The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 265

265. Tokyo Blues (1)

Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.

A man sat, legs spread wide, watching beautiful women perform a fan dance.

“Come on! Shake it! Shake it more!”

His eyes were so glazed over, one might suspect he was high.

“Good! Good! Feeling great!”

The man clapped his hands and opened a box beside him, scattering banknotes.

“Here! Here! Take as much as you want!”

The banknotes were 10,000 yen bills.

At the time, 10,000 yen was a considerable sum, equivalent to about 30% of a Korean teacher’s monthly salary.

“Wow! You’re the best, Boss!”

Not only the women but even the bartenders scrambled to pick up the bills.

“It’s raining money!”

“Woo-hoo! Money is pouring from the sky!”

The man reached out and caressed a woman’s back.

“Ah!”

As the woman turned her head, the man said,

“You’re the one tonight.”

He was choosing women as if selecting items at a supermarket. Yet, the woman didn’t push him away or get angry.

The man was a wealthy figure, famous for extravagant spending even during Tokyo’s bubble economy. Capturing his heart could earn someone millions of yen in a single night.

“Really?”

Just as the woman’s eyes sparkled,

“Everyone, clear the area.”

Men in black sunglasses appeared through the crowd.

People quickly stepped back upon seeing them.

The man scattering money narrowed his brows.

“What is it? Are you Yakuza [Japanese organized crime syndicate]?”

He didn’t seem afraid of them at all.

“Mr. Tanaka, someone wants to see you.”

“Tell them to come here!”

The man showed no intention of getting up.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that.”

As the men in sunglasses approached, the man resisted, scattering more money.

“Do you know who I am? I am Tanaka!”

The men picked him up and carried him out of the room.

One hour later.

Yu Tanaka stared at the middle-aged man sitting across from him with hazy eyes.

‘Tch, he’s not Japanese.’

He frowned and asked in English,

“Who are you?”

The middle-aged man smiled slightly.

“Are you Tanaka? I’m from Morgan Stanley.”

Morgan Stanley.

A famous American investment bank and rival of JP Morgan.

“Morgan Stanley?”

Yu Tanaka gradually regained his senses.

“I have something I want to discuss with you.”

The middle-aged man had a stern look and broad shoulders, exuding a macho aura.

“You want to talk to me?”

“Your reputation precedes you.”

“I don’t owe anyone money. All the money I spend is my own.”

“I’m not saying you’re in debt. I just want to talk about business.”

Yu Tanaka spread his legs and said,

“You kidnap someone like this and then want to talk business?”

The middle-aged man smiled.

“Then should I have seduced you with a beautiful woman and brought you here?”

Yu Tanaka clicked his tongue.

“Forget it. Let’s skip the James Bond fantasies. Reality isn’t 007.”

Focus returned to his eyes. As he drank the cold water in front of him, the middle-aged man asked,

“Are you sober now?”

“Somewhat.”

“How are things going with Victoria Fund?”

Yu Tanaka frowned.

“You’re trying to threaten me, but it won’t work.”

“I never thought of threatening you. I just want to let you know that there are other paths for you.”

“Other paths?”

The middle-aged man nodded.

“There are rumors that Victoria Fund is withdrawing from Japan.”

Yu Tanaka sobered up completely.

“W-Where did you hear that?”

The withdrawal of Victoria Fund was being kept a secret.

‘It’s confidential and hasn’t been mentioned in the media yet…’

The middle-aged man said with a subtle smile.

“I hope we want the same thing.”

Yu Tanaka felt suffocated by his smile.

‘Who the hell is this guy!’

He thought he had run into serious trouble.

* * *

October 1987.

After handing over many tasks to the executives, Jung Hyun-woo was enjoying a relaxed autumn.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been able to rest like this.”

Sera was with him.

“It’s autumn; shall we go to a ball?”

“There’s a ball?”

“Of course, there is.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded, imagining Sera in a dress.

“Hmm, that doesn’t sound bad. The venue for the ball isn’t in Boston, is it?”

Sera smiled brightly and nodded.

“Of course.”

“Oh, so we have to go all the way to Texas.”

Jung Hyun-woo pictured the luxurious parties in the southern United States.

‘There might be KKK [Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist hate group] members at the party.’

Of course, now that he had entered mainstream American society, he was unlikely to be attacked by the KKK.

However, the way people looked at him was different from Boston or New York.

“There are balls in New York too.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head.

“There’s really such a gathering in New York?”

“There’s a social gathering in Manhattan that Aria attends.”

“A party for the rich, you mean.”

“Everyone will be happy if Charlie attends.”

“Is America’s number one richest man finally attending?”

Sera poked Jung Hyun-woo’s nose.

“Aren’t you embarrassed to say that yourself?”

“I’ve endured for a year. I want to give myself some praise.”

Jung Hyun-woo had been the richest man in the world for a year.

‘I don’t know what will happen next year.’

The Japanese bubble was growing rapidly, and seven of the world’s top ten companies were Japanese.

He thought it wouldn’t be strange if one of the Japanese company owners took the world number one title.

Just as he and Sera were thinking about the ball, the phone rang loudly.

