The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 273

273. Winner and Loser (3)

Tokyo Haneda International Airport.

Yu Tanaka couldn’t bring himself to leave.

‘It wasn’t my fault.’

Who could have refused under the threat of the Yakuza [Japanese organized crime syndicate]?

Of course, he wasn’t entirely without fault.

If he had been threatened by the Kajima Group and Morgan Stanley, he should have informed John Pierre.

But he didn’t, and he agreed to the 1% commission.

“Damn it…….”

Yu Tanaka clenched his fist tightly.

It was as good as having tens of billions of yen [Japanese currency] in his hands. But now, he had nothing left.

“Why did this happen!”

Was popping the champagne a little too early such a big mistake?

Or was it a position that didn’t suit him in the first place?

Either way, it was irreversible now.

He let out a long sigh and moved his heavy steps toward the departure gate.

At the same time.

Victoria Fund Tokyo Branch.

John Pierre handed Jung Hyun-woo an envelope.

“What is this?”

Jung Hyun-woo asked, and John Pierre replied.

“It’s Mr. Tanaka’s resignation.”

“So it ended up like this.”

“The severance pay was properly paid.”

Jung Hyun-woo said calmly.

“We have no choice but to follow the procedure.”

“He was a regrettable person.”

“Money is a poison that corrupts ordinary people.”

John Pierre sighed briefly at his words.

“I think I should really retire after this is over.”

There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t end up like Yu Tanaka.

Jung Hyun-woo cleared his throat slightly.

“John.”

At his word, John Pierre raised his right hand.

“We’ve talked about retirement before, haven’t we?”

“I know. But Victoria Fund needs John.”

John Pierre shook his head.

“No. I’ve realized for sure with this incident. That a beautiful farewell is when you leave when you can.”

Jung Hyun-woo said in a dry voice.

“Don’t make a hasty decision, and let’s talk again after this is over.”

He also realized something from this incident.

‘New people can’t be easily trusted.’

Even if it wasn’t that old acquaintances are better, it was necessary to be careful when placing new people by his side.

“Then I’ll leave for a meeting with Kajima Construction.”

As he was about to get up, Jung Hyun-woo said to him.

“When the contract money comes in this time, set aside $10 million.”

John Pierre paused and asked.

“Is there a separate investment target in Japan?”

Jung Hyun-woo put his hands together and replied.

“It’s Mr. Tanaka’s bonus.”

John Pierre’s eyes widened at his words.

“His severance pay?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and said.

“He certainly betrayed us. But I don’t think he turned us into enemies.”

John Pierre narrowed his brow as if he couldn’t understand.

“That’s a bit strange.”

“It’s not strange. We trusted him, and we did a lot of things with him.”

John Pierre narrowed his brow even more at the expression ‘did a lot of things’.

“Charlie, your expression is a bit strange.”

Jung Hyun-woo raised his voice slightly.

“John, have you forgotten? We created slush funds and lobbied the Japanese political world. Who do you think did that?”

Victoria Fund’s lobbyist was Yu Tanaka.

John Pierre realized that the moment Yu Tanaka exposed the slush funds, a gate related to Victoria Fund would open.

“I, I didn’t think that far.”

Jung Hyun-woo said in a cold voice.

“I’m thinking of stopping by Bangkok on my way back to the United States to meet him.”

“How did you know he was heading to Bangkok?”

“His secretary told me.”

John Pierre exclaimed briefly at his answer.

“Ah…….”

Jung Hyun-woo’s actions weren’t meticulous. But John Pierre had never even done the same actions as him.

‘Should I say his vision is broad?’

He sees what others don’t see, and he thinks what others don’t think.

He thought this was Jung Hyun-woo’s real strength.

“Anyway, this matter should be handled as smoothly as possible.”

If he were a villain, he would have finished it by killing or kidnapping Yu Tanaka, but he was far from a villain.

“Charlie’s story, I will follow it as it is.”

John Pierre thought that Jung Hyun-woo had become much more mature than when he first met him.

‘Maybe Charlie is living more time than other people.’

The word genius seemed to mean Jung Hyun-woo.

* * *

Bangkok Siam, Thailand.

Yu Tanaka was taken aback by Jung Hyun-woo’s unexpected visit.

‘Charlie wants to see me?’

Is he coming to finish off the traitor?

If so, he could just send a killer.

‘What’s the reason?’

The conclusion he came to after thinking about it was to keep his mouth shut.

‘Since the slush fund issue is involved, he’s probably thinking of scaring me to shut me up.’

If he were foolish, he would have thought of this in reverse and tried to threaten Jung Hyun-woo.

But Yu Tanaka wasn’t that foolish. And if he were that foolish, he wouldn’t have been able to join JP Morgan, let alone become the head of Victoria Fund’s Tokyo branch in the first place.

“Hehehe, I have no choice but to answer that I understand.”

