The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 223

223. End of Competition (1)

It was a bewildering accident.

Jeong Hyun-woo, and everyone who heard the news, thought so.

“So, the accident itself wasn’t major, but after getting out and raising his voice, he was hit by a car coming from the opposite lane?”

The secretary bowed his head and replied.

“It was raining heavily, so the car in the opposite lane didn’t see President Jeong.”

Jeong Hyun-woo was at the Daewoon Group headquarters. As soon as he heard the news that his great-uncle, Jeong Min-seok, had been in an accident, he left the event and headed to the Daewoon Group headquarters.

“So, what’s his current condition?”

“It’s said to be critical.”

“What about his family?”

“The secretariat is confirming tickets to Singapore for the family.”

Jeong Hyun-woo immediately turned to Luna.

“We’re going to Singapore. Secure a private jet.”

He wasn’t just trying to get plane tickets; he was planning to charter a plane.

“Understood.”

Jeong Hyun-woo watched Luna leave and let out a long sigh.

“Hoo… What is going on?”

He had never imagined an ending like this.

‘Not hit by a truck… Getting angry about a minor collision and then getting hit by a car in the opposite lane.’

Do evildoers eventually get punished?

He shook his head lightly.

‘This isn’t that kind of thing.’

Jeong Hyun-woo knew that many evildoers lived long lives and died of old age.

“Hyun-woo.”

Jeong Hyun-woo turned his head and saw Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik.

“Chief Secretary?”

“So, you came too.”

“I was in Korea.”

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik was on his way back from meeting Chairman Jeong Woo-sun.

“Ha… This is really a difficult situation.”

“I’m trying to charter a plane. Will you come with me, Chief Secretary?”

“To Singapore?”

“Yes.”

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik was surprised by Jeong Hyun-woo’s extravagance but nodded.

“If I can, I should go.”

Jeong Min-seok’s accident was a misfortune for Daewoon Group, not just Daewoon Construction.

“Chief Secretary, have you heard any accurate news?”

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik shook his head and replied.

“What I know probably isn’t much different from what you know.”

All the information the secretariat had was from the Singapore branch.

Jeong Hyun-woo turned his gaze to the secretariat staff.

“What happened to the branch manager?”

“He’s said to be at the hospital.”

It was an obvious answer.

Since Jeong Min-seok was in that state, someone had to stay at the hospital.

“We need to hurry.”

He frowned.

This time, Daewoon Corporation’s Vice President, Jeong Min-young, appeared.

“Hyun-woo. Chief Secretary.”

Jeong Min-young looked flustered, as if he had heard the news later than the other two.

Jeong Hyun-woo explained to him how Jeong Min-seok had the accident and what the current situation was.

Jeong Min-young listened to his explanation and let out a long sigh.

“Hoo… Hyung [older brother] must have been agitated when he got angry.”

He thought he had driven his brother to his death.

‘To get the chairman’s seat, he ended up killing his brother.’

Jeong Min-young hadn’t suffered direct harm like Jeong Hyun-woo, so he didn’t hate Jeong Min-seok as much.

“Agitated?”

“He needed to resolve the Southeast Asian site issues as soon as possible, but then he had a minor collision. He probably tried to vent his anger on the other driver.”

He couldn’t control his anger in a desperate situation and had an accident.

“The important thing isn’t that. We need to go to Singapore quickly.”

At Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik’s words, Jeong Hyun-woo nodded.

“Let’s go and think about it there.”

Jeong Min-seok’s accident caused Daewoon Group’s schedule to be canceled one after another.

“Is Grandfather going too?”

At Jeong Hyun-woo’s question, Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik shook his head.

“The Chairman said he’s not going.”

“Yes?”

Jeong Hyun-woo asked with wide eyes, and Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik replied.

“The Chairman is an old-fashioned man. He believes that if he leaves the company because of his son, he’s not qualified to be the chairman.”

Jeong Hyun-woo thought a little differently.

‘Grandfather is afraid of witnessing his son’s death directly.’

