Chapter 168: Score
Chapter 168: Score
The disclosure materials for the large-scale M&A were released simultaneously in both the United States and South Korea.
The size of the deal was a staggering 5 trillion won.
It was the largest exit in the history of Korean startups.
Naturally, the business reporters combed through the disclosure materials like hyenas.
Then, while reviewing the dense supplementary documents, one business reporter paused.
“Ryu Sunho...?”
He spotted one familiar name under the angel investor section.
But he soon brushed it off as nothing important.
“What’s so special about this name? These people are all incredible.”
He assumed it was just someone with the same name.
That made sense, because there was no way he could imagine that an actor barely in his early twenties would be an early investor in a company involved in a massive 5-trillion-won M&A deal.
But as he read through the English-language disclosure submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and cross-checked it, a growing sense of unease crept over him.
[Date of Birth: 20XX.XX.XX]
The birth year stated in the materials.
For an angel investor, it was a remarkably young age.
At that moment, the reporter sensed something was off and hurriedly typed “actor Ryu Sunho” into the search bar.
“......!”
The age matched exactly.
A chill ran all over his arms in an instant.
His heart started pounding.
With trembling hands, he immediately called a colleague from the entertainment desk.
“Hey, it’s me. I need to ask you something. Do you happen to know where actor Ryu Sunho lives?”
“He lives in S Apartments around Jamsil, or that’s what I heard. Why all of a sudden?”
“Holy shit...”
The residence matched too.
At this point, it was beyond the level of coincidence.
The name Ryu Sunho was not exactly common.
In that area, at that age, with that name, there was probably only one person.
This was not a namesake. It had to be the Ryu Sunho he knew.
“Did something happen?”
“I-I’ll call you back later!”
The man hung up, and his gaze returned to the monitor.
Now his shock turned into analysis.
When exactly did he invest?
Estimating roughly, it was only about six months after Neural Bridge had established its corporation.
And at that time, Ryu Sunho was—
Tap tap tap—
He searched Ryu Sunho’s filmography on the keyboard.
...That was when he was only just starting to rise.
It was around the time he had begun making his face known through the Mate beverage ad and Haunted Detective.
His income back then would not have been small, but it could not have been so abundant that he could casually throw around hundreds of millions of won.
And he’s not from a rich family. He said his parents are ordinary farmers in the provinces.
If that was the case, then did it mean Ryu Sunho had gone all-in with almost all the money he had earned into an unknown startup with no name recognition?
That was insane.
Back then, Neural Bridge had been a nameless venture company.
Most investors had not even looked at it twice.
What on earth did he see in it? Had he just invested recklessly without knowing anything?
No, that did not seem likely.
Hadn’t Ryu Sunho shown enough by now?
He was absolutely not some naive young man.
For someone like him to foolishly throw away money he had bled to earn did not add up.
Then...
There was only one conclusion.
He had seen and judged something before anyone else could.
It meant he had monstrous investment instincts.
What’s the return rate, exactly...?
The reporter tapped away on his calculator.
He compared the company’s initial valuation to the current acquisition amount.
And when the number came out, he could hardly believe his eyes.
“T-two thousand five hundred percent...! Jesus...!”
The curse burst out of the reporter’s mouth.
At that moment, Seo Jiyeon, the entertainment-desk colleague he had called earlier, walked over holding coffee.
“Sunbae, what’s going on?”
[Ryu Sunho Revealed as an Early Investor in Neural Bridge... 2,500% Return Jackpot?]
[A Genius Actor, Apparently Also a Genius Investor? Ryu Sunho’s Unusual Foresight Becomes a Hot Topic]
[Will Ryu Sunho Become the Icon of “Young and Rich”?]
The news that an American giant corporation had acquired a Korean startup.
That alone was big enough to dominate the front page of the business section.
But when the name of the era’s top star, Ryu Sunho, got tied into it, the ripple effect exceeded imagination.
“Assistant Manager Kim, did you see the article? They’re saying Ryu Sunho made tens of billions through investments.”
“I did. Wow... I seriously couldn’t focus on work at all. Two thousand five hundred percent—does that even make sense?”
“At first I thought it was a false report. It was just too unbelievable.”
“No, but he’s an actor. When did he even find a hidden gem like that and invest in it?”
“That’s probably why they call him a genius. I feel grateful if I make even a few percent from stocks...”
Among office workers, lunch break conversations all started and ended with Ryu Sunho.
Online communities were also in complete shock.
Holy shit, Ryu Sunho was an early investor in Neural Bridge?
Wow... Sunho, just how much farther are you going to get from me... I can’t even look up at you anymore.
This is insane... If he invested several hundred million and got 2,500%, then how much money did he actually make..?
⌞That’s basically like winning first prize in the lottery hundreds of times;;
His eye for things is perfect too... It wasn’t just that he had a good eye for choosing projects.
⌞With eyes like that, no wonder he never got close to a druggie like Seo Juhakㅋㅋㅋ His judgment of people is dead accurate too.
Ryu Sunho just got another title added.
Acting genius
Advertising genius
Investment genius (new!)
⌞No. 1 Face genius (most important)
⌞Ah rightㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I forgot the most important one ㄳㄳ
While reactions mixed with admiration and envy poured out, the person involved, Ryu Sunho, quietly checked the articles at home and muttered,
“I didn’t expect it to be disclosed this specifically...”
Korean reporters really were terrifying.
How did they find out this kind of news and spread it this quickly?
