» The Youngest Son of Sunyang
The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family - 270
[270 Snake's Head 3
Left alone, Sangpil Cheon plopped back down onto the chair.
He picked up the still-full liquor bottle and poured it into his glass. A few melted ice cubes clinked as he swirled the glass.
"Damn it... Trillions? That young bastard is truly crazy."
He drank the strong whiskey as if it were water.
But the unit of 'trillion' wouldn't leave his mind.
The *chaemyeong* shares he managed also kept nagging at his mind.
Of course, those *chaemyeong* shares were also in the trillions. Pilok Lee had collected them little by little over nearly twenty years, as if gathering coins in a piggy bank.
When Sangpil Cheon first saw the list of Pilok Lee's *chaemyeong* shares, he simply accepted it. But when he caught a glimpse of Sunyang Group's ownership structure, he stopped calculating the value of her shares based on market prices.
In the early days, the shares Chairman Jin had gifted to distribute ownership were unlisted, but twenty years later, they had transformed into controlling stakes in the group.
Shares with enormous value but no trading volume, and shares in major affiliates that had been steadily accumulated. These were blue-chip stocks that had consistently risen.
Sangpil Cheon managed these, acquiring more if Pilok Lee provided funds. He had been in charge of distributing them evenly for over a decade.
Of course, he received ample compensation.
Playing golf with his successful lawyer friends, he would secretly smile to himself when they boasted about their wealth.
When his friends pulled golf bags from their Lexuses or Mercedes-Benzes, he opened the trunk of his Grandeur, but he wasn't envious in the slightest.
This was because he knew it was wiser to own a dozen apartments in Gangnam than a Mercedes or Lexus, and even more reassuring to have overseas accounts containing dollars worth tens of times more than a dozen Gangnam apartments.
But now, the dozen Gangnam apartments and dollar accounts he had been so proud of felt utterly insignificant.
Instead of Gangnam apartments, he imagined grand mansions in Beverly Hills and villas in Miami, and instead of Mercedes or Lexus, a private jet from Boeing seemed almost within his grasp.
The values he had maintained until now had crumbled because of a single character: 'Trillion (兆)'.
The character '兆' signifies a divination or an omen.
How fitting a meaning was that?
It's too vast to be precisely known, only to be estimated through conjecture, which is why this word is used as a unit.
Sangpil Cheon found it difficult to measure the sheer size of one trillion won, but he could vividly imagine what he could obtain and achieve with that money.
He couldn't leave the hotel room until he had finished an entire bottle of whiskey.
Before accepting that young bastard's crazy offer, there were still things he needed to confirm.
* * *
Pilok Lee's eldest and second sons kept sighing, utterly bewildered. It would be no exaggeration to say that if she were their wife instead of their mother, they'd want to rip all her hair out.
"Alright. But where on earth did you spend all that money? Didn't you handle all your shopping and everything else with company funds? What did you plan to do with the cash that you went this far?"
Vice Chairman Jin Younggi suppressed his boiling anger and asked in the most polite tone possible. Normally, she would have yelled that even such a tone was offensive, but now, having committed a sin, she was submissive.
"I did it for you, not for myself, did I?"
"So what was it, then?"
"Shares."
Jin Younggi sighed again.
"Don't you know that's practically useless? No matter how many insignificant affiliate shares you collect, it won't help defend management rights. How many times have I told you?"
"Over 3% and under 5% of the controlling stake. These are the shares I hold. Is this still not helpful?"
The two sons almost gasped for breath when they heard the numbers. They had thought she was just an old woman in the back spending money... She had caused a huge problem, but it was a sufficiently valuable endeavor.
Seeing her surprised sons, Pilok Lee's expression returned to that of the dignified matriarch of Sunyang.
"If you, Donggi, hadn't formed joint voting rights with that Jin Dojun, I wouldn't have taken such an extreme measure. It happened because I was anxious."
The mother, freed from her sons' reproaches, turned the arrow of blame.
Jin Donggi, who had been silent, spoke.
"Dojun is not one to compromise easily. He's the kind of guy who always goes all the way with what he's set his mind to. I know that well, having been outmaneuvered by him myself. We need to come up with a countermeasure quickly."
"This boy is changing the subject..."
"I'm not talking nonsense. He demanded joint voting rights from me, but has he demanded anything from you, Mother? No, right? That means he intends to blow this wide open."
Jin Younggi shook his head.
"Don't you know how cunning he is? He'll demand something soon."
"Stop saying frustrating things. Do you not know? This is revenge! You noticed it too, didn't you, Hyung? The car accident... The accident where Father and Dojun almost died!"
When Jin Donggi yelled, both Jin Younggi and Pilok Lee's faces hardened, and they fell silent.
"If we let this information leak to the opposition party, as Dojun said, even with Sunyang's power, we won't be able to stop it. They're in the middle of a war themselves, so there's no way they'd consider our circumstances."
As if he shared his brother's thoughts, Jin Younggi didn't voice any objections. Yeouido was currently pouring all its energy into a life-or-death battle to secure a majority.
"Th-then what? Are you saying this mother should go to prison as a smuggler? You, you rascals, are you seriously...!"
The two sons had no leeway to consider their mother's feelings, who was trembling in disbelief.
"Has Dojun made any contact since then?"
Pilok Lee was disappointed by her two sons' cold demeanor, but she accepted that the situation was indeed that urgent.
"I sent someone today. They should be meeting him by now."
"Who did you send?"
"The person I trust the most. Director Sangpil Cheon."
The two sons looked at each other, confirming, but he was someone they didn't remember.
Their mother's trust wasn't that important. What mattered was how loyal the fellow was.
There were always more masters who trusted treacherous ministers.