His fate was now sealed.

Living quietly and lying low.

“Miserable.”

Until a few days ago, he was the one who commanded Roppongi [a district in Tokyo], Tokyo. But now, he couldn’t even set foot in Japan, let alone Tokyo.

3 days later.

Bangkok InterContinental Hotel Suite Room.

Yu Tanaka sat face to face with Jung Hyun-woo in the living room.

“I’m sorry.”

Jung Hyun-woo calmly accepted his apology.

“People can make mistakes at any time. The problem is what comes next.”

Yu Tanaka expected him to try to silence him, so he bowed deeply.

“I’m reflecting.”

Jung Hyun-woo said in a somewhat cold voice.

“Judging by the fact that I don’t smell any women’s perfume or alcohol, it seems you’re reflecting to some extent.”

Yu Tanaka paused at his remark.

‘He can tell my current state by the smell?’

It was a completely unexpected story.

Jung Hyun-woo’s story continued.

“If you stay as you are, your mind will break down. I’ve created a position in Bangkok, so go to work there for the time being.”

Yu Tanaka’s eyes widened at Jung Hyun-woo’s words.

“Are you saying there’s a branch in Bangkok?”

It was the first time he had heard of Victoria Fund’s Bangkok branch.

“It’s not Victoria Fund, it’s Victoria Corporation.”

Victoria Corporation’s Bangkok branch was a forward base for exporting games developed by Victoria Corporation to Thailand.

“Ah, Victoria Corporation.”

Yu Tanaka felt anew that Victoria Corporation was a global company.

‘Victoria Corporation wasn’t just a company that bought and sold Japanese real estate.’

Victoria Corporation was more famous as an IT company.

“It’s not a great position, so it’s best not to expect too much.”

Yu Tanaka knew better that it wasn’t an important position.

‘The reason Charlie is giving me a position is probably to monitor me.’

He thought so.

It’s better to be monitored than to tremble in fear.

If he goes to work on time every day and handles his assigned tasks well, Jung Hyun-woo will be relieved and focus on other tasks.

But if he doesn’t go to work often, he might think differently.

‘Moreover, isn’t Thailand a country where guns are allowed?’

In the case of Japan, only the Yakuza or retired soldiers hid guns.

But Thailand was different.

Not as much as the Philippines, but there were many people in Thailand who had guns among the general public.

“I think it would be nice if I could earn a living.”

Jung Hyun-woo took an envelope out of his pocket.

“Keep it.”

Yu Tanaka took the envelope he handed over.

‘This is…….’

First of all, it wasn’t a check. It wasn’t a wad of cash either.

When he opened the envelope, what was inside was a bankbook.

“It’s a bankbook that you can find with the password.”

Yu Tanaka asked without checking the amount.

“Is it a Swiss account?”

“Since you’re living in Thailand, I’ve made it a Thai bank.”

Yu Tanaka thought that Jung Hyun-woo had taken care of his living expenses.

‘Meticulous.’

He bowed slightly and greeted.

“Thank you.”

Jung Hyun-woo said this much and got up from his seat.

“There will be a day when we meet again someday.”

Yu Tanaka bowed his head even further without getting up.

“I hope there will be such a day.”

“Then goodbye.”

After Jung Hyun-woo left.

Yu Tanaka opened the bankbook.

This was to check the password, not the amount.

But he saw an unbelievable amount in his eyes.

‘I, is it dollars, not baht [Thai currency]?’

The amount in the bankbook was a whopping $10 million.

In 1987 in Thailand, $10 million would allow him to live a life no different from a chaebol [South Korean conglomerate owner or executive].

‘This isn’t just living expenses.’

Yu Tanaka knew what $10 million meant.

‘Don’t cause problems and stay quiet in Thailand.’

He laughed lowly.

“Huhu, is he a generous monarch?”

If it were Chairman Kajima Jiro, instead of giving him $10 million, he would have hired a killer with $100,000 to eliminate him.

“I was foolish.”

He had abandoned the generous monarch and joined hands with the tyrant.

* * *

January 22, 1988.

The Bank of Japan carried out a sweeping interest rate cut. This was a preemptive measure to prevent Japan’s economic recession.

Jung Hyun-woo heard this news in Las Vegas, where CES [Consumer Electronics Show] was being held.

“It was as Charlie expected.”

John Pierre’s voice was somewhat excited.

“As I said before, since he has something to believe in, the Kajima Group would have offered a 10% premium.”

Victoria Fund had signed an exclusive contract with the Kajima Group in exchange for receiving a 10% premium.

“Any other news?”

At his question, John Pierre raised his voice.

“NTT’s stock price has soared again.”

NTT was heading to an unprecedented world, surpassing the world’s No. 1.

“Are you saying that the stock price of a company with a market capitalization of over $200 billion has soared again?”

John Pierre nodded and replied.

“It has reached $220 billion.”

