Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 145

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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145. Let me give you the sword dance you’ve been wanting to see.

Inside a luxurious room at Moulin Rouge, an upscale establishment in Gangnam, Jeon Geon-woo and Yoo Seok-chan sat alone without any hostesses.
Jeon Geon-woo set down his glass of straight whiskey with a harsh clink, his irritation evident.

“That bastard Ho-geun. He was spouting off about how I should trust him, and this is how he handles things? Damn it all!”

Yoo Seok-chan, sitting across from him, had his expression hardened into a rigid mask.
With Boseong Communications halted from trading and the Securities Supervisory Board conducting raids and investigations, it looked like they would lose every penny they’d invested in the operation.

“At this rate, we won’t see any profits, and we won’t recover a single won, will we? Shit, what am I supposed to do….”
“Money isn’t the real problem right now.”
“Then what the hell is!”

Yoo Seok-chan pulled out a cigarette, lit it with his lighter, and spoke in a heavy, grave tone.

“Haven’t you heard? Two employees from the Securities Company handling the operation have been arrested.”
….
“If we’re not careful, we could end up with a criminal record for stock price manipulation.”

Jeon Geon-woo’s face went pale—he hadn’t considered that possibility.

“The guys who got caught don’t know about us. There’s no way something like that would happen.”
“But Ho-geun knows about us.”

Yoo Seok-chan exhaled white cigarette smoke as he countered.

“And during the investigation into the source of funds, we could get caught by sheer bad luck.”
!

At that, Jeon Geon-woo’s face drained of all color as he realized the situation was far more serious than he’d thought.

“Damn it.”

Jeon Geon-woo cursed and grabbed the liquor bottle with a violent gesture, pouring it into his empty glass.
He felt like he couldn’t endure this without drinking.

“Why the hell is Ho-geun taking so long? Don’t tell me he bailed on us.”
“Just wait a bit.”
“If he’s going to be late, he should at least say so. I never liked that bastard from the start anyway.”

The door swung open, and Woo Ho-geun stepped inside, a Boston bag hanging from one hand.

“You—you!”
“Looks like you’re no gentleman.”

Yoo Seok-chan spoke from his reclined position, his posture deliberately casual.
Woo Ho-geun set the Boston bag at his feet without a word, then reached for the liquor bottle Jeon Geon-woo was holding, filled an empty glass to the brim, and drained it in one long gulp.

“Damn it! Why are you so late!”
“I had something to take care of.”

Woo Ho-geun wiped the liquor from his lips with the back of his hand and dropped heavily into the empty seat. Jeon Geon-woo, his anger rising, was about to shout when Yoo Seok-chan raised his hand to stop him.
Jeon Geon-woo, even more infuriated by that sight, was about to shout when Yoo Seok-chan raised his hand to stop him.

“Shut your mouth. You’re being too loud.”
“Shut up and be quiet.”

Yoo Seok-chan asked in a dry tone while looking directly at Woo Ho-geun.

What’s going on?

Woo Ho-geun then lifted his head and looked back and forth between his two angry friends before opening his mouth.

“That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”

Jeon Geon-woo, his patience snapping, raised his voice in anger and even pointed an accusing finger.
At that moment, an irritated Jeon Geon-woo raised his voice and even pointed his finger accusingly, speaking in an angry tone.

“How was I supposed to know those bastards from the Securities Supervisory Board would show up and ruin everything?”
“What do you mean you didn’t know? That’s bullshit!”
“What do you mean you didn’t know? If you say you didn’t fucking know, that’s it!”

Jeon Geon-woo kicked the table with his foot and shouted loudly.

“Don’t you dare speak so carelessly! What about the money we invested? And if things go wrong, we could get dragged into this mess too!”

At the accusatory tone, Woo Ho-geun’s expression darkened with irritation.
His plan to pocket a substantial sum had already fallen through, and he’d just endured a thorough scolding from his father after being caught attempting stock manipulation.
Now watching his so-called friends shift all the blame onto him made his stomach churn with resentment.
Every fiber of his being wanted to lash out, demanding when he’d ever forced them to invest, but he swallowed the words.
Not because they were friends, but because of the backing behind them—fathers connected to major loan sharks in Myeongdong and a four-term ruling party congressman.

