"You...! You didn't just try to stab me, did you? Why did you include the letter of intent?"
As soon as he entered the office, Lee Hak-jae shouted, his eyes fixed on Oh Se-hyun.
Oh Se-hyun smirked as he packed his bag, their eyes locked in a heated standoff.
"Well, now that you've aged enough to... control your temper a bit."
"Don't beat around the bush!"
"If you're going to react like this after watching my broadcast, watch the interview again. I've thought about it after seeing the grandson trying to help his grandfather."
"What?"
"Go back and bounce the gavel again. You'll benefit from it. Of course, it'll cost you more money, but it'll be much more favorable when convincing the judging panel."
Lee Hak-jae just stared at Oh Se-hyun with a blank expression.
"I have to go now... I have a meeting with the bondholders."
As he left the office, Lee Hak-jae pulled out his phone.
"Find the broadcast featuring Miracle Oh Se-hyun. I'll have to watch it again when I return to the chairman's house."
Sitting in the backseat of the car, Lee Hak-jae felt the weight of the hefty laptop on his lap as he watched the interview video multiple times.
It didn't take long for him to figure out the content that could be helpful.
Separated from Chairman Jin and Oh Se-hyun, the unexpected competitor who had wedged himself in, Oh Se-hyun, firmly played a role in amplifying public opinion once he grasped Chairman Jin's intentions.
Lee Hak-jae closed the laptop and let out an incredulous chuckle.
"Haha, this is something. He's turned into an unstoppable force."
As if realizing that his chuckle had found the answer, the driver accelerated and headed for Chairman Jin's house.
Clearing his throat once, Chairman Jin entered his study deep in thought.
"Chairman."
"Hak-jae. It seems like this won't just lead to anger. It might turn out to be a useful pawn..."
"Yes. It seems that Representative Oh also intends for it to become a bargaining chip."
"What? Did he say that himself?"
"Yes. He says it's a joint project created by him and Do-Jun to help you."
Chairman Jin's mouth hung open when he heard his grandson's name, but eventually, he burst into laughter.
"Hehehe. Unbelievable... everyone else is too busy trying to take my money with greedy eyes, and my grandson even mobilized an American investment firm to help me? Is there such a commendable person!"
Lee Hak-jae waited for Chairman Jin's laughter to subside.
When the firewood burns brightly, you need to cook the rice. If you miss the timing, all that's left is ashes. There is much to be done.
"I plan to release a series of critical articles about Miracle Investment tomorrow. We need to saturate them with provocative words like companies that only think about money, the danger of speculative capital, and capital flight."
"And?"
"We plan to send our people to each broadcasting company's debate programs. We will invite around six economics professors and emphasize the same viewpoint..."
"You're going to slip in the name Daehyun as well?"
"Yes. Daehyun Group has already secured enough steel mills, so there is no reason for them to want an acquisition. What they really want is to build apartments and sell them... By throwing this idea out there, it will naturally be bundled together."
Chairman Jin slapped his knee.
"That's right! This is just perfect timing! Initially, it was a bit tricky to criticize Daehyun, but Oh Se-hyun has opened the door and provided an opportunity. Chairman Joo, you're in for a surprise. Haha."
"But there's a problem. We need to increase the acquisition price a bit."
Is it because of the money? Chairman Jin stopped laughing.
"Why did Oh Se-hyun have to say unnecessary things?"
KRW 2.5 trillion.
The acquisition amount revealed by Miracle Investment.
This amount would become an absolute figure that would haunt them for a long time.
Furthermore, if Daehyun Group also spends KRW 2.3 trillion, it would be difficult to spend less than KRW 2 trillion.
To avoid any favoritism issues, they would need to justify the KRW 2 trillion or more to the bondholders.
"There was no choice. To emphasize the foreign speculative capital, we had to show them spending money. If they were real bidders, would they say such things?"
"Let's see how the atmosphere goes until the final bidding. If it seems impossible, match it to KRW 2 trillion."
"Yes. I will call the PR team to prepare."
"Good. Put in some effort."
Alone in his thoughts, Chairman Jin felt as light as if he could fly. Thanks to his clever grandson, he felt ten years younger.
Ranked 26th in the chaebol hierarchy, Hando Group with total assets of KRW 2.53 trillion and sales of KRW 1.4925 trillion, went into final bankruptcy proceedings on March 19th, unable to prevent one for a mere KRW 11.19 billion promissory note.
The Republic of Korea, still unaware that it had barely started, had its eyes and ears focused on the trials of two former presidents rather than the economic crisis.
But I didn't care about any of that right now. What I was concerned about was the freshman welcome event scheduled for tomorrow.
After the matriculation ceremony, I had attended a few classes, but it was anything but comfortable.
It seemed like everyone was glancing at me, probably because of the college entrance interview, and they gathered in small groups, talking among themselves. However, not a single student came up to me to strike up a conversation. Some senior students even came to the lecture hall, looked at me, and then left.
I thought things might get better when I attended the welcome event and interacted with my peers and seniors. Since everybody here was a stranger to me, it wouldn't hurt to prepare a small event.
The next day, I arrived at school late in the afternoon, listened to a couple of hours of lectures, and then made my way to the student union cafeteria, where the welcome event was scheduled to start at 6 PM.
The Law School had nearly 400 students, but less than half of them attended the event.
Did I overprepare for the event?
As I took a seat at a corner table in the cafeteria, the students around me glanced at me once again. It seemed my presence was unexpected.
On the table, I noticed bottles of soju, beer, and a few soft drinks, and on a gas burner, there were pots and grills. Perhaps they were planning to grill some pork belly.