Chapter 1394. Being Hostile (4)

Hwang Min-Su asked incredulously. “We can’t withdraw our own funds from the bank?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju grimly nodded. “...Yes.”

He scowled deeply. “On what basis are they blocking the withdrawal? A company has certain rights, too. It’s not like the company is beholden to the company boss! Which bank blocks a company from using its funds just because the company boss was accused of a crime?! Worse still, he’s not even found guilty yet, either! The investigation has only just begun!”

Lee Hyeon-Ju sighed deeply. “I’ve already lodged a complaint with the bank and the relevant authorities.”

“Seriously...!” Hwang Min-Su gritted his teeth. “I’m sure they’ll

revert

everything back to how it was a few days from now, claiming that it was an error on their side. Or a simple misunderstanding.”

“I agree, sir.”

Hwang Min-Su roughly rubbed his face. Those sons of b*tches!

Without a doubt, this was an attempt by the government to show who was in charge.

No, wait.

Rather than showing who was the boss, maybe this was closer to the government acting like a petty as*hole, instead? The relevant authorities would obviously know that blocking withdrawals from or depositing funds into a private bank account was illegal without a warrant, after all!

In a situation like this, complaining to the bank wouldn’t do much. After all, how many businesses out there would be ballsy enough to refuse the current administration’s orders while saying they didn’t want to break the law?

“Well, at least now I’m convinced of one thing,” said Hwang Min-Su.

Lee Hyeon-Ju stared quizzically at him, prompting him to explain himself right away.

“Now I know for a fact that Chairman Kang is innocent.”

“Of course he is.”

Hwang Min-Su sighed under his breath. If Kang Jin-Ho really was guilty, the government wouldn’t have to resort to such petty tricks. It could have taken its time building its case against him before slapping him with a proper warrant, after all!

Since the government was being so petty, it could only mean whoever it was in the administration wanted to suppress Kang Jin-Ho at all costs.

I get all that, but why did it have to be now?! Dammit!

The franchise business, the one Hwang Min-Su worked so hard to turn into reality, was about to take its first step. So, to have such a crisis unfold right now!

Of course, this timing was still better than when the business had finished all the preparations and was ready to launch. Even though that had been the case, the franchisees and employees were supposed to be busy with training right now. Imagine how much of a psychological blow they must’ve received after hearing about their chairman getting arrested!

Hwang Min-Su glanced at Lee Hyeon-Ju. “How are the franchisees holding up? The shock must’ve been difficult for them to handle.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju briefly shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about them, sir.”

“

Huh

? Why not?”

“They will be fine.”

Hwang Min-Su dazedly stared at Lee Hyeon-Ju. How could the franchisees be fine in this situation?

From the perspective of the franchisees, they were about to invest a large sum of their hard-earned savings into this business. However, even before they could open the doors of their stores, the chairman of the operation got arrested for breaking the National Security Act. Worse still, various media outlets were constantly mentioning MK’s name as if the company was somehow involved, too!

It wouldn’t be too surprising to see the irate franchisees charge into the company’s HQ today to choke the life out of every single MK employee related to this catastrophe!

But here was Lee Hyeon-Ju, busy saying there was nothing to worry about.

“Are you sure about this?” Hwang Min-Su worriedly asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. I understand that this must sound strange to you, sir. But there really is nothing to worry about in that regard. Actually, I take that back. We should worry about the franchisees storming the prison or nearby police stations and causing a scene instead.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Ju noticed the look of disbelief on Hwang Min-Su’s face and helplessly shrugged.

“I apologize for being unable to give you any more information, but... The trust these franchisees have toward the chairman is absolute.”

“

Oh, uh

... I see?”

Hwang Min-Su chose not to dig any further. He had already experienced similar things before, after all.

For instance, within MK’s offices.

MK’s chairman was arrested. And not for some random crime, but for something as outlandish as violating the National Security Act! So, what was the atmosphere within the company like right now?

Agitation? Yes, the employees were agitated. For sure. However, the issue was with where their agitation was directed at.

In a regular company, employees would be worried about the fate of their workplace or be curious about what their chairman had been up to, but not MK’s employees. No, they were visibly pissed off at the government for throwing their chairman behind bars!

Maybe calling this place a cult instead of a company is more accurate!

Was this absolute trust or religious faith? Hwang Min-Su could no longer tell.

“Miss Hyeon-Ju?”

“Yes, sir?”

“We can hold out temporarily like this. I can guarantee that. However!” Hwang Min-Su spoke gravely. “If this situation persists, we won’t be able to launch our new business. This isn’t about the franchisees being understanding of our plight. After all, a franchise is all about selling items and providing services to consumers. Consumers holding a negative perception of our company will sink us in the blink of an eye.”

