A House Before the Business
The clock read five in the morning.
Leaning deep into my chair, I stared at the word “Success” glowing on the screen of my Apple laptop.
So this means... I’ve finished the beta version, right?
“Yes, Master. You’ve worked hard.”
No matter how perfectly I coded, there was no way I could finish a messenger app’s beta version in a single night.
Even if I already had the completed code in my head, my fingers could only move across the keyboard so fast.
But because Zero reviewed everything I wrote and handled the repetitive work, I’d been able to finish at a miraculous pace.
Gulp. Gulp.
I drank the leftover cola from dinner last night and looked out the window.
I pulled an all-nighter, but I’m not even tired. Guess that’s a twenty-year-old body for you.
Over the course of the night, I’d handled three major tasks.
First, I’d rented a cloud virtual server from America’s Amazon.
Since my messenger app was targeting the U.S. market, there was no reason to set up an expensive physical server in Korea right away.
Someday using cloud servers will be common sense, but right now it’s still rare. Back then, whether you were a conglomerate or a startup, everyone felt safer if they had a physical server sitting in their own computer room.
The second thing I did was build the messenger’s server in a programming language called Erlang.
Most corporate servers and programs are made with C or Java.
And yet I deliberately chose the less commonly used Erlang because, compared with other languages, it had enormous advantages for running a large-scale messenger server.
It handles simultaneous connections far more lightly than other languages, and even if one chat room crashes from an error, it never affects the chat rooms beside it. The processes are perfectly isolated.
“Yes, and above all, the greatest advantage is...”
That I can update it in real time without shutting the server down.
“Exactly.”
Think about it. Who would keep using a messenger that froze for hours every time it claimed to be under server maintenance?
At that point, you might as well just send a text or an email.
No matter how good an app or product was, if it was inconvenient, people wouldn’t use it.
After building the server in Erlang, I made the messenger app using Objective-C, the programming language from The Apple.
And the final third task was choosing the app’s design—though in truth, that part was still in progress.
Which design should I go with?
On my laptop screen was a set of “Messenger App Design Samples” Zero had created.
Ten of them, to be exact.
I slowly studied the mockups, rubbing my chin.
Since Zero had made them, each one looked flawless. In fact, whichever one I chose would probably have been perfect.
But since this was my first app, I had to be as careful as careful could be.
Let’s think like a consumer and decide which design feels the most approachable.
People hate complicated things.
They need to be able to glance at something and immediately understand how it works.
That was especially true for a messenger app.
And as for the color scheme... it should be easy on the eyes, but memorable enough to stick.
In that case—
“Let’s go with the fourth design.”
“I’ll apply the fourth design to Master’s code and package the final version.”
Okay. Then what’s next?
“Before submitting the application to The Apple for review, I intend to register a business in the United States. That way, Master’s identity can remain hidden, and the review can proceed under the corporate name. Later, when the app is made public, consumers will see the corporation’s name rather than Master’s.”
Register a business in America? I’m Korean—can I even do that?
The question came naturally.
“Of course. I’ll handle all procedural matters perfectly. If we use expedited processing and hire a lawyer, all steps should be completed within two weeks.”
Expedited processing... that means paying money, right? Paying public officials?
“Yes. It’s an official service. Most corporations do it that way.”
I see.
Then I should spend a little more. But how much money do I even have right now?
“Your stock account is valued at approximately 184.4... no, 185.4 billion won. You also have around 300 million won in cash.”
...Looks like it went up by a billion just now.
185 billion. It was undeniably a staggering amount of money. More than enough to last a lifetime.
Even so...
That’s less than I expected.
I wasn’t being greedy.
Previously, Zero had made ten times the money in a single night.
But over the past few days, it had only tripled. Naturally, I had questions.
“I intentionally adjusted the profit rate.”
You intentionally made less money?
“Yes. The 180 billion won currently in Master’s stock account is a dangerously large sum for an individual to possess. Especially in the Republic of Korea, which suffered the direct blow of the financial crisis. So I adjusted the profit rate while gauging the attention of institutions.”
Ah... so that means I won’t be able to make more money than this going forward?
“No. After establishing the corporation and concealing Master’s identity, we will begin investing again under the corporate name. At that point, I’ll invest far more aggressively, so there’s no need to worry.”
So once that happens, it’ll be fine to sell stocks for profit, right?
“Correct.”
