That afternoon.
It was just past 6 PM, but since it was winter, the sun had already set, and darkness had crept in.
Under the Dongjak Bridge, where traffic was congested with vehicles heading home, a BMW sedan approached with its headlights cutting through the dim light, slowly coming to a stop by the roadside.
A moment later, the car doors opened, and two men stepped out—Seok-won and Team Leader Choi Ho-geun.
Although the morning snow had finally stopped, a sharp, cold wind from the river made them shiver.
"Where is he?"
Seok-won asked while pulling up the collar of his cashmere coat.
Choi Ho-geun scanned the surroundings before pointing toward a stack of gray concrete blocks directly under the bridge's support structure.
"Over there."
"Let's go."
Giving a small nod, Seok-won strode forward, with Choi Ho-geun quickly following behind.
As they descended a slightly uneven slope, they found a surprisingly flat and spacious area beneath the bridge.
There, a man wearing a thick jumper and a baseball cap sat alone, with two fishing rods set up beside him.
When Seok-won glanced at him, Choi Ho-geun confirmed,
"That's Lee Chul-gyun."
Hearing this, Seok-won deliberately made his footsteps audible as he approached.
The man, who had been curled up in a portable chair with his hands buried in his jacket pockets as if dozing off, finally lifted his head slightly.
"What business does the so-called 'investment genius' of Yeouido, the second son of the Daehung Group, have with me?"
Despite the man's curt tone, Seok-won remained unfazed and responded calmly.
"So, my name is well-known, huh?"
For a brief moment, a flicker of intrigue passed through Lee Chul-gyun's eyes before disappearing.
"At first, people thought you were just some nepotism hire, but after hitting it big with Okwang Industries and Chunho Steel, and then recently raking in huge profits with the yen, it'd be stranger if your name wasn't making the rounds."
Seok-won chuckled and nodded, acknowledging the comment.
Daehung Securities' Investment Team 1 had made bold moves in the yen market—first going long and significantly increasing their capital, then switching to short positions before finally closing out all positions just days ago, marking the end of months of yen trading.
They had bought in at 80 yen and sold at an average of 103 yen, securing a 28.75% return.
And with a 3x leverage, the profits had multiplied even further.
Thanks to these bold investments, the team had generated millions of dollars in profit, far exceeding their annual targets. As a result, CEO Ko Young-il had personally praised them and promised special performance bonuses, leaving the entire team in a celebratory mood.
Even Kim Jung-sik, the team leader of Investment Team 1—who had spent the entire trading period downing antacid pills due to the wild swings in the forex market—was now regretting not using even more leverage.
As a brightly lit Han River cruise ship slowly made its way upstream, Seok-won spoke.
"I hear you're a well-known player in Yeouido."
Lee Chul-gyun glanced briefly at Choi Ho-geun, who was standing a few steps back, then turned his head forward again.
"I think I know who's been running their mouth."
Stroking his scruffy beard, Lee Chul-gyun continued in a low, steady voice.
"I should warn you—my services don't come cheap."
Without a word, Seok-won pulled an envelope from his inner pocket and handed it over.
Taking it, Lee Chul-gyun pulled off his fishing gloves and peeked inside, revealing a thick stack of 100,000-won cashier's checks.
Judging by the amount, it was well over 5 million won.
"This is just the starting fee. You'll get the same amount again once the job is done."
"You really do live up to your chaebol reputation—generous as ever."
Lee Chul-gyun tucked the stack of checks back into the envelope before asking,
"So, what exactly do you need me to do?"
"Have you seen the recent exposé in Sechang Daily about the job favoritism scandal involving a senior official at the Financial Supervisory Service?"
"You're talking about that article written by Yoo Jun-ho, right?"
At this, Seok-won's eyes gleamed with interest.
"You know him?"
"He's quite infamous in this field for being dirty behind the scenes. But don't worry, I don't have any personal ties to him."
Lee Chul-gyun shrugged as he spoke.
Hearing that Yoo Jun-ho had a shady reputation, Seok-won became even more certain that his suspicions were correct.
"Because of that article, Choi Bok-rak, a manger at the Financial Supervisory Service, is facing disciplinary action. I want you to find out if someone orchestrated all of this from behind the scenes."
"With Yoo Jun-ho and the Financial Supervisory Service involved, this won't be a simple job."
"If you bring me satisfactory results, I'll add another envelope on top of the promised payment."
Lee Chul-gyun narrowed his eyes slightly, as if calculating the effort required, and let out a short whistle.
"I like how straightforward you are."
"So, will you do it?"
"I'll have everything wrapped up within two weeks, at the latest."
Seok-won gave a small nod and turned away.
Without another word, he left the scene alongside Choi Ho-geun, as if their business there was done.
Lee Chul-gyun listened to their footsteps fading into the distance while watching the tip of his fishing float bob on the river. Then, he slowly stood up and started packing away his fishing rods.
"Not a single bite today. Guess the fish aren't interested."
As he stowed the folded rods into his bag, he watched the BMW with its headlights on brightly pull away, the engine hum fading as it drove off.
"They say the second son of Daehung Group isn't an ordinary man. Looks like they were right."
* * *
"Please write your name in this blank space and stamp it with your official seal."
It had been a while since Seok-won last visited the company's headquarters. Sitting in the office, he briefly skimmed through the stock transfer agreement handed to him by the group's legal advisor, a former senior prosecutor.
After ensuring everything was in order, he picked up the fountain pen on the table and signed his name.
Then, taking out his official seal from his inner pocket, he pressed it onto the ink pad before stamping it over his name to finalize the process.
