“How is it over there?”
Gwon Jua’s voice came through the phone.
- Here? It’s good. I braced myself since it’s medical volunteering, but the facilities are better than I thought, and it’s clean. It doesn’t even feel like the Philippines.
Her voice was bright.
Much brighter than when she had been here.
Gwon Jua had gone out for medical volunteer work.
I sent her.
The moment Gwon Jua came to her senses at the townhouse, she said she would go straight to the hospital.
Perhaps it had been the obvious choice.
To her, the hospital was everyday life, the only place she could run to.
But I stopped her.
Thinking that Yun Taegyeom might take Gwon Jua hostage to gain the upper hand, I had deployed security agents at the hospital.
Taelim’s security agents were hiding undercover as patients, staff, and guardians.
They were fully prepared to take her away at any moment the instant she appeared.
Truthfully, there would have been no problem even if I let her go to work.
Those measly security agents wouldn’t have been an issue at all.
But it was a hospital.
I didn’t want to cause unnecessary fights and disturbances at a hospital.
I didn’t want to show patients who needed peace any shocking scenes.
If forces clashed, an accident was bound to happen.
So I made Gwon Jua stay inside the townhouse.
Instead, I thought of another way.
I remembered what I’d seen when I was hospitalized there.
The director had been restless around Daehun.
I recalled his desperate efforts to maintain some kind of connection.
Once Daehun made a single phone call to the director, Gwon Jua’s medical volunteering was resolved in one go.
Procedures and reviews progressed quickly.
It was confirmed on the spot.
The place Gwon Jua headed to was none other than Unity Town.
She did medical volunteering at Unity Town.
Unity Town also had a hospital, but with one more doctor, the number of people who could receive medical benefits would increase significantly.
Moreover, she added the experience and skills honed in Korea, an advanced medical nation.
Decisively, Unity Town was safe.
No crazy bastard would think of entering Unity Town.
It was guarded by rebels.
Crazy Sin Junggi was there.
So there was no need to worry about Gwon Jua’s safety.
As long as she was in Unity Town, Gwon Jua’s safety was guaranteed.
I needed that too.
Only by temporarily removing Gwon Jua could I focus on the work in Korea.
If she were by my side, my judgment would inevitably become clouded.
I would worry, and my decisions would slow.
And my heart would weaken.
That wouldn’t be good for anyone.
Not me, not Gwon Jua, and not Yun Taegyeom, who would face his punishment.
Gwon Jua seemed to forget this place for a while as she met new patients in a new environment.
The Philippines was a country where patients overflowed the moment you tried to treat them.
Unity Town was fine, but just one step outside.
The Philippines was a place where people continuously flocked the moment you went out to volunteer.
On top of that, I had also asked her to provide emergency first aid and basic medical education to the rebels.
Gunshot wounds, fragmentation wounds, infections, and so on.
She hadn’t refused either.
The purpose had been only one, after all.
To keep Gwon Jua busy.
To overwhelm her so she couldn’t catch her breath.
So she wouldn’t even have the leisure to think about what was happening in Korea.
*******
Taelim Financial Center.
Ten Escalades entered in front of it simultaneously.
At a speed close to charging.
The distance between vehicles was constant without the slightest error,
and even the sound of tires scraping the asphalt was identical.
And in the very center stood one Maybach.
When the cars stopped, men in black suits got out at the same time.
They moved in perfect unison.
They were clearly well-trained bodyguards.
Taelim’s security agents tensed at the sudden situation.
The radios became busy.
“External vehicle. No entry application on record.”
“Identity not verified.”
An agent who had been communicating over the radio went up to the man in the black suit.
“W… who are you?”
He asked cautiously, but there was no answer.
It was complete dismissal.
The Obsidian Unit was only paying attention to the Maybach and its immediate surroundings.
As if Taelim’s security guards were invisible, they focused solely on their own tasks.
The security agent who saw that grew furious.
“Hey… who the hell are you…”
Before the agent’s words could even finish, he was already subdued.
Without time to scream, he was laid out on the floor.
Clean.
“The Chairman is coming out.”
A low, level voice.
But it was a command.
The Obsidian Unit focused.
Only then did the Maybach’s door open, and a man revealed himself.
The man did not hurry.
Slowly. Slowly.
As if it were his own space, he slowly walked into the building.
.
.
.
Taelim Financial Group Chairman’s office.
When the door opened, Chairman Yun Jaehong was standing there.
He was standing by the window,
as if he had been watching us arrive.
“You’ve come rather conspicuously.”
He was asking why I had brought so many people to get here.
He meant, was he scary?
He was asking if I had brought all these people because I was scared of him.
It was still the tone of a man standing above.
At that moment, I realized.
‘This bastard still hasn’t come to his senses.’
He was still a chaebol.
He was a man who had never once fought a losing battle.
Both industry and political circles always took Taelim’s side.
If Taelim did it, even illegality wasn’t illegal.
Only now did I see.
Come to think of it, Yun Taegyeom wasn’t a psychopath.
