Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Translation: Godtl
Enflix was a company that had achieved tremendous success in the United States.
Just two years ago, its market capitalization had reached a staggering $30 billion.
"But ever since Enflix's founder, Rod Baistings, declared his ambition to expand Enflix into 200 countries, the stock price began to plummet."
From investors' perspectives, it seemed Enflix had become overly intoxicated by its success in the U.S. and Canada.
"Even as the stock price fell, Rod Baistings pushed forward like a bulldozer. The problem was that starting last year, the Chinese stock market bubble burst, causing the entire market to gradually sink."
The collapse of China's bubble.
The Greek default.
Stumbagen, the Paris terror attacks.
Brexit, and more.
One after another, events shook the international markets.
"As a result, Enflix's stock price, which had once reached $30 billion, dropped to $20 billion. And now, with Deutsche Bank's bankruptcy causing all financial institutions to pull their investments, the $10 billion threshold has collapsed for the first time."
The bigger issue was that loans had also frozen up.
The current Deutsche Bank crisis was being compared in the media to a second Lehman Brothers.
Though other European companies were swiftly absorbing Deutsche Bank to prevent it from reach that level of disaster, human psychology being what it is...
No matter how much they tried to mitigate the shock, to investors, this situation was nothing short of terrifying.
"A market cap that was $30 billion has now collapsed to $10 billion... no, $9 billion."
Enflix must have been dumbfounded.
It wasn't as if they had made some colossal mistake—their business had been caught in the collapse of the global financial market.
"From the investors' perspective, in an economic downturn like this, people probably don't seem likely to keep paying monthly subscriptions for Enflix."
"So they need an emergency cash infusion?"
"Yes. They say they urgently need $1 billion. That's why they're scrambling to find investors left and right. They had everything prepared for their global expansion, but the loans and investments they were counting on have vanished."
If Deutsche Bank hadn't gone under, Enflix would have smoothly achieved its global expansion by now.
But the financial ice age triggered by Deutsche Bank's bankruptcy had frozen Enflix's global ambitions in their tracks.
The shockwaves from that had dragged their market cap all the way down to $9 billion.
"What happens if they don't get the infusion?"
"Global expansion would be out of the question. They might have to shut their doors immediately. And $1 billion is really the bare minimum. Enflix tried to expand too aggressively all at once. Their ambition was excessive. That's why this crisis has left them on the verge of collapse."
I stared intently at Kang Ji-hwan, Vice President of Gwangun Securities—the backbone of our company.
Not only did he speak formally to someone much younger than him, but he had also coolly surrendered the seat that rightfully should have been his.
He could have followed the Chairman to Gwangun Group's holding company and taken a vice chairman position, but he insisted his place was here and stayed.
That wasn't all.
When I was just a department head, he spoke casually with me, but the moment I became CEO, he started treating me with such deference that it became almost burdensome.
He firmly maintained that a company shouldn't judge people by age, and thanks to that, no other executives dared to speak informally or relax their posture just because I was young.
I was truly grateful to him.
The reason he had come all the way to Gwangun Tower today was precisely because of the Enflix investment opportunity. The moment Enflix heard we were interested, their founder had immediately boarded a flight to Korea.
"How much are you considering for the investment?"
"From your perspective, Vice President, what would be an appropriate amount?"
"May I speak frankly?"
"Yes."
"To be honest, I'm opposed to investing in Enflix."
"And your reason for thinking that way?"
"Both their overly ambitious global expansion plans and the fact that this isn't simply buying and selling stocks—it's a capital infusion through paid-in capital increase. The risks are too great."
For Enflix to receive investment funds from us, a paid-in capital increase was one option.
We could simply provide a loan, but ultimately what our securities firm wants isn't loan interest but returns from investments, right?
Because that yields much higher profit margins.
However, since it's literally investment capital, if the company fails, our money disappears along with it.
It was precisely because of this fear that companies who had previously invested in Enflix were now withdrawing one by one.
"But the Chairman has already made up his mind to invest, hasn't he?"
When I reviewed the materials about Enflix,
I saw a radiant golden glow emanating from it.
This isn't some small-scale investment to nibble at.
Based on experience, this will be an investment boasting tremendous returns.
"Then wouldn't $1 billion be appropriate? It's exactly the scale Enflix wants too."
I nodded slowly.
Truthfully, I still hadn't grasped how much we should allocate as investment funds.
"Let me say this again—I believe investing in Enflix would be a loss."
Moreover, these concerns weren't unique to the Vice Chairman.
Employees in the Prime Department were also voicing their apprehensions.
After all, Enflix was currently a company that wouldn't be surprising if it shut its doors any moment.
