Chapter 34: The Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 34: The Calm Before the Storm
I spent my time doing nothing.
I spent a whole month doing just that.
There’s a strange addiction to being unemployed; the time just flew by.
Not having to commute was heaven. I spent my days using my time however I pleased.
Watching YouTube, watching television, browsing the internet.
“I once crossed the entire United States in a month.”
How could time spent at home pass so quickly?
Just five years ago, I was juggling part-time jobs, school, and preparing for employment.
If I had two hours to spare, I’d pick up another part-time job. I fell asleep exhausted every single night.
I had endured with so much accumulated fatigue, so I considered this break a reward for myself.
“It went up again.”
And the reason I could relax so comfortably.
As I was watching Netflix at home, the company's stock was rising on the US market.
‘I bought it at $197 a share, and now it’s at $352.’
A return of about 80%.
From Netflix alone, I had earned 320 million dollars.
‘370 billion won. That's probably more than the annual net profit of a mid-sized corporation.’
There were surely people in South Korea with more money than me, but watching my wealth grow like this was satisfying enough, even when I was doing nothing.
My other US investments also rose slightly, increasing my total assets to 1.47 billion dollars.
“Today's workout is going to be a tough one.”
“That's fine. Let's do it.”
I kept up with CrossFit consistently.
With no office life, I got bored just staying at home with all my free time.
“Three more!”
“*Gasp. Gasp.*”
“Good. Two more to go.”
“*Pant, pant.*”
“Alright. You've got great stamina. Let's just do seven more and we'll be done!”
I worked out until I felt like throwing up, then collapsed completely. The refreshing feeling of a shower afterward was incredible.
Every two or three days, a female member in a sports bra and leggings would approach me.
“Hello.”
“Hi.”
“If you have time, would you like to get a meal together? I know a lot of great places.”
Women who diligently sculpted their bodies through exercise.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't interested, but I thought of Ellie.
“I'm sorry. I have a girlfriend.”
Usually, that was enough to make them give up, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.
‘They're very forward.’
I was struck by how forward these women were.
Growing up steeped in poverty, I lacked confidence and was always reading the room.
Having lived a life full of deficiencies, I found people overflowing with confidence and positive energy in everything they did to be fascinatingly different from me.
‘I'm so envious.’
People who were capable, kind, and even beautiful.
Jo Soo-ah immediately came to mind. Seeing people like that made me feel weak in comparison.
I was afraid of my shortcomings and deficiencies being exposed.
I think that's why being with Jo Soo-ah was both enjoyable and unsettling.
- Kim Shin: I worked out today, then had a meal with a woman.
- Ellie: Sounds like you had fun.
- Kim Shin: We just ate at a nearby restaurant. Aren't you jealous?
- Ellie: *Sigh.* I don't even have the energy for that.
- Ellie: I'm busy. So, so busy.
If it had been Han Chae-won, she would have thrown a phone, a shoe, or maybe a water bottle at the mention of me eating with another woman.
It was nice that Ellie didn't get angry easily, but we barely had time to talk.
The only time I could talk to her freely was when she was on the subway, heading home from work.
And that was after 10 PM, New York time.
- Ellie: I think I need to sleep now.
- Kim Shin: Sleep well.
- Ellie: I keep thinking about our night in Korea. *Sigh*...
- Kim Shin: Sleep well...
* * *
I met with President Yoo Seok-tae and acquired his 23% stake in Biolife for 8 billion won.
He had said he would just hand it over, but it could have become a complicated issue if Biolife started showing real results.
“The new factory is getting ready to operate.”
“Already?”
“Yep. As soon as the raw materials arrive, we'll start production. We've already got a lot of orders. Our company has a pretty competitive edge in manufacturing, you know.”
The manufacturing cost for vitamins or synthetic drugs was less than 100 won.
Leons owned its own factory, handled manufacturing for various companies, and distributed vitamins and generic drugs under its own brand.
That's why it's no exaggeration to say that pharmaceutical companies print money like a mint, as long as their drugs sell well.
“Let's proceed with the planned additional investment.”
“Would you?”
I made an additional investment of 20 billion won.
This wasn't money for President Yoo Seok-tae, but an injection of capital into the company, hoping for Leons' rapid growth.
- Lee Ho-yeon: We've hired more staff. Brought in some talented people from the US.
- Lee Ho-yeon: We've purchased new lab equipment.
Lee Ho-yeon from Biolife would occasionally report on the lab's status via text message.
Was this his way of showing respect to his benefactor?
When someone like Lee Ho-yeon said thank you, it felt a little more sincere.
And so, two months passed with me exercising and investing.
Then, I got a message from Chris.
- Chris: The chairman of Nikola wants to meet you.
- Chris: When are you free?
I had planned to take a good two or three months off after becoming unemployed.
- Chris: Can you meet him sometime this week?
- Kim Shin: Yeah. I'll head over.
I booked a flight to the United States.
Of course, I flew first class again. It felt like I was resting on the plane itself.
It was much more comfortable than last time; apparently, there were four types of first-class seats, and this was the best one.
Eating ramen prepared by beautiful flight attendants, I felt like I was receiving some kind of luxurious treatment.
“Palo Alto, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
From San Francisco International Airport, I headed to the house in America I shared with Oh Myeong-woo.
The house was a mess of game software and various consoles scattered on the floor.
