Rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, Jung Hwan-yeop leaned back from the monitors on his desk and let out a low whistle.
"Man… he nailed the timing again."
Yoo Seok-hyun, sitting beside him, turned in his chair with a small grin.
"You mean the chairman, right?"
Jung Hwan-yeop clasped his hands behind his head and nodded.
"Yeah. The moment he cleared out every position we had in Hyunwoo Group, the whole thing wrapped up like it was waiting for him. The fight between the brothers ended, and all the stocks that had been climbing started dropping straight down."
His tone was half awe, half disbelief.
"It's not the first time, but seriously… it's incredible."
"I thought the succession fight would drag on," Hong Jae-hee added, brushing back the hair tied behind her head. "Those two brothers were really going at each other."
"And who could've imagined it would all collapse in an instant because of one audio tape from Honorary Chairman Jung Tae-ho?"
Jung Hwan-yeop let out a small snort.
"That just shows how strong his influence still is."
Yoo Seok-hyun nodded. "Even though he's withdrawn from business because of his age, I heard that until not long ago, even the CEOs could barely breathe in front of him."
Jung Hwan-yeop exhaled sharply through his nose.
"Yeah, but so what? Even if the fight's over, the fallout is huge. The sons are each grabbing a piece and walking off with it. Hyunwoo Group is about to get split into fragments."
His expression dimmed.
"Imagine spending your whole life building a group like that, only to watch it break apart. Honorary Chairman Jung must be devastated."
"No doubt."
At that moment, Choi Ho-geun stood from his seat and shot Jung Hwan-yeop a sharp look.
"Hey. Since when do you worry about chaebol families breaking up? Focus on your own work."
With his hand on his waist, he asked:
"So, how's Hyunwoo Jeonggong's stock moving?"
Letting out a quiet groan, Jung Hwan-yeop straightened his posture and scratched his head.
"Did your wife nag you last night or something? You're touchy this morning."
"Look at him talk. Seems I let you slack off too much lately, huh?"
When Choi Ho-geun lifted his eyebrow and made a fist like he might loosen it on him, Jung Hwan-yeop instantly switched his attitude.
"Come on. I'm joking. Just joking."
He chuckled like a sycophant, but the moment he saw Choi Ho-geun staring at him without blinking, he quickly looked away.
A glance to the side showed Yoo Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hee suddenly acting very busy, pretending they hadn't seen a thing.
"Ahem."
Trying to regain some dignity, Jung Hwan-yeop tugged his loosened tie back into place and buttoned his shirt properly. Then he steadied his tone and answered the question Choi Ho-geun had asked earlier.
"As word spreads that Chairman Jung Yong-gil will take the automobile subgroup and spin it off, Hyunwoo Jeonggong's stock is rising. Since it's the most likely candidate for the holding company, investors are moving in. Still, it's under four thousand won per share, so it's not exactly expensive."
Choi Ho-geun crossed his arms and nodded.
"To secure full control of Hyunwoo Motor, he'll need a stable block of shares first. Since Jeonggong holds 7.33 percent and is the second-largest shareholder, it's obvious Chairman Jung Yong-gil will try to build up that stake."
"At this rate, the price will keep climbing. Shouldn't we start buying before it gets too late?"
Choi Ho-geun thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Not yet. We wait until the chairman gives the order."
"Yes, sir."
If it were anyone else, he might have argued, but with Seok-won's track record being what it was, Jung Hwan-yeop had no reason to push back.
"Oh my!"
Just then, Hong Jae-hee suddenly shouted while staring at her monitor.
"Sir! Hyunwoo Investment Trust's stock is tanking hard!"
Choi Ho-geun's eyes sharpened.
"What's the reason?"
"A civic group just held a press conference accusing Hyunwoo Investment Trust of illegally using clients' fund assets and causing losses worth several hundred billion won!"
At that, Jung Hwan-yeop snapped his head around, eyes wide.
"Is that for real?"
At the same time, Yoo Seok-hyun quickly opened the internal messenger to check the news himself, then widened his eyes.
"It's true. The reported losses are in the hundreds of billions. This is bad, isn't it?"
"Of course it's bad. Hyunwoo Group's stock was already weak, and this will push it down even further."
Jung Hwan-yeop glanced at the stock windows spread across his split monitors, and his expression tightened.
"Uh… even Hyunwoo Jeonggong is losing momentum now. The rise is shrinking."
"So it is."
Recalling the documents Seok-won had shown him in the chairman's office, Choi Ho-geun kept his face composed.
"Keep watching Hyunwoo Group closely. This will probably spill over into the entire financial sector, so be ready."
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
Hong Jae-hee let out a sigh under her breath.
"It's always one thing after another. Hyunwoo Group can't catch a break."
Choi Ho-geun answered with a heavy expression.
"It's the price they pay for Chairman Jung Tae-ho suddenly changing his mind at the end of his life and sidelining the son who carried the burden for decades."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
***
With Namsan Tower framed beautifully beyond the wide glass window, Seok-won sat alone in the same private Korean dining room at the Hilton Hotel where he had last met Chairman Jung Yong-gil.
He was sipping green tea, enjoying the soft scent, when a careful knock made him lift his head.
Han Ji-sung slid the door open, bowed, then stepped aside.
"Chairman Jung has arrived."
Seok-won answered with a small nod.
A moment later, guided by General Manager Yoon Byung-seop, Jung Yong-gil entered with his aide. He was of medium height with a solid build.
"Good to see you."
Seok-won stood and greeted him with a light smile.
Unlike their previous meeting, Jung Yong-gil now carried the stiff edge of someone who had lost a battle for control to his younger brother.
