Chapter 18: The Responsibility of Investment
Chapter 18: The Responsibility of Investment
Oh Myeong-woo’s apartment in Palo Alto had one bedroom and one bathroom.
It wasn’t spacious, but it was clean enough to be a decent place to crash for a while.
“How much is the rent here?”
“$3,325 a month.”
“That’s nearly 4 million won?”
I was stunned by the housing rent in the United States.
For a one-bedroom, the price was nothing to scoff at.
“The cost of living in the U.S. is a bit high. San Francisco is even crazier. Want to grab a beer?”
“Sure.”
We set up a low table in front of the television and cracked open our beers.
“Ahh. This is good.”
“It’s refreshing.”
We caught up on old times while drinking our beers.
I told him everything—how my marriage had been the worst, how it ended in divorce, and how I’d made a fortune with crypto.
Even though he was a friend I’d gone through tough times with, I didn’t mention the specific amount.
It was a sum that could hurt a hardworking salaried man.
We had once fought over 20 won for ramen.
“Good for you. She really lived up to her looks, huh? In the end!”
“Tell me about it.”
As Oh Myeong-woo went on cursing out my ex-wife.
Jo Soo-ah’s face flashed through my mind.
The person who taught me that not all beautiful people act the part.
Come to think of it, aren't most of the idols Oh Myeong-woo likes pretty?
Oh Myeong-woo brought up an interesting topic.
“There are a lot of people in the U.S. who’ve made a killing with crypto.”
“Really?”
“This place is a gathering spot for all sorts of geeks. Some people started mining Bitcoin as soon as it was created.”
Oh Myeong-woo said, as if he wasn't a geek himself.
Bitcoin has a halving, which makes mining more difficult over time.
In the early days, it was possible to mine large quantities easily, and those who did supposedly became incredibly wealthy.
“Do they make coins too?”
“Yeah. Want me to make one for you?”
“...You can do that?”
“It’s easy. That much I can do.”
He said that since it was open-source, creating a coin was possible.
However, getting that coin to become famous, listed on an exchange, and attract investors was another matter entirely.
“Let’s get some sleep for now.”
“Alright.”
I took a shower in the bathroom, laid out a blanket, and lay down on the floor.
It was only a few years ago that we were sharing a moldy blanket in a semi-basement apartment.
I never imagined we would reunite in California, of all places.
* * *
The next morning, Oh Myeong-woo hurried to get ready for work.
He washed up and pulled out several outfits, trying them on one by one.
“You can use my car while you’re in the States.”
“What about you?”
“There’s a coworker in my apartment building. I can just go to work with her. Hehe.”
And right when it was time for work, there was a knock on the door, and a beautiful blonde woman appeared.
“Nice to meet you.”
“This is Layla. Hehe. She works at the same company as me.”
I instantly understood why he’d had that sly grin when he offered me his car.
“Layla, my friend from Korea is visiting, so you’ll have no choice but to give me a ride from now on.”
“Alright. Let’s go before we’re late.”
Oh Myeong-woo was ecstatic as he left for work with Layla.
So this was why he told me to bring my International Driving Permit.
It was all part of his plan.
*He’s doing well for himself in America.*
If he keeps working and dating, maybe he’ll eventually start a family and live a good life.
Though, from my experience, married life was not an easy thing.
“I should take a look around the neighborhood.”
In the morning, I took a walk around the area near his apartment.
Houses with green lawns and lush, overgrown trees.
Just being in America gave me a sense of freedom and comfort.
*The weather is perfect, too. Is this why everyone travels abroad?*
In the afternoon, I took my friend’s car from the parking lot for a short drive around the area.
I expected it to feel awkward since it was an electric car, but I was captivated by its performance—it went as soon as I pressed the pedal.
The fact that you could control everything from the exhaust sound through the car’s monitor was also fascinating.
*This is a car?*
The Mirae Motors electric car I’d driven on Jeju Island was decent enough.
