Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 196

196. 56th. Endgame at the End of the Century (1)

As November 1999 drew to a close, I visited my grandfather.

“You’re going to America?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Grandfather listened to my answer and took a sip of the steaming black tea.

“Has what was coming finally arrived? The IT bubble, I mean.”

“Yes. Once December passes, it will be clear that the Y2K [Year 2000] scare was overblown.”

The Y2K issue, the perceived threat that computers would fail at the turn of the millennium, was the logical basis supporting the IT bubble. It would peak in the coming December. Seeing that I needed to settle the loan with JP Morgan before then, Grandfather smiled.

“I heard Chairman Shin is having a lot of trouble because of that Y2K. He’s been in an uproar since last year, saying he has to overhaul the entire computer network of the group’s affiliates, haha.”

Last year, Shin Hojin joined our group when Haedong Corporation invested 400 billion won in Central Square. He was put in charge of not only Haedong Corporation’s ‘Aqua Store’ but also the computer network, so he probably didn’t have enough manpower even if he had ten people.

“We should give my uncle a big bonus. And generously reward the programmers who worked hard below, haha.”

The conversation, which had briefly strayed, was brought back to the starting point by my grandfather.

“Anyway, the American in-law told you three years ago that the Morgan guys had about 200 billion dollars in wealth, but they must have accumulated even more by now. Haven’t speculative frenzies been happening all over the world?”

As my grandfather said, 1997 and 1998 were times of great speculation. I cautiously asked my grandfather’s worried question.

“Are you saying our ammunition might be insufficient?”

“Ammunition won’t be insufficient. Because the American in-law, the Rockefeller family, and you have joined forces. However.”

Grandfather paused and sipped his tea.

“It is said that a wise general spends three years preparing for war and ends the war within three months. If the Morgan guys prop up the stock price with money, the fight will be prolonged, and the spoils will be reduced. It might even be a victory with only scars.”

Grandfather was worried that the issue wasn’t whether we would win or lose, but that the reward would be small compared to the effort put into this, or that even if we won, it wouldn’t feel like a satisfying victory.

I was also concerned about that point, so I wanted to borrow the slush fund that my grandfather had accumulated in Triumph, but as the head of a household, I couldn’t show myself begging for help. So, I had prepared a nuclear bomb to solidify our victory, but…

‘The more bombs, the better, hehe.’

If my prepared nuclear bomb is combined with my grandfather’s slush fund, we can instantly crush the Morgan family and take everything they have. Seeing me with my mouth shut, my grandfather said with a boastful expression.

“So, this grandpa will lend you a hand.”

After a brief pause, Grandfather contacted Go Seungju.

“It’s me, Seungju. Tell Haecheol to have Henry work with that guy to manage our slush fund in Triumph. It seems like they’re going to have a big fight with Standard Capital, and I can smell money, haha.”

After telling Go Seungju only as much as necessary about the American IT bubble, Grandfather winked at me and gave another instruction.

“And guarantee Standard with A-Bulk. Yes, I’m going to support our eldest grandson and grow our money, euhehe. No, I’ll tell Haecheol about A-Bulk, so you tell three people.”

My ears perked up at the word ‘A-Bulk’ that came out during the two people’s conversation. What is it?

Seeing me blinking, Grandfather smiled mischievously and said.

“You’re curious about what A-Bulk is, aren’t you? Hehe.”

Judging by the look on his face, it seemed like a slush fund, but it didn’t seem like an ordinary slush fund. What could it be?

Seeing me trying to suppress my curiosity, Grandfather opened his mouth.

“Do you remember our family losing gold during the Korean War?”

There was no way I couldn’t remember. If we hadn’t lost that gold, we would have made a huge profit, wouldn’t we?

‘Wait? The story about gold is coming up in this context…?’

“Could it be…?”

Seeing my eyes widen, Grandfather nodded.

“A-Bulk is the money that was grown using the gold that disappeared during the war, no, the gold that was smuggled out of this country as seed money.”

This can’t be.

To have smuggled so much gold out of the country almost 50 years ago and grown it into a slush fund?

‘It’s like ‘The Sage’s Legacy’…’

The amount of gold I knew at the time was enormous, too much for a private company to smuggle out of the country.

I was speechless at the fact that they had smuggled the gold out half a century ago and grown a slush fund, and Grandfather took a sip of tea, filling his mouth.

“At the time, Haedong Corporation was headed by my late father and the late fathers of the three vice-chairmen, who served as president, vice president, executive director, and managing director. Thanks to them, we avoided the ravages of the Korean War, but the four of them were worried about what to do with the gold they had scraped together and hidden before liberation. They were very worried that even if the war ended, the country would be chaotic, and the future would be uncertain.”

I nodded involuntarily at Grandfather’s answer.

Even after the armistice agreement, South Korea was ruled for decades by soldiers wielding guns and swords. The decision made by my great-grandfather and the late senior vice-chairmen was an excellent foresight.