As he made a mental note to be even more careful about how he moved from now on, he looked at the system window floating before him.
【Life Score target achieved!】
【From now on, the value for Financial Success will be displayed】
【Professional Achievement: ??/100】
【Financial Success: 90/100】
【Relationships: ??/100】
【Self-Actualization: ??/100】
【Happiness Index: ??/100】
So once the assessed value of my assets passes roughly 100 billion won, it counts as having reached the target.
I thought I had earned quite a lot in my previous life too, but in this life the scale is different.
But if that’s the case, then depending on fluctuations in my assets, could the score drop below 90 again?
Money was fluid.
That was a fully possible scenario.
Still, it’s not like I’m going to waste money on nonsense.
I already knew how to keep my assets working for me, so it was not a major concern.
If anything, I could just think of it as motivation for asset management.
Bzzzz—
The phone on the desk kept vibrating without pause.
Maybe because the issue was so explosive, calls and messages were flooding in from all directions.
Even old classmates I had only brushed past briefly, people whose names I barely remembered, were reaching out to ask how I was doing.
But...
more people than expected were openly asking to borrow money.
The closer ones were actually more cautious, while the lighter acquaintances found it easier.
They would go on and on, pouring out their pitiful circumstances in detail, but—
...we’re not actually close enough for that, are we?
I did not know whether people had formed the image that I had suddenly become filthy rich, but to me, that money was just as precious.
My Relationships score might indeed be low at 51, but—
I had no desire to buy relationships with money.
No, more importantly, I don’t think lending people money would even raise the score.
The moment I started lending money easily, they would not see me as someone they were grateful to.
They would see me as an easy mark.
Actually, maybe this is for the best.
Thanks to the article, it felt as though my relationships were being naturally pruned.
They say a person’s true nature shows in front of money.
I could vaguely see what kind of intentions people had when they approached me.
It was naturally filtering out who deserved more care in my relationships and who should be cut off.
Still...
My parents have not contacted me at all.
Maybe they had not heard the news yet.
Or maybe they were deliberately keeping their distance because they thought it would burden me.
In that case, it’d be better if I go visit them first.
I had not seen them for quite a while anyway, always using being busy lately as an excuse.
This was a good chance to go down to my hometown with gifts in hand.
The promotional schedule for Mueon:ga had wrapped up by now, and the film’s theatrical run was almost over too.
Ryu Sunho’s story crossed the Pacific and became an interesting piece of gossip in Hollywood entertainment news as well.
GETA was a giant big tech company that attracted a great deal of attention even in the United States.
A company like that had acquired a Korean startup for a huge sum, and a Korean actor who had recently caused a sensation at the Cannes Film Festival was included as an early investor.
Anyone would find that intriguing.
On top of that, the signs surrounding Mueon:ga at the North American box office had recently begun to look unusual.
It was already drawing cinephile interest because of the Cannes news.
And for American audiences, who notoriously hated reading subtitles, the unusual premise of a film without dialogue was being received positively.
As a result, the general public was beginning to bite as well.
And so, around the time the name “Ryu Sunho” had started appearing often enough in tabloids, in a workshop somewhere in Los Angeles, director Quentin Marino was snorting in frustration.
“You absolute idiot!”
He was staring at an entertainment magazine with Ryu Sunho’s face printed huge across the cover.
But the curse was not aimed at Ryu Sunho.
It was self-reproach.
“Why didn’t I meet him and talk about the role! I went all the way to Cannes! I got too distracted drinking champagne!”
He slammed his fist against his thigh.
At the center of the desk lay a thick stack of manuscript pages.
Scrawled roughly across the title page was the name:
Check Mate
His long-awaited finished script for his next film.
He had only enjoyed the thrill of completion for a moment before realizing, too late, a fatal mistake.
He had given Ryu Sunho absolutely no concrete hint about the character in this film.
In truth, it would not be too late to tell him once the film was officially confirmed and entered pre-production.
But this time was different.
“Damn it... To pull off one of those personalities, action is essential! And not just ordinary fistfighting, either. It needs the martial arts of a highly trained killing machine!”
Quentin paced the room.
“It’ll take at least three months just to build the body, and six months to learn the martial arts! If he rushes into preparation late, when the hell are we supposed to shoot the movie?”
Quentin had been trapped in script prison for a long time.
Because of that, he was now desperate to get out onto the set and pick up the camera as soon as possible.
His whole body felt itchy.
He needed to contact him and tell him right now.
But how?
Ah! Right, there was that!
He remembered the Instagram account he had used to send Ryu Sunho a DM.
But when he ambitiously tried to log in, a red warning window stabbed into his eyes.
[This account has been deactivated]
[Reason: Repeated reports of impersonation]
“What the—!”
Quentin’s hand trembled.
It was telling him to go through this and that verification process to restore the account, but for someone completely clueless about social media, it was difficult and irritating.
“What kind of idiot reported me as an impersonator! I’m me, damn it!”
Just as Quentin was wrestling with the tiny phone screen while snorting angrily, a call came in from his friend James.
“What!”
“Wow, why are you in such a foul mood again today?”
“I’m busy right now! I have to deal with this goddamn verification.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I figured you’d like this news.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll send you a message, so check the link. There’s something very interesting in it.”
When Quentin opened the link James had sent, a video popped up.
It looked like paparazzi footage shot on the beach in Cannes, France.
“...Oh?”
Suddenly, Ryu Sunho appeared in the video.
And in a form Quentin had never expected at all.