Chapter 48: Source Coin, Ready for Launch
Chapter 48: Source Coin, Ready for Launch
A 52-fold return.
PD Seong Ho-jin felt he had just witnessed a historic moment.
A profit of over 10 billion dollars.
It was a staggering sum on its own, but wasn't it enough to reshuffle the rankings of South Korea's wealthiest?
If you added 10.5 billion dollars to Kim Shin's existing fortune...
‘I filmed this with my own hands.’
The thought made PD Seong Ho-jin's body tremble.
He never knew Kim Shin's hand, slowly tapping and navigating his phone, could create such intense suspense.
‘I studied suspense back in college. How can a scene evoke such overwhelming emotion without a single sound effect?’
Along with the thrill came a sense of relief, as if a great burden had been lifted.
They had come to film his daily life in America and introduce him to the public. What if they had missed this scene?
For a broadcast professional, it would have been a moment of lifelong regret.
“Seon-hwa, let's get the subtitles ready.”
“Yes.”
“We'll release episode two as scheduled, but for today's footage, let's upload just the key part right away.”
“The 10.5 billion part?”
“Yeah. That's right. We'll clip about ten seconds of the core moment and upload it.”
“Aren't we giving away the most important part right away?”
Despite the assistant PD's concern, Seong Ho-jin's decision was firm.
“People who watched the first episode will be curious about when he's going to cash out the put options, right?”
“That's true.”
Most shows, like variety programs, find entertainment in the cast's bickering.
But the scene of Kim Shin earning 10.5 billion dollars provided a raw, primal thrill.
“Based on the stock market's movements so far, people can roughly guess the returns. If we leave it, endless speculation will pop up.”
In fact, viewers were already posting comments calculating his profits daily.
“Let's give them a taste. Once they get a little taste, they won't be able to resist watching the full episode.”
“Episode two is ready.”
“Let's upload it now. And... Han-yul.”
“Yes.”
“Go to the store and buy a ton of beer.”
He'd worked hard and, after becoming a PD, thought he'd never have reason to envy anyone.
But seeing Kim Shin's earnings from a single week made him want a drink.
* * *
Financial communities all over South Korea were in an uproar.
Kim Shin's first episode surpassed 2.8 million views in just 32 hours.
This was thanks to the public's fascination with the super-rich, coupled with the widespread news that he had earned a trillion won by predicting the New York stock market crash.
Real Estate Cafe.
- Anyone see Kim Shin's video? I'm so jealous I could die.
- I'm out here scouting properties, dealing with leases and loans for my real estate investments. I wait years to make a couple hundred thousand dollars and I'm ecstatic.
- Over a billion dollars in profit, holy crap.
- It's not profit until you sell. He's still holding, so I bet he'll end up losing it all.
- He has to lose.
Stock Forum.
- Is he a god? Is Kim Shin a god? Is he a god because his name is Shin?
- So it's actually possible.
- One wrong move with options and you lose everything.
- The fact he bought them predicting COVID is even more insane. Why couldn't I think of that?
- It's like Columbus's egg. He saw the COVID news and bought puts, while we were just sad about the market crashing.
- We're the ones who see a drop, think it's a great time to average down, and ride it all the way to the basement.
- Stop hitting me with facts.
Crypto Forum.
- Our god just made a billion dollars, damn.
- Turns out he's not just good with crypto.
- Simply a god... the light!
- But what is this Source Coin?
- It was mentioned briefly. Said you get a dollar for mining. Is it a charity?
- No website either? It says it's under construction.
- Maybe I should buy some just in case? Should I put in like a thousand bucks?
While people were watching, episode two was uploaded.
The conversation even spread to communities for camera and car enthusiasts.
- Just saw episode 2. Thought he was done after making a billion dollars, but his returns are still climbing.
- He's already made over two billion.
- Starting a company in Silicon Valley and playing CEO... damn.
- Episode 1 only had programmers, but the female employees are gorgeous, huh?
- Did you see the attitude of the women who came for interviews? Looks like they were smiling with their eyes and acting all cute for Kim Shin.
- That has to be CGI. Female coworkers don't smile like that and aren't that pretty.
- The crypto company. I thought it was a scam in episode 1, but they explained it a bit. They pay you for using your personal computer's resources.
- If I just leave my computer on, I could probably make enough for meals.
- Found the grinder above.
- Biolife? I looked it up. An influenza and COVID research lab... damn, his foresight is insane.
Episode two, with its stories about the interviews and the company, had a lot of content to unpack.
The video was also quite long, running for 45 minutes.
Discussions about Kim Shin also popped up in women's communities.
- Kim Shin episode 2. You have to see it. His everyday coolness is exploding.
- The fit of his suit when the bodyguards open the car door for him... *squeal*.
- He must work out a ton.
- It's just that his body is less noticeable because of the muscular bodyguards. That build is perfect.
- He has it all, from money to youth.
- But he's been divorced.
- This is the first time I've ever wanted to marry a divorced man.
* * *
Lying in bed, I browsed through the Korean communities on my phone.
‘Ahh... this is intoxicating.’
It felt like a self-esteem I never had before was blossoming.
Outside the apartment, I had no privacy because of the filming, but in my bed, I was free.
‘Does making 10.5 billion dollars in a week even make sense?’
The broadcast staff must have been shocked, but were they as shocked as I was, checking it on my phone myself?
