Do servants dare to overturn their master's dining table?
Song Hyeonsu seemed unable to read anything from my expression, and soon let out a deep sigh.
"Grandfather doesn't meet many people these days. But since he often meets you, I'm curious about what you talk about. He doesn't even give much time to his grandchildren... "
"Really?"
He frowned slightly, looking a bit regretful, and nodded.
"It seems he's been hurt a lot by people after losing the last presidential election. So, unless it's something really important, he stays in his study alone. He only shows his face during family meals."
That made sense.
Not knowing what else to say, I put on a similarly regretful expression.
"There wasn't anything special."
Song Hyeonsu, who didn't seem to have expected much, easily accepted it and nodded.
"Is that so? Then it's fine. When are you free? Let's have a drink."
"I'll try to make time as soon as possible."
"Let's meet before I go abroad."
"Sure, then I'll be on my way."
"Alright, you have an appointment. Go in."
"See you, hyung."
I left the Song family's mansion and headed to the meeting place.
The meeting place was Yoido again.
More people than usual were out in front of the securities companies in Yoido, and the roads were so congested that it was hard to tell if they were parking lots or streets.
"Phew... It's like a battlefield."
I finally found a spot to park and let out a sigh. I waited for Han Kyungyeol and organized my thoughts.
'How many stocks does Grandfather have?'
Recalling my memories from before the regression, I shook my head.
'If I inherit all of this, I could really get involved in the Il Sung successor battle.'
At that moment, the passenger door opened.
"What are you doing?"
Han Kyungyeol got in and asked.
"Oh, you're here? It was hectic today, right?"
"Yeah, I thought I was going to die from the crowd before the market opened. A few people even got hurt. It was like a war."
"Hahaha, that must have been stressful."
Han Kyungyeol leaned back in his seat, looking exhausted.
"Of course. If you hadn't told me, I would have been holding onto stocks too. I would have been in that crowd trying to sell like crazy."
"So, what about Il Sung stocks?"
"Wow, don't even mention it. Starting with Il Sung, Daehyun, Woosung, and Seven, everything plummeted. There were no big companies left."
"Really? So you bought a lot?"
"Yeah, I used all the money I had. I tried to diversify, but it wasn't as much as I thought."
"Good. I'll give you another 100 billion, so buy more."
Han Kyungyeol looked exasperated and stuck out his tongue.
"Phew... When I talk to you, 1 billion doesn't even seem like money. You just throw out 100 billion here, 400 billion there?"
I chuckled.
"So, do you mind?"
"......When everyone was selling in the afternoon, and I was the only one buying, everyone was wondering what was going on and hovering around me. But no matter how much I bought, the price didn't budge. 100 billion didn't even make a dent in this market."
I nodded.
At this point, when everyone is selling, throwing in just 100 billion wouldn't stop the market from falling.
Not that I intended to stop it.
"After this is over, take a few days off. Go on a trip or something."
"Ha, what kind of trip? It's just getting interesting."
I waited for the traffic to ease up a bit, then slowly drove to Han Kyungyeol's house.
As he adjusted his tie, I casually said,
"Hyung, start preparing to go to the U.S. as soon as this is over."
"Really? That soon?"
"Yeah. Let's do it quickly. Since I can't go to the U.S. often, I'm really counting on you. You have to do well. Don't let me down. Please."
Seeing my expression, Han Kyungyeol sighed deeply.
It was a sigh of responsibility rather than exasperation or fatigue.
"Alright. From what I can tell, if I just do what you say, I should be able to break even. What do I need to do?"
"The company setup we talked about last time. It will be an investment company, but we won't take investments. It will all be my money."
"Okay."
"And... there's a guy named James Han on Wall Street. He's Korean-American. Start with recruiting him..."
I gave him the names of the people I needed to recruit.
I planned to move to the U.S. as soon as the company was set up.
"Just do that much and wait for me to arrive."
"Got it. As soon as I get there, I'll transfer 400 billion to the company and assign tasks. I'll handle the important investments myself, but you need to keep things in order."
"Don't worry."
I patted Han Kyungyeol's shoulder.
"I'll get you to fly around in a private jet later, so just bear with it for a bit."
Han Kyungyeol grinned, imagining the private jet.
"Great! Let's take over the world!"
I smiled at his words.
* * *
The chaos that had engulfed South Korea for a few days was surprisingly quickly resolved. The stock market, which had plummeted, began to rise again, reducing people's anxiety.
However, the Myeongdong loan market was frozen solid.
Grandfather had mostly cleared out his anonymous accounts, so he didn't suffer major losses, unlike before.
On the other hand, other Myeongdong loan sharks were in a panic.
'The Myeongdong bosses are in the same boat.'
The four, or rather, now three Myeongdong bosses under Grandfather were probably at a loss.
"It's been a while."
I entered the meeting place, the former Hammer's office.
The three bosses who were already waiting stood up and greeted me.
"Welcome, young master."
Their reaction was completely different from before, and I smiled slightly as I took the seat of honor.
The bosses remained standing, fidgeting.
"Sit down. My throat is dry."
"Yes."
After confirming they were all seated, I looked at each of their faces for a few seconds.
Kim Hosik, the Twin Blades, avoided my gaze.
Shin Sungil, the Bandit, bowed his head.
Noh Eiksun, the Viper, met my eyes, determined to maintain his pride.
Their personalities were clear just from this.
"I wanted to meet with you because, as you know, it's due to the financial real-name system. The Myeongdong loan market is frozen, isn't it?"
As I started, they all looked at me with tense faces.
I smiled calmly.
"Isn't it tough for you, too?"
"No, fortunately, there's no major damage thanks to Chairman Song's preparation."
Right, the loans backed by Grandfather's money wouldn't have been a problem.
But the money they had stashed away would be gone, which must be very painful.
Their efforts to pretend otherwise were both pitiful and amusing.
"Come on, why are we being so formal? I know you all had a few side businesses behind Chairman Song's back."
My direct words left them speechless.
"I came here alone without Mr. Cheon today to have an open conversation with you. I understand you. It's natural to get a little dirty when handling money. But it must be frustrating to lose all the money you worked hard to earn, right?"
The two bosses, excluding Mr. Shin, looked uncomfortable.
From their expressions, I knew Shin Sungil hadn't had a side business.
The oldest, Noh Eiksun, took the lead and spoke.
"Do we really need to talk about this now, when we're already stressed about the financial real-name system?"
Kim Hosik nodded slightly in agreement.
I smiled inwardly.
"Mr. Noh, I'm not here to blame you. If I were, I wouldn't have come alone. You all know what happened to Hammer, right?"
At the mention of Hammer, their eyes trembled with clear fear.
"......Are you threatening us?"
"Threatening? If I were, it would be easier to confront each of you individually."
Noh Eiksun, who had been sharp, backed down at my counter-question.
"I don't understand why the atmosphere keeps getting strange. I came here to give you a choice."
"A choice?"
"Yes, a choice. Whether to follow my uncle or me."
As I brought up the succession issue, their expressions changed.
Mr. Shin, however, looked completely uninterested.
"What do we gain by choosing you?"
Noh Eiksun continued to lead the conversation.
I decided to cut it short.
"Mr. Noh, if you think I can't succeed Grandfather without your support, you can leave now. I came here to give you a chance, not to receive your support. Do you understand?"
They looked at each other.
Shin Sungil spoke up first.
"Then I'll be on my way. If I just follow the person Chairman Song designates, it's too