Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"A company? What kind of company?"

Listening to his voice, he seemed quite surprised. Well, he had never shown any signs of that before. It wasn't just that; he had never even thought about it. However, looking at recent events, the answer was practically set.

"I'm going to set up an investment company."

At the word investment company, Gwang-ho brought his cigarette to his mouth. The guy, who was lost in thought for a moment, put out his cigarette and asked.

"Bitcoin 1,000 pieces, did you find them?"

This time, it was Gang-hyeon who was surprised.

"How did you know?"

"That story has been circulating a lot in the community recently. It was hot not only on the coin side but also in stock and overseas futures communities."

"Huh... was that so?"

In the past, he would have monitored those communities too. But recently, he only cared about the coin side, so he didn't know it had become a topic elsewhere. By the way, was it something one could know with just that much information?

"Besides, Bitcoin was a pretty big event for us too, wasn't it? I bought a house with the capital from that time and now own an apartment in Jamsil."

"True, we had a housewarming party at your place back then."

Gwang-ho was a smart friend. Using a few clues, he deduced that the owner of the 1,000 Bitcoins was Gang-hyeon.

"But why didn't you ask me? You must have been curious."

"I tried to pretend I didn't know. It's not my money, and I thought there would be nothing good about pretending to know."

The more they talked, the more he thought Gwang-ho was a genuine guy. Even in front of the astronomical sum of 170 billion won, he didn't even pretend to know in case Gang-hyeon felt uncomfortable.

As expected, there is no one but this guy.

Gwang-ho asked again.

"So, did you find the thousand pieces?"

"Yeah. They were in the box where I kept miscellaneous stuff. There's also a photo found there."

He opened his smartphone and showed the photo taken during college days. Gwang-ho, seeing the dark history of having afro hair, frowned.

"Ha, hasn't seen this afro hair in a long time."

"Right?"

"So you intend to start a business with that 170 billion?"

"Correct."

"Hmm, with that amount of money, it would be in the form of a Family Office."

"Right. It operates with my money as operating capital, rolling that."

There were many ways for an investment company. Venture Capital investing in startups, Private Equity Funds gathering large capital to acquire companies, restructure, and resell them, etc. Among these methods, the one he could do with his current capital and utilize his ability 100 percent was the Family Office.

As an investment method of a select few for private investors, he would proceed with investments for high-net-worth individuals like Gang-hyeon. In this case, it was relatively free from regulations compared to private equity funds or other investment companies.

"How much do you intend to start with as initial capital? You're not going to pour in all 170 billion, are you?"

"I'm going to liquidate about 70 percent of the coins. I plan to turn some of that into safe assets and invest about 50 billion won in aggressive investments."

"Not bad."

Gwang-ho, who paused for a moment, asked in a serious tone.

"Bringing this story up to me implies you're making an offer for me to join your company, right?"

"Right. I need at least one Quant expert. Above all, I need someone I can trust."

He spoke with sincerity. If asked to name the most trustworthy person in this world, it was only Gwang-ho. Knowing that, Gwang-ho also thought for a moment and nodded.

"Okay. I'll have to discuss it with A-yeon first, but I'll think about it positively."

"Sure."

This answer was enough.

"Prepare a thick salary."

Looking at the guy speaking playfully, Gang-hyeon grinned.

"Don't worry."

"A-yeon must be waiting, let's go in."

"Okay."

The two headed back to the restaurant. Then suddenly, he became curious.

"By the way, I got 170 billion won. Your reaction is surprisingly calm?"

"I was a bit surprised. But in the first place, it's not my money, so what reaction should I have? If I react to every little thing like that, how can I work at the company?"

"That's true too."

Working at an investment company, sometimes the sense of money became strange. Since both were in the same industry, they knew that part well. Still, the unchanging appearance of his friend was just grateful.

"Let's go in."

The answer from Gwang-ho came a few days later.

After exchanging simple KakaoTalk messages, he started looking at the chart again.

"Anyway, I don't know what the light coming from Gwang-ho is. It seems different from people and stock tickers."

The mysterious light that appeared in Core Wave. That light was indicating whether the closing price of the stock would end in a rise or a fall. Such a light suddenly appeared from Gwang-ho's body too. What this meant was that there were still many hidden things about this light.

"The light appearing from a person is highly likely to show a slightly different meaning from stocks. Because people possess different values from stocks."

He tried to learn more about the ability while continuing to worry.

One week later. Gang-hyeon visited Samil PwC.

"Oh! CEO, I was waiting for you."

"Excuse me? CEO?"

"Haha, you are someone who will operate a solid business now. Of course, I should call you CEO."

A while ago, when talking on the phone, he had received advice related to the company. It seemed the title was changed because of that. It was slightly burdensome, but he didn't bother to stop what the other person was doing.

Guided by Manager Jeong Min-jun, he entered a room further inside, not the reception room he was guided to previously. Someone else was already waiting there.

"I am Im Tae-hyun, the CEO of Samil PwC. I wanted to meet you specifically today, so I arranged this seat."

"I am Choi Gang-hyeon. The title of CEO is still burdensome, but I look forward to working with you."

Even the representative of the accounting firm came out personally to welcome him. Im Tae-hyun had met countless clients. Currently, he had real rich people of Gangnam as well as asset holders worth hundreds of billions, or actual Chairmen as clients. In every single one of them, leisure could be felt in their actions or speech. It was that aura possessed by actual capitalists that couldn't come from imitation. This aura was also felt from Gang-hyeon.

A real deal has arrived.

It seemed that deciding to meet personally today was an excellent choice. After sharing simple stories, they soon got to the main point.

"We have finished the internal review on the parts requested by the CEO. We will prepare so that we can respond even if you cash out the entire amount."