The awkwardness of the accelerator and brake was tolerable, and the charging method wasn’t too inconvenient.
But that didn’t mean I absolutely had to buy an electric car.
It was true that it was more of a hassle compared to an internal combustion engine.
And because the car itself was expensive, the advantage of good fuel efficiency was greatly diminished.
*It’ll probably take another ten years for electric cars to become mainstream.*
But now that I was actually driving a Tesla, I understood why people praised it so much.
It was fundamentally fast and powerful.
*It’s close to the size of a compact car, but it’s still fun to drive.*
On top of that, the center monitor provides a diverse user experience.
*The fun of handling something new far outweighs the hassle of charging.*
It felt like playing with a new toy.
* * *
Stocks, foreign exchange, bonds, crypto, real estate.
I hadn't decided which sectors to invest my 1 trillion won in, or how much.
Discovering the 25 billion won worth of Bitcoin was thanks to my father, but growing it to 1 trillion won was thanks to my own choices and patience.
*With crypto, you can invest by observing greed, but with stocks, you need to be able to judge a company's future value.*
Even the American auto industry was skeptical about Tesla, with bankruptcy rumors popping up frequently.
In 2014, it had hit $50 a share, and even now, at $66, the stock price hadn't risen much.
*Compared to crypto, this isn’t even a single day’s fluctuation.*
I was reminded of why everyone couldn't help but get sucked into crypto.
No matter what stock you looked at, none of them shot up like this.
A fivefold increase in a year was considered boring in the crypto world.
Hadn't Ripple alone soared tenfold in just one month?
The allure of crypto was so immense that I still thought about it even after getting out.
A market where endless greed converged.
*I wonder what everyone is up to.*
I checked the group chat.
Until yesterday, I had been a bit jealous as Ripple kept climbing, but the situation had changed in a single day.
- Go Bo-kyung: Seniors. Ripple is down ㅠ_ㅠ
- Park Hwa-young: It dropped 6%. Isn’t that too much? I’ve already lost 1.8 million won.
- Na Sang-guk: Don’t worry. It’ll go back up! In crypto, 20% or 30% can recover in no time.
- Na Sang-guk: How can it go up every single day? You need little events like this where it drops for a bit.
- Na Sang-guk: In professional terms, this is called shaking out the weak hands.
- Park So-jin: Shaking out the weak hands?
- Na Sang-guk: It’s when the big money players intentionally drop the price so they can scoop it all up for themselves. If you sell now, you’ll be left sucking your thumb when it goes up again.
- Park So-jin: Ah. So that’s what that means!
- Lee Jeong-shin: As expected of Assistant Manager Na. Such profound investment knowledge! I’m in awe.
- Na Sang-guk: You have to stay sharp in the crypto world. That is, if you want to get on the express train. Just trust me and follow along!
The group chat was mostly filled with talk about crypto. There were so many messages that I had to scroll way down.
- Park Hwa-young: It’s down over -10% now, Assistant Manager Na.
- Go Bo-kyung: It keeps dropping? I heard there was some bad news from the U.S.?
- Na Sang-guk: That’s actually good news.
- Go Bo-kyung: What?
- Park Hwa-young: It just hit -11%? My money is just disappearing.
It’s satisfying and happy when it goes up, but the fear of a downturn was immense for novice investors.
*I had $640 million in Ripple. I could have lost $70 million in a single day.*
That’s nearly 80 billion won.
An amount of money I could live lavishly on for the rest of my life could have vanished overnight.
*Compared to stocks, crypto is really...*
A part of me thought it was dangerous.
There were many people, like my coworkers, who had bought crypto late in the game.
Beginners would experience fear from a drop of over 10%, and most importantly, the price of crypto was high right now.
Even when Ripple was just a few hundred won, many said it was expensive and had no value. Now that it was ten times higher, the investment value was much lower relative to the risk.
