My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 487 The Mansion
As night falls, in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, at the residence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In the pouring rain, a convoy of six black cars slowly drove into the main gate of the mansion courtyard, and then drove along the path towards the white building surrounded by greenery.

Under the eaves of the white building, An Rusong watched the slowly approaching convoy. His tightly pursed lips twitched slightly. He then threw away the half-smoked cigarette in his hand, straightened his black shirt, and took two steps forward to follow Bai Jinjun.

This was his first time visiting the Foreign Minister's residence in Hannam-dong, though he had some recollection of the place from his previous life. In that world, President Yoon, a believer in ghosts and spirits, firmly believed that the Blue House was a place that "brings misfortune to its master." Otherwise, the successive presidents' imprisonment or suicides would be inexplicable. Therefore, after winning the presidential election, he refused to move into the Blue House and instead moved his presidential residence to this location.

However, in the end, it turned out that it was not the Blue House that was "harming the master," but this cursed land at the southern tip of the peninsula.

The convoy slowly drove up to the steps of the white building. First, a dozen guards got out of several vehicles and quickly gathered next to the second vehicle in front. What was particularly eye-catching was that among these guards, there were four female guards with ponytails.

Interestingly, since the situation in South Korea stabilized in the 1950s, female bodyguards have rarely appeared among the security detail of successive presidents. However, this situation changed after Lee Min-bo's victory in the election. Currently, the presidential security office, which has been downgraded to the security department, reportedly has six or seven female bodyguards.

With the guards in place, Li Minbo finally got out of the car and, accompanied by two guards, walked up the steps in front of the building.

A dozen steps away, An Rusong stood behind Bai Jinjun, his gaze skipping over the former's shoulder as he looked at the current president, who was quite controversial in South Korea.

Speaking of which, An Rusong had not seen this "Mr. Qingxi" for some time. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but when he saw him again, he vaguely felt that the president seemed to have aged a lot. Although his hair was dyed black and shiny, the wrinkles on his face, especially at the corners of his eyes, revealed his age.

Moreover, when he came up from the bottom of the steps, An Rusong always felt that he looked tired, as if he hadn't slept well for several days.

Just as An Rusong was secretly observing Li Minbo, the other man looked up at them as he stepped onto the last step. The moment he came into An Rusong's view, his somewhat hunched back seemed to straighten up, and his small eyes, which had been almost closed, widened a bit. Then, a smile appeared on his face.

Instead of staring blankly into the other person's eyes, An Rusong bowed while simultaneously lowering his eyelids to avoid their gaze. Only when he heard footsteps approaching did he raise his head again.

At this moment, Li Minbo had already walked up to him and Bai Jinjun. Before he could speak, the latter said, "Sir, the banquet is ready."

Li Minbo looked at him, nodded, and then gently patted his right upper arm before turning to An Rusong and saying, "Rusong, your company has been making headlines these past two days. Many people have approached me to act as a lobbyist, saying they want to get involved in NGN's next round of financing."

Whether it was a deliberate leak from BlackRock or a ploy by DFJ, the JoongAng Ilbo broke the news the day after Susan Wagner's team arrived in Seoul that BlackRock had bought NGN shares from DFJ for $4 million.

For the past two days, the front pages of major newspapers had been dominated by news about SBS television leaking information about the rehearsal of the opening ceremony of the Chinese Olympics. However, with the exposure of this news, public attention suddenly shifted.

It's worth noting that NGN has been established for less than a year, and when DFJ provided financing to NGN, it paid $50 million in exchange for 20% of NGN's dividend-paying shares.

Now, in such a short time, DFJ has sold the same 20% dividend-paying shares for $400 million. From $50 million to $400 million, how many times is that return on investment?
Money is always one of the most popular topics, and given that Ahn Yeo-song himself is known for trending on social media, it's no surprise that this news has garnered significant attention from the South Korean public.

An Rusong completely believed what Li Minbo said. He could even guess that among those who wanted to rush in and get a share of the pie, there must be some of Li Minbo's own brothers. In fact, it wasn't just Li Minbo; many people had also approached him to discuss connections in the past few days. After all, for many people, NGN was now a huge, honey-sweet cake, and anyone who was qualified to sit at the table was sure to get a good bite.

However, it is precisely because this cake is big and lucrative that no one dares to mess around. This is because this cake attracts not only Koreans but also Americans.

