The Genius Grandson of the Loan King - Chapter 71 (71/840)
< From now on, Muhyeok will be my successor. >
#71
From now on, Muhyeok will be my successor.
In my previous life, I was only designated as the successor after graduating from university and working my way up from the bottom for a long time.
"From now on, Muhyeok will be my successor."
Although it wasn't officially acknowledged, most people related to my grandfather already considered me the successor.
However, announcing it officially at a family gathering carried a different weight.
It meant passing everything on to a grandson, and not just any grandson, but one surnamed Kim, not Choe.
"I'll give the others a fair share, but don't be greedy. If you get too greedy, I might take back what I've given."
The reactions of the three were all different.
Choe Jiwon, who had always looked downcast, had a slightly distorted expression. Choe Jisu showed no change in expression, and Choe Jiyoung was delighted as if it were her own good news.
"Muhyeok, congratulations."
Jiyoung genuinely congratulated me, while Choe Jiwon and Choe Jisu did so formally, partly due to my grandfather's presence.
With those words, the family gathering for my grandfather's birthday came to an end.
My grandfather left for Pyeongchang-dong with Secretary Ha, and Jiyoung followed. Choe Jiwon, with a distorted face, also left the hotel.
But Choe Jisu held me back, asking for a moment of my time.
"Is it finally come to this?"
I didn't answer, just looked at Choe Jisu's face.
"Will you keep your promise? You didn't forget that you promised to help me get into Ilseong, did you?"
His reaction was completely different from Jiyoung's.
That said, Choe Jisu couldn't have been unaware of what Choe Su had done.
"What my father did is not my responsibility. I hope it doesn't affect our agreement."
Choe Jisu's face, speaking with audacity, was absurd.
"At the very least, shouldn't you say something like, 'I'm sorry for what my father did to my aunt'?"
"I didn't know about it, so why should I apologize? My father and I are different. And my father has received sufficient punishment, hasn't he? He can't come back to Korea as long as my grandfather is alive. Is that not enough?"
Choe Jisu, whom I thought was a fox, was not a fox.
If he were, he would have at least apologized to smooth things over and gotten something out of it.
"Is it not enough?"
"A promise is a promise. I believe you will keep it."
Regardless of whether I sneered or not, Choe Jisu stood up as if he had finished what he wanted to say.
What did he think would change by being audacious?
I watched his back, lost in thought.
'I thought you were going to stab me in the back, but it seems there's no need. I'll make sure you get nothing.'
I gathered my thoughts and stood up.
At that moment, a call came in.
"Kim Muhyeok here."
- Hey, let's have a drink. At the nightclub in the hotel.
It was Choe Jiwon, who had left earlier.
'These two are a pair of troublemakers.'
I sighed involuntarily at the siblings.
I considered ignoring it but was curious to hear what he had to say.
I went down to the nightclub and told the waiter Choe Jiwon's name, and he immediately led me in.
When I entered the room, Choe Jiwon was drinking alone.
"Why did you call me? We're not close enough to drink together, are we?"
"Sit down first. Don't stand there."
Choe Jiwon, after I sat down, silently poured me a drink and then drank alone.
He kept trying to say something but just kept drinking.
He didn't seem like the arrogant Choe Jiwon I knew.
"Sorry, I really didn't know about my aunt."
It took him a while to say it.
"What?"
"I'm sorry. Damn, even if I'm a piece of trash, that's not right."
I never thought Choe Jiwon would apologize.
What's his angle?
"I'm not asking for forgiveness just because I didn't know. I just wanted to say it to your face once."
Choe Jiwon didn't say anything more.
I watched him drink, as if he had finished what he wanted to say, and then stood up.
'Choe Jiwon and Choe Jisu...'
My thoughts were still unorganized when I arrived home in Pyeongchang-dong.
"Jiwon and Jisu won't be your competitors anymore. Don't burn with revenge against them."
My grandfather seemed to think I might take revenge on them after he died.
By calling the family together to say I was the successor, he was sending a message to me, more than to others. It was more of a message to let them be, as I wouldn't be able to do anything anyway.
"I understand."
"Good. I'm counting on you."
My grandfather, after taking a sip of tea, changed the subject.
"Are you still seeing the Song chairman's granddaughter?"
My grandfather, smiling, put down his teacup.
"Don't you like her?"
"No, I've met her a few times."
"Bring her over once."
"We're not at that stage yet."
"I want to see her. Her name is Song Hyunji, right?"
"Yes."
"From the looks of it, you like her too."
We've met a few more times since our first meeting at the Song family's house.
The more I met her, the more I liked her.
"I'll bring her over when I really want to meet her properly."
"I don't know when I'll die... I want to see you get married before then."
"Grandfather."
My grandfather laughed heartily, seemingly pleased with my flustered expression.
"I won't hand everything over just because I told the family you'll be my successor."
That was what I wanted.
During the IMF crisis, I had to hide behind my grandfather to do what needed to be done.
"Don't give up the loan market. There must be a shadow for there to be light. It's a law that doesn't change, no matter how the dynasty or era changes. Everyone must do their part in their own domain for the country to function."
"Yes, Grandfather."
* * *
In a spacious old house on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, a faint voice of an old man could be heard.
The person on the phone seemed to be someone of high status, as the old man kept saying "Yes" in Japanese.
When he finally hung up, the old man's face was flushed.
The old man walked out of the room. On the wide wooden floor, people were kneeling on both sides. The old man walked through them and sat at the head of the table.
"What are you all doing!"
The old man's voice was surprisingly loud for his age.
No one answered.
Everyone bowed their heads and remained still.
