286 – Nymphs and the Megacorp Shareholder Meeting #1
The meeting with Big Sister was very successful.
I learned a lot of what I wanted to know and established a direction for what needed to be done moving forward.
“Chirp chirp, sea anemone!”
As I finished briefly explaining to my colleagues who had been waiting outside during the meeting, Lee Jin-A scratched her eyebrow.
“If Lee Cheol-Keun is the chairman of the Osa Group, do we really have to meet such a person? I’m not very keen on it, especially since it was just a few hours after we had a run-in with the Osa Group’s operatives.”
Seo Ye-rim nodded in agreement.
“Right. Lee Cheol-Keun is notorious for being narrow-minded even within the chaebol community. He must be feeling resentful since we took away Lee Dong-Sik.”
Lee Dong-Sik was said to be the son of Lee Cheol-Keun.
It was said that Lee Cheol-Keun fathered numerous children with various women and registered them.
There are still undisclosed illegitimate children scattered across Korea, it seems.
“Senior, what do you plan to do when you meet Mr. Lee Cheol-Keun?”
Ari asked.
What I would do when we met…
The path had already been decided.
“According to Yang Chi-Hee, the chairman of Osa is likely to know the whereabouts and intentions of Gumihee. To stop Gumihee, we will ultimately have to contact the Osa Group.”
Gumihee was originally an A Ranker sponsored by the Osa Group.
She was an Awakened affiliated with the Osa Group.
After winning an A Rank survival competition and becoming an S Ranker, it was unclear whether she went on a rampage out of sheer impulse or if it was something she had been planning for a long time.
But it was well-known that she had ties to the Osa Group, and everyone understood that the Osa Group bore responsibility for Gumihee’s rampage.
“Anyway, the Osa Group must take responsibility for this incident. I think I’ll ask Chairman Lee Cheol-Keun to share anything he knows. I’ll make sure he cooperates with the police investigation as well.”
“Are you seriously saying you will make the second-ranked Osa Group take responsibility? Haildo, you really have no idea how reckless and foolish that sounds, do you?”
Seo Ye-rim scoffed.
The Osa Group held a unique position even among the top 200 companies in the world.
Chairman Lee Cheol-Keun was akin to the emperor of an everlasting empire.
Thus, despite all the scandals, corruption, and various controversies, no one could openly criticize him.
Who would dare to question the Osa Group?
At least in Korea, there was no one who could do that.
Even if it were the president or an S Ranker.
But that didn’t mean we could just sit idly by.
With Gumihee’s rampage making the situation increasingly perilous, someone had to put a bell around the cat’s neck and grab its tail.
And I thought I was the right person for that role.
Ari said.
“Senior, meeting the chairman of the Osa Group will be infinitely more difficult than meeting Big Sister. Lee Cheol-Keun officially retired after transferring management rights to his children.”
Lee Cheol-Keun had retired after extensively transferring shares and authority to his children.
With the affiliates beginning to tear apart, Korea could not help but fall into chaos, and the children of Osa entered a fierce competition for money and authority.
After that, Lee Cheol-Keun stopped appearing in public and erased his traces, as though he were nonexistent; however, those in the know understood that “the Osa Group is still Lee Cheol-Keun’s empire.”
I had seen that kind of gossip among the Awakened on the internet.
“If I charm Lee Joon-Hun well, could I meet his father, Lee Cheol-Keun?”
Though he had now evolved into a friendly Squirrel Beast raising a cute Squirrel, Lee Joon-Hun was said to be a prince of the Osa Group.
He had a significant standing within Osa, they said.
Through Lee Joon-Hun, meeting Chairman Lee Cheol-Keun would actually not be a dream.
However, Seo Ye-rim clicked her tongue.
“Haildo, you really know nothing about the world of corporations? If you truly want to reach the top, you need to be well-versed in the business ecosystem.”
“Really? What do you think I don’t know?”
“Lee Joon-Hun was just a figurehead; he had no substantial authority. He’s an outsider regarding succession rights.”
He doesn’t hold an important position within Osa, then?
Lee Joon-Hun is utterly useless, now and then!
“The only ones who can meet Chairman Lee Cheol-Keun directly are the major shareholders. Even my dad hasn’t met Chairman Lee Cheol-Keun in person.”
