Chapter69: < The Unavoidable Arrow (1) >
Having finished his jog, Assemblyman Jo Jae-min paused, contemplating the incoming call.
He stared at the caller ID for a moment before answering with a bright voice, as if he hadn't hesitated at all.
"Yes, Assemblyman."
[Did you get home alright yesterday? You didn't drink too much, did you?]
"After you left, Assemblyman, I was delayed for a bit teaching that young punk a lesson, but I went straight home after."
[Is that so? Don't be too hard on him. He's young, he might act out of bravado.]
"Even if it's bravado, there are lines one shouldn't cross, wouldn't you agree? I gave him a stern warning."
[What if he gets his feelings hurt and takes back what he said?]
Assemblyman Jo was inwardly impressed.
He had anticipated this kind of reaction because of what Manager Choi Yeong-hun had said, but he couldn't help but be surprised at how perfectly his prediction had come true.
"He didn't seem that thoughtless. Should I contact him again?"
[No. Right, he wouldn't be that thoughtless.]
"I'm sure of it. Please don't worry. Ah, it's jumbo shrimp season. How about some grilled shrimp with soju?"
[Sounds great!]
"Then I'll arrange a time and place."
After hanging up, Assemblyman Jo spoke to his aide, Kim Si-won.
"When's the deadline for the party nominations for next year's general election?"
"It will probably be around late February to early March."
"So, about three months from now?"
"Around that, yes."
"Three months... If we can just hold out that long, we can secure at least one thing, right?"
Aide Kim asked, shocked.
"Are you perhaps thinking of making the bus terminal a campaign promise?"
Aide Kim Si-won was still unaware that Assemblyman Kang Ju-won was expected to lose the next general election.
"Let's just watch the situation for now. They say things are getting strange in Yeouido lately, so keep a close eye on it."
"Understood. I'll be sure to monitor it closely."
Assemblyman Jo did not rush.
He knew that in times like these, it was best to look before you leap.
*
After a hearty breakfast of bean sprout and rice soup, Yeonghun and Yeon-hee were leisurely enjoying their morning coffee in the lobby of a hotel in Gwangju.
"This coffee is terrible. What's with this taste?"
As Yeonghun grumbled with a frown, Yeon-hee smiled as if she found him cute.
"Hotel coffee is usually bad. Even the coffee at a five-star luxury hotel is just barely drinkable. That's why I'm drinking tea."
So that was the reason. He had wondered why she, who always enjoyed coffee after a meal, was drinking tea this morning.
"You should have told me."
"Everyone has different standards when it comes to food, right? I thought the hotel coffee might surprisingly suit your taste. Should I order you something else?"
"It's fine. I'm just drinking it to wake up anyway. By the way, why don't you put that phone down? You'll get a herniated disc in your neck."
Yeon-hee had been checking the stock market continuously since it opened at 9 a.m.
"It's because I'm worried. Of course, stocks go up and down, but if the market reacts more than expected, it can cause major disruptions to running the company. The shareholders won't just stand by and watch... The Chairman might even try to get involved in management, saying he'll find out the cause of the situation himself."
In the end, what Yeon-hee was worried about wasn't just a simple decline in performance, but that the Chairman would use it as a pretext to interfere with management.
It was a valid concern, but Yeonghun tuned it out as he brought the tasteless coffee to his lips again.
It wasn't something he could solve just by worrying about it.
For Yeonghun, the matter concerning Assemblyman Jo Jae-min was more pressing than the coking coal issue.
Just then, he saw Department Head Go Seung-hyeon entering the hotel lobby with a grim expression.
"Over here!"
Yeonghun waved, and the man approached with quick steps.
"The room?"
"I got it. Let's go up. Have you eaten?"
"I just grabbed some gimbap on the way. I heard you met that guy again this morning?"
"I'll tell you the results when we get upstairs."
Once they were in the pre-booked room, Department Head Go opened the bag he had brought with him.
"You said someone from U-myeong Construction came?"
"A Managing Director named Kim Chang-hun, the head of the Housing Sales Division, came down with his secretary."
"And the details are everything I was told?"
