A Very Brief Connection - 1

Aside from Tesla in 2021 and Accor in 2023, the year that would become my greatest opportunity was the one now approaching—2020.

No. It might turn out to be an even greater opportunity than those.

Barely ten days before 2019 began, I had bought 1.4 billion won's worth of a stock trading at a mere 421 won. And today, at the end of January, with the share price up to 500 won, I bought another billion won's worth.

Ainddi—5,325,415 shares.

Total investment: 2.4 billion won. Outside of my earliest days, it was the smallest sum I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever put into a single stock. It was also the company with the lowest market capitalization among everything I had invested in.

Calculated at the current share price, the market cap was a mere 5.7 billion won—a tiny KOSDAQ-listed firm. I held a full 61.18% of the free float. But of that, I would have to scatter at least 30% once the retail investors started swarming in. That was the only way the price would climb. If I just sat on everything myself, the stock would never move.

Even after that, the projected profit came to roughly 160 billion won. A mere 2.4 billion invested, 30% of it tossed out as bait, and the remaining shares alone would still deliver that kind of return. Factor in the profit from the bait shares themselves, and it might easily clear 200 billion. Of course, the tax bill would be brutal too.

"CEO."

"Yes?"

"Just checking if you were listening."

"Ah… how far did you get?"

"Up through the debut date and the debut track being finalized."

"What's the debut track?"

"…"

"Sorry. My mind wandered for a second there. Haha…"

"We've locked in the song you recommended—Not Yet Midnight. During the arrangement process, though, we reworked it to play to the girls' strengths, so it'll sound quite different from the version you first heard. Would you like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to listen?"

"Yes."

The finalists from The Project 32 were now about a month and a half from debut. The exact date was March 17th. Lee Hayeon, whom I had been worried about, had rejoined after Kim Sua and the other debut-group members visited her mother in the hospital every day. And throughout the drawn-out pre-debut period, we had been steadily uploading the process to YouTube and Witch so public interest wouldn't fade.

"What do you think?"

"It's good. Really good."

"Shall we proceed with this version?"

"Of course. You've worked hard."

"I didn't do anything. The staff did all the real work."

Not Yet Midnight, now confirmed as the debut track, had originally been meant for a solo artist. It should already have been released by now. But nearly ten months earlier, it had fallen into my hands. So it had been rearranged for a five-member girl group, with Park Ji-an's rap firmly woven in, and reborn as something new.

Honestly, I couldn't say whether the original or the rearranged version was better. To my ear, though, this rearranged one was superior. Lee Hayeon's vocals, Park Ji-an's rap, Kim Sua's opening, Jeong Yu-na's killer hook—she should have been an actress—and Kim Eun-seo's textured vocals stitching the whole thing together in between. This debut was going to succeed whether it wanted to or not.

"How are the new subscriber numbers?"

"They've been climbing fast since The Emperor dropped. With the theatrical run of A Ruthless Profession wrapping up recently and the TV drama of The Cat about to premiere, we're projecting at least three million paid members."

Three million paid members on Witch. Even calculated at the most common Standard plan, that was 21 billion won a month in revenue—roughly 250 billion a year. Frankly, Lime Entertainment and the production company Future Studio were little more than auxiliary engines for Witch's rapid growth. They would eventually generate solid profits of their own, but that would take time, and the returns would never come close to Witch's.

"Looking at the stats, foreign subscriber numbers are far too low. Domestic numbers are more or less maxed out. China's blocked, of course, but we need to ramp up promotion in Japan and Southeast Asia—markets heavily influenced by the Korean Wave. Japan especially had a huge response to The Project 32. This time, make a sequel that includes trainees of various nationalities, not just Korean ones. It'll promote itself naturally, and the overseas reaction will be even better."

"That part might be better directed at President Won Chaeyoung and President Gu Hong-jun than at me…"

"We're all sitting here together. Figure it out yourselves."

"I'll move the global audition schedule up a bit."

"We've got one production team free right now, so we can start filming anytime."

"Good. And how is the shoot for The Cat going?"

"You should visit the set once, CEO—as a morale boost."

"If I show up, they'll just feel awkward."

"What are you talking about? When you come, they get so excited about the beef dinner they throw."

"Haha… I'll drop by soon."

I was going to stay busy until the semester started. No—I had been even busier since that day.

"Sunwoooo~~~"

"Where do you think you're going? You still have to make coffee!"

