Payback: Reversal

25 - This Is War

There was a strange tension within the big conference room of HS Tower where the shareholder meeting would be held.

But it was understandable. Seldom was that an emergency meeting would contain something nice. Most often than not, it was requested because the shareholder felt a threat to their shares.

In this case, it wasn't just a threat. The stock price had been plummeting for the past week. It plummeted once when a rumor about the eldest son, the heir, having an affair and sexually assaulting someone was circling around.

It didn't give much impact, initially, since the ones who sold their shares were the casual buyer, people who were easily influenced by rumors and celebrities.

But then, out of nowhere, Director Seo Jungeon, one of the men who had been in the group since the previous Chairman's leadership, suddenly resigned for family reasons and went abroad. Not only that, the directory showed that the share percentage owned by Seo Jungeon was suddenly in the hand of an unknown investment company.

What people would see was this: a trustworthy executive suddenly sold his shares to a newbie company and fled to another country along with his family. What could that mean? Was Seo Jungeon so desperate to let go of his share so quickly he didn't even care to whom he sold it?

Naturally, people became suspicious. Something was happening within the internal management—something bad.

And while this thought was circulating, suddenly a new rumor surfaced; that Lee Wooseok wasn't actually sick, but was removed from the family because he wasn't the Chairman's real son.

And so, it was clear in their mind why Seo Jungeon abandoned the ship. Because the ship was compromised, it was shaky, and at risk of sinking. But that ship carried the shareholder's gold, so, of course, they were panicking.

And thus, the emergency meeting was scheduled.

With the tension, however, it seemed to be more like a hearing than a meeting. These Royals, the group of people who held the largest percentage of the shares outside the family, wore grim expressions. After all, different from the ants, they couldn't just sell their large amount of stocks. Doing so would hurt the price even more, and it wasn't like just anyone could buy such a large sum, not even the family. They couldn't just abandon the ship with their gold still in its cargo.

And so they were here to ask about the condition of the ship to the Captain. And should the Captain seem to be unable to steer the ship, they could change him through a majority vote.

As the conference room's door opened, and Lee Hwal stepped inside with his secretaries and lawyers, the grim atmosphere intensified. The board of directors stared piercingly at the line of executives entering the room.

In the company, the Chairman might be the mightiest. But above him, there were those large shareholders who could decide the fate of the Group. And these people wasted no time to question the Chairman about the situation.

"You don't have to worry," the Chief Secretary calmly told them, with a response that had already been prearranged. "Everything happened merely because of rumors, so naturally, it will die down with the rumor," he swept the room and gave them an unwavering, confident smile. "In retrospect, the rumor can be good if we take advantage of it. Lee Wooseok is not the Chairman's son, therefore, all his bad conduct cannot be pinned down as the Chairman's—and the Group's—responsibility."

The shareholders whisper among themselves, discussing the feasibility of that statement. To the still restless people, the Group's attorney chimed in beside the Chief Secretary.

"If needed, we can proceed to sue Lee Wooseok for fraud and defamation, and frame it so that we are the victim and gained the public's sympathy."

The murmurs died down as the shareholder looked at the head of the table in surprise. So the Group was ready to just throw away the 'imposter' to the grinder?