Chapter 1565 Challenged (5)

Black luxury sedans began arriving at a certain skyscraper tall enough to pierce the heavens.

Security guards matching the impressive stature of the building smartly stepped toward the road and tensely welcomed the row of imposing vehicles.

“Welcome!”

The security guards opened the rear doors of the parked vehicles, then bowed deeply enough for their foreheads to touch the ground.

“Mm...!”

A man getting on in years climbed out of the vehicle in the center, then acknowledged the security guard’s greeting with a brief nod. A female secretary guided him into the building’s foyer.

The security guard nervously swallowed his saliva. Gee whiz. I almost sh*t my pants just now!

That gentleman, and the others who had arrived before him, were bosses and owners of South Korea’s leading corporations.

Ordinary people witnessing the sight of such prominent figures of the industry entering Taegwang’s head office one after the other would’ve been amazed and felt scared in equal measure. Since that was the case, imagine how much worse those feelings must be for an actual Taegwang employee!

The security guard felt the back of his neck getting soaked in sweat.

“Fuu-woo...”

He wiped the sweat off his forehead while watching the vehicles heading to the parking lot.

I wonder what is going on this time.

The security guard looked up at the top floor of the skyscraper.

People who lived on the same land but occupied a different world were now congregating in that location.

***

“Goodness! It’s been a while!”

“Huhuhuh! Indeed, indeed. With how busy we all are, it’s so hard to say hello like this.”

“Chairman Choi hasn’t arrived yet, it seems?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk... You haven’t heard the news yet? Chairman Choi is hospitalized right now.”

“Really? I didn’t hear about that on the news, so what happened?”

“They obviously won’t spread the news everywhere. It’s not something to celebrate about, anyway. And the company’s share price will fluctuate like crazy if shareholders learn about his hospitalization, after all.”

“Well, you have a point there.”

The chairpersons of various corporations smiled at each other like good-natured uncles. However, no one here naively took their smiles at face value. After all, they were all rivals. Competitors, who fought over the shares of the same pie. Most large corporations saw their business interests overlap, after all.

Knowing this, they all put on friendly smiles but sharpened cold daggers in their hearts. But that was the way these entrepreneurs operated.

“Everyone, let us be more mindful of our health,” said Jang Myeong-Gu, the chairman of the NF Group, in an aging voice. “At our age, our health can deteriorate in the blink of an eye. Doesn’t the sight of that empty seat weigh heavily on your hearts, gentlemen?”

“Yes, you’re right, Chairman Jang.”

Several chairpersons sheepishly nodded away.

“That’s why I wanted to look after my health a bit more and buy expensive health supplements, but... I wouldn’t dare do that when my seniors are still so healthy and full of vigor. It’s embarrassing to be called a crybaby at my age, after all.”

“Indeed, indeed! Our seniors are way too vigorous. Aigoo~, my back. They have been bullying me all these years, yet they still want to bully me some more. Hahaha!”

The chairpersons all joked and bantered with each other.

Every person gathered in this conference room was powerful enough to rock the Republic of Korea with their roar alone. Even then, there was an unwritten hierarchy among them.

Most people might think the ranks were assigned according to how successful their companies were, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. That was because of the gap in their ages.

Those called seniors were already working as bosses of their companies and were in “fraternal” relationships with the fathers of the younger generation, who were receiving their education as the heirs to the family-run empires at the time. In a way, one could say there was an “uncle-nephew” type relationship dynamic at play here.

So, even if one’s company was ranked higher in the world of commerce, the bosses of those companies didn’t dare behave impolitely to those from their fathers’ generation. As such, everyone in this room treated just two among them as their seniors regardless of the pecking order.

And the chairman who had summoned them here today was one of those two seniors.

“By the way, have you heard why Chairman Jeong is in a wry mood this time?”

“No, I haven’t. Do you know something, by any chance?”

“Well, the invitation itself was bog-standard, wasn’t it? It’s been a while, so he wants to have a get-together again. But when did Chairman Jeong ever call us for a harmless gathering like that?”

“Actually, I may know something this time,” said Jang Myeong-Gu. A wry chuckle left his lips. “It seems one of the newer corporations has gotten on Chairman Jeong’s nerves. From what I’ve heard, it’s the new kid called MK.”

“Did you say MK?”

“Yes. Apparently, it was established not too long ago. I can’t remember if they specialized in real estate or fast food, though...”

