The Crown Prince’s Visit (1)
The royal delegation accompanying the Crown Prince’s visit to Korea included twelve members of the royal family.
Saudi Arabia had princes and princesses scattered everywhere, so remembering every name and face was impossible, but at least Prince Rashid was someone I should have known.
Chairman Yoo Jae-ho looked mildly troubled.
"That’s not an easy favor to ask."
It was different from asking him to introduce me to Heo Min-woong the other day. From his perspective, Heo Min-woong was someone he knew; Prince Rashid was not.
And introducing someone was the same as vouching for that person’s identity and conduct. If I slipped up, even Chairman Yoo could end up taking damage.
He would have to shoulder some risk himself. Not to mention the money it would cost along the way. He would probably have to spend more than the value of the painting I’d given him today.
After thinking for a moment, Chairman Yoo said, "I can relay the message, but there’s no guarantee they’ll accept."
"That’s enough."
At my answer, he smiled.
"Good. Then let’s talk about the price this time."
"Didn’t I just give you one?"
"What—"
Chairman Yoo stopped mid-sentence. Then he looked as if he might laugh.
"Haha! I see."
He’d caught on immediately, just as I’d expected.
Sung Yoon-ah still looked confused, but she didn’t ask. We finished the meal and stood up from the table.
The bill showed an amount larger than my entire monthly food budget.
I checked the itemized receipt to see what could possibly have made it that expensive—ah. The wine had been the culprit.
Well, I supposed I ought to enjoy things like this once in a while.
I paid without hesitation.
"Thank you for dinner today. I’ll treat you next time."
"Then it had better be more expensive than today."
"Haha! Anytime."
Chairman Yoo got into his car.
"I’ll be in touch."
"Have a safe trip home."
After the car had disappeared completely, Sung Yoon-ah asked me, "Why did you want to meet Prince Rashid?"
"It’s nothing that dramatic."
"If it’s not that dramatic, then I guess you can tell me what it is."
She looked like she really wanted to hear it.
I told her the truth.
"It’s about a painting."
"The Banksy painting?"
"Not that one. There’s another painting I bought separately in the U.S., and it might be worth quite a lot."
"Then why not put it up for auction?"
"It still hasn’t been restored or authenticated. I heard Prince Rashid is an art lover, so I thought he might be interested."
"Ah! So you’re planning to sell it to a collector."
"Something like that. So, is your curiosity satisfied now?"
"One more thing. What did you mean when you said you’d paid the price for the favor? You don’t mean the painting you gave him at the beginning, do you?"
"Well, it’s nothing much."
"If it’s nothing much, then you can tell me."
Again, she looked like she was dying to know.
"I asked to meet Prince Rashid, didn’t I?"
"You did."
"Because of that, Chairman Yoo now knows that I want to meet Prince Rashid. So wouldn’t he look into Prince Rashid for me?"
Sung Yoon-ah’s eyes widened as understanding dawned.
"Oh, wait... you mean Prince Rashid is an important person?"
I nodded.
"Yes. He isn’t well known, but he’s practically one of the real power brokers in the Saudi royal family."
On the drive home, Yoo Jae-ho fell into thought.
Why does Han Mi-ru want to meet Prince Rashid?
He looked Rashid up first.
He was the son of the current king. Because Saudi Arabia practiced polygamy, he had a great many older brothers above him.
He was twenty-seventh in line for the throne.
On the surface, that didn’t seem particularly important.
The only noteworthy thing was that Prince Rashid was one of Crown Prince Khalid’s close aides and currently served as chairman of the Royal Economic Development Committee.
So why did Han Mi-ru want to meet him?
He didn’t know the reason, but one thing was certain.
Does Prince Rashid have something going on?
Saudi Arabia was one of the few absolute monarchies left in the world.
The favors you could gain by becoming close to someone in power were enormous. That was why every chaebol group was busy preparing hospitality and lobbying efforts to curry favor with Crown Prince Khalid.
But what, exactly, could the Saudi crown prince be lacking?
That meant the hospitality and lobbying would be focused on the crown prince’s family and close aides. As for the other princes and princesses accompanying him, nobody seemed to care much about them.
Yoo Jae-ho: "You confirmed the full list of the Saudi Crown Prince’s delegation entering Korea, right?"
Kim Ji-seok: "Yes, Chairman."
Yoo Jae-ho: "How many family members is Prince Rashid bringing?"
Kim Ji-seok: "I’ll check right away."
Kim Ji-seok: "His second wife and third wife, along with three sons and two daughters."
Yoo Jae-ho: "Prepare the same gifts for them as well. But do it quietly. Don’t let anyone else notice."
