Despite the fact that every single day had been busy lately, Park Choong-Sik felt more vigorous than ever lately, and even his sexual appetites and abilities had become restored. There had been a silent confrontation with Cho Dae-Hwan, the Director of Accounting, over the final authority of fiscal policy. However, the recent personnel change had clarified Park Choong-Sik’s position as Jeon-il’s second-in-command. He was the major stockholder of over thirty conglomerates and their affiliates, had worked with Daehoo to give birth to the Jeon-il Bank, and Jeon-il possessed most of the land that stretched from Seoul to Busan. Therefore, people called him the Financial President of Korea.

“Hey, don’t say that. I’m so embarrassed.” Park Choong-Sik waved his hands.

“Frankly speaking, a foreign girl wouldn't have done much. You should take all the credit since you did everything.”

Cho Hwan realized that he had crossed the line after saying so, as Park Choong-Sik’s face became rigid.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll take a drink as my punishment. Hopefully, that will make you feel better.”

Cho Hwan poured soju into a water glass and gulped it down before Park Choong-Sik could stop him.

“I’ll take a shot, too,” Park Choong-Sik said.

Cho Hwan replied, “Nah, don’t do that. It was a punishment for me saying dumb shit.”

Park Choong-Sik slammed in a glass of soju, but he was confident he wouldn’t suffer from hangovers as he had been full of energy lately.

“Our CEO is the best despite her young age and outstanding appearance. Il-sung’s CEO is also a female,” Park Choong-Sik said.

“Right. It’s the generation for ladies. Should I take another punishment drink?”

“No.”

“Then, don’t be so angry. How would I be able to sleep when the Financial President’s face is like that?”

Park Choong-Sik smiled wryly. “President…I don’t deserve that little. My worth is less than the dirt in your toenail.”

“You can’t fool me. If you wanted money, you would have remained in Kim and Park. Remember what happened today. The old man from Daehyun and Il-sung’s young girl couldn’t say anything in front of you. My stress immediately disappeared,” Cho Hwan flattered.

Park Choong-Sik smiled and checked his watch.

“Oh, I held you back too long. I’ll get to the point,” Cho Hwan said hurriedly.

“Okay.”

“Han-sil Confectionary. Is that yours?” Cho Hwan asked indifferently, but Park Choong-Sik noticed what he was actually thinking. He didn’t answer as he was at an advantage and he needed to wait for the opponent to speak.

“You’re not going to answer?” Cho Hwan questioned.

Park Choong-Sik shrugged. “No, what more can I say?”

“Remove all of Han-sil Confectionary’s shares from Jeon-il Group. I’ll take care of the rest when the market opens. I’ll give you a hundred billion won,” Cho Hwan offered.

Park Choong-Sik remained expressionless even after hearing ‘a hundred billion won.’

“If it was my property, I would have done so without hesitation. Why does Han-sil matter so much to you?” Park Choong-Sik finally asked.

“You know why. You’ve become cunning like a snake. I’ve already checked that it was your doing,” Cho Hwan responded.

Jamie had instructed them to gain certain subsidiaries no matter what, and Han-sil Confectionery was a small affiliate of Han-sil Group. Han-sil Food, which sold ramen and snacks, was much larger than Han-sil Confectionery, but…

The Confectionery manages Han-sil Group’s stake. Things will get intense.

Park Choong-Sik took another shot.

“It’s late. I’m sorry, but I should go back to work.” Park Choong-Sik took out his jacket.

“Would ten times more be enough? I promise it won’t cause any problem,” Cho Hwan said hastily.

“As you mentioned, I would’ve stayed in Kim and Park if I wanted money,” Park Choong-Sik retorted.

“Who doesn’t like money? How can you guarantee that you will remain in Jeon-il next year? Things happen randomly, so you better prepare a retirement fund,” Cho Hwan replied desperately.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Take care.” Park Choong-Sik left.

“Hey, Director Park!”

Park Choong-Sik just laughed it off as the chairman of the Han-sil Group was too late. Daehyun had offered two hundred billion won. Threatening the throne for only a hundred billion won by risking everything was someone only stupidly desperate for money would do. Park Choong-Sik didn’t envy any of the conglomerates for their money because they still had to lower their heads to him. He returned to his car.

“The Han-sil Group secretaries have put something in your trunk,” the man in the driver’s seat said.

“I hired you only because you’re smart…”

“Pardon?”

“You should know better.” Park Choong-Sik stared at the man.

