12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

July fourth, 2022…

Invictus Investment ended the negotiations with RMI; the final price was 2.72 billion dollars. It was rather expensive, but I decided to pay for it. Time was more precious to me. At the same time, I continued to pursue Tak Mun-su persistently with the help of Crow and Lee Won-jae. ‘It’s easy to catch a rat if I know where it’s going to run.’

—–

July twentieth, 2022…

“This is what you asked for.” Eventually, Crow came back again, with a very thick report.

‘Interpol can’t handle this. Did he go all the way to Gibraltar on the other side of the world?’, I thought so, but I didn’t bother to ask. The way Crow worked was not something I should ask. I took it and read it.

“Hmm… it is as expected.” There were some expected results written. The representative’s Deep Blue Corporation’s representative was Han Sung-jin. His family name was Han, like me. He was Korean, and it was a sure proof, which they couldn’t get rid of, and I searched the name ‘Han Sung-jin’ on the portal site. There was a lot more news than I thought.

‘Sung-jin is common.’

I changed the search name after considering that to ‘Han Sung-jin, Suyeon.’

“Bingo.”

I saw an old article that had been published in 2005. [Suyeon Life Insurance appoints new executives and directors. The financial director is Han Sung-jin.]

However, the name had never been mentioned since 2005. It seemed that he left the company in the meantime.

‘The former financial director of Suyeon Life Insurance suddenly left the company and set up an investment company with some money that nobody knew where from, and just in time, Suyeon Construction sold the copper mine. So he bought it, and he found that the mine had the enormous vein of copper. So he made a lot of money from the profit margin and set up Deep Blue Corporation. Then, because the old owner was in crisis, he bought a lot of shares to help him. He spent nearly two billion dollars to keep his loyalty… If he said that in front of a judge, he would naturally go to jail.’

‘All right, then…’ I read more of Crow’s report. By the way, there was something different than I expected: the amount. ‘Huh?’

“Tak Mun-su has seven billion dollars, does he?” It was more than I thought. This was definitely an amount that I had to feel burdened by. Even though Tak Mun-su knew I was the richest man in the country, it was enough for him to shout out that what I was doing was a waste of time.

Crow said bluntly, “Looking at the money coming and going… Maybe that’s not all. If you look at page seventy-nine, you’ll see more details.”

It was now apparent that he had been exchanging money with other companies several times. He had been exchanging money with Heschbra, Tinkerbello, and other companies I had never heard of, like Deep Blue Corporation.

‘… this is deeper than I thought.’

But it was rather good. This was all a result of criminal dealings. The deeper the root, the more painful it would be when extracted. Now that I’d figured out all the cards that Tak Mun-su had, I’d looked at what the best benefit would be for our company.

‘Shall I explode it now? No. Tak Mun-su must be buying shares of Suyeon Electronics right now. When he’s done… Let’s burst it at that time. If the redemption on Deep Blue Corporation’s assets is done, the shares could come out cheap. If I buy it at a lower price, our company’s position will become stronger.’

All the information was collected, and all their cards were predicted. According to my plan, I slowly moved Vice President Jang and our company directors; Chairman Lee Won-jae; the media companies affiliated with the Daewon Daily News and Oracle News; as well as President Joo Sung-won, who was receiving it directly.

——–

And on July thirtieth, we completed the contract with RMI. At the same time, prominent articles came out.

[Invictus Investment bought a 7% stake in Suyeon Electronics from RMI. It is on the rise to the position of a major shareholder.]

[Han Sang-hoon, a genius investor, purchased shares in Suyeon Electronics. Is it a simple investment, or a hostile M&A?]

[CEO Han Sang-hoon, who threatens the status of the chaebols, takes over Suyeon Electronics.]

At the same time, the share price of Suyeon Electronics surged. People’s reactions were largely like this:

– Han Sang Hoon became a big man. Is he aiming for Suyeon Electrons?-

– The recent death of Tak Woo-kyung has made the management rights unstable. I think that’s a good shot.-

– But didn’t they say Han Sang-hoon was ruined by his investments in China? Where did he get the money to buy it?-

– I’m curious, too. It seems that he was not ruined like the rumors said.-

Some of the public believed that I had collapsed after investing in China. But that was where it went. After August, several media outlets published articles.

[It is known that Invictus Investment made forty-five billion dollars after investing in China.]

[Invictus Investment didn’t buy, but sold. They had a big hit during last year’s financial crisis. They earned forty-five billion dollars.]

[A dramatic reversal; CEOHan Sang-hoon rises to Korea’s richest position.]

When the news came out, there was a complete commotion. I was placed at the top of the list of rich people in Korea, where only the chaebols had been lined up.

– Wow, that’s amazing. In his thirties, did he earn forty-five billion dollars by himself?-

– I heard that he knows the future, but I’d do it if I had that ability.-

– I’ve never heard of Han Sang-hoon before. Is he famous?-

– He’s been a big man in the investment area for years.-

My name, Han Sang-hoon, did not come down from the top of the search word list all day long. Now I had become, in name and reality, the richest and most famous businessman in Korea. Seeing all the communities, bulletin boards, and chat rooms on the Internet all over my name, I realized that power. If Rep. Han Sang-hoon hadn’t lost his seat, he still wouldn’t have been able to beat me.

