Episode 166
Three days had passed since I, disguised as Baek In-hwi, offered to help Wang Jin-hee.
“She still hasn’t contacted me.” I chuckled. “Is she trying to make me anxious?”
It seemed like she was trying to make it seem like she was searching for a buyer for the worthless oil fields.
“I wonder how much she’ll reveal to me.”
The key was how much she would disclose to me, her future husband and benefactor, about her secret company and her dealings with Baek In-hwi.
As I was pondering this, my phone rang.
It was Wang Jin-hee.
“Kikikiki, she finally called.” I suppressed my laughter and answered the phone.
“Hello?”
-
It’s me.
I feigned ignorance. “Are you calling about the oil fields?”
-
Hehehe, you’re mentioning the oil fields as soon as you answer. They must be quite troublesome.
“I told you they were worthless.”
I said, feigning anticipation, “Did you find a buyer?”
She paused. – Yes, I did.
“Wow, in just three days? You’re impressive.”
-
Hehe, I’m a capable woman. And that’s not all. She said proudly, – You said you cancelled the plan to sell them to my brothers? This company will execute that plan for you.
Oh.
So she wasn’t revealing her secret company, but she was telling me about her plan.
Well, it would be revealed eventually when her brothers incurred losses, so it made sense to tell me.
“Really? They’ll execute the plan for you?”
-
Yes, I’ll sell the oil fields to this company, and they’ll resell them to my brothers. That way, Chunha Group won’t be involved.
“That’s the ideal scenario. Perfect.” I feigned surprise. “I didn’t expect this to be resolved so quickly.”
-
I worked hard for this.
Worked hard?
It had taken her less than 30 minutes to contact me and get Baek In-hwi’s confirmation.
-
Anyway, they agreed to buy them, but they have a condition.
A condition? “What condition?”
-
They can’t afford the 400 billion won you mentioned. They’re willing to buy them for 300 billion won. How about that?
I couldn’t help but smirk. ‘Look at her, trying to skim off the top after I gave her 400 billion won.’
She had received 400 billion won from Baek In-hwi and was now offering me 300 billion won, pocketing the difference.
If anyone else had tried this, I would have crushed them. But her petty scheme was amusing.
“300 billion won is too low.”
-
Be reasonable. I don’t want you to lose money, but they’re helping us with our plan and buying the assets. It’s not a bad deal.
“Hmm.”
Should I play hardball and insist on 400 billion won? Or should I accept the 300 billion won and then, as Baek In-hwi, question her about the 100 billion won discrepancy, showing off my information network?
I said in a troubled voice, “300 billion won is a huge loss. 400 billion won is the bare minimum to break even.”
-
But you have to consider their position. They know these are worthless assets, and they’re buying them to help me.
She was right, assuming it wasn’t her secret company and the money wasn’t coming from Baek In-hwi.
“Even so, 300 billion won is too low… Negotiate a better price. You’re going to sell them to your brothers at a higher price anyway, with some creative marketing.”
-
Hmm, is the loss that significant?
“I wouldn’t have asked you for help if it wasn’t.”
-
Hmm… She paused. – Let me talk to them again.
“Thank you.”
I hung up the phone and chuckled. “Trying to steal my money…”
I would probably settle for 350 billion won and then, as Baek In-hwi, question her about the missing 500 billion won, recovering my losses and reminding her of Baek In-hwi’s power.
She called me back after about ten minutes.
I answered the phone, feigning urgency. “Hello? What did they say?”
-
They’re not budging. They can’t afford 400 billion won.
I hesitated, pretending to consider my options, and then said, “How about 350 billion won?”
-
That might work. I’ll try my best.
“Thank you.” I smiled after ending the call.
“She’s a tough negotiator. But she’s still playing in my sandbox.”
We reached an agreement. The oil fields would be transferred to her secret company through various shell companies.
She also asked me to find a few more worthless oil fields to use as decoys and a few promising ones to sweeten the deal for her brothers. It wasn’t a difficult request, so I instructed Manager Gong accordingly and returned to Korea.
“Prepare the funds.” I instructed Kim Min-sik to transfer the money to Wang Jin-hee.
-
Yes, CEO Baek.
