Real Man

Chapter 678

“It sounds like you’re making me out to be some kind of amazing person.”

“You are amazing. That’s why I made up my mind.”

“About what?”

Yoo-hyun turned his body and looked at Jeong Da-hye’s face directly.

Her face was visible under the faint moonlight.

In the close distance where their breaths touched, he felt her trembling heart.

Thump thump.

He confessed to her seriously, his face flushed.

“I want to give you the development rights of my heart too.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s free of rent for tonight.”

Smack.

Jeong Da-hye hit Yoo-hyun’s shoulder and turned her head away.

“What are you talking about, you jerk. Let’s just look at the stars, okay?”

But she still hooked her arm around his.

Yoo-hyun chuckled and held her hand tightly.

Unlike before, warmth was transmitted.

And so another night passed for the two of them.

Yoo-hyun wasn’t just flattering her to cheer her up.

He really felt that way, and thanks to her, his investment plan changed too.

Yoo-hyun wanted to prove her integrity through this opportunity.

Once he had a direction, all that was left was to move forward.

Yoo-hyun started to make a summary report based on his decision.

Tap tap tap.

The work was done in a separate office inside his hotel room.

It was a converted room out of the two rooms connected to the large living room, with a similar structure to the executive office of Hansung.

A wooden desk and a custom-made chair were placed in front of a conference table and a whiteboard.

The whiteboard was filled with the places Yoo-hyun had visited with Jeong Da-hye.

There were dozens of cooperative companies that he had visited and looked inside.

If he added the environmental groups and landowners, he had met and traveled with a lot of people.

The details were in the visit log that Jeong Da-hye had organized for him.

Flip.

Yoo-hyun looked over the meticulously written visit log and set up the framework of the plan.

He added his experience and strategic thinking to flesh it out.

He didn’t need to be too rigid or specific.

The experts would help him with that.

“That’s it.”

He finished organizing and sent a message, then got up from his seat.

The night view of Midland was visible through the large window.

He was now familiar with the scenery.

What was Jeong Da-hye doing right now?

Even though he saw her every day, he still wondered about her.

As Yoo-hyun looked in the direction of her accommodation and thought about this and that, it happened.

Ding dong.

The bell rang and the expected expert came in.

“Long time no see, Steve.”

The man who extended his hand with a grin was none other than Willy Thompson.

Willy Thompson had spent most of his time in the EnerTex building.

It had been a long time since he met Yoo-hyun, who mostly traveled outside.

That didn’t mean they didn’t communicate.

They exchanged opinions every day on the phone, so they knew each other’s thoughts well.

They didn’t need a long explanation.

Click.

Yoo-hyun showed the contents on the large TV screen on the wall and briefly conveyed his intention.

“When I proceed with this shale oil investment…”

He started with the content in the framework.

It contained everything he had seen and felt so far.

Willy Thompson nodded his head as he listened to the explanation.

“The direction is good as I told you before. If you set up a separate corporation and gather only the core companies, the investment cost will also decrease.”

“I’m not doing this to save money.”

“I know that. If you were, you wouldn’t have considered the environmental issues. You wouldn’t have cared about automating the production system either.”

Willy Thompson was right.

If it was just for money, the most effective way was to shake up EnerTex as planned, bankrupt them, and then buy the shares of the abandoned cooperative companies at a low price.

But Yoo-hyun’s conclusion was that it would only create a second EnerTex.

He wanted to approach it in a completely different way.

Yoo-hyun raised his index finger.

“There’s one point here.”

“Are you talking about the land?”

“Yes. It’s a matter of who secures how much mineral rights in the future. We have to show them that we care more about the environment than other companies, even to persuade the locals.”

“I agree with that part. But not all landowners are as idealistic as Mr. Greer. They will ultimately move according to the capital.”

Yoo-hyun readily accepted the expected criticism.

“If it’s a capital fight, then the way I suggested won’t be much of a differentiation point.”

“To be frank, yes. It’s good in the medium and long term, but it could actually reduce efficiency until the system is established.”

“Then we just have to set up the system quickly, right?”

“No. It’s still not easy. The reason EnerTex could survive even with such a mess was because they had Exxon Mobil, a giant corporation, behind them. Without a backer, there’s a clear limit.”

Exxon Mobil was the number one oil company in the US, with a market capitalization higher than Apple.

Their corporate know-how and infrastructure were not something that could be bought with money.

The construction of the pipeline, which was the key to reducing the transportation cost of shale oil, was also impossible without Exxon Mobil.

In this situation, to completely exclude EnerTex?

Even if Yoo-hyun poured money into it, he would only be a small and medium-sized company squeezed between giant corporations.

It seemed unlikely to succeed in the short term.

Willy Thompson cautiously pointed out, and Yoo-hyun smiled.

“If we don’t have a backer, we’ll just make one.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Let’s just see.”

Snap.

Yoo-hyun showed him the flesh on the bone on the TV screen.

It contained the contingency plan he had prepared.

At that moment, Willy Thompson’s eyes, which were always calm, shook for the first time.

“You’re going to pull Exxon Mobil to our side?”

“Yes. I think it’ll be much faster if we get their help.”

