Chapter 15: At the Dinner Table
【MH NEWS】
▷ MH Group’s Strategic Investment Headquarters achieves 440% growth, netting 3.4 billion won! Recently appointed Baek Shin-woo (Deputy General Manager) led the newly established department’s investment project singlehandedly…
***
The profit from the stocks that Shin-woo had invested in also began to materialize. As a result, the internal publication of MH Group widely promoted this achievement.
On Saturday, Shin-woo was invited by Myung Joong-hwan to visit the mansion in Pyeongchang-dong.
He entered the residence, escorted by the security guard at the gate.
The eyes of the Myung family, seated in the living room, immediately fixed on Shin-woo as he walked in.
Im Hee-yeon, however, was nowhere to be seen—either she wasn’t invited or hadn’t arrived yet.
‘They’re showing their hostility too openly,’ Shin-woo thought.
Naturally, the atmosphere wasn’t pleasant. There was envy and resentment over the profits Shin-woo had brought in from his investments for the group.
Shin-woo didn’t greet them but stared right back at the others.
Seeing this, Myung Seong-cheol, the second son of Myung Joong-hwan, chuckled and spoke up.
“You saw us but didn’t bother to greet… isn’t that a bit rude in front of your elders? Or do you not even know who I am?”
His tone was clearly provocative.
Shin-woo found the remark amusing.
“You’re Myung Seong-cheol, the President of MH Food and MH Retail. But judging by everyone’s expressions, it didn’t seem like anyone wanted my greeting.”
“…What?”
At that moment, a young man sitting next to Myung Seong-cheol stood up and approached Shin-woo.
It was Myung Jin-seok, the eldest son of Myung Seong-cheol.
“Wasn’t that a little harsh toward my father? Or is it because you grew up outside, you don’t know any manners?”
“You don’t seem all that polite yourself.”
“What?! Are you crazy?”
“Jin-seok, that’s enough!”
The voice came from Myung In-chul, who had been quietly sitting on one of the sofas.
“But, Uncle! This punk—”
“The Chairman invited him. Show some basic respect.”
“…Understood.”
At that moment, the door to the study opened, and Goo Sang-ho, the Chairman’s secretary, appeared.
“You’re here. The Chairman is asking for you. Please follow me.”
“Excuse me.”
Shin-woo briefly nodded to the people seated on the living room sofas before heading into the study.
Inside, Myung Joong-hwan greeted him with a faint smile.
“It seems like things were getting noisy out there.”
“Well, I’m not exactly a welcomed guest. So, what’s the reason you asked me to come here today?”
Genuinely annoyed, Shin-woo furrowed his brow. He didn’t want to waste time with unnecessary words and went straight to the point.
“This meeting is, first and foremost, to celebrate your successful start.”
Shin-woo looked serious as he responded.
“It’s not really about a celebration, is it? You had Ko Seung-won, the Defense Minister, look into me, didn’t you?”
At those words, both Myung Joong-hwan and Goo Sang-ho, who was standing by the door, stiffened in surprise.
“…You knew?”
“I happened to see him when he came to the company.”
“It could have been a business visit, yet you’re so certain it was about you.”
Shin-woo had reason to believe otherwise. He had been monitoring MH Group’s key executives through LEUCO, a surveillance system developed by Jang Man-soo. This allowed him to know that Defense Minister Ko Seung-won had personally met with Myung Joong-hwan.
“You were curious about my background. But I doubt you found out much.”
“So, you anticipated my move.”
“It wasn’t hard. Did it satisfy your curiosity, at least a little?”
The mission records of Shin-woo’s operations with the UAD Special Forces could never be revealed to the public.
The records were likely completely destroyed, meaning even Myung Joong-hwan would never be able to access them.
However, given the relationship between the Defense Minister and MH Group, it was clear that Ko Seung-won had offered some plausible explanation to Myung Joong-hwan.
“I’ve learned enough to be satisfied. Though I still have many unanswered questions—like the recent profits you generated.”
Shin-woo had turned 1 billion won into 3.4 billion won of net profit.