"First, listen to what they have to say and reconsider carefully."
"Yes. Since they're coming all the way here, we should at least meet them."
And so we waited for Rod, Enflix's founder who was said to be flying to Korea on the earliest flight.
For this serious investment meeting, several executives including the Vice Chairman and some Prime Department employees had already gathered in the conference room.
Before long, Rod stepped into our Gwangun Tower along with his executives.
"I'm Rod Baistings, CEO of Enflix."
And then I saw it.
"...!"
In that instant, Rod's golden face shone so brightly it left an afterimage in my eyes.
＊＊＊
Enflix founder Rod Baistings.
He had achieved success by expanding Enflix's streaming business into Canada with the U.S. as its primary market.
There, he gained confidence.
And realizing that the global market would soon become a goldmine, he began expanding his business in earnest.
But the market trends were... ambiguous, shall we say?
First, the Chinese bubble burst, followed by the Greek default and then Brexit.
Already, his bold statements about aggressively expanding into global markets had unsettled investors, and now these events were piling up all at once.
Yes. Up to that point, it was manageable.
Even if stock prices were falling now, this was merely the calm before the storm.
Once Enflix went global, it would silence all those mocking him.
But this time, the situation was different.
Deutsche Bank—one of Europe's top three financial institutions—had collapsed.
As a result, all investors began withdrawing their funds, and additional loans and investments completely dried up.
Just when they were one step away from global expansion—this was the worst possible timing imaginable. Then came news of investment interest from a company he'd never heard of before.
"Gwangun Securities?"
It was a company name he'd never encountered.
"I don't know the details either, but rumors say they have substantial capital. Moreover—though this isn't confirmed either—they supposedly made a fortune from Deutsche Bank's collapse."
And now this unknown entity suddenly wants to invest in Enflix?
But this was no time to be picky.
The moment Rod Baistings heard about their investment interest, he immediately flew to Korea.
The truth was, they had to grab onto anyone willing to give them money right now—by the coattails if necessary. Otherwise, Enflix would have no choice but to shut its doors for good.
So, without even properly researching Gwangun Securities, they had rushed straight to the company.
"Wow... Is this really the Gwangun Securities building?"
Rod swallowed dryly as he stared up at the 555-meter-tall skyscraper.
To think Gwangun Securities was here.
At first, he'd been a little wary—given how well the company was doing lately, he wondered if it might be some kind of scam. But now, seeing this, his doubts instantly evaporated.
"Please come this way."
Following the employees' guidance, Rod made his way to the conference room.
There, he would meet the potential savior who might just rescue his company.
"I'm Jeong Jin-ho, the CEO of Gwangun Securities."
At first, Rod had assumed the person next to Jeong Jin-ho was the company's representative.
But to think this young man was the CEO...
Well, it wasn't that strange. Even on Wall Street, young CEOs weren't exactly uncommon.
Besides, age didn't matter right now.
They had to secure the investment, no matter what.
The amount they desperately needed was $1 billion.
But even $100 million would do—he was prepared to persuade the other party as much as possible.
"Then let me explain the business direction Enflix is pursuing."
Rod, along with his accompanying executives, passionately laid out their case for Enflix's global expansion and its future prospects.
They even offered unprecedented terms.
They would issue new shares to grant equity and provide special preferred stock dividends.
In other words, they were offering not just a stake in management and special preferred shares, but also a share of the global profits.
"..."
Rod studied CEO Jeong Jin-ho, who held full authority over today's investment decision.
No matter how much they pitched their vision and direction, Jeong Jin-ho didn't seem particularly interested.
He occasionally scribbled something in his notebook, but it almost looked like he was just doodling out of boredom.
And there was something else strange—several times, he had glanced at Rod and frowned.
What was that about?
Had he rushed straight from the plane looking too disheveled?
Maybe he should've freshened up first, no matter how urgent this was.
'Looks like today's investment is a lost cause.'
Rod was halfway to giving up.
The other party didn't seem interested in this deal at all.
"So, the investment Enflix is seeking is $1 billion, correct?"
"...Yes."
Rod answered weakly and lowered his head.
But then, an unexpected statement burst from CEO Jeong Jin-ho's lips.
"I'll give you $3 billion."
"...?"
For a second, Rod doubted his ears.
$3 billion?
Had he misheard? Maybe he meant $300 million?
Rod and his executives could only blink in shock.
"Th-Three billion dollars? I didn't mishear, did I? Maybe there was a mistranslation...?"
"It's $3 billion."
"!?"
He hadn't misheard.
And CEO Jeong Jin-ho's expression was dead serious.
Rod had no idea how to react.
