Chapter 40
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: First, 3 Trillion Won
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<First, 3 trillion won.>
"Have you come out?"
As Kangyul emerged from the room, Jang Deokcheol, who had been waiting, brightened up.
He must have felt burdened standing guard alone outside against all those unfamiliar faces.
"Phew. I wrapped up the contract nice and clean."
Kangyul pulled the contract from his pocket and handed it to Jang Deokcheol.
"...President. That chairman fellow..."
"Ah, it was nothing. Turns out he's just a huge fan of mine. Haha."
The escorting man glanced over slyly, but Kangyul ignored him.
He intended to keep even Jang Deokcheol in the dark about Grandpa Baek's true identity or their conversation.
'Whatever he really is, he's definitely dangerous.'
The man had manipulated North Korea right before his eyes and toyed with stock prices at will.
He seemed more than capable of easily dealing with someone like Kangyul if he felt like it.
'The silver lining is that Grandpa Baek seems to have a favorable view of me. Phew.'
And he appeared to have the power to shield him from something like the war from his dreams, should it come to that.
Even if it meant needing a staggering 3 trillion won.
'...So, starting now, maybe I should scrape together money even more aggressively?'
Kangyul left without looking back.
The workshop was still in full swing.
With champagne and wine paired to the food, everyone was in high spirits.
"President! Vice President! Where on earth did you two disappear to, coming back so late? Even some idol singers came and went!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes! You must be hungry. Eat up!"
The table was laden with a colorful array of dishes.
They were the ones Kim Min-a had set aside in advance for the three of them.
Kangyul picked up a chicken leg in front of him and took a bite.
Crunch crunch.
'...As expected from Yuanyang Hotel. This is insanely good.'
Jang Deokcheol and Im Honggyu, tense from earlier, were now devouring the food in front of them.
Once their stomachs were somewhat filled, emcee Jo Neho stepped forward to host an event.
"Wow. This has to be the most exciting and fun workshop ever!"
'Why does he sound so awkward saying that? Haha.'
Kangyul smirked at the somewhat clueless-looking Jo Neho.
"Yes! Next up, let's have the president of Midas Corporation say a few words. Everyone, give him a round of applause!"
Clap clap clap!
'Huh?'
This wasn't in the original schedule.
The plan had been to hand out employee appreciation gifts without any speeches from the executives and call it a day.
Jo Neho must have gotten swept up in the atmosphere and gone off-script.
"Vice President, why don't you go up and say something? We can't kill the vibe."
"Yes, sir."
As Jang Deokcheol stood, applause erupted once more from the surroundings.
Jo Neho handed the mic to Jang Deokcheol on stage.
Park Gyusu and Kim Donghwan knew he was the vice president but didn't make a fuss.
"Ooh, the president looks so young!"
Looking embarrassed, Jang Deokcheol shook his head and took the mic.
"The president is busy, so your vice president is stepping in. Congratulations to everyone on officially joining Midas. It's a company that rewards effort generously, so please give your all in return."
Jang Deokcheol kept it short and simple before stepping down.
"Haha. Vice President, your face is all red."
"I don't like being in the spotlight. Ahem."
Kim Min-a, who usually feared Jang Deokcheol, teased him lightly now that she had a bit of a buzz.
Kangyul watched them while sipping the beverage beside him.
"Ahem. President, mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure. Ask away."
"You started a YouTube channel, then bought a school and a bank. And now you're investing in movies? I'm curious—what's your ultimate goal? Are you aiming to build a massive conglomerate like the chairman?"
Kim Min-a and Im Honggyu nearby perked up their ears at Jang Deokcheol's words, looking at Kangyul.
'Come to think of it, I've been dabbling in a ton of random stuff.'
Kangyul scratched his head.
"No big plans, really. Or rather, I didn't have any. I figured I'd just make some decent money, help people out moderately, and take things easy."
Jang Deokcheol nodded at Kangyul's words, though he looked a tad disappointed despite not showing it.
"But today, I've changed my mind a bit. I've even set a goal for myself."
"A g-goal, you say?"
"Yeah. First off, I'm thinking of gathering just three big ones."
Not just Jang Deokcheol, but Kim Min-a and Im Honggyu listening in tilted their heads.
"Three big ones—300 billion?"
"...President, you made 48 billion just from that land deal today."
"Eek. Then 3,000 billion?"