He still called me “CEO Baek” even though he knew my true identity.
-
Any other instructions, sir?
“No, nothing urgent. How’s Daehoo Securities doing?”
I had Joongang Investment Corporation acquire Daehoo Securities when we acquired Daehoo Electronics and Daehoo Energy.
Joongang Investment Corporation, now owning both Daehoo Securities and Hanho Savings Bank, was transforming into a financial conglomerate.
-
It’s recovering nicely after the debt write-off and the new capital injection. Securities companies are difficult to ruin as long as you don’t do anything stupid. Their main source of income is brokerage commissions.
Korea Investment & Securities, the first securities company to go bankrupt in Korea, had collapsed because it had engaged in risky investments and lost a substantial amount of money during the IMF crisis.
Daehoo Securities had also been struggling, but it had recovered after the debt write-off and the new capital injection.
It was a stable cash cow, as long as we avoided risky investments.
-
By the way, CEO Baek…
“Yes?”
-
I made some investments recently, and the returns are quite good.
His tone suggested he was expecting praise. I chuckled. “Profitable, you say?”
-
Yes, I only invested the maximum amount I’m authorized to, but the value has already increased by 50%.
“150%?” I feigned surprise.
-
Yes, so I was wondering if I could increase the investment amount, with your permission, of course.
“How much have you invested so far?”
-
10 billion won.
So he had made a 5 billion won profit from a 10 billion won investment.
-
I think it’s a safe investment.
“What did you invest in?”
-
Mostly IT companies.
IT, or information technology, was a buzzword these days, frequently mentioned in the news as the next big thing.
I hadn’t paid much attention to it, as I wasn’t sure about the long-term potential of the internet, but a 50% return was impressive.
“It’s a hot market, I guess?”
-
Yes, the experts are also optimistic about the future of the internet.
“Hmm, how much further do you think it’ll go up?”
-
It’s hard to say for sure, but the government is supporting venture capital and small businesses, so I think the trend will continue for a while.
“Is that so?” Maybe I should invest too. Joongang Investment Corporation had trillions of won in surplus funds, and I could smell money in this IT sector.
“How much should we invest?”
-
Hmm, about 100 billion won?
“You’re thinking too small, Mr. President. We have to go big or go home. How about 500 bil-“
Just as I was about to say “500 billion won,” I suddenly felt a chill, and cold sweat trickled down my back. “Uh…”
-
CEO Baek? Are you alright? Kim Min-sik asked, surprised by my sudden silence.
“I-I’m fine.”
I wiped the sweat from my brow and continued,
“100 billion won is too small. How about 500 bil-” The feeling of unease returned, and I stopped mid-sentence again. “What… what is this?”
I could smell money, but there was also a sense of danger, of impending doom.
I had never felt this way, even during the IMF crisis, when I had been swimming in cash. I had smelled money before, and I had felt fear before, but this was the first time I felt both simultaneously.
“What is this supposed to mean?”
-
CEO Baek, are you sure you’re okay? Is something wrong? Kim Min-sik asked, concerned.
“…President Kim.”
-
Yes, sir?
I gulped. “Send me everything you have on the IT sector. Sales figures, business plans, stock prices… everything.”
-
Yes, sir. Are you sure you’re okay?
“Yes, I’m fine.”
After ending the call, I opened the newspaper and started reading articles about the IT sector.
“IT, Information Technology, venture companies are the future of our nation.” All the articles were praising venture capital and predicting a bright future for small businesses.
But my intuition was warning me about the IT sector.
“My intuition never lies.”
There was definitely money to be made, but there was also danger.
My businesses had always been risky, operating in a gray area between legality and illegality, but my intuition had never warned me like this before. There was only one explanation.
“This risk is far greater than anything I’ve encountered before.”
During the IMF crisis, I had been a cash-rich investor, with no debt and plenty of foreign currency reserves. That’s why I had been able to acquire struggling companies at bargain prices. But if I had been a stock-heavy investor, would my intuition have warned me about the market crash?
Normally, I would have retreated at the first sign of danger, but the smell of money from the IT sector was too enticing.
“It’s risky, but it’s also profitable. Very risky, but very profitable.”
I said, sweating, “What should I do?”