Taekgyu asserted confidently, “This will definitely be a success.”
Hyunjoo asked, “Why are you so sure?”
Taekgyu explained, “Have you ever ordered pizza when you’re starving, only for it to arrive late? It’s so frustrating, right? You can endure that much. But what if it’s cold, greasy, and missing toppings? I’ve been through it more than once. But here, they par-bake it and finish cooking it in the oven during delivery. So not only is the delivery fast, but the pizza arrives hot and fresh. Once you try a pizza like that, would you go back to ordering from anywhere else?”
The idea sounded convincing when he said it, but I wasn’t entirely convinced.
“Does it make that big of a difference?”
Taekgyu replied sharply, “If you close your eyes and eat, who can tell the difference between Dice Pizza and Mamas?”
Silent as I was, even with my eyes open I couldn’t distinguish between them.
Milo, not understanding Korean, may not have comprehended what Taekgyu was saying, but he could sense his passionate defense.
Quickly chiming in, Milo said, “By reducing labor costs and investing that money generously in ingredients, we plan to buy fresh organic ingredients and load up on the toppings.”
As I translated, Taekgyu’s voice rose once again, “Exactly. I order pizza at least every other day, so I know – the life of a pizza lies in its ingredients and toppings.”
Seemingly confident in good food, is it that someone who consumes a lot of meat eats well or someone who has eaten a lot of pizza knows better?
“Turning cold and tasteless delivery pizza into piping hot and delicious pizza. This is true innovation! Dice Pizza and Mamas should watch out!”
Initially, I thought Taekgyu would just sit quietly like a mouse throughout the meeting. But from earlier until now, he is as active as a fish in water.
And here I am, not saying a word. First, out of embarrassment, now out of not knowing what to say. If I had known this would happen, I should have ordered pizza more often.
Hyunjoo was still in a skeptical position, but Ellie had a different perspective.
“Unlike in Korea, pizza is practically the staple food for Americans. They might react sensitively even to small differences in taste.”
M Pizza needs a total investment of $4.5 million, allocated for the automation facilities using robots, improving the ordering system, buying delivery trucks, and marketing.
In the age of overflowing new industries, is it right to invest in a pizza company?
If it weren’t for foresight, we might have overlooked it.
Taekgyu kept strongly advocating.
“We must invest no matter what.”
After reviewing the proposal for the last time, I nodded in agreement.
“Let’s do it.”
Hyunjoo told Milo, “We will invest in M Pizza.”
Negotiations were held on the stake purchase scope and various conditions. Once successful negotiations concluded, Ellie drafted the investment agreement, and both parties signed it.
***
The final meeting concluded.
As I dragged my tired body back to the room, it was already 10 p.m. I couldn’t even recall how the day had passed in a daze.
Plop!
I collapsed onto the bed without even changing out of my suit.
“Too lazy to change clothes.”
Unlike me, worn out, Taekgyu seemed unfazed.
“Not tired at all?”
“Just sitting, what’s tiring about it?”
Physically, I wasn’t tired. However, mentally, the pressure was substantial. Dealing with significant sums of money doesn’t allow for easy relaxation.
I admire Hyunjoo noona who deals with these things so casually. And that guy who was nonchalantly yawning in such a situation.
“Do you think of playing a business simulation game? Have you ever played SimCity?”
“······.”
No, I haven’t.
If I had thought it would be helpful in situations like this, should I have tried it?
“Let’s play a game before going to bed.”
We are not staying here for just one day but for a long stay. That’s why Taekgyu brought game consoles and laptops from home.
He skillfully connected the game console to the hotel wall TV. It doesn’t look much different from our living room.
I showered and changed into comfortable clothes.
I have back-to-back meetings scheduled for tomorrow as well. I need to quickly sleep and wake up to prepare for tomorrow’s schedule.
I closed my eyes to sleep, but sleep didn’t come easily.
The reason is······.
I suddenly woke up and shouted.
“Let’s go to sleep!”
“Don’t worry about me, you go to sleep first.”
“······.”
I wish I could do that too. But every time a skill is used, a loud noise rings out, and light flashes from the TV.
This place costs over 400,000 won per night, and the expenses are coming out of our pockets. Hyunjoo noona and Ellie had separate rooms, but we didn’t need to use different rooms so we only booked one room, but······.
If I had known, I would have booked a separate room!
In the end, I gave up on sleeping, got off the bed, and put on my shoes.
“Where are you going?”
“Just going out for some fresh air.”
“Come back soon.”
I stepped outside the hotel and breathed in the cold air. Despite the late hour, I could see planes taking off. Even at this time, there are people leaving Korea. I gazed at the night sky lost in thought.
I, a regular college student, suddenly came into billions, and now I’m using that money to buy foreign startups. It all happened in just a few months. Suddenly, Seon-ah came to mind. Is this what she meant by success?
As I wandered around the hotel lost in useless thoughts, I saw a woman in workout clothes running towards me from across the street. Exercising at this late hour?
As she came closer, I could see her face. Surprisingly, I knew her. Ellie looked at me, stopped walking, and removed her earphones.
“Are you working out at this hour?” I asked.