"Hiiing… just wait a little! Sol will make it real quick and come right back!"

"Haha… I keep telling you not to act so familiar…"

It burned. No—it scalded. The stares of men pouring in from every direction were drilling holes in my face. The café regulars seemed to multiply by the day.

"Come order and then leave."

"The usual."

"Leave your card first…!"

"Can't you buy me one cup of coffee?"

"…Wait. I'll bring it over."

"Sol will bring it~!"

Whenever I had free time, I always ended up here. It wasn't that the coffee was especially good, or the atmosphere, or the view. It was because Eunsol and Naye were here. For shaking off the clutter in my head and simply enjoying the moment, there was no better place.

"Hoo… I never should have opened that door…"

That day, standing in front of the hospital room, I had opened a door. Just not the one I had been standing in front of.

I knocked, heard a voice telling me to come in, and opened the door.

"Oh my. I didn't expect you to come looking for me like this. Please, sit down."

"Barging in on a patient like this… I hope I'm not being rude…"

"It's fine. For a future son-in-law, this hardly counts as rude."

"Haha… I'll come in for now, then."

The door I had opened was not a hospital room. It was the research office of Jo Gyeong-hwa, head of internal medicine—and Jeong Hana's mother.

"Coffee alright?"

"My stomach's a bit off…"

"Ah… then I'll get you a glass of lukewarm water."

"Thank you."

"So why did you come see me? I don't think you came to ask for Hana's hand."

"…"

I hesitated for a moment. Only after Jo Gyeong-hwa set the glass of lukewarm water in front of me and took her seat did I open my mouth.

"There's something I'd like to ask about a patient admitted to the VIP ward."

"I'm sorry, but even for a future son-in-law, I can't share patient information."

"Please."

"No."

"I'm asking because I believe she may be the woman who gave birth to me."

"…"

After hearing my circumstances, Jo Gyeong-hwa deliberated for a long time. In the end, the answer that came was a refusal—a conditional one.

"If a biological relationship is confirmed, then as a guardian I can tell you about the patient's condition and diagnosis. But to run a paternity test, we'll need consent from both you, CEO Cha Sunwoo, and the patient. And of course, if the patient asks whose DNA is being compared to hers, I will tell her."

"…"

This time, I was the one who fell silent.

I still wanted to ask her that one thing—why she had abandoned me. But I did not want to bear the life that would follow once we both knew of each other's existence and confirmed it.

It was confusing. To get an answer to my question, I would have to reveal that I existed. And I did not want to do that.

"Sunwoo, coffee~ Heehee."

"If you keep slacking off like this, Naye's going to yell at you again."

"It's just for a second, so what~"

Bright and overflowing with aegyo as always, Eunsol latched onto my arm and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Sol likes Sunwoo."

"I like you too."

"Not like that!"

"Huh?"

"I like Sunwoo so, so much! Just being together like this makes me so happy~ Heehee."

I gave a light pinch to the cheek of Eunsol, who was looking up at me with her head still on my shoulder, then blew on the hot coffee and took a sip.

"Eunsol…!"

"I—it's Naye… Sol's gonna play dead!"

"I heard everything, you know?!"

"Kyaa!!"

"Hey—the coffee…!"

Lee Naye shoved both hands between my shoulder and Eunsol's head, forced us apart, then snatched up Eunsol—who nearly toppled off her chair—and dragged her back to the counter.

"How long are you two going to keep sticking together?"

"Forever."

"You lucky bastard…"

"What about work?"

"Don't rush me. Can't you tell from the fact that I asked to meet?"

The one who went to the counter, ordered coffee, and came back was Geum Gangsan. Honestly, without that guy around, things would have been far more awkward.

"You check it. For the record, I didn't open the envelope. I was dying of curiosity and still held out!"

"So?"

"What do you mean, so? This time I'm asking you to knock off a cool five hundred million or so."

"Deal."

"F-for real??"

Geum Gangsan still owed me a great deal. Five hundred million was nothing I couldn't spare. If I needed to, I could always dig another pit and pile more debt on him.

I slid the test results out of the document envelope. I skipped past all the incomprehensible numbers and checked only the probability in the results column.

Honestly, I had hoped it wouldn't be. But a sad premonition had never once been wrong. And yet, now that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I actually had the result in hand, the feeling was different from before. Surprisingly, I was numb.