—–

Then on August tenth, there was a general meeting of major shareholders on the same day. It was a general meeting of major shareholders, which was expected to announce the results of the first half of the year. I participated there as the biggest shareholder. That was where Tak Mun-su still held his post as vice chairman.

————————-

“It’s a nice building,” I looked up and said. Up above I could see the red logo of Suyeon.

Vice President Jang, who was seat beside me, looked at me and said, “By the way, what are you going to call the company?”

“What?”

“I am talking about Suyeon. Are you going to keep the name?”

I thought when I saw the Suyeon logo. “Huh, it’s a chicken rib.”

That was what it was. Suyeon Electronics, however, had maintained its fame for nearly forty years after it started its business. Even in global markets, they had recognized electronic products, so it was a little bit too much to throw away the brand name. However, maintaining Suyeon naturally reminded me of the Tak family. It was not a good name for me as I’d been putting up with them all this time through thick and thin, high and low, ever since Tak Joon-gi.

I looked at the logo and said, “I’ll think about it a little bit more, and I’ll make a decision. Let’s take over the management first.”

“Sure.”

I entered Suyeon Electronics building with Vice President Jang and Secretary Park. In the hall, which we were guided into, there was a general meeting of major shareholders.

“The results of the first half are generally in recovery… We are expecting to see a faster recovery after the Chinese financial crisis.”

It seemed like we were here in time, not too early or not too late. I stormed into the place with a deep breath. When I entered, everyone in the room was looking at me. So was Tak Mun-su at the same. I spewed out what I had to say right there. “How are you, Vice Chairman Tak, other major shareholders, directors, and investors of Suyeon Electronics? As you’ve all seen in the article, I became the largest shareholder of this company by buying a 7% stake in RMI and a 5% stake in the market. I don’t have much to say because this assembly was planned when I wasn’t here, but as one of the largest shareholders, I’d like to have a special shareholders’ meeting in the near future.”

The man who hosted asked me, “For what purpose?”

“This is for a large-scale change in personnel accompanied by the dismissal of representative Tak Mun-su.”

I turned my head and glanced over the name tags. Except Tak Mun-su, there were more people with names that started with “Tak.” “If you have the last name Tak, please be prepared. Blood is thicker than water. Some chaebols seem to value money more than blood…”

As I said that, I looked at Tak Mun-su on purpose, who had killed his cousin. His eyes went wide, but I turned my gaze and said, “I still believe in blood ties. I hope you know that and resign yourself so that you won’t have to make any noise. Don’t you think it’s better to quit on your own than to be fired?”

After I said that, Tak Mun-su, who couldn’t bear it, stood up and shouted, “Do you think that’s going to work?” However, it was just an empty echo.

The people around went along with me. This meant that everyone knew who was stronger. I looked at him and said bluntly, “Yes. It’ll be done by my will.” Then, I looked at the people beside him and said, “Unlike Tak Mun-su over there, if you don’t have the last name, I’ll give you a choice. It’s a choice that you should be loyal to me. Everyone read the article that I have forty-five billion dollars.”

Everyone’s eyes were on what I was saying. Generally, anyone sitting at a shareholders’ meeting knew the weight of money, and the meaning of money.

“Let’s go back to the past here. How much was it four years ago? Four years ago, when I was an ordinary office worker, I had negative total assets. I’d been saving a small salary, but… I had a student loan left.”

As I said that, I had a slight laugh in the memory of the past. But soon, I stopped laughing.

“But now, I am the richest man in Korea. This is all a fact. Unlike anyone, I’ve all told the truth. Go home and… no, please pick up your phone and search. I’ve been interviewed several times since I founded Invictus Investment in 2019, so you’ll find all the records.”

But at my words, no one looked down to see their cell phones. Everyone was focusing on how my lips moved and what the echoes in my vocal cords were.

“I’m a self-made man who has risen from empty hands to the top. It’s different from someone who was born with a golden spoon and kept it. Then think about it. Who’s more likely to own this company? Who will maximize the interests of shareholders? Who’s going to lead Suyeon Electronics to greater success?”

Even the directors with the last name Tak were keeping their eyes on me.

“So, I suggest holding an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. As I said before, this is for a large-scale change in personnel accompanied by the dismissal of representative Tak Mun-su.”

Then someone shouted, “That’s great! If CEO Han Sang-hoon leads our company, it would be much better.”

After the shouting, the other raised his hand and said, “I, too, will leave my shares to Han Sang-hoon for voting rights. Please lead us, CEO Han!”

After the two of them came out, there was a flood of noise.

“Me too!.”

“Me too!”

“I’ll join you, too!”

The general meeting of shareholders quickly turned into a concert hall in a flash. This was a concert by popular singer Han Sang-hoon. Tak Mun-su and his family were bewildered.

I thought as I looked at the commotion, ‘Well, with this much… Even if he has a friendly stake from the paper company… I think I can beat him.’

By the time the roar subsided, I said with my head down, “Then, everyone, I’ll see you at the next extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.”

I turned my head, leaving the words behind. People in the room shouted after me as if they were fans shouting for an encore after the performance.

“Thank you, Mr. CEO!”

“I’d like to join you, too. Mr. CEO!”

“I’ll see you then. Mr. CEO!”

I walked out of the main hall listening to their shouts.