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly at the mention of MK. Half of the chairpersons tilted their heads in confusion, while the other half stiffened noticeably.

Jang Myeong-Gu’s expression grew unreadable as he studied their reactions.

It seems some of you already know about MK, then?

Before he could ponder a bit more, the conference room’s door swung open smartly, and Jeong Hong-Geun strode inside.

“Looks like everyone has arrived,” said Jeong Hong-Geun.

“Chairman Jeong! It’s great to see you again!”

“Chairman! You’re looking good, sir!”

“Aigoo~! You look even healthier than before.”

The chairpersons exchanged enthusiastic greetings.

If their identities as chairpersons of major corporations were stripped away from this scene, it’d have looked like a club meeting of elderly gentlemen. Which was an apt description, considering this “club” had been established for such a purpose, after all.

There were two “heads” of the table on either side of a lengthy table. Jeong Hong-Geun took up one of the seats and smiled gently at the others. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. It’s not easy to catch up with you all unless we call for a special meeting like this.”

“Hahaha~! Indeed, Chairman Jeong. But we will gladly come if you call us.”

“Thank you for inviting us.”

The smile on Jeong Hong-Geun’s lips deepened.

Even if the President of Korea had called for a meeting, these people wouldn’t have dropped everything and shown up right away. Yet they did precisely that for Jeong Hong-Geun.

Moments like this helped Jeong Hong-Geun gain a renewed appreciation of the power he wielded in this country. His connections, wealth, seniority, and identity all combined into one and motivated these impressive people to come here.

Yes... This is my power!

His unhappiness seemed to improve almost instantly at this sight.

Jeong Hong-Geun glanced at the empty chairs. “It seems we’re missing some people...?”

“Unfortunately so. With how busy everyone must be, it’d be unrealistic to expect everyone to come today. But they still wanted to apologize to you for missing today’s meeting.”

“Indeed, indeed. They are all swarmed with work, after all.”

While replying with a magnanimous smile, Jeong Hong-Geun didn’t forget to confirm who were missing from the meeting.

“Mm... If I remember correctly, he’s in hospital right now, isn’t he?”

“Yes, Chairman Jeong. His health has worsened lately. We suggested he should get transferred to our cancer treatment facility, but he refused, unfortunately.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Why so much pride at his age, I wonder?” Jeong Hong-Geun tutted jokingly, then glanced at the others. “Although I’d prefer if we could take our time to catch up and enjoy a good meal together, keeping people as busy as yourselves here is being thoughtless, isn’t it? Let me get straight to the point. I’ve called for this meeting to discuss a few things with you all.”

Everyone grew somber as they stared at Jeong Hong-Geun.

“The... economy has been in the doldrums for a while. I’m sure you can all feel it.”

“Indeed, sir. It’s been the same story for everyone.”

“The good days are long over now, Chairman Jeong. Now, we must figure out a way to keep putting food on the table.”

“Aikoo~! If you say that, what about us, then? With how things are going, we can’t even afford the table to put the food on!”

Jeong Hong-Geun smirked softly while watching the chairpersons banter with each other again.

Yes, this is how duplicitous humans are.

This group of people possessed stocks valued at anything between billions and trillions, and with personal assets reaching the value of trillions of Won, yet here they were, busy complaining about dying of starvation!

Ordinary people might curse them for being despicable, but Jeong Hong-Geun interpreted this situation differently. In his view, these chairpersons weren’t acting this way out of sheer greed.

No, it was because all human beings were the same.

Those who made ten million won longed to earn twenty million instead. It was the same for those who had billions in their bank accounts; they wanted to double that amount somehow.

Adding more zeros at the end didn’t mean automatic satisfaction. After all, it was one’s heart, not one’s bank balance, that was ultimately responsible for one’s satisfaction.

Owners of large corporations, like these people, were fundamentally obsessed with making money. Or, in less charitable terms, they were money-hungry avaricious demons that could never be satisfied.

“Yes, it’s getting harder to make a living, isn’t it? Especially with the current market sentiments being so down in the dumps and whatnot. The public is baselessly accusing us of being the root cause of all societal problems, while the government is unfairly pressuring us to cough up even more in taxes on top of it all.”

“Indeed, indeed! Things have never been so unfair, I say! It’s not like we’re guilty of a major crime or something, anyway.”

“I agree. It’s all getting a bit too much, I have to say. We’ve done so much for this country, after all.”