"You said you had something to talk about. What is it?"
His voice was flat and dry. Though tense, he didn't look defeated. Having had the group's leadership torn from him, one might expect resignation—but instead, his eyes burned with the determination of a wounded predator eager to rise again and reclaim pride. Seok-won silently approved.
He smiled easily and gestured toward the seat.
"Please, have a seat first."
"…Alright."
Once they sat, General Manager Yoon poured fresh green tea into a new cup and set it before Jung Yong-gil with a bow.
"If you need anything, please call anytime."
When Yoon stepped out, Seok-won glanced at Han Ji-sung standing near the door.
"I have something to discuss privately with Chairman Jung. Please wait outside."
"Yes."
Jung Yong-gil also motioned to his aide.
"Wait outside."
"Understood."
The aides of Chairman Jung Yong-gil and Han Ji-sung stepped out together, sliding the door shut behind them. The room quieted, leaving only the two men.
A brief silence hung in the air before Jung Yong-gil looked at Seok-won with a sour expression and spoke curtly.
"You already know how things turned out. Shouldn't you be asking to meet my brother, not me? Did you contact the wrong person?"
"Of course not."
Seok-won answered with a light smile.
Jung Yong-gil, lips pressed together, lifted the teacup in front of him and took a sip. Only then did he let out a slow breath.
"Haa… My apologies. As you know, things haven't been good lately, and my nerves are on edge. I didn't mean to sound so harsh."
"I understand. It's natural your mind isn't at ease."
With that, Seok-won lifted his gaze and studied the chairman's expression.
"To be honest, I think the way things ended may actually be a better outcome for you."
Jung Yong-gil's face froze, and he glared sharply.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Unfazed by the sharp look, Seok-won answered calmly.
"Even without me spelling it out, I'm sure you know the group's financial condition isn't exactly healthy."
"…"
"And today's civic group announcement about Hyunwoo Investment Trust's illegal fund management… that puts the group in an even worse situation."
Jung Yong-gil let out a low sound without realizing it. He had heard the news on his way over.
"On top of that, Hyunwoo Construction—your core subsidiary—is about to announce in its upcoming earnings report that it posted a net loss of 2.9 trillion won."
"How did you find out about that?"
He frowned as he asked, and Seok-won replied as if it were nothing.
"Information is the most basic foundation of investing."
Even inside the group, only a handful of top executives knew this. The fact that an outsider like Seok-won had already grasped it left Jung Yong-gil visibly unsettled.
But not for long.
Remembering that Seok-won was a major Wall Street figure with considerable reach, Jung Yong-gil eventually accepted it. Someone like him would naturally have his own information network.
Even so, the leak of such sensitive internal data—especially amid a messy leadership dispute—left him uncomfortable. He folded his arms.
"It's true the loss is massive. But Hyunwoo Construction didn't mismanage anything. It's just that the auditing firm applied stricter accounting standards. Nothing more than an unfortunate technical issue."
"You're referring to the write-off of the unpaid Iraqi receivables?"
Jung Yong-gil nodded.
"That's right. We didn't receive the construction payment from Iraq on time, but it was only delayed because of the local situation. We'll recover it later. Under normal circumstances, even if accounting standards require a loss to be recognized, it would be reasonable to reflect only ten to twenty percent. But they threw the entire amount in, which inflated the loss."
"Even so, you can't deny that both the investment trust and the construction arm are completely undercapitalized."
"…"
At that, Chairman Jung Yong-gil fell silent, unable to offer any rebuttal.
"The only reason the group has been breathing at all is because Securities, Heavy Industries, and Automobiles have been generating steady cash flow. But now that Automobiles, Heavy Industries, and several other subsidiaries are being separated from the group, the liquidity situation will only get worse."
Watching the chairman's face harden like stone, Seok-won continued.
"And this is confidential, but the government has decided not to inject public funds into Hyunwoo Investment Trust."
"Is that true?"
His eyes widened as he asked, and Seok-won replied without hesitation.
"It is."
It had happened that way in the previous timeline, and he had already double-checked with Woo Chun-il, the chief secretary. There was no doubt.
"It's one of the three major investment trust companies. How can the government give public funds to all the others and leave only Hyunwoo out? That makes no sense!"
He protested, but Seok-won only shrugged.
"Even if they wanted to help, they have no justification."
"No justification? What's that supposed to mean?"
Jung Yong-gil frowned, unable to understand.
"The group is in such poor shape that it needs public money to survive, yet the entire country watched the owner family fight over management rights. And on top of that, it's now been revealed that the investment trust illegally used customer funds. Do you think the public will accept the government using taxpayer money to cover that debt?"
"That's…"
The blunt truth struck deep. His face flushed, and he pressed his lips together.
Seok-won, on the other hand, leaned comfortably back in his chair.
"So now the brother who inherited the group will have to cover more than a trillion won out of his own pocket or put up collateral. Considering that, getting off a sinking ship before it drags you under is the best thing that could've happened to you."
It wasn't wrong, but Jung Yong-gil still looked sour and spoke, sounding irritated.
"So you called me here just to say that?"
"Of course not."
Seok-won straightened his posture and finally brought out his real point.
"I bought the 5.29 percent stake in Hyunwoo Motors that Mitsubishi Corporation and Motors were holding. It was done through a block deal."
"…!"
"To be precise, Eldorado Fund acquired it."
For a moment, Jung Yong-gil's face froze in surprise. Then his expression hardened, and he glared at Seok-won with a sharp, hostile look.
"So this is it. You brought me here to threaten me!"