Past Life Returner - Chapter 34

“What happened to item three?” Kaufman asked.

“They took it” his team member answered.

Kaufman didn’t even ask who the guys were. Instead he scowled and crossed out item three on the list. It was a Korean construction company that made a good profit but their real estates were the real treasures. They had already purchased a large land for redevelopment and the site would be a priority for Korea as soon as they overcame the IMF crisis. 

“I’ve told you so many times to work on item three in secret” Kaufman frowned.

The team member responded “It’s not my fault. I think our chairman should meet the powerhouses of Korea in person.”

Kaufman was so desperate that he wanted to get drunk “That’s not the problem. We’re losing all the assets handled by the private sectors that we tried to get in secret. We’ll end up with nothing!” 

He had heard of Jeon-il Investments for the first time when he arrived in Korea. Before then he didn’t know their existence and he found through research that Jeon-il had successfully lobbied to open the real estate market quicker than the original plan. 

If Jeon-il stopped there Kaufman would’ve applauded them. When everyone’s attention was focused on Thailand Singapore and Hong Kong Jeon-il showed its expertise as an investment firm by entering Korea faster than anyone else and building transactions with the government. 

However Jeon-il was greedier than Kaufman had expected as they bought any items on their radar at a price that was at least twice the original. Kaufman couldn’t compete financially with them. As Jeon-il opened the real estate market to foreign investors they definitely had a deep connection with the Korean government. 

Thus Kaufman was suspicious that Jeon-il had received the hidden slush funds of the dictator Park who had dominated the country in the 1960s and 70s. But there were more questions that couldn’t be answered. 

“The chairman should come. Don’t you think we need to straighten things up?” The team member questioned.

“I’ll think about it” Kaufman replied.

The team member said “No he has to come to tell the government whatever they want to hear complain and request them to limit Jeon-il’s power over Korea’s economy. Jeon-il is trying to monopolize the country’s market with a bigger wallet and we have to attack this point.”

Kaufman was lost in thought since the team member’s demand was reasonable. Most of the items in the market were originally for the private sector but Jeon-il changed the rules. What was the name of the Korean director of Jeon-il Investments? His family name was Park like the dictator. The government had changed the pre-declaration system for high price real estate to allow Jeon-il to easily intervene in all property for sale. It was a perfect back-scratching alliance between the government and business. 

Kaufman was annoyed only because he regretted not entering the market first. Jeon-il’s position should’ve been Bluestone Group’s and his. 

“Jonathan came to Korea so why can’t the chairman?” the team member asked.

Kaufman was jealous of Jonathan. His eyes were still on the purchase list but he couldn’t focus on the letters in the documents anymore.

The team member continued “We’ll eventually lose Daehoo if we continue this way. Have you checked my report?” 

“Let’s calm down and think. What would be the priorities in this situation?” 

Kaufman asked his entire team and the answers were the same. One was that the group’s chairman should visit Korea soon and speak up to the government along with other investment firms. The other was that they had to hire power brokers who had connections to political figures. The meeting became increasingly heated and in the end some claimed that they should announce the relationship between the current government and Jeon-il and publicize the origin of the dollar held by Jeon-il. 

They were going too far. It was taboo in the industry to touch the hot money that belonged to the rich in Korea. When the issue was publicized Jeon-il wasn’t the only one who would be detrimentally impacted. The reason why the elites in Wall Street had been pushed to the edge was that they couldn’t even reach out to grab the prey they saw everywhere. 

Kaufman slowly nodded at his impatient teammates. 

“There are many of you who want to be journalists. Let’s do it at our own pace” Kaufman said.

“Umm…This is not our team’s business but…” the team member hesitated.

“Go ahead” Kaufman said. 

“There is something we could do with approval from above” the team member continued.

“What is it?” Kaufman asked.

The team member suggested “It’s an alliance between us the Bluestone Group and Jonathan Investment. They have the best cash flow and that’s what this country wants the most.”“Jonathan came to Seoul yesterday but do you think he will meet us? I’m skeptical about that” Kaufman responded.

“Jonathan must understand the situation. He would know that there’s a possibility he would go back empty-handed at this pace. He must be panicking too” the team member explained.

