Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 110

110. 33rd. The Boundary Between Winter and Spring, Beginning and End (2)

The moment I swallowed hard, her lips parted.

“I… don’t want to go home.”

Oh. My. God!!!

I wondered if I was hearing things. ‘I don’t want to go home tonight’!

As a female singer’s song lingered in my head, Jang Ha-yeon looked at my dazed face with a piqued expression and said,

“I’m just not going home ‘tonight’! Don’t even dream about anything else?”

“Ah ha ha ha…”

Seeing Jang Ha-yeon emphasizing ‘just’ so much, I snapped out of it and just let out an awkward laugh. To think a guy with the mind of someone in their mid-fifties is acting like this. Damn it.

Still chuckling, I looked at Jang Ha-yeon and stood up.

“Then, shall we grab another hotel and drink some canned beer?”

“Okay. Absolutely nothing else?”

Looking at Jang Ha-yeon, who still didn’t let her guard down, it seemed like I was going to devour her or something. I’m not that kind of guy.

***

Hiding our faces with sunglasses and scarves, we entered a hotel that wasn’t the Goryeo Hotel. As soon as we received the key from the front desk, we hurriedly took the elevator and entered the room.

“Hoo-”

Jang Ha-yeon and I took off our sunglasses and scarves, placed them on the side table, and sighed.

Even if Jang Ho-geon knew we were dating, the romances of chaebol [conglomerate] heirs are good fodder for paparazzi. That’s why we were all bundled up and came to another hotel.

“Noona [term used by a younger male to address an older female], let’s call Uncle first.”

“Huh?”

“Everyone who knows, knows how much Uncle cherishes Noona. Including people on Noona’s mother’s side.”

“Ah…”

She let out a soft exclamation and quickly made a call.

“Yes, Father. Is there anyone around? Yes. There’s something I need to tell you.”

‘The camcorder recording during the department store consulting wasn’t for nothing.’

Even speaking indirectly, Jang Ha-yeon didn’t let her guard down against the Hwang family.

After waiting for a moment, Jang Ha-yeon spoke into the receiver.

“I’m going to be with Sung-min today and go straight to work tomorrow. Clothes? I’m going to ask the president to bring me the spare clothes in the office. Yes. Yes.”

Listening to the conversation between the two, my mouth dropped open. Jang Ho-geon, worried that the fact that she stayed out would spread within the Goryeo Hotel, and Jang Ha-yeon, who came up with a countermeasure, were both extremely cautious.

After finishing the call, Jang Ha-yeon smiled faintly.

“The problem is all solved… Shall we start round two?”

“Call.”

Answering, I took two cans of beer and a bag of jerky from the refrigerator in the mini-bar and placed them on the table that Jang Ha-yeon had set up.

After wiping the mouth of the can with a tissue, I opened it with a ‘psst’ sound and handed it to Jang Ha-yeon. Then, I opened the beer I was going to drink and held out the hand holding the can.

“Cheers!”

We lightly clinked the ends of the cans together and drank the beer.

“Hoo-! Isn’t this the first time we’ve drunk like this?”

I tilted my head at Jang Ha-yeon’s question as she took a sip of beer and let out a light breath. We’ve been to street stalls and chicken restaurants sometimes…

Jang Ha-yeon gave me a sidelong glance with a piqued look.

“I mean drinking in a place like this.”

“Ah…”

I gave her an embarrassed smile. It was the first time for both Jang Ha-yeon and me to rent a hotel room and drink.

“I hope we can see each other like this often in the future. I think it would be comfortable to drink in a place where it’s just the two of us.”

“Call. I’ve settled down now, so Tae-jin hyung [older brother/male friend] won’t interfere much either.”

After promising to meet like this often, we emptied the canned beer and chatted away.

“Was it cheesy back then?”

“When?”

I hesitated a bit before speaking to Jang Ha-yeon, who had taken a sip of beer.

“When I said I’d be arrested forever.”

