As it was getting quite late, we had a quick meal and then stood up. I offered to take Ellie to the hotel, but she insisted on walking me to my house.
“Are you really okay?”
I smiled.
“I just felt a bit dizzy for a moment.”
Even after telling her several times that I was fine, Ellie still looked worried.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”
Well, considering I had once been unable to wake up for a week, it was understandable for her to be concerned.
“I’m really okay.”
“If you feel weird at all, let me know immediately.”
“Well, Taek-gyu is home, too.”
“Still, promise me you’ll contact me.”
“Got it.”
After reassuring Ellie as best I could, I got her into the car. As soon as the car started moving, I rushed into my house.
Taek-gyu was lying on the living room sofa, watching an animated show.
“Did you have a good date?”
I turned off the TV.
“Why did you turn it off? That was a crucial scene!”
“This isn’t important right now.”
“This is important to me!”
Taek-gyu, who had been shouting, froze in surprise when he saw my expression.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
I placed my hand on his shoulder and said, “I made a mistake.”
“Mistake about what?”
“Remember the San Francisco earthquake?”
“Why?”
“It hasn’t happened yet.”
Taek-gyu blinked in surprise.
“What do you mean?”
“I saw Oracle again.”
Taek-gyu looked shocked by my words.
“What? Then what was the last earthquake about?”
I plopped down on the sofa.
“It probably didn’t have anything to do with Oracle.”
Taek-gyu’s expression showed confusion.
“Why did you suddenly see the same Oracle after being quiet for so long?”
I showed him the watch on my wrist.
“It’s because of this.”
After seeing the watch, Taek-gyu looked back at my face.
“Why a Rolex?”
“I think I saw something while I was unconscious. Like a dream.”
“What was the dream about?”
“I don’t know.”
Dreams often feel vivid while you’re having them, but once you wake up, it’s hard to remember. It wasn’t until today that I even remembered I had a dream.
“Try to recall something.”
“I’m trying.”
The dream was vague and unclear, like a fragmented puzzle. I stared at the watch on my wrist, lost in thought.
Suddenly, one thing came to my mind.
I muttered,
“A building made of glass.”
“Yeah?”
“It was an NPL store.”
The building’s facade, entirely glass, is one of the characteristics of the NPL store.
“You saw the NPL store in your dream? That means it’s related to the San Francisco earthquake?”
“It seems that way.”
“Wait a minute.”
Taek-gyu quickly turned on his computer and opened Google Maps.
“There are a total of five NPL stores around San Francisco.”
In Street View, the NPL store and its surroundings were clearly visible.
I’ve been to San Francisco several times, but only for work, going back and forth between the hotel and the office. I hadn’t really explored the city.
Perhaps that’s why the streets on the screen looked all unfamiliar.
I spent a long time examining the five NPL stores from various angles. However, I couldn’t figure anything out just from the screen.
“I think I need to go to San Francisco.”
At my words, Taek-gyu swallowed hard.
“Isn’t it dangerous? What if an earthquake strikes while you’re there?”
He made a valid point.
It would be fortunate if it ended up being another offshore earthquake, but if not, there could be significant danger.
“It won’t happen right away.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just have a feeling.”
So far, Oracle has never been wrong. Therefore, a major earthquake is bound to occur. The key question is when it will happen, and knowing the exact location and magnitude of the earthquake is also crucial.
To figure that out, we need more information.
“Just in case, I’ll go by myself.”
“What if you collapse again like last time? I’m coming with you.”
“It could be dangerous.”
Taek-gyu smiled and said,
“Heh, then we definitely should go together.”
***
We headed straight to San Francisco.
We told the company and others that it was for work. Since several subsidiaries of OTK Company are located in Silicon Valley, it wouldn’t be unusual to go on a sudden business trip.
Taek-gyu fell asleep as soon as the plane took off.
I gazed out the window, lost in thought.
What was Oracle trying to tell me?