The sheer number of stocks involved made it impossible to believe that he had relied on illegal methods or insider information.
Myung Joong-hwan had even instructed Goo Sang-ho to investigate the companies Shin-woo had invested in, but no connection could be found.
“If you’re unhappy with the profits, I could stop working.”
“No, the more money you make, the better.”
“Then I’ll keep doing what I’m doing.”
“I’m looking forward to it. By the way, do you know how to play Go?”
Myung Joong-hwan gestured toward the table. A Go board made of an old tree sat there, the stones worn from years of use.
“No, and I don’t care for it.”
“Investing is a lot like playing a game of strategy. I think you’d be good at it if you gave it a try.”
“I have no interest in sitting around playing a stone-grabbing game. If it were something more real, maybe.”
Challenged by Shin-woo’s daring tone, Myung Joong-hwan was slightly taken aback.
“Hahaha… You’ve been using quite the dangerous tone since our last conversation.”
“I dislike beating around the bush. So, is this conversation over?”
“Not yet. Now that your first investment has been successful, wouldn’t it be time to expand the strategic investment operations to target corporations?”
From the start, the Strategic Investment Headquarters was established to lay the groundwork for MH Group’s fund subsidiary. Naturally, the plan was never to run it solely on company funds. The goal was to expand into private capital and corporate investments, ensuring zero-risk funds.
“Investment sales should be handled by the Strategic Investment Planning Office, as I understand it.”
In terms of investments, the sales team handles communication with corporations. As a result, they are primarily responsible for managing trust and information, which strengthens the power of the department. One of the reasons why Myung In-chul convinced Myung Joong-hwan to place his eldest son, Myung Un-seok, as head of the Strategic Investment Planning Office was for this very reason.
“Are you saying you’re not confident?”
“Don’t provoke me meaninglessly. It just makes you look worse.”
Myung Joong-hwan had initially assumed that if he poked at Shin-woo just a little, his skills would naturally come to the fore.
“Hahaha. I thought you were a reckless, daring person, but it seems you’re not just a wild horse without reins.”
“I’d appreciate it if you stopped testing me.”
“Haha… I’ll keep that in mind. So, are you saying the Strategic Investment Operations Office will continue to handle independent investments with the company’s funds, like before? Even though there’s a limit to how much profit can be made from such capital?”
In company investments, profits increase in proportion to the size of the funds. If the amount Shin-woo had invested earlier had been several times larger, the profit would have multiplied as well. Shin-woo knew this very well.
“I don’t feel like working that hard. I think what I’ve done so far has been enough to cover my salary.”
Perhaps due to Shin-woo’s brazen response, Myung Joong-hwan let out a dry laugh once again.
“Hahaha. So, you only plan to work as much as you’re paid?”
With this recent success, Shin-woo would be earning roughly 170 million won—5% of the 3.4 billion won in net profit. Compared to the pay he used to receive for mercenary work, it was a relatively small amount, but he couldn’t let that show.
“It’s enough to live on.”
“But I am the chairman of MH Group. I don’t like it when talented employees work half-heartedly.”
“If you’re dissatisfied, feel free to fire me.”
With an even more impudent response than before, Myung Joong-hwan was left speechless.
“Are you saying you have no attachment to MH Group at all? Even though it’s the place your mother works at?”
“I’m only working here because I had nothing else to do. Besides, I’m not sure if I should feel any attachment to someone who abandoned me for 23 years.”
“…Well, I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. For now, you can manage the Strategic Investment Operations Office as you see fit.”
“Understood.”
As Shin-woo finished speaking, Myung Joong-hwan stood up from his seat.
“Let’s have dinner now. By the way, is Hee-yeon here yet?”
He directed the question to Goo Sang-ho.
“She arrived earlier and is waiting with the rest of the family.”
“That’s good. Let’s head out.”
The study door opened, and Shin-woo followed Myung Joong-hwan into the living room. The family members seated on the sofa immediately stood up.
“Let’s eat.”