The sheer scale of the investment was so far beyond his expectations that his mind went blank.
"As you mentioned, issuing new shares for equity and granting special preferred stock will suffice."
"O-Of course."
$3 billion would give them over 35% ownership.
That would make them the largest shareholder, wielding enormous influence over management.
On top of that, they had even proposed special preferred stock—meaning every dollar Enflix earned from then on would flow straight into Gwangun Securities' pockets.
But was that really a problem right now?
They were getting $3 billion upfront!
"There's one more condition."
"Yes. A-Anything, name it."
"Listening to your presentation earlier, it seems Enflix is planning to market various dramas."
"Yes, that's correct. Since it's hard to predict which shows will resonate with audiences, we're casting a wide net."
Even if a show was praised internally, it often flopped when released to the public.
So they were distributing their marketing budget across multiple productions.
"I'd like to go all-in on this one particular project."
The work President Jeong Jin-ho pointed to was 'Mysterious Story.'
Even internally, while the drama was well-made, many had evaluated that since it was set in an older era, it might struggle to resonate with younger audiences.
But apparently, President Jeong Jin-ho had taken a liking to this production.
No—it wasn't just a matter of liking it or not.
He must have only read the synopsis—he couldn't have seen the final product yet, could he?
And on top of that, he was excluding all other works to focus solely on this one?
The risk was far too great.
"We'll dedicate all our marketing resources exclusively to this project."
But as I said before.
This wasn't the time to be picky about leftovers versus fresh meals.
And besides, the other party was none other than a noble benefactor investing a whopping $3 billion.
So whatever he said, we would follow it as if it were divine will!
＊＊＊
None of the presentations or visions shown by the Enflix team today had really registered in my mind.
From the moment we first met, it was all because of Lord Baistings, whose face seemed not just gilded but practically radiating golden light.
Not only that, but when we shook hands, my entire body trembled from the overwhelming intuition that struck me.
Because of that, I couldn't even look him in the eye properly, much less focus on the presentation.
But while avoiding his gaze, the rising intuition allowed me to pinpoint the exact investment amount.
$3 billion.
Honestly, even I thought it was an excessive sum.
But my intuition didn't just urge me not to miss this opportunity—it practically pummeled my entire body as if beating me into submission.
"Really... truly, thank you. You've saved our Enflix today, President."
Lord Baistings gripped my hand tightly with both of his.
"And as you suggested, we'll focus our utmost efforts on 'Mysterious Story.'"
Just as this face of his radiated brilliance, 'Mysterious Story' too, throughout the presentation, had been emanating light as if flaunting its insane presence.
That's why I had decided to concentrate on it.
"Yes. I'll be rooting for you."
＊＊＊
$3 billion.
Even Vice President Kang Ji-hwan hadn't anticipated such an amount.
Enflix's vision, their business direction...
Honestly, from Vice President Kang's perspective, it was all just... meh.
It sounded like pie-in-the-sky talk to him.
Aiming for the global market through streaming?
It was a business model he couldn't quite grasp.
Didn't people still watch plenty of movies on DVD these days?
Or go to theaters?
And if not, wasn't this the era of downloading content to watch?
"But $3 billion...?"
When he heard President Jeong Jin-ho's sudden announcement about investing $3 billion, he had felt momentarily dizzy. Yet there was no room to dissuade him.
Because once President Jeong made up his mind, he never went back on his decisions.
But still—$3 billion!
That's over 3 trillion won, isn't it?!
"Hah..."
Vice President Kang sat down in front of his computer.
He had deliberately requested Enflix to send him the footage of 'Mysterious Story.'
"The President couldn't have seen this yet."
So why had he ordered them to pour all their resources into it?
It was true that he had always made investments that defied understanding, but how could he be so certain this drama would succeed just from reading the synopsis—not even the full script?
So out of sheer curiosity—and also because if the drama turned out to be genuinely uninteresting, he'd have to find a way to amend the investment contract—he had requested the footage.
That was the vice president's role, after all.
"Ah, what if I end up dozing off midway?"
With that thought, he started watching from Episode 1.
"Not bad," he muttered, clicking on the next episode.
Episode 2, Episode 3. Episode 4, Episode 5.
He had only planned to watch a little, but he couldn't stop clicking to the next one.
"...!?"
Then, the chirping of birds jolted him back to reality.
"W-what? Ah, morning already?"
How long had it been since he'd binged a drama straight through to the next day?
No—this was a first for Kang Ji-hwan.
"And they cut it off here?!"
Those sadistic production bastards!
Bring me Season 2 right this instant!
His hands trembled uncontrollably with the desperate need to watch the next episode.