Kaufman pondered this for a moment “Hmmm…We don’t have to bring the chairman as Jonathan could be our frontman to the government.”Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at daotranslate dot com

“That’s right” the team member replied. 

“Then let’s do that” Kaufman said.

Kaufman and his team members were fired up with the enthusiasm to work harder. They were determined not to go back empty-handed from the land where they could take the opportunities and earn the best profit of their lives. 

It was then that they received a call from the hotel lobby.

< Someone by the name of Jonathan is here to see you. >

***

I received a call from Mr. Choi of Ilju Construction that operations were going smoothly. Although it was the middle of winter it didn’t snow much. 

Daehoo Group staged a walkout after a sharp tax investigation on them finished. With the government’s intervention on financial authorities and the creditors the walkout started one year earlier than the previous history.

There was no grand resignation ceremony of the Daehoo’s CEO as before. Those outside of the CEO’s family were able to preserve their positions and there were no plans to abandon them in the future. 

Just as I was about to pick up the phone the cell phone rang. 

< Jonathan: Did you hear the news? >

< Seon-Hu: When will you take over? >

< Jonathan: There are competitors of course. But that’s not a problem since they are just bridesmaids not the bride. >

< Seon-Hu: Oh do you know the Korean metaphor for that? It’s such a difficult word. >

< Jonathan: Of course ‘folding screen’ right? I’ve seen it in the Blue House Office. And the distribution of debts will be… >

The bell that signaled break time rang. These days I used a cell phone that was small enough to fit in my pocket perfectly. Cell phone size had continued to decrease and with the PCS era which started last October it became easier to carry than before. 

When I came out of the washroom stall there were students staring at me. I didn’t know them but they knew me. 

“S…Seon-Hu. Did you just speak…English?” One of them asked.

“…”

“And you…have a cell phone?” He continued questioning.

“…”

“We’re in the same class. Class number four.”

The boy rushed in speaking in my silence. Ah there’ll be another weird rumor spreading.

Between the winter and spring vacation school was still a cumbersome place. One more stressful thing was my homeroom teacher. When I was about to go home she held me up and talked about useless things with a big smile. I wasn’t interested in listening to her new workout routine. 

“I just want to know you better Seon-Hu” she said.

She was weird. In the past my homeroom teacher during my first year in middle school was a bald middle-aged man not this cute young lady. He always seemed unnatural due to his wig and now he was the homeroom teacher of the next class. It was a tiny change but still a change. I couldn’t figure out where the butterfly effect occurred. 

“…You want to know me better?” I asked.

She said earnestly “Yes of course. I’ll be honest with you since you’re mature enough. I’m very worried about you.”

“Please take a good look at me. No one will create trouble with me” I replied.

“That’s why you stand out” she talked to herself again and laughed. 

She was in her mid-twenties and was a passionate teacher without much experience. There was an incident earlier this week when she realized that she was the subject of sexual fantasies among students. 

However she had pretended nothing happened. I couldn’t understand why she acted like a puppy asking me to pat her head. When I looked back she had always been interested in me. There had been several times when she stared at me from the corridor and quickly looked away when we made eye contact and rushed back to the office. 

I was definitely someone who grabbed people’s attention as my physique had developed like an adult and I did not hang out with any classmates. However even considering those factors her interest in me was still too much…

My homeroom teacher apparently had something to tell me. It was clear that she kept talking about trivial stories to build up to that subject. 

“Is there anything you want to say?” I questioned.

She asked “Do you have to go to a cram school? Where do you attend?”

“…”

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m holding you too long” she said. 

“I don’t know what’s up with you but if it’s not important may I go now?” I asked her.

“Wait Seon-Hu” she hesitated before continuing “So… the thing is…that… a school is a good place.”

“Yes?” I looked at her.

“I know it’s hard for you to adapt to the environment but do you know that your classmates are just afraid of you? It’s not that they hate you.”

What the heck is she talking about?

“So if you open up and approach them you’ll be able to make friends and realize that school’s a good place. Let’s do that next semester. Could you promise me?” 

She brazenly said words that would only appear in dramas. It was a talent to be able to say something that corny with a smile. Maybe she was just a new teacher and I had misunderstood her enthusiasm. 

“It’s a promise!” She shouted again behind my back as I went out. She still had a bright smile on her face.