Chapter 46: Money is What Lasts
Chapter 46: Money is What Lasts
Most ordinary people dream of making huge profits when they invest.
‘I’ll at least double my money, right?’
If you invest 100 million, you get 200 million.
If you invest 200 million, you hope for 400 million.
But they say it’s more common to end up with a negative return after investing like that.
He had bought $200 million worth of March put options at 2840.
The heart of a lion.
Recalling the feeling of buying and selling crypto, he made a huge bet.
‘Stocks can go up if you wait, but with options, if you lose within the given period, it’s over.’
As he invested the $200 million, he spent more time imagining losing it than making a profit.
It was truly an amount that could buy a private jet, a yacht, or a luxury apartment in New York.
He endured the fear of potentially blowing such a large sum of money so futilely.
“Myeong-woo, let’s play a game.”
“Alright. Fire it up!”
He spent his time playing games with Oh Myeong-woo, meeting entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley, and hiring employees for the company.
“CEO Kim. I have to ask you about the investments you’ve made so far.”
“Yes.”
An interview in front of the camera.
The filming crew from Korea was always following him, and whenever he was alone, he would have short conversations with Producer Seong Ho-jin.
Producer Seong struck up a conversation just as he was drinking his coffee.
“You’ve made a fortune from crypto, and you’ve also earned money from stocks and startup investments. When were you the happiest?”
“Making money is always a joy. Even as my wealth grows, the happiness I feel each time seems to be the same.”
“I see. But for someone like you, sir, investing in options seems to carry a high risk of loss.”
“All investments are risky. I invested because of the possibility that COVID-19 could spread to the US, but personally, I don’t think losing would be so bad. A pandemic sweeping the world is not something to hope for.”
He was curious to see how the $200 million bet would turn out.
Who could possibly see the entire picture of how the capital markets move?
Especially when countless events happening all over the world have such complex effects.
“Shin. I think we need to recruit more employees. We need a management team, a PR team, and office staff. We’re even taking turns cleaning the office right now.”
“We should hire them. There’s an empty office upstairs, let’s lease it.”
“Got it.”
In the morning, he handled company business with Vice President Oh Myeong-woo.
The Source Coin project was progressing too quickly.
Having filled the company with programmers, they now needed to select employees to handle day-to-day operations.
‘For large corporations, having even 10% of their workforce in R&D would be considered a lot.’
Earth Resource’s R&D staff probably accounted for about 95% of the company at the moment.
As the Source Coin project continued, countless opportunities were arising.
Source Coin was acting as the root, with the trunk and branches of the tree spreading out in all directions.
“I want to join Earth Resource.”
The programmers who had participated in the coin’s development.
Or those who came after hearing the rumors. He interviewed and selected employees from this pool of candidates.
Since it was the early days of the business, experience wasn't a major factor.
“I graduated from a California State University with a degree in business administration.”
Fresh-faced male and female university students.
He conducted group interviews with ten passionate candidates at a time and selected from among them.
It reminded him of the days when he went to interviews looking for a job in Seoul.
“Logan.”
“Yes, CEO Kim.”
“I assume you’ve heard about Source Coin. What did you like most about our company?”
“That would be…”
There was a certain pleasure in anticipating the answers of the interviewees.
“I felt the company’s future would be incredible.”
“The future?”
“Yes. I want to build that future together in a company that’s just starting out!”
Fundamentally, their educational backgrounds were far better than his.
There was even an interviewee who had interned at the White House or the UN.
‘Am I the right person to be selecting people like this?’
In terms of work ability, most of them were likely far more skilled than him.
In any case, he paid each person who came for an interview $200.
“We will contact you by phone by tomorrow.”
“Okay. But, by any chance, could you pay the interview fee in Source Coin?”
“…”
First the programmers who participated in the development, and now this. Why did everyone want Source Coin when it hadn't even been officially released?
He spent the morning conducting interviews and having conversations, then had lunch with the employees.
In the afternoon, he briefly read the news on his phone.
- Goldman Sachs: “COVID-19 to Bring US Corporate Earnings to Zero This Year”
- New York Stock Market Screams. Dollar, Treasury Yields, and Oil Prices Plummet in Unison
- Dow Jones Plummets at Close, Is a COVID-19 Economic Depression Coming?
- Triple Threat: US Stock Market Experiencing Historic Crash
- Tech and Energy Stocks Collapse, Fear Index Skyrockets
- [Breaking News] Dow Jones Records Largest Drop in History
The US stock market was in a free fall.
The coronavirus, which had started in China and spread to Korea and Italy, was now delivering a massive shock to the United States.
News of the Dow and Nasdaq plummeting poured in in real-time.
Producer Seong Ho-jin spoke with an astonished look.
“It seems your prediction that the New York stock market would fall has come true, sir.”
“Ah. Yes. It has.”
He was flustered.
For a moment, he forgot he was on camera and almost made a serious face.
He opened his stock trading app.
[ Return: 487% ]
How was he supposed to comprehend this?
When he invested $200 million in put options, he expected to make a decent profit if he was right, or lose it if he was wrong.
In just a few days, his $200 million had earned him $974 million.
He was trying his best to hide his bewilderment and disbelief.
Producer Seong Ho-jin asked.
“You said you invested in put options. What’s your return rate right now?”
He could have chosen not to disclose it, but he figured, what was the point?
He was already a billionaire, and this was just a little more money earned in a flash.
“The return is 487%.”
“What did you say?”
“I think I’ve made about 1.2 trillion won.”
He said it nonchalantly, hiding his shock.
He watched the dumbfounded expressions on the faces of the producer, the writer, and the cameraman.
* * *
“Wow. I’m speechless.”
