“It’s been a while, Prosecutor General.”
“Welco, President Kim.”
I t with Yoon Changho, the forr Prosecutor General who had stepped down recently.
He looked much more relaxed than he had during his ti in office.
After a light al, we moved on to the main conversation.
“Getting a lot of calls from the political world?”
“Haha, I was actually planning to consult you about that. Both sides are asking to run in next year’s general election. They’re offering districts where I’d win without a doubt...”
During his ti as Prosecutor General, Yoon had handled nurous major cases—many of them involving powerful political corruption. He had been a loyal hunting dog of the regi while also earning public approval by cutting through entrenched rot.
His popularity now was higher than any Prosecutor General before him.
There was no way the two dominant political parties in Korea wouldn’t be fighting to bring him in.
“So, is there a side that draws you in?”
“Wouldn’t the opposition be better for building my weight?”
It seed Yoon was leaning toward the conservative party.
“You won’t make it to presidential candidate with the conservatives.”
If he was content with just being an assemblyman, then it didn’t matter which party he joined.
Actually, even if he ran as an independent, he’d still get elected easily.
“There’s still a long way until the presidential election. You never know what might happen.”
He sounded sowhat regretful, but I shook my head.
“He’s not going to yield. Even if their party leader got arrested recently, he managed to hold onto power through the Cheongpunghoe scandal. Do you think that kind of man would step aside for you?”
Seong Daegyu, the current leader of the conservative party, was power-hungry to the extre.
He had ford an alliance with Cheongpunghoe to unite the right and secure a powerful position. Though he lost the presidential election to Kim Hakgwon and seemingly vanished, it was just a façade.
When he passed party leadership to Choi Changgung, Choi got caught up in Kim Hakgwon’s purge of Cheongpunghoe and was arrested despite being the opposition leader.
That’s when Seong moved quickly.
He seized the chaos within the conservatives and was reinstated as party leader, firmly reclaiming the reins.
And now he was supposed to give way to Yoon Changho?
That was never going to happen.
“Hmm...”
Yoon fell into deep thought after hearing my confident reply.
“There’s still a year until the general {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} election. You can raise your value even higher. No need to make a hasty decision.”
After a long pause, Yoon finally spoke.
“You want to join the Progressive Party? But Kim Hakgwon’s shadow looms too large there. Especially now, after so many people were purged, his influence has only grown.”
The shadow of Cheongpunghoe stretched across both the conservatives and the progressives.
Kim Hakgwon had held the knife—so everyone who survived was dancing to his tune.
Kim Hakgwon’s grip on his party was far stronger than it had been in the original tiline.
“Founding a new party might be worth considering.”
“What? Starting a new party isn’t sothing just anyone can do. And I’m a political newbie? That’s absurd.”
“Politics is like a living organism. Nothing is surprising once it starts moving. I can cover the funding. The real issue is building a support base... I can assist, but the growth has to co from you.”
In both past and future, new parties had never succeeded. Even the fad “lord of the Chungcheong region” had faded into history.
Plenty of new parties had appeared in the future too, but they all ended up as re satellite votes for the big two.
That was the reality of Korean politics.
“Still, founding a party is...”
Yoon shook his head, unconvinced.
“The best way to beco a presidential candidate is to start a new party and win a aningful number of seats in the upcoming general election.”
Even with my future knowledge, creating a viable presidential candidate was no easy task.
Since Yoon didn’t exist as a aningful figure in the original tiline, making him leader of a new party seed the best path forward.
I didn’t know how much money it would take, but money didn’t matter—what mattered was putting my own man in the Blue House.
“You can decide after watching the outco of the upcoming by-elections.”
A future that had changed because of .
Next month, a by-election to elect 48 new assembly mbers would be held.
Due to the Cheongpunghoe scandal, an unprecedented number of seats had been vacated, making it almost a mini general election. All eyes were on it.
Parties had to scramble to field candidates nationwide, especially in the Seoul tropolitan area, and were fighting tooth and nail to win every seat they could.
