Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Jalnolja was located on the fourth floor of a high-rise building along Teheran-ro.
When we entered, the atmosphere was free and relaxed, just like a typical startup.
Even though it was late, many employees were still working overtime.
They looked tired, but their expressions were not gloomy. Their eyes were alive, and their passion could be felt.
Guided by an employee, we went to the CEO’s office.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Yang Jinsu."
Unlike the first day we met when he looked dejected, today he appeared full of confidence.
"Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Yuri, Team Leader of Asset Management Team 9."
"I’m Assistant Manager Choi Chungsik."
"I’m employee Kim Deoksu."
When I introduced myself, CEO Yang Jinsu looked surprised.
"You’re an employee? I thought you were at least a team leader."
"I’m still just an employee."
"He may be an employee, but he’s more capable than most team leaders."
"He’s the treasure of Mirae Securities."
The sudden praise from the two of them made me feel embarrassed, but it still felt good.
"Not at all. I still have a lot to learn."
A secretary came in, placed tea on the table, and left.
We started with small talk on light topics to ease the awkward atmosphere.
Then we began discussing the investment in earnest.
Team Leader took the lead in the conversation.
Starting with the founder’s capabilities, she asked about Jalnolja’s financial situation, monetization strategy, and its differentiation from competitors.
Yang Jinsu answered exactly as we had already learned, without exaggeration.
In fact, through research and the connections of Manager Choi and Team Leader, we had already gathered considerable information about Jalnolja.
The purpose of the questions was to determine whether the CEO understood the current situation accurately without exaggerating or downplaying anything.
Manager Choi continued asking questions, and Yang Jinsu answered them smoothly.
Then both of them glanced at me, signaling me to ask something.
I asked the question that had been on my mind.
"May I ask why the investment firm that originally planned to invest suddenly canceled their investment?"
At my question, Yang Jinsu showed a slightly troubled expression.
"To be honest, I don’t know the reason either. Nothing has changed on our side. We are continuing to grow steadily. I don’t know why they withdrew the investment, but I know exactly why Jalnolja ended up in this crisis. It’s because of my own greed."
Usually people blamed others, so his answer was unexpected.
"The company that promised to invest was a well-known foreign investment firm. Simply receiving investment from them is considered proof of business viability. I got excited at the thought of receiving their investment. Since they recognized our business potential, I expanded the business faster than originally planned. We moved to a bigger office and hired more employees. In other words, I spent money before actually receiving the investment. Then when the promised investment was canceled, we fell into financial difficulty. It was my mistake. I was greedy, and I trusted people before the contract."
After hearing Yang Jinsu’s answer, I began to understand why the fragrance appeared when I thought about Jalnolja.
Large corporations run on systems.
Startups do not.
In startups, the founder’s ability is the most important factor.
His expertise, creativity, and perseverance.
Starting as a motel employee and creating a motel reputation and reservation platform. His persistence. And the honest and self-reflective attitude he was showing now without exaggeration.
The fragrance had already told me, but I was now certain that if this crisis was resolved, the company could leap forward again.
I decided to invest.
Now I had to determine the amount.
"How much investment was originally promised?"
"Ten billion won."
Ten billion? That’s too small.
In my mind, I actually wanted to invest twenty billion.
At that moment, I felt the fragrance suddenly become stronger and clearer.
No way.
I imagined investing ten billion.
Then twenty billion. Then thirty billion.
Just as expected, the fragrance became especially intense and distinct at a certain number.
Now I could even determine the exact investment amount through the fragrance.
I held up two fingers to Team Leader.
Her eyes widened.
But she soon nodded.
It meant she would follow my decision.
Team Leader turned to Yang Jinsu.
"Mirae Securities will invest twenty billion won. What do you think?"
"What? Twenty billion? Are you serious?"
"Since this is a startup investment, it requires approval, but there shouldn’t be a big problem. We will proceed as quickly as possible."
With Team Leader’s final words, the investment negotiation came to an end.
After returning home, Kim Yuri didn’t even wash up before throwing herself onto the bed.
She stared blankly at the ceiling.
She thought about Deoksu’s investment.
Twenty billion.
Investing twenty billion into a startup with less than a ten percent success rate.
The previous investment of fifty billion had been smaller risk in comparison because it was a verified listed company.
"Could I have done it?"
Kim Yuri shook her head.
She had always chosen the safe path.
She only invested after analyzing countless data points and concluding there was at least a seventy percent probability of success.
A single failure would have been fatal to her.
Her father had always been generous toward her brothers’ failures.
His belief was that failures would help them in the future when they ran the group.
But that did not apply to her.
What her father wanted was not for her to work in the company, but to marry the son of a good political or business family.
She had to work far harder than her brothers to become a team leader in asset management.
Only after producing overwhelming trading profits was she finally recognized by her father.
In fact, that was also why she went to the military.
To gain recognition.
Though honestly, it wasn’t very effective.
Kim Yuri could not understand her father’s biased treatment of his children.
He could simply assign roles according to skill and ability, but he refused to do that.