It wasn’t just once or twice that I kicked the blanket when that scene came out in my dreams. I wanted to say something cool, but I’m hopeless in this area, damn it.

“Um… A little? Hehe.”

Seeing me feeling awkward, Jang Ha-yeon raised her hand, slightly opening her thumb and index finger. Seeing my awkward smile, Jang Ha-yeon said.

“That doesn’t matter. Every time I see you, it’s like I’m looking at myself.”

“What do you mean, Noona?”

I blinked at Jang Ha-yeon’s words, who was slightly tipsy. I wondered if Jang Ha-yeon was also a naive person, but that was just my delusion.

“Both you and I… We’re both giving up what we wanted and going down this path.”

“Ah…”

Only after hearing the answer did I let out a soft exclamation.

Haven’t I given up being a historian, and Jang Ha-yeon given up being an artist, and accepted the fate of being a chaebol heir? I smiled bitterly and replied to her.

“That’s right, well. Do you regret coming down this path, Noona?”

“No. I’m satisfied. I can continue to do art. What about you?”

“I’m satisfied too. Because I’m writing history.”

I am different from the beginning now.

I was consumed with revenge, and even my innocence faded.

But.

Because of everything else, I enjoyed every day. Jang Ha-yeon may not know it, but I am still writing ‘new history’ with her right now.

“By the way, do you remember the dream you told me about before?”

“That I’m not interested in the chairman position?”

Jang Ha-yeon nodded and asked me.

“Is that because of Uncle?”

“Huh?”

“I heard it from Father. Uncle wanted to become a professor of business administration.”

It was the first time I had heard of it. My father wanted to become a professor of business administration?

“Really?”

Jang Ha-yeon’s eyes widened as the end of my voice rose.

“…You didn’t know?”

“Yeah…”

I received another piece of the puzzle about my father, whom I didn’t know well. The story about my father that I heard during the dinner with Na Chang-seok was also amazing…

“I see.”

“Yeah… Thank you, Noona.”

So, we moved on from the stories of our fathers and Jang Ho-geon to the stories of their children, the future, and what we are doing now for that future.

“…So that’s why you were collecting dollars like that?”

“It can’t be helped. Even though I don’t know when it will start, Australia and Panama are scrutinizing our financial structure a lot.”

I said it nonchalantly while drinking beer, but I couldn’t tell her that Haedong Group affiliates were collecting dollars in preparation for next year’s foreign exchange crisis.

The Haedong Group’s preparation was perfect itself.

Under the command of the three veteran CEOs and Lee Myung-jin, they were aggressively pursuing overseas construction orders and exports to collect dollars, reducing the proportion of won [Korean currency], and even collecting the deposits of group employees into Haedong Merchant Bank to the maximum extent, entering the final stage of preparing for the foreign exchange crisis.

Then, is Go Seung-ju just playing around? Not at all.

Go Seung-ju was coordinating the group’s overall cash flow with Jo Young-chan, and under the direction of his grandfather, he was using Myeongdong’s money lenders to suck up the dollars that wealthy people had hidden away.

After taking a sip of beer, I asked Jang Ha-yeon.

“How’s Noona’s company doing? The Gangnam branch of the Goryeo Hotel will open next month. You’ll also have to do the construction to get into Eternal Square.”

“You know it all, why are you asking? Rather… Aren’t you curious about Jang Su-yeon?”

I shook my head, looking at her who was subtly probing me.

“Not really. I’m just looking at Noona right now, why would I have any reason to look at another sun? There’s nothing to be curious about.”

“Ugh, cheesy.”

I laughed as I watched Jang Ha-yeon rub her arm, but I knew about Jang Su-yeon’s news through my grandfather’s informant.

[They say birds of a feather flock together, and Park Mu-jin and Jang Ho-geon are both having headaches because of their children, hehe.]

When I first heard it, it was unexpected, but it seemed like birds of a feather flock together, as my grandfather laughed. Jang Su-yeon and Park Nam-joon were both notoriously horny in the upper class of Korea in their previous lives, so how could it not be?

