Soho

Chapter 232: < Protect – Episode 222 – Green Peace [1] >

Alexa spoke seriously.

“What about So Hee?”

“Too common.”

Lila came in with a tackle.

“Then what about Ji Hee?”

“Wait, why does it have to end with a ‘Hee’? I think Ji Hye, Jung Hye, or Eun Hye sound good.”

At that moment, Lee So Hye jumped in.

“Wait, why does it have to end with a ‘Hye’?”

“Ye Sol. Isn’t Ye Sol a pretty name?”

“Stop!”

Jang Seol Hyun put a stop to the non-stop dispute. Everyone she knew was fighting over the name for the daughter that she gave birth to. They didn’t even know if she was a boy or a girl, so they never named her ahead of time, but others didn’t hesitate to express their opinions.

It wasn’t the opinions of the parents.

It wasn’t the opinions of the grandparents either. The ones who were obsessed with naming her were Lee So Hye, Alexa, Ahn Da Sol, and Lila, who were all unmarried with no children.

“Don’t you all have things to do?”

“We pushed it back.”

The superstars hadn’t left the house in days. People might have mistaken them for new mothers.

“Hey! Get out of here!”

In the end, Jang Seol Hyun blew up. She couldn’t get any sleep because of everyone playing with the baby. Ahn Soo Ho left the crowded room and went to the outhouse.

As soon as he got in, Oh Joo Kyung and the other executives of Hosoo Entertainment Group were waiting. There weren’t many ranks within the company, so there weren’t many executives above the president level.

“Sit.”

If this was a fixed meeting, he would have held it at the company building, but today’s matter wasn’t formal.

“You got prettier.”

“I look like a mess.”

Oh Joo Kyung brushed her hair back.

Both Ahn Soo Ho and Oh Joo Kyung were right. Oh Joo Kyung looked like a mess, but she got prettier, too. Lately, she had a lot of free time for herself. She gave off an effortless version of sexy just like Kim Na Hee and Barbara.

“Long time no see, Chae Kyung.”

“Hello, Chairman Ahn.”

At this point, everyone just called him what they wanted. Han Chae Kyung had taken over a position in response to Kim Na Hee’s request, but the owner’s renouncement of his citizenship made things iffy. What was a relief was that they were busy preparing for the beauty pageant with Rosette Group.

The world-class operations committee became the biggest event commissioner in Asia, and as the chairwoman, Kim Na Hee became one of the world’s most renowned female CEOs. She had always been famous through fashion and broadcast, but she was now known by all Koreans.

They also held a comical ugliest man competition just for laughs, and 3 Do brothers made it into the top 10.

Do Kyung Ho

Do Dae Ho

Do Min Ho

Especially Do Min Ho, who became known as the ugliest comedian in Korea. And a footage of Do Min Ho denying that he was ugly went viral online.

Do Kyung Ho and Do Dae Ho was on the top of the ugly list, but since they didn’t make a living off of their faces, they didn’t care. And Mrs. Han, who gave birth to these brothers, turned all the blame on her husband. On one media outlet, she strongly stressed that they got all of their genes from their father.

But the way Ahn Soo Ho saw it, Mrs. Han wasn’t that beautiful either. Just like men, many women were narcissists as well. When they stood in front of the mirror, they saw Won Bin and Lee Na Young.

Kim Woo Jung, Shim Il Kwon, Kim Yoo Sun, and Lee Sun Mi were all gathered. They were called the Hosoo Entertainment group, but not many of the group’s stocks were from entertainment. Most of the stocks came from Hosoo Investments.

“As you already know, Hosoo Investments have pulled out of the Korean stock market. And that will have an impact. I would like to hear your honest thoughts. What do you think?”

In response to Ahn Soo Ho’s stare, Kim Woo Jung coughed and then opened his mouth.

“To be honest, I didn’t know Hosoo Investments had such large funding.”

“I’m sure you didn’t. It was kept a secret.”