He was an elite who had been thoroughly educated, and who acted exactly as he had been taught.
He had simply acted according to his lessons.
And the one who gave that education was this man standing right in front of me.
Chairman Yun Jaehong, Yun Taegyeom’s father.
A man who believed that as long as there was money, the standards of right and wrong could change however one wished.
A man who believed power was something you bought, and law was merely a tool of business.
A man who had never once had that belief denied.
That man was Yun Jaehong.
But what could he do?
If we fought with money, I had more.
Even with power, I was far stronger.
If we went by strength, I could rip him apart and kill him right here and now.
At this point, shouldn’t he be on his knees first?
Unable to read the room and lacking in intel—it was pathetic.
He had nothing, yet he was acting tough.
Standing in his crumbling castle, trampling on past glory.
Since he had survived this way until now, the more cornered he was, the stiffer his neck would get.
He would shout louder.
That might have worked until now, but not today.
“These days there are bastards trying to kill me, so I’ve got no attachment to life, but I still don’t want to die by a stray bullet.”
I said it lightly.
Yun Jaehong’s eyes narrowed.
“So why have you come so rudely? Was my son not enough? Do you want to kill me too?”
“Rude… You call coming here like this rude? What’s truly rude is Yun Taegyeom trying to kill me. And I have no interest in your life, old man.”
Yun Jaehong had heard through his secretary that Yun Taegyeom had mobilized the emergency response team.
He had also heard the news that the emergency response team had been annihilated.
And the news that all contact with his son Yun Taegyeom had been severed.
That was why Yun Jaehong could not welcome this man.
This man was dangerous.
More than anything, he couldn’t figure out who this man was.
He had mobilized every line to investigate him, but no one could tell him anything about this man.
Compared to that, the wealth and power this man possessed seemed enormous.
It was hard to even guess.
He tried to imagine, but Yun Jaehong’s imagination was insufficient.
An unknowable man.
Just looking at him made Yun Jaehong’s knees weak and his body tremble.
That demeanor of naturally speaking down to him.
Yet it wasn’t awkward.
It was too familiar, too natural.
Each attitude, each action made this man impossible to read.
So he had to end this situation quickly, no matter what.
If he stayed here, he didn’t know what would happen.
So he acted even more confident.
If he shrank back, he might be swallowed in one bite.
“Coming without an appointment is rude.”
Yun Jaehong tossed out like a scolding.
“Ah. My apologies. That was my mistake. I should have made an appointment… I’d like to make one even now… is that possible?”
“I refuse.”
“Uahaha. Interesting. You don’t take my calls, so I come to find you and you call me rude… Hah. This is difficult.”
At my lament, Yun Jaehong turned his head as if it were none of his concern and spoke.
“I’d appreciate it if you turned back here.”
“Very well. Let’s go back.”
I spoke to Scott and the Obsidian Unit I had brought.
As I stood up, I delivered Chairman Yun Jaehong a warning that was not quite a warning.
“You just threw away the last chance to save Taelim.”
“What do you mean?”
Yun Jaehong looked at me with an expression that said he had no idea.
He hadn’t been happy that I came, but he seemed interested in talk about Taelim.
His eyes turned somewhat curious.
“I heard that here, whether it’s people, incidents, or even accidents, everything is priced? That you only care whether it makes money or not. But with such poor eyes for people, how can you do business? Calling the savior who came to rescue you rude. Khaha.”
“What?”
Confusion flashed across Yun Jaehong’s face.
“Scott. Contact China. Tell them to proceed.”
“Yes.”
Scott took out his phone and made a call somewhere.
“What have you done?”
Yun Jaehong asked, suppressing his ominous premonition.
“There’s such a thing. Watch the news later.”
“What do you mean…”
After a brief moment, the secretary opened the door and came in.
Seeing us, he went behind Chairman Yun Jaehong and whispered something in his ear.
“You don’t need to whisper. It’s a call from China, right? A serious violation was found in fund management. Punishment is inevitable. Like this.”
Chairman Yun Jaehong, surprised at the secretary’s words, was surprised once more.
“How… how did you…”
“I told you. It was the last chance. Now everyone will exit here and there, and if you don’t return the money, you’ll be entangled in lawsuits. If it were a domestic incident, you could just play dumb and stonewall, but I wonder if that works in front of the Chinese. If you pull out money to pay back money, the affiliates will start going bankrupt one by one.”
Yun Jaehong’s expression hardened.
It was what Yun Jaehong worried about and feared the most.
Yun Jaehong’s expression changed.
His posture changed too.
The proud bearing of being master of the castle vanished.
He became servile, like a man who had come to borrow money.
“Then if there is a way to save it, please tell me. I will never forget this favor.”
“Sorry… There is a way, but since there’s no appointment, I can’t tell you. I despise becoming a rude person.”
Yun Jaehong fell to his knees.
“Please save me just this once. Taelim is everything I have devoted my life to. Please save it.”
An earnestness that hadn’t been visible even when he couldn’t contact his son was clear on his face.