Chairman Jeong Woo-sun had already lost his eldest son, Jeong Min-hyuk. If he lost Jeong Min-seok this time, he would be losing two of his three sons.

‘He built a company that’s among the top ten in Korea, but he can’t say his life has been a complete success since his children haven’t turned out well.’

Jeong Min-young said to everyone.

“Anyway, we need to hurry.”

At his words, Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik raised his right hand.

“Hyun-woo chartered a plane, so let’s wait.”

20 minutes later.

Luna approached and reported to Jeong Hyun-woo.

“There’s a Delta Airlines plane in Japan, so I arranged it. It can depart from Gimpo Airport in three hours.”

Jeong Hyun-woo nodded and said.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

He didn’t ask about the amount.

‘Sera will have taken care of it.’

Luna hadn’t directly called Delta Airlines to resolve this issue.

She first called the Victoria Corporation secretariat, and then Sera, the COO [Chief Operating Officer] of Victoria Corporation.

* * *

One hour before departure to Singapore.

Jeong Hyun-woo and Jeong Min-young were talking alone at Gimpo International Airport.

“The sanctions against Daewoon Construction should be lifted.”

Jeong Min-young had no objection to this opinion.

“We should.”

He felt guilty, so he hurriedly called Malaysia and Indonesia.

Both places accepted Jeong Min-young’s instructions without objection. With this, all sanctions related to Daewoon Construction were lifted.

“It’s all resolved.”

Jeong Hyun-woo nodded at Jeong Min-young’s words.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Jeong Min-young let out a long sigh.

“Haa… I never thought things would turn out like this.”

Jeong Hyun-woo said in a cold voice.

“There’s no need to feel guilty. Great-Uncle drove many people’s lives to ruin.”

The biggest victim was Jeong Hyun-woo himself.

‘If I didn’t have the memories of my past life, I would have lived as a cripple for the rest of my life.’

Jeong Min-young already knew that Jeong Hyun-woo and Jeong Min-seok didn’t have a good relationship.

“You didn’t think you’d go this far…”

Jeong Hyun-woo cut off Jeong Min-young’s words and said.

“I didn’t intend to take his life either. But I also didn’t intend to leave him alone.”

“Hyun-woo.”

“If I hadn’t succeeded in America, I might have spent my whole life in a mental hospital. I was going to give Great-Uncle back what I received.”

Jeong Min-young’s eyes widened at Jeong Hyun-woo’s words.

“Is that true?”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

Jeong Min-young’s voice trembled.

“I just…”

“To Great-Uncle, I was a threatening presence.”

The son of the dead eldest brother.

The eldest grandson of Daewoon Group.

Jeong Min-seok believed that eliminating Jeong Hyun-woo would solidify his position as successor.

“Then, lifting the sanctions this time was…?”

Jeong Hyun-woo answered his question.

“Because Grandfather shouldn’t know. That’s all.”

He had no intention of withdrawing his anger or animosity towards Jeong Min-seok.

Jeong Min-young looked at Jeong Hyun-woo turning away and thought.

‘The two of them are different from me.’

The great-uncle who tried to eliminate his nephew for power.

And the nephew who tried to take revenge on that great-uncle.

Jeong Min-young was a man who couldn’t express such intense emotions outwardly like the two of them.

One hour later.

The plane took off from Gimpo International Airport, heading for Singapore.

* * *

Sera and Robert had dinner together for the first time in a while.

“Charlie is late.”

Sera moved her knife, responding to Robert’s words.

“He went for Victoria Fund business, but it seems his family matters have become bigger.”

“Family matters…?”

“Charlie’s family runs a well-known company in Korea.”

Robert sighed briefly.

“So, he didn’t rise from the bottom.”

“Didn’t Robert already know?”

“I didn’t know the specifics.”

Unlike Sera, Robert didn’t know much about Jeong Hyun-woo’s personal life.

“When will he be back?”

“Probably early next month?”

“You mean he’ll be back in June?”