Ahn Soo Ho kept his formalities since there were many people.

Aside from Jang Seol Hyun, he didn’t have a direct connection with them. The reason why he chose the entertainment world was because it was the easiest way to improve his recognition. Entertainment worked as long as one had people and money. And the matter of which one was more important depended on how the businessman felt.

“It won’t be a big hit. Thanks to the Emerald Plan, there will be more interest. Can I ask you a question, Chairman Ahn?”

“Of course.”

“What do you think about separated families?”

“Separated families?”

“Yes.”

“I need more background information, Director Lee.”

That was very random. In response, Kim Woo Jung nodded.

“Our country’s popular opinion has drastically changed since your visit to Europe. However, not all Koreans are for the Emerald Plan.”

He was tempted to say he didn’t care, but he swallowed it back down. Seeing how things were operating, he knew that he couldn’t completely ignore Korean sentiment.

“So?”

“The government withdrew the Gaesung Complex card and proposed the separated family card instead. They said that they’ll do their best to help if we cooperate with them.”

“Haha.”

Ahn Soo Ho’s laugh made everyone flinch.

His laugh contained cold air that gave them the chills. There was something he always said to businessmen. He always told them not to be controlled by the rude requests of their surroundings.

‘If they don’t know how to make their own judgments... they have no right to be businessmen.’

Doing well at what one was told to do came with limits. If a person was in a position to make decisions for a company’s future, worrying about what other people thought meant that that person had no guts.

In response to Ahn Soo Ho’s excessive orders and unexpected way of dealing with issues, Oh Joo Kyung adjusted quickly. Rather than praising her, he scolded her way too much. But regardless, she managed to do a good job at all of the duties she was given.

‘My limits ended at the manager.’

Star Manager, Kim Woo Jung.

He was perceived as quite the tycoon who made many famous stars in Korea, but his limits ended there. There was only one difference between Scott Warren and Kim Woo Jung.

‘Network.’

Four marriages and four divorces usually never worked as a network. That didn’t mean Kim Woo Jung wasn’t adventurous. However, he was on the verge of getting kicked out of his own company, so compared to Scott Warren who got married and divorced 4 times, his mindset to challenge was lacking.

As soon as Ahn Soo Ho’s eyes grew cold, Kim Woo Jung shivered.

“Director Kim.”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you go off on your own?”

“Start your own company.”

Everyone looked confused at Ahn Soo Ho’s remark. Was that his way of firing him? Once Ahn Soo Ho noticed the look on everyone’s faces, he realized he forgot to add some extra words.

“You must’ve misunderstood. I don’t mean you’re fired. I’m talking about a start-up within the company.”

“A startup?”

The middle-aged men were taken aback since that word was only used in the fast-changing industries like IT.

“You’re all from the same management, but your specialties are different. Synergy is important, too, but it can come with side effects. So it might be best that you all focus on your own businesses.”

“Oh.”

There were many managers that went off and started their own agency. That was how Shim Il Kwon and Kim Yoo Seon started off.

“We’ll separate corporate bodies, but use the same brand of Hosoo Entertainment. I’ll make the investments.”

“No, Chairman Ahn. There’s no...”

“1 trillion won.”

Kim Woo Jung flinched at the number that came out of Ahn Soo Ho’s mouth. Both Shim Il Kwon and Kim Yoo Sun hesitated. 1 trillion won. Not even large corporations could donate that much, so they couldn’t help but be surprised.

Kim Woo Jung couldn’t believe it.

“1 trillion won? Then the stocks...”

“Since it’ll be a headache if I have most of it... I’ll put half of it under Seol Hyun’s name.”

“Hm.”

It was a tempting offer. It was impossible for anyone to invest 1 trillion won and only expect 50% back. Ahn Soo Ho smirked and pulled the table forward.

“Let’s be honest with each other. It’s been boring for you, hasn’t it?”