The person who had relayed the information to Department Head Go was Yeon-hee.
She nodded and said, "Yes. He tried to push things through using his connection with the chairman of U-myeong Construction, but it didn't work out."
"Didn't work out? How can you be so sure?"
Instead of answering, Yeon-hee turned her gaze to Yeonghun.
Once Department Head Go was seated, Yeonghun started with a different topic.
"Is the company's situation that bad?"
"It's not good, but it's not enough to make the company truly falter. The situation is ambiguous."
"Could you be more specific?"
"The coking coal mine project isn't something we did alone. To enter the Chinese market, it's fundamentally difficult to get anything done without Chinese capital involved. This project was also a joint venture with a Chinese company. Let's say they shut it down. Do you think we'll be the only ones to go under?"
"The local Chinese company would have a hard time too."
"Of course. This won't last long. Three months at most, maybe half a year if it drags on. If it goes on for six months, the local company will be lucky not to collapse. I doubt they'll drag it out that long."
"Then the person who meddled in this probably doesn't have a very close relationship with the local company."
"A Communist Party official probably pulled some strings. A very powerful one at that. In any case, no matter how powerful they are, they wouldn't let a domestic company collapse. That means they'll likely just make a show of it and then stop... The problem isn't just that we can't produce right now."
"Then what is it?"
"This isn't like selling things at a corner store. You think we wouldn't have secured buyers? We have to deliver 200,000 tons of coking coal to Incheon Port next month."
"So our feet are to the fire."
"Exactly. That's why, starting yesterday, every employee in the sales department has been running themselves ragged trying to secure coking coal."
"Hmm... so as long as we can get it, it's not a huge problem?"
"Right, that's why I said it's ambiguous. Ms. Yeon-hee is probably worried that Hyunjin Heavy Industries will intervene in management, right?"
Yeon-hee nodded.
"Yes. In fact, we were just talking about that."
"That's actually the most worrying part. The stock drop could be an opportunity. If we time the rebound right, we can solidify our management rights by buying back company stock. But if the stock doesn't rebound, we're just wasting money."
"What do you think will happen?"
At Yeonghun's question, Department Head Go frowned.
"Senior Managing Director Cha Ji-yeol is on it, but both the President and Chief Hong suspect that he might be the cause of this whole situation."
"So an untrustworthy person is making the moves?"
"He was the key man who set up this project. If someone else were to handle it instead, China might suspect there was a real problem with the project. Because 'guanxi' is so important in China, you can't just make decisions and moves based on paperwork."
"It's a tricky situation. We can't just leave it alone, but we can't easily intervene either..."
"Exactly."
"Hmm..."
Watching the situation unfold, Yeonghun felt certain that giving up on the cobalt mine acquisition had been the right decision.
He hadn't met them yet, but seeing how aggressive and reckless the people targeting Hyunjin Corporation were, he once again felt that simply avoiding them wouldn't be enough.
Now, Department Head Go asked.
"How are things here?"
"We've discussed various scenarios. In the midst of that, you heard that I went to Gunsan because of the bus terminal, right?"
"Yes."
"When I arrived in Gunsan, Assemblyman Kang Ju-won was there."
"Assemblyman Kang Ju-won? That old fox?"
Department Head Go leaned forward eagerly, but his expression quickly turned to one of disappointment at Yeonghun's next words.
"He had no intention of giving us the Bongseon-dong project rights in exchange for the bus terminal."
"Hah... of course. So?"
"Since Assemblyman Jo Jae-min was the messenger for the Gunsan Bus Terminal modernization, I just said we'd apply when the public notice for the project is released."
"The losses will be substantial, you know."
"We'll have to bear them."
Department Head Go frowned, but feeling that Yeonghun wasn't the type to simply accept a loss like this, he asked again.
"So you saved the messenger's face? Then what?"
"In conclusion, it looks like we'll get the construction rights for the Bongseon-dong apartment project."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Wow! That's huge!"
This was the first Yeon-hee was hearing of this, and she clenched her fists and cheered.
