CH93 | VOC

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kim Min-sik, President of Hanho Savings Bank.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Moon Sang-ho, Managing Director of Daemun Group.”

They were meeting at a high-class room salon, notorious for its discretion. Moon Sang-ho had arranged the meeting.

“So this is a room salon. I thought it was just something you saw on TV. This world is truly a strange place, isn’t it?”

Moon Sang-ho frowned at his crass remark, but Kim Min-sik continued,

“I heard the drinks here are special. I’ll have to brag about this to my wife when I get home. Hahaha.”

Moon Sang-ho wanted to leave, but he couldn’t.

There was a rumor circulating in the business world.

“A mad dog with money.”

Hanho Savings Bank, once drowning in debt, had become a ruthless predator under its new owner. Anyone involved in the industry knew about it.

And now, rumors were spreading that this mad dog had billions of won in funds.

Some said it was accumulated surplus from refusing loans, others said it was an injection of funds from the Chinese backers. No one knew the truth.

That’s why Moon Sang-ho had arranged this meeting at his father’s, Chairman Moon Kyung-sik of Daemun Group, behest.

His mission: to confirm the rumors and secure funding.

Daemun Group, specializing in transportation and logistics, had almost reached the 30th spot in the business world just three years ago.

But with the economic downturn and the IMF crisis, their transportation and logistics businesses, sensitive to market fluctuations, suffered significant losses, and the group was facing a severe financial crisis.

Moon Sang-ho forced a smile.

“It’s an honor to be the first to bring you to a room salon, Mr. President.”

“An honor? I’ve come a long way, haven’t I? To be called ‘honorable’ by a chaebol heir. Hahaha.”

Kim Min-sik chuckled and then said with a meaningful smile,

“Just a few months ago, I was just a manager, a salary thief.”

He had researched Kim Min-sik before the meeting and knew that he had been a long-term manager, cornered by the bank’s restructuring efforts, and had become president by sheer luck when the bank was acquired.

He had heard the rumors about the “mad dog,” but he had initially underestimated Kim Min-sik, thinking he was just an inexperienced executive who had been parachuted into the position. But Kim Min-sik’s words made him reconsider.

‘He might not be a mad dog, but he’s definitely not normal.’

It was human nature to avoid confronting one’s past inadequacies, especially after achieving a higher position.

So why would Kim Min-sik bring up his humiliating past in front of a chaebol heir at a high-class room salon? Was it a psychological tactic?

Moon Sang-ho forced a smile.

“Haha, is that so?”

“Yes, it is. Of course, someone like you wouldn’t understand.”

Kim Min-sik, seeing him speechless, waved his hands.

“Oh, I’m rambling again. It’s my loose lips.”

He slapped his own mouth, and Moon Sang-ho’s lips twitched.

Regardless of his past, Kim Min-sik was now the president of a bank with 20 trillion won in assets.

He had received an elite education and met countless high-ranking officials from all walks of life, but he had never met anyone so crass.

“When are the drinks coming? Do they really pour it from a kettle here? I saw them do that on TV.”

Moon Sang-ho forced a smile.

“It’s not a tin kettle, it’s a brass kettle.”

“Really? The color looks similar.”

Moon Sang-ho, unable to tolerate his vulgarity any longer, clapped his hands.

“Bring the drinks.”

A moment later, women in hanbok (traditional Korean attire) brought in a table laden with dozens of dishes and placed it before them.

“Wow, this looks amazing. Let’s have a drink.”

Before the woman next to him could pour him a drink, Kim Min-sik snatched the kettle and poured a drink for Moon Sang-ho.

“Ah, yes.”

And so began the drinking session, with Kim Min-sik rambling on and on, and Moon Sang-ho responding with empty words.

“So I told him, ‘Hey, didn’t you call me a salary thief in the restroom before? Do you still think that?’ And his face turned pale, and he denied it vehemently. It was so funny, you would have laughed your ass off if you had seen it.”

“Ah, yes.”

“And what else happened? There were so many funny incidents…”

Moon Sang-ho, reaching his limit, interrupted him.

“Mr. President, how about we talk privately? I have something to discuss with you.”

“Privately? Without these ladies? Well, since you arranged this meeting, let’s do that.”

“Thank you.”

Kim Min-sik watched the women leave, licking his lips.

“It’s a bit awkward, just the two of us men left in this flower garden.”

Moon Sang-ho, suppressing his anger, said,

“Mr. President, I have a question for you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Daemun Group is facing a cash shortage due to the economic downturn. We heard the government is considering classifying us as a high-risk company, which is ridiculous. Our transportation and logistics businesses are sensitive to market fluctuations, so it’s just a temporary setback. We’ll recover once the crisis is over.”

“I see.”

“So my father is planning to sell the land we acquired in Gyeonggi Province to overcome this crisis. It was meant to be a hub for Daenong Logistics.”

“A wise decision.”

“The problem is finding a buyer. It’ll take time.”

Moon Sang-ho narrowed his eyes.

“So I heard Hanho Savings Bank has a significant amount of funds…”

Kim Min-sik chuckled.

“Are you asking if the rumors are true?”

Moon Sang-ho nodded, and Kim Min-sik took a sip of his drink.