Even Seo Sang-yong has never met Chairman Lee Cheol-Keun directly?
He seems to have an appearance frequency akin to that of a legendary Nymphmon.
Hence, he would be the chairman of the world’s second-ranked corporation.
At that moment, Yu Ara asked.
“Could we take Lee Dong-Sik with us and request a meeting? Surely even the chairman of Osa would meet with Lee Dong-Sik.”
Is that a valid point?
However, Lee Jin-A shook her head regarding this idea.
“No, Lee Dong-Sik is apparently kept in a place where Big Sister Yang Chi-Hee won’t let anyone find him. It would be problematic if Gumihee contacted him again.”
Was a meeting with Lee Cheol-Keun simply impossible?
He wasn’t someone you could just show up to meet, after all.
I had to admit, as Seo Ye-rim said, that I knew far too little about the world of chaebols and businessmen.
After all, I was just an ordinary person from a middle-class family.
It was plain to see that I wouldn’t know anything.
Yet from this point forward, the excuse of “I don’t know” might not fly anymore.
“Seo Ye-rim, for now, tell me about the world of chaebols.”
“What, are you saying you want to become a member of the chaebol family? What a ridiculous dream!”
Seo Ye-rim was fanning her face vigorously, as if she were angrily flushed.
Then Seo Ye-rim showed me her cellphone.
“By the way, I heard that a dinner party is being held by the Osa Group soon. Most of the affiliates and Osa members will be attending. It’s a shareholder meeting after all.”
We eventually left Makcheon City.
When heading toward the Primal Village—a place with fresh air—after the smoke-filled lair of gangsters, it felt like my chest was opening up.
Kkungkkungi, Bang Bang, and Ahn Ahn also climbed onto my shoulders or head, as if to enjoy the feeling.
“Woof woof…!”
“Squawk…!”
“Meow…!”
It was quite refreshing.
However, Yu Ara, who was driving, said something as if she felt somewhat disappointed.
“The Idjin Association aims for high goals from low places. You can regard it as a syndicate brought together by thugs, ruffians, con artists, pickpockets, petty thieves, gamblers, prostitutes, and informants.”
They said that the “Little Sister” is the heir of that syndicate.
She could hold great power and authority.
“Jin-A, wasn’t it better not to accept the offer? A caterpillar must eat pine needles to survive. Such opportunities may not come again. The position of Big Sister’s heir is something everyone desires. It could have helped you meet Lee Cheol-Keun.”
Yu Ara asked, sounding hesitant.
At that, Lee Jin-A, who was sitting in the back seat, frowned intensely.
“I don’t want to.”
Despite being from a fearsome older sister background, Lee Jin-A disliked gangs.
Perhaps it was because she looked at her sister, Lee Sun-A, as an example.
No matter how good the position was, if one disliked it, there was nothing to be done about it.
However, the idea that being the “Little Sister” might aid in meeting Lee Cheol-Keun was tempting in various ways.
After all, it seemed that Lee Cheol-Keun and Yang Chi-Hee were long-time acquaintances, so perhaps it could lead somewhere.
“Jin-A, don’t entirely shut the door on that possibility. You never know what life has in store for you.”
I tried to gently persuade Lee Jin-A.
Lee Jin-A exhaled a little sigh while opening her narrow eyes.
“If the only way to meet Lee Cheol-Keun is to become the Little Sister, then I’ll consider it.”
That was a magnificent proposition.
As we chatted like that, we arrived home before we knew it.
Pitter patter-!
Little shadows dashed out from the yard.
They were Nymphs.
“The master of the house is welcoming you…! After holding a Nymph Conference, it has been concluded that to resolve all problems, this Inoi must become the Nymph of the legendary ditch water…!”
Inoi babbled about something hard for me to understand at once, as always.
However, the concept of becoming the Nymph of the legendary ditch water felt rather grand.
Alongside me, the living legend, Haildo, and the legendary ditch water Nymph, Inoi.
With us together, it seemed like we’d trigger some combo effect.
Soon, Inoi raised their hand and shouted.
“Thus, this Inoi wishes to participate in the Osa Group’s shareholder meeting…! I believe there are secrets of evolution hidden within the Osa Group…!”
