abcnovels
Chapter 41 - The Enemy of My Enemy is a Friend
Chapter 41 - The Enemy of My Enemy is a Friend
Chapter 41: The Enemy of My Enemy is a Friend
TL: Aniea
Clop clop-
The sound of high heels echoed loudly in the quiet corridor. People at the desk naturally turned their eyes in that direction.
“…Wow.”
The moment they confirmed the person’s face, an exclamation involuntarily burst out from everyone’s mouth.
The employees working in the Daehan Group’s secretary office weren’t easily impressed by appearances, but the figure before them was truly on another level.
“Is Park Ji-hoon inside?”
“Park Ji-hoon… Ah! Our CEO?”
They were momentarily mesmerized by the beautiful voice, but quickly snapped back to their senses at the sudden mention of the CEO’s name.
Normally, if someone showed up unannounced like this, they would be turned away unless they were from the direct lineage of Mirae Group.
However, the employees knew very well who the person in front of them was. They also knew that their CEO would not refuse her visit.
“Please wait a moment.”
The secretary quickly reverted to a professional demeanor and picked up the phone directly connected to the CEO’s office.
“Kim Eun-ha is here to see you. Yes, yes. Understood.”
Click-
That was the entirety of the conversation. The moment the call ended, the employee nodded, and the other staff moved swiftly, standing on either side of the large door.
As Kim Eun-ha approached the door, the staff opened it and bowed their heads.
She accepted this as natural and entered the room smoothly.
“Seems like you’re in quite a hurry? Coming all the way here yourself.”
Park Ji-hoon, who was seated, smirked provocatively. However, Kim Eun-ha sat on the guest sofa without any reaction.
She then crossed her legs leisurely as if it were her own office and looked at Park Ji-hoon silently.
“Oh, scary.”
Park Ji-hoon chuckled as if finding her reaction amusing and slowly stood up. He walked leisurely and sat on the sofa opposite Kim Eun-ha.
“You seem to have become even more beautiful.”
“CEO Park, you seem to have gotten a lot more wrinkles. I heard things aren’t going well in Germany, looks like the situation is worse than expected?”
“That’s how work usually is, isn’t it? I knew from the start it was high-risk. Once it’s resolved, there’ll be a huge return.”
“Is it alright to leave such an important task for so long? If you need funds, I could lend you the price of a plane ticket to Germany.”
“Eun-ha, you’ve become quite sly while I wasn’t here. Why are you using such formal language between us? It’s almost hurtful.”
“CEO Park Ji-hoon.”
“…”
At Kim Eun-ha’s firm voice, Park Ji-hoon’s brow twitched. She had clearly drawn a line in their relationship with her earlier statement.
Not as childhood friends,
but as a CEO to a CEO.
“If you didn’t come as a childhood friend, do I have any reason to continue an unscheduled meeting with CEO Kim Eun-ha?”
“No, there’s no reason.”
“Then why on earth…”
“I came to talk about your current car business. If you’re not interested, I’ll just leave.”
Swish-
Without a moment’s hesitation, Kim Eun-ha stood up as soon as she finished speaking. Park Ji-hoon’s brow furrowed, but the issue was too important to let his pride get in the way.
Knowing Kim Eun-ha’s personality, she wouldn’t bluff. Gritting his teeth inwardly, Park Ji-hoon forced a smile.
“…I apologize for my earlier rudeness. Shall we talk over a cup of coffee?”
“It’s fine. I didn’t schedule an appointment, so it would be too rude to even get a drink. I’ll just say what I came here to say.”
“Well, go ahead then.”
Kim Eun-ha sat down calmly as if nothing had happened, and Park Ji-hoon met her gaze with a now serious face.
Bright brown pupils that are rare among Koreans. When light hit them, they sometimes looked almost golden, giving a strange sense of alienation.
‘…It doesn’t feel like dealing with a person.’
Like a tiger, lion, or eagle. Sometimes, combined with Kim Eun-ha’s pale skin, it felt like looking at a vampire from a movie.
It wasn’t just because of her eye color, but also because the indifferent emotions contained within those eyes were clearly conveyed.
“Shall we hear what you have to say?”
Pushing aside such impressions, Park Ji-hoon spoke first. He hadn’t expected a friendly atmosphere from the start.
Kim Eun-ha responded with a distinctly businesslike smile.
“First, congratulations on your victory in the ‘Big Game’. You made a rather bold bet in the recent German general election. Thanks to that, you’ve laid some groundwork for Daehan’s automotive business.”
“…You receive information very quickly. Even our executives aren’t well aware of this yet.”
Though he didn’t show it outwardly, Park Ji-hoon was greatly surprised. His involvement in the election was extremely top-secret.
In reality, contrary to the surface, the groundwork for a technical exchange in car manufacturing between the two parties had already been laid.
If this fact were revealed now, the hesitant executives would turn to his side. However,
‘Father would not sit still and watch.’
His father, Park Ki-tae. It was hard to say this as a son, but he was a bundle of inferiority complexes.
Thanks to the chairman’s insistence on primogeniture, he had been confirmed as the next chairman long ago, but his abilities always fell short of expectations, leading to constant comparisons with his siblings.
The inferiority built up over decades was so great that he even felt jealousy towards his own children.
‘…Just thinking about it makes my teeth grind.’
What he had done to help his father ended up triggering Park Ki-tae’s inferiority complex.