If the ruling party won, Kim Hakgwon’s power would grow. If the opposition won, Seong Daegyu’s influence would surge.
“And what, I’m supposed to just sit around until then?”
“Of course not. You’ll lose relevance if you go quiet. Give lectures at universities, at the very least.”
“Hah...”
“Or get on TV. The key is to keep your face visible. Even if I push articles about you through the papers, it’s best to keep triggering impactful events.”
“Alright. I’ll think about it.”
He lifted his teacup, and our conversation paused for a mont.
“But hey, what’s going on with Hyeonhwa Group lately? It’s all over the place. I’ve been hearing your na pop up too. Didn’t you hate being in the spotlight?”
Naturally, the topic shifted to the clash between and Hyeonhwa Group.
“Haha, it just kind of ended up that way.”
“You’re not the type to act without reason. What’s going on?”
“Let’s just call it a personal grudge.”
“Hah...”
Yoon, who probably understood better than anyone how I handled my grudges, shook his head.
“So that’s why Chairman Kim’s been calling everyone under the sun. I hear he’s been eting with the prosecution and even the tax office. Are you alright?”
Despite his words, his expression wasn’t one of concern.
If anything, he looked entertained.
“Well... even if they dig into , they won’t find anything. I paid all the taxes on everything my grandfather passed down. Nothing will stick.”
“The prosecutors probably won’t touch you either. They saw what happened to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor last ti. Your friends are still in the prosecution, and I’ve still got plenty of people there too.”
The new Prosecutor General, appointed after Yoon’s retirent, was basically a puppet of Kim Hakgwon.
But even he couldn’t touch recklessly.
“This ti, I plan to make things difficult in a different way. Once a major shareholder starts opposing you, things get complicated real fast.”
After I acquired over 5% of shares in Hyeonhwa Corp, Dreamhigh, and Mirae, public disclosure followed. Hyeonhwa’s stock price began to fluctuate wildly.
It was no longer a passive investnt—I had officially declared my intent to participate in managent.
Han Kyungyeong, who had full authority from , filed for an injunction to inspect the shareholder registry and requested an extraordinary general eting along with access to the company’s financial statents. The related lawsuits were handed over to the expert team at Yoon & Jang.
“Whatever it is, he must’ve seriously pissed you off. Chairman Kim, rising to the top so young, has always acted like the world owes him sothing. No fear at all. His father was the sa, but he might be even worse.”
“Is that so?”
“He beca chairman in his twenties. What could possibly scare him? He’s nearly fifty now, but still charges ahead recklessly. Looks like it’ll be fun to watch. I’ve been bored since retiring, you know.”
“You can look forward to it.”
Yoon and I exchanged sly smiles.
* * *
Crash!
A phone—cord still attached—flew across the room and shattered on the floor.
“Fuck! Everyone’s freaking out over so damn rumor!”
“Chairman...”
The one who threw the phone was none other than Kim Seonghak.
His chief secretary tried to calm him down, but quickly gave up and shrank back. If he said the wrong thing now, he might get hit too.
Panting heavily, Kim Seonghak asked,
“Adding up our friendly shares, what’s the total?”
“So far, we hold 38% of Hyeonhwa Corp. And...”
He raised a hand to cut off the report.
“That’s not a problem, right?”
“Control isn’t an issue. But if they start throwing tantrums, launching any new business is going to be nearly impossible. And with ti, new forces might join the fight too.”
“Goddamn it. Can we predict what they’ll try?”
“We’ll try to delay as long as possible, but the courts will likely approve their requests.”
“Clean everything up. No loose ends. Even a tiny flaw and people will have to start packing.”
“Understood.”
“And get proxy forms from the small shareholders. We need to secure at least 50.1%.”
Fearing backlash, the secretary bowed and quickly fled the room.
Pulling out his cell phone, Kim Seonghak made another call.
— Ilseong Group Secretary Office.
“This is Kim Seonghak from Hyeonhwa Group. I’d like to speak with the chairman.”
