With the final instruction telling Igor to select the rcenaries who would carry out the operation with him and head to Vladivostok first, I left the room.
After that, I continued handling my schedule in Moscow.
“Hey, that was rough on you.”
“Rough? Hardly. Anyway, Muhyuk, do you know anything about this Chairman Maksim person?”
The Kremlin had installed a man nad Maksim Osipenko as the new chairman of Yugansk.
I shook my head.
“No, nothing at all. I already asked Black Bear to look into him, so sothing will co up.”
“Well, since he’s just a figurehead they propped up, it shouldn’t be a big issue... but still, it’s frustrating not knowing anything. Then again, you’ll be checking, so I guess it doesn’t matter much.”
“Right. What about the equity distribution plan?”
For this acquisition, Dreamhigh had already signed a contract to purchase all the Yugansk shares held by Yukos.
All the money had already been transferred to Yukos, and we had taken full ownership of 100% of the shares. Yugansk was now entirely Dreamhigh’s property.
But this wasn’t a pie I could eat alone.
We had to split the shares and sell 49% to the individuals designated by the Kremlin.
“For now, too many eyes are watching... I plan to finish the distribution next year. Whether the value goes up or down, we agreed with Chairman Maksim to transfer 49% based on the acquisition price.”
“Then for at least a year, you won’t have much to do?”
“Exactly. Once the person who’ll take over the vice president role in Korea arrives with the operations team tomorrow, I’ll hand everything over and leave Russia. I really do get that one-month vacation, right? You’re not going to say sothing urgent happened and drag to Arica again, are you?”
The way Kyungyeong asked again, terrified that his small and precious one-month vacation might get taken away, made burst into loud laughter.
“Unless the sky splits in half or the U.S. economy collapses tomorrow, I won’t contact you for an entire month.”
“Long live!”
Kyungyeong threw both arms up and cheered.
“You’re that happy?”
“Co on, what’s the point of having money if I can’t spend it? I’m going to enjoy myself properly this ti.”
“Do that.”
“Aren’t you taking a vacation?”
“I can’t yet. I don’t have the luxury. Problems keep popping up—I can’t rest.”
At that, Kyungyeong, who had been smiling, stiffened.
“You’ll collapse at this rate. I’m worried because you don’t know how to rest. What you’re supposed to do is place people in the right roles. But you always try to do everything yourself.”
“Now that you say it... maybe it’s because I have so few people I can truly trust. Still, I trust you.”
“No. Not , idiot.”
Hearing the heavy worry in his voice made quietly think about how many people I could genuinely trust.
If I excluded those whose weaknesses I held or those who were tied to through mutually beneficial interests, the number of people who worked purely for was fewer than ten.
“It’s still a decent number.”
“Decent my ass. You’ve got a few friends, Eva, , and Manager Ma. That’s it, isn’t it?”
“...Yeah.”
“You need to try trusting people more. If you keep setting your standards that high, you won’t have anyone left.”
“I’ll think about it.”
I sounded curt, but I knew very well he was saying it because he genuinely worried for .
Still, I couldn’t rest however I wanted.
“Of course, I know nothing moves forward if you collapse or disappear. Even for —people pressured in Russia despite knowing I had your full trust. And you solved everything with a single phone call.”
“Well, that’s...”
That couldn’t be helped. No matter how much I trusted my people and gave them authority, to outsiders they were just my proxies.
People would not treat them the sa way they treated .
“I don’t know. Regardless, I want you to rest while you work. The world isn’t going to end if you take a breather, right? The U.S. economy won’t crash, and a world war isn’t going to start...”
“All right, all right. Stop nagging. Other than my grandma, you’re the only one who nags like this. I’ll finish the North Korea situation and rest. Happy now?”
Only then did Kyungyeong grin and raise his glass.
“Good. Let’s drink. Boss!”
I laughed and clinked my glass with his.
The next day.
People from Korea arrived.
Led by Vice President Kim Jeongsik—now the vice president of Joongwoo Energy, the newly renad Joongwoo Refinery—they were key personnel who had handled core operations in Korea’s refining industry.
“Hello, I’m Kim Jeongsik.”
“Nice to et you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Chairman Kim Byungwoo.”
When I inford Kim Byungwoo of the Yugansk acquisition and said we needed soone experienced in the refining sector, the first na he gave was Kim Jeongsik.
“No one expected Koreans to buy Yugansk. The chairman told to co to Russia and take charge of Yugansk, but honestly, I wasn’t convinced until I got here.”
“Haha, well, it happened. But the work here is very different from Korea’s refining companies. Will that be all right?”
“Yes. I worked at Aramco for about five years. I know a fair bit about field developnt and crude oil production.”
“Oh, really? Let’s sit and talk.”
In Korea’s refining industry, there were few who had actually worked in oil field developnt or crude extraction. In that sense, Kim Jeongsik was an elite among elites.
I guided them to the table.
“You must be tired from the long trip. It’s not as cold as you expected, right?”
They seed nervous, so I eased them with small talk and served black tea.
After so ti, their tension softened, so I brought up business.