"What taxes do I have to pay?"

"Since it is a deferred situation, there are no taxes to pay immediately if you sell."

Even if he gained a profit of 170 billion won by selling Bitcoin, there were no taxes to pay right now. This was the biggest reason for trying to sell coins this year.

"May I know roughly how much amount you intend to sell?"

"It is still fluid. However, ultimately, I think I will sell about 100 billion won. I plan to use some of that as the company's operating capital. In this case, should I put it into the company in the form of capital contribution?"

"That method is the neatest. The National Tax Service will probably ask you to explain the source of funds, but since there has been no movement after Bitcoin entered the CEO's wallet 13 years ago, there is no problem with the explanation."

They said he had many clients related to coins. Im Tae-hyun, despite appearing quite old, gave answers about Bitcoin without getting stuck. Thanks to that, he could resolve most of his curiosity about tax issues.

"Thank you for resolving many questions today."

"That is what we have to do. If you need anything in the future, you can ask Manager Jeong here anytime. And let's have a meal together sometime."

"Haha, understood."

After exchanging brief greetings, Gang-hyeon left the firm. Watching that appearance, Manager Jeong asked CEO Im Tae-hyun.

"He is a decent person, right?"

"Indeed. Even though he is young in his 30s, he is polite and overflowing with confidence. People who suddenly became nouveau riche through coins are usually soaked in bluff, but he doesn't have such parts either."

"Since he said he worked at an investment company before. It feels somewhat different."

"Does everyone working there give off that kind of feeling? Absolutely not. That friend is special. Anyway, I think it would be good to maintain a good relationship in the future. You also take note and conduct consultations."

"Yes, understood."

"And present the VIP plan. Take care of things in advance. When he sets up the company and becomes a real CEO in the future, it looks highly likely that he will become a big client for us."

"I will keep that in mind."

It was a short conversation, but CEO Im Tae-hyun seemed to have received a good impression from Gang-hyeon.

Returning home, Gang-hyeon felt a bit lighter.

"Tax was the biggest worry. I don't have to worry."

Even when working at the company, colleagues always worried about taxes when they hit the jackpot with investments or received a lot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of incentives. At the time, he thought they were exaggerating, but becoming the party involved, he could understand the feeling at least a little.

"Since it takes quite some time to start the company. I should do a practical test on the ability in the meantime."

The investment company Gang-hyeon intended to start was in the form of a Family Office, but this also required quite some time to prepare. Currently, a gap of about 2 months was inevitable according to calculations. Gang-hyeon, contemplating what to do in the meantime, decided to proceed with a practical test of his ability.

"Since it's ambiguous to sign a contract with a prime broker immediately and the system isn't ready, let's do it with a retail broker."

There were various ways to trade overseas futures and stocks. Retail brokers easily accessible to the general public included securities firms like Kiwi Securities and Spike Securities. Although accessibility is convenient, the disadvantages were also clear, so professional traders sign contracts with prime brokers or global futures brokers to proceed with trading.

Gang-hyeon also planned to sign a contract with the latter after starting the company. However, to sign a contract with them, certain conditions had to be met and time was needed, so he created an account with a retail broker for now.

"Before that, shall I move the coins?"

Gang-hyeon entered the coin wallet after a long time.

Seeing the number of Bitcoins, a smile formed automatically and his heart became comfortable.

"Indeed, financial therapy is a panacea."

Thinking useless thoughts, he transferred 60 Bitcoins.

The whale that had been asleep moved again. That fact spread rapidly to the community.

Just moving 60 coins caused stories related to Gang-hyeon to be plastered all over Coin Korea. Looking at such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠posts, Gang-hyeon accepted that Gwang-ho had noticed his identity.

"If stories are circulating on the internet to this extent, it's strange not to notice."

When several clues are combined, a conclusion can soon be reached. Gwang-ho was a guy with that level of brain.

"Safe is better than interest."

He had also thought about moving all coins to the exchange. Although there were differences between exchanges, specific exchanges paid interest daily. The deposit usage fee was at the level of 2.1 percent per year, so with 170 billion, he would receive interest of 9.78 million won a day, and 3.57 billion won a year. Just this alone was an enormous amount, but Gang-hyeon didn't care much.

"Because coin exchanges thought to be safe were hacked one after another."

Representatively, there were the Mt. Gox hacking incident or the FTX bankruptcy incident. Korean exchanges wouldn't be at that level, but keeping it in his own wallet was more stable than bearing such risks.

Just in time, the alarm rang. Accessing the exchange, 60 Bitcoins had come in.

Laughter came out automatically at the evaluation amount of 10.4 billion. Gang-hyeon, who withdrew 3 billion of that, immediately deposited it into Kiwi Securities, a retail broker account.

Confirming that the deposit had entered, Gang-hyeon took a deep breath.

"From now on, it's a practical test."

It was time to find out if the newly gained ability worked in practice and if there were any other variables. His eyes became sharp like a hawk's and started examining the stocks one by one.

"Hm?"

Soon he captured a prey.

It was a stock glowing with red light. Confirming the sign of rising, he moved his hand immediately. Following the movement without hesitation, an alarm soon popped up.

Gang-hyeon reached out and touched the screen.

The order was received. Soon the next alarm popped up.

Orders were filled rapidly. Conversely, the deposit decreased rapidly.

In the past, my heart pounded when placing orders of this magnitude...

Not anymore. To him, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠3 billion was no longer a large amount of money.

I can't operate a company shaking like this.

Above all, he believed.

By tomorrow, the evaluation amount will have increased.

Without wavering, he watched the chart. The first practical test began quietly like that.

(End of Chapter)

— Translated by Prime ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Works —