As a result, he was blindsided in an unexpected way and had to waste a lot of time recovering.
‘It’s not the right time to reveal it yet.’
Recalling that memory, Park Ji-hoon bit his lip. He vowed not to make the same mistake again.
Now was the time to hide his claws as much as possible and determine who were his enemies and allies.
Until then, he needed stable funds that would act as a shield and a cloak.
‘If only I could get Kim Eun-ha…’
Naturally, the best means to secure this was a strategic marriage with Kim Eun-ha, who was right in front of him.
Her looks would ensure beautiful wedding photos. Although it would be a formal arrangement, he would also gain the strong backing of Mirae Group.
That’s what he had been thinking.
At least until now.
“But while hearing about you, CEO, I came across a very interesting rumor.”
“…”
Kim Eun-ha twisted her lips into a smirk. The smile was so unsettling that it felt like looking at a black rose with deliberately exposed thorns.
An uneasy feeling began to crawl up his leg like a snake.
“What rumor are you talking about?”
“I heard that besides the electric car industry, you’re also involved in another eco-friendly business.”
Snap-!
The snake crawling up his leg finally bit Park Ji-hoon’s neck. With a stinging sensation, a bleak poison seemed to spread through his body.
This wasn’t something that could be mentioned based on mere speculation. Kim Eun-ha had far more extensive information about him than he had thought.
Gulp-!
Park Ji-hoon’s throat felt dry, but there was nothing to quench his thirst except his parched saliva.
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“What does marijuana taste like?”
“Kim Eun-ha-!!”
Park Ji-hoon sprang up from his seat, glaring at Kim Eun-ha with wide eyes, but she didn’t even flinch. Instead, her smile grew even wider.
“They say the ruling party changed for the first time in 16 years in this recent election. SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany), which was almost certain to plummet out of parliament until two months ago, made a dramatic comeback.”
“······.”
“There are various reasons, but anyway, the SPD advocated for the legalization of marijuana, and I heard it finally passed this time.”
“…So?”
In response to his question, Kim Eun-ha shrugged lightly. There was no need for her to say more.
Tremble-
Park Ji-hoon’s clenched fists trembled. This was a business he had been conducting with secret funds stashed in a Swiss account, even unknown to his father.
‘Kim Eun-ha didn’t just deduce this from my reaction. She already had solid information in her hands. But who on earth…’
Very few people knew about this, both domestically and locally. The source of the leak was already giving him a headache.
However, he couldn’t afford to show any more weakness. The negotiations were just beginning.
“Did you really think you could blackmail me with that? I supported the SPD for the sake of the automotive business. I have nothing to do with marijuana.”
“Of course. You’re very meticulous in such matters. You must have set up multiple layers of shell companies and figureheads.”
“You knew that and still came to see me?”
“Facts aren’t what matter here, are they?”
“…”
Park Ji-hoon fell silent, understanding the meaning behind Kim Eun-ha’s words. It was almost identical to the method he had planned to use against Kang Woo-ju.
Whether or not he had actually touched marijuana, rumors related to it would severely damage his image.
Especially in South Korea, where the image of marijuana was extremely poor, even being mentioned in relation to it could be devastating.
However, Park Ji-hoon smiled instead. He had his own ace up his sleeve.
“Do you think that will work? Not a single article with my name will go out. Surely, you know who I’m allied with.”
“The enemy of my enemy is a friend… Honestly, I didn’t expect that. I thought you two would never team up. But did you know this?”
“…?”
Kim Eun-ha lifted her lips again into a smile. She looked so confident, like the goddess of victory herself.
“That saying doesn’t only apply to you.”
“What do you mean…?”
Knock, knock, knock-! Click!
Just as Park Ji-hoon was about to question her, there was an urgent knock at the door. As he turned his head, the door swung open on its own.
“Who dares…!!”
“Sorry! I have something urgent to tell you-!!”
Park Ji-hoon, who was furious to the point of his head boiling over, felt a chill run through his body the moment he saw the urgent expression on his secretary’s face.
The secretary, glancing cautiously at Kim Eun-ha, quickly approached Park Ji-hoon and whispered in his ear.
“CEO Park Ki-tae has arrived.”
“What!? Why would my father suddenly…?”
Swish-!
In an instant, the worst-case scenario flashed through Park Ji-hoon’s mind, and he turned his head reflexively. There, he saw Kim Eun-ha with a relaxed smile on her lips.
“Kim Eun-ha, you couldn’t have…”
“CEO. I’m sorry, but there’s one more thing to tell you… Just now, Director Baek Do-young unilaterally notified us that he is severing ties.”
“What kind of bullshit is that!?”
Unable to hold back, Park Ji-hoon finally exploded. Kim Eun-ha, who had been silently observing him, slowly stood up from her seat.
“It seems you have a visitor, so I’ll be leaving first.”
“Hey! You think you can get away with this…”
“Oh, by the way, I haven’t yet told your father about the ‘eco-friendly business’. I’m mentioning this in advance so he doesn’t accidentally find out. Goodbye then.”
Click, click-
With a light nod of farewell, Kim Eun-ha walked out confidently, just as she had entered.
“…”
Park Ji-hoon’s gaze wandered aimlessly as he watched her departing figure. Only a moment later did the realization hit him.
The negotiation had already ended.
From the very moment she stepped into this room.
******
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