New York at Year’s End (2)
The year’s end was when singers’ concerts piled up one after another.
Tickets for famous artists sold out within seconds of going on sale, and the venues were packed wall to wall with fans.
Amid all that, one unusual concert drew particular attention.
It was a concert by the famous rapper Skyfix.
Through Facenote, Linstagram, and other platforms, he announced that he would hold a concert inside the game Nightlight for two days and invited gamers to his island.
Streaming a live concert online and selling that footage had been done before. But this was the first time anyone had used avatars to stage a concert inside a game.
And then the day of the concert arrived.
A huge island had been prepared for the event, and countless characters gathered there. Each one had been customized to reflect its owner’s taste, making them little more than the gamers’ avatars in digital form.
At last, the concert began.
A gigantic 3D avatar of Skyfix descended from the sky and launched into the performance. With every change of song, the background shifted—from the island to the ocean floor, from the ocean floor to the sky, and then out into space and onto strange new planets.
Gamers did more than stare blankly at the screen; through their own characters, they danced along, shouted over voice chat, and made the whole place feel alive.
As word spread, the second day of the concert drew as many as eleven million simultaneous connections, surpassing the game’s previous peak concurrency.
That kind of number was possible only because the concert was held inside a game. In the real world, it would have been impossible.
The crowd’s response was explosive, and that enthusiasm turned into revenue.
The concert itself was free, but over the two days Skyfix earned twenty million dollars from merchandise and item sales alone.
A fantastical performance unfolds inside a game
Nightlight Skyfix concert reaches 11.7 million concurrent users, setting a record
Skyfix earns $20 million from merchandise and item sales alone!
A new form of concert
Legend Games CEO Tom Scott declares that concerts will be transformed by future VR technology……
Once it became clear that concerts inside games could make money, artists who had never shown much interest before began paying attention too.
The internet reaction to the released footage was just as fierce.
Formal negotiations for the acquisition of Link Labs got underway in earnest.
After enough push and pull to keep both sides satisfied, we agreed to lower the purchase price a little in exchange for increasing the company’s investment budget.
Even so, the total amount of capital involved was four hundred billion dollars.
Once I paid that out, the money left over would shrink back to two hundred billion. It would have been nice to invest it somewhere and grow it before then.
What was the fastest, easiest, and most convenient way to make money?
…….
Even I knew that thought was a little trashy.
And for the moment, the stock market didn’t have any major event on the horizon.
At this point, what could I even invest in to make money?
The reason I had succeeded at investing so far was entirely because I knew what would happen in the future. Without that, I was just another ordinary investor.
Still, there was no need to be impatient.
When I thought about it, I had spent so long running as if something were chasing me that I’d barely ever looked ahead of the present moment.
Maybe I didn’t need to be quite so desperate anymore, not after making this much money.
I had already secured Snow Crash, and I had already taken Link Labs. In broad strokes, I had gathered the important keys that led into the future.
I met Sarah at the hotel café.
When she saw me, she smiled and said, “You really did send Facenote crashing.”
“Wasn’t it a good thing you didn’t invest, just like I told you?”
Sarah nodded.
“Yes. Come to think of it, I heard Continue Capital was going to acquire Link Labs. Was that the reason?”
“Well, partly.”
As soon as that became known, CEO Goldenberg apparently contacted Link Labs right away. But the founders had already met Syd, and by then their minds had clearly tilted in our direction.
Besides, Facenote couldn’t exactly start acquisition talks immediately anyway.
Mike Goldenberg might be cursing me out right now…… but that was his problem.
We talked about the Rush Fund investments.
While I had been buried in Facenote, she had used the Rush Fund’s money to buy the stocks I recommended.
Most of them had been purchased on the open market, but some had been taken over in block deals through contact with existing investment firms. In the case of private startups, employees had gone straight to the founders and approached them in person.
“Ah! Do you know Chairman Song Gazuki?”
“Of course.”
He was the Korean-Japanese chairman of Softbox Group.
Softbox was a comprehensive Japanese IT conglomerate spanning portal sites, mobile telecommunications, and games. But what made it even more famous was the fact that it was one of the biggest investment powerhouses in the tech industry.
He was well known for finding promising startups and investing in them.
His most famous investment had been buying a 30 percent stake in Jinybaba in its early days for twenty million dollars.
Jinybaba later came to dominate Chinese e-commerce, and its market value had now grown to six hundred billion dollars.
“He’s setting up a new Insight Fund this time, and he asked whether PIF would be interested in investing.”
“What do you think, Sarah?”
“A fund investment is more than enough through the Rush Fund. The returns have already proven that.”
I laughed to myself.
In the original timeline, PIF and Softbox Group would have formed a fund totaling three hundred billion dollars. With that enormous pool of capital, Chairman Song Gazuki would invest in startups all over the world.
But this time, that role belonged to me and Continue Capital.
From his perspective, he would want to draw PIF in by any means necessary so he could increase the size of the fund.
The reason he was fixated on PIF was simple: other sovereign wealth funds couldn’t make investments like this.
Sovereign wealth funds prioritized stability over profitability and were bound by all kinds of regulations when investing.
But Saudi Arabia was an absolute monarchy. And while other countries’ sovereign wealth funds belonged to the people, this one was the royal family’s property.
Depending on the king’s decision, it could take on risky investments whenever it pleased.
Still, since he was already working with me, there was no reason for him to put money into that side when he could just invest more in the Rush Fund instead.
After all, I had come up with the Rush Fund in the first place by looking at the Insight Fund and thinking it through. When I considered that, I felt a little guilty…… but there was nothing I could do about it.
Sarah looked at me and asked, “Oh! Do you want to go to a party?”
