Chapter 1611: Invading (1)

“We’re almost finished with setting up the joint venture, sir,” said Bak Sang-Wu.

“Hmm…”

Jeong Hong-Geun sat in his chair, legs crossed, while mouthing a cigarette.

Bak Sang-Wu had to bow even deeper after noticing his boss's icy glare.

The “bloody winds of change”; that was the only term that could adequately describe what happened within the Taegwang Group recently.

Over five presidents were kicked out of the company in the last month.

Replacing a president or two to improve the mood within the company happened now and then, but so many of them getting purged in such a brief window? Now that was nearly unprecedented in this company’s history.

As a result of such sweeping, merciless change, the corridors of Taegwang were now enveloped in eerie silence so still that even the noise of a pen dropping would echo like a thunderclap.

And Jeong Hong-Geun, currently perched in his chair in his office at the top-most floor of his eerily silent company… was leisurely smoking away.

“Any opposition from the remaining presidents?”

Bak Sang-Wu replied with his head bowed. “As expected, there is none, sir.”

“What a bunch of spineless morons.” Jeong Hong-Geun tutted loudly. “A man should stand his ground and stick to his principles even if a blade is closing in on his throat. But just because of a few body blows here and there, they give up without a fight? That's why they will never amount to anything.”

Bak Sang-Wu wisely didn’t respond with, But sir, if they had done that, you would have cut their heads off.

The presidents must’ve been deeply shocked, Bak Sang-Wu wagered. Which made sense if one thought about it for a second.

Jeong Hong-Geun hadn't stepped away from the frontline. However, as he got older, he began leaving more and more of the decision-making process to the presidents and the board of directors. Not because he had accepted his gradually deteriorating capacity as a leader, no, but more like he couldn't be bothered with racking his brain over annoying matters anymore.

It had been several years since this state of affairs had become the norm within Taegwang, but then Jeong Hong-Geun suddenly stepped forward and flipped the company on its head with no warning. No wonder the presidents got confused and didn't know what to do.

Since Bak Sang-Wu served Jeong Hong-Geun from close by, he could notice his boss's transformation quite clearly. However, how could those presidents realize what was going on here when they hardly spent any time in Jeong Hong-Geun's company?

At this point, Bak Sang-Wu even felt a bit of pity for those presidents.

Jeong Hong-Geun contemplatively asked, “So… The joint venture is almost ready, you say?”

“Yes, sir. The only remaining agenda is the question of the company shares. But, Chairman…?”

“What is it?”

“Although I don’t have an issue with setting up a joint venture with another company, for us to yield some shares in Taegwang as compensation sounds a little…”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk…”

When Jeong Hong-Geun tutted disapprovingly away, Bak Sang-Wu hurriedly lowered his head again.

“My apologies, sir. But it’s difficult for me to comprehend your wisdom.”

“What is so hard to understand? Fella, what did I say the last time?”

“Sir? I don’t follow…?”

“That’s not how you do business.” Jeong Hong-Geun furrowed his brow. “A business deal that benefits us? That puts us in an advantageous position? Yes, that's a good thing. Very good. However, what will we gain by doing so?”

“…? Sir, we’ll be profiting from it.”

“More specifically?”

“We’ll be making money, sir.”

“Yes, money. But I have enough money already.” Jeong Hong-Geun dismissively waved his hand. “Do you honestly think I'm doing this to make a few extra bucks? Listen, Sang-Wu. Taegwang is nothing to me. Even if this company goes under tomorrow, I can still live like an emperor. No, not just me, but even the five generations of my descendants, too!”

Bak Sang-Wu stared at Jeong Hong-Geun in confusion. If a company was not pursuing profits, what was it even doing, then?

“Have you forgotten how tough it was for us in the beginning? Did you forget how others laughed in our faces just because we were selling cheap snacks that made little to no profit?”

“No, sir. I still remember.”

“Good. But the thing is? Lately…”

A strange smirk floated up on Jeong Hong-Geun’s face just then.

“I've been thinking that Taegwang’s behavior lately isn’t any different from that of those bastards who used to laugh at us. The world is changing, Sang-Wu. And time keeps ticking forward. Yet all we've been doing lately is playing defense. I'm sure you already know this, but the defenders can never stop the attacker from breaking through one day.”

Bak Sang-Wu slowly nodded. He agreed with Jeong Hong-Geun on this once.

