Persuasion
“Come on, let’s do some work? Hahaha. You must’ve thought I was stretching my hand out to you because I was whining a little. Hey, I’m Kim Seung-wook, Kim Seung-wook. I know your game is doing well, but it was just a casual remark. I’m not asking for help. With my grades and my academic background, I could get into a big corporation. I’m that desperate—someone like me would be lucky to be hired, right?”
“It’s not about getting you to join our company.”
“…Oh. Really?”
Kim Seung-wook scratched his head with a puzzled, blank expression. I poured him another drink and said it seriously.
“I mentioned the U.S. market was acting up, right?”
“Ah~ Were you worried about that? I was just saying it casually.”
“No. I’ve been feeling it too.”
“What? For real? Since when?”
“A bit ago.”
The guy narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“You’ve never shown any interest in stocks before.”
“You’re right. A person running a business can’t ignore market conditions. Most of the sales from the game I made are coming from North America.”
“Hoo… I know men change after the military, but I didn’t think people changed that easily. Wait, why are you acting so different? You’ve turned into an adult all by yourself, dude.”
“Don’t joke around and listen seriously.”
Kim Seung-wook wiped the smirk off his face when he read the sincerity in my expression and focused on my words.
“I think the U.S. economy is going to wobble soon.”
“Wobble…? What’s the evidence?”
“You know how bad the European situation has been lately?”
“Yeah, apparently. It was right before a moratorium in Greece or southern Europe.”
“You mentioned it yourself. If U.S. political conflicts keep happening and the economic growth rate doesn’t meet expectations, even one trigger could make the world wobble.”
“What? That’s just a delusion— you can’t be serious?”
I nodded.
Kim Seung-wook slammed his glass down hard, his face twisting in irritation.
“You bastard! It sounds like you’re about to short it! You’re too thin-skinned to do business! I was just joking!”
“I’m not taking what you said at face value! I’m sure of it! I felt it coming, and now that you mentioned it, I’m certain!”
“If you’re so sure, you’re even crazier! You felt it and now you’re certain because I mentioned it? Who invests like that? Is the economy that easy? Now I want to check the temperature of the Han River!”
I was left speechless. I didn’t know how to convince this guy.
‘I experienced it firsthand in the future!’
I wanted to confess my regression right then, but the guy would definitely treat me like a crazy person. It would be awkward too.
“Listen to me till the end! Who said we’re doing it right now? I felt it coming, but I don’t know the exact timing, so I told you. I’m asking for your help.”
“Aaaaaah. I can’t hear you. Aaaaaah.”
“Are you acting childish at your age?”
“Fuck off. I’m saving you. You’ll bow and thank me later.”
My temper was flaring, and steam was coming out of my head.
“Hey. Get lost. I’ll handle it myself.”
“Hah. Are you serious? Stop it!”
“I’m handling it! I’m investing my own money—why are you making a fuss?”
“Haaa… Okay. Let’s hear it, President Jo Yihan. How much are you planning to invest? Right?”
I spread four fingers.
“Forty million won? That’s nothing—”
“Doesn’t the top two markets seem too small to you? Forty billion.”
“What? Forty billion won?! Is that profit?!”
“No, it’s about thirty billion right now. I don’t plan to invest it immediately, so I’m aiming for around forty billion after combining this month’s sales.”
“You’re insane! You’re completely insane, you idiot!”
I grabbed the bottle and pinned the guy down. He was stronger than me, but drunk, so it was easy.
“Won’t you let go? Come on! Good words now. One. Two. Three. Three and a half. Three and a half and a half. Three and a half and a half and ba—”
“Keep it up. What are you gonna do? Anyway, if you don’t help, I’ll manage these forty billion on my own. You know I’m bad with stocks, right? Won’t help? Fine. I’ll show you what happens when friends go bankrupt.”
“You crazy bastard…”
I was wrong about the persuasion.
This guy needed blackmail. Won’t help? Then just let me go bankrupt~
I had no intention of actually going bankrupt. If Seung-wook refused till the end, I’d just short it from the vague timing I knew.
‘Summer is definite.’
I was going this far because I wanted to bet on the talent of the guy I remembered from before regression, and also because I wanted to give Seung-wook a chance.
‘He told me before regression not to be afraid and to challenge life, but who called who a coward.’
I wanted to break this guy’s tiny pride.
Just like he gave me courage.
The guy’s movements under me gradually weakened.
“Hey, Jo Yihan.”
“Yeah. Why?”
“What should I help with? You’re already planning to short, so what do you want me to do? You won’t even listen when I try to talk sense.”
“It’s nothing. The GOP has barracks, right? Watch the outside situation there and tell me if it’s time to short. Then I’ll handle it myself.”
“You’re a crazy guy. Am I God? How would I know! I’ve only dabbled a little with stocks! What are you basing forty billion on!”
“It won’t lose. What do I base it on? I believe in you, you idiot.”
“Where did that saying come from? It’s so cheesy. If you believe in me, do I have to repay you? Stop pretending to be profound and putting pressure on me. I want to hit you.”
Kim Seung-wook groaned and tapped my knee where I was pinning his body.
“Let me down.”
“Will you?”
“I have to. If I don’t, I’ll just take the money and throw it away. Helping might be the same, but… how could I just watch?”
When I got off, the guy looked pained in his chest and frowned.
“I was bullied even by my seniors as an ace, but I got hit by a friend during vacation. Haaa.”
“I didn’t hit you, I calmed you down. If you were really sincere, I would’ve stabbed you in the ground.”
“Enough. Tell me the detailed plan.”
I explained the investment plan I had roughly planned.
“Are you sane?”
“Why again?”