Oh Myeong-woo was holding a controller, deep in a game.
“You're here?”
“So you were home? Have you been gaming since broad daylight?”
“Saving and continuing later is not the virtue of a gamer.”
Oh Myeong-woo was always serious when it came to games.
* * *
“A pleasure to meet you. I'm Trevor Milton.”
“I'm Kim Shin.”
Nikola's headquarters was in Phoenix, Arizona, but the chairman had come to San Francisco himself.
He said they didn't have a manufacturing plant anyway, and couldn't show me the research lab or data.
“What do you think will power the car of the future? Electric vehicles that run on heavy, cumbersome batteries? Hydrogen will be the fuel of the future. And the Nikola One, which uses hydrogen fuel cells, will lead that future!”
“I see. It's an incredible business.”
“We are the ones starting an energy revolution.”
What should I say?
My impression after meeting Chairman Trevor was quite strange.
I hadn't had extensive social experience, but I could recognize a few types of people.
He felt like someone who loved to talk and was full of hot air, just like Na Sang-guk.
‘I must be mistaken.’
There's no rule that geniuses or entrepreneurs have to have a single type of personality.
Besides, Tesla's owner, Elon Musk, had a very unique character himself.
If you fail, you're a con artist. If you make your dream a reality, you're an entrepreneur.
“If you invest 200 million dollars, we will give you 14% of our company's shares.”
“Two hundred million dollars?”
It was truly an enormous sum.
But considering the profits I'd made from Netflix...
...200 million dollars was no longer such an astronomical figure.
Nevertheless, it was still a substantial amount of money.
“It will be a satisfactory return. For 200 million dollars, it's a very generous stake. GM is in investment negotiations with Nikola, and from Korea, Mirae Motors is also included.”
Mirae Motors... I had met Managing Director Jin Yoo-kyung before.
- Jin Yoo-kyung: Do you remember me?
- Jin Yoo-kyung: We met on the flight to the US.
A text like this had come about three months ago, but I hadn't replied.
I was too busy hanging out with Oh Myeong-woo, investing, and traveling after arriving in the States.
I remembered her being quite talkative, so while we exchanged numbers, I never replied.
The fact that she was a real chaebol's daughter also made me hesitant to talk to her.
Now, I suppose I could manage a simple conversation.
“Has Mirae Motors expressed interest in investing?”
“That's right. A major manufacturer that produces 8 million vehicles a year is in investment negotiations with Nikola. By collaborating with them, we will gain the manufacturing technology we lack. We won't have to go through the same trial and error as Tesla.”
He spoke of a rosy future without hesitation.
The story was that they would overcome their lack of manufacturing experience and technology through collaboration with existing companies.
‘Wouldn't it be better for them to receive investment from GM or Mirae Motors instead of me?’
After meeting Trevor Milton, I spent ten days gauging the atmosphere in Silicon Valley.
“What do you think about Nikola?”
“I don't know much, but isn't it a really cool company?”
I spoke with some founders, but it was clear that unless it was their specific field, they didn't know much.
Some people knew about Tesla out of engineering interest, but these were people who had never driven a truck in their lives.
- Kim Shin: Ellie. Is Nikola a good company?
- Ellie: I'm not sure.
- Ellie: Is something wrong?
- Kim Shin: I'm thinking of investing. I want to look into it more closely.
- Ellie: I'll see what I can find out.
Two days later, Ellie's reply came.
- Ellie: I heard there are a few major corporations interested in Nikola.
- Ellie: GM, of course, but also Doohwa from Korea is showing interest.
- Ellie: It's being evaluated as a company with the potential to dominate the future of American logistics.
The Doohwa Group.
A major South Korean conglomerate famous in finance, manufacturing, insurance, petrochemicals, construction, and defense.
Experts from GM and the Doohwa Group were highly rating Nikola's growth potential and future value.
The atmosphere in Silicon Valley wasn't bad either, and the company was frequently in the media, flaunting its technology.
“I'll invest the 200 million dollars.”
“You don't mess around. You've seized an excellent opportunity. Nikola will dominate the logistics markets of America, Europe, and the entire world, and we will reshape the energy industry.”
I shook hands with Trevor Milton.
* * *
I got used to life in America.
I wasn't a picky eater, and investing was much more comfortable in America, where opportunities were plentiful.
I'd visit founders' companies, loaded up with cola and pizza.
“Myeong-woo. Let's go work out.”
“A person, you see, is just like a machine. You have to keep it oiled if you want it to last.”
“I'll make you galbi after we're done.”
“Let's go.”
I consistently dragged the increasingly overweight Oh Myeong-woo to the fitness center with me.
I couldn't just stand by and watch my best friend tip the scales at over 100 kilograms.
And whenever I had free time, I enjoyed traveling the world.
For new experiences and for my own growth.
Starting in the UK, I traveled through Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America.
When traveling through less secure regions like Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India, and South America, I was accompanied by seven specially hired bodyguards.
‘I find myself thinking more in these poorer places than in the developed cities of Western Europe.’
I saw the dirty, underdeveloped slums of India, and the children growing up there, laughing brightly.
‘The world is... I can't quite put it into words, but it feels like it's showing me what life is all about.’
As I leisurely explored the world, investing and traveling.
Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
I received a call from Dr. Lee Ho-yeon, informing me that a new infectious disease had broken out in Wuhan.