and ears.”
That’s why the president of Woogwang Construction couldn’t refute and only bit his lips tightly.
“The government will soon impose real estate regulations, the subway line 2 project has fallen through, and Woogwang even missed out on the coveted Gangnam Seoul Express Bus Terminal construction. Giving up Woogwang Construction while saving Taeseong Chemicals is still profitable in the end.”
President Shim scoffed.
“Woogwang Construction? Put it up on the M&A market right now. You think you’ll even get 5 billion for it?”
President Shim clenched his teeth.
Then he picked up the crumpled paper Chairman Kim had discarded.
“I need to use the restroom.”
Bang!
Without looking back, President Shim stormed out of the president’s office.
---
President Shim headed straight for the secretarial office where I was.
Bang!
“Young Master!”
He panted as he spoke.
“Woogwang is trying to snatch up Taeseong Chemicals for free! I can’t take this anymore! I have to call in the legal and general affairs teams from Taeseong Group. Let’s go through everything, one by one!”
“You have every right to be angry. Using promissory notes without collateral is fine for goods trading, but settling an acquisition with promissory notes is simply greed.”
“Exactly! I will never accept such terms—!”
“So, let’s use this opportunity to demand Woogwang Steel as collateral.”
President Shim’s mouth dropped open.
“Is that even possible? Woogwang has plans to expand from steel into shipbuilding, transportation, even defense!”
“If they won’t put up Woogwang Steel, then at least hold fast to Woogwang Securities.”
“······!”
“Taeseong doesn’t even have a securities company yet. Look at the re-acquisition negotiation clause. If Woogwang fails to pay off the promissory notes on time, what will happen to Woogwang Securities, which was held as collateral?”
“······!”
President Shim quickly unfolded the crumpled paper.
He shouted involuntarily.
“If they can’t cover the notes, not only Taeseong Chemicals but even Woogwang Securities will come over? Is that even possible?”
“That’s why I added more conditions on purpose.”
“You know how collateral is treated in the private money market, don’t you, President Shim?”
“······Huh?”
“Abandoning the note settlement includes the issuer’s bankruptcy.”
“······!”
Even if I don’t know much else, I’d risk my life to recover my money.
If Woogwang wants to snatch it with promissory notes, then we’ll snatch right back.
I winked with one eye.
“If everything goes well, don’t you think Taeseong might get a foothold in Woogwang Securities?”
“My goodness! Young Master, just how far ahead have you seen······!”
“If you find it tough to handle Woogwang, I’ll assign someone to help, just as I promised.”
There are at least two people I can call for backup in times like this.
But President Shim was already brimming with motivation.
“No, I’ll resolve this myself. I’m not that incompetent!”
“Keep your face in check. If you keep smiling like that, Woogwang will get suspicious.”
“Oh, right! Don’t worry! I can act at least that well!”
President Shim beamed proudly.
“I’ll come back with good news! I’ll make sure to get those promissory notes!”
Click.
President Shim practically flew out of the office.
---
Back in the president’s office, President Shim declared solemnly.
“Alright. I’ll accept the 15-billion-won promissory notes.”
“Good.”
“But I’ll add one more condition. We need extra collateral in case Woogwang Construction goes under.”
“Collateral?”
“Yes, Woogwang Construction is unreliable. We need a guarantee from a stronger affiliate.”
“Which one?”
“Woogwang Steel or Woogwang Securities. Give up one of the two.”
President Shim picked up the crumpled paper Chairman Kim had tossed and straightened it out.
“Even if there’s a problem with the notes, we can resolve it in re-acquisition talks. That’s why this special clause must be included too.”
“Shim Woncheol.”
Thus, the sharp tug-of-war between Woogwang and Taeseong began.
The presidents of Woogwang’s affiliates all rose together, pushing hard to force the deal through.
On the other side, only President Shim stood up for Taeseong’s position.
No matter how often he shouted that Taeseong couldn’t concede any further, Woogwang pushed ahead relentlessly.
—All in promissory notes!
How long did this bloody argument go on?
“You have to acknowledge that Taeseong has already conceded the promissory notes. Let’s finish this today. If you want Taeseong Chemicals with all these bonuses, it’s time to make a decision.”
President Shim, looking exhausted, jumped up.
“I’ll give you some time alone in the president’s office. Woogwang, make your decision by majority vote, your style.”
As he was about to leave without looking back—
“Shim Woncheol, won’t you come to Woogwang? I’ll let you take charge of Taeseong Chemicals.”
“No, thank you.”
President Shim slammed the door shut behind him.
---
Once again, President Shim came running to the secretarial office.
This time, he looked exhausted, but his lips were stretched to his ears.
“Young Master, it’s almost done! Woogwang is desperate to snatch this deal!”
“Good work.”
“From the looks of it, they’re going to put up Woogwang Securities as collateral! What a relief.”
President Shim clutched his chest in relief.
“If they’d offered Woogwang Steel, I’d have wanted to refuse. The accumulated deficits and massive capital investment needed would make it a quagmire.”
“That’s for sure.”
Clack-clack-clack! Click. Clack-clack-clack!
“Young Master, this isn’t the time to be playing with the typewriter. Please step aside. I need to draft the contract for Taeseong Chemicals’ acquisition.”
President Shim grinned.
“If the chairman of Woogwang Group has made up his mind and the contract falls through just because there’s no agreement, that would bring tears of blood.”
Clack-clack-clack! Click!
“Take this.”
“What’s this?”
“The contract for the Taeseong Chemicals M&A.”
“What?”
President Shim’s jaw dropped.
“Three pages?”
He let out a hollow laugh.