After that, I heard the story of the Pan Shinsegi family from her.

“You said they talked about that at Grandfather’s memorial service?”

“That’s right? My father teased my aunt so much while talking about you.”

Jang Ha-yeon was gloating just by talking about it, and I could only laugh.

Even Shinsegi Group, which has plenty of cash mobilization power, is nothing to laugh at compared to Haedong Group. It was natural for us, who were ahead in ideas, to take the lead in the distribution industry, but I was able to reaffirm how Jang Ho-geon, Jang Ho-kyung, and Jang Ho-min were worse than strangers.

“Then, what about Uncle?”

“Uncle quietly offered alcohol and left, but it was strange that my father and aunt were the most wary of Uncle.”

If the two were wary of Jang Ho-min, then the information we were collecting must be correct. He was quietly collecting cash and contacting the presidents of Hango Group’s main creditor banks and political figures, so the Hango Iron & Steel acquisition was a foregone conclusion.

As we drank beer and chatted, Jang Ha-yeon began to doze off. Perhaps it was because we were drinking alcohol in a hotel room with all the bedding, or because she trusted me, she seemed to have relaxed.

Seeing this, I pulled back the blanket on one side of the bed, picked up Jang Ha-yeon, laid her down, and covered her with the blanket. Seeing her sleeping with soft breaths, I couldn’t help but smile, wondering if this was what an angel would look like when sleeping.

After brushing her hair to one side, I walked to the window. Looking at the night view of Seoul that was visible outside the window, I quietly muttered.

“Next month will be 1997… I should slowly bring them over.”

I was talking about the spear sharpened at Standard Capital headquarters and the strengthened shield.

***

While Lee Sung-min and Jang Ha-yeon were enjoying their first overnight stay together and greeting the Saturday morning sky, Jang Ho-min was busy with executives in the conference room, conducting the final review of the Hango Iron & Steel merger and acquisition.

“The funds are prepared… All that’s left is to move the old bankers and the congressmen.”

“Yes, Vice Chairman. If the politicians abandon Jung Taek-joo and the banks turn their backs on the bills, Hango Group will go bankrupt tomorrow, hehe.”

“Even the Blue House [Korean equivalent of the White House] won’t be able to do anything. Even though the lame duck period has begun, they’re busy passing the National Security Planning Act and the revision of the Labor Law. It’s an opportunity that won’t come again, Vice Chairman.”

Jang Ho-min and the executives were all smiling sinisterly.

How long had they been waiting for this day to come? The day to devour Hango Iron & Steel.

The efforts to win over the financial sector, institutional investors, Yeouido [Korea’s Wall Street] politicians, and high-ranking officials in Gwanghwamun [government district], waiting for this day to come, were finally paying off.

Jang Ho-min, who had a smile on his face, composed himself.

“Still, we can’t be careless. Make sure they earn their keep.”

“Yes, Vice Chairman!”

Politicians and bankers are the kind of people who change their minds at any time. He couldn’t rest assured until the political and banking circles had cut off Jung Taek-joo and Hango Group’s heads.

After reviewing the Hango Iron & Steel merger and acquisition plan with the executives, Jang Ho-min went to a high-end Japanese restaurant in Myeongdong [shopping district] for lunch.

Jang Ho-min entered the room through the door opened by the employee, and the bankers who had arrived in advance and were drinking pre-meal tea stood up from their seats.

“Have you arrived, Vice Chairman Jang?”

“Did you enjoy the pre-meal tea? Haha.”

Jang Ho-min sat down with his unique nonchalant expression, and the table was immediately set. As high-ranking people do, they enjoyed the chewy texture of the sashimi while talking about golf and their children’s studies abroad.

“I don’t know if this sashimi will suit your taste.”

“Oh my, how could it not suit my taste when Vice Chairman is buying it for us, hehe.”

Jang Ho-min smiled coldly as he looked at the president of Jeil Bank, who was waving his hand while laughing heartily.

“The sashimi is chewy, but I think the bankers’ circumstances are tough.”

