Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Laying the Foundation
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'Tsk, if he had just held on a little longer, I might have given him some praise…'
I’d tossed and turned all night.
The unexpected atmosphere at home.
And the awl that was Jin Hyun-cheol, finally starting to pierce through.
A tangle of other stray thoughts had frayed my nerves.
'Even a rusty awl is still an awl.'
Although he tended to misfire, I couldn't ignore him completely.
Setting everything else aside, his stake in Thales was more than double mine.
If I grew the company under these circumstances, would I really be the one to profit?
No matter how I looked at it, there was a high probability I’d just end up lining someone else’s pockets.
'My stake in Jaewoo Thales is four percent. Jin Hyun-cheol’s is eight percent. It’s not like Chairman Jin is going to hand me more shares right now… Which means I have to secure them myself.'
That seemed to be the priority.
I needed to at least surpass Jin Hyun-cheol’s stake for growing the company to be meaningful, and to be able to handle any unforeseen situations.
The only thing left was to find the means, but I already had something in mind for that.
“Secretary Kim, could you come in for a moment?”
The next day, I called for Secretary Kim as soon as I arrived at the office.
Perhaps because of my unusual tone, her cheerful expression vanished as she stopped chatting with the other employees, her face hardening as she followed me in.
“Did something happen at home yesterday, sir?”
“I can’t say nothing happened. I’m sorry to ask, but could you liquidate the assets on this list for me?”
“Why the sudden liquidation?”
Secretary Kim looked at me, her eyes filled with anxiety.
She was, after all, one of the few people I could now call my own.
It wouldn’t hurt to give her a heads-up on my goals, even if I didn’t go into the specifics.
“It’s to secure shares in Jaewoo Thales. It’s hard to take control of the company with a meager four-percent stake.”
“But even if you liquidate your assets, won’t it be difficult to secure as many shares as you want right away?”
“It would be, if I invested all of it into shares. But I’m going to use that money to establish a research institute to develop materials and components. The materials we develop will then be produced through Thales.”
“…”
“Then, as those materials are sold, I’ll receive enormous technology fees, which I plan to use to steadily purchase shares in Thales.”
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason for establishing the institute.
I couldn’t just pull the materials and components I was going to introduce to the world out of thin air.
The research institute would provide a plausible origin.
“So you’re saying you’re going to create a kind of parts supplier.”
“No, it’s different. As I said, my institute will only handle technological development, not production. To put it simply, you could call it a type of IP (intellectual property) firm.”
“You’ll generate profit just by providing the technology?”
She probably couldn’t comprehend it.
But in the future, technological prowess is power, and that power creates unimaginable influence and profit.
“With special materials, you can generate immense added value just by holding the patents. Furthermore, the moment you become a patent powerhouse, you become an absolute titan that no one dares to challenge.”
“…”
She blinked, as if asking for a more detailed explanation.
But that was all the explanation I would give.
I answered with a smile and shook the papers in my hand.
“Anyway, I’d like you to cash these out as quickly as possible. The liquid assets alone should be close to thirty billion won.”
“Understood. Huh? But are you excluding the real estate?”
“It’s unreasonable to sell that off when the market has bottomed out.”
Selling real estate that had been halved in value by the financial crisis would be foolish.
If anything, now was the time to buy more.
Fortunately, Hyun-seung’s mother had left behind a significant number of bearer bonds, amounting to nearly twenty billion won.
“The bearer bonds will be easy to liquidate, but the registered bonds will be trickier. If you need me for anything, call anytime.”
“Yes, I’ll look into it immediately.”
After she left the room, I spent some time re-estimating the amount of capital needed to establish the institute.
Considering the plethora of research equipment costing billions of won, a total of thirty billion was definitely tight.
'Tsk, if I’d known, I would have memorized all the soaring stock tickers before coming here.'
The thought just popped into my head out of sheer frustration.
But stocks are a game for those who know how to play.
Even if I knew which ones would rise, I don’t have the skill to turn that knowledge into profit.
The stock market has always been sensitive to the flow of capital. How was I supposed to react when the market conditions changed drastically after a large injection of funds?
'Should I liquidate some of the real estate then?'
I considered reducing the scale of my real estate holdings.
Selling one of my five buildings wouldn’t be a devastating loss.
But when I opened the drawer to check the list of properties, a document lying dormant inside caught my eye.
“Royalties?”
My eyes widened in an instant.
How could I have completely forgotten about this?
The fact that I would be receiving 56 billion won within the next month.
'What a relief. I was even considering borrowing facilities from the Thales research lab if things got desperate.'
If it had come to that, things would have gotten quite complicated.