He could hear Kim Min-a and Im Honggyu whispering, but Kangyul pretended not to.
"No. 3 trillion won. My goal is to have 3 trillion in cash—not company value—within 10 years."
Im Honggyu, who had been about to pop a peanut in his mouth, and Jang Deokcheol, who had been listening intently, both froze.
3 trillion was an amount that felt utterly unrealistic.
"So please don't hate me too much if I push harder and stir up more projects from now on. Got it?"
Jang Deokcheol nodded gravely.
"...I'll do my utmost to serve you. Young Master."
"I'll give it my all too."
"Me too!!"
Kangyul grinned broadly, uncharacteristically.
'Ugh. But why is it so hot in here?'
Suddenly, Kangyul's body heated up.
And his head was spinning too.
"Whew. It's so hot. Did they turn on the heater or something?"
As Kangyul shed his jacket, Kim Min-a hurried over to check his face.
"Huh? President... did you drink any of the champagne here?!"
"Champagne? I thought it was just a beverage."
"...It's alcohol! The content is under 1%, so it's often treated as non-alcoholic, but..."
Kangyul grinned again.
'No wonder I was feeling so good.'
He reached for another glass of champagne, but Kim Min-a swiftly snatched it away.
"Just one more!"
"No way!"
And so, Kangyul was forcibly dragged back to the company before the workshop even ended.
"Ugh, my head."
Kangyul clutched his head sitting in the company office.
He never imagined a single glass of champagne—with less than 1% alcohol—would leave him with such a hangover.
Even after going home early, claiming a headache, and crashing right away, he still felt like this.
"Are you okay, President? Here, have this. It's honey water."
"Ugh. Thanks."
Slurp—
The sweet honey water somewhat settled his queasy stomach.
Of all days, today's 'Gourmet Kangyul A' shoot was carbonara tteokbokki.
As an ad-sponsored dish, he couldn't just choke it down tastelessly; he had to force himself to eat it deliciously, nearly dying in the process.
'Looks like alcohol and I just aren't meant to be in this life.'
"Back in my prime, I could handle two bottles of soju no problem."
"Pardon?"
Kim Min-a, tray in hand and heading out, startled and looked at Kangyul.
"Ahaha. Nothing. By the way, has Im Honggyu arrived yet?"
"Yes. He went to pick up Jaeyoung, but they're late today."
"Tell him to come straight to my office when he does."
As Kim Min-a left the office, Kangyul logged into the Mt. Gox site for the first time in a while.
[Bitcoin]
[9,400]
[9,300]
'It's dropped a lot.'
Kangyul had sold when it hit 30,000 won, so it was now down to a third from its peak.
And it would hover below 30,000 won until early 2013, a year later.
'Then, the moment China approves Bitcoin activity, it blasts through 1 million won, right?'
When massive Chinese capital poured in and broke 1 million, that would be Kangyul's second money-making window.
Until then, he needed to slowly accumulate coins bit by bit.
Click—
Kangyul opened the memo where he tracked his finances.
[Overseas Deposits: 110 billion won]
[Midas Corporation: Assets 6 billion won]
[Midas Mutual Savings Bank: Equity 50 billion won]
[Midas School Foundation: Equity 4.8 billion won]
[Gimpo Land Sale Profit: 48 billion won]
[Total Assets: 218.8 billion won]
To an ordinary person, it was a jaw-dropping sum.
But to Kangyul, who needed 2 trillion, it was woefully short.
Moreover, the cash he could actually deploy was just the 158 billion from overseas deposits and the Gimpo land profit.
'Sink 50 billion into Bitcoin and roll the rest as hard as possible.'
Movies, dramas—he planned to invest in everything in sight, giving it his absolute best.
Kangyul jotted down future investment plans simply in the memo and closed it.
He was tempted to buy some stocks too, but as a total stock noob, one wrong move could leave him bankrupt.
'Sigh. Fine. I'll stick to what I do best.'
He'd considered blue-chip stocks but scrapped the idea after seeing charts wobble from Grandpa Baek's words.
"President. Jaeyoung's here."
"Oh?"
Kangyul stood at Kim Min-a's voice and headed out of the president's office.
He planned to greet Lee Jaeyoung and give Im Honggyu some quick instructions.
"Huh?"
But there stood Lee Jaeyoung with someone extremely familiar.
"...Nanny?"
It was none other than Lee Jaeyoung's grandmother—and Kangyul's own nanny.