For the Sake of Being a Good Son
Famous chef Kang Taeyun was on his way to meet an investor.
Hoo...
It wasn’t easy to shake off his nerves. He had no idea what kind of terms the investor might bring to the table.
I need this.
If he wanted to achieve his dream of Michelin three stars, investment wasn’t optional; it was indispensable. Coming from an ordinary family, he couldn’t possibly open a fine-dining restaurant worthy of that kind of recognition on his own.
And unlike the high prices on the menu, fine dining didn’t leave much profit at the end of the day. On top of that, if he wanted to earn Michelin three stars, he had to provide customers with the absolute best service. The labor costs alone from that were no joke.
Without outside investment, it was basically impossible.
Even if he did get funded, the investor’s mindset was another problem. If they were only in it to make money...
Then Michelin three stars would be as good as out of reach.
Of course, he wouldn’t accept that kind of investment in the first place.
He arrived at the meeting place and met the investor. The man looked much younger than him.
So this was the so-called third-generation chaebol heir he’d only heard about.
He’d already felt firsthand just how many rich people there were in the world. Most of the clients he met while running a fine-dining restaurant were young people, after all.
So he didn’t let himself be prejudiced.
They exchanged brief introductions.
Then, without wasting time, they got straight to the point.
“I’d like to offer you two choices. First, we split the equity according to the proportion of investment each of us puts in. Second, I provide all the capital myself, and the chef receives a salary from me.”
...
“The reason is simple. I’m not looking to make money; I’m looking for a name card. And if that name card belongs to a Michelin three-star fine-dining restaurant, then it becomes the best name card of all.”
... “I see.”
That might have sounded insulting to some people. After all, it meant his dream was nothing more than someone else’s calling card.
But far from feeling offended, he was thrilled beyond words.
He had already been beaten against reality again and again.
If he were the type to get upset over that, he wouldn’t have been looking for investment at all.
In fact, the mere fact that someone was willing to invest just to get a calling card out of it felt like fortune smiling on him.
Now he could dream. And dream with someone else’s money, at that.
All he had to do was give it everything he had. For the sake of making that dream come true.
How deeply had society ground him down? He knew better than anyone how much of a blessing it was simply to have the chance to work hard and do his best.
“I’ll pay you a salary higher than the industry standard. Most of the profits from the restaurant’s sales will be reinvested back into operations.”
He’d been wrong. This wasn’t an investor. This was an angel.
People often talked about angel investors. But honestly, shouldn’t he just be called a god-tier investor?
To him, this man was more than an angel. He felt almost divine.
All that was left was the amount. If it was five billion won, he could really start dreaming.
“The investment amount will be ten billion won.”
“I respect you, Investor-nim.”
...
“Even if I die trying, I’ll bring you those three stars. So you can brag about me wherever you go.”
So please.
Let’s do this together.
His nerves vanished completely, leaving only desperation behind.
***
The investment was wrapped up without any trouble, and he was out of there in no time. When he bowed at the end, it looked like he was facing a religion.
He bowed so deeply it was almost embarrassing.
This is easy.
Lately, he had been feeling that phrase from the internet in his bones.
If something was difficult to carry out, it meant you simply didn’t have enough money.
It was true.
With money, everything moved smoothly.
He was a famous chef. Someone you wouldn’t normally even get close to, let alone meet casually.
Back when he was an hourly worker, he probably wouldn’t have had even the chance to work under someone like that.
Now that same man was clinging to him instead.
Please work with me.
He got into the car and headed back to Signiel Penthouse.
By now, January was ending and February had begun.
He pulled out his tablet and checked the Bitcoin chart.
The market had already fallen even further than when he’d taken profit.
That’s a shame.
He was only human, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of regret.
If he had just left it alone, he would have made at least several more billion won.
And since he had actually expected an even bigger drop, the regret was even stronger.
Still, there was nothing he could do about it.
He had already made plenty in profit.
He forced the regret to the back of his mind and turned off the tablet. His stomach felt like it was burning.
He’d make his next proper investment after reaching Signiel.
“When will the drivers finish their training?”
“The training is already complete. They can be deployed in the field at any time you want.”
“Then let’s put them to work right away. It’s a shame to have top-tier talent like the chief secretary doing the driving.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me. I’ll make the arrangements immediately.”
Our chief secretary should be used somewhere much more productive.
Setting aside everything else, the salary alone made that clear.
I’d recently bumped it up to twenty million won a month. He worked day and night, and his ability was in no way inferior to the secretaries at major corporations.
