The Youngest Son of Sunyang

"You need to think of money as precious to accumulate it. What if another person like Yahoo's Jerry Yang appears?"

It seemed like quite a few ventures were knocking on Miracle's door. My uncle's inner thoughts were evident as he hoped for a resurgence of the U.S. IT boom in Korea.

"Well then, invest a little in the places you like, Uncle. You'll make some side income at least, right?"

Let's stay put; companies that are worth the money haven't even appeared yet. Perhaps in some warehouse, founding members are gathering, surviving on cup ramen, and passionately developing their ideas.

Among the things I remembered, only Nexon's "The Land of the Wind," which started its service last year, and NCsoft's "Lineage," which began this spring, have revealed their current state.

If we jump on the venture bandwagon and don't stick around for the long term, investing in other companies will just be throwing money away. What should we do?

"Do-Jun, don't be delusional."

"Yes?"

"Just because you met the real power in the government and touched billions of dollars, do you think you've become a chaebol chairman or something?"

"Uncle."

"Shut your mouth and get inside."

This is the first time in 10 years that I've seen Oh Se-hyun like this.

His stern expression and the contemptuous look in his eyes were filled with disdain.

"Your grandfather, Chairman Jin, probably only manages businesses at the conglomerate level. He dines with the real powers in the government, securing trillions of won in privileges. That's what conglomerate chairmen do."

It's also what I'm doing right now. So why is he so angry?

"But they have thousands of servants who earn every penny. Those servants use their hard-earned money to acquire steel mills and build factories in China."

Ah, I knew what he was trying to say.

"Without servants, there are no masters, without tenant farmers, there are no landlords, and without subjects, there are no kings. But you? You don't have any servants, tenant farmers, or subjects. All you have is a bit of money. But now, are you already mimicking conglomerate chairmen?"

Even without him telling me to shut up, I had nothing to say.

I used to be a servant, and after 10 years, I've ended up mimicking a conglomerate chairman. Even if Oh Se-hyun's harsh words hadn't been there, I wanted to pin myself down.

I never thought I'd end up acting like this.

"Side income? You could make hundreds of millions, even billions. Is that side income to you?"

"I'm sorry. I had a narrow perspective."

Oh Se-hyun seemed rather flustered by my quick apology, but he swiftly composed himself. "You catch on to things quickly; that's good. Knowing it would've been enough."

With a somewhat condescending expression, Oh Se-hyun nodded his head. "So, where should we invest?"

"Huh? I thought Uncle would decide..."

"No, I can set the direction, but I think you're better at assessing investments. Just tell me. Is there anything that appeals to you?"

"In that case, how about investing 10 billion won each in two online game companies, and you can decide on the rest, Uncle."

"Games, huh..."

Oh Se-hyun pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"Let's just spend a total of 10 billion won. Two of them, as you suggested, on games. For the rest, make them a maximum of 1 billion each, and I'll make diversified investments."

"Alright. Even if just one takes off, we'll break even, won't we?"

"Didn't you hear just now? The next government plans to foster IT. You think only one will succeed?"

Oh Se-hyun's cheerful smile was truly a sight to behold.

It's a shame that such a grateful person is retiring in five years.

I really should ensure his retirement package is generous.

The winter of 1997 was bitterly cold. It was the only winter when Christmas carols didn't ring through the streets.

With only three days left in December, I dressed in a suit once again for the final battle of the year.

"My business cards are ready. Take some."

It seemed that meeting people would require business cards.

After much consideration, I decided to disguise myself as an employee sent from Miracle's U.S. headquarters. A young second-generation Korean-American managing the investment system at the headquarters.

There was also the added effect that being dispatched from the headquarters implied that the current situation in Korea was perilous.

Seeing the English name "Howard Jin" on the business card reminded me vividly of eight years ago when I flew to Texas to invest in Dell Computer.

It felt like it happened just yesterday.

"It's somewhat satisfying when you get your first business card. Feels like you've grown up. Hehe."

"Is that so? It does feel oddly satisfying."

"Let's enjoy that feeling later and depart quickly. I can't wait to see the bondholders' faces as they wait impatiently."

We headed to the agreed-upon meeting place where A-Jin Group's main bondholders were waiting. Oh Se-hyun and I had planned for today, specifically to ruthlessly drive down the acquisition price.

Shouldn't we save every penny?

Top-level executives from three banks and their assisting staff greeted the two of us with anxious expressions in a large conference room.

You don't need a poker face only when you have good cards. You must maintain it even when your hand is weak or when a bad hand is dealt.

However, the consortium, primarily composed of banks, appeared ill-prepared for a poker game. They couldn't hide their inadequacy in their expressions, language, and behavior.

These were people who were used to comfortably residing in super-powered banks, where they held money, made a lot of noise, and received royal treatment. They had never experienced such a storm before, which is why they were shivering in the cold without their coats.

The young representative who had come seemed out of place at first, but their initial curiosity quickly waned.

Was I too young for this? They might be wondering if I was qualified.

However, their interest quickly dissipated once they saw Oh Se-hyun as the representative.

"I've heard that the merger discussions with Sunyang Auto have completely finished. How are we going to proceed with the acquisition process?" They started pressing us immediately, not even allowing a moment to catch our breath. And their impatience was solely directed at Oh Se-hyun.