"Prime Minister, does the President really have no intention of changing his mind?"
The man called Prime Minister raised his head.
"Chairman, no matter how much we try to persuade him, he won't listen."
The old man was none other than the chairman of the Cheongpung Society.
"What does he gain by rejecting Japan's offer and being so stubborn?"
"I'm sorry."
"Ha... A person who became president with our support is now stabbing us in the back."
"It was an unavoidable choice. If we hadn't chosen him, the government would have gone to the opposition."
The chairman rubbed his forehead, as if in pain.
"Hmm... He's talking about dismantling the Government-General of Korea, a legacy of the Japanese Empire, on the day of the end of the war."
Although he used the term "end of the war" instead of "Liberation Day," no one objected.
"Stop it, stop it by any means necessary."
"There's no way. Those who oppose are either pushed to the sidelines or forced to resign. He's resisting our pressure by relying on his high public approval rating."
"That's your job, to find a way."
No one could answer, only sweating profusely.
Who could stop a president with an 80% approval rating?
The old man clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"We should have acted when they were purging our influence. We made a mistake."
The One Society was one of the pillars of the Cheongpung Society.
It was their best card to pressure the president using the military, but they lost their chance when the president carried out a major military reform before they could respond.
That's when the president started to act on his own will.
The wrinkles on the old man's forehead deepened, and the atmosphere grew even more tense.
Then, a man on the opposite side of the Prime Minister spoke up.
"Chairman..."
The chairman looked at him indifferently.
"What is it, Kim Do-sung? Can you get the prosecutors to expose any corruption around the president?"
"The prosecutor general is on the president's side. As a powerless deputy, there's nothing I can do unless he resigns."
"Two years, two years. The dismantling has been discussed for two years, and no one has been able to change the president's mind. Can't you even do that? Japan is covering all the costs, and you can't stop it?"
Everyone bowed their heads, unable to answer.
"What are you going to do about this?"
The sound of the old man clicking his tongue echoed in the room.
The chairman of the Cheongpung Society, Yoo Yong-hyun, as Kim Muhyeok had predicted, was preoccupied with the issue of dismantling the Government-General of Korea and not paying attention to Kim Muhyeok's existence.
* * *
August arrived.
I went to the United States to prepare for Netscape's IPO.
Han Kyung-young, who met me at the airport, had changed beyond recognition.
"Hey~ Muhyeok!"
He ran up to me and hugged me enthusiastically.
"How long has it been?"
"You've changed a lot too."
"Let's go."
We got into the limousine Han Kyung-young had prepared.
"How's it going? I prepared this for your arrival."
The spacious interior allowed us to talk comfortably.
"How's the IPO preparation?"
"No problem. The offering price was $14, but it got so overheated that we raised it to $28."
It was no different from the original history.
"If we sell at $40, what's our expected profit?"
"About $1 billion. Are you planning to sell?"
It would eventually rise to $80, but there was no need to hold on.
Ultimately, it would be overshadowed by Microsoft.
"Alright. You negotiate with Andreessen. Tell him we'll transfer our shares at $40 after the listing. If he doesn't accept, you handle it."
"Got it."
We couldn't discuss important matters with the driver present.
It wasn't until we arrived at Han Kyung-young's house that we could seriously discuss setting up the phantom company.
"How's it going?"
"About 30%? I think it needs to be done by next year."
It was taking longer than I expected.
"Have you settled the yen?"
"Yeah, I finished liquidating it a few days ago. The return was over 300%."
It was harder to make huge profits as the amount increased.
"Good job. What's the total asset now?"
"Don't be surprised. $82 billion. Ha, you're the richest man in the world."
"Hasn't the news spread? You had to step forward during the peso crisis, but the yen was just an investment in an existing product."
"Maybe not, but the U.S. government probably knows."
$82 billion was a lot of money, equivalent to nearly 70 trillion won at an exchange rate of 800 won.
But to call it the highest fortune, well, there were too many hidden rich people in the world.
"Except for $20 billion, disperse the rest. How many companies do you plan to split and merge?"
"It's up to the team, but we plan to split it into about 500 and then merge it into twelve companies, each with $5 billion."
"That's too small. Increase it. Split it into thousands and then merge it into thirteen companies. One will be my slush fund."
"Wow, the fees will be enormous."
"Better than you spending your life in prison to save on fees."
Han Kyung-young recoiled in horror.
"Don't be so dramatic. Don't complain about the high fees later. It will be really expensive."
"Ha ha ha."
After the conversation, Han Kyung-young left, telling me to rest.
Left alone with Manager Ma, my face turned cold.
"Manager, do you know anyone trustworthy? A bodyguard and monitor, preferably a former mercenary, with U.S. citizenship, not Korean."
"I'll look into it."
"Don't worry about the cost. Someone you trust, someone who won't betray me to Han Kyung-young."
I trusted Han Kyung-young. Or rather, I wanted to trust him.
But I knew better than anyone how terrifying money could be.
There was no need to look far. In South America, Southeast Asia, $1,000 could buy a life. A world where a human life was worth just 1 million won.
If Han Kyung-young, consumed by the monster of money, betrayed my trust... I would abandon him.
* * *
Finally, Netscape went public on the NASDAQ. It started at $28, rose to a high of $78, but closed at $57.
Han Kyung-young poured cold water on Andreessen and the company employees, who were raising their glasses in celebration.
"Andreessen, we're going to liquidate all our shares. Will you buy them at $60 per share?"
I had told him to sell at $40, but Han Kyung-young was even more ruthless with money than I was.
< From now on, Muhyeok will be my successor. > End