"How did you get the DNA?"

"Gave the cleaning lady two hundred thousand won and got some hair."

"Two hundred thousand for five hundred million knocked off, huh?"

"Just means my skills are that good, doesn't it?"

"Good work."

"The result??"

"You really didn't look, huh."

"I really didn't look! For all I know you'd invent some excuse to pick a fight if I did."

"Then live the rest of your life not knowing. It's got nothing to do with you."

"You cheap bastard…! So that's how you're going to play it? Guess you don't want this one very badly, then?"

He held up another document envelope and shook it, wearing an easy smile. It was unpleasant. Seeing that expression on Geum Gangsan's face was deeply irritating. Still, I was curious.

"What's that…?"

"Price negotiation first."

"I need to know what it is before I can negotiate."

"The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠patient's condition. Plus info on who's covering the hospital bills and everyone who's visited the room. This one's expensive—five hundred million probably won't cut it."

"One billion."

"You take haggling?"

"If you're confident, try it."

"One billion, deal. It's useless info to me anyway."

I took the envelope and checked the documents inside. The first page was the patient's medical record—from 2012, a full seven years ago.

"Seo Eunju…"

Thirty-seven, and twenty-one. The name of my biological mother, learned after a full fifty-eight years. And the illness she was suffering from was recorded there too. It was written in English, and the pronunciation felt awkward to read as-is, but it was very close to the word that rose in my mind.

"Alzheimer's…?"

"It's a kind of dementia—a really vicious kind. When it gets bad, you don't just stop recognizing your family. Your body deteriorates until you can't even handle the bathroom on your own."

"…"

"Average life expectancy from diagnosis is seven years. Some live more than ten."

She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2012. This year made exactly seven. The man I had run into in the hospital lobby had said the same thing. "This is the last time." He had said it clearly. The end was not far off.

If I had been even a little later, I might have lived my whole life never knowing. But I had regressed, sought out Yun Jiyeon's house, acquired an entertainment company to help Kim Sua, run into Lee Hayeon by chance, and intervened in that girl's life—and that path had brought me here. Maybe all of it was a fate that could not be defied.

"Fate, my ass…! Serves you right! Abandon your kid and you get a disease like that!!"

"This bastard's drunk…"

"He's right!!"

"Jesus—!"

"Abandoning your child is a really, really bad thing! Sol… sob… Sol was… sob… abandoned tooooo… Waaaaaah!!!!!"

"I'm going insane…! Hey, Lee Naye. At least you try to stop her…"

"Where do you think you're touching?"

"What?? Wh-who touched anyone?! I just tapped her arm once…"

"You piece-of-trash bastard."

"Hey… hey…! C-calm down! Calm the hell down!!!!"

THWACK!!!!

That night's drinking session was a complete disaster. Just the fragments of memory that floated back were enough to make me do blanket-kicks for days—another black mark in my personal history.

And the next day, Geum Gangsan—forehead purple and swollen from the hot pot pan Lee Naye had swung—brought over the document envelope I had dropped at the bar the night before.

"Ow, damn it…! That viper…!"

"Well, why'd you touch her?"

"What did I even touch?! I just tapped her forearm with my elbow to get her to stop making a scene!"

"You shouldn't have done that either."

"Aaaargh!!!! Fine! Forget it! I'm the idiot for catching a cab for someone who needed an ambulance…!! And check the rest of this while you're at it!"

"I'm good. Not looking."

"Look at it before you regret it. It's a tip sheet that shook the securities market over a decade ago. And it's about your mother, not some random person."

"…"

A securities market tip sheet. The fact that he had shown up this morning after getting beaten by Lee Naye meant it wasn't pure rumor. And for a guy filial enough to tattoo his grandparents on the back of his neck to tell me to look…

"Alright, I'm out. Read it at your own pace."

"Hey, Geum Gangsan."

"What now?!"

"Want some ramen before you go?"

"R-ramen…?"

"…Don't clutch your collar like that, you bastard!!!"

"Guh!!!"

After thrashing Geum Gangsan for his hideous misunderstanding and kicking him out, I boiled ramen alone for my hangover. Then I picked up the document envelope and headed to the study.

I read through the old securities market tip sheets and sank into thought. By the time I came back to myself, the sun had already set.

"Cha Seok-hun of Jaehan Group. Ju Min-kyeong of JU Group. And Seo Eunju… and the dead child."