Humanity had this tendency to repeat the same history over and over again. The one at the top always tried to defend their position no matter what, but it was only a matter of time before one relinquished their spot. The only variable was the duration of their stay at the top. That was all.

Even an impregnable fortress was bound to fall one day.

“In the past, it was a battle to see who could build the tallest, sturdiest walls. Do you know why that kind of battle tactic went to the dogs?”

“Sir? I’m not sure…?”

Jeong Hong-Geun tutted. "The invention of cannons. Cannons can destroy walls, you see? So, the defenders built even thicker, sturdier walls. But then, the enemy came flying in with the fancy airplanes and began dropping bombs on them next.”

“…”

“This is why playing defense is tricky. No matter how efficient and effective your defense strategy is, everything will become meaningless once the new rules are introduced in the game. So, here’s the question for you. Since when did we start this business to protect what we have?”

Bak Sang-Wu contemplatively nodded. He still couldn’t understand Jeong Hong-Geun’s point completely yet, but he now knew that his boss had not been thoughtlessly forging ahead with this business venture.

“The shares in Taegwang? Who cares? I’m not interested in the money I've already made. Why should I when there is plenty more money to be made even now?”

Jeong Hong-Geun cackled insidiously. Despite sounding cold and cynical, there was undoubtedly passion hidden beneath his statement.

“So, stop worrying about unnecessary things and proceed as I’ve ordered, okay? Giving them the company’s shares won’t lead to problems, anyway.”

Bak Sang-Wu cautiously said, “But, sir. It might lead to disagreements in the future direction of the company.”

“Really? Do you honestly think they care about controlling Taegwang?”

“Chairman, sir…”

Jeong Hong-Geun slowly shook his head. “You’re not a youngster anymore, yet you still don’t know how a human heart operates? Things we hold dear can be as worthless as a piece of toilet paper to some people, okay?”

Jeong Hong-Geun leaned back while tutting again.

He shouldn't be surprised here, however. After all, Bak Sang-Wu had not "experienced" Kang Jin-Ho. It made sense for him to think this way.

“In any case… Make sure nothing goes wrong, Sang-Wu.”

“Understood, sir.” Bak Sang-Wu replied, then cautiously addressed Jeong Hong-Geun. “By the way…?”

“What is it this time?”

“There is the matter of the vacant position of the joint venture’s president, Chairman. How about one of your sons as the…”

“No,” Jeong Hong-Geun shook his head. “That job is yours.”

“…? I’m sorry?”

“I’m saying, I want you to do it.”

Bak Sang-Wu urgently blinked his eyes. “Me, sir?”

“Yes, you.”

“…I’m honored, but I fear I’m not the most suitable candidate, Chairman.”

“The way I see it, you’re the perfect fit. My sons don’t have what it takes.”

“But your sons boast wonderful academic and business records, sir.”

“Sure. And that makes them ideal candidates to take over the chairman position one day. But such records mean little when they need to enter an uncharted territory and build a base of operations. And that’s why you’re the ideal candidate for the job.”

Bak Sang-Wu sighed deeply. “Chairman, I’m an old fart now. I just don’t have the ability or the energy to handle such a responsibility.”

“No need to worry about that. Our partners will handle the bulk of the work, after all. Besides, you’ll be a co-president anyway. All you have to do is handle the mediation between us and our partner.”

Bak Sang-Wu clamped his mouth shut. He should be able to do that much, at least.

“Listen, Sang-Wu. No, Director Bak.”

“Yes, Chairman?”

“Our company’s future depends on the success of this venture. Which means I want someone I trust to oversee it.”

Bak Sang-Wu shuddered a little. “Chairman, I…”

“Please help me out on this one.”

Bak Sang-Wu bit his lip. “I… will do my best, sir.”

“Good, good.”

Jeong Hong-Geun's eyes grew more withdrawn as he watched Bak Sang-Wu shuddering away after getting overwhelmed by his emotions.

…And that’s exactly why you will never achieve great things, Sang-Wu.

Bak Sang-Wu was a good man. His abilities weren't top-tier, but he was an honest and hard-working man. A friendly man, to boot. That meant he'd do a good-enough job while avoiding friction with MK. But that was all he had to offer.

Jeong Hong-Geun didn’t expect anything more from Bak Sang-Wu. He simply was using suitable pawns in appropriate places, that was all.

Loyalty? Trust? What a laughable notion they all were.

