Chapter 67. Should I Flip It Over?
The dinner table, which had been fine until a moment ago, grew heavy after Shin-woo’s reply.
At this, Myung Un-seok sharply criticized Shin-woo’s attitude.
“Baek Shin-woo, aren’t you the one trying to run things like a dictator, ignoring headquarters?”
“What exactly is supposed to be dictatorial?”
“I’m talking about what you’re doing now. A company can’t be managed by just the CEO alone. That’s why executives and managers exist.”
“If those executives and managers are only there to eat the company alive, then I’d rather not have them.”
Un-seok was already irritated by Shin-woo’s successful momentum.
He tried to nitpick with rhetoric, but it wasn’t easy.
“Then at least you need to form some other executive team.”
“You mean those factions of your father’s people who’d endlessly block my every decision?”
Shin-woo’s answer had no filter. From the start, this dinner was unpleasant to him—full of hyena-like people only watching to see what scraps they could get.
“Factions aren’t what matter right now. Honestly, do you even know anything about management? Can you analyze things like PEST, ERP, BPR, or IPO?”
They were all professional management terms.
Un-seok knew he couldn’t compete with Shin-woo’s performance record, so he was trying to push with academic knowledge.
But Shin-woo had anticipated this kind of move.
“Political, Economic, Social, Technological. Enterprise Resource Planning. Business Process Reengineering. Initial Public Offering. External environment analysis, redesign of business processes, enterprise resource management—those make sense, but IPO? Talking about going public with a company that only just started doesn’t sound right, does it?”
For a moment, Un-seok’s expression froze. Shin-woo had interpreted and explained everything perfectly.
“You… actually know those?”
“Would I have answered if I didn’t? Don’t tell me you plan to rattle off a list of business terms and turn this into some viva exam?”
What he’d just done was exactly that.
Biting his lip, Un-seok had no choice but to change direction.
“MH Future Security has 69% company shares. That means that much investment went in. Do you think such a company can be left entirely in your hands?”
“If I’m that untrustworthy, then you should be the CEO. I can just sell off my shares and take my people with me.”
Even as the two kept arguing, Myung Joong-hwan quietly observed. And so, the older men, including Myung In-chul, stayed silent and waited.
It was as if they wanted to see who would win.
Sensing that, Un-seok pressed harder.
“Is that something a CEO should even say? Do you have no sense of responsibility?”
“And who’s talking to whom about responsibility…?”
Shin-woo looked fed up, scratching his ear and frowning.
That made Un-seok flare up even more.
“There are dozens of employees under you now. You have a duty to take responsibility for them. And yet you casually say you’ll just give up—how is that responsibility?”
“You’re not wrong. But what should be done with a boss who not only stole the achievements of the staff he should’ve been supporting, but also demoted him? Should that head be cut off?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
Shin-woo sighed as if it was laughable.
“Three years ago, when you were Head of the Future Strategy Office, there was that Bus World theme park project in Mungyeong-ri—done as a joint venture with MH Construction. The one who drafted the initial plan was Manager Lee Sung-moon. But you sent him off to MH Retail Daegu Branch before the project was even confirmed. Did you forget that?”
The name that hadn’t been spoken for three years had suddenly resurfaced.
“How… how do you know about that…?”
“When you’re at headquarters, you hear all kinds of stories. Did you really think no one remembered?”
Un-seok had completely forgotten the incident, but now he wondered how Shin-woo knew about it. Still, that wasn’t the issue at hand.
Of course, Shin-woo hadn’t expected to bring up Lee Sung-moon’s case this soon either.
But Un-seok refused to admit it.
“No, you’re mistaken. That project was mine. Manager Lee was negligent and uncooperative with the project, so I requested his transfer.”
“That’s very different from what I know. Lee Sung-moon was so resentful he still kept all the drafts and materials from that project.”
Un-seok’s face twisted.
But that information hadn’t come from Lee—it was one of the memories Jang Man-soo had from his time enslaved at the National Intelligence Service.
“Even after he was sent away, he made plenty of project portfolios out of his lingering resentment. I’m planning to appoint him as Head of Planning in the MH Future Security Investment Division.”
“…What?”
“He’s passionate talent.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? He’s a problem employee.”
“What you say isn’t my concern.”
Clack―
At that moment, Joong-hwan, who had been quietly watching, slammed his chopsticks down hard.
“This argument is getting complicated.”
“……”
Silence fell quickly—except Shin-woo was the only one to speak.
“You’ve been sitting back watching intently—was it entertaining at least?”
At that, Joong-hwan chuckled.
“Not bad.”
“But was this dinner invitation really just for a meal?”
The dinner summons from Joong-hwan had reached Shin-woo while he was down in Daegu.
Since it hadn’t been on the schedule, there had to be another reason.
“Why? Can’t it just be for dinner?”
“If it’s not for business, there are plenty of faces here I’d rather not see.”
Shin-woo deliberately glanced across at Myung In-chul, Myung Un-seok, Myung Seong-cheol, Myung Jin-seok, and Myung Soo-yeon. Their eyes twitched when they met his.
In the icy atmosphere, Joong-hwan smiled.
“Of course, I did have something to discuss.”
Everyone waited for what would be said.
“First of all, In-chul, you’re to back off from the MH Future Security executive appointments.”