Even a medium-sized company boasting an established customer base and a share of the market would still teeter precariously from a boycott by the unhappy consumers. But MK’s franchising business hadn’t even started yet.

What would happen if the potential customers viewed a franchise business negatively even before it had a chance to open its doors? Even a blind man should be able to see the catastrophe waiting at the end of this road.

Hwang Min-Su had no desire to see his first business venture after returning to the business world go down the drain like this.

He glanced at Lee Hyeon-Ju again. “Have we finished with organizing the chairman’s legal defense team?”

“No, but that’s the role of the...”

“Miss Lee Hyeon-Ju,” Hwang Min-Su spoke in an icy voice. Such was the unfamiliar coldness in his voice that even Lee Hyeon-Ju had to flinch a little. “Yes, I understand that Chairman Kang has enemies not only in this field but in others, too. However, what about you? Aren’t you working for MK right now?”

“Yes... I am.”

“Then, are you telling me you’ll sit on your butt and wait for others to resolve the matter involving your company’s chairman? If yes, what are you even doing here?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju deeply bowed her head. “My apologies, sir. I was being thoughtless.”

“The test of your true abilities starts when the chairman is absent from his role. So, you must act now. Figure out what you can do to improve the situation, then get to it right away.”

“Of course,” Lee Hyeon-Ju replied while chewing on her lips.

Hwang Min-Su was right. She had been thinking that Lee Hyeon-Su and the Martial Assembly would handle this crisis on their own. So, she thought that her job was to assist Hwang Min-Ju with keeping MK under control.

However, wasn’t she being a fool here? Wasn’t she the one who proudly spoke of how MK was a fully independent business entity, and not a subsidiary of the Martial Assembly?

Despite saying all that, she left everything to Lee Hyeon-Su once this crisis unfolded and did nothing. She deserved to be called incompetent and a lazy fool who only wanted to enjoy the fruits of others’ labors after what she had done. Or hadn’t done, in this case.

Lee Hyeon-Ju nodded. “I’ll organize a defense team as quickly as possible.”

“Good. Please do that.”

She couldn’t help but view Hwang Min-Sun under a new light just then. So, this was Hwang Jeong-Hu’s son...?

No, she should correct herself on that one. Hwang Min-Su was too old to be referred to as someone’s son, after all. So, he should be viewed as Hwang Min-Su and not someone’s child.

Hwang Min-Su was supposed to be a hired hand who would assist with MK’s operations, but when this crisis came knocking, he unleashed the overwhelming charisma of a capable leader. Which was in stark contrast to Lee Hyeon-Ju, who didn’t even know what to do in this situation.

Yes, I need to learn from his example.

She shouldn’t be disappointed by her shortcomings. After all, she was surrounded by many capable people, wasn’t she? By diligently learning from them, she’d become an excellent businesswoman one day who could stand proudly in these people’s presence.

Hwang Min-Su got up to leave. “Please excuse me. I’m going to pop outside for a little while.”

“Where will you be going, sir?”

He sighed under his breath. “To speak to someone who might lend us his assistance.”

While putting on his coat, he added an extra line that was perhaps ultimately unnecessary.

“Although, I’m not looking forward to this...”

***

A hint of perspiration coated Hwang Min-Su’s forehead.

He might have been overflowing with a leader’s charisma and filled with decisiveness in Lee Hyeon-Ju’s presence, but none of those qualities could be found right now.

As a matter of fact, the way he fidgeted anxiously resembled that of a puppy itching to relieve itself.

Of course, this wasn’t because Hwang Min-Su suddenly became an idiot. No, it was more like the rule of

all things being relative

coming into effect, instead!

In front of Lee Hyeon-Ju, Hwang Min-Su was an experienced businessman. But in front of this old man? He was nothing more than a brat with not enough life experience!

But that made sense, considering the old man in question was none other than Hwang Jeong-Hu, his father!

Despite his son sitting in his office like an obedient little kid, Hwang Jeong-Hu continued to puff away at his cigarette in irritated silence.

Eventually, though, he yelled loudly to no one in particular.

“Just what the hell happened here?!”

“C-Chairman...”

Hwang Min-Su didn’t even dare to call Hwang Jeong-Hu ‘father’ at the moment.

Hwang Jeong-Hu continued to rant. “The National Security Act?! Say what?! Are they seriously telling me Jin-Ho’s been a goddamn spy from North Korea all this time?! What kind of horsesh*t nonsense is this!”

Confronting the deeply enraged Hwang Jeong-Hu head-on would never be easy for anyone, not even for his kids. Actually, that wasn’t right. It’d be doubly more difficult for Hwang Min-Su precisely because he was Hwang Jeong-Hu’s son!

“

Keuh-hum

!” Hwang Min-Su fake-coughed, then cautiously addressed his father. “

Eh

... First of all, we at MK do not believe our chairman is guilty of the charges leveled against him.”