As we talked, a question suddenly came to mind.
But Zero, if I want to turn that 180 billion won into cash, I’d have to sell the stocks. Then wouldn’t I have to pay taxes?
“That is correct. Under current Korean tax law, profits from overseas stocks are subject to a 20 percent capital gains tax and a 2 percent local tax. By calculation, you would need to report approximately 40 billion won next May.”
...40 billion?
A dry laugh slipped out of me.
Forty billion won was the price of a building in Gangnam.
No matter how much I earned, losing 40 billion in cold, hard tax money would sting... wait.
I once saw a movie where you could take out a loan using stocks as collateral. Didn’t that let you use part of the stock’s appraised value without selling it, and without paying taxes?
“You’re referring to a stock-collateral loan. That is an excellent judgment, Master.”
Zero continued her explanation.
“If you don’t sell the stocks and instead use them as collateral to take out a loan from an American bank, that will work. A stock-collateral loan is debt, not income, so no tax is applied. Of course, interest will accrue on the loan, but compared to taxes, it should be around ten percent.”
And since you’ll keep managing my stocks and increasing them, the loan limit will keep rising without bound.
“Exactly. On Wall Street, that strategy is called Buy, Borrow, Die. You don’t sell the stocks; you borrow against them and live on the money, then when you die, the stocks are inherited or transferred to a corporation.”
So that’s possible in Korea too?
“Of course.”
Listening to Zero, I could finally see the outline of the whole thing.
Then Zero asked me something else.
“However, Master, if you want to receive a stock-collateral loan, I recommend appointing an agent—in other words, a lawyer. If you personally apply for a large loan using your stocks as collateral, Master’s identity may be exposed more than necessary.”
A lawyer... do you mean a firm like Kim & Jin?
Kim & Jin was the largest law firm in Korea, and the only Korean firm I knew by name.
“No. I recommend an American lawyer. Going forward, Master’s business base will be in the United States, and the securities firms and banks you’ll primarily deal with will also be American. It would be far more advantageous to have an American lawyer.”
How do I get one of those?
“America has as many law firms and lawyers as it does criminals. It’s not called the country of lawsuits for nothing. If you have money, you can get a lawyer as easily as anything.”
If you have money, there’s no problem.
That one line struck me hard.
I may have to get used to being rich now.
I didn’t need to learn how to live poor, but maybe I did need to learn how to live rich.
Anyway, after hearing Zero out, appointing an American lawyer as my proxy seemed like an excellent choice.
“While Master was developing the app, I compiled a list of lawyers.”
She really was an incredibly capable assistant.
Show me.
“Yes.”
Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.
A list of nearly fifty American lawyers appeared on the laptop screen.
There were big-law attorneys, partner lawyers from major firms, and independent practitioners.
Every single one had absurd credentials. At minimum, they were graduates of Ivy League schools and Harvard Law.
Even picking randomly, the résumés were like this.
Name: Allison J. Merck IV
Age: 43
Education: Yale University / Harvard Law School
Career: Clerk to a U.S. Supreme Court justice / Youngest senior partner ever promoted at Sterling & Cromwell, the top Wall Street law firm in New York.
Affiliation: 60th floor, Park Avenue, Manhattan — Headquarters of Sterling & Cromwell.
Traits: Obsessed with his flawless career and values honor above all else.
His style is to annihilate opponents before the fight even begins with his overwhelming legal interpretation.
Even judges are helpless before his logic, and in the industry he’s called a living precedent.
Salary: $2.5 million + separate success bonus
At the current exchange rate, $2.5 million was about 350 million won a year.
I had over 100 billion won in my account, and even so, a 350 million won salary was no pocket change.
Money aside... for some reason, this type doesn’t appeal to me.
What I wanted was someone who would become my arms and legs—someone who would do what I told him without asking questions, and accomplish what I couldn’t.
Viewed from that angle, being too elite might actually be a drawback.
No matter how much money I paid, he’d still have his own pride.
“Hmm...”
As I scrolled, I kept examining the profiles.
They’re all lawyers and firms Zero selected, so they should all be good people... huh?
Somewhere in the middle, someone strange had slipped into the list.
Someone who definitely couldn’t be called elite.
Name: Vincent Lightman
Age: 36
Education: Dells Telecommunications University / Widener Law School (night program)
Career: Rejected by major and mid-sized American law firms for reasons unrelated to academics or skill.