Every time I checked the returns, I couldn't help but feel anxious and on edge.
I marveled at my decision to buy the put options.
I had some regrets about not betting four or five hundred million dollars from the start, but at the time, it had been a reasonable judgment considering the risks.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: What is all this?
A text came from my team leader at Arcor. He wasn't one to contact me first unless something special was up.
- Kim Shin: Yes?
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: What do you mean, 'Yes?'? I heard you made 10.5 billion dollars.
- Kim Shin: Ah. The video must have just been uploaded.
It hadn't been long since I'd parted ways with PD Seong Ho-jin and the camera crew in front of the apartment.
It made me think that they were really hardworking.
I never realized it when I watched television in Korea, but the hardship the camera crew went through, running around with their equipment, was no small thing.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: Don't even mention it. I just saw the video on YouTube. And now with the breaking news, it's chaos. Your name is all over the real-time search rankings.
- Kim Shin: I see.
If a Korean suddenly made 10.5 billion dollars, it was certainly worthy of a breaking news story.
I figured YouTube and the online communities would be in an uproar all over again.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: Anyway, congratulations.
- Kim Shin: Thank you.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: I hoped you'd do well, but I didn't expect you to do *this* well. Let's grab some chicken and beer when you have time later.
- Kim Shin: Okay.
After sending the text, I put my phone down.
‘I should get some sleep for tomorrow.’
Having worked so much, sleep came easily the moment I closed my eyes.
* * *
As my fortune grew, so did my proactivity in business.
“I'm increasing Earth Resource's capital to 200 million dollars.”
“Oh yeah! Understood, Boss!”
“Boss?”
“You're the president, you've earned it.”
I decided to increase the company's capital to 200 million dollars.
Since it was a business with a lot of potential, I decided to secure a generous amount of capital rarely seen in a startup.
- Kim Shin: In three days, Source Coin will be officially released to the world.
- Kim Shin: Thank you for all your hard work. To everyone who participated in the development, we will be distributing a special bonus of Source Coins, calculated by multiplying your workdays by 300.
They had been paid a daily wage of 300 dollars, but now they would receive an additional bonus of Source Coins based on the number of days they worked.
Even though the development period wasn't long, this meant an additional expenditure of 250,000 dollars for the company.
A sum that would be quite a burden for most startups.
‘This kind of spending is essential to gather talented developers.’
Of the developers who had been involved since the beginning, about 65% had decided to accept a job at Earth Resource. My goal was to raise that number to 80%.
Hiring all of them was difficult, as some had personal reasons or were already slated to join other companies.
- Chris: I'm interested in Source Coin. After our contract with Amazon ends, could we switch to you?
- Kim Shin: Anytime.
- Chris: We'd have to negotiate the price, though.
- Kim Shin: By our calculations, the price will be less than half of what Amazon charges.
- Chris: That price would be perfect.
Perhaps because of the network I'd built in Silicon Valley, there were already companies wanting to become clients.
Although a formal contract would require the prerequisite of Source Coin being launched and sufficiently mined.
- Vice President Jeong Beom-tae: Korea is in an uproar over you, CEO Kim. Your name won't leave the real-time search rankings.
- Vice President Jeong Beom-tae: We're being flooded with interview requests from various media outlets. Some are even saying they'll send reporters to San Francisco if we just say yes.
- Vice President Jeong Beom-tae: We're also getting inquiries from several large corporations and government agencies.
It was a message from the vice president of Dream Art Rainbow.
I started to think that interviews with reporters were a waste of time.
It was a hassle, and besides, I had a better medium than news articles right at hand.
- Kim Shin: For now, let's politely decline all interview requests.
- Kim Shin: I'll talk a lot during the shoot with PD Seong Ho-jin. If we upload the videos to YouTube, I don't think I'll need to do separate interviews with reporters.
I judged that meeting the viewers directly was the best approach.
- Vice President Jeong Beom-tae: Yes. That would be good for increasing subscribers to the production company's channel.
- Vice President Jeong Beom-tae: It would be useful for promoting the movie, but for a variety show, promoting through a YouTube channel is extremely effective.
- Vice President Jeong Beom-tae: However, considering our relationship with the press, you'll probably need to do interviews with a few outlets when you eventually return to Korea. Reporters can be persistent and tiresome if you don't.
- Kim Shin: I'll keep that in mind.
Other major corporations could pressure the media using their advertising budgets, but I didn't have that kind of power yet.
- Vice President Jeong Beom-tae: I didn't know about your investment in Biolife until I saw the video. I found out it's a very good cause, so I've leaked the story to some reporters I know personally.
- Kim Shin: Good work. And about the production investments.
The Korean film and broadcast market was in a drought.
Even Jeong Beom-tae had suggested it was best not to invest for the time being.
- Kim Shin: Invest in potential, not certainty.
- Kim Shin: Even if it means losing money.
* * *
“Let's begin the operation!”
Stress test.
It was the final test to see if Source Coin, the mining process, and the company's management programs were all running normally.
From 2 PM to 6 PM.
A total of 30,000 PCs from around the world were connected to test the entire process, from mining to the issuance and tracking of Source Coin.
At the company, they could analyze the data in real-time through the program.
After the test, Eddie, who was in charge of Source Coin's development, spoke.
“No problems, Boss. The entire process went smoothly, and no critical errors were found.”
“That's a relief.”
With the stress test complete, all preparations for the launch of Source Coin were finished.