“Hah. Don’t you care about taxes? You’re not even a corporation—you’re a sole proprietor. If you receive that thirty billion from the game as a sole proprietor, the National Tax Service will take eleven billion. You idiot. With that much revenue, you should’ve set up a corporation from the start.”
I hadn’t done it because I thought it was too early. I expected sales to come in once the game was on track, but it came in better than I thought.
‘And the studio already has seven people—corporation? From the very beginning it felt too grand.’
“First, convert your studio to a corporation. Then even if you pay forty percent in corporate tax, it’ll be half.”
“How did the National Tax Service do forty percent?!”
“That’s just how the tax law is! I don’t know much either, don’t pick a fight. I heard it in cultural studies. If you don’t trust me, ask your father.”
“Fine. Your words make sense.”
Of course I’d verify it separately.
“And besides the studio, set up a holding company. You know what a holding company or subsidiaries are, right?”
“Yeah.”
In my previous life I worked at Nexon, which was a holding company with countless subsidiaries (studios) underneath.
“A limited company… No, an investment corporation can be established alone and doesn’t need special qualifications, so set one up. Transfer the shares of the incorporated studio to the investment holding company. Then the studio corporation’s sales can be received as dividends by the holding company. The taxes you have to pay will drop sharply, and you’ll be able to make the crazy investment you want.”
“It’s complicated.”
“I know vaguely too, so find an accountant. Even if it costs a little money, it’ll be much cheaper than the taxes you’d pay alone.”
“Actually, my dad said he’d introduce an accountant.”
Still, there was curiosity left.
“But if I set up a company that will become the holding company, the money is actually in the studio corporation. How do I transfer shares to a holding company with no money? Just transferring would be embezzlement, right?”
“Buy it on credit. Use a promissory note.”
“You want me to owe you money to buy your studio? Does that make sense? Isn’t this illegal?”
“Illegal? Bullshit. Why would the corporation owe you? You’re just a major shareholder. Why would I spend tens of millions of won to go ask an accountant somewhere? Go to a big firm and they’ll handle everything properly.”
“I don’t get it. How does this work? What if I go bankrupt? What if the investment fails? The holding company won’t be able to repay the studio for the borrowed money.”
“Don’t worry about it! You crazy bastard!”
Yeah, Seung-wook was right.
As long as I repaid it later, it was fine.
‘Ninety-nine percent success rate—if I can’t repay, I’m an idiot.’
The outline of what I needed to do from now on was clear.
“Thank you for the advice. So you’ll do it?”
“If I don’t, I’m going to the Han River. At my age, I don’t want to eat guts soup at a friend’s funeral. I have to help somehow. Ah. Damn. My heart is pounding.”
“I haven’t started yet.”
“I’m about to do something crazy, so my heart is already racing. Sigh. How did the guy I knew who served in the military and ran a company turn into this? Is this really the Jo Yihan I know?”
“So it isn’t?”
The soul of a thoroughly beaten thirty-something man had entered, but it was still the same Jo Yihan.
“Anyway, all I have to do is let you know the timing, right?”
“Yeah. Nothing much.”
“Nothing much?! This is the most important part!”
“The most important thing is raising the investment money.”
“Let’s stop. My head hurts. Hey, close the bottle and get out. You’re making my head ache so much.”
I poured the remaining soju from the bottle into each of our glasses.
“I only trust you.”
“Please believe in me.”
“I trust you?”
“Since I don’t want to see your face, don’t contact me until vacation ends.”
“You said you had no friends. What are you going to do?”
“Anyway, you said you’d come to work. I’m busy too. No, you made me busy.”
“If you’re busy, that’s good. Do your best.”
“You crazy guy.”
*Clink—*
We clinked glasses.
*
“I have an external schedule today, so feel free to leave whenever. If anyone has to stay late, leave a message for me.”
After informing the company I was stepping out, I went to the accountant my father had introduced. It was a large accounting firm that rented an entire building.
“Hello. I’m here through President Jo Du-pal’s introduction.”
“Received the message. Please go to the third floor. Mr. Lee Hyeok-soo is there.”
Following the front desk’s guidance, I went upstairs and a middle-aged man of a similar age to my father greeted me.
“You’re Jo Du-pal’s son, right?”
“Yes. That’s me.”
“You look so much like your father! Come this way!”
I explained why I had come to the accountant’s private office.
“Hmm. An investment corporation… You want to create a holding company…”
“Yes. Currently it’s just a game studio, but I plan to keep expanding the business. I’m thinking of a holding company structure. It will be better to do it now rather than later when the company grows.”
“That makes sense. But the scale is larger than I thought… The current game studio revenue as a sole proprietor is forty-eight billion won over five months, which might be a bit difficult for me to handle alone…”
“Ah. Then what?”
“No, that’s not the problem. It’s just that the scale is a bit large for me alone. If we assemble a small team and do it as a project, it’s possible. The downside is that the cost will be a bit higher…”
“It’s fine. I heard it will be much cheaper than the taxes it would be taken by.”
“Hahah! Exactly! Just a moment!”
He searched his drawer and brought out the contract.
“Although the cost looks high, I’ll explain that it’s not. Our accounting firm operates a one-stop service. We provide all the financial and management solutions needed for corporate operations, including registration for setting up corporations, tax adjustments, and accounting audits.”
“Hmm.”
I read through the contract carefully.
Even if my father’s introduction made me think the accountant might try to take advantage, I had to read it properly.
“It’s okay. You provide after-care too, right?”
“Of course!”
“I’ll sign the contract.”
“You’re so straightforward, young president! You look just like President Jo Du-pal!”
That was a bit…
If I praised him by comparing him to my father who was about to go bankrupt, it wouldn’t sound like a compliment.
Three weeks later, all procedures were complete, and PlayForge Studio, which had been a sole proprietorship, became a corporation.