Episode 194
As soon as we returned home after the family meeting with Chairman Wang, Wang Jin-hee exploded. “Why was she there?! Why?!” She threw her handbag on the floor and said, panting, “This ruins everything! All my plans!”
“Calm down, Jin-hee, calm down,” I said, trying to soothe her.
“Calm down?! After years of planning!” I understood her frustration, but yelling wouldn’t solve anything. “Getting upset won’t help. We need to assess the situation rationally and come up with a new plan. Take a deep breath and calm down.”
She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, gradually regaining her composure. After about ten minutes, she opened her eyes and said, “I apologize for my outburst.”
“It’s understandable. You have every right to be angry.”
“My sister has ruined everything. What am I going to do?”
Now that she was calm, I asked the question that had been bothering me since the family meeting. “Did you know that your sister’s husband works at China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)?”
“…Yes, I did.”
“Then you should have anticipated this.”
If she had a family member married to a leading expert in the energy sector, it would have been natural for her to seek their advice. I couldn’t understand why she had overlooked such an obvious factor. She had always been meticulous. She smiled wryly.
“My sister cut ties with us after my father forced her into that marriage. She refused to attend family events or even answer our calls.”
“And your father just let her be?”
She chuckled. “He was furious. But my brother-in-law’s family is very powerful. Even my father can’t afford to offend them. His father is a member of the Standing Committee. They’re incredibly influential. And it wasn’t even an arranged marriage. He fell in love with my sister at first sight and pursued her relentlessly.”
“I see…” Things were starting to make sense. “It caused a lot of problems at first. My sister refused to have anything to do with us, and the tension between our family and my brother-in-law’s family escalated. It almost ruined the relationship before it even began. And then my father gave up. He realized it would only make things worse, so he accepted the situation and moved on.”
“So your sister was forced into the marriage, but her husband loves her, and she hates your family and has cut all ties with you. And now she’s suddenly helping your father?” Something didn’t add up. And I couldn’t shake off the sense of unease I felt, not just because her appearance had disrupted our plans, but because of her, Wang Jin-mi, herself.
“Jin-hee,” I said.
“Yes?”
“There’s a reason behind every action, whether it’s good or bad. And those actions and motives are usually consistent. For example, my actions are all driven by a single motive: profit.”
I tilted my head. “What’s Wang Jin-mi’s motive?”
“Her motive? Reconciling with her family, I guess.”
“Is there any reason for her to reconcile now?”
She hesitated. “Not that I can think of… we haven’t spoken in years.”
I paced back and forth. “Your sister, who resented your family for forcing her into that marriage, is suddenly helping them? It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s more reasonable to assume she has another motive.”
Her eyes gleamed. “Another motive?”
“Yes, like…” I said, also with gleaming eyes, “…trying to sabotage Haixin Group, just like us.”
“That’s possible! No, it’s certain! She wouldn’t have forgiven them so easily!” she said with conviction. “She must have a plan! Just like us!”
“It’s too early to be sure, but considering her past behavior, it’s unlikely that she’s acting out of goodwill towards Haixin Group.”
She said, her eyes sparkling, “What should we do? Should I meet with her and discuss our plans? Or should we just pretend we don’t know anything?”
“I would meet with her and assess the situation. As I said, it’s just a theory. And if our plans align, it could create a powerful synergy.”
She picked up the handbag she had thrown on the floor earlier. “She’s still at my father’s house. I’ll go and see her now.”
“Calm down, Jin-hee. You don’t have to meet with her today.”
“This is my only chance! Didn’t you see my brothers’ faces? They’re already suspicious. They’ll try to stop me from talking to her. But they can’t be too obvious while we’re at my father’s house. I’ll go see her before she leaves. Thank you!”
I smiled. “Just be discreet.”
“I’m Wang Jin-hee, I know how to be discreet. I’m going!”
I waved at her as she rushed out of the room and then immediately picked up my phone and called Li Yang, my face grim. – Yes, sir. “I need you to investigate Wang Jin-mi, Haixin Group’s eldest daughter. Everything, from her past to her current activities.”
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Wang Jin-mi, sir?
“Yes, this is urgent, so make it a priority.”
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Yes, sir.
I looked at the phone, my expression still grim.
“Her methods might be similar to ours.” Luring them in with false information and then betraying them. “But is her goal the same?” Wang Jin-hee’s goal was to become the successor by exploiting her brothers’ mistakes. “But what if I were Wang Jin-mi…?” Betrayed by her family, forced into a strategic marriage… “I would…”
I said with a cold expression,
“I would destroy Haixin Group.”