Nothing remained in Jeong Hong-Geun other than pure avarice. And his desire for honor and glory!

***

“Looks like they are almost finished, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su with a smirk while perusing the documents in his hand. “I have to say, that old man seems to be overflowing with passion, sir. Judging from this, he’s making all sorts of preparations.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “There’s money to be made, after all.”

“Actually, I think there’s more to it than that, sir.”

“Mm?”

Lee Hyeon-Su cackled. “You watch TV dramas, don’t you?”

“TV dramas? Why?”

“You know, in those dramas where the protagonist is a servant of some kind working for a super-duper-rich family? At the end of those shows, you’ll see the protagonist taking everything away from said rich family and crushing them mercilessly. On the surface, at least, it’ll look like the good triumphing over evil, that the protagonist is punishing the evil rich family, but I’d argue there’s another hidden meaning.”

“Really now? And what would that be?”

“It’s… trampling on the people I’ve been serving.”

“…”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s eyes flickered dangerously just then. “This is a subconscious desire every person holds, sir. Every office worker has fantasized about slapping the living daylights out of their stupid bosses at least once in their life. Even those who voluntarily offer their loyalty will inevitably harbor the thoughts of reversing the power dynamics one day.”

“…Are you saying that’s what Japan is to Jeong Hong-Geun?”

“Yes, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged. “To Jeong Hong-Geun, Japan probably wasn’t the nicest ally to have. No, it must’ve been nothing more than the strongest faction closest to him. The faction that would toss him the juiciest, meatiest bones in his direction if he wagged his tail a bit.”

Kang Jin-Ho was intrigued by this line of thinking, which was something he hadn’t considered before.

“But now, he’s suddenly presented with an opportunity to tear out the neck of this strong faction instead of wagging his tail in front of it. To a man who has spent almost all of his entire life as a pro-Japan dog, this must feel like the most exciting adventure he’s ever been on.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. “I see. I get what you’re saying. But the more I hear you, the less I like the man.”

“But that’s how humans operate, sir. You shouldn’t expect too much from the morality of man, after all.”

“No, rather than morality, it’s… Mm…”

When Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t finish his sentence and faltered, Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled and changed the subject.

“In any case… This is no joke, sir. I think that old man is serious about going all-in here. How did you do it, though? What did you do to make someone behave like this, sir?”

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t reply, although his scowl deepened slightly. That's not something you should be saying, though. Back when I took you under my wings, I didn't think you'd become such an enthusiastic schemer.

“We can safely say they are almost finished with their preparations, sir. That means we need to focus on how well MK's own preparations are going."

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “How are they doing, though?”

“Well… They are in hell, more or less.”

“…”

Lee Hyeon-Su shrugged again. “The one thing I’ve learned from this matter is that… The saying about the South Korean workers charging ahead full-steam to finish their work after their bosses have nagged them incessantly was a lie, sir. Even though we’ve told the folks at MK to do what they thought was best and left them alone, they still formed a dedicated task force on their own. Did you know that the task force has been working twenty-four-seven?”

“…”

“Well, considering Chief Lee is the granddaughter of that man, I kind of pity them.”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned deeply. He was serious about feeling sorry about those martial artists who joined MK as office workers in order to find their own happiness. After all, staying in the Assembly and training hard every day might be a more comfortable way to live than getting crushed by office work.

“In any case… Leave it to us, sir. We’ll take care of it as flawlessly as possible. However, you might have to hop on over to Japan once or twice in the near future. The matter of uniting the Yakuza and making them support our cause is not going as smoothly as we thought, you see?”

“I see. That much is, well…”

Japan was only two hours away on a plane, anyway. Since Kang Jin-Ho didn't need to go through customs and immigration, it shouldn’t impact his schedule much.

“Got it. Any other issues I should be aware of?”

“There is one more, but…” Lee Hyeon-Su smirked subtly. “That’s something the government should be resolving, not us. Besides, it won’t matter too much even if it’s not resolved, sir. There are plenty of willing folks in Japan who don't mind doing business on our behalf, after all. How about we set up a puppet regime over there instead?”

Kang Jin-Ho deeply scowled. “You know, I didn’t want to bring this up, but…”

“Sir?”

“…Why do you have to make that face whenever you’re doing something bad?”

“That's a total misunderstanding, sir. I’m a nice guy, you know. A totally warm-hearted softie!”

“…”

Yes, you're so warm that I might get burned to death here.

Seriously.