“Then, Grandfather, were you also serving as an interpreter officer because of…?”

Before I could finish my question, Grandfather nodded.

“Yes. It was all because of the gold. I built a relationship with the commander I served and asked him to quietly smuggle the gold out using transportation between Korea and the United States. It wasn’t free, but thanks to him, most of the gold was taken overseas.”

Grandfather took a sip of tea and continued his explanation.

“Then, as soon as the war ended, we opened a branch in New York and laundered and managed the gold taken from this land. Separately from the Haedong Group.”

I was amazed by the meticulousness of the elders at the time that Grandfather told me about. Since they hadn’t made connections with the group for decades, only a handful of people in this world would know that A-Bulk is Haedong Group’s slush fund.

After that, I was constantly surprised to hear about the secret process of creating A-Bulk and its scale, and I asked what Grandfather hadn’t said.

“Are there more people who know about the existence of A-Bulk?”

“The commander who helped us at the time quietly buried it in his heart and passed away. If you exclude that person, everyone who always gathers at this study table knows, except for you, Taejin, and your uncle.”

As expected. Weren’t those the only people Grandfather would share such an important secret with?

‘Come to think of it…’

The Haedong Scholarship Foundation, which Go Seungju was in charge of in my previous life, was well-off thanks to the huge donations coming from overseas, unlike the bankrupt Haedong Group. Now that I see it, the source of the donations that came from overseas at that time must have been A-Bulk.

‘Only me, Lee Myungjin, and Park Taejin were fools.’

But what good would it have done if I, if we, had known about the existence of A-Bulk in our previous lives?

Power given to the unprepared is worse than not being given at all. If I had known, I would have tried to take over the Shinseong Group and lost everything. It was like putting a pearl necklace on a pig.

Seeing me biting my lip in embarrassment, Grandfather gave me a soft look.

“A-Bulk must continue to be the hidden pillar of our family forever. That’s why we didn’t bring the money directly and only set up a guarantee. It was the same during the Kobe earthquake.”

My mouth opened slightly at Grandfather’s words, but I soon closed it and nodded.

‘What was awkward is now falling into place.’

During the Kobe earthquake [Great Hanshin earthquake], Haedong Corporation’s New York branch received an almost impossible amount of loans from various banks on Wall Street and made huge profits by betting on the appreciation of the yen.

The corners of my mouth rose without me realizing it, and Grandfather chuckled at my appearance.

“Hehe, are you that happy, you rascal?”

“There’s nothing better for a businessman than having a lot of capital. But I won’t be presumptuous, Grandfather.”

Whether it’s recklessness or whatever, you should only take as much as you can handle. Wasn’t I reborn in this life after being greedy beyond my means? Grandfather gave me a satisfied look.

“That’s right. A businessman must make money, but if he can’t restrain himself, he’s bound to ruin his family. Now that those words have come out of our eldest grandson’s mouth, I believe you’ll do well, euhehe.”

Grandfather laughed like that and decided to lend me the power of A-Bulk. Now that I had a sure-win joker in my hand, there was nothing to fear.

***

After getting help from my grandfather, I called Park Taejin to my Itaewon house and had tea. It was in the morning, so I told him about A-Bulk in the house where only the two of us were, and Park Taejin’s mouth dropped open.

“I, is that true, Director?”

“Yes. My grandfather and the three vice-chairmen were the managers in the past, and now the head of headquarters and my uncle are in charge. The decision on whether to use it and the scale is decided by the agreement of the six people.”

A-Bulk, which exists in the form of various deposits, securities, artworks, and real estate, was operated around numerous paper companies in tax havens around the world.

Its scale was beyond the imagination of me and Park Taejin. Starting with my grandfather, who was the first manager, it had been accumulated for decades by Bae Jaehoon, Tae Jaeho, Jo Youngchan, and Go Seungju, so how could it not be…?

‘I still have a long way to go to catch up with my grandfather and the elders.’

I tasted a sense of defeat that made me laugh bitterly, but I felt more at ease. With the power of A-Bulk and Standard, no matter who touches the Haedong Group in Korea, they can pay more than that, right? But I’m not going to settle for that.

Park Taejin, who was smiling at me, opened his mouth.

“I also didn’t think it was right that the gold disappeared at the time… I think we should thank the first chairman and other elders in heaven.”

“I agree. The preparations for the war in the United States are all done with this… I have to finish the preparations in Korea too.”

Park Taejin’s eyes narrowed at the task I presented.

“Are you planning to recover all the money that Haedong Venture has invested?”

“We invested in line with government policies, but if the IT bubble bursts, it will be worthless stock. The amount of money we invested isn’t much, but it’s Haedong Securities and Haedong Merchant Bank’s precious money, so we need to recover it quickly.”

