I dropped Hyeon-seong's father off at Seoul Station and parted ways with the kids. I returned home and gave my first orders to Ma Seok-dae, who had been waiting for me.
"Please find out in detail if anything happened during the Korea National University of Physical Education judo national team trials. Especially about Park Hyun-seong, and if he has any personal circumstances. If there were any problems during the selection process. Things like that."
"Understood."
The more I looked at him, the more Ma Seok-dae seemed to be the same type of man as Manager Ha. I really liked how he just did what he had to do without ever questioning me when I asked him something.
"Even if it takes time, you need to look into it thoroughly."
"Yes."
Ma Seok-dae bowed to me and left the room. After making sure the door was closed, I took out my phone. - This is Lee Sang-geun.
"Lawyer Lee, it is Kim Mu-hyeok." - Ah, it has been a while, Mr. Mu-hyeok.
"Is Mister next to you?" - Yes, I will put him on.
He must have been right next to him, as the voice over the phone quickly changed to Park Dong-soo's. - Little brother, what is going on? I was just about to call you anyway. Park Dong-soo's unchanged voice made me laugh without realizing it.
"I have a favor to ask. The cleanup in Busan is in its final stages, right?" - Of course.
I did everything I had to do, and Sang-geun is sorting things out internally. But what kind of favor?
"That is a relief. It is nothing else but a rather old case. There was a murder in the Saha District..."
I explained the incident regarding my parents, and asked him to find out if anyone among the gangsters or ex-convicts in Busan was involved or knew even the slightest rumor about it. - It is not a difficult task, but it has been so long that I do not know if anyone will know about it.
I will pay special attention and look into it.
"Yes. It is an important matter, so even trivial information is fine." - Got it.
Sang-geun is handling all the organization's affairs these days, so I will step up and look into it myself.
"Then I will see you in Seoul when the cleanup in Busan is finished. Wrap things up properly before you come up."
Thinking he might say something else, I quickly hung up the phone and fell into my own thoughts. Honestly, I did not have high expectations when I asked Park Dong-soo, but it was just in case. 'Could the ones who killed my parents really be Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han?'
It did not seem likely that they would have hesitated just because she was their younger sister. 'If it was really the brothers Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han who did it... could I just hold it in and move on just because Grandfather is still alive?' A sigh escaped me without realizing it.
It was a day filled with many thoughts. While I was lost in thought for a long time, dusk had already fallen outside the window. I had dinner with Grandfather and we talked in the study.
"You are going to America?"
"I am thinking of going for a short two-week schedule. There are things I need to do there as well."
"You do not need to be so impatient. You are already doing plenty of what you can do right now."
His tone was full of worry. I spoke with a reliable smile.
"I am not being impatient. It is something I can do, so I am going there to do it myself."
At that, Grandfather soon nodded and accepted it. Next was the topic of Ma Seok-dae.
"How is Ma Seok-dae?"
"He seems like a miniature version of Manager Ha."
"What? Hahaha. It seems you like him."
I shrugged my shoulders a little.
"I like him, but I do not know yet if he likes me. Still, I believe he will eventually become my person."
"Yes, making him your person is important. In the end, people are your assets. You just need to make them your people and use them in the right places. There is a limit to what you can do alone."
"I know."
As we were talking, the topic of Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han's families came up.
"Do you see your maternal uncles from time to time?"
"No, I have not had much reason to see them. Sometimes I meet with sister Ji-soo to have coffee and talk, but I rarely see the others. Ah! Ji-young sometimes calls to ask how I am doing."
"Do not be too distant with them. They are still family. In the end, family is all that remains. Do you understand?"
"...Yes."
I felt Grandfather's gaze sweep across my face. I tried my best to control my expression.
"Your maternal uncles are not bad people. Both Su-man and Su-han are like that, they just do not know how to express it. They do not hate you, Mu-hyeok."
It was the image of a Grandfather who held a deep attachment to the idea of family. '...Does Grandfather not know?' There was a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Yes, I think so too."
However, contrary to my inner thoughts, I reassured Grandfather and continued the conversation.
"Even if you leave your maternal uncles aside, you should at least meet with Ji-won, Ji-soo, and Ji-young from time to time and talk to them. Because your generation has to lead the next era."
"I understand."
Wearing a gentle smile, Grandfather quietly looked at me before speaking.
"Yes, you will be able to do anything. I believe in you."
I could see his trust in me upon his face. It seemed I had finally gained Grandfather's complete trust, which I had sought since returning.
"Of course. I am Kim Mu-hyeok."
When I spoke as if deliberately boasting, Grandfather looked at my expression and laughed for a long time. A few days later. Just as planned, I arrived in New York, America.
After finishing the immigration procedures and coming outside, Han Gyeong-yeong was waiting for me.
"Mu-hyeok!"
I showed a smile to him as he called me with a loud voice.
"Life must be good? You have definitely put some weight on your face."
"I am, after all, the American style, am I not?"
As he said that, Han Gyeong-yeong glanced at Ma Seok-dae, who was standing quietly next to me.
"Ah, my personal secretary. This is Section Chief Ma Seok-dae."
At my introduction, Ma Seok-dae slightly bowed his head to greet Han Gyeong-yeong and then started observing our surroundings again. Han Gyeong-yeong also bowed his head slightly to greet him with a somewhat awkward face. We got into the car Han Gyeong-yeong had brought and headed towards Wall Street, where the company was located.
