The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 158

Highway (3)

The reporters quickened their pace, flocking to City Center.

“Hurry!”

“We’ll miss the scoop!”

“Damn it… Why didn’t they tell us sooner!”

Some shouted, while others frowned.

“Where is the conference room?”

The City Center employees stationed on the first floor were equally confused.

“The conference room is on the 21st floor.”

A man next to the desk clerk raised his voice in response.

“The 21st floor is for meetings. The presentation is on the 22nd floor. Please go to the 22nd floor.”

The reporter nodded at the man’s reply.

“22nd floor, got it.”

City Center employees tried to guide the reporters by creating a line in front of the elevators. However, the reporters surged forward, ignoring the attempt.

“It’s the 22nd floor!”

“Let’s go to the 22nd floor!”

The reporters quickly occupied the area in front of the elevators, effectively paralyzing half of the City Center building.

Seeing this, the City Center employees shook their heads.

“What a mess.”

“What kind of conference is it, all of a sudden?”

“I have no idea.”

“It’s always difficult when Mr. Mount comes to work.”

The City Center employees grumbled as they began to set up the line again.

The reporters crammed into the elevators as soon as they arrived.

Because of them, the City Bank employees had to endure the inconvenience of waiting.

“Something’s happening on the 22nd floor.”

“I heard there’s a meeting that the CEO is attending today.”

“Then something must have been decided at that meeting.”

“It must be.”

Like the City Center employees, the City Bank employees clicked their tongues at the sudden schedule change.

22nd floor.

The spacious hall was large enough to accommodate 300 people at once. However, its visibility was limited due to the pillars placed throughout the room.

CEO Moses Mount smiled wryly as he watched the reporters flood in.

“Thanks to you, the reporters seem busy.”

Jung Hyun-woo looked at them, trying to gather his thoughts.

“The signing will have a greater impact if it’s done in front of everyone, don’t you think?”

“You’re planning to use this deal for the IPO [Initial Public Offering – the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public for the first time].”

“Anyone would have done the same in my position.”

Moses Mount figured that Jung Hyun-woo had called the reporters to increase the value of Victoria Corporation.

‘If news of the deal with us comes out right before the IPO, the company’s value will increase significantly.’

It would increase the company’s value by at least $1 billion, and possibly more than $5 billion.

“The event will begin in 5 minutes.”

The reporters immediately began firing questions at the words of the City Bank employee.

“What event is it?”

“We need to know what kind of event it is to cover it!”

“Tell us right now.”

The City Bank employee’s eyes widened as he realized that the reporters had come without knowing what kind of event it was.

“You came here without even knowing what kind of event it is?”

“We just rushed here because we heard there was a big story.”

The reporters standing behind also raised their voices.

“We came because we heard there was a major announcement from City Bank.”

“Same here. They didn’t explain what it was.”

The employee sighed inwardly.

‘Sigh… The PR department must have omitted the explanation in their haste to send out the notice quickly.’

He told the reporters with a helpless expression.

“There will be a formal contract signing between City Bank and Victoria Corporation shortly.”

The reporters raised their eyebrows at his explanation.

“So, Victoria Corporation is the main event today?”

“If Victoria Corporation and City Bank are signing a contract, is it an equity agreement?”

Economic reporters knew that JP Morgan and Bank of America had acquired shares of Victoria Corporation.

‘Is City Bank also acquiring shares of Victoria Corporation, following those two companies?’

If City Bank were to acquire shares of Victoria Corporation, it would inevitably have a significant impact on the value of Victoria Corporation.

“It is not an equity acquisition agreement.”

The reporters buzzed at the employee’s answer.

“Then what kind of agreement is it?”

“Is it related to Victoria Corporation’s next-generation service?”

The employee told the reporters everything he knew.

“The agreement today is about City Service.”

The reporters looked at each other.

“City Service?”

“It’s probably a stock search program like JP Service or American Service.”

“Even if it’s not an equity acquisition, Victoria Corporation’s value will increase again.”

“Victoria Corporation will be the main event today, not City Bank.”

While the reporters were discussing the agreement, 5 minutes had passed.

“We will begin now.”

Cleanly printed contracts were placed on the prepared table. Immediately after, City Bank executives appeared one after another.

Quick-witted reporters could tell that almost all of City Bank’s executives had gathered.

“The CEO is showing up in person.”

“Is the City Service agreement important enough for the CEO to attend?”

During the deal with JP Morgan, Neil Hamilton handled everything. Arthur Morgan had never shown his face at any of the deals with Victoria Corporation.

“They must be conscious of Bank of America.”

“Chairman Carlo Giannini, you mean?”

“That’s right.”

“But that was an equity agreement, not the American Service agreement.”

With a deal involving billions of dollars, it wouldn’t be strange for the CEO of Bank of America to attend.

“Then there might be something more than just the City Service agreement.”

While the reporters were talking, City Bank’s CEO Moses Mount appeared.

“It’s CEO Moses.”

“Really. CEO Moses is here.”