There’s nothing more shameful than the companies with Haedong’s name on them, especially the financial companies where I’m the largest shareholder, making losses from investments. Seeing my firm expression, Park Taejin nodded.

“Of course, Director. How are you going to handle the liquidation?”

“Let’s handle it with a public sale. We’ll liquidate everything except for two portals and two game companies. We’ll also liquidate the investments made by Standard.”

I thought about letting the Jang siblings pester my father-in-law and hand it over to i-Shinseong, which they founded, to make them eat dirt, but that wasn’t a good idea. If I keep feeding them dirt, won’t those guys learn? More than anything…

‘Right now, I need to take care of Jang Hokyung and Jang Homin first. I-Shinseong will fail spectacularly even if I leave it alone, so it’s just stirring up trouble.’

The Jang siblings are going to fail anyway. Instead of poking around at this guy and that guy, it’s more efficient to catch and deal with them one by one.

***

After discussing the preparations for the US trip with Park Taejin, I visited Jang Hayeon.

“I have to go on a business trip to the United States for about two months this time, and my grandfather told me to take you with me.”

“Grandfather?”

Jang Hayeon, who was sitting on the sofa feeding Hyunbin in her arms with formula, blinked at me.

“The money that our group and our family entrusted to Standard has grown quite a bit, right? You know?”

Jang Hayeon made a sulky face at me as I spoke with my chest puffed out.

“I know very well, Lee Sungmin. Our family would be shocked if they knew, hehe.”

“After this business trip, we’ve decided to proceed with the overseas projects that have been put on hold. He also told me to look into good hotels in New York for the Korea Hotel, so let’s go comfortably. Let’s also see my uncle and Claire.”

Jang Hayeon smiled at the suggestion I made.

“Okay. It’ll be fun since my uncle and Claire are also raising children. But…”

Jang Hayeon, who had paused for a moment, asked me.

“What about Senior? If you go, Senior has to go too, but Hyunjeong unnie…”

Since Park Taejin lives in our neighborhood, Jang Hayeon and Yoo Hyunjeong often hang out together. As working moms and people who know me and Park Taejin well, they had a strong sense of camaraderie, so she seemed a little sad.

I waved my hand at Jang Hayeon.

“Don’t worry. Hyung is going with his wife too.”

“Really?”

“Both you and Manager Yoo are on childcare leave until next year. When else would three couples gather in New York like this?”

Since Park Taejin and I returned from our business trip to China, Haedong Group has implemented a group-wide policy to encourage childbirth, increasing the existing childcare leave from one year to two years and even paying childcare allowances.

So, if it wasn’t for this time, there would be almost no chance for the three couples to gather in New York, so we had to see each other when we could. Aren’t they people we should get along with in the future?

***

Some time later.

After completing all the preparations, Park Taejin and I took our wives and children on a flight to New York.

We booked all the first-class seats in case the children cried in the middle, and we arrived at Sun Haecheol and Claire’s penthouse on 5th Avenue in Manhattan without causing any inconvenience. The couples sat on the sofa and talked.

“I never thought we would be talking about childcare with our children like this, haha.”

While I was laughing and drinking juice, Sun Haecheol also smiled.

“I know, haha. Thanks to you, I also took childcare leave and only go to the company occasionally to work, hehe.”

“We’re planning to use it in order. My wife is eager to go to work quickly, hehe.”

All three of us had different styles, but our hearts for our partners and children were the same. After that, we talked for a while, and then the men went into the study.

“Claire knows too, right? About Grandfather agreeing to help.”

Unlike in the living room, Sun Haecheol also straightened his expression at my question, which had wiped away his smile, and nodded.

“Of course. The chairman also told me that he would move the group’s slush fund in Triumph and guarantee Standard with A-Bulk. We can get a loan guarantee at any time.”

Seeing Park Taejin trying to suppress his excitement, Sun Haecheol gave a cold smile.

“I did it perfectly. WorldCom, Enron, Global Crossing… Arthur Andersen is also involved with those trashy guys, so it’s very easy to blow it up. The IT bubble will definitely collapse.”

While Park Taejin and I were taking care of Haedong Group’s business and Standard Capital’s investment in China in Korea, Sun Haecheol and Claire were digging into the dirty deals of WorldCom, Enron, Global Crossing, and their external auditor Arthur Andersen at the US headquarters.

As a result, they secured everything from data hiding deficiencies through shell companies to testimonies from whistleblowers. If those data are revealed to the world, the IT bubble will definitely collapse, and the IT stocks we’re going to throw at JP Morgan will become worthless before they can even be sold.

“If we and Henry short the stock market there, and Isaac declares the acquisition of JP Morgan with Chase Manhattan at the forefront, the Morgan family is finished, hehe.”

JP Morgan and the Morgan family, who have dominated Wall Street with money.

I couldn’t stop laughing at the thought of cutting off that great JP Morgan and the Morgan family with my own hands.