TOIGC 39

Chapter 39 …

Tributaries Can Change (2)

<Ah, I ask. see to trying what you’re>

Before Deokbae could even finish, Yoongi chimed in.

“Why isn’t Park Gyeong-ja dying?”

It was 1979.

He had meticulously executed his plans around P’s death to become the ultimate business tycoon, yet the one thing Yoongi had anticipated above all else wasn’t P’s demise.

It was Park Gyeong-ja’s death.

According to Deokbae, she was supposed to die at age 34. But from his first birthday all the way to his current age of 12—a span of ten full years—Park Gyeong-ja had shown no signs of kicking the bucket. And there was barely a month left before her 34th year came to a close.

<It all death her important. isn’t just means that> “Didn’t you say she was supposed to die a sudden, violent death in a car crash according to the original timeline?” <Right, doesn’t either is it matter much probably way. which why>

Deokbae found Yoongi’s endless questioning frustrating, yet he could sympathize to a degree.

‘Fair enough. If I were in this kid’s shoes, I’d feel the exact same way.’

Having lived for well over a century as a ghost—and an observer at that—Deokbae maintained an emotional detachment from the living world. Yoongi, however, was different. Living squarely in the real world, he naturally expected the events he had been waiting for to actually unfold.

“There’s still about two months left, but honestly, I don’t see her dropping dead within that window.” <My After March. Plus, a accident all, back die exactly. external factors for hit, in interfere. it just much planned random rather room she since supposed than there thoughts to traffic was wasn’t> “So, in the end, history apparently wants Park Gyeong-ja to keep breathing?” <Hard Gyeong-ja. I If Park about care couldn’t doubt feelings. had has history into it it’s less like more put say. simply to words,>

Listening to Deokbae, Yoongi drifted into deep thought.

‘What I want most right now is for Grandfather’s Samwoo to become the top corporation.’

To be exact, his current goal was for himself—as Grandfather’s bloodline—to become the world’s top CEO. For both Choi Gi-hyeon and Yoongi himself, the family lineage mattered far more than the mere name “Samwoo.”

‘That doesn’t mean I lack a grudge against Park Gyeong-ja, though.’

Yoongi lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. A standard fluorescent light fixture hung there instead of an LED bulb. His out-of-focus pupils softened the harsh glare, drawing him even deeper into his thoughts.

‘Is her death really what I want?’

Slowly chewing over his own thirst for revenge, a smile crept onto Yoongi’s lips.

‘Right. I’ve been looking at this all wrong.’

Jumping up from the bed, Yoongi sat on the edge of the mattress with an even darker, sharper smile.

<What’s creepy grin? that with> “I just realized I’ve had the wrong mindset.” <Wrong mindset?> “Yeah. Just letting her die off is way too easy of a punishment.” <Oh?> “I should keep her close, drag it out, and utterly break her over the course of a lifetime. I don’t know why I was in such a rush for her to die earlier. Making her suffer firsthand is a much more thorough revenge.”

Watching Yoongi wear such a wicked smile, Deokbae mentally flashed back to an old monarch from his past life.

<Reminds King Sunjo When a alone and around ate back bastard boiled brought day. during for him… his in it just kept life me meal ministers of one others, poor pork rest serving single that the to torment with>

While Yoongi was establishing his connections with Choi Cheol-kyu and JSD, Ryu Geun-tae was busy managing Yoongi’s assets and overseeing the construction office. Ever since Yoongi had mastered self-directed learning months ago, Geun-tae handled day-to-day operations independently whenever there were no special reports to make.

And today—October 27th—Yoongi finally summoned him.

“Did you bring the materials I asked for?”

P’s death would be publicly announced tomorrow, October 28th. Standing before him on the morning prior, Geun-tae was completely oblivious to what was coming.

“Yes, Director. The documents right here outline your current asset standing.”

The paperwork was dense yet meticulously organized. Among the data, the files concerning Microsoft stood out the most.

[$2.4 million in 1978 revenue $6.5 million in revenue through the third quarter of 1979]

Even measured against 1978 alone, revenue had surged a staggering 2.4-fold compared to the original timeline. With Microsoft’s profit margin hovering around 15 percent, Yoongi had pocketed roughly $126,000 in dividends earlier that year, and based on current trends, he was on track to pull in over $400,000 in dividends by early next year.

“Are we having any trouble with the interest payments owed to my grandfather, or purchasing land in Yongsan and Gangnam?”

Geun-tae nodded.

“No issues on that front whatsoever. The scholarship funds for graduate students at top-tier American universities like Harvard are also being fully disbursed without a hitch. However…”

“However?”

“We’re running into difficulties acquiring the new shares through Microsoft’s capital increase. Per our special clause, we’re supposed to buy up our entire 49 percent preemptive right, but Bill Gates’s parents and grandfather keep pouring fresh investments in, making it tough to buy out the whole allocation with our current capital alone.”

Microsoft’s explosive revenue growth compared to the original timeline wasn’t just driven by Yoongi’s initial capital—the late-stage investments from Bill Gates’s parents and grandfather had played a massive role as well. A synergy effect, of sorts. Yet, from Geun-tae’s perspective, too much capital was being injected for Yoongi to defend his equity stake, causing his ownership percentage to slip below 90 percent.

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. My final equity stake is supposed to drop below 50 percent anyway.”

“Pardon…?”

Geun-tae looked bewildered, failing to grasp the reasoning behind Yoongi’s words.

“It’s only natural. Microsoft is growing at a mind-boggling speed right now. That means the key talent has already been thoroughly vetted and proven. If I tried to hoard every single slice of the pie in this situation? If I were in their shoes, I’d walk out and found a new company. Big Brother Bill, Big Brother Paul, and Big Brother Steve are more than capable of doing just that.”

