Chapter 22
Chapter 22
“What a crazy bastard.”
He just wanted a reliable, smart developer, but he ended up with a genius.
According to Oh Gong-tae, this technology was compatible with all digital media.
What that meant was, you could enter a game, a movie, a drama, or even old family photos and videos.
Moreover, Oh Gong-tae’s image-processing AI had multimodal capabilities, transforming text into images.
If someone wrote a short story as a children’s book, it could instantly become an animation, a movie, or even a game.
If this technology were released, it could make hundreds of millions of people worldwide unemployed.
For now, the focus would be on commercializing the “dive-in” technology for existing films and dramas.
“We should first establish a separate company and make Manager Oh independent. For now, he can handle both positions while slowly withdrawing from Kiseong IT.”
[Good idea. Have you thought of a company name yet?]
“Well, I’d like the term ‘Dive-in’ in it…”
[Then it would be JW Dive-in.]
“Does it have to include JW?”
[It’s better for consistency.]
“But Kiseong IT doesn’t have JW.”
[That’s why I was thinking of renaming it JW IT…]
“No, just stick with JW Dive-in.”
[Understood. And, by the way, 3.5 trillion has come in.]
“What?”
[1 trillion from MG, 1 trillion from Kyundae, 1 trillion from Node Group, 500 billion from SA. That’s how the Gold Coin was sold. It should be in general circulation by next week. Truly amazing, sir.]
None of that was his doing.
Vice Chairman Go Yoon-seok handled it all.
“It’s all thanks to the vice chairman.”
[Not at all… We’ll proceed with JW Dive-in as discussed.]
“Yes.”
It felt like witnessing something huge unfolding.
Actually, he was in control, yet there was no struggle.
Just a word, and everything progressed smoothly.
This was what working with intelligent people must feel like.
“By the way…”
Thinking about Oh Gong-tae was mind-blowing.
Truly a mad genius.
If realized as he said, humanity would live in a changed world.
This was Nobel Prize-worthy.
“Hmm…”
Kim Gwang-deok’s hands trembled as soon as he saw the photo; his eyes flickered.
“Where… where did this come from?”
“Sent from the detective agency you deal with.”
“Hmm…”
A groan escaped his lips automatically.
He realized he was biting his lower lip.
The bastard he wanted to tear apart was alive…
No way…
“When was this photo taken?”
“A few days ago.”
“I see.”
Blood ties were like a drug, impossible to sever. No matter how hard you tried.
Judging by the face, it looked exactly like his father in youth.
Kim Gwang-deok touched the young man’s face in the photo.
This guy must carry half the Kim blood.
Tall, handsome, well-built.
“What does he do now?”
“He works at a company.”
“At a company?”
“What shall we do?”
“Hmm…”
Kim Gwang-deok toyed with the wrinkles on his forehead.
“Send one copy to the detective agency.”
“Just one?”
“Yes. And make sure no other photos leak…”
“Understood.”
“Find his contact and arrange a meeting.”
“Sir? Why all of a sudden…?”
“This is a chance from heaven. That bastard Gwak Jung-gap hit me in the back, so this is heaven’s gift for revenge.”
Kim Gwang-deok’s voice rang sharply.
Eighty-five years old. He had lived long, retired, but never abandoned his dreams.
Chief Secretary Choi felt a shiver run through her body.
“Sir! You should take care of your health. Getting so excited…”
“My children… am I supposed to live cautiously under the Gwak family? No way. This should’ve been Se-gwang Group, not Hyo-yeon. If Gwak had only kept his promise…”
“But there’s still the young master and the young lady.”
“You think Gwak would leave his companies to those two? He would have appointed them president long ago if so. He’d never try to oust them from director positions, right?”
Originally, only daughter Kim Mi-rim was promised to marry the eldest son of Hyogwang Group.
That way, Se-yeon Group and Hyogwang Group would merge into Se-gwang Group. The name was already decided.
But an unexpected variable appeared.
A wild card, a rogue, who seduced Kim Mi-rim. If not for him, everything would’ve gone according to plan.
Kim Gwang-deok had acted swiftly, but Gwak Jung-gap’s eldest son married anyway.
He had no choice but to marry Mi-rim to Gwak Jung-gap’s second son. So the merger happened as planned, but the name became Hyo-yeon Group, not Se-gwang Group.
Does the name matter? No, what matters was who came first.
Se-yeon’s “Se” should have led, not Hyogwang’s “Hyo.” Otherwise, it was Gwak’s company.
Sure enough, the Gwak family was trying to pass the group to their eldest son’s children.
Kim Gwang-deok would not allow it.
“I need to meet him. Get his contact. Bring him here. Let’s see what kind of bastard he is.”
Kim Gwang-deok’s eyes gleamed with determination.
Secretary Choi felt every hair on her body stand on end.
Nothing could stop this Kim Gwang-deok.
“Yes, sir.”
She would simply give a copy to the detective agency; it would spread naturally.
Her mouth went dry.
