Instalink (2)
Chae Eunchae strode into Makers with a look of grim resolve. The receptionist recognized her at once and offered a greeting.
"Hello. What brings you in to—"
"Where's Jaseung oppa?"
Chae Eunchae cut the woman off mid-sentence, her voice tight with impatience.
"Pardon? The CEO isn't in his offi—"
"He's in the office, you said?"
"No—you'd need to make a separate appoint—"
But Chae Eunchae was already heading for the CEO's suite. She whipped her head around, fixed the staff with a terrifying glare, and delivered her warning.
"Don't follow me. If you follow me, I swear I won't let it go!"
This is so humiliating!
Fleeing the receptionist at a near-run, Chae Eunchae dropped to her knees the moment she reached the office door. Then she shouted with everything she had.
"Please take me on as a VIP partner! Please!"
A murmur of voices rose. Employees crowded into the hallway. For them, this was the most entertaining spectacle imaginable—except—
"Um, I'm terribly sorry, but the CEO isn't in today."
The words hit Chae Eunchae like a bolt from a clear sky. She sprang to her feet in shock. The speaker was the same receptionist from the desk.
"W-what? You just said he was in the office!"
"No—I said he wasn't in the office…"
"…"
"…"
Chae Eunchae's face flushed scarlet. The receptionist fought desperately not to laugh.
"He's out meeting the fund's investors. He's booked with external appointments all afternoon…"
I have to do it all over again!!!
Lee Jaseung reviewed the plan one more time.
We've already secured Instalink. Now I need to move the fund.
The one-trillion-won Facenote Fund.
Obviously, that trillion wasn't his money. It belonged to the investors.
Which meant that to put the fund in motion, he had to persuade those investors and win their consent for shareholder action.
That was another reason this deal mattered so much.
Right after the acquisition, Facenote's stock will fall.
Instalink was still a company with zero revenue.
And Facenote was about to acquire that company for a billion dollars—roughly 1.2 trillion won.
For the mobile pivot, we need bold, long-term investment!
That was the CEO's view.
Shareholders and the board, however, erupted in fury.
You're buying a zero-revenue company for a billion dollars?
The stock hasn't even recovered its IPO price, and you're spending a billion?
Management is running the company however it likes! Why bother going public at all?
The CEO ignored every objection and pushed the deal through.
Because he holds fifty-eight percent of the voting rights.
Thanks to the dual-class share structure, his control was absolute.
No matter how hard the shareholders protested, no matter how fiercely the board resisted, nothing could stop his decision.
And so, immediately after the merger, the stock plunged.
It wouldn't be the catastrophic fifty-percent collapse of the previous year, but a short-term drop of ten to twenty percent was unavoidable.
The problem was this:
The fund I manage will have to absorb that drop as well.
An ordinary fund manager would explain it like this:
The CEO holds absolute control of the company, so we have no choice but to follow his lead. It's the right call in the long run—let's ride out the short-term decline.
And most investors would accept it, however reluctantly.
That was the ordinary response of an ordinary fund.
But the fund he ran had to be exceptional in every respect.
So what was the move?
Reframe it.
If the drop is going to happen anyway, we lead it.
Lee Jaseung immediately began meetings with the major investors.
The first was with Seoseong Securities, which had committed the largest share of capital.
Representative Seo received him with a mixture of wariness and curiosity.
"It's been a while, Mr. Lee. You said you had some plan involving Facenote?"
"Yes. I intend to engage in shareholder activism at Facenote. As a major shareholder, I want to propose an acquisition."
"We're going to propose an acquisition?"
"Why do you think Facenote's IPO collapsed so spectacularly last year?"
At the mention of the Facenote nightmare, a flicker of discomfort crossed Seo's face and vanished.
"Because they were trapped on desktop. Which is why they've been accelerating the mobile pivot lately. So this acquisition is related to that, I take it."
"Yes. Chae Partners approached us with a proposal—what if Facenote acquired Instalink?"
The name Chae Partners made Seo's brow furrow.
"Chae Partners made a big noise about buying three hundred million dollars of Facenote stock and then simply vanished. And now you want me to help them?"
"Representative Chae wants to make up for that. She says this is her chance to deliver a clear profit opportunity to the fund's investors."
"An opportunity?"
Seo snorted.
Still the same gift for packaging a pitch.
How many favors had he handed Lee Jaseung after falling for that silver tongue?
This time, he would not be so easily taken in.
And yet—
"Facenote is prepared to go as high as a billion dollars to acquire Instalink."
"What? A billion dollars? Then Facenote's earnings—"
The moment the first bait hit the water, Seo bit down hard.