“I’m sorry,” the guy immediately apologized.

He said flatly, “Since it’s your first day, I’ll let it slide this time. Take it out right now.”

Park Choong-Sik turned on his phone while leaning his body against the seat.

<Park Choong-Sik: I’m heading back to the company. It got a little late.>

<Jamie: Umm…Let’s reschedule the account meeting to tomorrow morning. Why don’t you go home instead?>

<Park Choong-Sik: Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, then.>

He hung up and checked the time. It was eleven o’clock. Jamie had told him to come back since the meeting couldn’t be delayed a few hours ago. She even rejected the invitation to The Blue House because of the account meeting last month, but she rescheduled this time.

Is she…dating someone? Wait, no. She’s not the type who would prioritize relationships. There’s only one thing that would make her postpone the meeting.

Composed of five foreign investment firms, Jeon-il Investments owned Jeon-il Group. All the massive funding had come from them, and Park Choong-Sik had never met the real owners of them. He got goosebumps when he thought of them as they were geniuses who took advantage of the IMF crisis and encroached on the Korean economy. However, they still concealed their true identities.

Park Choong-Sik once desperately wanted to know them, so he had pressured Jamie, but not anymore.

No news is good news, and them saying nothing means to keep it up.

He had a hunch that they would never reveal themselves as they would have done already if they had planned so. He was certain that the current system would continue with no one taking his throne.

***

It was past eleven o’clock at night when we entered Seoul. The dungeon exploration was postponed to another day, but I had work to do for Jeon-il’s domestic projects, New York’s and the Isle of Man’s tasks, and chasing after the First Evil.

Woo Yeon-Hee pulled the car over at the street, and I got out with a short goodbye since we had already talked about the schedule. There weren’t many people, and it was dark as only a few firms with foreign investment teams had their lights on.

Jamie was in front of the heater in the lobby, covering her face with a big hood. She was waiting for me at the time we scheduled to meet. The young guard didn’t recognize me and nodded hurriedly after I greeted him with my eyes first. Jamie turned around and scanned my body quickly.

“It’s my first time seeing you in a suit,” she said while following me.

“You must have just arrived in Korea. Aren’t you tired?” I asked.

She had been chatty but became silent in the elevator. I had hidden the Clown’s Dagger inside my coat as I got out of the car, and anyone would have noticed I was hiding something dangerous by the awkward posture of my arm. Jamie froze and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hide her anxiety. She let out a gasp on seeing the dagger as I took it out.

“It’s just a collector’s item,” I said blandly.

The blade shone under the elevator’s light, and Jamie smiled awkwardly. The office was filled with cold air, so I turned on the heater after placing the dagger in the safe. Even after all that, Jamie was still conscious of the dagger.

Then, she slowly shifted her gaze to arrows lodged in the target, the long blades and knives on display, and the bloodstained bandages in the trash can. She just stood at the door with a haunted look on her face and came in cautiously only after I gestured. She approached me with an expression as if she was entering a hired killer’s workshop.

“It’ll warm up soon,” I said.

The air was still too cold for us to take off our coats. Jamie sat across from me and looked at my badge. It only raised my Sense, but perhaps she thought it identified my organization. She couldn’t even ask me about the badge as she was terrified.

“Would you like some mixed coffee?” I questioned.

“Yes, please,” she answered.

I said while making coffee, “I was in New York and very busy. I’ve been keeping up to date about the Jeon-il Group’s investments in the daily newspaper.”

“The Korean media don’t know anything about it yet and they wouldn’t even have the guts to publish it,” she replied.

“That’s why I called you. To hear it directly from you,” I responded.

When the nation was in turmoil, the conglomerates formed slush funds and began restructuring their governance structures. Each group owned numerous affiliates, but certain firms had become acting as holding companies.

For instance, the Il-sung Group circulated their working capital out of their holding companies from Il-sung Dreamland to Il-sung Life to Il-Sung Electronics to Il-sung Card, then it went back to Il-sung Dreamland. Therefore, Il-sung would control the entire dozens of their subsidiaries solely based on Dreamland’s stake.

Daehyun Elevator and Han-sil Confectionary acted the same. The stake on the top of the affiliate's governance structure and the stake that played a key role in the future management succession process was what we called ‘controlling interest.’ A total stake of less than a single-digit percentage of the entire group had the power to dominate the group.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Jamie replied.

Unlike the fear she had before, she was now filled with confidence.