Everyone proceeded to the dining room, where they sat around a long dining table. Shin-woo sat at the far end, next to Im Hee-yeon. In the midst of a long silence, the food was brought out, and they began eating.
After some time had passed, Myung Joong-hwan was the first to break the silence.
“Yoo-hee, how’s university life going? Is everything alright?”
Myung Yoo-hee was the second daughter of Myung Seong-cheol, the younger son of Myung Joong-hwan. At 22 years old, she was in her third year as an economics major at Korea University and the youngest of the Myung family. She quietly put down her spoon before responding.
“…It’s fine. There haven’t been any problems.”
“That’s good to hear.”
It was the kind of formal question that was often asked. Yoo-hee, fully aware of that, didn’t think much of it and answered simply. But Myung Joong-hwan’s questioning continued.
“Is there anyone you’re seeing?”
“…Excuse me? Oh, no, there isn’t.”
As the conversation veered into more personal matters, the rest of the family exchanged curious glances. Noticing their reactions, Myung Joong-hwan cast a quick glance at them.
“Whenever you meet someone, I hope they won’t be someone too greedy.”
“Greedy…? What do you mean?”
At that moment, Myung Seong-cheol’s expression became slightly uneasy. In fact, Seong-cheol had been quietly searching for a potential arranged marriage partner for his daughter, Yoo-hee, to help expand the scale of his company. It seemed Myung Joong-hwan had picked up on this, as his gaze briefly landed on Seong-cheol before continuing.
“Power is something you must cultivate on your own; you cannot rely on others for it.”
Both Myung In-chul and Myung Seong-cheol’s wives were not from famous corporate families but were ordinary people. This was to ensure that there would be no justification for external capital or forces to interfere in the running of the group. By operating purely on the independent power of MH Group, they avoided any unnecessary complications.
However, Myung Seong-cheol, being the second son and aware of the limited influence of his own subsidiary, intended to use his daughter, Myung Yoo-hee, to expand his reach. Yoo-hee, sensing the warning in his words, cautiously responded.
“…I will keep that in mind.”
As her soft voice trailed off, Myung Joong-hwan’s gaze shifted to Shin-woo, who was seated at the far end of the table.
“There’s something I didn’t get to say earlier in the study,” he began.
Shin-woo, meeting his eyes, looked back at him without any hesitation. Unlike the other family members, Shin-woo showed no signs of being intimidated, which caused Myung Joong-hwan to raise the corners of his mouth slightly as he continued.
“What would you think about taking on some work at MH Tech in addition to managing the Strategic Investment Operations Office?”
At that moment, the other family members, who had been sitting with their heads bowed, suddenly focused their attention on Myung Joong-hwan.
Shin-woo, who had already been looking at him, calmly asked in return, unfazed by the sudden suggestion.
“What kind of work are you referring to at MH Tech?”
MH Tech, a defense industry affiliate, was not only responsible for producing military supplies like boots, guns, ammunition, military vehicles, and food. All security and protection personnel for MH Group were employed under MH Tech’s subsidiary, KITE.
“I was thinking of having you take charge of KITE.”
At that moment, Im Hee-yeon, whose thoughts had been racing, abruptly shouted.
“Chairman! I don’t think that’s a good idea!”
Everyone turned to look at her in surprise, but since her words were directed at Myung Joong-hwan, no one dared to speak.
“Why do you think that?” he asked.
“…Baek Shin-woo hasn’t been in charge of the Strategic Investment Operations Office for long. I think it would be better for him to gain more experience there before taking on something else.”
While her reasoning seemed fair, Im Hee-yeon had other, more pressing concerns. KITE, responsible for the close protection of the Myung family, was known for having distinctly divided factions within its special security teams. No matter what role Shin-woo would take there, he would inevitably be exposed to more danger than he would face working at the headquarters.
“He has already demonstrated his capabilities with this latest achievement, hasn’t he?” Myung Joong-hwan responded, referring to the 3.4 billion won profit Shin-woo had made from an initial 1 billion won investment.
At this, the expressions of the other family members turned slightly grim.
—
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