Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 521

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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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521. The moment I’m no longer useful, that’s when he’ll bare his fangs at me.

After concluding the emergency meeting and receiving farewells from Go Young-il and the other executives, I left WB Bank Headquarters and sank into the plush rear seat, my expression blank as I gazed out the window.
The pleasant scent of leather filled my nostrils as the Mercedes sedan glided silently down the road, its engine barely audible.
While contemplating the discussion from the meeting as I observed the apartment complexes lined up beyond the broad Han River, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Seeing an unfamiliar number on the screen, I furrowed my brow and answered the call.

“Hello.”
[Mr. Park, it’s me.]

At the low, measured voice of Yuri Mikhailov, my pupils gleamed with recognition.
I responded in fluent English.

“Calling directly like this suggests you have good news.”
[Haha. You’re as perceptive as always.]

Mikhailov spoke with a laugh brimming with confidence.

[Tomorrow, President Ivanov will announce through a national address that the parliamentary elections scheduled for December will proceed as planned, along with a change in prime minister.]
“So you’ll be appointed as the new prime minister.”

Mikhailov didn’t deny it and readily acknowledged it.

[Barring any unforeseen variables, that’s how it will be.]

The situation unfolded exactly as I remembered from before my regression. I nodded slightly and offered my congratulations.

“Considering that President Ivanov will find it difficult to run again in next year’s presidential election due to his associates’ corruption and deteriorating health, this is essentially a declaration of you as his successor. Congratulations on becoming the new master of the Kremlin.”
[The official announcement hasn’t been made yet, and State Duma approval is still pending, so it seems a bit premature to receive congratulations already.]

At his uncharacteristically humble words, I let out a silent chuckle while holding the phone to my ear.

“State Duma approval is merely a formality, isn’t it?”
[Well, that’s true, but if I don’t win the presidential election scheduled for next summer, it’s merely a limited-term power lasting only a few months.]
“You have no intention of willingly handing over the power you’ve grasped to someone else.”

As I asked with a serious expression, Mikhailov’s voice lowered on the other end of the line.

“Of course. In all my years, I’ve never had anything taken from me.”
“I thought as much.”
“I need funds for the election. Can you help?”

He spoke with a smile, baring his white teeth.

“Of course. Tell me how much you need.”

Yuri Mikhailov answered immediately, as if he’d been waiting for this.

“One hundred million dollars, if you please.”
“That’s quite a sum.”
“Is it difficult?”

At Yuri Mikhailov’s provocative tone—as if questioning whether my capacity was so limited—I wore an expression of vindication.
Then, adjusting the phone in my hand, I spoke with unhurried composure.

“I’ll have it sent within four days.”

Yuri Mikhailov glanced at me once, then was genuinely startled to hear me casually promise to produce one hundred million dollars in mere four days.
But only for a moment.
Confirming that I possessed not merely honeyed words but the actual wealth and resolve to back them up, Yuri Mikhailov’s demeanor became noticeably warmer toward me.

“I won’t forget your help.”

Then, as if suddenly remembering, he added a remark.

“Ah, and the Severostal will complete its maintenance as scheduled and depart from Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk in two weeks, so you needn’t worry.”

It was merely honoring the agreement made with President Ivanov without breach, yet his manner of speaking—as if conferring a favor—made my eyes turn cold.
But without showing any sign of it, I replied in a pleased voice.

“Thank you for looking after it.”
“Haha. Friends help each other—isn’t that only natural?”
“You’re absolutely right.”

Though I answered in a bright tone, my eyes held no warmth whatsoever.

“Then I’ll be in touch.”

As Yuri Mikhailov ended the call, Seok-won slipped his phone into his pocket and uttered words with eyes as cold as ice.

“Friends, he says. For now, perhaps. But the moment I no longer need him, he’ll bare his fangs at me without hesitation.”

I had no intention of passively accepting such a fate.
Rather, I planned to place Yuri Mikhailov in the palm of my hand and extract every possible advantage from him.
Leaning back against the plush seat once more, I turned my head and gazed out the car window with a sunken expression.

* * *

The Chairman’s Office of Daekwang Group Headquarters, located across from Seoul Station, was shrouded in heavy silence.
Through the window, the sky was laden with dark clouds threatening imminent rain, as if reflecting the dire circumstances facing Daekwang Group.
Gathered on leather sofas around Chairman Yu Chun-seok, who held a cigarette between his lips, the key executives bore tense and anxious expressions etched across their rigid faces.
Cigarette butts accumulated thickly in a crystal ashtray atop the wooden table, and smoke from continuously lit cigarettes hung hazily throughout the room.
Yet no one thought to open a window for ventilation.
Everyone was anxiously awaiting the outcome of the Creditor Consortium meeting being held at WB Bank Headquarters in Myeongdong at that very moment.
Chairman Yu Chun-seok, the group’s supreme leader, was no exception—his eyes were bloodshot from recent sleepless nights brought on by rapidly unfolding events, and his face bore the weight of exhaustion.
The cigarette between his fingers had burned more than halfway down, yet he merely exhaled smoke through tightly pressed lips.
But upon closer inspection, one could see his hand holding the cigarette trembling slightly.
After some time had passed.
A knock sounded, and Executive Director Jung Jin-woo entered through the wooden door.
As if on cue, every person in the room turned their gaze toward Executive Director Jung Jin-woo.
Amid this, Chairman Yu Chun-seok stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and asked urgently in a hoarse voice.

“What happened with the Creditor Consortium meeting?”

Executive Director Jung Jin-woo hesitated under the piercing stare of those demanding eyes.
Seeing this, Chairman Yu Chun-seok furrowed his brow and pressed further.

