The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 89

89. The Hand That Moves the World (5)

The coffee steam rose like a heat haze.

And beneath it sat a cheesecake.

For Anne, Washington was the epitome of leisure.

“I wonder if Mr. Jung is doing well?”

As she stirred the spoon in her teacup, Jung Hyun-woo was raising his voice in the café across the street.

“Mr. Ballmer, I’m speaking not as the owner of Victoria Corporation, but as a developer. The programs I’m advocating will undoubtedly be developed in the near future.”

He stopped short of mentioning the possibility of trading stocks on a smartphone.

‘Going that far would make it seem like a science fiction movie.’

Jung Hyun-woo was well aware that it was 1984.

“If such programs were to emerge as you say, it could truly change the future of American finance.”

“Do you believe me, then?”

“I believe that such programs will be developed within 20 years. But, you see, you’re not developing them alone, are you?”

Justin Ballmer believed that only a fraction of what Jung Hyun-woo mentioned could be developed by Victoria Corporation alone.

‘Caltech, Harvard, and Stanford aren’t just sitting idly by, after all.’

Of course, even developing a portion of what he mentioned would be enough to lead the IT industry.

“As you said, we can’t develop all those programs on our own.”

A smile played on Justin Ballmer’s lips.

“So, you finally admit it.”

However, Jung Hyun-woo had no intention of backing down. He pulled out a new card.

“But what if we collaborate with MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology]?”

The MIT card he played shattered Justin Ballmer’s defense.

“Hmm, you mean your company is working with MIT?”

As an MIT alumnus, he had deep trust in the institution.

‘MIT has the best research talent in the world.’

Jung Hyun-woo sensed that he was wavering. He drove the point home with emphasis.

“Mr. Ballmer, many MIT graduates are already working with me at our company.”

Justin Ballmer had been introduced to him by Professor Mark Dellin of the MIT Education Committee.

‘If Professor Dellin introduced him, it’s not unreasonable to assume he has deep connections with MIT. In that case…’

Victoria Corporation’s technology could be considered MIT’s technology.

‘Hahaha, with MIT’s technology, all those programs are certainly possible.’

Although MIT’s research capabilities were outstanding, they weren’t quite at the level of developing all the programs Jung Hyun-woo had mentioned.

However, Justin Ballmer believed that MIT could develop all of them.

“Alright, I acknowledge that your company can implement a significant portion of what you’ve said.”

“Thank you for your belief.”

Jung Hyun-woo was able to pass through the first gate with the MIT card.

‘Whew… barely made it over the first hurdle.’

Justin Ballmer checked his watch and said,

“What do you want to do? Only 3 minutes left out of 15.”

He meant that there wasn’t enough time to discuss the second matter.

Instead of a lengthy explanation, Jung Hyun-woo wanted to resolve everything with a single question.

“What if a single financial company monopolized the programs I mentioned earlier?”

Justin Ballmer was a quick thinker. He furrowed his brow at Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“JP Morgan wants to monopolize all those programs?”

Jung Hyun-woo slowly nodded.

“Yes, the biggest reason we fought with JP Morgan is that they wanted to monopolize all the technology and programs.”

Monopolizing technology meant monopolizing the market.

Justin Ballmer’s expression was grim.

“Does JP Morgan aim to dominate Wall Street?”

Instead of answering, Jung Hyun-woo posed a question in return.

“Haven’t they already dominated Wall Street once before?”

Before the Great Depression, when a minor panic struck, JP Morgan supported the faltering American economy with its massive capital. From this perspective, JP Morgan could be seen as benevolent, but they wanted rewards and results for their efforts.

Therefore, the US government didn’t want their influence to become too great, and the Federal Reserve System was eventually created.

‘JP Morgan is trying to monopolize Victoria Corporation’s technology and programs to recreate their past glory.’

Justin Ballmer couldn’t tolerate JP Morgan’s monopoly.

“What about the patents?”

“We have them.”

“Wasn’t it a joint development with JP Morgan?”

“We received cooperation from JP Morgan for securities firm data integration, but we directly developed most of JP Service’s programs and systems.”

Justin Ballmer unfolded his arms and said,

“Hmm, so JP Morgan made two mistakes.”

The first mistake JP Morgan made was not engaging in joint development.

‘If they had jointly developed, they could have raised objections even if we had set up patent rights.’

The second mistake was not purchasing Victoria Corporation’s patents.

‘If Victoria Corporation had bought the patent rights before contacting Bank of America, Mr. Jung wouldn’t have been able to make any moves.’

However, JP Morgan neither engaged in joint development nor secured patent rights.

They simply threatened and intimidated Victoria Corporation.

“Mr. Jung, I understand your situation well. Now, tell me honestly what you want. Do you want me to go to JP Morgan and tell them they’re wrong and to let Victoria Corporation go?”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head.

