An Investor Who Sees The Future

The reason we chose a hotel in Yeongjong Island as our meeting place is because it is close to Incheon Airport.

Golden Gate Korea employees were dispatched to bring in those who flew in for investment and manage them until their departure.

Money truly does make the world go round.

After roughly unpacking our bags in the room, we headed down to the café in the lobby. Hyunjoo, who arrived here a day before us, was sitting there sipping coffee while reading some documents.

“When will the lawyer arrive?”

“He just landed at Incheon Airport, he’ll be here soon.”

Golden Gate has its own legal team. The lawyer coming this time is said to be an international law expert from the Asia office working with Hyunjoo.

As we waited while drinking coffee, Hyunjoo raised her hand.

“Here, Ellie.”

Taegyu and I turned our heads simultaneously.

She looks to be in her early twenties. About 170cm tall, her face had a mature yet cute vibe. Her skin was fair and her eyes were a light brown.

She had short brown hair in a neat bob cut, with bangs falling gracefully over slightly covered eyebrows.

From her appearance alone, it was hard to guess her nationality. She seemed like she could be Caucasian, but one thing was for sure – she was incredibly beautiful.

I wondered if I was the only one thinking that as everyone in the café turned their gaze towards her.

Wearing jeans and a casual jumper, she approached us with her suitcase.

“Thank you for coming, Ellie.”

“Long time no see, Jessica. How are you doing in Korea?”

After greeting Hyunjoo, she also exchanged greetings with us.

“Hello, I’m Ellie Kim, the Golden Gate attorney.”

Surprisingly, she spoke fluent Korean.

I had imagined a middle-aged gentleman as a lawyer, but a young beauty in her twenties!

I stood up from my seat and introduced myself.

“I’m Kang Jin-hoo. Do you speak Korean?”

Ellie smiled and replied, “My father is Korean. Just call me Ellie.”

Taek-gyu also stood up and bowed, “I’m Oh Taek-gyu.”

Ellie nodded, “You’re Jessica’s younger brother. I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you.”

After the brief introductions, she went upstairs to unpack. I quickly asked Hyun-joo noona, “Where are you from?”

“I was born in Hong Kong, so I’m a Hongkonger.”

Hong Kong was originally Chinese territory but became a British colony after the Opium Wars. It was returned to China in 1997 but maintains the “one country, two systems” policy.

Hong Kongers often identify more as Hong Kongers than Chinese due to their unique history and governance structure.

Hyun-joo noona briefly explained about Ellie. Hong Kong has been a financial hub in Asia for elite individuals from various countries. Foreigners make up a significant portion of the population there.

Ellie’s grandfather moved to Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation, married a Hong Kong woman, and had a son. This son later married an English woman he met during business, and Ellie was born with Korean, Hong Kong, and British heritage.

“Hong Kongers usually speak three languages.”

Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. Cantonese is the local language, Mandarin is the Chinese standard language, influenced by Britain’s colonial past.

In addition to these languages, Ellie also knows Korean, thanks to her Korean father.

I said, “I licked my lips.”

“At that age, working as a lawyer at Golden Gate, it’s really impressive how many remarkable people there are in the world,” I added.

Hyunjoo giggled.

“If we’re talking about impressive, you’re not too shabby yourself.”

Taekgyu had a vacant expression since earlier.

Why is he acting like this? Did he suddenly get nervous because a beauty appeared?

Thinking that way, he blinked and asked, “Someone said I’m Jessica’s younger brother. Who is Jessica, anyway?”

Hyunjoo replied, “My English name. I told you before.”

“Oh, really?”

Since Hong Kong was a British colony for a long time, people there often have both English and Chinese names. Being an American IB company, Golden Gate likely uses English names.

“So, does Ellie know about us?”

Hyunjoo nodded.

“I told her.”

The fact that we own OTK Company is something even Golden Gate isn’t aware of.

They might be aware of the special relationship between Hyunjoo and us. She’s helped with opening accounts and setting up subsidiaries, and now she’s requested a secondment in the name of OTK Company.

Ellie came here to assist us with legal matters. She will be working with us for a while.

It’s better to clearly understand things to handle work smoothly.

“No need to worry about information leaking,” Taekgyu said, sounding skeptical.

“Can we trust her?” he added.

Hyunjoo simply said, “Yes.”

“Lawyers have a duty of confidentiality.”

Lawyers are obligated to protect the confidentiality of their clients. They could face disbarment for breaching this regulation.

Despite that, if Hyunjoo noona is speaking this confidently, it should be trustworthy.

“Will you keep it a secret during the meeting too?”

I have considered that aspect as well.

“I will delegate everything regarding the investment contract to noona.”