“Maybe he won’t be able to come back then either.”

A furrow appeared on Robert’s brow.

“That’s troublesome.”

Sera asked him.

“Isn’t the work that Charlie is essential for mostly related to development?”

“It’s not so much development as corporate mergers or collaborations that will be more of a problem.”

Sera stopped her knife and raised her voice at the end of her sentence.

“Are there any companies to merge with?”

“We’re continuing to buy up failing game companies and turn them into new software development teams.”

Although the North American game market was reviving, failing game companies still existed.

“Hmm, if that’s the case, Charlie is needed.”

Robert pressed down on the meat with his fork and asked.

“How is Victoria Fund doing? Isn’t that where Charlie is needed most?”

Victoria Fund’s investment in Japan was carried out with Jeong Hyun-woo’s firm will.

“Wouldn’t Mr. Peer take care of it?”

“You mean John Peer?”

“He’s the CEO [Chief Executive Officer], isn’t he?”

“That’s not like Sera.”

Sera sighed briefly at Robert’s criticism.

“Charlie is too obsessed with Japan.”

“I agree. Japan isn’t the only place to invest, is it?”

Robert thought that Europe was also a good place to invest. But Jeong Hyun-woo knew the future of Europe and Japan, so he didn’t invest much in Europe.

On the other hand, Robert was collaborating with European companies, so he hoped that Jeong Hyun-woo would increase investment in Europe.

“Still, the profits are pretty good.”

Robert moved his fork again and said.

“I heard that the profits for the first half of the year alone are several billion dollars.”

“Maybe it will exceed 5 billion dollars.”

Robert’s fork stopped.

“You mean 5 billion dollars in half a year?”

Sera replied with a hollow expression.

“Isn’t it ridiculous? How hard it was to create Victoria Corporation and exceed 100 million dollars in sales, and now it’s 5 billion dollars in just half a year.”

Robert clicked his tongue after hearing her words.

“Huh, unbelievable profits. If I had known Victoria Fund would do so well, I would have scraped together all my money and invested.”

Instead of investing in Victoria Fund, he had bought a mansion in Boston.

“But you didn’t lose out, did you?”

Robert was a major shareholder in Victoria Corporation, so he benefited as Victoria Fund’s performance grew.

“Isn’t there a difference between indirect and direct profits?”

The biggest beneficiary of Victoria Fund’s success was Sera.

She perked up slightly at the word direct profit.

“I’ll pay for dinner tonight.”

Robert smiled and accepted her words.

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all year.”

As Victoria Corporation’s stock price rose sharply, Robert also joined the ranks of billionaires, but since most of his assets were tied up in stocks, he didn’t really feel like a billionaire.

“Robert, please put in a little more effort.”

The reason Sera called him to have dinner with him today was precisely this.

She thought that there was no one as important as Robert at Victoria Corporation.

‘Charlie is next to Robert.’

Sera thought he was even more important than herself.

“Sera.”

“Yes?”

“How long do you think we’ll be successful? It seems to be getting dangerous.”

Sera thought it was an unexpected question.

“How long will we be successful?”

“There’s a saying that when the sun reaches its peak, it declines.”

Sera also knew that no company’s heyday lasts forever.

“With Charlie’s momentum, wouldn’t we hit the number one market capitalization at least once?”

As of the end of May 1986, Victoria Corporation’s stock price had surpassed $35.

As a result, Victoria Corporation’s market capitalization exceeded $70 billion, and Jeong Hyun-woo, thanks to the rise in Victoria Corporation’s stock price, was named one of the top five richest people in the United States.

“Number one in market capitalization means surpassing IBM.”

Sera asked Robert.

“Come to think of it, isn’t IBM sluggish this year?”

“Even if it’s sluggish, it’s still IBM.”

IBM was a company that produced the best computers. They were still overwhelming Apple, and they were also defending against the pursuit of build-to-order computer manufacturers such as Dell Computer.

“Even if it’s sluggish, it’s still IBM. I hope we become a company that hears such stories too.”