Brothers Jin Younggi and Jin Donggi exchanged glances, confirming that there was only one course of action.
"Is that Director Sangpil Cheon trustworthy enough to take responsibility for this situation in Mother's stead?"
An answer didn't come easily.
He was undoubtedly a trustworthy person. He was quick at handling tasks and understood what was needed even without detailed instructions. He was even capable of discerning Pilok Lee's true feelings, which she herself barely understood.
But the trust her sons spoke of now was whether he could serve time in prison on her behalf.
At their mother's hesitation, the two sons frowned.
The answer should have come without a single second of hesitation. Even then, having someone serve time in prison on one's behalf would require multiple confirmations, promises of compensation, and earnest pleas.
Sangpil Cheon was not a suitable substitute.
"Besides Sangpil Cheon, how many others know about the art sales?"
"Three or four people."
"What about them? Are they better than Sangpil Cheon?"
It was a meaningless question.
Wasn't the fact that he was sent to negotiate with Jin Dojun proof that he was the most trustworthy?
The two sons sighed as they watched their mother shake her head. But there was also a fortunate aspect: they had handled such matters many times before.
The two exchanged glances, nodded lightly, and simultaneously took out their mobile phones.
"There's a fellow named Sangpil Cheon who used to work at the Sunyang Arts Foundation. Dig up his personal information and shake out some dust. We need to find something fatal. Something powerful enough to make him kneel instantly. Yes. No time. Mobilize all personnel."
The two finished their identical calls and then spoke to their mother.
"Did Sangpil Cheon also manage the *chaemyeong* shares?"
"Yes."
"Then pack your bags and leave the country now. Don't even dream of coming back until this matter calms down. I'll assign some tight-lipped fellows to you, so move with them."
Pilok Lee's lips parted, but she couldn't bring herself to voice her complaints. She knew from her sons' expressions that the situation was so serious that they would even have to sacrifice Sangpil Cheon, whom she cherished.
* * *
"Is this accurate?"
The opposition party's chief deputy floor leader shook the documents I handed him.
"On the date mentioned in those documents, the truck that came out of the consulate, the person who drove it was a consulate employee. Check the consulate's daily log through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They won't be able to provide an adequate answer."
"Director Jin, if this isn't solid, I'll be in trouble."
"Sir. Would I do something that would lead to a mistake? Trust me."
The chief deputy floor leader's eyes were still suspicious.
"Director Jin. Be honest with me. Where's the final target for this?"
"Sir. If you start digging into that... I guarantee you, at the very least, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Blue House Special Advisor for Foreign Affairs will lose their jobs. Furthermore, there will be tremendous protests from the United States. Whatever the ultimate target, it'll surely take down a pillar of the Blue House."
The destructive power was too great to let slip, so the chief deputy floor leader's eyes changed.
"If you're uncomfortable, just finish your meal and leave."
"Just like that? So you're going to bury this?"
"No. I'll just toss it to a sniper from another faction. There are plenty of assemblymen who would bow their heads to take it."
At the mention of "bowing their heads," the chief deputy floor leader seemed flustered.
He hastily waved his hand and raised his voice.
"Oh dear, what are you saying? It seems you've misunderstood, it doesn't mean I don't trust you. This is a weighty blow, so I'm just asking for confirmation. Haha."
"I understand. Anyway, that incident on that date, if you just dig into that one thing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be turned upside down. Oh, and I have the name of the employee who personally drove the truck, so if need be, summon that employee and have him testify before the National Assembly."
Now that he knew there was a name, the chief deputy floor leader seemed satisfied. As he picked up his spoon again, his mobile phone rang.
It was Vice Chairman Jin Donggi's call.
"Oh dear, our grandmother. She even called her reliable son."
"Yes, Uncle."
- I don't know what you're doing, but I need to see you now.
"I apologize. I'm currently dining with a guest, so I can't move right now."
- Then come after you've eaten. Let's have a drink. You know Samcheong-dong, right? Come there.
He ended the call and hastily finished his meal.
Wasn't he a partner with joint voting rights? He couldn't ignore him.
* * *
Lawyer Sangpil Cheon began to feel anxious.
Pilok Lee's phone, which usually answered immediately, was now off. Her executive assistant's phone was also off, and there was no reply to his texts.
Feeling the crisis, had she fled abroad?
Just as he thought cutting off contact was too much, he realized who was stepping forward on Pilok Lee's behalf.
The call from Vice Chairman Jin Younggi's office had a somewhat coercive feel to it.
"So she left her sons to clean up her mess and ran away, did she?"
Sangpil Cheon steeled himself and headed towards the Sunyang Group corporate headquarters.
"Is this our first time meeting? Your face looks familiar."
Vice Chairman Jin Younggi's immediate use of informal speech was unpleasant, but he already knew from his time on the group's legal team that no one in this family bothered with formalities.
"I used to be with the group's legal team. I've met you a few times back then."
"I knew it, you didn't seem like a stranger. Haha."
Jin Younggi laughed heartily and took Sangpil Cheon's hand.
"I heard you've worked hard under my mother, and I haven't even had a chance to thank you."
"Not at all. It was just my job."
"Your character is certainly clean. Then let's cut to the chase, without any messy details."
"But what about Madam Pilok Lee...?"
"Oh, just in case, I put her on a plane and sent her away. You don't need to worry about Mother."
"As I thought, then."
"First, Lawyer Cheon, you manage *chaemyeong* shares, right?"
"Yes."
"Give me that list first. You dispersed them among the Myeongdong crowd, didn't you? We need to collect them all and convert them to real-name accounts."
Oh, really?
He spoke as if it were nothing, like returning a dish borrowed from a neighbor.
Lawyer Sangpil Cheon frowned.