“Ah!”

Realizing his own oversight, Geun-tae listened as Yoongi continued.

“My equity percentage might gradually shrink, but my absolute returns are bound to keep climbing. That’s all I want from Microsoft.”

“My perspective was too narrow. Even so, shouldn’t our strategy be to use surplus capital to defend our voting block by purchasing new shares?”

“Well, naturally. My target is to maintain at least 40 percent until Microsoft goes public. Though who knows when that IPO will actually happen.”

Yoongi had originally toyed with aiming for 49 percent, but settled on 40 percent to spare Geun-tae from excessive pressure. Even at that level, it matched the exact equity share Bill Gates would have held in the original timeline.

‘As far as I know, Microsoft’s IPO is in 1986. I need to be a tiger by then, because Microsoft is going to give me wings.’

Confirming that his previous directives were running smoothly, Yoongi shifted his focus to the next items on his checklist.

“How are things looking at the construction office?”

“Including my uncle, our staff has grown from the original six members to fifteen. Once we receive the Microsoft dividends early next year, we should be able to more than double the headcount.”

“How is the talent networking going with heavy equipment operators and other key personnel?”

“That’s also proceeding without a hitch.”

“Good. We should be breaking ground on actual construction around the middle of next year.”

Hearing that full-scale operations were finally on the horizon, Geun-tae’s heart started hammering.

‘Bringing this up now probably means I should drop appropriate hints to my uncle as well.’

As Geun-tae pondered this, Yoongi spoke up again.

“You’re well aware that I’ve been establishing a pipeline to JSD alongside my second uncle, right?”

“Yes, you’ve mentioned it several times, and I’ve also met and chatted with Assistant Choi on occasion.”

“Then that makes things easier. I’ll give you two weeks: go buy a luxury watch worth around 2.5 million won, and visit this art gallery to purchase a painting of a similar price.”

Two and a half million won translated to roughly 20 million won in modern currency. Holding the slip of paper with the address scribbled on it, Geun-tae zeroed in on the word gallery.

‘So you’re planning to use JSD as a stepping stone to reach JD. Well, someone of JD’s stature could easily smooth the way for department store construction projects without needing to report back to P.’

Yet, if Geun-tae had one major misconception alongside P’s impending death, it was assuming the gallery was operated by someone connected to P, when it was actually run by an affiliate tied to JD.

“I’ll handle it as quickly as possible.”

“Just have it done within two weeks. Our next contact will be once the watch and the painting are secured.”

“Understood.”

Bowing to Yoongi, Geun-tae opened the door and stepped out of the room.

Months flew by in a blur.

Following a swift vote by the National Conference for Unification, a tenth president was hastily rushed into office, and the authorities attempted to “clean up” the aftermath left in the wake of P’s assassination.

However, JD swiftly launched the December 12 Military Insurrection to seize control, reducing the tenth president to little more than a figurehead. During this power shift, JSD’s political clout skyrocketed as well. Even so, his relationship with both Yoongi and Choi Cheol-kyu remained rock-solid.

“Whenever I run into military officials these days, the praise for the Colonel is practically endless.”

At Choi Cheol-kyu’s remark, JSD offered a modest, self-conscious smile, raising his hand slightly from his seat of honor with his palm facing up, gesturing for Cheol-kyu to enjoy his coffee.

“Ah, thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“What am I, really? The credit belongs entirely to JD. I’m simply following orders from above.”

Even in the original timeline, JSD hadn’t volunteered to become the head of the presidential security service—JD had summoned him to the post. Thus, as of March 1980, JSD still didn’t view himself as the de facto number two, nor was he officially holding that rank yet.

Given how much folklore surrounded JSD in modern times, Yoongi had initially assumed JSD would instantly claim the second-in-command seat right after the December 12 Coup, but JSD wouldn’t truly step into that role until 1981, when he took over as head of the Presidential Security Service.

“Still, the capital garrison’s swift action in keeping social order stable following President P’s sudden vacancy was monumental. My father even mentioned that business momentum didn’t skip a beat thanks to you.”

“Hoho… I merely did my duty.”

No one was immune to flattery, and while JSD tried to suppress his grin, he couldn’t quite keep it from showing on his face.

“Oh, and by the way…”

Cheol-kyu reached into his briefcase, pulled out a small, antique-looking box, and slid it across to JSD.

“What is this?”

“A modest token of congratulations for your recent promotion, Colonel.”

“For me?”

JSD carefully opened the lid, letting out a gasp of awe.

“This is…!”

A luxury wristwatch of the kind frequently seen strapped to the wrists of senior Hanahoe members. Never dreaming he would receive one himself, JSD gasped a second time.

“Good lord… presenting something so precious to me…”

“Even though our bond started because our sons became friends, I genuinely want to maintain our relationship long-term, Colonel. Please think of this as a token of that intent.”

“I hardly think I’m the sort of man deserving of such a gift…”

“How could you say that? You’re the very man JD personally visited in the hospital back in Vietnam. I have no doubt JD will promote you even higher.”

Convinced that JD favored him above all others, JSD couldn’t force out any standard polite humility; instead, a broad smile broke across his face.

“Why don’t you try putting it on? A fine watch shines brightest when it’s resting on its owner’s wrist, wouldn’t you say?”

“Shall I?”

Strapping the watch onto his wrist, JSD proudly showed it off to his wife. Their living room conversation drifted into the adjacent bedroom, carrying clearly to Yoongi, who was currently tutoring Jae-jun.

‘JSD hasn’t quite reached the number-two spot yet, but it’s about time to kick off the paperwork for the department store construction.’

The downfall of Yoongi’s first paternal uncle, Choi Cheol-min, and first paternal aunt, Park Gyeong-ja, was about to begin.