Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 247

Lexter entered Master Coffee Shop, scanning the area for Yizak. He spotted a semi-private room with partitions in the distance and slowly made his way toward it. Two people were inside. One was partially hidden by a potted plant, but he recognized Yizak sitting across from him.

Lexter approached and extended his hand for a handshake.

“Director Yizak, how do you do?”

Yizak, beaming, clasped his hand tightly with both of his.

“Welcome! Thank you for coming.”

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to see you…”

Lexter glanced at the other person, paused, and his expression stiffened. It was Chairman Lucas.

“Inspector Lexter, it’s been a while. Come, sit here.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can. Goodbye.”

Lexter turned to leave immediately, showing clear reluctance. However, he found his path blocked. Two burly men in black suits, who had been sitting at another table, were now standing in his way.

They politely gestured toward the seats where Yizak and Lucas were sitting.

“Please, have a seat.”

Lexter raised an eyebrow and nudged one of the men in suits.

“Who are you? Do you know who I am? These days, kids have lost all respect. How dare you threaten a police officer?”

Lucas sighed deeply and leaned forward, knowing that a confrontation here could cause problems. Lexter was a key police official working for the Federal Police Agency.

“Inspector Lexter, we don’t mean any harm. We just want to have a conversation.”

Lexter turned back to glare at Lucas.

“What conversation?”

“A simple but very important one. It could be a pivotal moment in your life.”

“Hmph. What are you trying to do? Why is Chairman Lucas so concerned about my life? I’m doing just fine on my own.”

“I know. But there’s no harm in doing even better, is there?”

Lexter tilted his head and said.

“I don’t know. It seems difficult to do better than this.”

“That’s because I wasn’t around. But now that you’ve met me, things will change.”

“I thought I’ve had a relationship with you for a long time. And it hasn’t been very helpful to my life.”

“But from now on, it will be.”

Lexter narrowed his eyes.

“Let me make this clear: I will not betray Ilsimhoe [One Heart Society, a fictional organization]. So, Chairman Lucas, you have nothing to gain from me.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not about betraying Ilsimhoe.”

“Really? I doubt it.”

“Really, so rest assured. Now, sit down here.”

After hesitating for a moment, Lexter nodded.

“Alright. But if you even mention the word ‘betrayal,’ I’m leaving. Understand?”

“As you wish.”

Lexter pushed Yizak aside and sat down. He crossed his legs in an arrogant posture and folded his arms.

“Alright. What do you want to say?”

“It’s very simple. I want you to help Beomseok.”

Lexter was taken aback by the absurd request, his face paling slightly. Helping Beomseok was not something a member of the Black Society would ever suggest. He cleared his throat roughly and spoke.

“Ahem. This is quite perplexing. I am already helping Beomseok.”

Lucas calmly shook his head.

“No. Right now, you are pushing Beomseok off a cliff. That’s not really helping him.”

“Hmph. Why do you think so?”

“It’s very simple. You’re encouraging him to fight our Black Society. I’m very worried. As you know, Beomseok has helped our Black Society in many ways when we were in trouble. But recently, there has been a minor misunderstanding, and we are clashing.”

“Then why not resolve the misunderstanding?”

Lucas, with a gloomy expression, shook his head.

“It’s not that easy. If it were a matter between individuals, it would be different, but now it’s a battle of pride between the Black Society and Ilsimhoe. I can’t control the situation as I want. Someone has to bow their head, but the Black Society has no intention of doing so.”

“Ilsimhoe feels the same way. We will never bow our heads to you.”

“Hmm. It seems you’re misunderstanding me. I don’t want Ilsimhoe to surrender. Our only goal is Beomseok.”

Lexter scoffed loudly.

“Hmph. Isn’t that the same thing? The meaning of Ilsimhoe is ‘one mind.’ The moment Beomseok bows his head, everyone bows.”

Lucas, looking troubled, stroked his chin, indicating that Lexter was not easily swayed. Lexter’s strong rejection made persuasion seem very difficult.

“Hmm. That’s why I’m saying this. Everyone is of one mind, pushing Beomseok into a dangerous situation, and it pains me to see it.”

“What are we doing?”