A market capitalization of $220 billion.

It was an astronomical figure that more than doubled Victoria Corporation’s market capitalization.

‘I can’t believe it.’

Last life.

He had heard stories that Japan’s bubble was great.

But when he actually experienced the end of the Japanese bubble, he couldn’t help but stick out his tongue.

“How much is our profit?”

John Pierre replied in an excited voice.

“It’s over $1 billion today alone.”

$1 billion a day.

‘At this point, it’s almost meaningless to create and supply network services.’

In fact, that was the case in Japanese society in 1988.

People were busy spending money earned through stocks or real estate rather than working hard at the company.

“It’s too much.”

John Pierre lowered his voice tone and asked.

“Charlie, are you planning to dispose of NTT stock as well?”

“I’ll dispose of it before the Olympics.”

“That’s…….”

“Are you sorry?”

“To be honest, yes.”

Jung Hyun-woo cleared his throat slightly.

“The withdrawal from Japan will proceed as planned.”

No matter how much the rate of return on Japanese real estate and stocks rises, he has no intention of staying in Japan any longer.

John Pierre nodded at his words.

“I understand. Then I will stay here and continue to prepare for the withdrawal.”

Since Yu Tanaka had left for Thailand, John Pierre was directly leading the Tokyo branch.

“Thank you.”

Tak.

As Jung Hyun-woo hung up the phone, Sarah entered the living room.

“Charlie, your voice was harsh, who was on the phone?”

Jung Hyun-woo lay down on the sofa and replied.

“It’s John.”

“The presentation wasn’t bad today, was there anything to get so angry about?”

Sarah was thinking of John River of the game division.

“Not River, Pierre.”

Sarah nodded greatly at his answer.

“It was Mr. Pierre.”

Jung Hyun-woo said while half lying on the sofa.

“The Bank of Japan has once again carried out an interest rate cut.”

Sarah narrowed her brow slightly at the word interest rate cut.

“They cut interest rates again?”

“I think they’re afraid of the effects of the Plaza Accord [agreement signed in 1985 by France, West Germany, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom to depreciate the U.S. dollar in relation to the French franc, German mark, Japanese yen, and British pound].”

“Are they going to respond first before the recession comes? But if a lot of money is released into the market, inflation will accelerate?”

Jung Hyun-woo thought that Japanese government officials also knew that fact.

“I think the situation is so serious that they have to release money even if they take inflation into account.”

Sarah sat next to him and asked.

“Then shouldn’t our withdrawal be faster?”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed deeply at her question.

“Hoo……. The withdrawal will proceed as planned.”

“You’re not going to move it up?”

“The bubble won’t burst right away.”

Sarah knew that he had accurately predicted the Atari shock [a crash in the video game industry in 1983].

‘The feeling is similar to that time.’

She thought that Jung Hyun-woo would accurately predict when the Japanese bubble would burst this time as well.

“Come to think of it, you said you fired Mr. Tanaka?”

“It wasn’t a dismissal, he left on his own. And Victoria Corporation hired him again.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows at the news that Victoria Corporation had hired Yu Tanaka.

“You hired Mr. Tanaka?”

Jung Hyun-woo lowered his voice and replied.

“I didn’t put him in a great position. I made a small position at the Bangkok branch.”

Sarah lowered her raised eyebrows at his answer.

“What. That’s a complete demotion.”

“I think he’ll think of it as surveillance rather than demotion?”

“Surveillance?”

“He’ll think I’m worried that he’ll leak information from here.”

Sarah asked again.

“Aren’t you really worried?”

Jung Hyun-woo replied with a faint smile.

“To some extent, but I didn’t create his position because I was so worried about it.”

“Then are you sympathizing with him?”

“If I thought about the eyes of the world rather than sympathizing with him?”

Sarah laughed when he asked back.

“The eyes of the world. You wanted to tell people that you’re not a CEO who coldly kicks out employees?”

“I hope people accept it that way. And…….”

As Jung Hyun-woo trailed off, Sarah raised her voice.

“And?”

“Japanese government officials will also be watching Yu Tanaka.”

Jung Hyun-woo thought that they might move in case.

‘Kajima Group isn’t the only one aiming for Mr. Tanaka.’

Politicians or officials who received bribes from him may have moved.

And in the worst case, the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office may want to eliminate him.

“As expected, Charlie’s head is complicated.”

Jung Hyun-woo frowned slightly.

“That’s why I always don’t have strength.”

Sarah put her hand on his back and said.

“Shall I give you a massage for the first time in a while?”

“Isn’t it almost the first time, not in a while?”

Sarah replied in a soft voice to Jung Hyun-woo’s rebuke.

“Today is a special service.”

Jung Hyun-woo thought that Sarah’s voice and touch were soft today.

‘Something always happens when things are this good.’

Was it because there were so many things going on?

He couldn’t let go of his mind even when he was resting.