"All done."
The legal advisor carefully checked the document one last time, ensuring nothing was missing, then neatly placed it into an envelope.
At that moment, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, who had been sitting beside them, leaned in slightly and asked,
"Is that everything?"
"Yes. I'll be submitting this along with the other necessary documents today. If everything goes smoothly, the process should be completed by the end of this week."
"The chairman wants this done before the year ends, so make sure to expedite the process."
"Understood."
Adjusting the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, the legal advisor gathered the envelope and stood up.
"I'll take my leave now."
"Go ahead."
Before leaving, he gave Seok-won a slight nod of respect, then exited the room.
As soon as the door closed, Secretary Gil Seong-ho turned to Seok-won with a smile.
"With the shares previously held by Mido Department Store now transferred, and the chairman's shares officially handed over, Daehung Venture Capital is now completely under your control. Congratulations."
There was genuine sincerity in his words, and Seok-won responded with a faint smile.
"There are still shares owned by private investors. I don't have full ownership just yet."
Hearing this, Gil Seong-ho leaned forward slightly, as if seizing the perfect opportunity.
"Since we're on the topic, let me ask—you've already secured a majority stake. Do you still plan on conducting a public tender offer to acquire the remaining shares?"
Seok-won gave a small nod and answered calmly.
"Having other shareholders would impose various restrictions when making investment decisions."
He shrugged lightly and continued.
"Even if it costs some money, delisting the company is a more beneficial move for what I intend to do. If that weren't the case, I wouldn't have been interested in Daehung Venture Capital in the first place."
"It's true that running a company is much easier when it's privately held. Of course, the main issue is always funding."
As one of Chairman Park Tae-hong's closest aides, Secretary Gil Seong-ho was among the few who knew that Seok-won possessed wealth comparable to his father's.
So while he felt it was a shame to delist a company that had gone public, he didn't dwell on the matter.
"Fortunately, with the stock market in poor shape recently, prices have dropped significantly since the IPO. With around 7 billion won, we should be able to acquire all the shares held by individual investors."
With the composite stock index plunging below 1,000 points, major stocks like Saseong Electronics and Hyunwoo Motors suffered significant losses. But the biggest hit was felt by small and mid-sized stocks.
The smaller and more unprofitable a company was, the steeper the decline. Some stocks had lost half their value, leaving investors in financial ruin.
Daehung Venture Capital was no exception. While it hadn't dropped by half, its share price had fallen nearly 30% below its IPO price, scraping the bottom.
Because of this, when Chairman Park Tae-hong transferred his shares in Daehung Venture Capital to Seok-won, the tax burden was significantly reduced.
"Right now, Daehung Venture Capital's stock price is around 1,980 won per share, correct?"
"That's right."
Seok-won picked up his teacup, took a sip of the now lukewarm coffee, and continued speaking.
"For the public tender offer, I plan to add a 30% premium and buy the shares at 2,574 won per share."
At this unexpected statement, Secretary Gil Seong-ho widened his eyes.
"You're willing to pay that much more?"
"A decent profit is necessary to persuade individual shareholders to participate in the tender offer."
Even with a public tender offer, not all individual shareholders would agree to sell. There needed to be an enticing incentive.
"That may be true, but a 30% premium seems excessive. Given the current weak stock market, plenty of people will sell if we simply offer to buy. Wouldn't a 10–15% premium be more reasonable?"
"You make a valid point, Secretary Gil. But I still plan to offer the full 30% premium as I originally intended."
Seok-won remained firm in his decision, prompting Gil Seong-ho to look puzzled.
"May I ask why?"
Seok-won calmly explained.
"When Daehung Venture Capital went public, its IPO price was 2,500 won per share, correct?"
"That's correct."
"If we delist the company just a few years after the IPO and repurchase shares below that price, what do you think people will say?"
"...."
Gil Seong-ho fell silent, and Seok-won spoke in a serious tone.
"Not only would it spark negative rumors, but people would also accuse Daehung Group and my father of deliberately listing an unprofitable company just to scam investors out of their money."
"Hmm."
Gil Seong-ho let out a low hum of acknowledgment.
"It would certainly create a bad impression."
"I can't let my father and the group be criticized because of me. Especially with the political climate already unstable due to the former president's slush fund scandal. There's no need to create unnecessary controversies."
Realizing a factor he hadn't considered, Gil Seong-ho internally scolded himself for overlooking it.
Meanwhile, Seok-won smirked and spoke confidently.
"And let's be honest—it's not like I don't have the money. I can easily afford this, so why risk damaging our reputation by pinching pennies and cutting corners?"
"So that's why you decided to set the buyback price above the IPO price?"
"Yes, that's right."
Secretary Gil Seong-ho couldn't help but be impressed. He hadn't realized just how deeply Seok-won had thought this through.
Now, he understood why Chairman Park Tae-hong cherished him so much.
"I didn't consider that aspect at all. I see now that my thinking was too narrow."
Seok-won simply responded with a faint smile.
"Then, as you instructed, we will proceed with the public tender offer, adding the 30% premium."
"Please do."
While he had certainly considered his father's reputation, he also genuinely didn't want to harm individual investors from the very beginning.
"The domestic stock market is already like a gambling den, and if it stays this way in the future, it'll be because of greedy major shareholders and corporate owners who exploit and disregard individual investors."
There were plenty of ways to generate larger and more sustainable profits through legitimate investment. There was no need to engage in predatory tactics that squeezed individual investors dry and earned public resentment.