“Handing over a 30-billion-won company with a mere three-page contract······.”
“The longer the contract, the more work for the legal team. Just prepare the real one when the re-acquisition talks come.”
After all, Taeseong Chemicals will be ours soon.
Why waste effort on a contract that’ll soon be discarded?
Just cover the essentials.
“Heh······! What am I even looking at?”
President Shim rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Even so, all the necessary points are filled out in the right forms. Even the legal provisions and spelling are flawless. How on earth······ heh!”
I played innocent.
After all, I’ve written everything from private loan contracts to M&A agreements—this is nothing.
How am I supposed to explain that?
“You even included the special clause on Woogwang Securities as collateral.”
With a determined expression, President Shim clenched his fists.
“A 15-billion-won short-term note. If something goes wrong, Woogwang could be facing a chain bankruptcy. What if the promissory note deal falls apart because of that?”
“Woogwang won’t take a possible chain bankruptcy that seriously.”
If they did, the IMF crisis would never have happened.
Why do you think the conglomerate collapses happened during the IMF?
Because they couldn’t cover their promissory notes, from overextending their businesses on borrowed money.
Just like Woogwang now.
“Anyway, promissory notes are debt, loans are debt, and private money is debt. People are stingy with their own money but reckless with other people’s.”
So even when acquiring a gem like Taeseong Chemicals, they’re pulling a highway robbery.
Shameless bastards!
“When it comes to buying shares with cash, they balk. But if it’s with promissory notes, they think it’s worth the risk. After all, the government wouldn’t let the major conglomerates collapse, or so they believe.”
That 8.3 private loan freeze a few years ago is a perfect example.
“Even though Woogwang was on the list of troubled companies a few years back, they managed to shed huge amounts of private loans and promissory notes during the 8.3 freeze and became a blue-chip company again, didn’t they?”
That’s probably what Woogwang is banking on.
“Too big to fail! Woogwang is ranked ninth in the business world. If it falls, they think the Korean economy will be shaken to its roots. They expect the government won’t stand by. Short-term notes? With Woogwang’s sales, they probably think it’s a breeze.”
President Shim pressed his temples.
“Today, not only do I feel possessed, I feel like an idiot, and now I feel like I’m getting a lecture from an economics expert. Would you believe that?”
Believe whatever you want.
Click.
‘Guardian spirit, what’s Woogwang up to? Is the majority vote over?’
Chairman Kim, with his iron-fisted ways, making a decision by majority vote?
Even a passing dog would laugh.
---
Inside Taeseong Chemicals’ office, the presidents of Woogwang affiliates sat in a neat row on the sofa, their faces grave.
Chairman Kim looked around at the affiliate presidents.
“President Seo, if we go with Shim Woncheol’s proposal, what does Woogwang gain?”
“The movable assets Taeseong hasn’t managed are worth hundreds of millions, and if we can fund the acquisition with promissory notes, factoring in the bank and private money interest we save······.”
President Seo, who’d been working an abacus, looked up.
“We’ll net at least a billion in gains.”
Chairman Kim smiled, satisfied, and turned to another affiliate president.
“President Lee, the conditions Shim Woncheol added—how unfavorable are they to Woogwang?”
“If we don’t pay back the money in the designated period······ Woogwang will be the one losing Taeseong Chemicals for a pittance, not Taeseong.”
“Hm.”
“Most of the promissory notes Taeseong is offering are short-term notes.”
“Why is that a problem? Doesn’t everyone use short-term notes?”
A promissory note is essentially a corporate IOU.
With corporate transactions, the sums are large and big payments often need to be made in short periods.
So instead of paying cash every time, short-term promissory notes are often used for settlement.
In the case of Woogwang and Taeseong, their close business ties meant even more frequent use of notes.
“But it’s 15 billion won. If something goes wrong, things could get dangerous.”
“No matter how bad Woogwang’s cash flow is, we can cover that much.”
Chairman Kim scoffed.
“Even if something happens, do you think the Blue House will just sit by? There will definitely be intervention.”
He glanced at another affiliate president.
“President Jang, what are the chances of renegotiation for re-acquisition with Taeseong?”
“Opportunities to grab Taeseong Chemicals for just a few promissory notes are rare. If it comes to renegotiation, we must reject it at all costs.”
Chairman Kim laced his fingers and leaned back on the sofa.
“This isn’t Cha Taeseong’s plan. It’s Shim Woncheol acting on his own. That’s why it’s such a rare opportunity.”
He smiled, looking over the affiliate presidents lined up before him.
“Those opposed to the Taeseong Chemicals acquisition terms proposed by Shim Woncheol, raise your hands.”
No one dared. To object meant falling out of favor with Chairman Kim.
Everyone only exchanged glances and coughed awkwardly.
“The collateral demanded by Taeseong will be Woogwang Securities. Anyone opposed, raise your hand.”
Chairman Kim finished the last of his coffee.
The bitter cup was empty.
“Unanimous. Bring Shim Woncheol in.”
Time to sign the contract.
---
‘Wow!’
As I gazed out the window of the secretarial office, I saw something I could hardly believe.
‘The Death Road countdown and the orange arrow disappeared at the same time!’
It was just a blink.
They vanished simultaneously, as if a light was switched off.
‘This actually works? …Huh?’
A silver glow rippled over my body like a thin membrane.
I’ve never seen anything like this.
‘What is this?’
[Oh, the Great King must be awarding you additional merits in real time for saving people.]
‘Jeez!’
Don’t whisper so close to my ear like that!
But what?
‘Real-time merit adjustment?’
Wasn’t the accounting of the afterlife always based on post-payment, not real-time?
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