“A party?”
“Yes. I got invited to a charity party.”
Back then and now, parties were important social events. Especially in the Western world.
“I was invited, so I should go, but if I go alone it’ll turn into a hassle.”
She had the looks for it, of course, but she was also the Crown Prince Rashid’s cousin.
In terms of status, she was practically a princess.
On top of that, she wasn’t just a royal relative; she was one of his closest aides, the person in charge of the Rush Fund, and the head of PIF’s overseas investment division.
That meant there was no shortage of people trying to get close to her.
A charity party, huh……
I was bored anyway, so the timing was perfect.
“Sure. I’ll go with you.”
A charity party for the upper class.
I had once dropped in briefly at the birthday party of a GL Group chairman’s granddaughter, but this was my first time at a party this large.
I had brought a suit with me, but that wouldn’t be enough, would it?
I needed to buy a tuxedo to wear to the party, but I wasn’t sure where to get one.
When you don’t know something, there’s no shame in asking. Of course, you should ask someone who actually knows.
I asked the hotel manager.
“Is there anywhere nearby where I could buy a tuxedo?”
Apparently this wasn’t the first time he’d been asked something like that, because he answered immediately.
“There’s a famous tailor shop. If you’d like, I can have them come here.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
The manager contacted the tailor shop, and a short while later an elegant old gentleman with a neatly grown white beard came to the hotel room with a young employee.
The employee took my measurements with a tape measure, while the old gentleman looked me over from head to toe and jotted notes down in pencil.
“Will it be ready by tomorrow?”
“Yes. We’ll have it delivered before evening.”
“And shoes too, please.”
From what I heard, if there was enough time they made one from scratch, but when things were as urgent as this, they altered a pre-made suit to fit the measurements.
I didn’t bother asking about the price and just paid with my card.
I gave them a generous tip.
“I’m counting on you.”
Because year-end was a time to spend with family, Continue Capital shut down for the holidays.
I called Senior Dongho.
We finished the move without any problems.
“How’s the new office?”
It’s great. The building’s clean, the parking is well set up, and you can see all of Gangnam-daero at a glance. These days I’ve been leaving work late on purpose just to enjoy the night view.
Back when we were buying the building, he’d said there was no need to own it at all, but now that we actually had it, he seemed to like it a great deal.
Then again, a building that belonged to us really did feel different.
That was probably why companies started building headquarters as soon as they made a little money.
“Has anything happened?”
Nothing much. Oh! Since it’s the end of the year, there are crazy numbers of party invitations and things like that flying around. I never knew there were so many parties and events in Korea. And I keep getting hundreds of notices asking for donations. Do you have anything like events in New York?
“I got invited to a charity party, so I’m thinking of going.”
Oh! Is that so? Be careful. You remember what I told you, right?
“About what?”
He’d said so much nonsense that I couldn’t even remember what he was talking about.
That whenever you go to a place like that, you’ll always meet two kinds of people.
“And those were?”
One of them is a guy trying to sell insurance. The other is a con artist.
…….
The first time I heard that, I’d thought it was a ridiculous thing to say, but when I actually saw it happen in real life, I had no words.
“Are there really people selling insurance in New York too?”
Why wouldn’t there be? If not, they’d be selling something else. Anyway, keep what I said in mind.
I nodded absently.
“All right.”
Since I was already on the phone, I called my younger sister too.
Oh, Oppa. What’s up? You’re doing well, right?
For a second, I thought I’d called the wrong number.
“Han Sena?”
Yeah. It’s your little sister Sena. What is it?
…….
What was with this sweet voice?
Normally she should have been saying things like, “What do you want?” or “Why are you calling me?” or “I’m busy, just text me.”
So why was she acting like this?
Was she only being nice to her older brother because of money? Was that the kind of kid my sister was?
Well, if the roles were reversed and my younger sister gave me spending money and bought me a car, I’d probably get pretty sweet too.
Money had a way of making siblings closer.
“Have you been driving the car safely?”
I’ve been driving it perfectly. I even gave her a name.
It’s Mina.
“Mina?”
Was she calling it Mina because it was a Mini she drove around?
“How are Mom and Dad?”
They’re good. Oh! They moved into a huge house not long ago. Want me to send you pictures? And they hired a housekeeper too.
From what I heard, the two of them had been learning golf diligently lately. I supposed I’d have to get them country club memberships later on.
It was a relief to know everyone was doing well even without me there.
Mom told me to ask when you’re coming back.
“Maybe next month. I should let you go now. I need to head out.”
Where are you going?
“An end-of-year party.”
Oh! Then why do you have a party during the day?
…….
Did my sister not realize that time zones existed on the planet we lived on?
Surely she didn’t think the Earth was flat, did she?
I took a limousine driven by a chauffeur to the building on the Upper East Side where Sarah was staying.
While she was in New York, she stayed in the penthouse on the top floor. It wasn’t privately owned; it was part of the Saudi royal family’s assets.
I’ll be right down.
I waited in the lobby for a moment, and then Sarah came down.
“Uh……”
I didn’t usually get startled by the sight of a person, but this time I was genuinely taken aback.
Unlike her usual self, she had done her makeup more heavily and was wearing an off-the-shoulder evening dress that left her shoulders and back bare, along with crystal-studded high heels.
People say a woman looks different when she dresses up, but this was more than that.
I wasn’t the only one who thought so; the other people around us were looking at her with stunned expressions too.
“What is it?”
I answered honestly.
“You’re too beautiful.”
Sarah gave a bright smile.
“Thank you. You look handsome too, Miru.”
“Shall we go?”
When I held out my hand, she naturally placed her own on top of it.
I got into the car with Sarah, and we headed toward the party venue.