Chapter 37: Even If They Want to Join, They Won’t Have the Money

President Park Jeong-ho’s office in Myeong-dong was spacious and luxurious, yet the air inside was unbearably heavy.

“Participation is far lower than I expected…….”

Park Jeong-ho muttered irritably, shoving the documents sprawled across his desk.

It had already been two days since the subscription for the shareholders’ rights issue had opened, but the results were far from satisfactory.

“There are still a few days left until the subscription closes, aren’t there? There might be a rush at the end.”

“Even so, this is far too low!”

He snapped at the employee who spoke. Anxiety and frustration were written all over his face.

Breathing harshly, Park leaned back deep into the sofa and pulled out a cigarette.

As the employee hastily struck a match and lit it for him, Park took a deep drag and slowly exhaled smoke into the air.

“At the very least, everyone except us—the ones already holding shares—needs to participate for this whole plan to move. At this rate, damn it.”

As he finished smoking, Park ground out the cigarette in the ashtray and asked,

“How’s the trading situation for the Daegung stock?”

“It’s still active. The price hasn’t gone up much, but the volume of buying and selling remains significant.”

“Should we release a small portion of our holdings to stir up some movement……?”

“If we do that, it’ll be hard to maintain the current price level. Right now, it’s staying steady because we’re tightly holding onto the shares.”

Clicking his tongue, Park asked again,

“What about the trading trends at other securities firms?”

“Most of the smaller firms not affiliated with us are just engaging in ordinary trades, aiming for short-term profits. No major movements so far.”

“Keep a close eye on the firms that bought large quantities of shares from that bastard Baek Min-woo. Especially Gyeongin, Mando, and Daeryuk Securities. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. According to the latest report, Gyeongin Securities participated in today’s rights issue subscription.”

But Park only twitched his eyebrow, unimpressed.

“Keep watching whether Daeryuk and Mando Securities are also joining the subscription. If even one of them backs out, we’ll have a problem.”

“Yes, President.”

At that moment, the office door opened, and Chief Choi Min-jun entered with a stiff expression.

Park gave a quick gesture to the employee, who bowed hurriedly and left the room.

Though Choi had arrived at a bad time, Park forced a smile to greet him.

“Chief Choi, come in.”

“Yes, sir. But before that……”

Choi’s tone was colder than usual, brushing off Park’s attempt at small talk.

“Ah, you mean the money. I know.”

Sighing deeply, Park rose from his chair. He walked to the heavy safe in the corner of the office, opened it, and pulled out a bulky-looking bag, setting it on the desk in front of Choi.

“For now, fifty thousand dollars.”

At the amount, a faint wrinkle formed between Choi’s brows.

“President Park, isn’t that far less than what was promised?”

“The financial situation’s not good right now. We’ve nearly hit the limit on what we can make through regular trading. Just use this to handle the urgent matters for now……”

“President Park.”

Choi’s voice cut through Park’s words—low and quietly menacing.

“Promises exist to be kept. We joined hands with you because we expected proper compensation.”

“I know, I know. Once the rights issue goes through successfully, I’ll handle it through the forfeited share sales, so please, just give me a little more time—”

As Park’s irritation began to rise, Choi interrupted again.

“Sir, it seems you still don’t grasp the situation.”

Choi slowly stood up. The bright light behind him cast a long shadow over Park.

“We don’t care about your personal financial struggles. The only thing that concerns us is the fulfillment of our agreement.”

Though his tone was calm, the pressure in his voice was immense.

Park swallowed dryly without realizing it.

“We helped you acquire the securities firm and even arranged for the underpriced sale of KEPCO stock. Now, it’s your turn to uphold your end of the bargain.”

After a brief pause, Choi spoke again, his voice colder than before.

“We are not philanthropists, President Park. We invested in you—and in return, we were promised political funds.”

With contempt, Choi tapped the bag on the desk.

“If you think you can appease us with this pocket change, you’re gravely mistaken. You’d best remember that everything you’re enjoying right now could vanish like foam on the sea. Let me make this clear once more—you will keep your promise. By any means necessary.”