As the cold voice pierced like an awl, the bankers’ expressions hardened. Weren’t they all burdened with bills and loans to Hango Group, including Hango Iron & Steel and Hango Construction, amounting to at least 600 billion won and up to more than 1 trillion won?

“Hango Iron & Steel said they would build a steel mill with 1 trillion won, but they spent more than 5 trillion won and couldn’t even raise one furnace. And yet, the Jung Taek-joo family keeps asking for money endlessly.”

The helplessness and contempt revealed on Jang Ho-min’s face were directed at the Jung Taek-joo family. The bankers nodded, looking at each other, and one of them opened his mouth with a stiff expression.

“We’re going crazy right now. The bonds and bills to Hango Iron & Steel amount to 4.5 trillion won in won and 1.2 billion dollars in dollar loans.”

“It’s not just the steel mill that’s the problem. An executive from our side heard from someone there that Hango Construction doesn’t have any liquid cash either.”

“We’re going to die because of Jung Taek-joo’s stubbornness. If it weren’t for the Little President and the congressmen, we would have gotten rid of it already…”

Jang Ho-min smiled as he watched the bankers denounce the Jung Taek-joo family and Hango Group and drink alcohol.

“Hango Group doesn’t have a penny of cash, just like the glass you emptied. Isn’t that right?”

One of the bankers, whose face was flushed red, glared at Jang Ho-min and shouted.

“So, what are you trying to do now? Vice Chairman Jang Ho-min?”

The other bankers also glared at Jang Ho-min. All of their sharp gazes were focused on him, but Jang Ho-min did not lose his smile.

“I’m not trying to make fun of the bankers. Let’s have a drink first.”

Jang Ho-min appeased the bankers, then picked up the kettle and filled the bankers’ empty glasses with alcohol. Unlike the times when he had filled them to the brim, this time the alcohol was only filled halfway.

The bankers looked at the glass and glared at Jang Ho-min. Wasn’t it a message replacing the words that would come out of his mouth? It was a message that if they acquired Hango Iron & Steel, they would only take on at most half of the debt.

“There’s no company that will take Hango Iron & Steel anyway. My brother is obsessed with semiconductors, and he’s busy with cars and the Yeongdeungpo [district in Seoul] redevelopment. Taehyun is building a steel mill in Hadong, so there’s no need to mention it.”

As Jang Ho-min’s confirmation shot began, the president of Korea Exchange Bank hurriedly launched a counterattack.

“Still, GK is…”

“They used all the dollars they earned during the yen appreciation speculation to recover the GK Oil shares. And would the Oh family and the Hae family be suited for rough work like a steel mill, given their personalities? I think they’re also preparing for a spin-off?”

“There’s also Haedong, Vice Chairman Jang. Not to mention Haedong Corporation, they have dollars accumulated from overseas construction orders and won deposited from domestic construction projects. The other affiliates are also sound.”

Jang Ho-min tilted his head at the protest of the president of Chohung Bank, who came in later.

“Well… Haedong Group is obsessed with overseas mine development, so I wonder if they have the *余裕* [room/capacity] to acquire a steel mill… I don’t know if Chairman Lee Dae-soo would even bother with Hango Group, which is like an empty can, haha.”

The bankers, whose cards they were holding out were all exhausted, closed their mouths and made only a groan, looking at Jang Ho-min.

“I’ll solve as much of your banks’ bonds as possible that are tied to Hango Iron & Steel, even if it’s not as much as the glass I filled for you. The negotiations with the political world have also been concluded, so public funds will also be supported.”

The bankers’ expressions brightened at the word public funds. If the government filled a significant portion of the bank’s bad debts with the people’s money, they could bear some losses.

Jang Ho-min did not miss the opportunity and brought out the biggest weakness of these old men.

“You are all people who were pushed and pulled by my late father. There must be many things you don’t want to reveal as much as that. Isn’t that right?”

The bankers swallowed hard, looking at the half-filled glass that Jang Ho-min pointed to with his hand.