Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 133

133. 39th. Start of Settlement (2)

After leaving Samcheong-dong, I took a nap and headed to the main branch of Korea Hotel around 5 PM. I checked in at the front desk, went to my room, and called Jang Ha-yeon.

“How have you been, Noona?”

[So-so. What’s up?]

“I’m at room 1201 of the Korea Hotel main branch. Can you come over now?”

[…You came here?]

“I flew in today. Can you come?”

[I’ll be off work soon, so please wait a bit.]

“Okay, Noona. Take your time.”

About 30 minutes later, I heard a knock.

“Noona?”

[Yes. Open the door.]

I opened the door and saw Jang Ha-yeon’s face. As soon as she entered, she hugged me tightly.

“Seongmin!”

“Did you do well while I was gone? I was worried about you, Noona, so it was hard to leave.”

Unlike my worried expression, Jang Ha-yeon shook her head with a gentle smile.

“After Father said he would give me Korea Hotel, I moved my things into a hotel room.”

“You… moved out of the house?”

“It was awkward staying at home, so I thought it would be better this way. Father allowed it too.”

She says it like this, but she must have been so worried about the harassment that she left home.

Jang Yong-jae and Jang Min-jae might not have cared about the affiliates Jang Ho-geon was going to give Jang Ha-yeon because of Ado Motors, but that greedy mother and daughter must have been grinding their teeth.

I felt bitter inside, but seeing Jang Ha-yeon’s bright expression eased my worries. I responded with a smile as well.

“I’m glad I came back quickly. Seeing your face, Noona, makes all the hard work worthwhile. If you haven’t had dinner, should we eat here?”

“Sounds good.”

Jang Ha-yeon and I ordered dinner through room service and sat at the table, waiting for the food to arrive.

“How did you come so early? I thought it would take a year?”

“The company policy changed. It seems like I need to be in Korea for the Ado Motors acquisition to go smoothly.”

“Why you?”

“They asked me to act as a messenger between my uncle, grandfather, and father.”

I lied without batting an eye, but Jang Ha-yeon nodded without much reaction.

“I see. But weren’t you working there?”

“Working? I just studied. The Haedong Securities people took care of the actual work.”

I can’t reveal the fact that there are $10 billion in the Hong Kong branch. To proceed according to my plan, the dollars in the Hong Kong branch need to be brought in later, so it must be kept a secret until then.

As we were talking, the doorbell rang.

[Your ordered meal has arrived, customer.]

“Come in.”

I opened the door with the intercom, and the staff came in pushing a cart.

“Here’s your tenderloin steak and salmon sala… Executive Director?”

The staff, who were telling me the menu after seeing me first, blinked when they saw Jang Ha-yeon sitting at the table. I smiled at them.

“No need to be surprised. I’m Executive Director Jang Ha-yeon’s boyfriend. Right?”

After answering the staff, I reached out to Jang Ha-yeon. She looked at me with wide eyes, then smiled softly, came to me, and took my hand.

“That’s right. This is Lee Seongmin, my boyfriend. And we’ll have a deeper relationship. Right?”

I hugged Jang Ha-yeon, who was looking at me with her arms wrapped around mine, and kissed her forehead.

“Because you want it, and I want it.”

Now I could proudly say that this woman was mine, my lover.

From now on, I want to stand proudly next to my woman anytime, anywhere, and in any way. Just like today.

***

The next morning.

I started the day by having morning tea with Seon Hae-cheol at the office.

“How does it feel, Owner?”

“You mean publicly declaring that I’m dating Noona?”

Since all preparations were complete, there was no need to hide my relationship with Jang Ha-yeon, so I replied to Seon Hae-cheol with an indifferent expression. Seon Hae-cheol chuckled and looked at me.

“That’s a secondary result. I’m talking about earning $10 billion in Hong Kong. Claire is so happy, she doesn’t know what to do, hehe.”

Seon Hae-cheol was so happy that the corners of his mouth were reaching his ears. How could he not be happy when he received $2.8 billion after everything was taken out?

“I was lucky. Thanks to the hedge funds running wild, I made a lot of money and didn’t tarnish my name.”

Seon Hae-cheol clicked his tongue at my indifferent expression.

“There’s never been, isn’t now, and never will be a guy like you. How much do you have to earn in one go to surprise yourself?”

“I wonder…”

I tilted my head, looking at Seon Hae-cheol.

Isn’t it capitalism that the more seed money you have, the more money you can earn? Since money is not the goal but a means, the target amount was meaningless.

Seon Hae-cheol chuckled as he watched me take a sip of tea.

“Well, what does that matter? No matter how much you earn, you’re not the type to settle down.”

“That’s right. So.”

I paused for a moment and took a breath.

“The exchange rate, will it continue to rise like this?”

“Are you asking even though you know? What for?”

“I was hoping to borrow money from the bank and buy stocks.”

Seon Hae-cheol’s eyes sparkled like a child in a toy store.