Jeong Hong-Geun grinned brightly. “In times like this, we must unite and work together, gentlemen. Others will never understand the difficulties we face, after all. Indeed, people who know each other’s stories must act and speak as one. Only then would others stop taking us for granted.”

“Your words are indeed wise, Chairman Jeong.”

Jeong Hong-Geun sensed that the atmosphere had reached the desired intensity and sneakily brought up the reason for this meeting.

“Now that we’re discussing this matter...”

Jeong Hong-Geun slowly locked eyes with the other chairpersons.

“We have a problematic organization.”

“When you say problematic, Chairman Jeong...?”

“There’s no need to be alarmed. It’s just that they were trying to get on my nerves, you see?”

“Oh, really?” Jang Myeong-Gu replied, his expression slightly stiff. “An organization bold enough to get on your nerves? It can’t be a corporation, then. A government entity, perhaps?”

“No, it is a corporation.”

“Excuse me?” Jang Myeong-Gu tilted his head in confusion. “A corporation dares to annoy you? What madness drove them to do something so stupid? Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding?”

Jeong Hong-Geun slowly shook his head. “No, it’s not a misunderstanding. And this matter isn’t something that can be viewed as a mere misunderstanding, either. Rather embarrassingly, my grandson got kidnapped by those people, and they hurt him badly, you see...”

The chairpersons snapped their heads toward Jeong Hong-Geun in shock.

“When you say your grandson...!”

“Oh, no. Not him. I wasn’t talking about my heir. It’s Myeong-Cheol. He was the one.”

“Goodness me! Did you find out who did it?”

“That’s the problem, everyone,” said Jeong Hong-Geun, hints of anger seeping into his voice. “Neither the police nor the prosecutors want to touch this matter. It seems the culprit has greased them properly. If not, they are very good at kissing the politicians’ butts!”

“Even if that’s true, to think the government wouldn’t even investigate the crime?! When the victim was your grandson! That makes no sense at all!”

The atmosphere in the room had gotten weird by now.

Rather unsurprisingly, the people in this room were preternaturally sharp at reading the room. Just a few tidbits of information were enough for them to figure out the situation to some degree, and they began weighing pros and cons in their minds.

“Chairman Jeong. We understand your anger, but for us to take on someone protected by the government is a bit...”

“No, that’s not what I’m suggesting at all,” Jeong Hong-Geun firmly shut that argument down. “Yes, we shouldn’t provoke an organization protected by the government. I agree. But we shouldn’t let those not enjoying the same protection get away with what they have done, either.

“Can you imagine how much the government or those bastards will laugh at us if we don’t respond firmly? They will view us as pushovers when that happens. So, we must show them. Show them that even a worm will wriggle mightily if you step on one.”

“Then, what do you suggest?”

Jeong Hong-Geun casually shrugged. “From what I’ve heard, the culprit responsible for Myeong-Cheol’s ordeal was MK’s chairman. Despite being the chairman and whatnot, he didn’t even come to apologize to me!”

Jeong Hong-Geun gritted his teeth a little.

“That’s why we must teach him a valuable lesson, everyone. I hear that MK is operating a cafe franchise. If we mess with their sales and distribution network a little, they will surely raise a white flag within a few days.”

“Mm...!”

The chairpersons all grunted weightily. Going up against a corporation possibly protected by the government would always be a difficult decision to make. However, Jeong Hong-Geun also made a valid point here. Tucking their tails so obediently didn’t feel good, either.

“I will shoulder all the responsibilities!” Jeong Hong-Geun raised his bony hand and pounded his chest. “All you have to do is lend me your assistance! Don’t worry, I will compensate you handsomely. And if there are problems, I shall handle them. That’s why! Everyone, you only have to help me out once.”

“Aigoo, Chairman Jeong! You don’t have to talk about compensations between us. We’re not doing something monumental, after all.”

“Indeed, indeed! Don’t worry about it, Chairman Jeong. I’m sure helping you out won’t cause much of a problem for us.”

“We’ll check if we supply this MK with our products. Withholding our wares for a month shouldn’t cause us problems at all.”

“Actually, this is a good opportunity, isn’t it? If we play our cards right, we might even bring a corporation protected by the government to our side.”

The chairpersons began chuckling cordially just then. With Taegwang pledging to take on all the potential fallout, they realized they had little to lose even if they got involved now. The government would direct its fury at Taegwang if things went south, after all!

Just as everyone began punching numbers into the computers in their minds...

Slam!

The door was suddenly shoved open, and a man strode leisurely inside.