Ring. Ring.

The gold-plated telephone was in a classic style.

“I’ll get it.”

Jung Hyun-woo reached out and picked up the receiver.

“Hello.”

“Hyun-woo, it’s me.”

Jung Hyun-woo frowned slightly at the call from Korea.

‘Does this mean the peaceful time is over?’

A lazy afternoon didn’t seem to suit him.

“It’s been a while since I’ve spoken with my uncle. I should have called you first.”

The person who called Jung Hyun-woo was Jung Min-young, the president of Daeun Corporation.

Daeun Corporation was the name Daeun Trading Company had changed to in order to venture into new businesses.

“I know you’re busy.”

Jung Min-young didn’t seem to mind that he hadn’t called.

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly inwardly.

‘Hmm, does Uncle mean he’s satisfied with the current situation?’

The Jung Min-young he wanted was a leader who wasn’t content with the position of chairman of Daeun Group and was reaching out towards the future.

But Jung Min-young didn’t seem to be the leader he wanted.

‘For some, just defending the position of chairman of Daeun Group might be too much.’

Still, Jung Hyun-woo wanted to be polite.

“Whatever the reason, I think I should have called you first.”

“Does it matter who called first? What matters is the content of the call.”

“Uncle, just a moment.”

Jung Hyun-woo thought the call would be long, so he briefly covered the receiver and spoke to Sera.

“This call might take a while.”

Sera turned her gaze to the window and responded.

“It’s okay. It’ll be over within an hour, right?”

She meant that she could wait for about an hour while looking at the scenery outside.

‘I’m sorry, but…’

Jung Hyun-woo nodded once and then continued speaking into the receiver.

“Uncle, is it about Grandfather?”

Jung Min-young replied.

“No.”

Recently, Jung Hyun-woo had been hearing about Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s health issues from various sources.

Of course, Chairman Jung Woo-sun himself denied it.

During their phone call last month, Chairman Jung Woo-sun had also stated that he was in good health.

‘Is Grandfather really okay?’

He tilted his head slightly when Jung Min-young revealed the reason for his call.

“This election is proving to be quite difficult.”

Jung Hyun-woo understood why Jung Min-young was calling.

‘Ah, he probably wants to know which side to back.’

This presidential election was a direct vote where the people directly elected the president, so there were many variables.

“When there are many variables, isn’t the only option to hedge your bets?”

“There aren’t enough funds to bet everywhere.”

“You mean from Daeun Group?”

Jung Min-young nodded and replied.

“Because I haven’t completely inherited the company from my father.”

This meant that he couldn’t fully access the slush funds that Chairman Jung Woo-sun was managing.

‘Uncle’s trying to get in line in his own way.’

He knew who would win this election, but he didn’t feel like pinpointing it exactly.

“What does Chief Hong say?”

Jung Hyun-woo wanted to know Hong Won-ik’s opinion.

“I haven’t discussed it with Chief Hong.”

This meant that he hadn’t had deep conversations with Hong Won-ik, as he was Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s man.

‘Is Uncle only looking after his own people?’

Even so, excluding Hong Won-ik wasn’t a pleasant situation.

“Then what are the people around you saying?”

Jung Min-young replied.

“They’re saying to wait and see about the opposition’s unification.”

Opposition unification.

If this were possible, the history of South Korea would have changed significantly.

‘It’s difficult to endure one’s own losses for the sake of everyone’s benefit.’

Especially if that loss involved the presidency.

“Unification will be difficult.”

Jung Min-young groaned at Jung Hyun-woo’s words.

“Ugh…”

He seemed to have been counting on the opposition’s unification.

‘Uncle’s habit is showing again.’

Jung Min-young preferred easy tasks over difficult ones. In other words, instead of choosing one person from the opposition and ruling party candidates, he hoped that the opposition would unify and ease his worries. Jung Hyun-woo decided to give him a piece of his mind.

“Uncle, the president is a position for only one person.”

Jung Min-young paused and raised his voice.

“Are you saying that a prime minister position isn’t negotiable?”

“Doesn’t the prime minister have too little power in South Korea?”

There had been cases where powerful prime ministers were put forward to bring competitors over to their side, but in South Korea, the prime minister’s image as a second-in-command was weak.

“Hmm, so you’re saying I have to choose one of the three…”

Jung Hyun-woo didn’t expect him to make an accurate choice.

‘If he had that much insight, he would have shown some results by now.’

He lowered his voice and said.

“Uncle, the power of the South Korean president won’t be the same as before.”

“Not the same as before? What does that mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. You won’t be able to dissolve large corporations or transfer ownership to others using the power of the regime like before.”

The fact that this president was elected by direct vote meant that the next president would also be elected by direct vote.

In other words, if those in power acted tyrannically, the people could be the judge.

“Are you saying we don’t have to be mindful of the regime’s mood?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying you don’t have to unconditionally submit or get in line like before.”

Even outside of South Korea, companies that were at odds with the ruling party in power inevitably faced various restrictions.

‘What’s important is how to cooperate with the ruling party.’