“You’re thinking of borrowing in won [Korean currency] and repaying in dollars? When the exchange rate is highest.”

That was exactly it. With the lump sum of money I earned for free in Hong Kong, I wanted to secure a large amount of stock in places that would become core companies in this country before other foreign investors could.

“Yes. I think it would be good to borrow all the money from commercial banks and buy them up. What do you think?”

“I think it’s not bad. With the head office’s reputation and the size of assets under management, we can raise about 1 to 2 trillion won.”

“Great. Let’s start by making a list and starting the work.”

We immediately began to select stocks to buy in the Korean stock market. Since this is a bargain sale season that will never come again, we will buy as many blue-chip stocks as possible.

***

While Lee Seongmin was busy preparing to enjoy the bargain sale with Seon Hae-cheol, dark clouds were gathering over Korea.

“What did the banks say?”

An executive, hesitating at Jang Ho-min’s anxious expression, opened his mouth with difficulty.

“They said it would be difficult.”

“What?”

Jang Ho-min’s face turned black. He was rejected even though he offered to buy at 200 won more than the current exchange rate of 1,000 won per dollar?

“Damn it…”

Jang Ho-min couldn’t speak and gritted his teeth.

He had to repay the $1 billion borrowed from Standard Capital in two months, but the company had only 200 billion won in cash left. If he couldn’t repay the loan, he would have to give up the petrochemical affiliates and other assets.

“What about Namdaemun or Myeongdong?” [Districts in Seoul known for informal financial markets]

It was a blow to his pride as the head of a large corporation to mention the underground financial market, but Jang Ho-min was that desperate. However, the expression of the executive in charge of those areas was not good.

“Even the black market dollar dealers and loan sharks are crying out that they don’t have dollars to sell. The lenders are even recovering the dollars they had previously brought in.”

“This can’t be…”

Jang Ho-min trailed off with a dejected expression. The fact that not only the institutional financial sector but also the underground financial market was hiding dollars meant that this situation was more serious than usual.

“You must get rid of the $1 billion loan somehow, Vice Chairman. Otherwise, construction and heavy industry may be taken over.”

“Damn it!”

Jang Ho-geon slammed the desk.

He was so happy when he swallowed Hanko Steel and created slush funds through the steel mill construction, but now his decision seemed foolish. Why did the exchange rate problem have to explode at this time?

He had to prevent the situation from worsening further. Jang Ho-min thought it would be better to solve this problem with his own hands rather than relying on the executives in front of him, so he took out his cell phone.

“Yes, this is Representative Seon. Can I go now? I understand. I’ll go now.”

Jang Ho-min jumped up from his seat, got into his car, and entered the Standard Capital office.

###

Seon Hae-cheol chuckled after ending the call with Jang Ho-min.

“That bastard Jang Ho-min is coming right now? He seems to be really sweating bullets, hehe.”

“Start the settlement as soon as he arrives, Uncle. According to the plan.”

Now the guy with the dollars is the boss. It’s time to make Jang Ho-min, who didn’t know how scary the world was and held his head high against our family, bow his head.

“Okay. I’ll sell some of my wife and squeeze him dry, hehe.”

“Claire’s ears must be itching, hehe.”

I felt sorry for Claire, but I believed she would understand since all the money earned from this deal would go to Seon Hae-cheol. We both chuckled at each other.

***

“Welcome, Vice Chairman Jang Ho-min.”

Jang Ho-min, who entered the reception room, sat down, receiving the greeting from Seon Hae-cheol, who was sitting on the sofa.

“The taste of tea you drink at Standard Capital is always good, haha.”

Jang Ho-min took a sip of tea, laughed heartily, and put down the teacup. Thinking he had shown enough composure, Jang Ho-min confidently said to Seon Hae-cheol.

“Representative Seon, the $1 billion we borrowed…”

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of delaying it any further, Vice Chairman Jang Ho-min. I have no intention of receiving repayment in won either.”

Jang Ho-min’s eyes narrowed at the first insult he had ever received, but he calmed himself and spoke once more.

“Representative Seon, this situation is temporary. Our Shinseong Construction and Shinseong Heavy Industries have order backlogs from overseas alone…”

“I know that the contract money and intermediate payments were all invested in the Shinseong Steel construction. The remaining payments will only come in from the end of next year, so what am I supposed to believe until then?”

Jang Ho-min closed his mouth at Seon Hae-cheol’s sharp retort. Wasn’t it true that he had invested everything in the Shinseong Steel construction to launder money?

Seon Hae-cheol said to Jang Ho-min in a cold voice.

“The US headquarters is taking this situation seriously. My wife at the headquarters is also urging me every day to make up for the losses this time.”

It was a lie that Claire would be shocked to hear, but Seon Hae-cheol’s urging didn’t even reach Jang Ho-min’s ears. Jang Ho-min’s mind was filled only with the thought of resolving the $1 billion loan.