After he had returned from meeting Assemblyman Jo, he had been tight-lipped and lost in thought, so she hadn't dared to ask what they had talked about.
Department Head Go shifted in his seat, unable to hide his excitement, but then he saw Yeonghun's persistently grim expression and suppressed his elation to ask.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"Honestly, I thought it wouldn't matter if we received something else instead of the Bongseon-dong project rights. It turns out Gwangju Metropolitan City is carrying out quite a few projects for regional development, and it seemed he was willing to give us a few of them."
"Really?"
Department Head Go's eyes widened.
He couldn't for the life of him understand how Yeonghun had managed to win over Assemblyman Jo Jae-min so completely after meeting him for only a few days.
"But as we talked, I think I made him reconsider his political career."
"What do you mean?"
"It seems he wants to paint a bigger picture rather than remain an unknown local politician. I think he's going to run for mayor of Gunsan."
"Mayor of Gunsan? Isn't the situation there terrible?"
Mujin Heavy Industries, considered the leader of the domestic shipbuilding industry, had suspended operations at its Gunsan Shipyard during the shipbuilding recession that originated in China.
Afterward, Gunsan's economy sank, leading to massive unemployment, a collapse in real estate prices, and a soaring suicide rate.
It was no exaggeration to say that Gunsan's economy was at its worst.
"What if he could turn that terrible situation around?"
"Hah... does that even make sense?"
"I'm just saying, what if."
Department Head Go shook his head as if it were absurd, then answered in a somber voice.
"He'd instantly become a top star on the national stage."
"You think so?"
"The current governor of Gyeonggi Province has become so prominent he's even considered a presidential candidate, but he wasn't always that well-known. He rose to fame after becoming the mayor of Seongnam, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, and turning the city around. People may despise politicians, but they like competent administrators. But it's strange that he suddenly had that thought. Was he always an ambitious person? As far as I know, he's planning to run a candidate backed by Assemblyman Kang Ju-won in the upcoming Gunsan by-election, isn't he?"
"Assemblyman Kang won't be seen in the political world after this general election."
This time, Department Head Go's jaw dropped as he stared at Yeonghun, genuinely surprised.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't ask why, but that's what I know."
"Wow... you say such incredible things without batting an eye. So, this story has reached Assemblyman Jo's ears as well?"
"Yes."
"I see. That would explain why he was able to change his mind so easily. With his boss about to be taken out, he's lost the person who would have pulled him up. But did he believe you easily?"
"How could he possibly believe me easily?"
"Then?"
"He's a meticulous person. Naturally, from now on, he'll move forward while continuously verifying if what I said is true."
"Wait, wait... so what does this mean? When Assemblyman Jo Jae-min said he'd give us the business rights for Bongseon-dong, he didn't mean he'd just hand them over?"
Only then did Department Head Go understand the situation.
"That's right. Assemblyman Jo asked us to revive Gunsan in exchange for the Bongseon-dong business rights. For him, it was a kind of gamble."
This was the reason Yeonghun had looked so troubled despite having secured the deal.
"Shit... do we have to take this?"
"We don't have to. We can just put out a news story saying Hyunjin Construction modernized the bus terminal for the citizens of Gunsan to commemorate its rebranding and then walk away cleanly. Though it'll cost us a bit of money."
"Is that all?"
"Just that Assemblyman Jo will probably not trust Hyunjin Group in the future."
"What's your conclusion, Manager Choi?"
Yeonghun paused in thought for a moment before speaking.
"If there's a way, finding it would be to our benefit. As you said, if we end up fostering Assemblyman Jo..."
"Becoming a company that nurtured a presidential-level politician is a huge advantage."
"Moreover, we'd make a good impression on the public as a company that saved a struggling local economy."
"The method is the problem."
"Exactly."
Department Head Go tilted his head, then spoke.
"There is a simple way..."
"What? Is there such a method?"
"The Gunsan shipyard that Mujin Heavy Industries shut down. We could just get that running again. It would immediately require thousands of workers, and its partner companies would start getting business again."
"Then...?"
"The Gunsan shipyard... you think we can take it over?"
< The Unavoidable Arrow (1) > End
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