Heading to America

The Yuseong Electronics acquisition of Dongwoo Precision had been in the news for quite some time.

Once the possibility opened up that the principal and interest would all be repaid, the trash bond transformed into a blue-chip bond in an instant. The rating was still BB-, but even the subordinated bonds were trading above their issue price.

At issuance, the coupon had been high precisely because the rating was low, and there had even been warrants attached. But with Yuseong Electronics acquiring the company, Dongwoo Precision’s corporate bonds were now effectively on the same level as Yuseong Electronics’s own debt.

Once a company’s creditworthiness rises, there’s no reason new bonds would be issued on the same terms as before. And when that happens, the value of the bonds already out there goes up.

The warrants—their little bonus on top—were stripped off and sold separately, and even then they fetched more than par. It made sense. Where else were you going to find a bond paying 7.6 percent?

The 13 billion won we’d invested had turned into 124.3 billion.

When Sunwoo checked the number, he couldn’t form a proper sentence. He just kept shouting.

“Whoa! Whoaa! Is this for real?”

Honestly, I could hardly believe it myself.

Once the figure got that large, it stopped feeling like money and started feeling like a number on a screen.

It still wasn’t enough to satisfy me, but it was finally the kind of sum I could actually do something with.

I spent a moment thinking about the road ahead.

Should I keep growing it for a while longer, or should I set up an investment firm around now? If I founded a company, there would be more to do. I’d have to hire people, for one.

Sunwoo, who had been screaming for so long, seemed to run out of energy and flopped onto the sofa.

“I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

“What do you want?”

“How about chicken?”

“...”

What the hell was with him and chicken?

“Let’s have tteokbokki today.”

“Ah! Yeah, that’s good too.”

Sunwoo ordered through an app.

We were in the middle of eating when the phone rang.

She really had helped me more than I could ever properly repay.

If Sung Yoon-ah hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have met Chairman Yoo Jae-ho, and things probably wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.

No matter how many times I thanked her, it still wouldn’t have been enough.

My birthday.

I’d been so busy making money that I’d completely forgotten it was only a few days away.

“How did you even know my birthday?”

My question clearly caught Sung Yoon-ah off guard.

[Oh! W-well...]

“Did I mention it during the self-introduction at the training center?”

[Ah! Y-yes, that’s right. That’s why I remembered.]

It had been so long ago, and she still remembered it. Her memory was pretty impressive.

What had I even done on my birthday during my first life?

During the day, I’d obviously have been at work at the securities firm...

“Ah!”

And then, all at once, I remembered something important.

This year, on my birthday, something would happen in the United States. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was the kind of event that might even change the future of America itself.

In that case, I shouldn’t be sitting around here doing nothing...

When I said nothing for a moment, Sung Yoon-ah asked again.

[What’s wrong?]

“Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to see you that day.”

[Why not? Do you have plans?]

“Come to think of it, I think I need to go to America for a while.”

[America?]

“Yes.”

[Why?]

“I’ve got some things to take care of.”

There was a pause.

She’d gone out of her way to ask me out for my birthday, and now I felt bad about it.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll buy you something delicious when I get back.”

[It’s not going to be tteokbokki, is it?]

“...”

As if I were that shameless.

[You promised.]

“I did. I’ll call you as soon as I’m back.”

[Okay.]

I hung up, then told Sunwoo, “I think I need to go to America for a bit.”

“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden, in the middle of dinner?”

Part of me wanted to stay in Korea and invest a few more times to grow my capital, but I didn’t have the luxury of time. There was something I absolutely had to do first.

“I was planning to set up a company anyway. The amount was already too large for me to keep moving it around on my own. I should establish an investment firm first.”

In truth, I didn’t need to go all the way to America to found a company. I could handle that through paperwork alone if I wanted to.

But since I was going anyway, I might as well line up some people and make a few investments while I was there.

“You’re going to make it in America, not Korea?”

“Yeah.”

There were a few reasons for that.

If I set it up in Korea, the source of the money would probably become an immediate problem. And if I looked ahead to everything I wanted to do, it would be much easier to move freely from America.

If I was going to do this, I might as well play in the big leagues.

And when it came to finance, the big leagues were, naturally, America.

“I’ve already decided on the name.”

“What is it?”

I smiled, as if I’d been waiting for him to ask.

“Continue Capital.”

“What kind of name is that?”

In games, when you die and start over, you continue.

Since this was my second life, there was no better name than that.

“Do you want to pull your money out of here? Or do you want to keep trusting me with it?”

“What happens if I leave it with you?”

“Later on, I’ll set up a game company in your name and invest the entire development budget. How about that?”

“How much?”

“Let’s see. At least one trillion won.”

Sunwoo looked suspicious.

