The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 71

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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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The Regression of a Fallen Chaebol’s Third Generation: Episode 71
Jungseong Construction Headquarters, President’s Office.
When the Vice President opened the door and entered, Jung Hyun-il had just hung up the phone.
“Park Han-su called.”
The Vice President’s footsteps stopped.
“Chairman Park Han-su called you directly, sir?”
“Directly.”
Jung Hyun-il’s lips curved upward.
“The article went out this morning, and before lunch was even over, the call came in. He sounded rushed.”
The Vice President took his seat.
He was controlling his expression, but the corners of his mouth wouldn’t stay still.
It had been his own idea. Seeing Jung Hyun-il pleased with it made him feel relieved.
Of course, he hadn’t expected a reward. He’d served long at Jung Hyun-il’s side, but such things never happened.
Still, he knew well how to conduct himself in moments like these.
“Your strategy worked perfectly, sir.”
“Ha ha ha, as if I did it all alone? You helped, didn’t you?”
Jung Hyun-il laughed loudly and took his seat; the Vice President nodded and spoke up.
“Then I’ll assemble a team right away and set up a table with Seongshin. We already have terms of agreement from yesterday, so…….”
“Wait.”
Jung Hyun-il raised his hand.
“I think we can stretch it out another day or so.”
“……Excuse me?”
The Vice President lifted his eyes.
“They’re the ones in a hurry. Why should we rush?”
He leaned back in his chair as he spoke. His voice dripped with confidence.
The Vice President, watching this, could see it clearly.
The image of Jung Hyun-il angry in this office days ago.
His face clicking his tongue as he complained about being lectured by Kim Jong-su about Project Finance.
Those memories must be surfacing in the president’s mind right now.
“Do you know what that old man said to me?”
Exactly as expected.
Jung Hyun-il spoke. His voice held no resentment as he recounted what he’d heard.
Rather, he was savoring it. The tables had turned.
“He asked if I knew what Project Finance was. Not textbook answers. To me, the president of Jungseong Construction. He said that.”
He laughed, clicking his tongue.
“A cornered underdog talking big. Still clinging to his pride.”
“…….”
“And now he’s calling. People change when they’re squeezed tight enough.”
Jung Hyun-il tapped his fingers against the armrest.
“Let’s buy some time.”
A short statement.
“If he can’t sleep tonight worrying about a bank run, he’ll come to the table with a different attitude by tomorrow.”
The Vice President laughed.
“You really are the one, sir.”
“Call him back tomorrow afternoon. And not me directly—have the operational staff handle it. It wouldn’t be fitting for a president acquiring a savings bank to make the call himself.”
Jung Hyun-il pointed to the documents on the table.
“By tomorrow, he’ll crawl to us on his own. Just refine the terms. How much can we cut from market price?”
“Given the Project Finance issues, we can comfortably get 10 percent off, and with the bank run happening, we can push for 15 percent.”
“The Board of Directors?”
“We’ll have to fill it with our people, of course. Replace the existing management, put Professor Yoon In-chul—your choice—in front, and the FSC will be satisfied.”
Jung Hyun-il nodded. His face was already that of a man structuring the finances of a company he’d made his own.
“Good. When the table opens tomorrow, let’s finish it in one go.”
“Understood, sir. I’ll have the planning team contact Seongshin tomorrow afternoon.”
Knock-knock—
At the knock, both men’s eyes turned toward the door.
The Secretary entered. If anything was different from usual, it was her expression.
“Sir, we’ve received a call from Seongshin Savings Bank.”
“That was fast. What’d they say? Asking to wrap it up today?”
Jung Hyun-il asked, arms crossed, his posture relaxed.
“They’re saying the terms discussed today should be forgotten.”
The office fell silent. In that instant, Jung Hyun-il’s arms uncrossed.
“……What?”
“They say they’re withdrawing the negotiation proposal. There’s nothing left to discuss, they said…….”
“No, wait—they were the ones who called us first this morning. And now they want to forget the whole thing?”
The Secretary couldn’t answer.
Jung Hyun-il’s gaze shifted to the Vice President.
The Vice President was silent too, and the smile from five seconds ago was nowhere to be found.
“Find out.”
Jung Hyun-il’s voice dropped.
“Find out everything that’s happened at Seongshin. Now!”
Jung Hyun-il’s anger echoed through the office, and the Vice President moved quickly into action.