Sera thought that even if they came down from their heyday, there would be no rapid collapse.

‘JP Services and American Services are that solid.’

It seemed that Victoria Corporation would be with the banks for a long time.

“Sera.”

“Another question?”

“How long are you two going to live in that house? It seems to be getting dangerous.”

At Victoria Corporation, a security team was dispatched every morning for Sera and Jeong Hyun-woo.

“Are you saying that since our identities have been exposed, we should move to a fortress surrounded by walls?”

Robert answered, picking up his fork.

“I know what you two are thinking by living there. But Boston is a big city. People with various thoughts live there.”

The security team protected them from the moment they left the front door.

This meant that after the security team withdrew.

In other words, if someone broke in after the two of them got off work, there would be no one to stop them.

“That’s why there are police.”

“The police only come after an accident, don’t they?”

Robert thought that the two of them needed to live in a mansion like him.

“I’ll talk to Charlie when he gets back.”

Sera thought that Jeong Hyun-woo was unlikely to accept Robert’s advice.

‘Charlie seems to like this place.’

The next day.

Sera heard from Jeong Hyun-woo that his great-uncle had passed away.

* * *

When Jeong Hyun-woo and the Daewoon Group people arrived, Jeong Min-seok was dead.

The bereaved family members held onto his body and cried, and the Daewoon Group executives bowed their heads with a somber expression.

Jeong Min-young also bowed his head in front of his brother’s body.

Only Jeong Hyun-woo wandered outside the hospital with a bitter expression.

“Hyun-woo.”

The one who called Jeong Hyun-woo was Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik.

“Chief Secretary?”

“You don’t look good.”

“It feels like I’ve taken revenge, but I don’t feel good.”

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik raised his eyebrows and asked.

“Revenge, don’t tell me…”

Jeong Hyun-woo said with a cold smile.

“Did you think I sent a killer to kill Great-Uncle? I’m not that far. This was a complete accident.”

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik lowered his voice and said.

“I heard that Min-seok was wary of you.”

Jeong Hyun-woo hardened his face and accepted his words.

“It wasn’t just being wary, he was trying to make me a cripple.”

“What do you mean? A cripple?”

Jeong Hyun-woo told him how Jeong Min-seok used people to send him to the hospital.

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik had to bow his head after hearing his story.

“I’m sorry. I should have stopped it.”

When Jeong Hyun-woo was being harmed by Jeong Min-seok, Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik had only sent Choi Kyung-min.

“It’s not your fault, Chief Secretary. You’re busy just with company matters.”

One of Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik’s duties was to look after the Daewoon Group family.

“It’s all my fault.”

He was in a position to look after Jeong Hyun-woo after Jeong Min-hyuk died.

But he didn’t know anything until Jeong Min-seok put Jeong Hyun-woo in the hospital.

“Chief Secretary.”

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik raised his head.

“Hyun-woo. I’m ashamed of myself.”

Jeong Hyun-woo didn’t blame him.

“It’s a secret from Grandfather.”

Because knowing that his dead second son tried to harm his great-nephew wouldn’t be good for Chairman Jeong Woo-sun’s health.

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik nodded slowly at his words.

“I understand. I’ll keep it a secret from the Chairman.”

Jeong Hyun-woo sighed and said.

“Now Daewoon Group will be my little uncle’s company.”

The only son left in Daewoon Group was Jeong Min-young.

“Probably so.”

“Can Little Uncle do well?”

“Min-young may not be able to grow the company significantly, but he won’t destroy it.”

Jeong Hyun-woo knew that Daewoon Group existed in 2020 as well.

‘Like Chief Hong said, Little Uncle didn’t destroy Daewoon Group, so Daewoon Group still exists.’

But the chairman at the time wasn’t Jeong Min-young.

Looking at his age, Jeong Min-young could have led Daewoon Group well into the 2020s.

‘Something must have happened in between.’

But Jeong Hyun-woo had no way of knowing what that was.