This meant that they should think about above-ground cooperation rather than underground bribes.

“Hmm, I’m not sure I understand.”

Jung Hyun-woo had no choice but to add an explanation for Jung Min-young.

“Uncle, what I mean is… even if you choose one of the three and fail, you can make up for it with your next action.”

“So, even if the choice goes wrong, it’s not too late to respond afterward?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and replied.

“That’s right. Even if the candidate you choose loses, if you quickly get in line with the candidate who wins, you can recover to some extent.”

Jung Min-young slightly narrowed his brows at his answer.

“Then wouldn’t we inevitably be pushed back by companies that got in line with the winning candidate in advance?”

“You can’t always make the best choice.”

“Hyun-woo, hasn’t anything come out of the National Security Planning Agency [South Korea’s intelligence agency, now known as the National Intelligence Service]?”

Jung Min-young wanted to know the direction of the next presidential election through Jung Hyun-woo.

‘Hyun-woo will know something.’

However, Jung Hyun-woo shook his head.

“Uncle, the National Security Planning Agency will naturally have no choice but to support the ruling party candidate. But I don’t think the ruling party candidate is 100% guaranteed to win.”

‘I don’t know who will be elected either.’

At Jung Hyun-woo’s words, Jung Min-young let out a long sigh.

“Hoo… So, you’re saying you don’t know either.”

Jung Hyun-woo heard his long sigh and put strength into his voice.

“Uncle, the next election won’t be a time when you can benefit from petty tricks.”

Elections were a clash of ideologies, people, and ambitions.

“If you had to choose one of the three, who would you choose?”

Jung Min-young was more persistent than usual.

‘Is he really short on money?’

Jung Hyun-woo released the strength in his voice and said.

“Uncle, if you’re short on funds, I’ll send them over from here.”

Jung Min-young’s face lit up at his suggestion.

“Really?”

It seemed he was genuinely short on donations to give to the presidential candidates.

‘Tsk, Uncle’s background and influence are definitely weak.’

Jung Hyun-woo clicked his tongue inwardly and raised his voice.

“Uncle, so how much do you need?”

“To give money to all three candidates, I think we need about 1 billion won [approximately $850,000 USD based on 1987 exchange rates] in Korean currency.”

In 1987, the current price of a luxury apartment was 100 million won [approximately $85,000 USD].

‘That’s not a small amount.’

Of course, 1 billion won wasn’t a big burden for Jung Hyun-woo, whose personal assets were close to tens of billions of dollars.

“I understand. I’ll have it delivered through Chief Hong.”

Jung Min-young slightly frowned at his words.

“Are you planning to tell Chief Hong about this?”

“Chief Hong is a key figure in Daeun Group.”

“But he’s someone who’s leaving.”

Hong Won-ik didn’t seem to be in Jung Min-young’s future plans.

‘Hoo… Uncle is planning to get rid of Chief Hong as soon as he becomes chairman.’

He sighed briefly inwardly before speaking.

“Uncle, Chief Hong will be in charge of Daeun Electronics.”

“Hyun-woo, Daeun Electronics? What does that mean?”

“I asked Chief Hong to take the position of president of Daeun Electronics.”

The largest shareholder of Daeun Electronics wasn’t Daeun Group or Chairman Jung Woo-sun, but Jung Hyun-woo.

“Hmm, so you’re saying you’re going to put Chief Hong in Daeun Electronics?”

“Uncle, you won’t have any worries with Daeun Electronics, right?”

It was a question of whether it was okay since it wasn’t a major affiliate of Daeun Group.

“So, I have to see that person again at the affiliate president meetings.”

“Do you dislike him that much?”

“It’s not that I have any ill feelings, but isn’t he from my father’s generation?”

New wine in new bottles.

Jung Min-young was planning to put this into practice.

“If you don’t want Chief Hong to attend the affiliate president meetings, I’ll talk to him.”

Jung Min-young cleared his throat lightly and said.

“It’s not that I dislike him that much. I’ll talk to Chief Hong and receive the money.”

He was in a position to receive money, so he had no choice but to take a step back.

“I understand. Then I’ll send the money through Chief Hong.”

Jung Hyun-woo hung up the phone and let out a long sigh.

“Haa…”

“Something bad happened?”

At Sera’s question, Jung Hyun-woo shook his head.

“It seems the presidential election is neck and neck.”

“Presidential election? You must have asked Charlie which candidate would be elected.”

Sera surprisingly pinpointed the main point of the call.

“How did you know?”

“Because someone who knows Charlie’s insight would have called.”

“Your praise is excessive.”

Just as Jung Hyun-woo was making a bitter expression, the phone rang again.

Jung Hyun-woo sighed and immediately picked up the receiver.

“Uncle.”

Perhaps because he spoke in Korean?

The other person asked, flustered.

“Aren’t you Charlie?”

Jung Hyun-woo immediately switched to English.

“Is that John?”

“Yes, this is John Peer.”

“What’s going on, John?”

John Peer said with a dry voice.

“Something happened in Tokyo. I think I need to go there in person.”

It was the moment when Jung Hyun-woo’s short break was completely shattered.