episode_0036

As a legitimate shareholder who owned company shares, I participated in this meeting.

Though I didn’t enjoy public activities, this guy, who had never appeared at such a meeting his entire life, boldly announced he would personally hold the shareholder meeting. As it garnered a lot of attention, I decided to listen to what he had to say.

But then,

“The children of sprawling corporations, these so-called representatives, blinded by their own shares and greedy struggles, rather than striving for the greater interests of the company’s shareholders……”

I doubted my ears, which had naturally perked up.

I was utterly dumbfounded.

Even if he was pushed out, a guy who had belonged to the Hwaryeong family was suddenly spouting such words from that very podium.

A chaebol scion, who had grown up showered with every imaginable benefit and privilege, and what’s more, from the mouth of a guy who had ruined the company’s image with all sorts of misconduct, such outrageous remarks dared to come out.

“Isn’t that right? Rather than focusing on raising stock prices, they’re only interested in meddling with the company, wielding the privilege of management rights every day.”

‘What in the world is this madman spouting?!’

There’s a limit to how much he can tarnish his own reputation, yet he was wagging his tongue so freely.

Was he acting as if he’d seen all there was to see, now that he was going independent? He was tearing open wounds and spitting on his own family company.

After rambling on and on, he even turned that brilliant spotlight over to me.

“Cha Hwaryeon-ssi?”

My name, called out precisely.

The examples of outrageous remarks he’d just given, were being thrust upon me as if directly referring to me.

*Gritted teeth.*

With the surrounding gazes focusing on me, my cumbersome hat became meaningless, so I took it off.

A clear declaration of war, targeting me.

As that delinquent punk of the family dared to bare his fangs, I couldn’t hold back and rose from my chair.

* * *

I had already realized that Cha Hwaryeon would be attending.

Perhaps curious about how her immediate rival would appear, she shyly tried to conceal her identity. But that wouldn’t be fun, so I shone the spotlight on her.

-Cha Hwaryeon, as in the second child of Hwaryeong Group…?

-She seems absolutely seething with venom, doesn’t she?

-…Oh my, how scary.

My second noona was burning fiercely, to the point where those around her flinched and recoiled.

Reacting to the kindling I lightly tossed in, she set herself ablaze.

“You seem to have a lot to say; would you like to come up?”

As I offered the invitation, a suit-clad staff member who had been cautiously observing nearby hesitantly handed her a microphone.

Rising from her seat, Cha Hwaryeon snatched the microphone, took a deep breath, and then,

“I will decline.”

Her intention, conveyed concisely.

“Hmm… So a deeply involved figure from Hwaryeong Group has gone to the trouble of bringing herself here personally, and you’ll speak from there?”

“First, I’d like to state that I am here as a shareholder of , rather than as the CEO of .”

When I pointed this out, deflating her, she clearly stated that she was a shareholder who had bought shares, and then,

“I merely received the microphone to ask a question to President Cha Doyeon, who is voluntarily separating from the company.”

“What is it?”

“Without a doubt, it’s about Cha Doyeon-ssi’s qualifications.”

Cha Hwaryeon, seemingly quite provoked by my recent remarks, immediately unsheathed her blade.

Turning around, she put on a show in front of all the shareholders, speaking with biting sarcasm.

“The eldest son among siblings!

You may not know this, but thanks to archaic old customs, President Cha Doyeon was born as the only son and grew up showered with his parents’ love. From a young age, he received exceedingly ‘special treatment’ within the family due to this discrimination. But to now attack Hwaryeong Group, which nurtured and raised him, while claiming independence… does he think he is qualified?”

“……”

I didn’t respond.

It was a past so distant that I couldn’t answer.

Perhaps thinking I was backing down due to my silence, my second noona became even more emboldened and raised her voice two octaves.

“Do you know that if I were to list all the failed businesses that were entrusted to him to hone his business acumen, simply because he was the only son, we’d be here all night?

Ah… I suppose you all know indirectly through the news, don’t you? The businesses that Cha Doyeon, who once served as a Hwaryeong Group director, recklessly expanded and ruined!”

-…….

She shifted the fire that was meant for her onto the crowd.

Distrust and suspicion slowly crept into their hearts.

She exchanged the attention directed at herself for distrust towards me.

Cha Doyeon’s past delinquent behavior was a card Cha Hwaryeon could use to torment me.

Although this was an attempt to corner me, it was undoubtedly a mistake Cha Doyeon had indeed committed.

As the only son, he was utterly incompetent, earning the scorn of his sisters, and was ultimately abandoned even by Cha Seongtaek, who clung to outdated son-preference ideology.

He had come this far through his pure, tiresome incompetence, which he had so repeatedly proven.

‘Hoo… So predictable, so obvious.’

However, that was merely the past.

The weaknesses Cha Hwaryeon was trying to exploit were past weaknesses that I had not committed, thus having no impact on my mental state.

In other words, it was a shabby and cliché attack.

“Alright, at this point, let me show you the data I’ve prepared.”

“……Data?”

When I gave the signal, the board chairman nodded.

The data screen was displayed on a large screen for public viewing.

“This will be officially released later in a financial statement announcement, but this is the estimated performance report for this quarter.”

Numbers densely packed on the large screen.

It might be difficult to examine in detail from below the podium, but in truth, the three most important things for a company are these:

Revenue.

And operating profit and net profit.

