Chapter 159: The One with Money Gets the Beauty
Chapter 159: The One with Money Gets the Beauty
Until now, even I had to admit I'd achieved some astonishing success.
"Shin, you free tonight? I've got some great wine."
The Governor of California dropping by like an old friend.
"CEO Kim Shin, President Biden might give you a call soon, or even visit in person."
"Our company?"
"Yes. He'd like a friendly chat with you."
Just the other day, I'd gotten a call from the White House Chief of Staff.
They were unfailingly polite and always showed the proper respect.
Naturally, I'd grown accustomed to responding in kind.
"Hey! Empty this ashtray!"
"Toilet paper's out in the bathroom!"
Back when I was working the night shift at the PC bang, there were plenty of rude customers barking orders.
Even at Arcor, whenever I met the doctors, I'd end up playing the servant.
"Assistant Manager Kim, the kids need to go to the observatory, but the wife's tied up."
"Director Seo, just let me know anytime something comes up. What time should I head over to your place?"
If a doctor asked, I'd give up my weekends for fishing trips, hikes, baseball, soccer—you name it.
But now, no matter who I was talking to or where, I commanded respect.
―...What the hell? Who the fuck are you?
A rough voice came through Jo Soo-ah's phone.
* * *
Choi Won-seok had been hounding Jo Soo-ah relentlessly for over half a year.
"Strike out ten times? Fine, I'll keep swinging till the axe handle snaps."
From their blind date, he'd heard she had a crush on someone.
She really was clueless about the world.
'He's just a pharma sales rep in the end. Shouldn't he be the one kissing up to doctors like me?'
The pharma reps who came to his dermatology clinic hawking their products.
Ever since becoming a doctor, he'd looked down on them as a matter of course.
'Honestly, it's embarrassing even chasing after a pharma sales girl.'
Jo Soo-ah was pretty, a solid marriage prospect, but now stubborn pride wouldn't let him quit.
'Playing hard to get with me? She'll fall for me in the end.'
So he'd call three or four times a day.
His own number was blocked, so he'd borrow phones from friends or staff.
―Hello?
The moment a man's voice answered on Jo Soo-ah's phone, irritation flared.
"...What the hell? Who the fuck are you?"
* * *
I figured if I said I was dating Jo Soo-ah, Choi Won-seok would back off with an apology.
Sticking to a girl who has a boyfriend is bad manners worldwide.
"I'm Jo Soo-ah's boyfriend."
I calmly stated our relationship first.
―Boyfriend? Jo Soo-ah had a boyfriend?
"That's right."
A brief silence, then the guy spoke.
―Never heard anything about a boyfriend. How long have you two been together?
"Not that long."
―If it's not a long-term thing, this'll be even easier.
"What?"
―Get lost. Stay away from Jo Soo-ah.
"..."
Something felt off.
Shouldn't I be the one saying that? I'm the boyfriend, and he's the stalker.
Choi Won-seok said,
―Do you know who I am?
"More or less."
―I don't know what Jo Soo-ah told you, but I'm a dermatologist. I run one of the top three clinics in Haeundae. My parents' assets and properties? Too much to list.
"..."
―For Jo Soo-ah's future, she should be with me. You get that, right?
It was nothing to me now, but the words dredged up old memories.
Back at Arcor, I'd sensed Jo Soo-ah's crush on me as her senior.
"Want to grab some kimchi fried rice?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. You like it, right, Assistant Manager?"
She'd suggest my favorite spots first or pack tumblers of coffee for out-of-town sales trips.
I'd kept my distance from her obvious interest out of fear.
'She'll find someone better than me.'
I didn't think I measured up.
Dating her felt like it'd ruin her future.
Or some guy way better off would swoop in and steal her away.
'Courage wins the girl, sure. But in reality, the rich guy has way better odds.'
Soaked in harsh reality, Jo Soo-ah had been a star too bright to reach for.
Who knew those memories would resurface now.
Choi Won-seok kept going.
―I can make Jo Soo-ah happier than anyone. So just disappear quietly.
I was a little envious of Choi Won-seok.
Must take a life of real confidence to spout lines like that over the phone.
"Choi Won-seok."
―Yeah?
"I've heard you've been bothering Soo-ah a lot. Even if I tell you to give up over the phone, you won't, right?"
―No. Jo Soo-ah's going to be my woman.
No surprise a guy like that wouldn't quit easily.
A doctor and landlord? Not easy to shake.
"I'm in the States right now."
―The States? So you were doing long-distance from there?
"When I get back to Korea soon, let's meet in person and talk. Don't bother Soo-ah until then."
I wanted to see his face first.
―Fine. Let's meet.
"Yeah. We will."
* * *
Time flew while Jo Soo-ah was with me in the States.
San Francisco stayed comfortable even in summer, never topping 25 degrees.
We toured city sights, even camped a day in a nearby park.