“And contact Du-chil as well…”
“Yes?”
Secretary Choi’s pupils widened in alarm.
“You never know. If he’s a threat to the family… he might need to be dealt with.”
Kim Gwang-deok lifted one side of his lips, twisting his face into that eerie expression.
An expression she had only seen a few times in years past.
Secretary Choi went pale.
[Gold Coin shakes the market as soon as it registers in crypto exchanges!]
[Gold Coin approved as official trading currency by U.S. Fed and Treasury.]
[Gold-backed stablecoin Gold Coin enables resource trading.]
[Major global mineral exchanges approve Gold Coin as official currency.]
[Mysterious Gold Coin issuer, JWG—what organization is this?]
News was flooding in.
The new cryptocurrency, Gold Coin, quickly received international recognition and became a major currency.
Gold prices soared. Early holders of Gold Coin earned huge profits.
The five chaebol heirs, including Lee Jin-ho, were surely grinning.
Jung Jin-woo also gained another 3.5 trillion in cash-like assets.
“Jerome Musso really knows his stuff…”
Jung Jin-woo knew it was thanks to Musso and RCF.
Even without attention, the Rothschild family handled it themselves.
For them, it was an easy way to enter gold and mineral markets beyond finance.
They were tied to the U.S. government but could not rely fully on whichever administration was in power.
Now that they were friends, and trusted Jin-woo’s father, Lee In-seok, long-term, it worked out perfectly.
[The atmosphere feels tense. War seems imminent. Just letting you know. I want to visit Korea, but no time. I’ll come once I’m free.]
A message from Jerome Musso.
He sent information not even in the news.
If someone sent you such intel, you had to respond.
[Some breakthrough technology will be announced soon in Korea. Buy media and film stocks in advance!]
It was the business Oh Gong-tae was preparing.
Soon, JW Dive-in Inc. would be born and go public.
[What? Tell me more directly!]
[First, tell me where the war will break out?]
High-level info had to be fair.
[Venezuela and Guyana.]
[Aren’t they reconciled?]
A while ago, Guyana’s oil reserves caused a stir but are now calm.
[In Venezuela, looks like Chavez will win the election. He’s hardline. Oh, don’t buy dollars.]
He finally understood.
You had to reward the source of such information.
[JW Dive-in exists. I’ll give you 5% shares.]
[Price?]
[5 trillion won.]
[Wow, isn’t that too much? Korea, not Silicon Valley. A 100-trillion-won company going public?]
[Judge for yourself. We’re looking beyond 10 trillion dollars.]
[What?]
Silence. Incredible. A company not even public yet, projected over 10 trillion dollars. People would laugh at such a claim, but Gold Coin had already proved its power.
[Got it! I’ll contact Morris Ventures.]
[Good… just so you know.]
It was wise to involve Jerome Musso.
Even if cheap, if he bought shares, it helped Dive-in.
A business capable of disrupting existing industries needed that.
And securing U.S. IP for movies required it.
If Morris Venture Capital got involved, contracts with U.S. studios would be easier.
[See you soon!]
Sometimes discussing business with Musso and checking in wasn’t bad.
Information equals money.
Jung immediately forwarded Musso’s message to Vice Chairman Go Yoon-seok.
[Understood. Jerome gave us high-level intel. We should preemptively buy oil futures, defense equipment, gold, and oil.]
[Yes. Focus on gold, oil, and rare earths.]
[Got it.]
[Also, Jerome will purchase 5% of JW Dive-in shares for 5 trillion. Contact Morris Venture Capital.]
[He’s buying JW Dive-in shares? We need to hurry with company formation. Sir, this is brilliant. All our concerns solved at once.]
Go Yoon-seok clearly thought the same.
U.S. IP issues, new industry disputes and resistance—all covered.
[Good luck.]
While sending the message—
“What’s that? Not KakaoTalk, I think.”
Chief Secretary Ji Jung-eun was next to him.
“Oh, nothing.”
Jung Jin-woo hastily closed the screen.
“Looks like important messages. Sorry, didn’t mean to look, just saw it. Someone called you chairman…”
“I have a game club. I’m the chairman…”
He had no choice but to explain that way.
“Oh, the chat app design looks new…”
It was the first time she’d seen it. A highly secure app developed by Oh Gong-tae.
No agency could trace it. Quantum encryption would cost around 100 billion won, but this was temporary.
“New release. Only military enthusiasts use it…”
“I see…”
Finally, Ji Jung-eun understood.
High-level intel, unavailable even to the U.S. president, nearly seized by an ordinary employee.
“Since you’ve been quiet… a guest has arrived.”
“Excuse me?”
“Someone came to see Team Leader Jung.”
“A guest? Who…?”
“I don’t know. From Se-yeon Group secretariat. Waiting at the first-floor entrance.”
“Ah… thank you.”
“And maybe ease up on personal hobby messages at work…”
Team leader, yet the junior lecturing him.
“Hahaha… I’ll be careful.”
She reminded herself he was a newcomer and she the senior.