Affiliation: Runs Vincent Law Office as a solo practitioner on the second floor above a laundromat.
Traits: Will use any means necessary to win for a paying client. As a result, he also gives his best effort in court-appointed defense.
For money, he’d even stab a judge in the back with the law books. Bribery, of course, is also an option.
Extremely skilled, but isolated from the legal world because of his lack of pedigree and his “anything goes for victory” style.
Salary: $161,000 per year *negotiable
Even to my eye, his credentials were pretty shabby compared to the others.
And yet why did I find him so compelling?
Zero, how about this guy? Vincent Lightman?
“His credentials may be weak, but his ability is the real thing.”
If Zero’s profile even said “will use any means necessary to win”, then that made sense.
If his salary is $161,000... that’s around 200 million won, right? Does an independent lawyer actually make that much?
“No. Vincent is currently earning less than $50,000 a year. Nevertheless, because he has pride in both his ability and his money, he demands more than a starting salary at a major firm if he is to be hired. The average starting salary for a junior attorney at a major U.S. law firm is currently $160,000.”
Hmm.
“You’re considering Vincent Lightman.”
Yeah. If he has the ability but lacks the credentials, I can make up the difference with my money.
“An excellent choice, Master. I will contact Vincent immediately.”
I received Zero’s confirmation.
Still, just in case, I asked one last question.
If I told you to choose, who would you pick?
“Vincent. Elite lawyers—such as Allison J. Merck IV—are unquestionably proven attorneys. But they are also likely to assert their pride when used as your hands and feet.”
That wouldn’t do.
“Vincent Lightman, however, is a man who will do anything for money. He is, in every sense, a true American.”
Doing anything for money... does that mean even illegal things?
“He has not yet crossed into illegality. But the odds are high that he will soon. He has personal circumstances requiring a great deal of money, yet his earnings are not satisfying at all.”
So he wasn’t a criminal yet.
Then there was nothing left to hesitate over.
Go ahead. If he likes money, pay him generously. A man works better when his pride is intact.
“Understood, Master. I’ll contact him at once.”
Then is there anything else I need to check?
“No. I will brief Vincent on the business and securities loan matters from here. For now, I strongly recommend that Master sleep for the sake of your health.”
Okay.
Click.
I closed the laptop and threw myself onto the bed.
Since Zero had strongly recommended it, I was going to get at least an hour or two of sleep before heading to school.
— “That damn woman, Seohee, how much hot water did she use?! Why is there no hot water when I’m washing dishes?!”
The next morning—or rather, a few hours later.
I woke to words that were a little different from the usual.
Another morning hot-water war, huh.
Usually it was Seohee complaining to our mother that there was no hot water, but this time the roles were reversed.
“Good morning, Master.”
Oh, good morning. Uh... Vincent, right? Did you talk to that lawyer?
“Vincent was not in his office and did not answer the phone. I left a message, so he will reply once he checks it. I’m certain he will accept Master’s proposal one hundred percent, so there is no need to worry.”
Okay.
Vincent was important, but there seemed to be something even more urgent.
I guess we need to move out as soon as possible. Mom and Seohee both seem to be uncomfortable every day because of the hot water, and Dad must have his own inconveniences too. Besides, this house is just too lousy.
“Yes, Master.”
For now, find a place we can afford with the money I gave my parents. If I spend more of my own money, they’d feel pressured. Don’t worry about the distance from my university.
“Understood. Based on the conditions previously mentioned by Master’s mother and the conditions set by Master, I will recommend a property in Jamsil.”
Listening to Zero, I got out of bed.
I stepped out of the room.
“Oh, Dohyun, you’re awake?”
“Yes, Father. Did you sleep well?”
“Mm, yes. Very well.”
My father was sitting at the table reading the newspaper, and my mother was washing dishes.
Seohee was telling our mother, “Mom, you get annoyed in the morning too when there’s no hot water, right? Revenge!”
To my eyes, the scene was absolutely beautiful.
Because my whole family was gathered together.
But precisely because of that, I felt even more certain that we needed to move.
She’ll look even prettier in a better house.
Looking at my father and mother, I said,
“Dad, Mom. Let’s move. I found a good house in Jamsil last night, and it’s going cheap as a quick sale.”
My business was secondary to my life.
My family was essential.
So before I really got started on business, I was going to get us out of this shabby half-basement house first.
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