Chapter 153 ·I Didn't Think It All Through

I Didn't Think It All Through

The auditorium where the temporary shareholders' meeting was being held was in turmoil.

It was because more people were skeptical about the rumor that the proposed appointment of the new CEO had been voted down last time.

Tae Seok-ho, who was sitting on the stage watching the scene, grew slightly anxious.

"There won't be a problem this time, right?"

It was a question thrown at Reina Blackwood, who was standing next to him.

"You know the odds for AMK went down after former chairman Tae Gun-seung gave up his shares. In this situation, there's no way things could turn against us."

Tae Seok-ho knew that very well. That was why he'd persuaded the board to agree to purchase Tae Gun-seung's shares.

Of course, it was a stretch for the group, but it was an unavoidable measure to secure the CEO position.

"I hope it's fine..."

While he murmured to himself, Reina turned her gaze to the AMK Partners faction and then to Jung Min-seop, who was standing at the back of the auditorium.

She had heard through Im Deok-chang that Gordon Grimes had met him in Myeong-dong. However, she didn't inform Tae Seok-ho of this—

partly because, even if he knew, there was nothing he could do.

There had even been suggestions from inside to abduct Jung Min-seop.

But he was guarded by a mercenary unit called Sandrix. It was also known that AMK Partners had hired them, so moving rashly wasn't an option.

Meanwhile, voting ended and the counting began.

Sarak— sarak—

Only the sound of papers being unfolded and checked echoed in the auditorium.

.

.

.

In-hyuk completed his vote as a shareholder with Jung Min-seop and returned to observe the results.

He could hear shareholders whispering around them.

"It won't get voted down again, will it?"

"Come on... No way that'll happen again."

"Is it so bad for AMK Partners to take over?"

"But what if Taeshin Group gets split up and sold? Who's going to take responsibility for our country's economy then?"

"Direct management would be better than having the founding family run it, right? AMK Partners turned around quite a number of companies."

"But in the end, it'll just become a foreign corporation, so what's good about that? The first thing they do will be to cut people, starting with cleaning up the finances, right? Plus, what about the technologies owned by Taeshin Group?"

These echoed most of the concerns circulating among the public.

Then, the counting finished, and the tallied result sheets were delivered to department manager Lee Yoon-seok.

Even then, Jung Min-seop's expression was extremely grave. At the same time, Gordon Grimes' words kept echoing in his mind:

【We don't do business without conviction.】

Jung Min-seop's gaze turned toward the people from AMK Partners. There wasn't even a hint of anxiety in their demeanor.

If anything, they seemed to already know the outcome of the meeting.

Eventually, on the stage, Lee Yoon-seok began to speak.

"I'll now announce the results of the vote on the new CEO appointment."

In that instant, every shareholder's attention was focused on him.

Lee Yoon-seok, looking even more nervous than before, read out the results.

"In favor, 66,434,640 shares. Opposed, sixty..."

Swallowing and nervous murmurs could be heard between his words.

"67,381,296 shares. Abstained 1,315,952 shares. As the majority has voted against, the appointment of Executive Vice President Tae Seok-ho as CEO has been rejected."

The shareholding ratio was 43.7070% in favor, 44.3298% opposed. In terms of shares, that was a difference of about 9.5 million shares, or only a 0.0062% gap.

Tae Seok-ho's fist on the armrest shook violently as he sat on stage.

In the end, his appointment as CEO had been voted down at the second temporary shareholders' meeting as well.

In-hyuk, seeing that things had gone according to plan, turned his gaze to Jung Min-seop, whose eyes were wide in shock.

"Rejected again? How could..."

He thought that having Tae Gun-seung's shares converted to company-held shares had settled everything.

But now it was clear even that, too, had played into AMK Partners' hands.

In-hyuk glanced at the stage and clearly saw Tae Seok-ho's chillingly hardened expression.

In that situation, In-hyuk said to Jung Min-seop in a calm tone.

"Looks like AMK Partners really took full control this time."

"Y-yes, it seems so."

"Then now, all that's left is for you to decide, executive director."

"That's... what? Director Kang! Don't tell me, you..."

But In-hyuk didn't bother to answer and walked out of the auditorium.

Jung Min-seop, staring at his retreating back, was flabbergasted. Earlier he'd claimed he knew nothing, but the words just spoken said otherwise.

This wasn't simply a matter of following AMK Partners' requests.

"Phew..."

Unable to just stand by after seeing the outcome, Jung Min-seop immediately sent a message on his phone.

It didn't take long to receive a reply from a restricted number.

Bzzz— bzzz—

【I look forward to working with you.】

Upon reading the content, Jung Min-seop swallowed and glanced up at Tae Seok-ho on the stage.

Meanwhile, up on the stage, Tae Seok-ho abruptly stood up to leave.

At that moment, Yoo Chi-beom, the legal team leader of Taeshin Trading, approached hastily.

"Executive Vice President. The court has received a new request to hold another temporary shareholders' meeting."

"A shareholders' meeting?"

A document was handed to Tae Seok-ho.

Upon looking it over, he could immediately see who the request had come from.

"So that's what they were aiming for?"

This time, the shareholder requesting the meeting was AMK Partners. Even more, the proposed agenda made Tae Seok-ho's brow furrow even more.

