#93 A good president... President-elect Kim Hak-kwon did not answer my question right away. But I could roughly guess what the politician Kim Hak-kwon was thinking.
He would want to leave his mark on history.
"If you can overcome the IMF crisis during your term and improve the lax corporate culture of the conglomerates, won't you be remembered as a good president even after you leave office?"
"Hahaha. A good president..."
"Korea's corporate culture has been heavily influenced by Japan. To me, what the IMF is demanding this time ultimately seems to be a call to shed the Japanese ways and reform our constitution to the American way."
American companies often secure funds by issuing bonds and using the stock market, rather than taking out bank loans. What the IMF wanted was to share the profits of Korean companies with speculative capital, led by America. If the Republic of Korea's capital market is fully opened, that path will be cleared.
"It may be humiliating, but an opportunity like this will not come again. The backlash from the conglomerates will be strong, but as long as you have the excuse of the IMF, they will have no choice but to be wary of the government. Implement the policies you desire. That will be enough."
President-elect Kim Hak-kwon listened intently to my words until the end.
"Thank you for listening to my presumptuous words until the end."
"Haha. Not at all. It was helpful. Many of your thoughts align with mine, though there are some different parts. My aides and the bureaucrats are busy defending the conglomerates' position, but you've managed to scratch an itch deep inside me."
My words probably wouldn't change policy that much, but I had cast a small stone. If he thought back on my words and hesitated even once when injecting public funds, that would be enough. My meeting with Kim Hak-kwon continued for quite a while after that.
Eva arrived in Hong Kong and began using her connections to look into the Peregrine company in detail. Rumors of its bankruptcy were already rampant in Hong Kong's financial district.
"Eva?"
"It's been a while."
"Hahaha. You vanished from Hong Kong, I thought you'd gotten married somewhere, but here you are again."
"I learned a lot, thanks to you. Daniel."
Eva had run into Daniel, who used to be her superior.
"Didn't it all pass without any major issues? Do you still think I abandoned you?"
"It's a fact that you offered no help. But thanks to that, I met a good boss, so it doesn't matter anymore. Have a good time."
Daniel was taken aback by Eva's demeanor but didn't try to stop her. Eva left Daniel behind and was looking around, searching for someone. When she spotted the person she was looking for, Eva smiled and approached him.
"Andre?"
The man, who was talking to someone else, turned his head at the sound of his name.
"Do I know you?"
"Aren't you Director Andre Lee?"
"That's right, but..."
"Then I've come to the right place. Hello. I'm Eva. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Eva introduced herself with a bright smile and extended her hand. Andre Lee took her hand, flustered.
"When you're finished talking with your current companion, would you like to have a drink with me?"
For a moment, Andre's eyes sized Eva up.
"...Alright. Wait just a moment."
"I'll wait."
Leaving him with those words, Eva left the table and took a seat at the bar.
"One Snow White."
Eva ordered her favorite cocktail and looked around. People she had seen back when she worked at the bank were all focused on their own conversations. 'Back then, I worked so hard to come here and expand my network.'
With a faint smile, she took a sip of the cocktail the bartender had served her.
"Have you been waiting long?"
When the cocktail glass was about half empty, Andre Lee approached.
"No. It's been a while since I've been here, so I lost track of time. Please, sit."
Eva gestured to the seat next to her. Andre was led by her gesture and sat down.
"But how do you know me? I don't believe I've seen you before."
"How many people in the Hong Kong financial district wouldn't know Director Andre Lee of Peregrine?"
"Hahaha. You're quite the flatterer."
Andre Lee.
He was the director in charge of bonds at Peregrine. He was of mixed Korean descent, born to a Canadian father and a Korean mother. And he was also the person directly responsible for Peregrine's bankruptcy.
"The usual."
After ordering from the bartender, Andre looked at Eva with a lecherous gaze.
"So, what does a beauty like you want with me?"
"What's the rush?"
Eva was aware of Andre's gaze but retorted with a playful tone. Just then, the bartender served Andre his drink.
"Shall we have a drink and talk?"
Eva said, raising her glass.
"Of course."
Andre raised his glass as well. After taking a small sip of her cocktail, Eva casually remarked.
"Rumors are flying around the Hong Kong financial district that Peregrine is in danger..."
The smile on Andre's face vanished.
"Fuck."
Andre muttered under his breath in Korean.
"What do you think you're doing?"
His next words to Eva were in English. Eva replied in Korean with a strange smile on her face.
"You weren't cursing at me, were you? Surely not?"
"You speak Korean? No. I was talking to myself."
In contrast to Eva's smiling face, Andre's expression remained stiff.
"You can decide whether to curse or not after you hear my proposal. How would you know if I'll be your golden lifeline?"
"Hmm..."
"I know your abilities. You probably never imagined the Southeast Asian financial crisis would happen. Thanks to that, Peregrine, a company with a ten-year history, is now on the verge of bankruptcy."
"Did you come here to mock me?"
"Oh my, no need to react so harshly, is there? I came to make a proposal. I want to acquire Peregrine."
"Acquire it?"
Andre's stiff expression changed to one of surprise.
"Since I'm offering to acquire a bankrupt company, you must know that I need its brand value. Wouldn't it be better to stick with me and at least get a severance package, rather than watch the company disappear without one?"
"Severance..."
Seeing Andre's furrowed brow, his pride clearly wounded, Eva gave a captivating smile.
"Looks like your pride is hurt. Andre, this is the Peregrine you ruined with your own hands. Before you stand on your pride, you should be worried about how you're going to survive."
"..."
Andre was unable to respond.
"It will be difficult for you to make a comeback. What company would hire you? The man who brought down Peregrine, one of the most famous investment firms in Hong Kong, no, in Asia, in a single moment?"