It was thanks to the foresight that I could come this far from having nothing. Much changed because of it.
What if I hadn’t seen the foresight and hadn’t invested?
Taek-gyu and I would have lived ordinary lives instead of running OTK Company. If that had been the case, I wouldn’t be on this plane to America now.
Still, the L6 explosion and Brexit would have happened. But some of the companies we invested in might have collapsed without timely funding or remained mediocre firms.
CarOS would still be in the palm of Eunsung, and Professor Kim Ho-min would have remained at Korea University. And instead of Ronald, Diane would have become President of the United States.
Thanks to this ability, I was able to grasp the key to the future: startups, autonomous technology, new material batteries, and so on.
Now, the time to reap the rewards was just around the corner.
Some experts predicted that within a few years, CarOS would surpass Toyota to become the largest car company in the world. And that didn’t seem impossible for me either.
Everything was going smoothly.
Suddenly, I recalled Warren Buffett’s question.
He asked me why I invest. That question transcended merely asking about making money; it ultimately led to what I truly want.
When will I be able to find that answer?
***
As soon as I set foot in the airport, an intense sense of unease enveloped me, just like before.
Was this a warning that this land was dangerous?
The customs officer, examining my passport, looked at me with a surprised expression. Having verified my name and face, he likely knew who I was.
“What is the purpose of your visit to the United States?”
“Business trip.”
There were no further questions.
“Have a nice trip.”
“Thank you.”
We exited the arrivals area.
Outside the airport, two white security personnel and two vehicles were waiting.
“As I mentioned, I plan to drive myself and check the traffic situation in San Francisco.”
The security officer handed me the car keys.
“The vehicle is equipped with GPS. We will follow behind you.”
“Please don’t chase if you lose me. I’ll contact you if I need additional security.”
“Understood.”
We got into the car. Taekgyu took the wheel, and I set the navigation.
First, we decided to look around the northern part of San Francisco. After about 30 minutes of driving, I spotted a glass-walled building.
Taekgyu parked the car, and I got out to survey the surroundings.
“What do you think? Any feelings coming through?”
“I’m not sure.”
I took several photos with my smartphone and got back in the car. The same was true for the next place.
We had already visited three locations, but nothing particular came to mind.
Before long, it seemed like it was rush hour, as suddenly cars poured onto the road.
The road conditions in San Francisco were no better than those in Gangnam. As traffic worsened, cars repeatedly stopped and started.
The sidewalks were also overcrowded with people heading home. By evening, the city was full of life.
“Look, there’s one more. Should we stop in front?”
“Yeah. Just pause for a moment.”
Taxi driver Taek-gyu hurriedly pulled over.
I got out of the car and stood in front of the intersection with the traffic light.
Even though it was clearly my first time here, I felt a strange familiarity. Across the street, I saw a glass building—it’s the N-Store.
There were countless people on the street.
A man in sportswear jogging, a woman walking her large dog, a young man riding a scooter with a backpack, an elderly couple walking hand in hand, and a couple sitting by the roadside sipping takeout coffee.
I looked around the buildings. Inside the offices that still had lights on, people of various races were working.
At that moment, random scenes from a dream began to flash in my mind. The scattered puzzle pieces were starting to fit together.
People lined up in front of the building, a suited white man standing next to me, the Rolex watch on his wrist, the road shaking and splitting like a wave, men and women fleeing in screams, collapsing skyscrapers…
What had I seen?
Was it just an illusion, or was it the future?
As I snapped back to reality, the traffic light had changed. The halted pedestrians quickly crossed the street.
“This is it.”
Taek-gyu wore a look of disbelief.
“This is where the earthquake happened?”
I nodded.
“I’m sure.”
The spot I was standing was an intersection in Palo Alto.
“It was the southern part of San Francisco and the heart of Silicon Valley.”
***
We entered a nearby hotel. The intersection with the NPL store was visible outside the window.
Did this hotel also collapse?