Leaving aside others, take the BlackRock Group negotiation team that came to Seoul this time. Before they came to the United States, they had high-ranking officials from the US government specifically contact them in South Korea to discuss reception arrangements. For example, Treasury Secretary Paulson, who was having a lot of headaches about the economic crisis, was one of them.

Given this reality, who in South Korea would dare to engage in any underhanded tactics like buying NGN's assets at rock-bottom prices? For example, Lee Min-bo took time out of his busy schedule to meet with An Ru-song tonight, also influenced by this matter. "This is good news for me," An Ru-song said with a smile in response to Lee Min-bo's words. "At least it shows that people recognize NGN's future prospects."

His words could be seen as a response to Li Minbo, but upon closer examination, it seems as if he said nothing at all.

However, Li Minbo obviously didn't mind. He was a president, not one of those shallow-minded scoundrels who had never seen the world and didn't know their own worth. He knew when he could lend a hand and when he should remain neutral.

Just like when BlackRock's negotiation team came to South Korea this time, they made such a big show of it, arranging for high-ranking US government officials to pave the way and having the core figures of the group personally lead the team. They also deliberately leaked information to the outside world, making this business negotiation known to the world. Their ultimate goal was not only to enhance the status and prestige of NGN, but also to put pressure on An Rusong, the head of NGN.

Li Minbo is not a politician; he rose to prominence through business, which allows him to discern BlackRock's true intentions. Simply put, this newly emerging behemoth clearly has high hopes for NGN's future, and therefore, they are not satisfied with the 20% dividend stake they acquired from DFJ; they want more.

Therefore, An Rusong is likely to have a headache in the near future; his position as the largest shareholder of NGN may be in jeopardy.

Li Minbo smiled at An Rusong again and gestured for them to come inside to talk.

Afterwards, the group entered the white building and headed straight for the small reception room at the back of the main hall.

As a venue for the South Korean Foreign Minister to meet with foreign guests, this residence does not have a banquet hall, as its function does not include hosting banquets. In An Rusong's previous life, President Yoon moved the presidential residence here for only one reason—it was a quiet place. In fact, not only President Yoon, but also the presidents before him liked the tranquility here, so it was more like a presidential villa.

For tonight's meeting, Baek Jin-jun temporarily converted the small meeting room into a restaurant. The only people dining tonight are Lee Min-bok, Baek Jin-jun, Ahn Yeo-song, and Lee Min-bok's senior administrative secretary, Kim Bo-jun.

In terms of age, Kim Bo-jun is seven or eight years older than Baek Kim-jun, and he has been with Lee Min-bo for a longer time. However, he is good at economic matters, unlike Baek Kim-jun who is more versatile. Therefore, he is not as trusted by Lee Min-bo as Baek Kim-jun.

The small banquet hall had a small dining table, just a rectangular table that could seat eight people. Lee Min-bo sat in the main seat on the right, with Baek Jin-jun and Kim Bo-jun on his left and An Ru-song on his right.

After everyone was seated, Li Minbo rested his wrists on the edge of the table, squinted his small eyes and looked around the table, then looked at An Rusong and asked with a smile, "Rusong, how about having a couple of drinks tonight?"

An Rusong glanced at Bai Jinjun across from him, and seeing that the other looked hesitant to speak, he politely declined, saying, "I think I'd better not drink; I can't hold my liquor."

“Let’s have a couple of drinks,” Li Minbo interrupted him directly, laughing, “Everyone should have a couple of drinks, but don’t drink too much.”

After saying that, he ignored Baek Jin-jun and Kim Bo-jun, who were trying to stop him, and turned to the servant standing at the door, saying, "Bring the wine and the glasses."

As an older man, Li Minbo suffered from various ailments, so the doctor advised him to abstain from alcohol. Those around him also tried their best to prevent him from drinking. However, Li Minbo wasn't one to easily listen to advice, so the effectiveness of his attempt to quit drinking was predictable.

The servant quickly brought up the liquor, but it wasn't red wine; it was spirits.

Li Minbo didn't let the servants and Bai Jinjun do anything. He took the wine bottle himself and enthusiastically poured wine for everyone present, causing the remaining three to stand up, afraid of being impolite.

After the wine was poured, the group sat down again. Li Minbo raised his glass first and drank with the three of them before pursing his lips and saying, "Rusong, you are the main character tonight. I would like to hear your considerations for the future of NGN."

(End of this chapter)