Also known as Wall Street... no, it was the center of the global financial market. The office Han Gyeong-yeong had set up was located there. When we went inside, it was still a bit messy.
"Not much, right? I just set up the company first and was waiting for you. So, what do we do now?"
"Did you find out where the people I told you to recruit are?"
"Yeah, but they were not on Wall Street?"
Hmm...
Have they not entered Wall Street yet? They were financial figures who would become famous in the future, so I planned to recruit them in advance, but if they were not on Wall Street yet, it would be hard to find them right away. Because I did not have much information about them before they became famous...
I nodded and pulled up a chair to sit down. Ma Seok-dae stood behind me, and Han Gyeong-yeong dragged a chair over to sit in front of me.
"Then take it slow with that. For now, just wait when the money comes in and do not make any unreasonable investments."
"Do not invest at all?"
I shook my head and spoke.
"You will lose your touch if you do that... For now, just roll fifty million dollars yourself. But do not take any risks, just do enough to keep your touch."
At that, his face brightened up. No matter what anyone said, he was a man who could not live without doing stocks.
"Put the rest where I tell you to invest and withdraw it immediately when I tell you to. Did you look into Marc Andreessen?"
"Yeah. There was plenty of information on him, so I found him right away."
Late last year, he developed and distributed a web browser called Mosaic, opening a new horizon for internet web browsers. He had various disputes with the University of Illinois, but eventually, he will leave the University of Illinois next year and go to Silicon Valley. 'And he will create Netscape...'
When it goes public, it will become the signal flare of the dot-com bubble. Because the stock price, which started at eighteen dollars during the public offering, would soar to eighty dollars.
"Let's head over there tomorrow."
"Go right away?"
"Yeah, there are many other things to do besides that. We only have two weeks, so let's check that the money has arrived tomorrow and move out immediately."
Nodding at my words, Han Gyeong-yeong stood up from his seat and spoke.
"Let's head out. I will show you some proper American food. The steaks you eat in Korea are not real steaks."
I followed the confident man to a restaurant that was famous even on Wall Street. I asked Ma Seok-dae to eat with us, but he said he would wait outside and left. Once Ma Seok-dae disappeared from sight, Han Gyeong-yeong whispered to me.
"Why is that guy so quiet? He is huge and has no expression, so it is scary."
"You better do well. If you make a mistake, that man might come looking for you."
When I laughed and threw a joke, Han Gyeong-yeong's face stiffened completely. Laughter burst out of me without realizing it.
"Haha, why are you so nervous? It is a joke, a joke."
"Ah, anyway, sometimes you really have a knack for scaring people. Ugh... Well, you were like that from our first meeting. I feel comfortable yet uncomfortable around you."
"That will not happen to my people, so do not worry, and just tell me how your life in New York is going."
The steak that came out halfway through was quite delicious. There was always a reason why expensive things were expensive.
"But why Dreamhigh?"
"I was going to use Dream, but who knew I would establish an investment company on Wall Street in New York? The name Dream was already taken. So I went with Dreamhigh Investment. Does it not sound somewhat impressive?"
"Well, the name does not matter much... but the shares are ninety-nine for me and one for you, right?"
"...Is it really okay for me to get one percent?"
I nodded and laughed. I really could not tell if he was bold or timid.
"Just think of it as compensation for your hard work. I will only give salaries and performance bonuses to the additional employees coming in, and I have no intention of giving them any shares. I am only doing this because it is you."
Looking at his touched face, I stood up from my seat.
"Let's go to the hotel, have a drink, and rest."
"Okay. The bill here is on me."
Looking at him confidently paying the bill, the old Han Gyeong-yeong was nowhere to be found. After arriving at the hotel, we had a quick drink at the bar and I passed out. 'Let's do tomorrow's work tomorrow...'
Right now, all I could think about was resting my body, which was exhausted from the long flight. It seemed Ma Seok-dae had talked on the phone with Manager Ha while I was asleep. The very next morning, exactly 470 million dollars was deposited into the company.
While eating breakfast, Han Gyeong-yeong, with a flushed face, already looked like a man who had everything.
"Wow... damn..."
"You will get to handle even larger sums of money. Do not be so surprised by this amount."
"Even if I die, I am only following you. Do not abandon me, seriously."
"Why would I abandon you. Unless you betray me first, there is no way I will throw you away. Just do not betray my trust."
After finishing breakfast, we left for the small rural city near Chicago where Illinois Urbana-Champaign was located. We flew for about two hours on a plane, arrived at the Chicago airport, and drove a rental car to reach the University of Illinois. We asked people about Andreessen near the NCSA lab.
"Andreessen? Would he be in the lab?"
"He is probably stuck in the lab."
Everyone said he was in the lab. As we were walking towards the lab, I saw a man in the distance whose hair was already thinning, walking over while talking with another man. I approached them and greeted them.
"Hey! Marc Andreessen?"
Hearing his name, the young Marc Andreessen turned to look at me. Perhaps because an Asian he had never seen before was looking at him, he stared at me with guarded eyes.
"Who are you?"
"I am Charlie Kim from Korea."
"Korea?"
Andreessen tilted his head as if it was a country he was hearing about for the first time. In the appearance of the young Andreessen, I seemed to catch a glimpse of the man who would later make a name for himself as a pioneer of baldness. His hair... was already falling out since this time...
< Dreamhigh Investment. > The End