“Of course he’s not guilty! That’s obvious! Knowing who he is, why would even do something that dumb!”

“I,

uh...

beg your pardon?”

There was a subtle difference in nuance between

“Why would he even do that?”

and

“He’d never do that!”

“A bloody spy?!

Hah, haha!

Don’t make me laugh!” Hwang Jeong-Hu roared. “If Jin-Ho really was a spy, no one would’ve caught him in the act, okay! Besides, why would he work as a spy? When he’s got everything anyone could ask for!”

Jo Gyu-Min urgently stepped in to pacify the irate Hwang Jeong-Hu. “Chairman, please calm down! You might hurt yourself at this rate!”

“Who cares about that!”

While listening to his father’s ranting, Hwang Min-Su stared at Hwang Jeong-Su bitterly. Would his father be this enraged if something similar happened to him, too?

The answer seemed to be leaning heavily toward ‘no’. Hwang Jeong-Hu might grieve. His heart might even ache briefly, too! However, he’d never openly get angry like this.

When his thoughts reached this far, a hint of jealousy crept into Hwang Min-Su’s heart.

Wait! What am I even thinking about here?

Hwang Min-Su flinched and hurriedly shook his head. An upstanding man shouldn’t even think about certain things in this world, and one of those things was getting jealous of an innocent man locked up in jail!

Get a hold of yourself, Hwang Min-Su!

He didn’t come here as Hwang Min-Su, the son of Hwang Jeong-Hu, to speak to his father. No, he was here in his capacity as MK’s president to speak to Jaegyeong’s chairman.

After sucking in a deep breath, he addressed Hwang Jeong-Hu.

“Chairman.”

“What?”

“Although it’s shameful to admit this, my and MK’s abilities and influences aren’t enough to effectively assist our Chairman Kang. I’d like to ask for your assistance in this matter.”

Hwang Jeong-Hu narrowed his eyes in slight disapproval at his son. “Is that something the president of a company should say to another businessman?”

“My apologies. However, I believe acknowledging our shortcomings and requesting your assistance was better than insisting on doing things ourselves and wasting valuable time.”

“

Hmmm

...” Hwang Jeong-Hu nodded in acceptance. “Very well. So? How should I help?”

“I would like you to get in touch with the elites of the political sphere.”

“The political sphere,

eh

?”

“Yes. We need to turn the public opinion in our favor. If the official opposition raises their doubts over this matter...”

“I’ve already done that.”

“Sorry?”

Hwang Jeong-Hu mouthed a new cigarette and lit it up unhappily. “I said, I’ve already contacted the people I know on that side. And they all said they can’t help me.”

“You’ve already... done that?”

Hwang Jeong-Hu scowled deeply while puffing away at his cigarette. “Those rat bastards! They told me they would do everything in their power to help me if I needed to get something done urgently! But now that I’m actually asking for their help, they dare pretend they don’t even know me?! Yeah, I know politicians are dirtiest, most distrustful bastards in the world, but isn’t this too much?!”

Jo Gyu-Min urgently stepped forward again. “Please calm down, sir!”

“

Urgh

...”

Hwang Jeong-Hu tossed the still-burning cigarette into the nearby ashtray, then leaned against the couch. He rubbed his eyes furiously before groaning softly. He sounded a little deflated just then.

“For now... I’ll try to bring like-minded folks from the business world and see if that works. And also find any National Assembly members interested in helping us out. We can’t just sit on our asses and do nothing, after all.”

Hwang Min-Su nodded. “Thank you.”

“I’m not doing this for you, okay?”

“Yes, I’m aware,” Hwang Min-Su replied flatly.

Hwang Min-Su stared at his son in slight disapproval again before sighing deeply. “Yes, we need to clutch at straws if we have to. I’ve seen too many people disappear in this manner over the years, okay? Let me tell you something about our government. It’s a monster. Our government is meant to protect its citizens, but it wants to devour us instead. I figured those horrifying days were long over, but...”

Hwang Jeong-Hu suddenly looked downcast, his muttering seemingly drifting away aimlessly.

“Maybe it wasn’t the government that was the problem, but the people running it. Because humans just can’t exist without harming each other, after all.”

The air in the chairman’s office sank weightily.

“We gotta get him out of there.”

Hwang Jeong-Su spoke with renewed conviction.

“Even if I must exhaust every cent in Jaegyeong’s name and burn every bridge I’ve built over the years, we gotta get Jin-Ho out of there! I’d rather die first than see that punk go through this nonsense!”

The lion of Jaegyeong began unleashing his quiet rage.

From the top floor of the Jaegyeong Group HQ, the one and only Hwang Jeong-Hu stood up again like a waking giant.