Yoo Jae-ho: "And investigate everything related to Prince Rashid, then organize it and report back to me."
Kim Ji-seok: "Understood."
Hospitality revealed a person’s position. If the crown prince’s side found out about it, they might take offense.
After hanging up, Yoo Jae-ho went back to thinking.
He still didn’t know whether Prince Rashid was truly an important figure in Saudi Arabia.
But if he really was someone with weight behind him...
There’s no harm in making a good impression early.
Compared with Crown Prince Khalid, who was the center of attention and guarded with extreme care, Prince Rashid was relatively free.
Instead of attending the dinner hosted by the Blue House, he went sightseeing in downtown Seoul. He looked as if he had very little interest in diplomacy.
His secretary, Asher, reported to him, "Chairman Yoo Jae-ho has sent another gift."
"Hmm, really?"
The Yuseong Group side had been showering Prince Rashid’s entourage with extravagant gifts. Naturally, that could only lead to good things being said among his family and close aides.
What on earth is he thinking?
Prince Rashid attended the luncheon with the conglomerate chairmen alongside Crown Prince Khalid.
Where all the other chaebol chairmen focused only on Crown Prince Khalid, Chairman Yoo Jae-ho alone kept addressing words and glances toward him.
On top of that, while the other princes were set aside, he alone was being treated to hospitality on the level of a crown prince. Obviously there had to be some kind of intention behind it.
"I should at least send a thank-you."
Prince Rashid called Chairman Yoo Jae-ho.
The conversation was in English.
Prince Rashid: "Chairman Yoo, I’m sincerely grateful for your hospitality."
Yoo Jae-ho: "Not at all, Your Highness."
Prince Rashid: "I’ll keep your kindness in mind."
Yoo Jae-ho: "It was a small gesture, but I’m glad you received it well. If you have a moment, may I ask for a little of your time?"
Prince Rashid: "You would like to meet?"
Yoo Jae-ho: "Not me, actually. I’d like to introduce you to someone."
Prince Rashid: "And who might that be?"
Yoo Jae-ho: "Have you heard of Continue Capital?"
Prince Rashid: "I’ve heard the name. That’s the firm run by David Lockhart."
Yoo Jae-ho: "One of the company’s co-founders is a man named Han Mi-ru. He said he would very much like to meet you."
Prince Rashid: "For what reason?"
Yoo Jae-ho: "I’m not sure myself."
Is he asking for investment into his company?
He was chairman of the Royal Economic Development Committee.
Because he handled the management of royal assets, there was no shortage of financiers who wanted a meeting with him.
Most of them hoped for investment from the Saudi royal family.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would have turned it down, but this had piqued his interest a little.
He’s someone Chairman Yoo Jae-ho is paying this much attention to?
Curiosity stirred in him.
"Very well."
No matter how much I knew about the future, there were limits when I lacked capital and connections.
Whatever future I knew would, in the end, become reality for everyone once time had passed. So before that happened, I had to grab as much as I could.
The more investment money I had, the better. The more people on my side, the better.
At first I’d planned to sell only the painting, but my plan had changed a little.
"Prince Rashid, huh..."
He was worth tens of billions of dollars himself.
And because he chaired the Royal Economic Development Committee, he had the authority to invest royal assets.
It was the perfect chance to do more than just sell a painting—to build a personal connection. Whether I seized that chance or missed it would completely change my plans going forward.
"But first I have to meet him before I can do anything."
A day had passed, but there was still no response. By tomorrow morning, he would be leaving Korea and heading back to Saudi Arabia.
If I wanted to meet him, tonight was my only window.
As the hands on the clock passed 9 p.m., I started growing more and more anxious.
If I missed this chance, there would be no way for me to meet him.
No matter how valuable a painting might be, it was useless if you had no route to sell it. That was why auction houses could get away with charging such high commissions for consignment sales.
I suppressed my nerves and kept waiting.
Just when I was starting to wonder if I should go to the hotel and ask directly, Chairman Yoo Jae-ho called.
"How did it go?"
Yoo Jae-ho: "He says he’ll make time for you."
Me: "That’s a relief. Thank you very much."
Yoo Jae-ho: "Can you get to the Five Seasons Hotel in Gwanghwamun by 11?"
Me: "Of course."
Yoo Jae-ho: "I won’t ask what this is about, but please be careful."
Me: "I’ll make sure nothing reflects badly on you, Chairman."
Yoo Jae-ho: "Can I trust you?"
Me: "Yes. And not only that—you’ll end up thinking today’s decision was a good one."
Yoo Jae-ho: "Haha, I truly hope so."
As soon as the call ended, I clenched both fists and shouted, "Yes!"