“Seriously?”

“You just saw what I made this time. Don’t you trust me?”

After a moment of hesitation, Sunwoo nodded readily.

“Fine. I’ll trust you once.”

The usual order for setting up an investment firm went like this.

First, you built a reputation as an investor in the market. Then you raised capital, founded the company, and used your name to attract more money. If you succeeded with that capital, even more would come pouring in.

I was skipping all of that.

I didn’t have the time to build a public reputation, and I had no intention of raising outside money. If you accept outside investors, obligations come with them.

So I was planning to build a family office and run it entirely on our own capital.

That would let me invest while avoiding all kinds of disclosures and regulations. But if I wasn’t going to take outside money, I’d need a lot of my own capital to begin with.

I didn’t have much time, so I had to move fast.

Fortunately, the world was enormous, and there were plenty of ways to make money.

I didn’t remember every single thing that had ever happened, but I did remember more than enough major events. If I used even those well, I could grow my fortune however I wanted.

“When are you leaving?”

“I’ll head out tomorrow.”

“Have a good trip.”

Sunwoo kept eating as he asked, “But what was all that birthday stuff you were talking about earlier?”

“Friday is apparently my birthday. Did you know that?”

“Nope. Then do you know when my birthday is?”

“...”

Of course I didn’t.

Real friends never bothered keeping track of each other’s birthdays.

* * *

I booked my ticket to America right away.

On the day of departure, while I was waiting at Incheon Airport, my younger sister called me.

“You’re calling me? That’s rare.”

Before she could say anything else useless, I cut the call and boarded the plane.

If I’d listened for one more second, it would have been a disaster.

* * *

The plane from Incheon Airport flew for fourteen hours before arriving in Atlanta.

After clearing immigration, I stepped onto American soil.

“It’s been a while, America.”

When had I last come here during my first life?

I had visited the States a few times before, but this was my first time in Atlanta.

Atlanta is the largest city in Georgia and the state capital. It’s also home to the headquarters of global corporations like CNN and Coca-Cola.

Officially, my purpose in coming here was tourism.

It wasn’t exactly famous as a tourist destination, but it was a place I’d wanted to visit at least once.

Because of Watkinsville, the nearby small town.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The hometown of Aaron Baker, and the location of White Road’s headquarters.

Every year, the shareholders’ meeting was held there, and investors from all over the world gathered in one place.

When that happened, the quiet little town transformed into something like a festival ground. Aaron Baker would appear in person and speak to the shareholders about the year’s results and the company’s future vision.

There had been a time when I dreamed of buying White Road stock and attending the annual meeting. I hadn’t been able to make that dream come true in my first life, but this time would be different, wouldn’t it?

After dropping my bags at a reasonably priced business hotel downtown, I went straight to CNN headquarters. I’d seen it so often while working that I was sick of it, but this was my first time actually being there.

I’d come with some expectation, but there wasn’t much to see.

Next, I headed over to Coca-Cola headquarters next door.

Again, I’d spent my whole life drinking Coca-Cola—and even used it back when I ran the chicken shop—but this was my first time at the headquarters themselves.

And again, there wasn’t much to look at.

Still, I felt like the admission fee had to be justified somehow, so I drank my fill of cola before leaving.

The next morning, I took the cable car up Stone Mountain.

Even in the cold weather, there were plenty of tourists and people out for the day. I even saw some hikers.

Coming alone made it feel lonely somehow. A place like this was supposed to be visited with a girlfriend.

I took selfies with a selfie stick, all by myself, surrounded by couples everywhere.

Still, traveling did feel nice.

When I thought about it, how long had it been since I’d taken a real trip?

When I worked at the securities firm, I was too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠busy to travel. When I was unemployed, I had no money. After I opened the chicken shop, I couldn’t leave because I worked every day without a holiday.

This time around, I really should make time to travel properly.

As I looked out over America’s vast and beautiful landscape, I sorted through my plans for the future.

If someone asked me to name companies that were likely to take off within the next ten years, I could probably list a hundred of them. If I had enough money, I could buy a little bit of everything, but I didn’t have that kind of capital.

In the end, what mattered was selection and focus, didn’t it?

After that, I visited the University of Georgia.

It was the first public university in the United States and one of the best schools in Georgia.

It had produced countless famous alumni, but the most famous among them was Aaron Baker himself, the man regarded as the greatest investor alive.

Standing here at Chairman Aaron Baker’s alma mater, I felt strangely moved. He apparently loved his school deeply, donated generously, and visited often to give speeches.

Would I ever have a chance to speak at my own alma mater in Korea?

After finishing my sightseeing for the day, I headed back to the hotel early and lay down to sleep.

Tomorrow, I’d be taking a flight to Orlando.