The man speaking on the other end of the line was Lorenze dici, head of the dici family.
Since I wasn’t fluent in Italian, I answered in English.
“Lorenze.”
He seed to recognize my voice—there was a sudden clatter, the sound of hurried movent.
He was likely relocating to a secure spot to avoid being wiretapped. For a while, I heard only the rustle of motion, no words.
I waited in silence until his voice finally ca through.
― Charlie, it’s been a long ti. But why the sudden call? We agreed not to contact each other like this—it’s dangerous.
“I’m in a bit of a rush. This has nothing to do with the Valence family.”
― Hmm...
It was hard to tell whether his sigh was from relief or confusion at my words.
“It’s about sothing else. Do you happen to know the player Ahn Junghoon?”
― ...Know him? Of course I do. He’s Italy’s traitor. Ah, damn, just thinking about it makes angry again!
The delayed reply ca with a heated tone. Typical Italian—he really did love football.
“You must be quite the fan.”
― For Italians, football is life. But why bring up Ahn Junghoon all of a sudden?
“Do you know Perugia’s owner? Gaucci, I believe.”
― You an President Gaucci? Naturally. He’s an old friend.
Even with just a hint, the answer ca instantly. Of course ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Lorenze would know a wealthy club owner.
“That’s good. I called to ask a favor—please release Ahn Junghoon. If it’s you, Lorenze, I’m sure it can be done.”
I didn’t bother explaining the details, but he understood quickly.
― If this is about Gaucci’s remarks, you don’t need to worry. I may not like the player, but I’ll make sure he’s safe. Even Perugia’s general manager already apologized to him and the Korean people in the dia.
“I appreciate that, but the player’s heart has already left. He said he thought scoring that golden goal against Italy’s iron defense would finally earn him proper treatnt. And frankly, he’s been discriminated against for a long ti.”
Lorenze fell silent. If he knew the club’s owner, he probably knew what went on inside.
“But what he received instead were death threats. Luckily, the Korean company that owns his original team belongs to . Yet Perugia went ahead and wired a million dollars to buy him out—without even consulting us. Tell Gaucci to void the transfer and terminate the loan.”
Ahn’s heart had long since left Italy. And really, who could bla him?
If he went back now, nothing good would co of it.
― Mmm...
“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Just pass on this ssage to Gaucci: if he refuses my request, from that mont on, it’s war. Any player Perugia tries to sign, Leeds United will buy for twice the price.”
Lorenze let out a low hum, still sounding uncertain.
― Must you go that far?
“You crossed the line first. I had no intention of getting involved, but you know the mood in Korea right now—it’s a national celebration. I won’t stand by while the man who made that happen is destroyed.”
― ...
“You can do it, can’t you? With the dici family’s power, it should be possible. Am I wrong?”
In Italy, the dici na still carried enormous influence.
If Lorenze asked for sothing, no one dared refuse.
To do business, you needed loans from dici-owned banks, and politically, his reach was unmatched. No one in Italy could ignore him.
― Haa... you ask for difficult favors.
He sighed deeply—but that sigh was as good as consent. Pretending it was hard when it really wasn’t.
“Thank you. I’ll repay the favor soday.”
― Then we have a deal.
“It’s always good to help each other, isn’t it?”
It was a win-win. By doing this small favor, Lorenze would gain much more in return.
“And once things settle here in Korea, we should et. To discuss our future.”
― Not now. Too many eyes are watching . I even knew about the Afghanistan terror attack beforehand but couldn’t warn you. My butler’s one of their spies.
“What?”
The sudden ntion of Afghanistan caught off guard.
“You an the Afghanistan attack?”
― You were ambushed there recently, weren’t you? We knew about it in advance. Or rather, our organization’s leader did. He passed the intel to a day before it happened—probably as a test, to see if I’d pass it on to you. My butler was watching , so I couldn’t.
“You’re saying Valence ordered the Taliban to attack ?”
― I don’t know that much. Whether they orchestrated it or just obtained the information, I can’t say. All I was told was that you had beco one of the Taliban’s targets.
“No proof, huh...”
Even if it wasn’t certain, Valence was clearly involved sohow.
“I see. Thanks for the information. Would’ve been nice if you’d told before the attack, though.”
― I couldn’t risk it. If he suspected my disloyalty, they’d find my corpse the next day.
He truly feared the leader of Valence.
For the head of such a powerful Italian family to be that terrified—who on earth was this man?
I pressed him again.
“Lorenze, are you still not going to tell who the head of Valence really is?”
― ...
No reply. He was still walking the line between and them.
I knew, but I let it go—for now. Once I’d settled things in Korea, I’d force him to choose a side.
“I understand.”
― I’m sorry, Charlie.
“No need. I understand. By the way, has your family joined the Japanese forex operation?”
