We Do Business In Full Auto [EN]: Chapter 165

165. 20th Century Wolf (1)

“I’m not particularly thinking about unification.”

“Really?”

“It would require enormous funds, and if things go wrong, the foundation could be shaken to its core. I would have to be the central figure, and I don’t want that. I have too many other things to do.”

*In other words, I don’t need to meddle with the unification issue.*

That’s something the state should handle. If I were to use my personal power, I’d have to dedicate myself entirely to that.

“So, you’re not considering an invasion or a northward advance?”

“This is a bit bothersome, what should I do?”

“……!”

Only then did Catherine realize her situation.

Director Catherine had made it a habit to suppress most people in countries around the world. This was Korea, and that habit naturally emerged.

However, she should have remembered the disasters in the United States and Russia.

“It seems you’ve forgotten what happened. If I wanted to, I would have already taken a different approach. I wasn’t thinking much about it, but now I’m wondering if I should take action.”

“I, I was wrong!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! I overstepped my bounds.”

“Don’t bother me in the future.”

“Of course.”

Catherine jumps up from her seat.

She was worried that provoking me further here would lead to big trouble.

Only after she left could I start my day.

Lee Seul-gi enters the chairman’s office.

“Did that old fox leave?”

“Ah, she was really annoying.”

“So, what did you say?”

“I subtly threatened her, saying I might have to launch an invasion. So, she tucked her tail and ran.”

“Wow! Threatening the CIA of all things. Aren’t you going too far?”

“What if I do go too far? If they try to assassinate me, then it’s war.”

Of course, unless Catherine is crazy, she wouldn’t come back after being threatened like this. If she does, I’ll have to question her mental state.

Now I can start working.

I was supposed to meet with Rohan, the president of MH Exploration, before the executive meeting, and he’s already waiting.

“Anyway, let’s get to work. Shall I bring in President Rohan?”

“That guy, really. It’s not that urgent. Still, he’s come all this way, so let’s quickly sign the contract and send him back.”

“Okay.”

Soon, I was able to meet President Rohan.

His hair was grown out haphazardly, and he came dressed like a tourist you’d see in Hawaii.

*It’s not like we’re signing a neighborhood real estate contract, why come dressed like that?* Of course, I’m just as eccentric, so I don’t have much to say.

President Rohan raised his hand enthusiastically.

“Nice to meet you!”

“Um. Are you the president of MH Corporation?”

“Yes! I am Rohan Lattes.”

“But that attire.”

“Ah ha! Since I came to Korea, I thought I’d do some sightseeing. Isn’t this kind of outfit popular in Korea?”

“Not at all.”

“Hahaha! Oh well. It’s quite popular in the United States, though.”

His mouth is about to tear.

He’s roughly in his early 50s.

Seeing him retire already, it seems he’s determined to stop working altogether and just travel around.

In some ways, that’s quite impressive.

For a man to give up work is akin to giving up ambition.

With about 500 billion [Korean currency, roughly equivalent to several hundred million US dollars], of course, there’s no problem living for the rest of your life. Even if you just play around, you can live lavishly for generations.

I didn’t have coffee this morning, so I asked Lee Seul-gi for two cups.

The conversation with Director Catherine wasn’t pleasant, so I didn’t even think about having coffee.

But it’s different with President Rohan.

We talked not about management, but about life values.

“President. Aren’t you sad to be stepping down from the front lines like this?”

“Not at all. It’s time to quit working.”

“You’re in your 50s, that’s your prime.”

“Hoo. My childhood dream was to work only until my 30s. But when I actually entered society, it wasn’t easy. In my late 30s, I decided to work only until my mid-40s. And when I reached that age, wouldn’t you know it, my wife opposed it?”

“Hmm. Why?”

“She said, ‘Are you really going to retire already as a man?’ So, I had no choice but to work until now. If it weren’t for my wife’s nagging, I would have been playing around for the past 10 years.”

“Well, they say no man can win against a woman.”

“A wise answer indeed.”

We talked about things that most married men could relate to.

In the end, he’s been working until now because of his wife. Does that make sense? But it’s a plausible story.

“Do you have anything to say about the business?”

“I’m not someone who has a management philosophy. I’ve been working until now with the sole thought of making money and retiring. I don’t have anything particular to say.”

He has that kind of value system, so I had nothing to say.

Everyone has different values, and human relationships start from understanding that. Of course, it seems unlikely that I’ll meet President Rohan again.

“Secretary Lee.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Lee Seul-gi handed over the contract.