“Isn’t that so? Beomseok is fighting our Black Society right now. We haven’t fully engaged yet out of consideration for our past relationship, but from now on, the situation will be very different. We will push very hard. As you know, if the Black Society is determined, we can lead Beomseok down the path of destruction.”

“That’s why our Ilsimhoe is stepping in, to protect Beomseok.”

“That’s a mistake. We are actually satisfied with returning to our past partnership with Beomseok. We are willing to take his hand whenever he reaches out. There’s no need to fight like this, no need to struggle.”

Lexter lowered his voice calmly.

“The problem is that Beomseok has no intention of reaching out to the Black Society, does he? He was betrayed so spectacularly. Even I, who watched the incident from the sidelines, was filled with anger.”

“We are truly sorry about that. But we had no choice. We couldn’t afford to make LHN [Likelihood Hypothesis Number, a fictional company] another enemy while we were dealing with the economic organizations.”

“Then why didn’t you explain the situation and ask for understanding?”

“How could I say that? Knowing Beomseok’s personality, he would have gotten angry and sulked. But we were planning to compensate him adequately after the matter was resolved. We were going to compensate him for the damages and give him satisfactory compensation. Of course, Beomseok handled the matter so well on his own that it became unnecessary.”

Lexter, smacking his lips as if he were regretful, stared at him intently.

“Alright. Let’s say that’s the case. Then, Chairman Lucas, how do you want me to help Beomseok by saying all this?”

“It’s very simple. Advise him to reach out to us.”

“You know very well that’s not going to happen, don’t you? A kid who’s about to fight a huge organization like the Black Society wouldn’t have reached out in the first place.”

“But if you help us, things will be different. You can definitely persuade Beomseok.”

As expected, Lexter smiled wryly. He had spoken at length about helping Beomseok, but in the end, it was a means to achieve the Black Society’s own goals. He wondered what words Lucas would use to deceive him now.

“Specifically, what do you want me to do?”

“Before that, let me ask you one thing. You guys have already been buying up Rainbow Group’s stock, haven’t you?”

“Yes. That’s right. Even a child would know that the Black Society’s target is Rainbow Group.”

Lucas bit his lip. No wonder there was a shortage when he tried to buy stocks. This wouldn’t have happened if someone hadn’t swept up the stocks first.

“I see. Then, what is your friendly stake?”

“Excluding everything else, we alone have nearly 50%.”

Lucas’s eyes widened. The number of shares they held was higher than he had expected. If it was nearly 50%, this fight was pointless. No matter how hard the Black Society tried, they couldn’t persuade all the institutions and gather most of the stocks on the market. The moment this news was known to other investors, they would cut off their support. Since the game was already tilted, they wouldn’t help him.

“Hmm. That’s quite a lot.”

“Because we prepared thoroughly.”

“I guess so. By the way, how many shares of Rainbow Group do you have right now?”

“Approximately 3.4 million shares.”

That amount was 3% of Rainbow Group’s total shares. Moreover, it was Ilsimhoe’s stake, so if they absorbed it, the Black Society could reduce the gap by about 6%. For Lucas, who was facing a large gap in shares, it was very tempting.

He decided to change his M&A [mergers and acquisitions] strategy. This fight was not about how much stock they could absorb from the market, but about how many Ilsimhoe members they could persuade. That would be cheaper and have a higher chance of success. Moreover, it perfectly aligned with their intention to undermine Beomseok’s foundation.

“3.4 million shares… If you sell them at the current market price, it would be about 1.8 billion Krang [fictional currency].”

“Yes. It would be around that much.”

“But if the stock price returns to its original level, it will plummet to 700 million Krang.”

Since the previous price was 220 Krang, that was roughly the amount. Lexter nodded without hesitation.

“That’s right. But why are you telling me this?”

“Hmm. I’m just feeling sorry. Isn’t the loss too great for the price of leading Beomseok down the path of ruin?”

“I don’t know what you mean. What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Hand over those shares to our Black Society.”

Lexter placed his hands on the table as if he was about to jump up.

“So, you’re telling me to betray him. Then I can’t talk to you anymore.”

Lucas stopped him and said.

“Why do you call it betrayal?”

“Isn’t it obvious? If I sell the shares, Rainbow Group will be taken over by the Black Society, and Gloria will be ousted from her position as chairman. What is that if not betrayal?”