“The person behind him is Charlie Jung from Victoria Corporation.”

The reporters couldn’t help but tilt their heads, seeing that Victoria Corporation’s side was understaffed.

“It doesn’t seem like an equity acquisition agreement.”

“They said it wasn’t earlier.”

“I thought there would be something big, though.”

The most famous person at Victoria Corporation was COO [Chief Operating Officer] Robert.

However, neither Robert nor CFO [Chief Financial Officer] Sarah attended this event.

* * *

30 minutes ago.

After completing the legal review, Jung Hyun-woo called Victoria Corporation headquarters.

“Sarah, has she returned?”

The person who answered the phone was Robert’s secretary, Amanda.

“Ms. Hilton has not returned yet.”

“Is that so?”

Jung Hyun-woo sounded disappointed.

‘I wish I could talk to Sarah before signing.’

Amanda asked him.

“Mr. Jung, if you have anything to leave, I’ll make a note of it.”

“No, I’ll call again in 10 minutes.”

Just as Jung Hyun-woo was about to hang up, Amanda raised her voice.

“Just a moment.”

She looked around and said to Jung Hyun-woo.

“She’s here.”

“Sarah?”

“Yes. She’s just arrived at the entrance with Robert, greeting the employees.”

“Then I’ll wait.”

Amanda quickly ran to Sarah and informed her that Jung Hyun-woo had called.

“It’s Mr. Jung’s call.”

Sarah nodded and quickened her pace. A few seconds later, she picked up the phone.

“Charlie?”

Jung Hyun-woo said to her in a bright voice.

“Sarah, things with City Bank have worked out well.”

“The negotiations went well?”

“Yes. Mr. Mount accepted our demands.”

Sarah received his words with an even brighter tone.

“That’s great!”

It was a level of enthusiasm that was completely different from Jung Hyun-woo’s lukewarm voice yesterday.

Jung Hyun-woo scratched his head at her bright voice.

“So, I’m thinking of signing the contract today.”

Sarah immediately raised her eyebrows upon hearing his words.

“What! You’re signing the contract?”

What contract was he talking about signing?

Jung Hyun-woo had not brought the contract with him.

Sarah asked, her eyebrows still raised.

“Did they draft the contract over there?”

“Yes. They said they would draft the contract right after reviewing our conditions.”

Sarah lowered the tone of her voice.

“Charlie, signing the contract today seems a bit hasty, don’t you think?”

Jung Hyun-woo knew what she was worried about, which was why he had called.

If possible, he would have sought her consent in advance. But while he was meeting with Moses Mount, she was flying.

In the 21st century, it was possible to communicate via the internet even on airplanes, but with the current technology in 1985, it was impossible.

“It’s okay. The contract details have already been agreed upon.”

“Still.”

Sarah thought they should approach it more cautiously.

“We need to get a legal review on our side too.”

“We already did a legal review before presenting the conditions.”

Jung Hyun-woo had received a legal review before presenting the conditions to City Bank.

‘Of course, that alone won’t satisfy Sarah.’

As he expected, Sarah raised her voice.

“No, I’m talking about the contract!”

City Bank could have changed the details while drafting the contract.

That was what she was pointing out.

“They wouldn’t change the details, would they?”

Jung Hyun-woo had considered that possibility as well. However, he thought it was unlikely that they would play such tricks on such an important deal.

“They might change it.”

Sarah thought that the people of Wall Street could never be trusted.

‘You’ll get burned if you let your guard down.’

It was when she narrowed her brows.

“Sarah, it seems like it’s almost time.”

Sarah thought that Jung Hyun-woo was pretending and trying to hang up the phone because he was at a disadvantage.

“It’s almost time, my foot!”

She thought she had to stop this contract at all costs.

At that moment, Jung Hyun-woo lowered his voice as if he had taken a sigh of relief.

“No, it looks like the reporters are coming.”

“Reporters?”

“I’m thinking of signing the contract and doing an interview.”

Sarah said with force in her voice.

“Send them all back.”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head at her request.

“I can’t do that. It’ll be an important press conference.”

An important press conference.

Was he going to talk about starting a new business with City Bank?

Sarah guessed that wasn’t the case.

“Charlie.”

Jung Hyun-woo said in a firm voice.

“Sarah, don’t worry too much. I’m just going to talk about something I’ve been thinking about for a long time in front of the reporters.”

“Something you’ve been thinking about for a long time?”

“The road to the future.”

Sarah knew that Jung Hyun-woo had founded Victoria Corporation to open the road to the future, not just for money.

“Okay. I’ll trust Charlie this time.”

Jung Hyun-woo realized that her voice had softened and said in a gentle voice.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t call you in advance.”

Sarah sighed briefly.

“It can’t be helped. You were in transit.”

“I’ll never let you down.”

“I believe in Charlie.”

As if someone was calling him, Jung Hyun-woo’s voice faded away.

“Sarah, I’ll tell you more when I get back.”

“Okay.”