However, the part to truly pay attention to this time was this:

‘Non-operating income’,

The amount recorded as ‘Other income’ from investment activities.

“Now, please check for yourselves. What do you, the shareholders, think?”

-Operating performance is the same, but… other income…?

-Uh… if the base unit is a billion…

-One, ten, hundred, thousand… wait, is this for real?!

This announcement would be far from a trivial surprise performance.

Because it meticulously listed my subsidiary’s stock investments and crypto profits that had been merged into the company.

A massive investment profit that could never be generated by merely operating the company.

“Combined quarterly net profit of 7.4 trillion……?”

*Grin.*

Cha Hwaryeon was a superb supporting actress.

A good pawn who could make me stand out even more.

7.4 trillion won in short-term profits from investments.

The amount earned solely from investment profits through my merged subsidiary, by a card company that couldn’t even surpass 1 trillion won in revenue alone.

Although the stock price had already risen due to its connection with crypto, it was strictly confidential until revealed today.

They wouldn’t have known the news that it was managed with several times leverage, which explains why it far exceeded expectations.

Knowing the future means possessing profitability that cannot be compared to just a few lottery tickets.

Because even knowing just a few major trends can grant you the power to change the world.

As the venue heated up, everyone simultaneously started chatting with their neighbors or shouting, “Is this real?!”

“It is all true.

There have been many rumors surrounding the company, so we decided to disclose this today for transparency.”

After tapping the microphone to signal for quiet,

“Now that the performance has been disclosed, I will ask Cha Hwaryeon-ssi, who is still standing.”

*Flinch!*

Cha Hwaryeon froze, looking at the performance figures, as if they were completely unexpected.

As her dumpling-bun hair, reminiscent of a cute mouse, turned towards me, I pushed her back into the trap she had set herself.

“Are you also able to disclose the performance of , which Cha Hwaryeon-ssi currently operates?”

At this point, her fiercely burning flame extinguished.

With a clearly flustered face, she faltered and retreated.

“……I stated that I was attending as a shareholder of , didn’t I?”

“The New Year has already dawned, and isn’t this important news that will be revealed soon anyway?”

“Th-this is not appropriate for this occasion, so I will offer no comment.”

“Hmm, if you were confident, you would mention it… That’s a disappointing answer.”

*Grind!*

She might not know my circumstances, but it’s easy for me to grasp Cha Hwaryeon’s financial situation.

Her capital line, staggering from the impact of daring to short-sell.

Thinking of my delinquent past and entering with extreme condescension, an enormous amount of money must have evaporated.

Currently, Cha Hwaryeon must not be able to utter a single word about the company’s finances.

Because it’s a critical issue that would require her to voluntarily resign from her position.

A massive loss that she must cover with her own capabilities, and one wonders if she even can.

“Shareholders, I deeply acknowledge that I have shown a disappointing image to the public until now.”

Without digging deeper, I returned to my speech.

Coming to the front of the podium, I bowed my head to the shareholders seated in their chairs, expressing my regret, and then,

“However, as I have just shown you, from today onwards, I intend to show you a somewhat different side of Cha Doyeon. As you can see, not with words, but with actions.”

Where had their doubt and distrust gone just moments ago? The light in every eye intensified, as if they had witnessed the second coming of Jesus.

After all, performance in the present was the top priority, rather than desperately clinging to the past.

For them, short-term profit was the ultimate dog bone.

*Swish.*

At this point, a hand rose for the last time.

A woman, presumed to be a reporter, who had been constantly scribbling notes on her tablet.

“If you’ve achieved such a remarkable performance, what is your next goal, President-nim?”

A good closing.

She must have been a real reporter, as she threw out the perfect question, just the right temperature to conclude the shareholder meeting.

I slowly loosened my stifling tie a bit.

After showing a bit of my usual relaxed demeanor, I answered.

“I intend to do what Hwaryeong has been unable to do until now.”

“And what might that be…?”

“Number one in the business world.”

The goal, conveyed simply and clearly.

The inside buzzed loudly once more.

There were expressions wrinkling their faces, claiming it was absurd, but perhaps because they had witnessed such an unbelievable performance, there was no longer any outright scoffing.

“I know. Some of you will still doubt and ridicule me inwardly, but since it was my father’s dream, I will claim it.”

-…….

“I have a profound ambition to make Hwaryeong, which has rotted away due to the squabbles of its children, grow as a company for myself and for the shareholders, aiming for the pinnacle of South Korea alongside all of you present here.”

With this, I deliver my closing remarks.

After bowing my head, which I was tired of doing, I declared,

“On the day we achieve number one in the business world, you will truly become shareholders of ‘Hwaryeong Group’.”

*Clap… Clap clap clap clap clap.*

The sound of applause, slowly spreading.

It burst forth like a zero-to-one-hundred acceleration, filling the entire venue.

‘Hoo… This show is tiring too.’

Frankly, the speech probably didn’t matter in the least.

The shareholders cheering, satisfied with the absurd performance,

The crowd expecting a high stock price increase due to the acquisition of unbelievable wealth.

In the end, as long as their bellies are sufficiently filled, there’s no problem.

‘Gone.’

As I stepped down from the podium, I checked where Cha Hwaryeon had been sitting, and the seat was empty.

As if a mouse had severed its tail to escape a predator, she threw her hat on the floor and disappeared.

*Grin.*

Unaware that her shaky position was already in the palm of my hand.