― Naturally. We all have. It’s a guaranteed win. Why aren’t you in?
So everyone thought victory was certain.
If I didn’t know the future, I might’ve believed that too.
But robbing the sa vault twice was never that easy.
“You’re going to lose. The losses could be astronomical. The Japanese governnt is dead serious this ti.”
A burst of laughter rang through the receiver.
― Haha, Charlie. Don’t you rember the Asian Financial Crisis? When hedge funds unite, they’re unstoppable. No country can hold out forever. Maybe for a while, but not long-term. Even Japan’s finances have limits. No matter how big they are.
“If you lose big again, the dici family might not recover. Consider carefully why Dreamhigh isn’t joining this ti.”
They’d already taken massive losses in our previous battle.
Their near-ruin had only been averted through our later negotiations and aid from other Valence families.
― Maybe normally. But this ti, even regular investors are buying yen and selling dollars. The U.S. fighting two wars has everyone panicking.
He wasn’t backing off.
Fine. When he lost everything again, I’d extend a hand. The price would be unimaginable.
“I’ve warned you. Don’t say I didn’t.”
― ...
“Then I’ll trust you with Ahn Junghoon’s situation. The sooner, the better—before the semifinal, if possible. Goodbye for now.”
I ended the call and closed my eyes, rubbing the throbbing corners of them with a sigh.
Terror, Valence, the forex market, Ahn Junghoon... My mind sorted through the tangled thoughts.
Soon after, Perugia’s general manager contacted Joongwoo Royals—he’d agree to terminate the loan if we returned the million dollars.
Right away, Lee Sanggeun called .
― Perugia agreed to end Ahn’s loan. We just need to send the million back. Did you make this happen, sir?
So Lorenze’s influence really was sothing. That was fast.
“Yes, more or less. Go ahead and handle it. What about the agent situation? Still unresolved?”
― We’re eting tonight.
So not done yet. Before I could comnt, Lee added—
― The director was abroad, and we didn’t expect Perugia to back down so easily. He was surprised too. We’re eting the agent tonight and will terminate the contract no matter what.
“I trust you. Once that’s done, ask Ahn Junghoon where he wants to go and help him find a good club.”
― Not Leeds?
I hadn’t planned on it.
“If Coach Hiddink insists, maybe. But even if he joins us now, I can’t guarantee he’ll get proper playti. It’d be better for him to go sowhere else.”
― Understood. I’ll take care of it.
I ended the call and turned to Eva, who’d been waiting patiently across from .
“Sorry. Sothing ca up.”
“It’s fine.”
She waved her hand dismissively.
“Did you look into Ilseong Electronics?”
I had asked her to check on Ilseong Group’s situation.
“Just like you said—the board’s planning a physical division in secret.”
“A physical division? They’re going that far?”
“If the sale falls through, they’ll raise capital through an IPO. That’s their plan. I’ve already lodged a protest through our director and am waiting for their reply.”
Whoever ca up with that sche had stabbed Eva right in the back.
“Was this Seo Jaehoon’s idea? Smart move. They’re trying to tank our share value while carving out whatever business they want to sell.”
Eva pouted slightly and nodded.
“Exactly. With a human division, shareholders get new shares proportional to their holdings, so Ilseong can’t profit much. But with a physical division, Ilseong Electronics keeps 100% ownership of the new company. After selling it, they can stash all proceeds as retained earnings.”
When splitting a business, there were two ways: human division and physical division.
Korea technically preferred the forr, but exceptions were easy to exploit—and big conglorates almost always chose the latter.
Both had pros and cons, but for those in control, physical division was always better.
“So they plan to grow the electronics side and ditch semiconductors, huh.”
“Exactly. Ilseong phones are number one dostically, but semiconductors are just a money pit right now. Selling that division is actually a smart business move.”
“Chairman Seo Yonggeon would flip out if he heard that. That man devoted his life to semiconductors. He’d never abandon them willingly. But given his condition, I guess he can’t stop it.”
Seo Yonggeon had built the semiconductor business from nothing, scraping through hardship and relying on Japanese tech cooperation.
He’d made Korea a mory-chip powerhouse—but that was in the previous tiline.
Now, because of Joongwoo Electronics’ provocations, he was barely holding on.
Still, a man like him would never have approved this.
I might’ve applauded Seo Jaehoon’s cold pragmatism if it weren’t my problem. But letting this slide wasn’t an option.
“The sale will fall through—Japan will reject it. Then they’ll go for the IPO.”
At that mont, Manager Ma knocked and entered, his normally expressionless face showing a crack.
“Boss, Chairman Ha Myeonghun just called.”
I frowned. “Chairman Ha? What for?”
“Industrial Bank just approved a five-hundred-billion-won ergency loan to Ilseong Group.”
I shot up from my seat.
“What? And we just let that happen?!”
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