The phone hung up at the same time as her answer.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Sarah couldn’t put down the phone with the monotonous beeping sound and sighed deeply.

“Sigh… Should I have gone with him?”

It was when she lowered her head.

Robert belatedly approached and asked.

“Sarah, what’s wrong?”

Sarah answered without raising her head.

“Charlie said he’s going to sign the contract today.”

Robert’s eyebrows shot up in an instant.

“Today?”

“It seems City Bank is rushing the contract because they made a good offer on their side.”

“Is that okay?”

Robert thought it was unlike Jung Hyun-woo.

“Charlie’s here, so we have to trust Charlie this time.”

“Still, a little…”

This doesn’t seem right.

Robert wanted to say this. But knowing Sarah’s firm belief in Jung Hyun-woo, he swallowed his words.

“Charlie said he’s going to do an interview in front of the reporters.”

Robert raised his eyebrows again at her words.

“Charlie’s doing an interview?”

Jung Hyun-woo didn’t like interviews. So, Robert had to go on TV talk shows or magazine interviews instead.

‘There’s something going on.’

He was curious as to why Jung Hyun-woo was even doing an interview.

“He said he’d call again. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Sarah was also curious as to why Jung Hyun-woo was even doing an interview.

‘He wouldn’t have called the reporters just to talk about the road to the future.’

She wanted to know what had changed Jung Hyun-woo’s mind.

* * *

The voice of the City Bank employee in charge of the proceedings echoed through the hall filled with reporters.

“Now, we will sign the contract for the last time.”

As Moses Mount picked up the pen and signed the contract, flashes went off from all directions.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

And at the same time, the sound of camera shutters moving could be heard.

Click. Click.

Moses Mount finished signing with smooth movements, as if he was used to all of this.

“Now it’s your turn.”

It was Jung Hyun-woo’s turn this time. He picked up the pen and stepped forward. Then, without any hesitation, he moved the pen.

Swish.

When he put down the pen, the flashes went off again.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

Jung Hyun-woo did not avoid the cameras. He faced the cameras with a bright face.

‘We need to make the media our allies.’

He knew how important the media was in events like IPOs.

“Next, there will be speeches from the CEOs of both companies.”

The first to grab the microphone was Moses Mount. He looked around and began to speak leisurely.

“I am honored to be here at City Center to speak to you, ladies and gentlemen.”

He praised the reporters and the media, then praised Victoria Corporation and their technology. Finally, he said that they would provide new services together with Victoria Corporation.

It could be said that it was an excellent speech for something prepared impromptu.

“Next is Charlie Jung, CEO of Victoria Corporation.”

Jung Hyun-woo grabbed the microphone and cleared his throat.

“Ah, ah.”

The reporters tilted their heads at the sight of a young man who was only twenty years old grabbing the microphone.

“Won’t the speech be ordinary?”

“It’s too much to expect a computer genius to give a speech.”

“But Bill did well.”

“Bill was older than that guy.”

The Bill mentioned by the reporters was the famous Bill Gates. Bill Gates had a history of entertaining reporters with his fluent speech.

“Yeah, not everyone can do as well as Bill.”

“It would be nice if he could just say a few more words so we can write an article.”

Jung Hyun-woo took a deep breath and began his speech.

“Today, our company has welcomed its third partner. First of all, I would like to thank them for their choice.”

The start wasn’t bad.

“We will be creating a new service with City Bank. And we will be providing that service to our customers within six months.”

The reporters nodded as Jung Hyun-woo specified the time frame of six months.

“They’re starting the service within six months. It’s good that they told us the time.”

“His pronunciation isn’t as bad as I thought.”

Jung Hyun-woo’s speech continued.

“City Bank’s customers will be satisfied with the service we provide. They will receive the best service in the world and will be with the most advanced technology in the world.”

The middle part of the speech was ordinary. He explained the advantages of City Service in general.

Soon, the speech entered the final stage.

“Technology is now moving from offline to online. Wall Street’s financial firms will not be able to ignore this wave. In the next 5 years, the number of companies that will join us will increase to dozens.”

The reporters began to buzz at Jung Hyun-woo’s words.

“Dozens of partners?”

“There are only three right now, including City Bank.”

“That’s right. How are they going to do that in 5 years?”

“Isn’t it just bluffing? Victoria Corporation has only added one company each year.”

Jung Hyun-woo’s speech continued.

“Instead of providing customized services to companies around the world, we will provide an improved modular system. And companies will be able to provide excellent service to their customers by entering data into that modular system.”

A new modular system.

The reporters exclaimed.

“Victoria Corporation is making something amazing.”

“Does that mean they’re saving time by modularizing it?”

“Will that work?”

Jung Hyun-woo said with force in his voice.

“Our Victoria Corporation will develop a modular system within 3 years. We have no doubt that this system we are developing is a highway to the future.”

Moses Mount smiled gently as he listened to his speech.

‘A modular system. He called the reporters to talk about that.’

He thought that the modular system was a good material to attract everyone’s attention, regardless of its practicality.