“Why did you leave Aramco to co to Korea? Aramco is the major of majors among oil companies.”
“...The chairman personally ca to find . Joongwoo Group was starting its refining business and needed talent.”
“But was that reason enough to leave Aramco?”
With a firm expression, Kim Jeongsik nodded.
“At Aramco, no matter how well I perford, I would still always be a foreigner. At the ti, Joongwoo Refinery was a new venture with huge potential. I thought I could rise higher there. So I resigned and ca.”
“Your decision paid off. Now you’re vice president of a major company like Yugansk.”
“True. But... Is it really okay for soone like to sit in that position? Even if you acquired it, it’s ultimately a Russian company.”
He swallowed nervously.
“That’s right. It’s a Russian company. That’s why we put a Russian face as chairman. But all operational authority belongs to you, Vice President Kim.”
“...”
“There’s nothing difficult. Just do what you’ve always done. Nothing changes drastically. The reason I brought you here is simple—you will develop the untapped oil fields Yugansk owns. That will be your primary job.”
Yugansk had vast land in Eastern Siberia believed to hold considerable crude reserves.
Developing those fields and increasing production was the first goal.
“You’ll need to check details, but Yugansk is one of the major oil companies. Their technical capacity is strong. It shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Very well. Then I will begin. But don’t forget—results co with responsibility.”
His tone was gentle, but the weight of his words was imnse. I saw his face stiffen.
“Chairman Kim Byungwoo flew all the way to Saudi Arabia to scout you. Your abilities must be enough. But aside from that, I know nothing about you yet. So I’ll be watching. If you prove worthy of my trust, eting will beco a great fortune for you. I reward those I trust—with money, or anything else they need.”
Kim Jeongsik nodded. I smiled, satisfied, and looked at the people beside him.
“And the people who ca with you?”
“They’re my operations staff. To fully take over a company, I need people whose rhythm matches mine.”
He was sharp. He knew what mattered.
A man who understood that people are essential for work—that alone made him likable.
“Well done. Show what you can do. President Han Kyungyeong will leave Moscow tomorrow. aning: once he’s gone, you’ll have no one here to support you. Taking full control of the company and ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ running it is entirely your responsibility.”
He swallowed again but did not back down.
As my words implied, he understood this was an opportunity.
“The chairman above you, Maksim, won’t interfere in what you do. The question is whether the people under you will follow. We can’t help you with that. You know that, right?”
“Yes. I understand. I will do my best.”
I shook my head and corrected him.
“‘Doing your best’ doesn’t matter to . I care about results. Look at Chairman Kim Byungwoo. I don’t intervene in managent. I give authority—so you show results. Can you do that?”
“Yes. I will deliver good results.”
His eyes burned with determination—and ambition.
But ambition wasn’t a problem. Without at least that much, a man accomplishes nothing.
“Ah, Vice President, may I ask sothing?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Korean refining companies import most of their crude from Saudi or the Middle East, correct?”
“Yes. About 70% is from the Middle East, and most of the remainder is from the U.S.”
I knew there was heavy Middle Eastern dependency, but 70% was higher than expected.
“Why is that?”
“Korea’s refining facilities are optimized for Middle Eastern crude. It has always been that way.”
“Does Joongwoo Energy’s facility follow the sa pattern?”
“Yes. Most Korean refineries are built with Middle Eastern crude as the reference.”
“What’s the difference between Middle Eastern crude and crude from other regions?”
“It’s complicated.”
Then Kim Jeongsik spent a long ti explaining the differences.
Despite saying it was complicated, he explained clearly enough for to understand easily.
“But relying that heavily on Middle Eastern crude isn’t good for the national economy.”
“We can’t help it. Korea produces not a single drop of oil. We must import everything, so choices were limited.”
True—Korea had been hit by multiple economic crises because of oil shocks.
“Then if crude could be stably imported from Russia, would Korea need new refining facilities?”
“No. They’re just optimized for Middle Eastern crude—they can refine all types.”
“What if pipelines and gas pipes between Russia and Korea were connected?”
Kim Jeongsik paused, then t my eyes.
“...It would cause major changes in the energy industry. And if Korea could jointly develop Yugansk’s new fields, it would greatly stabilize energy security.”
I smiled, pleased with his answer.
“Good. Then today, let’s introduce you to the board and executives. This is as far as we can help.”
Han Kyungyeong and I took him to Yukos headquarters.
There, we arranged a eting with the executives.
Since he couldn’t speak Russian, most conversations were in English.
The executives had initially reacted skeptically when they heard he was from Korea, but once they learned he had worked at Aramco, their eyes changed.
Although not yet publicly listed, many believed Aramco would be the number-one company in the world by market cap once it did list.
Working at Aramco was practically the dream of anyone in the refining industry.
Thanks to that prestigious background, the first eting ended in a warm, positive atmosphere.
The next day.
Han Kyungyeong left for the U.K., and I flew to Vladivostok.
I planned to check out the camp they said was completed.
As soon as I arrived at Vladivostok Airport, I headed toward the camp on the outskirts of the city.
It was quite a long drive, and by evening, I finally arrived.
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