“Exxon Mobil is the parent company of EnerTex. If they cut ties with EnerTex, they can’t be connected with us.”

“No. That’s why it’s possible.”

“How on earth…”

Willy Thompson was flustered by Yoo-hyun’s absurd remark.

Zing. Zing.

The phone on the table rang.

Yoo-hyun smiled and showed him the caller and said.

“It’s perfect timing. The person who will connect us with Exxon Mobil just contacted me.”

‘Jack Cruise?’

Willy Thompson blinked his eyes as he confirmed the name on the screen.

Yoo-hyun didn’t say much to Jack Cruise.

He just told him the fact that he had received several calls from Tony Cohen recently.

Of course, he also added a little seasoning.

“Jack, as you know, I don’t take calls from people I don’t trust. It’s also strange that they’re contacting someone other than EnerTex at this point.”

-That’s a good choice. He must have something to say about the project, but it’s well finished now, so he won’t bother you.

“I see. I was worried that he might contact Mr. Paul if I didn’t answer.”

-There’s no way he’ll do that. I’ll make sure to tell him.

No way he’ll do that?

Yoo-hyun smirked as he recalled Tony Cohen’s message.

-Steve, I have a very attractive offer for you regarding EnerTex. Mr. Paul will surely like it too. I know him well because I have a connection with him.

He was trying to pressure Yoo-hyun, who wasn’t answering, by bringing up Paul Graham’s name.

It meant he was ready to contact him if necessary.

He could speed things up by provoking him.

What would Jack Cruise, who had hastily promised him, do then?

Yoo-hyun, who had envisioned the future situation, answered seriously.

“Then I’ll trust you, Jack.”

-Of course. We have a relationship based on trust, don’t we?

“Yes. Very special.”

Yoo-hyun lifted the corners of his mouth as he heard Jack Cruise’s confident answer.

The moment Yoo-hyun pressed the end call button.

Willy Thompson, who had belatedly understood everything, burst into laughter.

“Hahaha!”

He showed a lot of emotion that he had never shown before.

At that time, Jack Cruise, who had hung up the phone, gave a hollow laugh.

“Tony, how dare that bastard break his promise and contact Steve Han?”

Grit!

He clenched his teeth and called Tony Cohen, the vice president of Sprint Company.

And he bluntly asked him.

“Tony, didn’t I tell you I’d compensate you so you wouldn’t be disappointed?”

-What compensation? Oh, you mean giving me some money for the two years of hard work our company did?

“You bastard! Right now, the damages…”

Jack Cruise lowered his voice, thinking that he might be recording.

Tony Cohen was the kind of person who would do that and more.

“Ahem! Forget the nonsense and just listen to one thing.”

-What is it?

“Don’t cross the line here. Let’s just do the deal as we promised.”

The price of the leak was 10 percent of the damages, which was one million dollars.

He was trying to hand over 100,000 dollars as a mediation offer now that the game was over.

It was a waste, but he had to stop him from making a fuss.

Jack Cruise was more greedy than he expected.

-500,000 dollars. If you deposit it by next week, I’ll think about it.

“What? You, are you really going to keep doing this? You know Steve Han won’t take your call. He trusts us completely.”

-Not Steve Han, but there’s someone above him, right? Think about it.

“You crazy bastard! Don’t tell me Paul…”

Tut.

The phone was cut off before Jack Cruise finished his sentence.

“Son of a bitch!”

His face turned red with anger.

Yoo-hyun’s report was refined by Willy Thompson.

Yoo-hyun’s strategy, which had surprised Willy Thompson, was reworked in detail by his hands.

The somewhat idealistic contents were connected organically and transformed into an attractive proposal.

Yoo-hyun was impressed when he received the result.

“He’s really talented.”

He looked very impressive to Yoo-hyun.

On the other hand, Willy Thompson gave all the credit to Yoo-hyun.

-Steve, I only thought about getting the spoils from the fight, but I never thought about bringing Texas and Exxon Mobil into it. How did you come up with such an idea?

Yoo-hyun had nothing to say to him, who stuck out his tongue.

It was an experience that he naturally acquired after rolling around in Hansung for 25 years.

That’s how fierce the internal politics of Hansung was.

Regardless of this fact, Willy Thompson was a great help to Yoo-hyun.

If he hadn’t made the board in the first place, Yoo-hyun would never have gotten the hang of it.

Things went smoothly thanks to his efforts behind the scenes.

‘I have to thank him properly when the work is done.’

He made a vow and sent the organized content to Paul Graham.

Now all the decisions were in his hands.

And a few days later, he got a call from Paul Graham.

Did he like the report?

His voice was much brighter than before.

-Haha! Steve, have you finally got the mind of an investor?

“I’ve had the mind of an investor since I acted as your proxy.”

-No, you didn’t. You only cared about money then. But now you’re acting for the success of the business, and even for the development of the industrial ecosystem. The difference between the two is clear.

Paul Graham was right.

At first, Yoo-hyun approached shale oil from a monetary perspective.

He thought of crushing the opponent with money while helping Jeong Da-hye with her revenge.

He had the idea that he wouldn’t lose anyway.

But his mind changed after he felt her upright heart.