"If it were me… I wouldn’t run things like that."
For a moment she imagined herself sitting in the chairman’s seat running the group.
If she were the one in charge, she believed she could manage it far more rationally.
She shook her head.
She was confident she could do better than her brothers, but it was too big a dream for someone who was only an asset management team leader.
Kim Yuri shook her head again and pushed the pointless thoughts aside.
She stopped thinking about unpleasant things and instead thought about Deoksu.
How would his investment turn out this time?
Would he succeed again?
How does he keep succeeding?
It could not be explained by common sense.
And yet it was clearly not luck or beginner’s fortune.
Deoksu definitely possessed something special.
He clearly had an ability to see through the essence of things.
That was why he would surely succeed again.
And she would support him so that he succeeded.
If anyone tried to block Deoksu’s path, she silently vowed she would not let them get away with it.
The next day when I arrived at work, I began writing the Jalnolja investment proposal.
Unlike financial products such as stocks which I could trade on my own authority, startup investments required approval from the head of asset management and the risk management director.
As soon as the stock market closed, Team Leader called me.
"Did you finish writing the proposal?"
"Yes."
"Let me see it."
I showed her the report I had written.
"Manager Choi, please review it as well."
"Yes, Team Leader."
The three of us sat at the round table and reviewed my report.
Both of them held red pens, looking ready to make heavy corrections.
Team Leader and Manager Choi slowly flipped through the pages.
I had expected to be criticized from the beginning, but neither of them said anything.
After finishing the document, Manager Choi looked at Team Leader.
"This doesn’t look like a report written by a rookie employee."
"Right? It’s much better than expected."
"Yes. I think we can submit it just like this."
"Deoksu, submit this for approval. It should pass easily."
"Really? Thank you."
Receiving praise for the proposal I had written made my shoulders rise proudly.
I returned to my desk and submitted the investment proposal through the electronic approval system.
Startup Jalnolja Investment Proposal.
When Kim Yuseong, the head of the Risk Management Department, saw the proposal submitted by Kim Deoksu, his stomach twisted with resentment.
It was because of the previous investment.
He had sold based on a rumor and taken a loss, while Kim Deoksu had made hundreds of billions from it.
Putting that aside.
"Why is a prop trader investing in startups?"
He couldn’t understand why someone wouldn’t just focus on their own work.
He opened Kim Deoksu’s file and began reading.
The investment scale shocked him.
"Twenty billion? Wow."
That rookie is something else.
Most people usually handle only one hundred million.
To be honest, even he had never invested twenty billion.
Well, Deoksu had invested fifty billion last time and earned seventy billion, so twenty billion probably felt easy now.
Still, it seemed certain that his father liked that guy.
Otherwise there was no way a rookie employee would be allowed to handle fifty billion. On top of that, the performance bonus had been paid immediately after the successful investment.
Just how much did the chairman like him?
Their father definitely valued results more than process.
If someone made money without causing big problems, he considered them the best.
But that was very difficult for him.
Making money through investment.
Kim Deoksu made money easily, but he himself studied and struggled only to fail repeatedly.
Kim Yuseong was insanely jealous of Kim Deoksu.
If he had possessed Deoksu’s ability, he would have inherited the group himself.
It was frustrating not having the ability.
Kim Yuseong began reading the document again.
After being surprised by the investment amount, he was surprised again by the quality of the proposal.
"The kid’s pretty good…"
For a rookie employee, it was clean and concise without unnecessary parts.
The reasons for investing were explained persuasively.
But he would not be fooled.
Kim Yuseong instinctively knew.
This was one hundred percent a file written by Yuri.
"Who do they think they’re fooling?"
He wondered what to do with the approval file.
Everyone else had already approved it.
If he approved it as well, the next stage would be the president.
And the president, who faithfully followed the chairman’s intentions, would obviously approve the investment.
"What should I do?"
Kim Yuseong was the kind of man who could say no when everyone else said yes.
He clicked reject.
The reason was simple.
Excessive risk and interference with another department’s work.
"Hehehe."
He had been bitter that he was the only one who lost money during the previous investment.
Now it strangely felt like he had taken revenge.
A notification appeared on my monitor.
It was the result of the approval request I had submitted an hour earlier.
Team Leader had said it would be approved.
So it must have passed, right?
With anticipation, I clicked the message.
Startup Jalnolja Investment Proposal.
Rejected.
Reason excessive risk and interference with other department work.
"What…?"
It was a rejection I had not expected.
What should I do?
Should I go and persuade him?
Or rewrite the document?
While I was thinking about it, Team Leader suddenly stood up.
Her face was burning red as if she were about to go to war.
What happened?
"Team Leader, are you okay?"
"No!"
"Did something bad happen?"
"Some incompetent department head rejected the jackpot investment proposal submitted by our team."
"Really?"
Team Leader had already transformed into a fully combat-ready company commander preparing for battle.
"Look at this… I’ll go settle this myself."
After saying that, she left the office.
The atmosphere felt like a storm of blood was about to blow in.