“We’re handling things on our end, so the fallout won’t reach you.”
“You’re certain?”

At Yoo Seok-chan’s measured question, Woo Ho-geun answered with a reluctant expression.

“It’ll be wrapped up as something the two arrested employees did with customer deposits.”

Only then did Yoo Seok-chan nod slightly.
As long as they could tie it off by cutting the tail, there was no real problem.
Jeon Geon-woo, who’d been anxiously fretting about the situation escalating, finally exhaled in relief at Yoo Seok-chan’s response.

“Damn. If our old man finds out, we’re dead. At least we’re alive.”

He’d stepped forward hoping to grab a piece of the pie and nearly caused a catastrophe.

“But still… what about the money?”

Jeon Geon-woo, still harboring resentment, blurted out his complaint with a sullen expression.
Woo Ho-geun then picked up the Boston bag he’d left at his feet and placed it on the table.

“300 million won. That’s all that’s left for now, so split it however you want.”

At the mention of 300 million won, Jeon Geon-woo’s face hardened.

“What? You entrusted us with 1 billion won and now you’re telling us to make do with this?”
“You should be grateful I’m recovering anything at all. You think only you lost money?”

Woo Ho-geun glared at Jeon Geon-woo, who’d been complaining incessantly, with an exasperated look.
Then Yoo Seok-chan stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette in the crystal ashtray and took Jeon Geon-woo’s side.

“Still, this isn’t right. We both trusted you and put our money in—we can’t have it end like this.”
“That’s right!”

Jeon Geon-woo chimed in agreement and stared at Woo Ho-geun as if to ask what he intended to do.
As the two pressed him, Woo Ho-geun finally clicked his tongue and spoke.

“I’ll handle the rest after I leave the country, so just hold onto this for now.”
“You’re going abroad?”
“I’ll be at the Hong Kong branch until things settle down.”
“Chairman Woo ordered this?”
“Yes.”

If Chairman Woo Yong-gap knew the situation and had stepped in to clean up the mess, the matter wouldn’t spiral further.
With that thought, Yoo Seok-chan spoke with a considerably improved expression.

“Fine. But since words alone can be denied anytime, you’ll need to write out a promissory note.”
“Do we really need to go that far?”

As his brow furrowed in displeasure, Yoo Seok-chan shrugged.

“It’s better to have something concrete.”
“Exactly. Who knows if you’ll try to weasel out of it later.”

Jeon Geon-woo added with an irritating smirk.
Being treated like a debtor made Woo Ho-geun feel blood rush to his forehead.
But with damage control already insufficient, there was nothing to gain from clashing with these two and making a scene, so Woo Ho-geun clenched his lips firmly.

“Fine. I’ll do whatever you want.”

As Woo Ho-geun wrote out the promissory note as they demanded, he ground his teeth inwardly.
Whoever had sabotaged his plan and caused him this humiliation—he would find them and exact his revenge without fail.

‘I won’t let them off easy.’

* * *

Seok-won stood before a large floor-to-ceiling window, phone in hand, gazing out while speaking with Manager Choi Bok-rak.

“I’m truly sorry about this.”
“Well, since the higher-ups ordered it handled this way, there’s nothing we can do.”
“I wanted to expose everything about the people behind it and have them punished, but the director called me in personally and gave direct orders, so I couldn’t refuse.”

Seok-won answered Choi Bok-rak’s sincere apology in a calm tone.

“The fact that the Securities Supervisory Board director stepped in suggests the Donghae Group pulled some strings.”
“It appears so.”
“It’s unfortunate, but if we push any harder here, Manager Choi might get hurt unnecessarily. Let’s just let them have their way.”
“Thank you for understanding.”

Choi Bok-rak apologized in a tone full of shame.

“As I mentioned, I’ll have the invitation to the founding anniversary ceremony sent to your home around next week, so please keep that in mind.”
“Thank you.”

Choi Bok-rak continued, his expression noticeably brightening.

“I’m ashamed I couldn’t wrap this up properly. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you ever need anything.”
“I’ll do that.”

His attitude was starkly different from when they first met.
Seok-won ended the call with a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth and pulled the phone away from his ear.
As he gazed out the window at the landscape of towering buildings, a quiet murmur escaped his lips.