President Rohan didn’t read anything else, just checked the price and signed.

“Aren’t you going to look at the contents?”

“You’ll pay properly, won’t you?”

“That’s a given.”

“Then that’s enough.”

He doesn’t care about anything else, no matter what happens to the company.

Usually, people have an attachment to the company they started, right?

Well, it wasn’t my concern.

Swish, swish!

I also finished signing.

“Secretary Lee. Make the deposit immediately.”

“Okay.”

After completing the contract, the deposit is made immediately.

Lawyers came in to go through the notarization process, and now the rest will be taken care of by the legal team.

Since the work is roughly done, I decided to part ways with President Rohan.

Rohan grabbed my hand, shook it, and said.

“Chairman, it’s good to work moderately and find ways to enjoy life. Our lives are less than a fleeting breeze, and if you close your eyes and open them, you’ll suddenly be old.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Rohan’s steps looked very light.

After parting with him, I walked down the hallway with Lee Seul-gi and thought about it.

“What President Rohan said isn’t entirely wrong.”

“That humans are less than a fleeting breeze?”

“That means that human life is short when viewed from the perspective of natural principles.”

“Well? I think it depends on how you think about it. I think human achievements have immortality.”

“I guess so?”

“Of course. Where are there more pitiful people than those who can’t even leave their names in history?”

As expected, it’s Lee Seul-gi.

She was pursuing her own kind of immortality.

It wasn’t immortality of life, but immortality of honor.

An executive meeting held after a long time.

Now, the minor tasks happening in the company are handled by the executives.

The part I’m involved in is M&A [Mergers and Acquisitions].

The current Soo Group is expanding its territory like an ancient conquering monarch.

It was expanding the company’s size in any way possible, and if possible, it was acquiring companies with solid business capabilities.

This time was the same.

The Gate to another world will open soon. If so, we must complete the 100,000-strong army before then, and we plan to train them for at least a month.

After that, we planned to continue training them, and we promoted the production of movies as a justification.

But this was a scale that ordinary film companies couldn’t handle. 100,000 extras alone. Even if it was only the manpower mobilized in important battle scenes, it was impossible to do anything in Korea. So, I decided to acquire one of the film companies belonging to the Big 6.

The executives pushed as much as they could in a short period of time, and they finally achieved results.

Today’s executive meeting was about the film company.

Lee Seul-gi opened her mouth.

“Some time ago, the chairman firmly expressed his will to acquire a film company. And you have mobilized all your connections to start acquiring a film company. You mentioned the Big 6 film companies, so those who have achieved results should announce them.”

Lee Seul-gi’s words were full of dignity.

As the second-in-command of a super-giant group, she had solidified her position and had considerable power, although not absolute, to the point where she even had personnel rights to some extent.

In this day and age, it wasn’t a problem that a key figure was a woman, and it wasn’t a big problem that her age was similar to mine.

New companies are originally made up of young people, aren’t they?

Unexpectedly, the person who raised his hand was Director Lee Tae-jin.

He was in charge of the intelligence department, and as the company grew, his role became truly important.

“We have succeeded in contacting 20th Century Wolf.”

“Did you just say Wolf Corporation?”

“Yes!”

“The Wolf Corporation founded in the early 1900s?”

“That’s right.”

“Heo.”

Murmur, murmur!

The surroundings are buzzing.

This was a natural story.

If you were to pick the most influential company in the film industry, you could unhesitatingly talk about Wolf Corporation.

Founded in 1915, it has been a dinosaur in the film industry to this day.

They are talking about the possibility of acquiring a company with such a long history.

I didn’t think Lee Tae-jin was talking nonsense.

Now his position was too important to talk nonsense.

“Is there a problem there? It’s too successful a company to see that there is an M&A intention.”

“That’s purely a matter of management. Chairman Merck is trying to separate Wolf Corporation and use the funds to solidify his management rights.”

“Buy back treasury stock to defend management rights?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Tae-jin told a deeper story.

As is the case with large companies, there were many cases where the management rights were not perfect. This is especially true for media conglomerates.

They expand through indiscriminate M&A and investment solicitation, but at some point, they are driven to the point where they cannot defend their management rights.

This was not because the company was in trouble, but purely a matter of strengthening control.

Chairman Merck of Wolf Corporation has now separated the media and publishing sectors from the film and broadcasting sectors. Among these, the film and broadcasting sectors were divided into 20th Century Wolf, and it was decided to sell the broadcasting and film sectors in order to solidify control over the existing businesses.