In fact, since I have signed the investment brokerage agreement, I don’t need to take the lead. However, attending is my choice.

I want to personally see who is running the company I intend to invest in.

Ring!

Hyunjoo noona, after checking the message, got up.

“Shall we go for the investment then?”

***

Tobey Strong and Gerard Bacon are seniors and juniors from Stanford University.

They got along well since their school days and decided to work together after graduating.

The startup frenzy that began in Silicon Valley spread across the United States. Tobey and Gerard also ventured into startups but faced several failures.

Nevertheless, they were not greatly discouraged. They were young and passionate.

They brainstormed for a new business in a shabby studio apartment. One day, while sorting computer hardware, Tobey came up with a brilliant idea.

Tobey immediately shared the idea with Gerard, and they spent days analyzing its business viability.

They swiftly started the business. Despite being in the early stages, the future looked bright. They were confident of success.

If their idea materialized, it could bring significant change to the world.

However, to continue the business, they were in desperate need of investment. While Tobey was engrossed in work, Gerard sought out investors.

However, it wasn’t easy to find investors. Knocking on doors here and there with a business plan in hand, but being constantly rejected became a routine.

The investment fervor of Wall Street IBs and Silicon Valley IT companies was just as intense as the hot startup scene. Articles about newly founded startups securing massive investments poured in every day.

However, in reality, only a small fraction of startups actually received investments. It was a harsh reality that most entrepreneurs couldn’t find investors.

Back in his cramped studio apartment, Gerard shouted angrily, “Are they all just reading the business plan and giving us the cold shoulder?”

Toby calmly replied, “We can’t give up like this. There must be investors out there who understand our business.”

The conditions needed to attract investment are simple: demonstrate a business that will succeed. Investors will then generously open their wallets.

But to show tangible results, you first need investment funds.

“If we don’t find investors within the next month, it will be tough to sustain the website.”

“Let’s get back out there starting tomorrow.”

“Darn it!”

Gerard lay down on the sofa, closing his eyes.

Ping!

As Toby checked his phone for an email, his eyes widened as he read it.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“It’s Golden Gate! They contacted us after seeing our business plan.”

Gerard’s eyes widened at Toby’s words.

“What? Golden Gate wants to invest in us?”

“No, not Golden Gate directly, but an investment company in Korea is interested in us.”

“Korea? The country where Seosung Electronics is from? I like Seosung smartphones. Ah, except for the L6.”

“They hope to meet us soon. They said they’ll send us plane tickets to Korea if we confirm the date.”

The two faced each other.

“It seems to be real.”

The sender of the email is clearly Golden Gate, and the person who sent the email is the team leader of the Golden Gate Asia office.

Surely a globally renowned investment bank wouldn’t joke like this.

Just because you meet with investors doesn’t mean you’ll definitely get investments. After meeting, they might change their minds, or the details may not align.

Investment is something that you won’t know for sure until the contract is signed.

“Could it be a wild goose chase all the way to Korea?”

But for now, they must cling to even the slightest hope.

“Let’s go for now. If it doesn’t work out, we can just consider it a trip to Korea.”

“But isn’t Korea dangerous? They say some lunatic threatens to detonate a nuclear bomb?”

“…”

At any rate, they boarded a flight to Korea.

***

The hotel meeting room was surprisingly spacious. There were computers and projectors, making presentations possible.

Hyunjoo adjusted her outfit and put on her glasses. Next to her sat Ellie, both dressed in black suits.

I had seen Hyunjoo ever since I was young, but this was the first time seeing her working. This must be what they mean by a financial elite.

I, too, wore a suit today. I hastily bought one before coming here. On the other hand, Taekgyu was in his usual grey tracksuit.

Geez, anyone would think he’s just a part of the furniture.

I asked Taekgyu, who was yawning, “Aren’t you nervous at all?”

“Why should I be nervous? It’s not me who should be regretting, right over there?”

“…”

“It’s not a wrong statement.

If they needed investments, would investors come all the way to Korea just on the basis of having investors?

But why am I feeling so nervous?

My lips were dry, and my hands were sticky with sweat. I never imagined I would be meeting entrepreneurs from the perspective of an investor.

Hyunjoo, looking at me, said, “Don’t be nervous. Just do as you’ve learned.”

“Oh, okay.”

Right. Just do as you’ve learned. But what have I learned?

I looked at the meeting schedule.

Let’s see. The startup we will meet for the first time is…

“Huh?”

I looked through the proposal again, and was surprised. Of all the startups, why is it them that we’re meeting first?

Seeing me flustered, Ellie asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, that’s…”.

Before I could say anything, two foreigners walked into the meeting room.”