Leaving behind his chilling warning, Choi turned and strode out of the office.

Bang! The violently closing door sounded to Park like a death sentence.

Left alone, Park reached for the cigarettes on the table, but his trembling hands couldn’t grasp them easily.

“Damn it……”

He finally managed to get one between his lips and muttered a curse. Those hyena-like bastards never cared about his circumstances.

The office door opened again, and Cheon Sang-do stepped inside.

His eyes roamed curiously around the room before they landed on me.

“Welcome, President Cheon Sang-do.”

“Well now, you’ve got quite a cozy office here. And it’s got a fine view of the Korea Securities Exchange to boot.”

Wearing his characteristic sly grin, Cheon pointed out the window.

Just as he said, the darkened, closed exchange building could be clearly seen from there.

“Let me introduce you to the people you’ll be working with from now on.”

I placed a hand on the shoulder of Kang Cheol-min, who had brought Cheon here.

“This is Kang Cheol-min. A capable stockbroker who’s always active out in the field.”

“Ha! I’ve already heard plenty about Broker Kang. A man well-known across the Myeong-dong scene, eh? We already greeted each other earlier.”

Next, I gestured toward Yoon Ji-seong.

“And this is Yoon Ji-seong, in charge of intelligence gathering and analysis.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Cheon Sang-do.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yoon Ji-seong.”

After their handshake, I pointed toward the last man, Ma Dong-jin, who stood quietly by.

“And this one—you’re already acquainted, aren’t you?”

“Of course. Hard to forget someone so particular.”

Once the brief introductions ended, we all sat around the table.

A subtle silence fell, broken only when I spoke first. I decided not to dance around the point.

“So, you’ve come because you’ve decided to work with us, haven’t you, President Cheon?”

Cheon nodded slowly, his expression serious.

“That’s right. Now, tell me what exactly is going on before I lose my patience.”

“Before that, I’d like to ask one thing first. Have you cleared out all your Daegung stock and other holdings under your firm?”

“Heh, you think all that can be done in a day or two? I’ve arranged to sell all the Daegung shares in one go to a big player I know off-market. Sold them at cost, plus a one-hwan premium.”

“You let them go cheaper than expected. You could’ve gotten more.”

“There were so many shares, where on earth would you find a big player willing to swallow them all at once? If securities firms start passing them around, only loud rumors will spread and there’ll be trouble afterwards.”

It was an utterly practical judgment. I liked the way he made bold decisions once his mind was made up.

“And the other stocks?”

“I was putting those on the market slowly. They’d all be cleared in a few days.”

“But President Cheon, you made such a big decision trusting only my word. Didn’t you have any doubts?”

“Me, Cheon Sang-do—didn’t I come up from the pawnshop floors and make it here by reading the room?”

Cheon Sang-do slapped his chest and grinned.

“The mood these days felt downright suspicious. Even without your words, I’d sensed something was seriously wrong.”

He was, indeed, exceptionally perceptive. That was why I had chosen him out of the many securities firm presidents.

He had a sly, crafty side, but Cheon Sang-do’s sole aim was ‘money.’ It was both his reason for living and his driving force.

“I heard Gyeongin Securities already subscribed to the rights issue, and that stupid President Ma of Daeryuk Securities is supposed to apply tomorrow or the day after. But—just like you said, the securities firms on Park Jeong-ho’s side aren’t even budging. Even though there were four days left until subscription closed, it was about time something moved.”

“They probably won’t participate. No, even if they wanted to, they wouldn’t have the money.”

“My word, young president, how can you be so sure? By now, tell me plainly—why did you pull me into this game?”

Cheon Sang-do nodded at my assertion and leaned forward to ask.

I smiled faintly, stood, and walked to the blackboard. I took a piece of chalk and wrote three large, clear characters.

[空賣渡.]

Seeing the characters on the board, Cheon Sang-do’s expression stiffened. After a moment’s thought, a low sigh escaped him.