Being a boss became tiring after doing it for a year. After listening to Ahn Soo Ho, Shim Il Kwon and Kim Yoo Sun laughed bitterly. They no longer cared about the government’s offer.

“To be honest... it was too easy.”

“It’s true.”

Starting a business with the support of the Daesan family was all too easy in Korea. And after just a year, Hosoo Entertainment Group surpassed Daesan Group. It didn’t make any sense, but they soon understood that Ahn Soo Ho’s influence was great enough to control the UN.

Most were happy if they had a strong ally, but if they were too strong, that happiness turned into fear. Ahn Soo Ho wasn’t at the level of just playing in the entertainment playing field. He destroyed all balances of nature.

“Do we have to decide now, Chairman Ahn?”

“You can think about it.”

“Thank you.”

The meeting ended there. Once everyone left, it was just Oh Joo Kyung and Han Chae Kyung that remained.

“You said there would be no transfer. You lied.”

“There won’t be.”

Ahn Soo Ho shook his head.

“The investment firm is in the process of withdrawal, and once the entertainment is pulled out, all that’s left is the airline and security. If you don’t call that a transfer...”

“It’s not. Those two will become the powers of our company. So I need to pull out the weeds before then.”

He felt uncomfortable with them. Shim Il Kwon was greedy while Kim Yoo Sun was more political than anything. Kim Woo Jung was the best out of them all. But being Jang Seol Hyun’s manager didn’t mean anything to the rest of the world.

“Are you going to at least delay it?”

“We’ll see.”

Following America’s pressure, the cold vibe of North Korea and China’s ban against South Korea’s culture was resurfacing while Japan was also gaining more power. In the middle was Korea, and their future didn’t seem so bright.

“Things will get very busy from now on.”

While the ambitious ones worked toward more power, the world was going to jolt like crazy.

“Oh, marine transport might be added, too, so study that.”

Oh Joo Kyung was furious at how casually Ahn Soo Ho said that. Her head almost exploded studying broadcasting after the takeover of HBS, and this time, it was marine transport. She didn’t know if she was a manager or a student.

Ahn Soo Ho accepted Issac and J-Law’s opinion and founded the Grand Circle. What was surprising was that they were aiming for the world’s truth. It sounded like a cult, but they didn’t enforce money offerings from believers.

‘I’m not the one building the desert city.’

The religious freak still wanted to build a church grander than the pyramid. But they weren’t about deluding the world and deceiving the people. This circle had always been an outstanding group. To be frank, if they needed money, they could easily rob a bank because it wasn’t so hard to manipulate 0s and 1s on the computer.

“Come up with a guideline as soon as you get to work.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Oh Joo Kyung sighed but didn’t resist. Ahn Soo Ho then looked back at Han Chae Kyung and sighed.

“You always give me difficult homework.”

There was nothing easy about the Han Chae Kyung case and Kim Na Hee’s request. He considered declining, but it was hard since he received so much help with his wife. He could have rejected it, but there was no reason to cause unwanted tension.

“Tell her I said okay.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle.”

“No need for apologies. When’s the departure?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

Ahn Soo Ho clicked his tongue.

“I’m going to get scolded for this.”

He should have been a slave, let alone leave a wife and newborn baby alone at home while going all over the place.

‘Of course, Seol Hyun would understand...’

Just as she wanted, they named the baby with the first letter of each of their names, which made her name, “Soo Hyun”.

‘Ahn Soo Hyun.’

It was a very common name, but what could they do? Once Ahn Soo Ho left the outhouse and returned to the house, he went back to the room that was now quiet and empty. As soon as he reached out his hand, Jang Seol Hyun smiled and handed him the baby blanket.

The baby opened its eyes at times.

She started to look beautiful.

“Ahn Soo Hyun. Your name is now Ahn Soo Hyun, my daughter.”

He hoped she would grow up to be as beautiful as her mother.

< Protect – Episode 222 – Green Peace [1] >The end.