【1. Replacement of management and the board of directors of Taeshin Trading】

【2. Appointment of CEO】

What was more shocking was the name suggested for the CEO.

"... Jung Min-seop?"

As he muttered in disbelief, his head snapped around.

He couldn't help but meet Jung Min-seop's gaze.

"Was this the plan all along?"

Next to him, Reina Blackwood was also confirming the details.

At the same time, she could guess what kind of conversation Jung Min-seop and Gordon Grimes had exchanged.

"Let's not do this here. Let's go upstairs."

"Did you people know about this in advance?"

"This was beyond our expectations."

Tae Seok-ho, still standing on stage, almost yelled out.

But with the shareholders and board members still present, he had no choice but to hold back his agitation.

"Let's talk upstairs."

Barely managing to restrain his anger, Tae Seok-ho headed to his office with Reina.

"Now, talk. Did you people know about this in advance?"

The moment the office door closed, he threw his question.

Reina answered with a shallow sigh.

"As I told you before, how could we have known they'd put forward executive director Jung Min-seop as CEO?"

"So how did the shareholder meeting end up voting the proposal down? Even after buying up my father's shares as company shares, how could that not be enough?!"

There'd been uproar over fears that Taeshin Group would be swallowed by a foreign corporation.

Even most shareholders in the auditorium seemed to prefer Tae Seok-ho as CEO.

There was every reason to believe it was a sure thing this time.

But the proposal was narrowly rejected by just 0.0062%.

"The shares we couldn't account for must have ended up with AMK Partners."

"Do you think I'm asking you because I don't know that?!"

Even a court request had arrived for the next temporary shareholders' meeting. From the start, if they'd gone through the company, the board wouldn't have passed it—a move clearly anticipated.

With this, there was no way for Taeshin Trading to avoid the meeting.

Moreover, with the rejection of the latest item, it had now been confirmed that the majority of shares were in AMK Partners' hands.

That meant, under the current circumstances, stopping management replacement or Jung Min-seop's appointment as CEO was impossible.

"We have two weeks until the next temporary shareholders' meeting. We need to find another way before then."

"What other way? Are you thinking about dealing with Jung Min-seop? Even if you did, once the management and board are replaced, it's all over anyway!"

He had concluded that Jung Min-seop was merely a puppet put forward by AMK Partners.

And such a puppet, if not Jung Min-seop, could be anyone.

"Exactly. I didn't think this all through. Looks like it's time to end this too."

"... What? Keuk!"

Before he realized it, Reina had stepped right up to Tae Seok-ho and grabbed him by the throat.

Despite her slender arms and fingers, the strength choked off Tae Seok-ho's breath.

"W-What are you—!"

"It was us who let you keep your life anyway. So killing you is our right as well."

Then Reina pulled something out from her collar and shoved it into his mouth, making him swallow it.

When she let go, Tae Seok-ho collapsed to the floor, sinking to his knees.

"Keup! Kuk! Kuk!"

With a dreadful feeling, Tae Seok-ho tried to cough it out, but it was too late—he had already swallowed it.

Reina crouched before him with an enigmatic smile.

"What you just swallowed was a cyanide capsule. Usually, it takes about 10 minutes for the gelatin coating to dissolve, but this one was specially made—so maybe a minute at most."

"W-Why are you... doing this to me..."

"Do you really not know? As you said, you've become useless to us, so I have to clear out the useless things first."

Reina smiled refreshingly down at him.

"Keuup—!"

Within moments, Tae Seok-ho's vision blurred and it became impossible to breathe.

Clutching his chest, he shuddered and then froze, his breath stopping.

Reina, who had calmly watched the scene, pressed her fingers to his wrist to confirm his pulse.

Afterwards, the security guards outside entered the office, carrying something to the desk.

It was a handwritten will in Tae Seok-ho's script, and a plastic bottle containing cyanide capsules.

"All done. You can go downstairs now," said one security guard, reporting.

With a sigh full of regret, Reina asked, "Nothing left behind, right?"

"We disposed of all the data, and handled anything else that could become evidence."

"And the Wiper?"

This was a kind of malware designed to delete all data.

"We set it so that, when accessed on the server under Tae Seok-ho's ID, it will activate at a designated time."

"Well then, I'll be going. Clean up thoroughly."

"Don't worry."

The security guards were WID agents. They planned to stay and testify that Tae Seok-ho had committed suicide before withdrawing discreetly.

Reina, now looking a little bitter, left the executive's office and got into the elevator. Before long, she arrived in the underground parking lot where her car was waiting.

But both fire shutters blocking the exits were down.

"Looks like I fell into a trap."

Reina tried to get back on the elevator, but the 'Maintenance' sign was already displayed.

She called the staff who were supposed to be waiting in the car, but no one picked up. It appeared they had also been dealt with by someone.

Clack—

Fortunately, the emergency stairwell was open.

But she could not relax.

"Someone's probably waiting upstairs..."

After a brief thought, Reina called the agents who were supposed to have stayed above.

[Yes. USGAI.]

"Things don't look good. All of you, get out of there right now."

[Without even finishing the final cleanup?]

If the security guards vanished now, it would be difficult to convincingly present Tae Seok-ho's death as a suicide.

"Personnel come first. The basement exits are sealed, so take the east stairs and meet on the first floor."

There was no other way now.

After ending the call, Reina started up the stairs.

A moment later, the sound of sirens rang out from above.