“Short selling…… Haha, you won’t pull that off with mere nerve. You mean unlimited sell orders against the Daegung stock? Do you think that’s possible in this market? If this went wrong, the KCIA could mark you and you’d disappear without a trace.”

“You didn’t need to worry about that part. I had already put safety measures in place.”

It wasn’t that other securities firms hadn’t thought of this — only that the razor-sharp blade of power had scared them off from daring to execute it.

Still, the fact that he recognized the meaning and danger of the word “short selling” at a glance proved Cheon Sang-do was no ordinary man.

“Safety measures in place…….”

Muttering that, Cheon Sang-do’s eyes lit up. He had already scented the money hidden behind this dangerous operation.

“So why drag me into that massive plan? It seems you want to entrust that particular task to me.”

I nodded calmly. That was exactly why I’d chosen Cheon Sang-do as a partner.

This operation needed his experience and skill, and it needed Mando Securities as a legal channel.

“That’s right. We needed a trustworthy securities firm to coordinate with us. And I thought you were the right man for that.”

“But to truly shake this market, Mando Securities alone would be insufficient……”

“Of course. Others would move as well. We intended to cleverly ride that gigantic operation and take as much profit as possible. Minimize risk, maximize gain.”

“You say others will move—could you at least hint where?”

Cheon Sang-do asked with a sly smile, but I shook my head decisively.

“You’ll learn naturally later. The more you know now, the more trouble it’ll cause you.”

He fell quiet and considered. Even with safety measures, stepping onto that dangerous wave was a huge risk. He seemed to accept that, for he soon nodded and asked the most important question.

“So, if I wade into this perilous mess, what do I get?”

“Five percent of the total profit.”

The cut for Cheon Sang-do had already been approved by Yang Sobo.

“Five percent of the total profit.”

Repeating my words, Cheon Sang-do’s mouth curved up as if it would soar to the sky. Clearly pleased, he spoke.

“Haha, if I refuse, I’d be a fool of the century! Fine! So how much capital are we mobilizing?”

“For a start, about two hundred million hwan. We could inject more if needed, but that was the plan for now.”

“Let’s see. The interest that accumulates during the usual settlement deferment period is about fifteen percent……”

He muttered to himself and began counting on his fingers.

“We expected the operation to last up to two months. We had to win within that time. In the worst case, we were prepared to burn the entire two hundred million hwan in interest.”

“My word, that’s no for the faint of heart. If the aftermath hits later, how would you handle it?”

“That wasn’t something you needed to worry about, sir.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Cheon Sang-do blinked, not understanding, but then a meaningful smile spread simultaneously across both our faces.

“The person who will be held responsible is already decided.”

“Aha. You mean Park Jeong-ho?”

“Yes. Park Jeong-ho and everyone associated with him would take the full blame for this.”

“Ha ha! Wonderful! That’s a relief! So when do we start?”

“On the first trading day after the shareholder-allocated rights issue subscription ends. That’s when it starts.”

The core of this operation was to make the rights issue aimed at ordinary investors fail completely.

“I wouldn’t participate directly in this operation. Kang Cheol-min would move with you and handle the practical work.”

“Kang the broker is trustworthy. That fellow’s resourcefulness is remarkable.”

For a long while afterward, we shared detailed plans and each person’s role in this short-selling operation.

Cheon Sang-do’s long experience and informational reach helped me refine the plan into something more precise.

After sending Cheon Sang-do and Kang Cheol-min out together, I instructed Yoon Ji-seong, who remained in the office.

“You’ll serve as the contact between me and President Cheon from now on. And don’t neglect your market intelligence collection and analysis.”

“Yes, understood, boss. I’ll carry it out without fail.”

“I won’t be coming to this office directly for a while. If President Cheon urgently needs funds, relay it to me immediately.”

I handed the safe key to Ma Dong-jin as I spoke. Ma Dong-jin received it carefully.

“Take out and deliver as much as you need from here. Record every movement of funds meticulously.”

“Understood.”

I had made everyone’s duties clear. I had to coordinate everything from the center.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.