The methods might be the same, but the goals were different.
If her goal was to destroy Haixin Group, it wasn’t just about the succession battle.
Why would she destroy the very company she was trying to inherit?
It might be an overinterpretation, but my intuition was warning me about her. “This is troublesome…”
If she really was planning a similar scheme, her goal wouldn’t just be to damage Haixin Group, but to destroy it completely.
“Is there anyone normal in this family?!”
I remembered Wang Jin-hee’s excited voice from yesterday, after meeting with her sister. – She has the same plan as us! She’s been preparing for this for a long time! She wants revenge for the forced marriage!
And my suspicions turned into certainty after reading the report from Li Yang. “Li Bai-oh, missing for four and a half years.” Wang Jin-mi’s boyfriend, whom she had been forced to leave, had disappeared six months after her wedding. He had left for work one morning and never returned.
“He’s probably dead. And does Wang Jin-mi even know?”
Her father was practically her sworn enemy. Not only had he forced her into a loveless marriage, but he was also responsible for her lover’s disappearance.
“The oil field scam alone wouldn’t be enough to destroy Haixin Group, but what if she’s been planning other attacks? And what if she’s finally ready to make her move?” The thought sent shivers down my spine.
“And her husband’s family is one of the most powerful political families in China.”
Despite its embrace of free market capitalism, China was still a country where political power reigned supreme.
That’s why Chairman Wang had forced his daughter into that marriage, hoping to gain political connections. But it had backfired.
His daughter, whom he had sacrificed for Haixin Group, had become its greatest enemy. “The biggest question is, how far does she define ‘enemy’?”
I was also part of Chairman Wang’s family now.
Chunha Group and I could also be her targets. “I can’t openly oppose her, but I can’t just do nothing either.” Her in-laws were too powerful to offend, but if I did nothing, I could lose Haixin Group. And I couldn’t abandon my plans for Haixin Group just to counter her.
“Should I just give up on controlling Haixin Group and side with Chairman Wang against her? I could survive, but it would be a stalemate. Why did I even marry Wang Jin-hee and get involved in this mess in the first place?” I racked my brains, but there was no easy solution. “Should I confront her directly?” It was impossible for Park Sol, but maybe Baek In-hwi could have a conversation with her. “Why am I even involved in Haixin Group’s affairs?”
I had initially formed an alliance with Haixin Group to facilitate Chunha Group’s expansion into China, and I had hoped to gain control of the company through my marriage to Wang Jin-hee. But now, there was a possibility of the company collapsing altogether. “I need a partner in China… Wait a minute, why am I even worried about Haixin Group? It’s not my company.”
I had unconsciously started thinking of Haixin Group as something I had to control. But that wasn’t my style. I was a destroyer, a scavenger. I acquired what I needed from the remains.
Even if Wang Jin-hee became the successor, it would take a long time for her to gain full control, as her father was still alive and well. “I can always find another backer. Why am I worried about Haixin Group?” And there was a perfect alternative.
If I helped Wang Jin-mi destroy Haixin Group, I would gain an even more powerful backer. “And even if Haixin Group collapses, it’s too big to be liquidated. They’ll sell it off in pieces, like Daehoo.”
Baek In-hwi would betray Wang Jin-hee and side with Wang Jin-mi. Haixin Group would be dismantled by Wang Jin-mi’s schemes, and Baek In-hwi would acquire a portion of it at a bargain price as a reward for his help. And then, I, Park Sol, would acquire another portion under the guise of helping my wife. I would create a mini-Haixin Group and install Wang Jin-hee as its CEO.
My reason for wanting to control Haixin Group had been to secure a powerful local partner and backer in China. But if I separated the two, the solution was simple. “I can make Wang Jin-mi my backer and create a puppet partner company.”
But the key question was still how far Wang Jin-mi defined “enemy.” If she included Wang Jin-hee in that category, she wouldn’t tolerate Chunha Group acquiring a part of Haixin. And another concern was that if Haixin Group collapsed, Baek In-hwi would gain Wang Jin-mi as a backer, but Park Sol would lose Chairman Wang.
“I’ll have to confront her to find out.” There was no way to know for sure without a direct confrontation. The key was her intentions. “I’ll decide on a plan later. And…” I raised my hand towards Haixin Group’s headquarters, where Wang Jin-hee was working. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, a silent apology to both her and Haixin Group for the upcoming betrayal. “I think this is the more profitable option.”