The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 20

Villain of a Conglomerate Family – Who is the Real Villain? 03 –

***

After being discharged from the hospital, Jung Hyun-woo turned on the computer for the first time.

Beep beep.

The computer screen lit up with a buffering sound.

‘Should I switch to a color monitor?’

However, color monitors at that time weren’t great for eye health.

It wasn’t much different from a TV screen made of a cathode-ray tube [an older type of display technology].

Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

Before he could even tap the keyboard a few times, the doorbell rang.

“Did Secretary Choi contact me?”

Since his hospitalization, Sera had volunteered to be his guardian.

Tuk. Tuk.

A brisk walking sound.

Sera was coming up to the second floor.

Tuk. Tuk.

“It’s me.”

Jung Hyun-woo turned around and answered.

“Come in.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Sera opened the door and stepped inside.

“Peter called yesterday.”

A call from Wall Street legend Peter Lynch.

Jung Hyun-woo perked up his ears.

“Peter did?”

“Atari’s IPO (Initial Public Offering) has been canceled again.”

There were usually two reasons why an IPO would be canceled. The first was if the company’s performance was worse than expected, in which case the IPO was usually postponed until the company’s performance improved.

The second was when the value measured by the securities company was lower than the company expected.

In this case, the listing had to be postponed until the company’s value increased.

So, for what reason did Atari postpone its IPO?

‘Inventory is piling up, and sales are sluggish, so it’s likely the former.’

If the listing was postponed for the former reason, it meant that the Atari shock [a major crash in the video game industry in the early 1980s] would soon erupt.

“What’s the reason?”

“It’s highly likely that their performance isn’t good.”

It was indeed the former.

“Then······.”

“Let’s bet more.”

Victoria Fund’s short selling was reaching $4 million.

“Are you going to all-in the remaining money?”

Sera shook her head at his question.

“All-in is dangerous. Let’s add another $1 million.”

That meant shorting a total of $5 million.

Just in terms of the short selling amount, it was a small hedge fund level.

“Did you check the inventory?”

“Before coming here, I visited all six game shops in Boston, of course.”

“Just Boston might be difficult.”

“I also checked with New York over the phone. The situation is similar to here.”

Sera was moving quickly. That was because her fate was also at stake with Victoria Fund.

“Then do as Sera says.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m the one who suggested short selling.”

Instead of getting up right away, Sera took out a document from her bag.

“What is this?”

“Investigation data.”

“Investigation data?”

“About your incident.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head.

“You investigated this much?”

“I thought it wasn’t a small incident.”

Sera showed enthusiasm by even hiring a private detective to investigate his case.

The materials she presented were mostly written by the private detective and his secretary.

“Most of them are surveys.”

“Here, five people gave the same answer.”

The common answer from the boys who fought with Jung Hyun-woo was that they divided the money.

“Are you saying that they divided the $10,000 someone gave them and had a fight?”

“No, since they couldn’t sell you the drugs, they didn’t receive $10,000, but they divided the $1,000 they received as a down payment.”

Down payment and success fee.

Just looking at this, he could tell that the other party wasn’t doing it as a joke.

“Who ordered it is important.”

“Amon Perric. An Irish-American, 43 years old.”

“Pardon?”

“A retired police officer. He was fired for bad behavior.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head.

“Why would a retired police officer do that to me?”

He expected an Asian person related to the Daewoon Group. But the culprit was an Irish-American retired police officer, not an Asian.

“To put it simply, he’s a headhunter.”

“Yes?”

“He’s someone who gets paid to do various behind-the-scenes work.”

Jung Hyun-woo’s eyes narrowed.

“So, it’s true that someone instigated it.”

“I couldn’t find out exactly who instigated it. Because to investigate that far, I’d have to shake down Perric.”

The private detective Sera hired was someone who collected information, not someone who solved cases.

“It’s obvious that it’s someone from my family.”

“Can’t you think of anyone?”

“Well.”

He hadn’t met anyone from the Jung family since he woke up, so there was no way he would know.

‘Besides, I can’t completely trust Secretary Choi either.’

Choi Kyung-min was a diligent person. But he couldn’t see into his heart.

‘It’s not good to suspect people, but there’s always a what-if in the world.’

Sera raised her right index finger.

“Charlie, this is a fight for your life.”

In the United States, contract killings often occurred.

‘Well, it’s not like they don’t exist in Korea either.’

Jung Hyun-woo nodded at her advice.

“I’ll be careful.”

Sera lowered her right index finger and asked.

“What are you going to do from now on?”

“What do you mean, what?”

“It might be dangerous to continue going to school.”

