46: Chapter 46 Chain Reaction

The news of Park Yun-jeong's resignation didn't even last the afternoon inside Jins Foods before it spread everywhere. First, the R&D department saw a screenshot of a resignation letter in their chat group, then the marketing department heard from finance that Park Yun-jeong hadn't even asked for severance pay, leaving with only the proceeds from his share transfer. By evening, even the ladies at the factory knew—"Vice President Park is gone; he slammed the table at the President before he left."

Kim Dong-hyun didn't leave his office that day. He had his secretary close the door and forbade anyone from disturbing him. The phone on his desk rang three times, but he didn't answer. Outside the window, the Han River was a hazy gray, and a tour boat drifted slowly past; there was no one on board, likely because operations had been suspended.

It wasn't Park Yun-jeong who truly made him restless. Park Yun-jeong had argued with him many times before; his departure was only a matter of time. What he hadn't expected was Kim Dae-jung.

Kim Dae-jung was the R&D Director of Jins Foods and had been with the company for twenty years, two years longer than Park Yun-jeong. He was a man of few words who didn't join cliques and always sat in the last row during meetings. However, Kim Dong-hyun knew that half of the company's core technology patents were created by the team led by Kim Dae-jung. Logically, such a person should be the least likely to leave.

One morning in mid-April, Kim Dae-jung walked into Kim Dong-hyun's office wearing a dark blue jacket without a tie, holding a kraft paper envelope. When the secretary saw the envelope, her heart skipped a beat—it was a standard resignation envelope.

"Director Kim, what is the meaning of this?" Kim Dong-hyun sat in his chair, neither standing up nor taking the envelope.

"Chairman, I'm tired." Kim Dae-jung placed the envelope on the desk and pushed it toward Kim Dong-hyun. "I want to rest for a while."

Kim Dong-hyun looked down at the envelope without opening it. He remained silent for a few seconds before looking up. "Is it because of Park Yun-jeong? He's gone, so you want to leave too?"

Kim Dae-jung shook his head. "It's not because of him. It's because I don't see a future for the company."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was articulated clearly. "The price war has been going on for two months, and the cash flow is nearly exhausted. You won't listen to anyone's advice. The R&D budget has been cut in half, the marketing budget has also been slashed, and all the money is being used to fill the bottomless pit of the price war. The employees are in a state of panic. My subordinates ask me, 'How much longer can the company last?' and I can't give them an answer."

Kim Dong-hyun's face gradually darkened. "So you want to sell your shares too?"

"Yes. I've already found a buyer."

"Who?"

Kim Dae-jung didn't answer. He looked into Kim Dong-hyun's eyes, remained silent for a few seconds, then gave a slight bow and turned to leave. When the door closed, Kim Dong-hyun heard the steady, unhurried footsteps in the hallway, just like usual, as if the man had only gone out for a smoke and would be back in a moment.

But he knew he wouldn't be.

Kim Dae-jung's share transfer was processed quickly. The buyer was the same as before—the investment company controlled by Choi Jae-won. Kim Dae-jung held a five percent stake, valued at over six billion. On the day of the signing, he wore an old down jacket and ran into Park Yun-jeong in the hallway of the law firm. The two made eye contact, but neither said a word.

Choi Jae-won's stake rose from eight percent to thirteen percent, making him the second-largest shareholder of Jins Foods, second only to Kim Dong-hyun's forty percent. This news caused an uproar within Jins Foods. It wasn't just one person selling, but two, and they sold to the same buyer. What did this imply? It implied that someone was collecting shares behind the scenes.

The discussions in the breakroom shifted from "Why did Vice President Park leave?" to "Who is buying our shares?" Some said Kim Dong-hyun must have arranged it himself, wanting to dilute others through a new issuance; others said no, the buyer was an external investor with no connection to Kim Dong-hyun; still others wondered if Shunyi Foods was behind it.

Kim Dong-hyun also heard these rumors. He ordered the legal department to investigate Choi Jae-won's background. After two days, they only found that Choi Jae-won had several investment companies under his name with scattered holdings and complex funding sources, with no apparent link to Shunyi Foods. But Kim Dong-hyun didn't believe it. He sat in his office, twirling a pen in his hand for a long time.

Meanwhile, things were heating up over at Shunyi Foods.