After much deliberation, I finally posted in the group chat.
- Kim Shin: Be careful with your Ripple investments. Crypto can fall at any time.
I had only posted a message advising caution because no one knows what the future holds.
- Go Bo-kyung: Hello. Could you please recommend a coin that’s going to keep going up? o(╥﹏╥) o
- Lee Min-young: Assistant Manager Kim. This is Min-young from the secretary’s office. I haven’t forgotten you said you’d buy me a meal last year ^^
- Park Hwa-young: Is it really going to drop? I invested my wedding funds in Ripple. It absolutely cannot fall.
- Kim Yi-seul: Hello! I’m in the western sales division. Our jurisdictions are different, so we only exchanged brief greetings at the office and never got to talk much. When are you coming back to the company?
- Lee Eun-young: Enjoy your vacation. But are you in Seoul? The weather’s been really nice these past few days.
Someone must have invited them, because the number of female employees in the group chat had skyrocketed.
Before and during my marriage, I had to walk on eggshells around my ex-wife, so I avoided talking to female coworkers as much as possible.
After the divorce, bad rumors spread, so besides Jo Soo-ah, I had no reason to talk with any female employees.
*Did I really say I’d buy her a meal?*
I had no memory of it. It wasn’t something I would normally say, given my personality.
- Kim Shin: I’m in the U.S., so I don’t know when I’ll be back in Korea.
- Lee Eun-young: That’s such a shame. I’ve always wanted to visit the U.S. It must be a nice break from the tough office life.
- Kim Yi-seul: Have fun! And get plenty of rest!
- Go Bo-kyung: Is Ripple going to keep dropping like this? Should I sell now?!
The messages popped up as soon as I said anything.
The group chat had grown to 40 members, three times its previous size, but it felt like the female employees were being particularly welcoming.
- Kim Shin: I felt it was time for a break, so I sold everything. That’s why it’s hard for me to recommend a coin. Please remember that you are responsible for your own investments.
My advice ended there.
I didn't want to be blamed if things went wrong, and I didn't want to get tired because of people I wasn't even close to.
After that, I used Oh Myeong-woo’s computer to watch a few YouTube videos about investing in U.S. stocks.
American companies are well-known, but I didn't know the specifics of their situations.
When you’re eating a 1955 Burger at McDonald’s, you’re not exactly thinking about their financial statements.
*The scale of the U.S. domestic market is enormous. And because of the abundant capital and unparalleled technology, the growth of startups that have found the right direction is simply phenomenal.*
Watching YouTube for about two hours felt like discovering a whole new world.
Being in the U.S. right now made it feel like my studies in economics were even more effective.
And, feeling like I might have said something I shouldn't have, I checked the group chat again and found that many more conversations had taken place.
- Na Sang-guk: “You are responsible for your own investments.” He says something obvious like it’s some profound wisdom haha
- Na Sang-guk: Assistant Manager Kim may have started crypto early, but maybe it’s because his investment experience is short? haha
- Lee Eun-young: Assistant Manager Kim has short investment experience?
- Na Sang-guk: Of course. The person who’s been investing in stocks since college is someone else.
- Na Sang-guk: Let me explain something to ease your fears. Ripple once dropped 30% in a single day. And what happened after that? It skyrocketed.
- Na Sang-guk: A temporary correction is proof that the market is healthy. It’s like how your body gets tired when you exercise. The sellers sell, the buyers buy. That’s how it goes up. Understand?
- Lee Eun-young: Yes, I understand.
- Go Bo-kyung: So should I just keep holding? At what price should I sell?
- Na Sang-guk: At least the 100th floor? I see Ripple’s potential at over 10,000 won. Honestly, if you hold until summer, I think you could make over 30,000 won haha
- Na Sang-guk: I’m targeting a short-term price of 10,000 won. It would be good to invest with that in mind. As for the selling point, I’ll analyze the market conditions and let only you guys know separately.