Sera seemed to be thinking a bit too much.

‘There are no cases of contract killings occurring in Korean conglomerate families.’

He thought that if someone had done something in Korea, it would be to damage his reputation.

‘In fact, Jung Hyun-woo went to jail a few times, but he didn’t die.’

Jung Hyun-woo was still alive and well even in the 21st century. So, he didn’t have to worry about being killed either.

‘Of course, I can’t just let my guard down. They could stage an accident.’

He put his hands together and said.

“I’m thinking of dropping out.”

“If you drop out, are you going back to Korea?”

If Jung Hyun-woo returned to Korea, Victoria Fund’s existence would be in danger.

“I’m thinking about that too.”

For a moment, a shadow fell over Sera’s face.

Jung Hyun-woo saw it and forced a smile.

“Sera, I’m not going back completely. I’m just going to get my GED [General Educational Development test, a high school equivalency diploma] and come back.”

At his words, Sera’s face brightened again.

“Are you planning to go to college in America?”

“Of course.”

Korea was not a welcome country for the ugly duckling of the Jung family.

And for the time being, there was much more to do in the United States.

“That’s a relief.”

Sera really thought that Jung Hyun-woo might just go back to Korea.

“With Victoria Fund here, how could I just go back?”

Sera smiled brightly.

“Right?”

“It’s the final chapter now, isn’t it?”

The Atari shock was heading towards its peak.

‘It’ll be a year at most.’

Even if the Atari shock lasted another year, it wouldn’t be bad.

‘The Zero Space series will sell more.’

He was even thinking of producing Zero Space 3 in Korea.

‘This time, it would be good to add specific characters to give it impact.’

Jung Hyun-woo was an investor and a developer at the same time.

“Oh, and I’d like you to clear your schedule for this Thanksgiving holiday.”

“Thanksgiving holiday?”

“You promised to go to my house.”

He had promised to meet Sera’s father and greet him.

“Don’t worry. If I drop out, all I’ll have is time.”

“Then I’ll keep that in mind.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded in response.

And a few days later,

He boarded a plane to Korea.

This was something neither Sera nor Jung Hyun-woo had expected.

***

“You must act as politely as possible when you see the Chairman.”

The one giving Jung Hyun-woo advice disguised as a warning was Hong Won-ik, the Chief of Staff of Daewoon Group.

“Is meeting my grandfather that difficult?”

A blunt remark.

Hong Won-ik immediately frowned.

“The Chairman is a very important person.”

“I know that the Chairman of Daewoon Group is important. But he’s my grandfather.”

Chief Hong Won-ik sighed involuntarily, thinking that he was taking Chairman Jung Woo-sun lightly.

“The Chairman is not just your grandfather.”

Jung Hyun-woo shrugged.

“Hey, there are many richer people in America. I’ve met them.”

It wasn’t a lie.

He had met Peter Lynch, the legend of Wall Street.

However, Chief Hong Won-ik’s face was slowly collapsing.

‘This guy······.’

Many students who studied in the United States took Korea lightly. He thought that Jung Hyun-woo had been tainted by them.

‘Did we send him to America wrong?’

Jung Hyun-woo’s light words were all acting. In reality, he was nervous.

‘If I make a mistake in front of Chairman Jung, I won’t be able to undo it.’

The reason he boarded a plane to Korea was all because of Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s wishes.

“The Chairman is not just a rich man.”

“Chief, I’m not a child.”

16 years old by international standards.

17 years old by Korean age.

In Korean schools, he would be a first-year high school student.

“You brat.”

Choi Kyung-min, sitting in the passenger seat, was restless.

‘Why is Young Master acting like this?’

He knew the usual Jung Hyun-woo.

Jung Hyun-woo was a bit sharp, but he was a more calm and mature boy than anyone else.

But today, he was raising his needles like a hedgehog meeting an enemy.

Jung Hyun-woo asked Chief Hong Won-ik.

“Why don’t you tell me the reason, Chief?”

“The reason?”

“The reason you called me to Korea.”

Chief Hong Won-ik sighed deeply.

‘Hoo…. Do I really have to tell you that?’

Jung Hyun-woo not only caused an accident at a private school but also declared that he would drop out.

At that moment, Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s scolding fell, and Chief Hong Won-ik had no choice but to make a phone call to the United States.

Squeak.

Before Chief Hong Won-ik could speak, the car stopped.

“Chief, we’ve arrived.”

Jung Hyun-woo looked up at Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s Pyeongchang-dong residence [an affluent neighborhood in Seoul] and said.

“The house is small.”

To Chief Hong Won-ik, his words sounded like a declaration of war.