In mid-April, the first-quarter financial report was released. Zhang Junhao projected the data onto the whiteboard, and the red numbers surged upward—revenue was 120 billion, a 150% increase from last year; net profit was 8 billion, a 200% increase; and their market share moved up another spot from 18th to 17th.

More than twenty people were sitting in the conference room; there weren't enough chairs, so people were standing in the back. Chairman Wang Shunyi stood before the whiteboard without a script or a PPT.

"Everyone, you've all seen the results for the first quarter." He pointed at the numbers. "120 billion in revenue, 8 billion in net profit. This time last year, we were still worrying about an annual sales target of 6 billion. To multiply it so many times in one year isn't because I, Chairman Wang Shunyi, am capable, but because every single person sitting here hasn't been slacking off."

He glanced at Cha In-pyo, who was sitting in the corner. In-pyo had lost weight and had heavy dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes were bright.

"In-pyo, how is the progress on the new products?"

"President, the Cheese fire chicken noodles have completed internal testing and can be launched next month. There's also a spicy rice cake flavored ramen that Dr. Li is formulating; it should be ready in about two weeks."

"Dr. Li," Chairman Wang Shunyi looked toward Lee Chang-ho, "since you arrived, R&D efficiency has improved significantly. Thank you for your hard work."

Lee Chang-ho nodded slightly without saying anything. He had been there for less than two months and had completely overhauled the R&D department's processes. Previously, it took six weeks to release a new product, and now it took eight, but the quality was stable. Chairman Wang Shunyi felt it was worth it.

"Minji, what about the channels?"

Park Min-ji opened her notebook. "The renewal contracts with GS25 and CU have been signed, and the terms are much better than last year. We've also reached an agreement with Homeplus; starting next month, our products will be in their stores nationwide. As for local supermarkets, we've finished the rollout in Busan, Daegu, and Gwangju; Ulsan and Incheon are next."

"Jun-ho, how about the factory?"

Zhang Junhao stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and drew a simple flowchart. "The capacity of the second production base is at full throttle. We're currently running three shifts on two lines, and daily production has exceeded one million packs. The seasoning supply from Gyeongnam Ingredients has also stabilized, and Li Dongxu has signed two new konjac powder suppliers at prices eight percent lower than before."

After listening, Chairman Wang Shunyi turned to face everyone. "The first quarter was well done. But the second quarter needs to be even more aggressive. We need to push our market share further, at least to 15th place. Jins Foods can't hold on anymore; their price war has stopped. Now that they've collapsed, the market share they leave behind is up for grabs for whoever can take it."

After the meeting adjourned, Chairman Wang Shunyi returned to his office, and Zhang Junhao followed him in. He closed the door, pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket, and spread it out on the desk.

"The latest situation at Jins Foods," he said. "The price war has officially stopped, and all products have returned to their original prices. But their cash flow has bottomed out; the money in their accounts can last one more month at most. Kim Dong-hyun has two paths now—either issue more shares or sell the company."

"Additional issuance?"

"Yes. Jins Foods plans to issue two million new shares to raise about thirty billion. If the issuance is successful, the existing shareholders' stakes will be diluted. Choi Jae-won's thirteen percent will drop to around eleven percent, and Kim Dong-hyun's own forty percent will drop to thirty-two percent."

Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at the paper, which was covered in numbers. He thought for a moment and asked, "What does Choi Jae-won say?"

"He said if there's an issuance, he's willing to subscribe. But he has one condition—he wants us to promise that we will prioritize acquiring his Jins Foods shares in the future."

Chairman Wang Shunyi looked up at Zhang Junhao. "Agree to it."

"But the capital needed for the issuance isn't small. To maintain a thirteen percent stake, Choi Jae-won would need to subscribe to at least three hundred thousand shares, which would cost about five or six billion. Does he have that much cash on hand?"

"He does," Zhang Junhao said. "He sold several stocks recently, and there's a lot of cash sitting in his account. He's been waiting for this opportunity."

Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded and walked to the window. Outside was the hazy sky of Seongdong-gu, with tower cranes in the distance turning slowly. If Jins Foods fell, the vacated market share would be carved up by large companies like Nongshim, Samyang, and Ottogi. If Shunyi Foods wanted to grab a piece, its current size wasn't enough.

"Jun-ho, when is Jins Foods's shareholder meeting for the issuance?"

"The tenth of next month."

"Before then, I want to see someone."