Eva felt a thrill inside. It felt so good to now be in a position to look down on Andre Lee, a man she couldn't even look at when she was in Hong Kong.
"I will give you one million dollars. I want you to bring me the internal documents."
"Internal documents?"
"Yes. Documents about how much debt there is, which bonds are recoverable even if it takes time, how complicated the equity structure is, and what Chairman Toss's weaknesses are."
Andre now wore a look of utter astonishment. Eva said, almost humming.
"The severance pay I give you will increase depending on the quality of the documents. Whether you receive a hundred thousand dollars, a million dollars, or even more. Think about it carefully."
With those final words, Eva stood up from her seat.
"And it's a bit much for a man who recently got married to be looking at me like that. Wouldn't your wife at home feel sorry? In any case, I'll be waiting for your call. Here's my card."
Eva placed her business card in front of Andre's glass and turned her back. Going straight to her hotel, Eva called her boss, Kim Mu-hyeok. — Hello. Hearing Mu-hyeok's voice over the receiver, Eva exclaimed in an excited tone.
"Mu-hyeok!" — Eva?
How's Hong Kong? It's been a while since you've been back.
"It's fantastic." — What's the progress?
Eva relayed everything to Kim Mu-hyeok in detail, from her approach to Andre to what she had found out so far. — You're doing well.
"Hoho. I'll deliver Peregrine into my boss's arms. Just you wait." — Alright.
Good work.
"I'll keep reporting if anything unusual comes up."
Eva, her heart fluttering with excitement, jumped onto the bed. Her face was wreathed in a smile.
I smiled slightly as I looked at the phone after the call ended. 'Her voice sounded very excited. It seems she's happy to be back in Hong Kong.'
Noticing my smile, Park Dong-soo asked.
"What? What's this? A woman?"
Pulled from my thoughts by Park Dong-soo's words, I lifted the glass in front of me and said.
"Well, she is a woman..."
"Who is it? Little brother! Bring her to your elder brother. This brother of yours is a damned good judge of women, you know."
"As far as I know... that's not true at all. Isn't it about time you settled down?"
"What are you talking about! No way. I'm going to live and die like this. Who would I pass my karma on to?"
Park Dong-soo shuddered and downed the strong liquor in his glass in one gulp. He didn't want to pass on his unstable future, like walking on a knife's edge, to the next generation.
"Once this is all sorted out, there won't be any major dangers. You can think about it again then."
"There are no more organizations in Korea that can stand up to us. A few minor ones are left, but they're no match for us. Still, the side effects of the hasty consolidation are starting to show."
Park Dong-soo had used his immense capital to bring the major organizations across the country to their knees. There were a few organizations that resisted, but he showed them his power and made them join the unification. It couldn't be called a single organization just yet, but it was starting to take shape.
"In times like these, you create an external enemy."
"You mean the yakuza?"
"Yes. They'll be entering Korea soon enough."
"Where do those Jap bastards think they're coming? Can I slit their throats?"
"Yes, they're different from the domestic organizations. You can handle them like a gangster. But please refrain from doing so on main streets or where there are many witnesses."
"That's basic, isn't it?"
"There will probably be factions within your organization that sympathize with them. Watch them carefully, catch the yakuza that come in this time, and then go to Japan yourselves. Try to take over Japan's underworld as well."
"Hahaha, forget it. Korea is enough. What would I do with Japan?"
"Yes. Then do as you wish. I'll create another force in Japan."
I clinked glasses with Park Dong-soo and continued our drinks.
"Ah, Yang Su-hyeong will be out soon. You've heard, right?"
At my words, Park Dong-soo's face instantly brightened.
"Thank you. He's getting out earlier than I thought."
"It was easy to pull strings since he wasn't tied up on any major charges. Are you going to send him down to Busan when he gets out?"
"I have to. He's the little brother I trust the most, isn't he? Who else could I entrust Busan to?"
"Busan is really important. There might be sporadic clashes in Seoul, but most of them will be in Busan."
"He'll do well. Look at Sang-geun. Maybe because he's an educated fellow, he's running the company well, isn't he? I'm just the figurehead, and there are even rumors that Lee Sang-geun is the real boss. Hahaha."
Lee Sang-geun was certainly a remarkable man. He played the role of listening to and coordinating the various views in a place where many interests were entangled. The unification had proceeded without major trouble thanks to Park Dong-soo's power, but Lee Sang-geun's role, quietly doing his part behind the scenes, was also significant.
"Hahaha. Are you okay with that, though?"
"What? You think I'm going to get all sulky and start a knife fight over something like that? Cut it out. It's because of you I'm being called 'Boss' when it doesn't even suit me. I was just at the level of taking over one district in Busan."
"Why would you say that? No matter how much I helped, is it really that easy to dominate the nights of the Republic of Korea?"
"It's money, all money. We don't need knife fights anymore. Give them something to eat, and they'll crawl on their own. I'm getting confused now, whether the world has changed or if it was always like this."
As Park Dong-soo said, the era of gangsters resolving everything with violence was over. It was an age where money decided everything. Perhaps because I had drunk too much the night before, I woke up with a pounding headache.
After having breakfast with my grandfather and resting a bit more, I left the house.
"To Myeon District, please."
"Yes, sir."
I was scheduled to meet Cheon Ji-young after a long time. 'Cheon Su-han's release is next month, wasn't it?' Cheon Su-han, who had been in and out of the mental hospital, was about a month away from his release.
"Oppa!"
Cheon Ji-young was smiling when she saw me getting out of the car, but a shadow was cast over her face.
"Ji-young. It's been a while."
< A good president... > End