She smiled in response. “After the flight, I felt a bit restless. I was just jogging lightly before bed.”
Her sweaty hair contradicted her claim of a light jog.
“Why are you out here, Jinhoo?”
“Oh! I couldn’t sleep, so I was contemplating various things.”
“What kind of things?”
I couldn’t bring myself to mention thoughts of my ex, so I just said whatever came to mind.
“Well, about future global economic trends and upcoming investment plans…”
As I spoke, I realized how nonsensical I must sound in front of someone working at Golden Gate.
I looked closely at Ellie.
With her short brown hair, fair skin, and large eyes with neatly groomed eyebrows, she stood at around 170 centimeters tall, boasting an overwhelming volume in her figure.
In her tight-fitting workout clothes, it was hard not to be drawn to her.
If a stranger saw her, wouldn’t they think she was a Western model rather than a lawyer?
While lost in these thoughts, Ellie asked me,
“Are you still thinking about future global economic trends and upcoming investment plans?”
“Oh, no, I’m all done thinking about that. I’m going to head in and get some sleep.”
As I was about to return to the hotel, Ellie said,
“Would you like to have a drink together?”
“Um, sure?”
At this hour?
***
It was late, and the hotel bar had closed. However, in Korea, there are plenty of places that sell alcohol 24/7.
I sat under a parasol. It was cold, but since I wasn’t planning to stay long anyway, there wasn’t a better place to go at this time.
Ellie came back from the convenience store with two cans of beer in hand.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
I accepted the beer.
“I was planning to drink alone in my room, so I’m lucky to have met you, Jinhoo. I never thought I’d run into you at this hour.”
I chuckled and replied,
“Same here. We’re lucky to have bumped into each other.”
We lightly clinked our cans of beer.
“Is this your first time in Korea?” Ellie tilted her head.
“It’s my third time. But it’s my first time coming here for work.”
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“I should be more thankful for calling me. I found Jessica’s story quite intriguing.”
“Hyunjoo noona… I mean, are you close with Jessica?”
Ellie nodded her head. “There aren’t many women of similar age inside the company. We also share the commonality of being in Korea.”
Even if you say similar age, isn’t there quite a difference? I glanced at Ellie. It’s not easy to judge age just by looks. Anyway, we might not have much of an age gap, but she gives off a much more mature vibe. That’s probably the difference between a university student and a working professional at a major company.
Ellie spoke as she sipped her beer. “I was quite surprised by the story. The company that shook up the finance industry, OTK Company, turns out to be run by Jessica’s sibling and friend.”
I was quite astonished by that statement. “Was it that big of a deal?”
“It was a huge incident. Financial institutions suffered massive losses.”
Seosung Electronics is a global major company. Their smartphones are selling tens of times more internationally than domestically. Therefore, the L6 explosion was a worldwide issue. Financial companies that issued related options suffered enormous losses. Just the losses incurred by Golden Gate amount to hundreds of millions.
“But amidst all that, this unknown company, OTK Company, made hundreds of millions in profit. When this fact came to light, everyone was astounded, especially within Golden Gate.”
OTK Company had opened an account at Golden Gate’s Asian branch since its establishment. But the account’s balance had surged to over $600 million. While there are many wealthy people in the world, those who hold such substantial cash assets are rare. Naturally, it drew significant attention.
“It’s strange to think that what I did caught the attention of the finance industry.”
“I really think it’s impressive.”
“It was just luck.”
“True. Predicting the discontinuation of the L6 was one thing, boldly deciding to invest in options was another. It wasn’t just luck that made it happen.”
It was me who predicted the discontinuation of the L6, but it was Taekgyu who put in the funds. Taekgyu was the one who strongly urged me to invest when I hesitated. And I also received significant help from Senior Sangyeop along the way.
Even with the extraordinary ability of foresight, I couldn’t have done it alone.
This time is no different.
Thanks to the materials Hyunjoo sent me, I was able to select the startups, and domestic investments are being led by Senior Sangyeop.
If I didn’t have trustworthy people around me, would I have been wandering alone?
“Everyone thinks OTK Company is a Japanese investment firm, right? So when I first mentioned it to Jessica, she thought it was a joke. She understood after hearing the name, but still.”
I nodded and smiled.
“It’s a name that can be misunderstood.”
It’s a relief that people don’t think it’s a Korean company. It shows that the company was named well.
Listening further, I start to feel a connection.
I looked at Ellie.
“Thank you for coming all the way to Korea.”
Ellie smiled.
“It’s an honor to work together.”
The night air was quite chilly.
Ellie shook an empty beer can.
“I’d like another drink, but I should think about tomorrow, right?”
“Shall we call it a night?”
We went back to the hotel together and took the elevator.
My room is on the 20th floor, and Ellie’s room is on the 21st floor.
Ding!
The elevator stopped on the 20th floor.
“Well, see you tomorrow.”
As we exchanged farewells and I was about to get off the elevator, Ellie said,
“There was something I was curious about from earlier. Can I ask you now?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Who is your favorite actor?”
“Actor?”
When I seemed to not understand English, Ellie smiled and said,
“I mean an actor from adult films.”
“······.”
I want to keep it as a secret just for myself.
Hahah