* * *
“Welcome.”
That same evening at Ribbon Capital Office.
Kim Jong-su said after the phone call with Seongshin that he’d come straight to the office, and I hadn’t actually expected him to show.
Now that I think about it, up until now I’d always gone to Bukchon to meet him—Kim Jong-su had never sought me out.
“Is this the office?”
It was Kim Jong-su’s first remark as he stepped through the door.
A space of roughly 300 square feet with three desks. Four monitors lined up on the wall,
a sofa in the corner. That was all.
“Aren’t you loaded?”
“This is enough. After all, the office is just me and that one trader over there.”
Han Jae-yi rose from her desk where I’d gestured with my chin.
She bowed in greeting.
“How do you do? I’m Han Jae-yi.”
Kim Jong-su looked at Han Jae-yi. His gaze paused briefly.
Then he turned back to me and opened his mouth.
“Maybe it’s because you’re young. Everything about this is fresh somehow.”
I understood what he meant.
A man who’d been grinding away in Myeongdong for decades. In that world, handling money had always been a man’s job.
The sight of a young woman sitting at a trading desk had to be unfamiliar.
“Director Han Jae-yi has earned trillions of won.”
Kim Jong-su’s eyes shifted.
“Her ability—no one in this country can match it.”
Kim Jong-su looked at Han Jae-yi again. Different eyes this time.
That was his good quality, though. Prejudiced as he might be, he never dug in his heels when money was on the table.
“……Hmm. Impressive.”
He uttered it briefly and settled onto the sofa.
“Would you like some tea?”
“Just some cold water.”
Han Jae-yi moved to fetch it, but I raised my hand to stop her and brought a glass of cold water myself.
Kim Jong-su drained the glass in one go and opened his mouth.
“Be honest with me.”
His voice had changed from moments before, and his face was serious.
“I doubted you at first. When you told me to put in cash first and take deposits at market rates. Honestly, I thought if I did as you said, I’d just lose the money.”
“And the result?”
“You were right.”
Kim Jong-su looked at me.
“When I mentioned the deposit rate, Han-su’s expression changed. He looked suspicious. But just as you said, he asked me himself. Why would you go this far?”
“That’s when you brought up the real matter.”
“Right. I asked him to give me a chance at the acquisition. He sat quiet for a long time, then he opened his mouth…….”
Kim Jong-su collected himself and continued.
“He’d called Jungseong first, and his pride was hurt. But then a guy shows up willing to put in cash with no strings attached—for him, that must’ve felt like he could breathe again.”
He paused.
“Two old men sat and talked, but looking back, you were the one who wrote the script.”
Instead of answering, I simply bowed my head lightly.
Kim Jong-su laughed and continued the story.
“At my age, I’ve never felt this way before.”
A man who’d survived decades in the Underground Financial Market doesn’t speak lightly.
It’s not easy to hear from someone who’s spent thirty years grinding in Myeongdong, and Kim Jong-su’s eyes reflected that change.
He was the one who’d first brought me into this game, but he hadn’t fully trusted me. Now, that was different.
“The game seems open now. What do you think?”
To Kim Jong-su’s question, I shook my head.
“The game is open, but it’s not tilted in our favor yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“From Chairman Park’s perspective, he’ll be grateful for the money we lent him, but there’s no reason for him to favor our side yet.”
Kim Jong-su nodded. His face said he’d already read that much.
“He’ll probably listen to both proposals. Comparing which terms are better, which align more with his thinking.”
“Will Jungseong just sit idle?”
“They’re not the type to sit idle. Once they find out who put the cash in behind the scenes, they’ll move.”
“So is there an answer?”
“There is. If Professor Yoon In-chul—the one I mentioned before—joins, the game changes.”
At this point, Jungseong’s only option is to move the government. If that’s the case, we just need to swap out our figurehead too.
“A finance background and an economics professor. With him, the government has its explanation, and Chairman Park has a reason to entrust his bank to someone?”
“Exactly.”
“Has he reached out?”
“He seems to be thinking it over a bit…….”
Bzzzzt—
Before I could finish, my pocket vibrated. I checked the screen and bowed to Kim Jong-su.
“My apologies. One moment, please.”
I took the call.
“Yes. Yes, that sounds good. Would it be possible to set up a meeting tomorrow? Yes.”
I hung up and looked at Kim Jong-su.
“The answer’s come through. Chairman, you should meet with Professor Yoon In-chul.”
“What do I do this time?”
“Just do what you always do.”
“What I always do?”
“After all, he’s someone you’ll be moving forward with. Don’t hide anything. Hear him out, speak your mind. I think that would be best.”
“What if he doesn’t like me?”
“Then we find another face. Ultimately, this project is yours, sir.”
Seongshin Savings Bank is a project under your name.
I orchestrate from behind, but you’re the one in front.
The responsibility, the fruits—they’re yours.
That’s how Kim Jong-su moves. A man has to feel it’s his own work to give his all.
Kim Jong-su nodded.
“I haven’t met this many people in quite some time.”
“Should I meet with him instead?”
“No.”
Kim Jong-su rose and laughed.
“As you said, it’s my business. I should be the one to meet him. Well then, I’ll be going. Send me the place and time.”
“Yes, understood. Go on in.”
I saw Kim Jong-su out. As soon as he left, Han Jae-yi came over to me.
“The way that old man looked at you changed?”
“He did seem different. He had some suspicion before, but now that’s gone from his expression.”
“By the way, am I a Director? And……the money—I didn’t earn it myself?”
Han Jae-yi spoke as if recalling what I’d said to Kim Jong-su moments before.
“Yes. I decided just now. I thought you’d need a title for external purposes. And the money—we earned it together, so it’s yours too.”
A smile crossed Han Jae-yi’s face.
“All right then, Director—shall we get back to work?”
“Yes, ma’am, CEO.”
Han Jae-yi answered in an exaggerated tone and returned to her desk. I smiled and settled into my chair as well.
‘All that’s left is building the proper consortium once Yoon In-chul joins.’
Thinking that, I began planning the consortium in earnest.

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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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