AAE -- Wishes Of The Heart

Chapter 164

written by LoveCR2 -- 2005

edited by All-About-AAE -- 2018

 

"It's possible Atwater's entire purpose, from the beginning, was to package MBS as a wedding present" -- Yoon Hyung-Chul

 

 

PYONGCHANG-DONG, SEOUL ...

 

"Another drink, Father?" Joo-Hee asks as she hands the refilled tumblers of Jim Beam to Hyung-Chul and Chairman Yoon Jong-Ki.

 

"I'm fine," Seung-Hwan answers. "Please, sit down and rest a bit. You look tired..."

 

 

Her hostess duties fulfilled for the moment, Joo-Hee eases down onto the plush, leather-upholstered couch with a sigh, glad to be off her feet for a time.

 

"When my Hubby called to say goodnight to the children, he told me he'd be here shortly, with some news," she informs them.

 

"While we're waiting, let's look at some options of how we can beat Atwater," Jong-Ki proposes.

 

"Sorry, I can't help you with that. This afternoon, I signed over my entire holdings to Atwater," Seung-Hwan discloses.

 

"What?!" Hyung-Chul exclaims.

 

"I had no choice. I'd borrowed against the stock to pay for the wedding and this house, and the loan was called," he explains.

 

 

Hearing this, Joo-Hee is upset... "Daddy! You didn't have to go into debt for me!"

 

"You're my only daughter," he replies affectionately. "I wanted to give you the best I could."

 

 

Hyung-Chul is curious, "But why would your lender call the loan on such short notice?"

 

"Unknown to me, a few weeks ago Atwater bought out the loan at a premium," Seung-Hwan recounts the rest of the story. "With the drop in the stock price, I couldn't float another loan to pay him off."

 

"Obviously he'd been planning this for some time," Hyung-Chul observes wryly.

 

"He may be a schemer, but he's a generous one," Seung-Hwan remarks. "He offered me the full value before the crash as payment."

 

"But where did he get that much cash?" Jong-Ki wonders. "The loan to Kim must have drained much of his personal reserves, if our calculations were accurate."

 

 

"I have the answer to that," Sun-Dal speaks from the doorway to the study...

 

Joo-Hee looks up. "You're here already, Dear? Let me get you a drink," she offers, laboriously beginning to get up from the soft cushions.

 

"Stay put, Darling," Sun-Dal declines, "I'll serve myself later, after we discuss what I've found out..."

 

Thankful, Joo-Hee relaxes, and smiles her gratitude back as Sun-Dal takes a seat on the couch beside his wife.

 

 

"So what is it?" Seung-Hwan asks.� "What's Atwater up to?"

 

"Over the past several months, he's discreetly negotiated closed sales, liquidating his assets off the market, building up a war chest of cash," Sun-Dal replies.

 

"That explains how he could buy your shares, Uncle," Hyung-Chul remarks.

 

"And not only that, he's bought out President Kim's cronies, too -- at fire sale prices with the stock dropping so quickly," Sun-Dal continues. "The only major independent stockholders left are the Chairman and the Cha Family Trust."

 

"But why does Atwater want to gain control of MBS?" Jong-Ki posits the question they are all thinking.

 

"I might have the answer to that, too," Sun-Dal states. "Recently, KAIROS filed a statement of intent to sell over 5% of MBS stock. At the same time, another company, Caritas Ltd., also registered to purchase over 5%. I don't think the timing of those two are a coincidence."

 

"I've never heard of this 'Caritas' before," Seung-Hwan says doubtfully. "That's an unusual name."

 

"Apparently it means something like 'dearness' or 'expensive' in Latin," Sun-Dal explains. "Caritas is a not-for-profit holding company, that was registered only last month, with a charter -- I quote -- to foster traditional cultural and historical education, and the investigation and transmission of information about positive current events."

 

"That's an odd purpose," Jong-Ki reflects. "Who is the listed representative?"

 

"An accounting firm, KIC International, based in New York. Their Chief CPA, Ha Jin-Woo, is the primary contact," Sun-Dal replies. "Guess who the major donor to Caritas is?"

 

"Michael Atwater, of course," Hyung-Chul doesn't need to guess, "and the circle closes when Caritas uses the funds to buy up MBS' discounted stock."

 

"Bingo!" Sun-Dal exclaims. "You got it exactly. So in the end, Atwater indirectly controls MBS through Caritas."

 

 

"It still doesn't help us understand Atwater's motivation for doing all this," Joo-Hee chimes in.

 

"I think his motives become clearer when you hear that the new Chairman of Caritas, or I should say Chairwoman, is Jin Sun-Mi," Sun-Dal informs them.

 

"Sun-Mi? But I thought they'd broken up!" Joo-Hee exclaims. "Why would he want to put Sun-Mi in charge of MBS now?"

 

"Maybe the news of their breakup was premature," Sun-Dal states. "I got word that Sun-Mi was just spotted on Atwater's new yacht, the Priceless Pearl, berthed in Dodu harbor at Jeju."

 

"I thought Atwater was still in Busan," Hyung-Chul questions the news.

 

"He was," Sun-Dal affirms. "But after the PI I hired saw the yacht was gone, locals at Suyeong Man told him that Atwater had logged a passage plan to Sasebo, Japan. Just to be sure, I had them watch other major harbors within a day's sail, too."

 

"But Jeju-do is the wrong direction, if he's going to Japan," Jong-Ki points out. "Why go there first?

 

 

"It makes sense if you consider the timing," Hyung-Chul posits as the pieces start falling into place...

 

... 'The reason I want to be an announcer is to present happy news to the world' ...

... 'I have an offer for a year-long sailing tour... a honeymoon trip' ...

... 'What if I'm someone who will do anything to get what she wants? ... I have a destiny to fulfill, too' ...

 

 

Seung-Hwan is intrigued, "Timing?"

 

Hyung-Chul concludes dolefully, "It's possible that Atwater's entire purpose, from the beginning, was to package MBS as a wedding present..."