— Chairman Kim Seonghak from Hyeonhwa Group?
“Yes. Don’t make repeat myself.”
— Please hold. I’ll report to the chairman.
Normally known for his brash personality, Kim Seonghak had grown even more irritable as pressure mounted.
— Well, if it isn’t Chairman Kim.
A mont later, Chairman Seo Yonggeon of Ilseong picked up cheerfully.
“Long ti no see, Chairman Seo.”
— Didn’t we just see each other at the FKI gathering recently? So, what brings you to call?
“It’s about Kim Muhyuk...”
— Kim Muhyuk? Ah, I’ve heard the rumors he’s gunning for Hyeonhwa’s managent. But is that really sothing for you to worry about?
“Haa... It’s not that simple.”
Seo’s flippant attitude was infuriating, but Kim needed him. He swallowed his anger.
— So it’s serious?
“Managent isn’t at risk yet, but he’s likely to be a nuisance. I was hoping you could lend a hand.”
— A hand? How?
“Well... I’d like you to purchase so of our shares.”
— What? Shares?
Seo sounded like he’d just heard the most absurd request.
— Business isn’t about friendship. Even if I was close to your father, this is business. There has to be a give and take, right, Chairman Kim?
“We’ll beco your white knight as well. Let’s exchange shares.”
— We’re doing fine. That’s not enough to cut a deal.
“Then what do you want?”
— Co now. You’re the one in need. Shouldn’t you figure that out and tell what you’ll offer?
Seo’s patronizing tone made Kim Seonghak curse him internally.
“Please, just this once. I’ll never forget the favor. You don’t have fond mories of Chairman Cheon from Myeongdong either, do you?”
— Haha. I don’t know where you’re getting your info, but I’ve got nothing against Cheon. If I did, would I still be sheltering people from the Cheon family?
Kim’s face twisted.
But the words out of his mouth were polite.
“I’ll give you whatever you want. Just help this one ti.”
— Whatever I want?
“Yes, Chairman Seo. You know who I am. I keep my promises.”
— Are you sure? I’m not going to ask for sothing easy.
“If I don’t crush him at the upcoming shareholders’ eting, there might be defections. Please help .”
— Alright. What do you need to do?
“Take the Hyeonhwa shares held by our affiliates and delegate the voting rights to . Can you also introduce to soone at the tax office or prosecution? The people I know are all laying low.”
— Isn’t that risky? What about circular shareholding violations?
“I’ll make sure it’s within safe limits. I need funds to acquire more shares from the market.”
He planned to sell affiliate-held shares to Ilseong, then use that money to repurchase shares in his own na—classic chaebol behavior: sacrificing the company for personal gain.
— Fine. But don’t expect much help from the prosecutors. Our side can’t move either—Kim Muhyuk shook things up pretty badly a while ago.
“So the rumors are true?”
— Probably exaggerated, but I’d say half of it is accurate. Still, I’ll do what I can.
“Thank you, Chairman Seo. I won’t forget this.”
As he hung up, Kim Seonghak’s face was filled with humiliation.
“Damn it. Begging that old bastard Seo... What the hell is Kim Muhyuk? Why’s everyone so scared of him?”
A strange sense of dread coiled around his throat.
* * *
“We’re going into Hyeonhwa Group headquarters tomorrow.”
I nodded at Han Kyungyeong’s words.
“Bring in the experts. Dig into the financials and check the shareholder registry—especially those with large holdings.”
We had to lock down as many friendly shares as possible.
“We’ve got 23%, and Chairman Kim has 38%, right?”
“Yeah, but no one’s selling. It’s locked up tight. People know this won’t be over in a day or two.”
Hyeonhwa’s shares were drying up.
That evening, news broke that Hyeonhwa Chemical had sold its 5.3% stake in Hyeonhwa Corp to Ilseong Electronics.
It was an over-the-counter deal.
Ilseong claid it was a simple synergy-driven investnt—but no one believed that.
‘Things are getting ssy.’
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