“That’s only temporary. If Beomseok joins hands with us again, Gloria will be reinstated as the group’s chairman. We are using somewhat extreme methods, but our goal is not to destroy Ilsimhoe, but to restore our relationship.”

“Then find another way. I will gladly help you then.”

Lucas shook his head.

“Beomseok, with his strong pride, can only be persuaded in this way. Why else would I be doing this? I’ve tried every method.”

“Then I have no choice either.”

“Inspector Lexter, why are you doing this? If Beomseok swallows his pride and joins hands with us, Ilsimhoe’s future will be bright. Beomseok will one day become the godfather of the pro-gladiator world, Gloria will become a real estate tycoon second to none, and you will become the chief of the Federal Police Agency. Even right now, it’s the same. You will make a huge amount of money by selling your shares to us. We will buy your shares at 850 Krang per share.”

At 850 Krang per share, Lexter would receive 2.89 billion Krang. It was an unimaginable amount, a sum that most people could only dream of in their lifetime. If he closed his eyes just this once, he could live the rest of his life in luxury.

“Hmph. 850 Krang per share? Aren’t you overdoing it? Even though it has risen sharply recently, Rainbow Group’s stock price is only 512 Krang.”

“But your 3% stake is worth more than 6% to us, who are aiming for Rainbow Group’s management rights. Doesn’t that roughly add up?”

Lexter, with an interested expression, slowly put his butt back on the chair.

“I guess so. Then let me say one thing here.”

“Go ahead and say anything.”

“I will never betray Ilsimhoe. And I will always act only for Beomseok. So, I’m only helping you this once. It seems that selling the shares this time is better for that guy’s future.”

Lucas smiled brightly. His words sounded good, but he was ultimately trying to take care of his own interests and save face. Such a person was very easy to handle. As long as you gave him justification and benefits, he would always be at your mercy.

“Of course. That’s what I want too. Our goal is not to break Ilsimhoe, but to coexist.”

“Alright. Then I will sell all my shares as you wish.”

“Hmph. Thank you.”

“Then, may I leave now?”

Lucas shook his head. There was still one more thing to extract from Lexter.

“Hmm. Don’t do that, help me with one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Tell me the detailed shareholding status. Excluding Beomseok, tell me about your friendly shares. I want to know who we need to persuade.”

After hesitating for a moment, Lexter finally opened his mouth.

“Yes. I can tell you that much. Gloria has 12%, Rainbow Hotel has 3%, our employee stock ownership plan has 4%, and Natalie of LKS Broadcasting has nearly 6% of the shares.”

Including Lexter’s shares, that was only 28% in total. So, his statement that it was close to 50% was a lie.

“Wait, that’s a bit different from what you said earlier. You said it was close to 50% earlier, didn’t you?”

“Yes. That’s because it includes the 20% held by LHN Financial Group.”

Lucas felt like he had been hit in the back of the head. He knew about LHN’s stake through the 5% rule disclosure [a regulation requiring disclosure of significant shareholdings], but he didn’t know they were hostile forces. Beomseok and they had fought each other until recently, so the Black Society had naturally assumed that they could bring in their stake.

“Is LHN really a friendly force?”

“Yes. They are definitely on our Ilsimhoe’s side. You can confirm it by checking if Beomseok’s funds have flowed into LHN’s fund for the protection of Rainbow Group.”

Then there was a high probability that Lexter’s words were true. Beomseok wouldn’t have invested funds in a hostile force if he was crazy. However, he thought it was fortunate that he knew in advance. Now that he knew, he could deal with it.

“I see. Thank you.”

“Then, since we’re done here, I’ll get up now. Let’s do the stock trading over-the-counter [a direct trade between two parties, not on an exchange] in a few days.”

“Alright. Go ahead.”

Lucas, watching Lexter leave, was lost in thought. He was contemplating how to handle this matter. But unexpectedly, the conclusion came easily. If they could absorb the shares of LHN and the child named Natalie, the Black Society would be the winner of this war.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

It feels like just yesterday that 2012 started, but it’s already mid-February. Time really flies. I think I should live more meaningfully from now on.

Have a great day, everyone. I’ll see you again tomorrow.