This family was definitely a family of psychopaths.
Taelim was more important than his son.
“There’s one way. I’ll give you one dollar. Hand it over to me.”
“What?”
At those words, the earnestness on his face vanished and anger took its place.
“That’s already generous of me. Because if it goes bankrupt anyway, I can just pick it up for free. If I acquire it now, there are many places that will need money. And yet I’m saying I’ll buy it.”
“What kind of company is Taelim, that you’re telling me to sell it for a dollar? Say something that makes sense.”
Yun Jaehong shouted as if it were absurd.
“Wouldn’t it be better to take this and wrap things up cleanly? Or do you want to rot in prison for life?”
“Prison is absurd. Why would I go to prison? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Yun Jaehong spoke as if it were obvious.
“You will. And not a prison in our country—a Chinese one.”
“I have committed no crime. Even if the Chinese branch did something wrong, that was done independently by the Chinese branch. It has nothing to do with me. Of course I have no reason to go to prison.”
“That’s what you think. When I screw you over using the methods you used, everything becomes connected? Whether it’s conspiracy or orders, you did it, and soon the Chinese government will request your extradition. Do you think a government that avoids friction with China will protect you? No, not at all. They’ll probably use you as an offering. If they can prevent a dispute with China by sacrificing someone like you, that’s a cheap price. You lot aren’t the ones making semiconductors, AI, or displays. Would a problem even arise if one or two money-playing bastards went missing?”
At my facts, Yun Jaehong seemed flustered.
In truth, Yun Jaehong knew it too.
That there was no way out like this.
All Taerim did was invest other people’s money and take commissions.
There were plenty of people who could do that besides Yun Jaehong.
In other words, it was not a company with any unrivaled technology.
I added another spoonful of facts on top of that.
“You don’t know Chinese prisons, do you? Being called by a number instead of your name is the same here, so I guess that won’t matter. But over there, there’s no such thing as human rights. If they’re in a bad mood, they beat you first. Hygiene? Forget showers—if you can even wash your face, it’s your lucky day. The food is even worse. The biggest problem is the people beside you. Though I’m not sure you can call them comrades.”
Yun Jaehong’s face filled with fear.
He shouldn’t be reacting like this just from hearing that. Reality is far more brutal.
I’d toned it down a lot, hadn’t I?
“There has to be another way, doesn’t there? Huh? Tell me what it is.”
“If there is, go find it. I don’t want to be rude any longer, so I’ll be going now.”
“Wait… still, one dollar is… If you’re going to acquire Taerim, shouldn’t we work out the details…”
“I have plenty of time anyway. I can just wait until you people collapse and take it for free. The creditors will clean everything up and put it on the market neatly. I just find that process a little bothersome, so I’m willing to pay a bit more and take it now.”
Yun Jaehong sank down powerlessly.
He had never imagined that the empire he had built over forty years would crumble so easily.
He had done some illegal things, and he had shuffled money around between affiliates, but he had never thought that would become a problem.
Wasn’t committing a certain amount of illegality only natural?
“Choose. Will Taerim go under and you go to prison, or will you sell Taerim and live an ordinary life?”
Yun Jaehong’s eyes wavered.
It was the face of a man who could not bring himself to give up Taerim.
“Give me some time. Just one week. No, give me five days.”
Yun Jaehong clung to his last bit of pride.
“Fine. Then.”
And I was willing to let him keep at least that much pride.
.
.
.
In the end, Yun Jaehong chose to sell Taerim for one dollar.
Rather than a choice, it was the only method left.
Taerim was already nothing but an empty shell.
Its debts were tangled in a complicated web, and the circulation of funds among affiliates had reached its limit.
There were almost no remaining assets.
It was a time bomb that could go off at any moment.
But the Taerim we saw was different.
It had no visible assets, but it had the know-how, personnel, and systems of an organization that had spent decades rolling through the financial industry.
That system was something difficult to buy even with money.
We had not bought a company for one dollar.
What we had bought was a system and experience.
Taerim was a bomb, but we could defuse that bomb well.
Because we were the ones who had made that bomb.
We could set it off, but we could also remove it safely.
The management firms that had requested exits would recalculate in light of the changed circumstances.
If China, along with the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore, changed their stance, the others would follow.
Rumors create truth.
I had never intended to take Taerim in the first place.
Anna was enough for me.
Anna managed my funds well enough.
But my goal was to turn their numbers into “0.”
I would make it so they could have nothing.
I would sue those who handed Taerim over to me again.
On charges of embezzlement.
After reviewing the documents, I would claim there were suspicions of embezzlement and breach of trust and file suit.
It didn’t matter whether I won or lost.
I would drag it out for a long time.
They could no longer use the company’s legal team.
They would have to hire personal lawyers, and the costs would be considerable.
Just as Yun Jaehong had slowly bled others dry,
I would play a long, slow courtroom game against Yun Jaehong.
So that Yun Jaehong and his family could not keep even a single won.
Until they became completely “0.”