Lee Jaseung smiled with quiet significance.
"Earnings will deteriorate, of course. In the short term, the market will react negatively. Volatility in the stock will be considerable."
Seo understood perfectly.
The stock was going to fall.
And the investment opportunity that created was one Seo could exploit personally.
Coming from the man who had shorted Facenote into the ground the last time, the suggestion was irresistible.
Lee Jaseung cast the second bait.
"Facenote's management knows full well this decision will provoke a shareholder revolt. But what if major shareholders like us stepped forward first and backed it? No—more than backing it. What if we participated in the deal from the very beginning?"
"We wouldn't just be fund investors. We could forge a deeper partnership with Facenote."
"Exactly. A partnership like that would give us a significant edge the next time we invest in the tech sector."
Seo grasped the full implication.
Most of Korea's major securities firms were tied to conglomerates. Seoseong Securities itself moved according to the interests of the Seoseong Group.
If we build a good relationship with Facenote early, it'll help Seoseong Group's global businesses down the line.
Already halfway sold, Seo ran the numbers.
I get to make some money myself, and the firm gets a foothold with Facenote. The stock will dip in the short term, but we already cleaned up last year's losses—no hit to the books. And once Instalink is acquired, the stock will climb eventually. Which means more chances to buy on the way down…
He knew Lee Jaseung was a dangerous man.
His mind shouted at him to stay on guard, but no matter how he turned it over, the proposal had nothing but upside.
At last, Seo made his decision.
"You can count Seoseong Securities as on board."
Lee Jaseung arrived in Silicon Valley.
It was his first overseas trip since founding Makers.
He had prepared meticulously over the past two weeks.
Starting with Seoseong Securities, he had met the major investors and secured their mandates for the deal. He had also made first contact with Facenote's side.
CEO Mark Zucker will attend in person. We'll see you at the gala.
And then the day of the tech gala arrived.
That evening, Lee Jaseung and Chae Eunchae climbed into the limousine sent by the hosts. Throughout the ride, Chae Eunchae kept stealing glances at him until their eyes finally met.
Lee Jaseung sighed.
"If you have something to say, just say it."
"About that bet from before…"
"Bet?"
He looked at her with mild confusion at the mention of a wager already past.
He hadn't been present that day, but the staff had told him later. They had thoroughly enjoyed Chae Eunchae's little performance.
"You already did it at the office, I hear."
Catching the implication that it was already done, Chae Eunchae's face brightened.
"Right? I did it properly, didn't I? I was half-afraid you'd make me do it again just because you didn't see it yourself."
Lee Jaseung gave a dry laugh.
She had kept her promise. The staff had gotten an entertaining show out of it, and it had done something for office morale. She had done her part.
"What a thing to worry about. Is there any pleasure I'd gain from watching that?"
"No. Of course not."
The limousine began to slow. Beyond the window, a lavishly decorated hotel came into view.
The Tech Interactive Gala.
The moment they stepped inside, the deal they had been preparing would finally take on the weight of reality.
"Remember. I handle Facenote. You handle Instalink."
"And after the gala, at the after-party, we connect the two sides naturally. Right?"
"Right. Let's go in."
Thanks to their VIP invitations, the two of them were guided through a private entrance. Past a special corridor marked off by red velvet ropes, the VIP section at the front of the stage opened before them.
Silicon Valley's heavyweights were already settling into their seats.
From the big tech companies, it was mostly executives in attendance. From the unicorn startups, the founders themselves had come.
Then someone spotted them and approached.
More precisely—spotted Chae Eunchae, not Lee Jaseung.
"Oh, the party girl from last time?"
At the unexpected nickname, Lee Jaseung turned a slow, pointed stare on Chae Eunchae. She pretended not to notice.
"Goodness. How did a Confucian girl like me end up with a nickname like that?"
"Your grandfather would be so proud."
"I may have… gone to a few parties. A little more than a few. But it was all networking! See? It's already paying off!"
The man who had spoken to her was an executive from Sequoia Capital.
Chae Eunchae finally placed him and played along.
"You're with Sequoia Capital, aren't you? I believe we met at that Sand Hill Road party."
She also remembered getting thoroughly torn apart that night.
Sequoia Capital.
The firm leading Instalink's Series B round—and now their competition as well.
Your turn to take a hit!
With that thought, Chae Eunchae introduced Lee Jaseung.
"This is Representative Lee Jaseung. He's a third-generation heir of Korea's Yuseong Group, and he currently runs a family office called Makers. He's also one of tonight's major donors."
"A pleasure. Lee Jaseung."
The Sequoia executive's gaze sharpened for an instant.