“I don’t want it to go that far.”

“Then tell me what you want.”

Justin Ballmer had no intention of allowing JP Morgan’s technological monopoly.

He wanted to remove the shackles on Victoria Corporation’s feet in some way.

“I want you to tell JP Morgan’s owner or representative… to make it clear that they cannot monopolize JP Service, or even the future of American finance. And I also want you to convey that we are ready to talk to them.”

In short, he wanted him to pressure JP Morgan to come to the negotiating table.

Justin Ballmer asked to confirm.

“Are you really ready to talk to JP Morgan?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and replied,

“Of course. If we fight them, we’ll lose a lot of time even if we win. We don’t want to waste time. We want to resolve the conflict as quickly as possible through dialogue.”

Justin Ballmer nodded as if he understood.

“You mean you’re willing to compromise to a reasonable extent if we build a bridge. Mr. Jung, let me ask you something. When such complicated matters arise, who do you seek advice from?”

Jung Hyun-woo realized that he didn’t completely trust him.

‘He can’t completely trust someone who’s not even twenty years old.’

He decided to give Justin Ballmer the answer he wanted.

“I seek advice from Ms. Hilton, our co-CEO, and Mr. Bernard, our COO [Chief Operating Officer].”

“Your company has a co-CEO?”

“I can’t run the company alone since I’m a minor. And if there’s a problem that even those two can’t answer, I seek the wisdom of scholars like Professor Dellin.”

Justin Ballmer was relieved to hear that he had several trustworthy people around him.

“A wise decision.”

He thought that everything Jung Hyun-woo had said came from Professor Dellin or the people around him.

‘These are things that are too profound for a young man who’s not even twenty to think about.’

Jung Hyun-woo placed his hands on his knees and asked,

“Mr. Ballmer, will you grant our request?”

Justin Ballmer stood up and replied,

“I’ll make some more time for the future of American finance.”

He would pressure JP Morgan and build a bridge for them.

Jung Hyun-woo was 100% satisfied with his answer.

‘Now we can move on to the next stage.’

If he succeeded in collaborating with Bank of America, the next would be Citibank, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs.

* * *

New York, Wall Street.

It had been a long time since Arthur Morgan, the owner of JP Morgan, had visited his office.

Sean Luke, as well as key figures in JP Morgan such as Neil Hamilton and Edmund Norman, were nervous about his appearance.

“What brings Mr. Morgan to the company?”

“Who can know what’s on that old man’s mind?”

“Could it be because of Neil?”

“Neil?”

“There are rumors that Neil has been causing trouble recently.”

JP Morgan executives gathered in small groups to discuss the owner’s sudden appearance. Among them were Neil Hamilton and Sean Luke.

“Mr. Hamilton, it’s not because of us, is it?”

Neil Hamilton furrowed his brow at Sean Luke’s question.

“It could be, or it could not be.”

He was also quite taken aback by Arthur Morgan’s sudden appearance.

‘There was absolutely no prior notice.’

Arthur Morgan headed to his office without any executives accompanying him. That made all of JP Morgan’s executives uneasy.

“Has there been any contact from the secretary’s office?”

Sean Luke nodded and replied,

“Mr. Morgan hasn’t called anyone yet.”

Neil Hamilton relaxed his furrowed brow and said,

“I hope I’m not the first one to be called.”

If he was the first one called, it was highly likely that Arthur Morgan had come to work because of the Victoria Corporation issue.

5 minutes?

No, it seemed like a little more time had passed.

Sean Luke cautiously asked Neil Hamilton,

“Boss, should we just wait here at headquarters?”

He was scheduled to go on a business trip to Philadelphia today.

Neil Hamilton shook his head and answered his question.

“Wait at headquarters today.”

He meant to cancel the business trip in case Arthur Morgan called him.

Sean Luke had no choice but to nod.

“Understood.”

He wasn’t the only one whose business trip was canceled.

The business trips of all JP Morgan executives were canceled. They waited anxiously in their respective offices for Arthur Morgan’s call.

“Is this what the calm before the storm is like?”

Neil Hamilton’s rival, Edmund Norman, was also anxious.

“It’ll be alright.”

His secretary and aide, Zach Smith, stood by his side.

“It certainly should be.”

Edmund Norman believed that if he could push Neil Hamilton out, he could become the next CEO of JP Morgan.

‘Mr. Morgan came to the company today because of Neil.’

He expected Neil Hamilton to be the first one called.

“Should I call the secretary’s office again?”

Edmund Norman raised his right hand and replied,

“No.”

He thought that Neil Hamilton would be the one called anyway.

An hour later.

An unexpected figure appeared at JP Morgan headquarters.

Sean Luke received a call from the front desk on the first floor and immediately turned his head.

“Boss! Justin Ballmer is on the elevator!”

Neil Hamilton raised his eyebrows at his shout.

