Night fell. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, and the moon now hung over Manhattan.
I stood in the penthouse owned by Han Kyungyeong, looking out over the glittering nightscape of Wall Street, slowly swirling the liquor in my glass.
The door opened behind .
I turned.
Han Kyungyeong entered the living room with a visibly exhausted face and tore off his tie roughly as he walked in.
“Ha! That greedy old bastard.”
He collapsed onto the sofa as if his strength had drained out of him and let out a long sigh.
I walked over and sat beside him. I dropped fresh ice into a clean glass, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) poured the liquor, and pushed it toward him.
“Was it that bad?”
Han took the glass from my hand and, before the ice had even begun to lt, downed it in one go.
It was strong alcohol.
He didn’t even flinch. He emptied the glass completely and set it down with a hard clink.
With an irritated expression, he picked up so food from the table and stuffed it into his mouth.
“I hate this kind of thing.”
I couldn’t help but smirk. He must have really hated it to complain like that.
“So what’s the result?”
“He said he’ll contact us in a few days.”
George Soros couldn’t possibly give an imdiate answer. Sothing like this required ti.
I patted his shoulder in acknowledgnt.
“You did well. He won’t be able to refuse.”
Han nodded. He seed to think the sa.
“If that organization called Baltiche doesn’t want to surface publicly, they’ll accept your proposal. Ah, and just like you predicted, he countered by threatening to expose your identity. Ridiculous.”
“Tell exactly how it went.”
I refilled his glass as I spoke.
“So the mont I walked in, that old man says...”
Han summarized his entire conversation with George Soros.
“He denied everything to the very end.”
“Of course he did. The mont he acknowledges it aloud, he could disappear without a trace.”
Han frowned slightly.
“For soone as hardened as Soros to be afraid... what kind of organization is this that they’d go after you?”
I shrugged.
“Isn’t it obvious? We’ve been rampaging through the board they carefully set up. They don’t like that. Especially China. Its growth is certain, and we already secured positions in most of the pri companies. For them, this was the only way left.”
If they wanted to wedge themselves into that space, they had to align with the Chinese governnt and push out. It was the natural sequence.
“Even so, I don’t get the Chinese governnt. How much did we help them when they were struggling? And now they switch sides just like that?”
“That’s how they are,” I replied flatly. “Among the companies we invested in, several have asked us to step aside, haven’t they?”
Han nodded bitterly.
“They can’t withstand the pressure from the Communist Party. We’ve received requests asking us to sell our shares back. But the founders don’t have the liquidity to buy them. So in effect, they’re asking us to hand our stake over to soone else.”
He took another sip. The ice had lted enough to dilute the liquor slightly.
“You’re not planning to sell, right?”
“What do you think?”
“Out of spite alone, I won’t sell. We invested when they were desperate, and now they want us out? No chance.”
Han ground his teeth.
“When this is over, I’ll make sure they regret it.”
“Good. Just organize the companies that made the request. We’ll collect our price later. What about Alibaba and Tencent?”
“No contact from them yet.”
I nodded. At least a few companies would co out ahead from this situation.
“If any of them need support, route funding through another channel.”
“Got it.”
He raised his glass. I clinked mine against his.
“So what now?”
“For now, I’ll limit the battlefield to China. We’ll decide after hearing their response.”
The reason I had gone all the way to the United States to et President Bush was simple: to prevent the U.S. governnt from obstructing at their instigation.
That objective had been achieved.
Now it was ti to move to the next phase.
Through George Soros, we had delivered our ssage.
Do we escalate to total war? Or do we contain it within China?
Privately, I preferred keeping it limited to China. The board was still too small for a final confrontation.
But in a few years, a far larger ga would unfold — one no one could escape.
And when that mont ca... perhaps I could sever their heads.
Especially since they were based in Europe. They would not be able to avoid the coming chaos.
“Unexpected,” Han muttered. “I thought you’d go all the way.”
I chuckled.
“Not yet. Cleaning up what happened in China is already heavy enough. If we wait, the opportunity will co.”
“Well, if you say so.”
“Murdoch is working hard exposing them. The Chinese governnt must be uncomfortable.”
Murdoch was relentlessly using his newspapers to publish exposés on corruption within the Chinese Communist Party.
He didn’t stop there. He tracked down exiles who had fled after the Tianann Square incident and aired interviews with them.
For Beijing, Tianann was untouchable — a reverse scale.
“First we clean up China. Then we prepare for full-scale war. When that ti cos, you’ll be the busiest one. So brace yourself.”
Han exhaled.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but judging from your eyes, I almost feel sorry for your enemies.”
“Don’t you ever think we might lose?”
Han stared at as if I’d said sothing absurd.
“You? Lose?”
He snorted.
“Of anyone, you never fight a losing battle. You might take damage. But you don’t lose.”
“Even against the Chinese governnt?”
“Are you scared? Planning to surrender?”
He was provoking deliberately.
I smiled faintly.
“As if. I was just curious.”
“Don’t play dumb. You’re always laying groundwork several moves ahead. Using Murdoch’s dia to keep attacking the Chinese governnt’s morality — you’re trying to trigger factional infighting within Beijing.”
“Ti is scary, hyung. Now you read instantly.”