“Father, that’s impossible. As long as MH Group holds shares, we can’t ignore management. The executives in the group will strongly oppose it.”
No one could predict what might happen within MH Future Security from now on. And Shin-woo himself held even 1% of MH Holdings’ shares.
They couldn’t just sit by if they wanted to restrain him.
But Joong-hwan’s expression made it impossible for In-chul to keep speaking.
“Why do you think I hold shares in MH Security?”
His voice had turned heavy and solemn, and In-chul grew cautious.
“That capital investment was provided by headquarters.”
Myung Joong-hwan let out a long sigh.
“Originally, Shin-woo intended to cover 100% of that investment himself. I was the one who stopped him. You do understand what that means, don’t you?”
“Where would Baek Shin-woo even get that kind of money…”
Myung In-chul trailed off mid-sentence.
“When Shin-woo first joined MH Group, I added an incentive clause—5% of net profits. How much did we profit from Livio Soft shares?”
“…Around four hundred billion won.”
“Then how much does 5% of that incentive amount to?”
“A little over twenty billion won. But that only comes in when the shares are sold, doesn’t it?”
On paper, the equity value was listed at over five hundred billion won, but no actual net profit had yet materialized.
That was why Shin-woo had so far only managed to cover 31% of the investment through incentive income from previous gains.
“And you think that makes it worthless? Livio Soft is still growing.”
“……”
In-chul was left speechless.
With a heavy gaze, Joong-hwan looked over the family.
“A company is its people, and ability comes from its people. If someone has talent, the company must do whatever it can to keep them—that’s the logic of business.”
And his explanation didn’t end there.
“Because of your greed, do you want to throw away talent—people who could serve the company?”
His eyes moved back and forth between In-chul and Un-seok, as though recalling the matter of Lee Sung-moon that Shin-woo had raised earlier.
“…I’m sorry.”
Most of them, including In-chul, lowered their heads slightly.
Only Shin-woo, Im Hee-yeon, and Myung Yoo-hee looked on indifferently.
“Anyway, the matter I spoke of earlier is settled here. If you keep quibbling, then know that I’ll hand over all of MH Future Security’s shares to Shin-woo.”
“…Understood.”
The dinner ended there.
There was no time left even for tea. Other than In-chul’s family, who lived at the mansion, everyone else went home.
On his way to his car in the parking lot, Shin-woo heard a voice call from behind—it was Im Hee-yeon.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Is it something that will take long?”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Then let’s talk while we drive.”
So Shin-woo got into the back seat of Hee-yeon’s car. As the vehicle began to move, Hee-yeon carefully spoke up.
“How did you know about Lee Sung-moon?”
In fact, she had known as well. But at the time, there had been too many factors preventing her from interfering with Un-seok’s actions.
“I overheard people whispering about it in the company. I checked, and he turned out to be a capable person.”
“You didn’t bring him in just because of Un-seok, did you?”
“It’s not unrelated, so I can’t exactly say no.”
His reply was detached, without sincerity.
“The reason I asked to talk isn’t that. You’ll need to go to China this time.”
“You mean the business trip Un-seok mentioned earlier?”
“No, it’s for something else. It’s important work related to MH Future Security. You’ll be accompanying me to China.”
Her answer already assumed his participation.
“Well, I don’t have any pressing matters right now, so…”
Shin-woo wondered why Hee-yeon was suddenly insisting, and was about to answer when he remembered the problem—his service history with the UAD restricted him from leaving the country.
But Hee-yeon calmly responded.
“If that’s what you’re worried about, the Chairman has already taken care of it. You don’t need to concern yourself.”
“…Is that so? If it’s resolved, then no problem. I’ll go.”
Joong-hwan and Hee-yeon had already grasped much of Shin-woo’s background. They hadn’t uncovered the unofficial records, but they could resolve the restrictions they caused.
“…Thank you.”
It was a small voice. Shin-woo clearly heard it, but found himself tilting his head in puzzlement.
“Sorry?”
“…Nothing.”
The car drove on in silence toward Shin-woo’s home.
Then Hee-yeon, as if recalling something, spoke again.
“What about moving to a new place? No matter how comfortable it is, given your position, you should consider it. It’s inconvenient for security too.”
“A CEO living in a ten-pyeong studio apartment. Kind of refreshing, isn’t it?”
“People will talk. And a person should live according to what they earn.”
At this point, his salary was meaningless—his incentive income from investments far surpassed it.
Naturally, aside from the capital he had put into MH Future Security, the rest was being managed and steadily growing under Jang Man-soo.
“I was thinking about moving anyway.”
Winter was approaching. In that weather, Lee Doo-heon and the Special Security Team members had been taking turns standing guard in tents on the rooftop of Shin-woo’s studio building.
“Should I find you a place? I even own an officetel.”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
He had to weigh factors like location, safety, and escape routes when choosing a new home.
“…Let me know anytime if you need it.”
As the conversation wound down, they arrived at Shin-woo’s place.
He got out of the car and went inside. But not long after, he slipped out again—heading to Mansoo Electric.
Through the secret passage behind the bookshelf, he heard loud voices inside.
It seemed Jang Man-soo and Lillian were arguing.
“…Fine! Let’s make it a bet!”
“Good! Jang Mandu! You said you’re Rick, and I’m Wei, right?”
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