As Earth Resource's CEO, I hadn't taken vacation lately, but I relaxed fully with her.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Earth Phone sales are on track to hit 100 million units fast. We'd like to sign for Earth Phone 2.
―Elon: Buddy. Tesla's looking for a company to handle autonomous driving AI data processing. Earth Resource can do it, right?
Business messages kept coming.
It was childish, but... I wanted to brag to Jo Soo-ah.
"Hmm. My phone gets a lot of calls like this. Workaholics."
"Who?"
"Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong and Elon Musk."
"Really?"
"Yeah. We talk business a lot."
I sent quick replies saying I'd respond soon to Seon Jae-yong and Elon Musk.
After our overnight camp, as we sat down at a burger joint with Jo Soo-ah—
Rrring!
My phone rang. Caller ID: White House Chief of Staff.
"Soo-ah, one sec. Important call."
"It's fine. Take it."
―Kim Shin. Long time. President Biden here. You free to talk?
I'd thought it was the Chief of Staff, but it was President Biden himself.
He'd said he'd call soon, and here it was.
The fresh burger was cooling, but you don't keep a president waiting.
"Hello. I've been expecting your call. Hope you're well."
―Ha ha. Nothing as tiring as being President. But with you on pandemic defense, I feel solid.
He was not joking about that.
Smooth K-Vaccine supply had been a huge help to U.S. efforts.
―I'll be in San Francisco soon. Let's talk economy then.
"Sure. Anytime."
When I hung up, Jo Soo-ah had set out the burger, fries, and soda.
* * *
Time with Jo Soo-ah felt incredibly short, but afterward, I brimmed with confidence.
'Feels like I can do anything.'
Earth Channel officially launched its app store.
〈Earth Channel Opens Pangea Store Officially〉
〈Pangea Store Hits 14.3 Million Users on Day One〉
We loaded it with free software.
Day one usage wasn't huge, but I expected it to climb.
〈Earth Channel Launches SNS Service〉
The next step was a full rollout of the social-networking service.
Every user got their own channel to post text and videos freely, with sharing features.
High views even earned ad revenue like streamers.
SNS exploded instantly.
〈Earth SNS Tops 50 Million Active Users in One Week〉
〈Earth Channel Ushering in Golden Age of Video SNS?〉
〈Facebook, Twitter, Instagram Stocks Drop on Earth SNS Impact〉
―Thanks for the free SNS.
―Finally, a chill place to post.
―Earth SNS!
〈Earth Messenger Service Launches〉
Messenger service followed.
Oh Myeong-woo checked user data and said,
"Mobile downloads are way up. Over 20 million grabbed the app from the site today alone."
"Yeah?"
"Earth Phone's playing a big role."
Earth Phone integrated seamlessly with Earth Channel for easy streaming and video saving.
The OTT-born Earth Channel was conquering mobile faster than expected.
Higher mobile share would naturally boost the app store.
This felt like the peak of my success as a businessman.
―Ellie: Revenue's topped $18 billion.
―Ellie: Goldman Sachs experts say it's clearly overvalued relative to fundamentals. Inflation risks are high too.
The stock trades alone had produced eighteen billion dollars in revenue.
Earning dollars always left a sweet aftertaste.
〈NY Stock Market, Crypto Explode Together〉
〈Nasdaq, Dow Hit New All-Time Highs〉
〈Dow Breaks 35,000 for First Time. Super Week Hype〉
〈U.S. Growth, Prices, Earnings All at Peaks〉
〈U.S. GDP Recovers to Pre-Pandemic Levels〉
San Francisco's summer meant daily news highs as businessman and investor.
Then another update arrived.
―EVP An Myeong-guk: Delta variant vaccine development complete.
―Kim Shin: Already?
―EVP An Myeong-guk: Yeah. AI's insane.
Delta was sweeping the world.
The Delta variant was estimated to be two to five times more transmissible than the original strain of COVID-19.
It caused twice as many hospitalizations, four times as many severe cases, and a death rate two and a half times higher, and it had been spreading since April.
Even Israel, over 70% vaccinated, tightened defenses.
Biolife's AI had crushed virus analysis and vaccine dev.
―EVP An Myeong-guk: Working with CDC. Global trials planned, launch this fall.
―EVP An Myeong-guk: Named it K-Vaccine Plus.
―Kim Shin: Great work.
Biolife's tech was advancing visibly.
〈UK Fears Delta Wave Outbreak〉
〈Inflation Rattles NY Stocks, Bitcoin Dips〉
〈Protein Inflation: Pork Wholesale Up 39.3%, Beef 11.6%〉
〈U.S. Rate Hike Clock Ticking Faster?〉
〈Kim Shin's Fed Critique Gains Credence〉
〈Allianz Advisor: "Fed Should Admit Mistakes."〉
As the brief summer waned.
News showed my influence skyrocketing via Earth Channel, Source Coin, economics.
―Kim Shin: Sell all the stocks.
―Ellie: Right now, with prices at all-time highs?
―Kim Shin: Yes. Sell everything.