“Then…”

“Please fulfill the contract as it is. The exchange rate will continue to rise, and you will have to provide additional collateral accordingly. If you don’t think you can repay it, what else can we do but sell it for scrap metal?”

At Seon Hae-cheol’s demand, Jang Ho-min looked at him with burning eyes and asked.

“Did you guys know that a foreign exchange crisis was coming?”

“What are you talking about?”

“When you were at Triumph, didn’t you fleece the Japanese bastards with currency speculation? With someone like you, the loan agreement too…!”

Seon Hae-cheol stood up to Jang Ho-min’s shouting, who had completed his self-justification in the meantime.

“Don’t exaggerate so much, Vice Chairman Jang Ho-min! According to that, we predicted not only that you would acquire Shinseong Steel a year and two months ago, but also the foreign exchange crisis, but do you think that makes sense logically? Do you think we have some kind of shaman with good spiritual powers in our company?”

Jang Ho-min had nothing to say in response to Seon Hae-cheol’s rebuttal.

There was not a single mention in the loan agreement that the loan would be used for the acquisition of Shinseong Steel, and the loan agreement was made last August, while the speculators began to move in earnest in June and July of this year. He knew very well that it didn’t make sense.

Nevertheless, Seon Hae-cheol continued his rebuttal, staring straight at Jang Ho-min, who was moving his lips because he was not in a position to be picky.

“Even if we use the fact that the $1 billion loan was made in January as a basis, it was difficult to imagine the current situation at the time of the loan agreement. Besides, wasn’t the loan started in January as compensation for mediating with Haedong Group?”

Since none of it was wrong, Jang Ho-min couldn’t stand this situation. Where did it all go wrong?

Looking at Jang Ho-min’s distorted face, Seon Hae-cheol spat out bluntly.

“I think it’s more urgent to deal with the dollar loan than to argue about right and wrong now.”

Jang Ho-min glared at Seon Hae-cheol as if to kill him. It was like lending an umbrella when the weather was good and taking it away when it was about to rain.

Seon Hae-cheol continued to say what he had to say, no matter how Jang Ho-min looked at him.

“If this situation continues, Korea’s foreign exchange reserves will soon run out, and the exchange rate will skyrocket. 1,000 won per dollar? Not even close. 1,200 won per dollar will be easily exceeded, and maybe 1,500 won, or even 2,000 won, 3,000 won will be easily exceeded.”

Jang Ho-min trembled.

Even if it was 2,000 won per dollar, as that bastard said, he would have to repay at least 1.2 trillion won even if he handed over Shinseong Oil, Shinseong Petrochemical, and Shinseong Precision Chemical. Becoming a pauper was only a matter of time.

Looking at Jang Ho-min’s face, stained with despair and anger, Seon Hae-cheol sighed and said.

“Now that it’s come to this, if you give us the petrochemical affiliates and Shinseong Steel, which are held as collateral, we’ll process the dollar loan for you.”

“Hey, Representative Seon!”

Jang Ho-min couldn’t hold back his anger and shouted. He was saying that he would eat up Shinseong Steel, which he had worked so hard to acquire, in one bite? With the petrochemical affiliates as a set!

After thinking for a moment, Jang Ho-min chuckled.

“Do you think the IMF [International Monetary Fund] will stand still? If we receive a bailout, can’t we repay it with that money?”

Jang Ho-min thought his rebuttal would work. But Seon Hae-cheol only raised the corners of his mouth while looking at Jang Ho-min.

“Blackmail is not allowed, Vice Chairman Jang Ho-min. Even if a bailout is reached, it is unknown when the dollars will come in, and even if the money comes in, which will the politicians save first, large corporations or small and medium-sized enterprises?”

Seon Hae-cheol asked back in a mean voice, and Jang Ho-min’s eyes widened.

“The, the presidential election…?”

“You know it well. Since the presidential election is just around the corner, they will try to save small and medium-sized enterprises first.”

Jang Ho-min closed his eyes.

They were the badges of Yeouido [Korean National Assembly] that would lick even shit and piss like stray dogs if it meant getting votes. It was obvious that they would turn a blind eye and pour dollars into the place that would give them more votes.

Seon Hae-cheol continued to sneer at Jang Ho-min.

“I heard that the slush funds siphoned off from the steel mill construction project alone exceeded 400 billion won. Weren’t you going to use that money to buy Shinseong Corporation and Shinseong Electronics, or Shinsegae Retail or Cheil Jedang stock?”

“H, how did you know that?”

Jang Ho-min’s mouth dropped open. How did he find out the amount of the slush fund he had created and where he was going to use it?

Seon Hae-cheol waved his hand at Jang Ho-min.

“Isn’t it obvious at a glance? Construction companies in Korea are places where slush funds are created, and everyone in the Korean business world knows that Vice Chairman Jang Ho-min has a bad relationship with his brothers.”

Looking at Jang Ho-min’s disappointed face, Seon Hae-cheol smiled faintly. He had driven him into a corner enough, so from now on, he had to soothe him and squeeze out the desired items.