Using someone like that as a driver was an enormous waste.
Up to now, the drivers had been in training, so there hadn’t been much I could do about it. But I needed to fix that now.
“Also, I have a report about office buildings. Based on my research, once price growth is factored in, buildings in Gangnam and Yeouido are the most attractive.”
“The location speaks for itself.”
“Exactly. But because they’re such prime locations, the budget is tight. The Gangnam property is listed at around 120 billion won, and the Yeouido one at around 160 billion.”
“Which one looks better to you?”
“I’d recommend Yeouido.”
160 billion won.
It was definitely a burden, even for me.
Though, really, who buys a building and pays the full amount in one lump sum?
“Could I decide in about a month?”
“That should be fine. However, if it takes too long, I can’t guarantee the property will still be available.”
“Then we’ll look at other buildings if it comes to that. I’ll give you my answer as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, sir.”
I still had 18 billion won of seed money left.
So I made my decision.
If 18 billion won gave me good results, I’d go with the Yeouido building.
If it gave me disappointing results, then I’d take the Gangnam building instead.
One way or another, I’d decide within a month.
Whether it was luck or talent.
Even luck becomes skill if it happens three times.
And now it was time to see the third result.
***
I arrived at Signiel Penthouse.
Lately, instead of going to work part-time, I’d been commuting here.
The interior work was finished.
Well, “interior work” was almost too generous a term, since all I’d really done was arrange the furniture inside an already perfect Signiel Penthouse.
The furniture was all top of the line too, so delivery had been quick.
I went into the room.
Everything I needed for investing was ready.
Now this was the kind of setup that made me want to work.
I brought up the Bitcoin chart I’d only glanced at earlier and examined it in detail.
Mm...
The Bitcoin I’d cashed out near ten thousand dollars was already down to seven thousand.
The chart practically radiated fear.
When I checked the daily candle, it had dropped more than ten percent in just a single day.
That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?
A drop that felt like it would last forever.
As I focused on the chart, something strange came over me.
There’s no such thing as a forever drop.
No matter how I looked at it, the fall had been too severe. And too short-lived.
There was no way there wouldn’t be at least one meaningful rebound.
Some kind of dead-cat bounce had to show up.
A sharp rise, followed by another leg down.
“The people holding short positions still haven’t taken profit.”
If there hadn’t even been one big bounce, that meant the massive short positions still hadn’t been closed.
Just from my own trades, hadn’t I already caused a small rebound when I took profits?
If positions larger than mine were still open...
Then there should definitely be a bigger bounce.
It’s money I don’t even need anyway...
I forced myself into a kind of self-hypnosis. I had no choice.
I was making an investment against the trend.
Someone else might have called me insane.
Throwing 18 billion won into the dirt, they’d say.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was worth trying.
Statistically, it felt like the timing for one rebound.
Above all else, the instinct I got when betting against a fall was sending the exact same signal now.
With intensity.
If it didn’t work, I’d just buy a Gangnam building and live comfortably.
That alone would be enough to call me rich.
With 18 billion won, I once again used leverage and made an investment worth roughly 200 billion won.
Did I screw up? Maybe I should’ve lowered the leverage a bit.
If it dropped another five percent from here, I’d be liquidated.
It had already fallen more than ten percent just yesterday.
Let’s invest according to my instincts. That way, whether I succeed or fail, I’ll know what my gut is really worth.
Otherwise, I felt like I’d regret it forever.
“If there’s a temporary rebound... it’ll probably climb to around eleven thousand dollars.”
Once it broke back above ten thousand, there would probably be a swarm of desperate retail buyers rushing in, hoping for the rise to continue.
That would temporarily push it to eleven thousand.
It might go higher. It might fall again exactly as expected.
Maybe I’d even get liquidated without any rebound at all.
But this time, I decided to invest according to the hypothesis I’d built.
With trembling hands, I finished the trade.
... Let’s not look.
If I kept staring at the chart all day, it felt like it would drain my blood dry.
I’d just treat it like money I didn’t have and do something else.
I called my mother.
“What’s this? My son calling at this hour?”
“I’ve got some breathing room from my part-time job. I’ll be heading back home soon.”
“Just give me a heads-up in advance. Mom will make something delicious for you.”
“Got it. I think I’ll be back tomorrow, or maybe the day after.”
“That soon? Then I’d better clean the house.”
If I stayed here, I really felt like I’d die from the stress.
For now, I should go down to my parents’ house, where I could at least scatter my attention around a little.
For the sake of being a good son.