“Money, money, money. Do we have money?”

He smirked.

“We have more than enough.”

Moon Sang-ho’s eyes lit up.

“Really? Can you lend us some?”

“We can, under the right conditions. Do you have any collateral?”

Moon Sang-ho’s eyes wavered.

It was a natural question.

If they had any collateral, they wouldn’t be here.

“As I said, once we sell the land in Gyeonggi Province…”

“Is there any debt tied to that land?”

“…”

“Since you’re selling it, I assume the debt is less than the land’s value. It’s supposedly worth 200 billion won, but after deducting the debt, would there be 50 billion won left?”

Kim Min-sik chuckled, seeing him speechless.

“You’re underestimating us, Managing Director Moon.”

He then shouted, looking at Moon Sang-ho, whose face was red with anger,

“But!”

Moon Sang-ho flinched, and Kim Min-sik continued,

“We’re both Koreans! We can’t just stand by and watch our brothers suffer! How much do you need? Just name the amount. We’ll lend it to you.”

Moon Sang-ho’s face brightened.

“R-really? You’ll lend us the money?”

“Of course. How much do you need?”

“200 billion won. 200 billion won would be enough.”

“Alright, we’ll lend it to you. But we need collateral.”

Moon Sang-ho was flustered again at the mention of collateral, but Kim Min-sik smiled.

“I know you don’t have any.”

“But…”

“We don’t take land or trucks as collateral, like other banks. You probably don’t have any left anyway. Instead…”

Kim Min-sik’s expression turned cold.

“We take everything else. Desks, chairs, copy machines, computers, dining tables, kitchen utensils…”

Moon Sang-ho’s face turned pale.

“Pencils, pens, A4 paper, toilet paper… everything, from head to toe, except for real estate, buildings, vehicles, and equipment.”

“Even if you take everything, it won’t be worth 200 billion won.”

“Do you only have two subsidiaries, Daemun Logistics and Daemun Transportation?”

“We have eight more, but they’re much smaller.”

“We’ll divide the 200 billion won and lend it to all your subsidiaries.”

Moon Sang-ho said, his face pale,

“Then we’ll have to transfer funds between subsidiaries, which could be problematic. It could be seen as an illegal internal transaction.”

“Do we have to consider that when lending you money?”

Kim Min-sik said to Moon Sang-ho, who was biting his lip,

“No other bank would lend you money based on such collateral.”

“That’s… but…”

“The terms are simple. The collateral is everything I mentioned, and we only offer short-term loans, three or six months. The six-month loan has a slightly higher interest rate.”

“Short-term? And the six-month loan has a higher rate? Usually, the longer the term, the lower the rate…”

Kim Min-sik smiled.

“We’re not an ordinary bank. It shouldn’t be a problem once you overcome this temporary crisis and everything returns to normal.”

“…”

“You’re Daemun Group, aren’t you? Your ranking might have dropped, but you’re still a major corporation with 2 trillion won in annual sales. Can’t you repay a measly 200 billion won? I said we’ll take everything as collateral, but it’s not worth that much. We’re being considerate. But if you don’t like the terms…”

“Wait, wait a minute. Let me make a call.”

Moon Sang-ho hurriedly stopped Kim Min-sik and stepped outside with his phone.

Kim Min-sik, left alone in the room, wiped the sweat from his brow, adjusted his tie, and muttered,

“Mad dog. Mad dog.”

About 20 minutes later, Moon Sang-ho returned. Kim Min-sik put on a relaxed expression.

“So, have you made your decision?”

“Yes, we appreciate Hanho Savings Bank’s consideration.”

Moon Sang-ho extended his hand.

“We accept your offer.”

Kim Min-sik shook his hand.

“Good decision.”

After enjoying the expensive drinks at the room salon, Kim Min-sik declined Moon Sang-ho’s offer to drive him home and walked slowly, enjoying the night air.

“Phew… phew…”

He took a deep breath, massaged his temples, and muttered,

“It’s over.”

He might be a ruthless and aggressive banker now, but he was still just an ordinary man, a family man who had been a bank employee his entire life.

It wasn’t easy to act so crassly and disrespectfully in front of a chaebol heir, especially when he suspected Daemun Group had ulterior motives.

He had been smiling, but his shirt was drenched in sweat.

“Mad dog. I’m a mad dog.”

He had become complacent after becoming president, enjoying the power and the pleas of desperate companies.

Baek In-hwi’s reprimand for suggesting they loosen the reins had reminded him of one thing:

He could lose everything and return to his previous humiliating life, the memory of which still sent shivers down his spine.

He enjoyed the fear in the eyes of his employees.

He reveled in their anxiety and their desperate attempts to please him.

“I’m a mad dog. I’m a mad dog.”

He was Baek In-hwi’s attack dog, the vanguard of Chinese capital.

“A mad dog is only valuable when it’s mad. A well-behaved mad dog is a joke.”

He had to be ruthless and aggressive in all aspects of his life.

He could sense the unspoken pressure from Baek In-hwi, even though he hadn’t explicitly said anything.

He bowed his head and muttered,

“I’m… a mad dog.”

He raised his head, his eyes filled with a murderous glint.

“I’ll kill them all to survive.”