The current smartphone market is fiercely competitive in the premium segment. NPL announced it would launch the NPL phone Z to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the NPL phone.
At the scene I witnessed, a long line formed in front of the NPL store. That day was the launch day for the NPL phone Z, and they were people gathered to buy the new product.
The exact specifications and schedule have not been disclosed yet, but the launch date is around the end of September.
Taek-gyu’s face went pale.
“Are you saying there will be a major earthquake in two months?”
“If what I saw is correct, then yes.”
Oracle had provided me with financial information until now. And this is also related to finance.
“The financial market will be in chaos.”
A tremendous number of people will die, systems will collapse, and the economy will take a severe hit. Stock prices will plummet, while gold and raw materials will skyrocket.
And this could present a tremendous opportunity to make money. If investments are made at the right time, returns greater than Brexit could be achieved.
Most importantly, the scale of capital now is different from then. If done correctly, it could generate billions of dollars.
It’s fascinating that such thoughts arise even in this situation.
“Wait a moment, I’ll go wash up.”
I went to the bathroom to gather my thoughts and took a shower. By that time, Taek-gyu was still blankly sitting on the bed.
“What do you think would happen if someone predicted the 9/11 attacks and invested?”
“Huh?”
The attacks led to nearly 3,000 deaths and over 6,000 injuries. It was the worst disaster on American soil in history.
Yet, amid such circumstances, some people made a fortune. After the attacks, the global stock market plummeted, and an unprecedented options windfall occurred.
“There were people making money back then. And those who invested in options at that time were invariably investigated by U.S. intelligence agencies for terrorist connections.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying it could happen again.”
“Terrorism may raise suspicions, but natural disasters are different. We can’t cause earthquakes ourselves.”
“That’s true…”
I had faced countless criticisms while investing.
From the L6 explosion, Brexit, to Ronald’s election, each time others lost, we reaped astronomical profits in the market. But I didn’t cause the L6 explosion. Brexit was decided by the British people, and Ronald’s election was determined by the American voters.
So what about this situation?
Until now, it was a matter of whether we would make money, but this time, it’s a matter of human lives.
I recalled the scene I saw in my dream. The ground upheaved, and buildings collapsed in a chain reaction. If what I saw was real, a disaster on the scale of 9/11 would seem trivial.
If one were to predict that and invest in put options or derivatives… and if that fact became known to the public?
It wouldn’t just end with insults or criticism.
“No one would tolerate it. I certainly wouldn’t.”
Taek-gyu nodded.
“That’s right. Nothing is more important than human life.”
For a while, we were speechless. We realized anew that our future actions could determine the lives and deaths of countless people.
After a moment, Taek-gyu asked,
“Is there no way to prevent the earthquake?”
“How can humans prevent natural disasters?”
Decades ago, humans traveled to the moon in a spacecraft. Since then, science and technology have advanced remarkably.
Yet, there has yet to be a way to prevent natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons.
“Still, we can be prepared.”
Natural disasters strike suddenly, causing significant damage. However, if we can anticipate and prepare, we can greatly reduce the impact.
“Then we just need to make them prepare.”
The real problem starts now.
“How can we inform people that an earthquake is going to occur?”
“Well…”
Taek-gyu fell silent.
I had relied on foresight for investments until now. Yet, no one considered it as foresight; they merely thought I had an exceptional perspective on the market.
It didn’t matter that they didn’t believe me. As CEO, I was in a position to give orders. I could decide and command without needing understanding or agreement.
But this time, it’s completely different.
I’m not in a position to make decisions, and I’m in a place where I need to persuade others. However, this goes beyond mere prediction; it enters the realm of foresight.
Moreover, while finance might be my field, an earthquake is entirely unrelated to me.
“True. I can’t really say it’s foresight.”
“Would anyone believe me if I claimed to see the future?”
“Then what will you do?”
After thinking for a while, I finally spoke.
“I need to find someone who can foresee on my behalf.”