The once naïve Han Kyungyeong now saw through my strategy at a glance.
“Enough nonsense. Tell clearly what I need to do next.”
“First, prepare funds that cannot be traced under any circumstances. About one hundred million dollars.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“You want every link to us severed?”
“Yes. Prepare to burn one of the shell companies if necessary.”
His expression tightened.
“Burn it entirely? What are you planning?”
“It’s only in my head for now. I’ll tell you once it’s concrete.”
“Always scheming...”
“And keep monitoring Wall Street. Soros isn’t the only one. Their pawns are spread everywhere.”
“That’s routine work. Don’t worry. But how long do you think this fight will last?”
The question sounded casual, but there was concern beneath it.
The longer it dragged on, the heavier the damage.
“It has to end quickly. If it drags, the Chinese governnt won’t have room to retreat. We have to overwhelm them all at once and force them to step back.”
We needed to give them an exit that preserved their pride.
“Let’s finish this first.”
“Do we really have to shake The New York Tis?”
“Why? Feeling generous?”
“No. I just wonder if there’s any reason to antagonize them further now that Soros is out.”
“Hyung. We paid an extra 1.5 billion dollars for Dow Jones. If it had only been Soros, that wouldn’t have been necessary. The na ‘The New York Tis’ was the real issue.”
Understanding flashed across his face.
“We took a hit. We can’t just let it slide. And if we can damage the credibility of The New York Tis while tying down the neocons’ movents, it’s a card we must use.”
He clicked his tongue.
“You’re ruthless.”
“By the way, did you set up the eting with the Sulzberger family?”
“Yes. eting Sulzberger Jr. in a few days.”
“At that eting...”
I explained to him the second thod to shake The New York Tis.
* * *
A few days later, Han and I arrived at The New York Tis headquarters in Manhattan to et Sulzberger Jr.
His secretary, who had been waiting at the entrance, escorted us inside.
We passed through the bustling lobby, took the elevator up, and arrived at his office.
“He’s waiting inside. I’ll leave you here.”
The secretary departed.
We entered.
Sulzberger Jr. was staring intently at his computer monitor.
Without standing, he spoke.
“Ah, welco. I’m finishing sothing urgent. Would you mind waiting?”
He didn’t even wait for our response before returning to his keyboard.
Trying to seize the initiative.
Han and I exchanged glances and silently smiled. It was transparent.
We played along and sat on the sofa.
Thirty minutes later, he shut down his computer and approached us.
“My apologies. Sothing required imdiate attention.”
He dipped his head slightly, though his expression showed no real regret.
Han responded evenly.
“No problem. Please, sit.”
He gestured casually, as if he were the host.
Sulzberger Jr. paused for a brief second before sitting.
“What brings the owner and CEO of Dream High to see ?”
So he knew.
“You know who I am?” I asked.
“In New York, no paper rivals The New York Tis in investigative capability. Dream High Investnt appeared like a cot. And its owner remains shrouded in mystery. If we don’t investigate that, we’re not journalists.”
His pride was obvious.
“And yet you didn’t publish anything.”
“There was no proof. Only circumstances. Like chasing a ghost. We learned nothing except that you are the owner.”
He had dug deeply.
“Even through your Korean branch, we tried. But soone kept blocking us. No one would speak. That only made more determined.”
“Keep trying,” I said calmly. “If you can.”
His brow tightened at my tone.
I shifted my gaze to Han.
Han began.
“Let’s skip the small talk and get to the point.”
Sulzberger cleared his throat.
“Why did you request this eting?”
“We’ve heard that George Soros and his followers are withdrawing their investnts from The New York Tis. Advertising as well. We ca to offer assistance.”
“Assistance? Was acquiring The Wall Street Journal not enough? Are you now setting your sights on us?”
“Are you selling? If so, we might consider acquiring.”
Han’s tone was ambiguous.
Sulzberger’s expression darkened.
“We have no intention of selling The New York Tis.”
“For a company with such debt levels, that confidence is impressive.”
“...We can resolve it.”
“Surely that solution isn’t investnt from Carlos Slim?”
Sulzberger stiffened.
“How did you—”
“How we know is irrelevant. If that’s true, it’s not a good choice.”
“....”
“You’re negotiating a 250 million dollar investnt in the form of convertible bonds, correct?”
Sulzberger frowned.
“Negotiations are ongoing. I cannot comnt.”
If Carlos Slim exercised those rights, he could instantly beco the largest shareholder.
Even then, he couldn’t seize control from the Sulzberger family due to their Class B shares. Perhaps that was why they saw it as acceptable.
“Carlos Slim is a man of considerable greed. Can you truly trust him?”
Morgan Stanley, which held 7% of the Tis, had publicly criticized the Sulzberger family’s governance structure and demanded reform.
They had joined hands with Soros — and then let go.
Now Soros was blocking further investnt.
That left Slim as their option.
“Trust is irrelevant,” Sulzberger replied coolly. “No one can threaten our control.”
I had remained silent.
Now I spoke.
“Do you happen to know? Maurice Greenberg, chairman of AIG, will soon step down. And at the sa ti, he plans to accumulate shares of The New York Tis.”
I smiled slowly.
“You understand why, don’t you?”
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