For one, I might not have been able to claim full ownership of the developed technologies and materials.
In the end, these royalties saved me in more ways than one.
'Fifty-six billion won… With that kind of money, I can secure not only additional equipment but also operating funds for a while. The question now is how to take the first step…'
No matter how I thought about it, trying to create something like a hypersonic cruise missile or a fifth-generation fighter jet right away was impossible.
It would be impossible to realize such feats of advanced materials and components with the current lagging level of material science.
In that case, it was obvious I had to perfect the development of the necessary components and materials before tackling weapons development, right?
Even if it meant a slight delay, that approach would certainly have a lower chance of failure.
'Even though they’re just parts and materials, their market potential is enormous, and they’re sure to bring in massive profits. That, in turn, will give me a huge cushion for future weapons development.'
I felt like the steps were finally falling into place.
Start with material development, then move on to weapons.
The materials would generate their own profits, and based on those profits, I would then create weapons to generate new profits.
If this wasn’t killing two birds with one stone, what was?
“Four years at most. I’ll settle this within that time.”
***
The liquidation of my liquid assets took only a week.
The next step was to secure a building for the research institute.
But the location was always a sticking point. Just as I was about to start purchasing equipment first, Secretary Kim made a very useful suggestion.
“What about using the building you own in Bundang, sir? It’s on the outskirts, so the location is suitable, and most of the tenants have already left due to the economic crisis.”
If that was possible, I could save a lot of money.
Which meant I could naturally afford to purchase more research equipment.
The only remaining issue was whether the remaining tenants would agree to move out, but contrary to my expectations, they readily agreed when offered reasonable compensation.
This damn economic crisis.
Anyway, it’s always the common people who suffer because of those who can’t see the bigger picture.
“As of yesterday, all the tenants have moved out. The interior construction should take two weeks at most. When should we start bringing in the equipment?”
Secretary Kim asked as we looked around the empty building.
She was truly a one-woman army.
Appointing her as my point person was a stroke of genius.
“Start as soon as the construction is finished. Everything except the equipment coming from Germany needs to be installed as quickly as possible.”
“Understood.”
There was no trace of annoyance on Secretary Kim’s face as she replied.
No, far from being annoyed, her expression was full of anticipation.
I couldn’t understand what she was so happy about, especially when she was giving up her weekends to work.
“I have to go to Gangnam to meet someone. You can head home for the day, Secretary Kim.”
“Who are you meeting now…? Didn’t you say you have an appointment with the Chairman this evening?”
“That’s this evening. Right now, I’m going to recruit a friend to help with the institute.”
“I understand. Then I’ll head home from here.”
“Oh! Wait a moment.”
I handed an envelope to her as she turned to leave.
After making her work this hard, it was only right to compensate her.
But the person who should have been happy to receive it was fidgeting nervously, glancing around.
“I’m sorry, sir, but the salary I receive from the company is more than enough.”
“But this wasn’t a company assignment; it was a personal request from me. So you should naturally accept it. Are you trying to make me look like someone who can’t separate business from personal matters?”
“…”
My tone was so firm that she couldn’t refuse any longer.
The envelope she reluctantly accepted disappeared into a very worn-looking bag.
Come to think of it, the shoes she was wearing also looked excessively old.
“Tsk, they say the face completes the fashion, but still…”
“Pardon?”
To be honest, I hadn’t noticed before, overshadowed as it was by her beauty.
But now that I knew, I couldn’t just let it slide.
It seemed a card I’d had no particular use for until now would come in handy.
“What’s with that bag and those shoes? I can’t stand to see my secretary looking shabby. Take this card and go to a department store right now. The limit is high enough, so I don’t care if you buy luxury brands.”
“…”
“Of course, you can refuse. This isn’t payment for your work; it’s a gesture of goodwill. But I don’t think you’re the kind of impolite person who would reject a pure gesture of kindness.”
“…”
A flustered Secretary Kim blinked her eyes.
First the envelope, and now a card.
She was probably wondering what on earth was happening.
“Sorry, but please open the envelope later.”
I said that, but I didn’t expect her to listen.
“Sir!”
Just as I thought, I immediately heard a gasp from behind me, followed by the patter of footsteps.
“You really don’t listen, do you.”
“But, this is…”
“No, Secretary Kim, you fully deserve that money. If it makes you feel better, think of it as an advance payment for all the hard work you’ll be doing in the future.”
“Fifty million won?”
Of course, fifty million won is a lot of money.
But as I said before, considering all the work she’ll have to do for me, it’s by no means an unreasonable amount.
She might be shocked by the number of zeros right now, but in time, she’ll realize that money wasn’t as much as it seemed.
“See you at the office tomorrow.”