Back in his hotel room, Producer Seong Ho-jin replayed the day's footage on his laptop with the writer and cameraman.
The CEO of their company, Kim Shin.
He had said he invested a bold $200 million, betting on a New York stock market crash.
And then… as if out of a lie, the New York stock market truly did crash.
On television, every American channel he flipped to was reporting on the market collapse.
“A producer friend of mine once filmed a show about crypto.”
Seong Ho-jin began to speak, as if complaining to the writer and cameraman.
“During filming, one of the guests’ coin holdings went up by over a billion won. He said seeing that gave him a serious reality check about his own life of working late nights and overtime. But seeing someone make over a trillion won… I’m at a loss for words.”
“It’s the same for me.”
As they replayed the video, they saw that they had filmed more after that conversation with Kim Shin.
Walking around the company, talking to employees, even playing games in the PC bang-style break room.
They had blankly filmed him going about his ordinary routine after earning over a trillion won.
“It’s a huge shock. Does he just take it in stride? It’s actually pretty cool.”
“Man. This is what it means to be super-rich.”
Because they talked with him and were in a group chat together, they hadn't realized just how wealthy Kim Shin truly was.
“We won’t be able to air what we’re filming on a major network.”
“I agree.”
How could they broadcast a segment about someone making a trillion won in a single day on a terrestrial channel?
Before the Communications Commission could even step in, a good portion of the nation would probably collapse from envy.
“It would be tough even for cable.”
“Yeah. It probably would be…”
They would likely have to use Netflix or another OTT platform. And if they were going to use that distribution channel, it would be better to produce a formal documentary.
As long as they hadn't signed a contract and received production funds from an OTT service, they could use today’s footage however they wanted.
“Before it’s too late, and before any talk of manipulation starts, let’s cut some clips and upload them to YouTube.”
“The clip about him making over a trillion won?”
“Of course, we have to use that. We need to create a channel for our production company anyway. If we feature CEO Kim in the first episode, we’ll gain popularity in no time.”
Seong Ho-jin took out his phone.
“Let’s start filming for real now.”
- Producer Seong Ho-jin: Seok. What’s the film crew up to?
- Go Seok: We’re on standby since there are no programs in production.
- Producer Seong Ho-jin: Get all the writers, and the sound and lighting teams, and come over to the US. There’s a goldmine of things to film with the CEO. ㅎㅎ
- Go Seok: How many episodes do you think we can get?
- Producer Seong Ho-jin: With just a little bit of planning, we could get at least three episodes. His crypto business is especially fascinating. I’m curious to see the reaction when it officially launches next week.
- Producer Seong Ho-jin: Tell Jeong-ryeol to look into Biolife.
- Go Seok: Biolife?
- Producer Seong Ho-jin: It’s a pharmaceutical company in Gwangmyeong. CEO Kim invested in it, and they’re apparently researching a COVID vaccine.
* * *
Even after hitting a 487% return, he didn't liquidate his put options.
He was definitely less worried about whether it would go up or down than he had been with crypto.
‘Have I grown a backbone?’
Instead, late at night, he entered his old sales team’s group chat.
Even after quitting, he somehow didn’t want to leave it, so he had remained.
A place where many messages were posted every day.
Team Leader An, Lee Jong-yeop, Jo Soo-ah, and himself.
The conversation in the four-person group chat had been silent for a year, but everyone was still there.
- Kim Shin: Team Leader. What have you been up to these days?
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: Just living.
The reply came in less than two minutes.
He hadn’t been close with many people during his time at the company, but he seemed to have good luck with the people he did know.
Being able to talk to the people you like whenever you want—that’s enough, isn’t it?
- Kim Shin: How’s the company? Are you busy?
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: I’ve never been this free since I started working here. A lot of hospitals have closed due to COVID, so our schedule is wide open.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: Many non-essential surgeries have been canceled. Things like vision correction surgeries are being postponed.
- Kim Shin: I see.
The damage and impact of COVID were being felt even in the pharmaceutical industry.
The initial stage of prevention had passed, and the focus had shifted to tracking and treatment.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: Even the hospitals that are performing surgeries don’t like sales reps visiting. Thanks to that, all the employees are idle.
As COVID spread, many ophthalmology clinics had closed.
With performance declining, the pressure from the company would intensify, so it couldn't have been entirely relaxing for the sales reps.
- Kim Shin: I see. It’s a shame. If I were in Korea, we could have had a drink, Team Leader.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: I heard you were in the US.
- Kim Shin: You did?
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: Yeah. I saw it in the news online when you left the country.
My departure was newsworthy?
He didn’t know which reporter it was, but they might have even taken a picture of him at the airport.
He thought he had been dressed quite plainly.
- Kim Shin: Actually, I have something on my mind.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: What is it?
- Kim Shin: Most of the people I meet are connected to me through work or business. I don’t have many friends I can be comfortable with. I feel like I’m becoming too focused on just making money.
Most of the people he met in the US were either employees, entrepreneurs, or investors.
A sense of regret for how difficult it had become to make friends as he got older and wealthier.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: You really don’t know much about life.
- Kim Shin: I don’t?
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: When you get older, do you think friends stick around? Money does.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: Most of your friends drift away when they get married. When you get older, most of them are guys you talk to maybe once or twice a year on the phone.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: And when they do call, it’s usually about weddings or funerals.
Team Leader An was a die-hard realist.
Yet, he still took care of his subordinates in his own way.
‘Money is what lasts…’
Isn't any life where you have something left over a successful one?
The next day, the filming crew was significantly reinforced.
About twenty people had flown in from Korea.
There were three cameras alone, along with writers and a sound team.