“A so-called conglomerate owner wouldn’t fail to cover up something of this magnitude.”

From the beginning, I never expected to be able to take down Woo Ho-geun or the Donghae Group with an incident of this scale.

“Still, this should keep him from acting recklessly for a while.”

Since Woo Ho-geun had taken a significant blow this time, I hoped he wouldn’t play games with stocks again, but the likelihood of that seemed rather slim.

“If he doesn’t come to his senses despite the warning and attempts a hostile takeover, then I’ll make sure he regrets it bitterly.”

A cold glint flashed in Seok-won’s eyes.

* * *

By the time dusk had settled into darkness, Seok-won had left work and arrived at the Hannam-dong Main House.
After parking the car in the garage, I crossed through the Garden, where lights glowed warmly in every corner, when I spotted a family of cats huddled together atop a parasol table and came to a halt.
The cats, who had been grooming themselves and rolling about, let out welcoming cries upon seeing me.

“Meow.”

With their tails held high, the creatures leaped down from the table and rubbed themselves against both my legs, showering me with affection.

“Mew.”
“Meow.”

Bending slightly at the waist, I stroked each cat one by one while patting their hindquarters.

“Are you greeting me to welcome me home?”

The cats, seemingly delighted, meowed and cried out, nuzzling their faces against me before flopping onto their backs with their bellies fully exposed.
After spending considerable time doting on the cats, I entered the main house, where Jo Deok-rye, dressed in a home dress, was sitting on the living room sofa reading a book. She looked up.

“I thought you came home quite a while ago—why are you just arriving now?”
“I spent some time playing with the cats.”
“Is that so? Those creatures have been clinging to anyone they see. It’s quite endearing how they show such affection once they know you’ll feed them and provide them shelter.”
“Indeed. Cats are normally rather finicky, but seeing how much they love human touch and how affectionate they are, I’d say the mother and her three kittens are all dog-cats.”
“Dog-cats? Is that even a word?”

Jo Deok-rye tilted her head in puzzlement.
Realizing belatedly that this was a term not yet in use in this era, I inwardly winced and offered an awkward laugh as I deflected.

“It’s slang the young people use these days.”
“Dog-cats, you say—it really is the perfect expression.”

Fortunately, Jo Deok-rye seemed to accept the explanation without much suspicion.

“You young people certainly do come up with amusing words.”
“We certainly do.”

I exhaled a quiet sigh of relief.

“Have you eaten dinner?”
“I had a late meeting, so I grabbed something quick with the staff.”
“Then stop by the Study Room first before heading upstairs. Your father’s been waiting since earlier.”

Seok-won paused at the unexpected remark and asked.

“Is something the matter?”
“He doesn’t talk much about business, so I wouldn’t know.”
“I understand.”

Seok-won passed Jo Deok-rye, who had returned to her book, and made his way to the Study Room.
After knocking and entering, he found Park Tae-hong seated alone in the middle of the sofa, reviewing documents. The chairman, dressed in cotton pants and a thin cardigan, looked up.

“You’re later than usual today.”
“The meeting ran longer than expected.”

Park Tae-hong removed his glasses and set them on the table as he spoke.

“Sit over there.”
“Yes, sir.”

As I settled onto the left sofa, Park Tae-hong leaned back against the plush cushion and asked.

“How are you finding work at the company these days?”
“I’m enjoying it quite well.”
“President Ko mentioned you’re doing excellent work. But the better you perform, the more important it becomes to watch your conduct carefully and set an example for the staff—avoid giving anyone reason to gossip.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. You’re a sharp one, so I trust you’ll handle it well without further nagging.”

I was slightly taken aback when Park Tae-hong, who rarely offered praise, spoke words that seemed to acknowledge me.
Apparently embarrassed by his own words, the chairman cleared his throat awkwardly and slid the document folder he’d been reviewing toward me.

“Take a look at this.”
“What is this?”

Park Tae-hong answered in a notably serious tone.

“A restructuring plan for the subsidiaries.”
“…!”

At this completely unexpected turn of events, Seok-won’s eyes widened as he looked at Chairman Park Tae-hong seated at the head of the table.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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