Korea. Family office. Chaebol third generation. And a donor.
It meant deep pockets, a solid Asian network, and a clear intent to plant a flag in Silicon Valley—enough intent to make a substantial gala donation.
Worth building a relationship with.
"Pleasure to meet you. Interesting to see a Korean family office taking an interest in Silicon Valley. May I ask which sectors you're investing in?"
"Primarily the tech sector."
"Ah, tech—that's Sequoia's specialty. Sounds like we might have quite a bit to talk about."
As they conversed, more heavyweights filtered into the VIP section.
Facenote's CEO had also arrived at some point and taken a seat near Lee Jaseung. Recognizing each other, they exchanged a brief nod.
Then the stage lights began to dim.
The signal that the gala was about to begin.
A well-known technology journalist stepped up as host.
"Distinguished guests, welcome to the Tech Interactive Gala. We have some very special auction items prepared for you this evening."
As the auction proper got underway, the energy in the hall climbed another notch.
The Sequoia executive leaned in toward Lee Jaseung.
"Do you attend charity auctions like this often?"
"I go to art auctions from time to time, but this is my first tech auction."
"Ah, a collector of art. Then tonight should be a special experience. You'll be watching the history and future of the tech industry change hands."
And so it was.
True to a Silicon Valley auction, the lots ran the full spectrum.
Historical IT artifacts—
"A fragment of the original C language source code, written by Dennis Ritchie himself. Opening bid: fifty thousand dollars!"
"Fifty-five thousand!"
"Sixty thousand!"
"Sold for sixty thousand dollars!"
Not only relics of the past, but opportunities for the future were for sale as well.
"Next up: an immersion pass for a startup incubator program! A three-month experience!"
This time, young founders fought a heated bidding war.
"Five thousand!"
"Eight thousand!"
"Sold for twelve thousand dollars!"
And then they sold access itself.
"Now for a very special item! A one-on-one mentoring session with a Sequoia Capital executive. Three hours of investment strategy and business advice! Opening bid: fifty thousand dollars."
"Fifty thousand!"
"Fifty-five thousand!"
"Sold for eighty thousand dollars!"
Nearly a hundred million won for a few hours of someone's time.
"Wow, I'm jealous. How much is that per hour?"
Chae Eunchae was openly envious, running the numbers, and the Sequoia executive's pride swelled.
"For Miss Chae, I could make the time free of charge."
"That won't work—I'm too expensive."
The Sequoia executive laughed heartily. Then he turned his attention back to Lee Jaseung.
"You're not bidding, Representative? It is a charity gala, after all. Why not make a grand donation?"
A subtle challenge threaded through the words. Lee Jaseung gave a faint smile and set the auction catalog down on the table.
"As it happens, I've been waiting."
"Oh? So you have something particular in mind."
Lee Jaseung pointed toward the stage.
"Yes. There it is now."
Every gaze swung toward the stage. Chae Eunchae, who had been listening with her ears pricked, took one look at the next lot and her mouth fell open.
Because—
"Next, a truly exceptional item. The world's first synthetic rubber prototype, produced by DuPont in 1931. A witness to the historic moment when humanity created a synthetic material to replace natural rubber. The manufacturing number has been verified against the laboratory records of the time. It was preserved for generations by the DuPont founding family before passing, after the Second World War, into the hands of a Chinese collector…"
…it was the rubber ball Lee Jaseung himself had donated.
Chae Eunchae asked with her eyes.
No. You wouldn't. Would you?
Lee Jaseung chewed that look up without a flicker of expression and turned smoothly to the Sequoia executive.
"That's the piece I'm interested in. What do you think?"
"Oh, that one has my interest as well. The first synthetic rubber—that's significant scientific history. You could call it the origin of Silicon Valley's spirit of making the impossible possible. Will you be bidding, Representative?"
"Yes, I intend to."
"Then we should have a fine contest! Well, in that case I'll have to get serious and—"
But the auctioneer's next words left the Sequoia executive frozen in confusion.
"This precious item was donated personally by Representative Lee Jaseung of Makers. We thank him for his noble contribution!"
"???"
The way the Sequoia executive looked at Lee Jaseung shifted—into the stare of a man confronting something he simply could not comprehend.
…Why?
Chae Eunchae whispered, equally stunned.
"Oppa, are you insane? Why are you buying back something you donated?"
"Because it's mine."
This lunatic ball fetishist!
This work is a work of fiction. All persons, groups, place names, and events appearing herein are entirely fictitious and bear no relation to any real counterpart. Professional knowledge described in the narrative has also been restructured and adapted for the story and may differ from actual information.