“This is infuriating. Speak up!”

Executive Director Jung Jin-woo then handed over the document folder he held in one hand to Chairman Yu Chun-seok, who sat on the sofa, his face darkened.
As Chairman Yu Chun-seok hastily received the folder and reviewed its contents, his face grew increasingly rigid and hardened.

“Daekwang Inc. is to be divided into construction and trading divisions, with the construction division immediately undergoing subsidiary separation, heavy industry’s shipbuilding division to undergo subsidiary separation followed by foreign investment attraction or sale, electronics likewise to be sold after subsidiary separation… Daekwang Securities, Diners Club Korea, and Daekwang Electromechanical Industries are to be acquired by the Creditor Consortium first, then disposed of through settlement methods.”

Chairman Yu Chun-seok’s face flushed crimson as he hurled the document folder onto the table.

“They’re planning to tear Daekwang Group to shreds!”

Yu Chun-seok let out a roar, his furious gaze fixed on Jung Jin-woo, who sat on the sofa to his left.

“You brought me this nonsense and called it a solution? What exactly did you accomplish at the Creditor Consortium meeting?”

Yu Chun-seok’s voice rose, the veins in his neck bulging with rage.
Meanwhile, An Seong-jin, the Finance Director, quietly retrieved the documents and reviewed their contents, his face draining of all color as he exhaled sharply.

“If you have a mouth, then defend yourself!”
“I apologize.”

Seeing Jung Jin-woo’s head bowed so deeply, the others all understood that the Creditor Consortium meeting had gone poorly.
Yet none of them had anticipated a resolution plan that amounted to the complete dissolution of the group, so their expressions were blank with shock.
As Yu Chun-seok’s thunderous voice continued to reverberate through the room, the executives who had reviewed the meeting results hung their shoulders in defeat or released sighs so heavy they seemed to wish the ground would swallow them whole.

“This can’t be happening….”
“If everything is cut away like this, only chaff will remain.”
“How did Daekwang Group ever come to this….”
“If Securities and the Credit Card Company are both sold off, the entire financial division is essentially gone.”

As everyone erupted in despair with devastated expressions, Jung Jin-woo, who had endured Yu Chun-seok’s entire rebuke, spoke in a voice so quiet it seemed to crawl from his throat, his head bowed like a condemned man.

“I have no excuse. I did everything I could to reduce the number of subsidiaries being separated and sold off, but both the government and the Creditor Consortium were so unyielding that there was no other way.”

Yu Chun-seok understood that Jung Jin-woo had merely attended the Creditor Consortium meeting to receive their decision, with no voice in the matter whatsoever, so he could no longer vent his anger at him.

“Ugh.”

Yu Chun-seok groaned and clutched his head, his face twisted with fury as he shouted.

“Regardless, I cannot accept this plan!”
“But Chairman….”

Jung Jin-woo hesitated, his expression troubled as he spoke.

“If you don’t send the agreement to the government and the Creditor Consortium by tomorrow… they said they will immediately cancel the workout and recover all the funds they’ve lent.”

If that happened, Daekwang Group, with its cash reserves completely depleted, would have no choice but to default immediately.
As the faces of An Seong-jin and the other executives turned pale, Yu Chun-seok slammed his palm hard against the armrest of the sofa, his eyes glistening with intensity.

“How dare you threaten me!”

Before Yu Chun-seok, who radiated a fierce intensity, Jung Jin-woo responded in a grave tone.

“It wasn’t merely pressure. The atmosphere was such that if you didn’t comply with the Creditor Consortium’s decision, they would genuinely move to recover their funds.”

Anxiety rippled through the executives, and Yu Chun-seok trembled violently, his fists clenched, words grinding through his tightly gritted teeth.

“Damn. These bastards.”

Watching Yu Chun-seok’s expression, An Seong-jin, the Financial Director, withdrew a handkerchief and dabbed the perspiration beading on his forehead before speaking with caution.

“The excessive workout restructuring plan is problematic, but there’s something far more serious.”
“What are you talking about now!”

As Yu Chun-seok glared with irritation, An Seong-jin, after surveying the gathered executives, spoke with barely concealed urgency.

“If we proceed with the workout as planned, the Creditor Consortium’s due diligence on the relevant subsidiaries will inevitably expose irregularities in the accounting records.”
“…!”

The moment he heard those words, Yu Chun-seok’s heart sank.
During the rapid expansion of Daekwang Group, I had manipulated the accounting books to make the company’s performance appear better than reality, drawing in far greater debt.
When the foreign exchange crisis erupted and losses mounted, this accounting fraud became increasingly brazen and widespread throughout the entire group.
The scale of this hidden accounting fraud had reached a staggering 50 trillion won.
Behind the grandiose words of “global management” lay a mirage—a sandcastle constructed of deception and colossal debt.
If such facts were exposed, subsidiary sales would be the least of my concerns, and Yu Chun-seok swallowed hard.

“Is there no way to conceal the accounting fraud?”

At the panicked question, An Seong-jin shook his head weakly, speaking as though already resigned to fate.

“As you know, the amount is far too large to hide. It’s impossible.”
“Damn it!”

Yu Chun-seok’s face contorted in an instant, and he spat out a vicious curse.
The executives present also sensed that there was no longer any path to salvation, and they all either squeezed their eyes shut or wore expressions of despair.
And the next day.
Having sent his consent to the Creditor Consortium, Yu Chun-seok hastily departed overseas, claiming he was inspecting the construction site of the Daekwang Motors engine plant in Yantai, China.

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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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