“Justin Ballmer?”

Justin Ballmer.

His reputation as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors was widespread even on Wall Street.

‘So, his visit is why Mr. Morgan came to work.’

He could breathe a sigh of relief at Justin Ballmer’s appearance.

“Hoo… The higher-ups never tell their subordinates what they’re doing.”

Sean Luke also wiped his chest as he hung up the phone.

“It seems Mr. Morgan came to the company because of Justin Ballmer.”

“All clear.”

Sean Luke bowed his head and acknowledged his words.

“Now that things have been resolved, I’ll go to Philadelphia.”

“Do so.”

Neil Hamilton and he never dreamed that Justin Ballmer’s visit had anything to do with them.

* * *

Justin Ballmer opened the door to Arthur Morgan’s office and entered.

Thud.

Arthur Morgan watched the man who had come to see him.

“It’s been a while.”

Justin Ballmer calmly accepted his greeting.

“It has been.”

“How many years has it been?”

“Seven years.”

“Has it been that long since we last saw each other?”

Justin Ballmer entered and replied,

“If it had been any later, we would have met at a funeral.”

Arthur Morgan chuckled at his humor.

“You might go to heaven first.”

“I didn’t say Mr. Morgan would go first.”

“Is that so?”

“We’re both old, so it wouldn’t be strange if either of us went first.”

Justin Ballmer sat across from Arthur Morgan. The age difference between the two was eleven years, meaning Arthur Morgan was eleven years older.

“You’re not ready to go to heaven yet.”

“Arthur, teenagers go to heaven too.”

“You’re not willing to give in even a little bit.”

Justin Ballmer shrugged his shoulders.

“You know my personality well, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know it well.”

The two men’s relationship dated back 30 years.

At the time, Justin Ballmer was an engineer in his mid-forties, and Arthur Morgan was a seasoned financier in his old age.

Unknown to Jung Hyun-woo or Robert, Justin Ballmer was an engineer who had caused a great stir on Wall Street at the time.

“Justin, I heard you’ve made it big.”

Arthur Morgan mentioned Justin Ballmer’s entry into the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

“It’s too late to make it big.”

Arthur Morgan raised his voice at his remark.

“So, what brings the esteemed Fed Governor to me?”

“Arthur, has your mind-reading ability aged as well?”

He was telling him to use his proud mind-reading ability to read his thoughts.

Arthur Morgan chuckled.

“I’ve never been able to figure you out.”

He readily raised the white flag.

Justin Ballmer crossed his legs and acknowledged his words.

“The reason I came today is because of a young friend.”

“A young friend?”

“A friend named Charlie Jung.”

The smile disappeared from Arthur Morgan’s face.

“I never thought that name would come out of your mouth.”

“Do you know him?”

“Doesn’t his name appear quite often in magazines?”

Arthur Morgan didn’t know Jung Hyun-woo through magazines. He had received reports on Victoria Corporation through official channels several times.

“That friend came to me and told me. That JP Morgan is trying to hold the future of American finance hostage.”

“Hostage?”

“In other words, they’re trying to monopolize it.”

Arthur Morgan said in a stern voice,

“So, what do you want me to do? Are you going to drag me to the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation]?”

Justin Ballmer spread his hands and asked in return,

“Arthur, aren’t you aware of antitrust laws?”

There weren’t many people who could be so bold in front of Arthur Morgan.

“We’re not monopolizing anything.”

“Then listen to the young friend’s story.”

Arthur Morgan raised his voice.

“Are you telling me to listen to his story unilaterally?”

Justin Ballmer knew that Arthur Morgan was angry. So, he spoke in as gentle a voice as possible.

“Arthur, don’t doubt an old friend. I’ve persuaded the young friend to make sure you can understand him well.”

He wasn’t unilaterally taking one side, but trying to mediate both sides.

Arthur Morgan’s lips twitched.

“Justin, you certainly make things sound easy.”

“Arthur, isn’t it easy for people to talk to each other?”

Justin Ballmer’s tone was completely different from when he was talking to Jung Hyun-woo.

He was so smooth that it was almost greasy.

“What if we don’t respond?”

“Neil or Edmund will become the chairman of JP Morgan.”

A threat to replace the CEO of JP Morgan.

“Justin, that remark is just a bluff.”

Justin Ballmer slightly raised his voice.

“Then would you like to test my bluff?”

Arthur Morgan shook his head.

“No, thanks. I’ll talk to Neil. I’ll tell him to talk to that kid.”

Arthur Morgan knew Justin Ballmer well.

‘He’s a man who doesn’t move unless he’s made a decision.’

There was no way Justin Ballmer would have come to JP Morgan with just a bluff. As mentioned earlier, even if he couldn’t remove him from the CEO position, there was a high possibility that he had prepared something that could significantly damage JP Morgan.