An Investor Who Sees The Future

We all came out of the Golden Gate Building together.

Ellie stretched languidly, saying, “Ah, it feels good to be out.”

As he did so, it seemed a particular area was emphasized, making eye-contact somewhat uncomfortable. Even in a suit, it’s hard to hide that volume.

Ellie looked at us and said, “Thank you. Thanks to you, we even got a free holiday.”

The director of the Golden Gate Asia branch assigned employees to ensure our comfort during our stay in Hong Kong. Those employees were none other than Hyunjoo and Ellie.

Officially it was called an off-site assignment, but in reality, it was like a vacation.

Unlike Ellie, who seemed happy, Hyunjoo didn’t look pleased.

“Ugh, so much work, and now an off-site assignment.”

“Why, sister? It’s a good chance to take a break this time,” Teakgyu said.

Taking out a cigarette, Hyunjoo replied, “Work doesn’t disappear just because you avoid it. It only piles up. If you go back, there will be stacks of documents on your desk.”

Golden Gate mentioned a standard 100 hours of work per week, right?

Working almost 14 hours a day. The problem is, that’s the minimum requirement.

There was a time when getting into Golden Gate was my dream, but now, even if they offer me a parachute entry, I wouldn’t want it.

Having these thoughts, I realized I’ve truly had my fill.

At the main entrance, our S-Class Maybach was waiting for us. Accepting the keys from the staff, Ellie said, “So, where should we go first?”

As if he had been waiting, Teakgyu said, “If we’re in Hong Kong, it’s gotta be Disneyland.”

Hyunjoo cut in sharply, “No. We went last time, remember?”

“It’ll be fun to go again.”

“…”

You’re the only one who would find it fun.

I offered a different opinion, “Let’s go to Victoria Peak. It’ll be evening soon, so we can have dinner while enjoying the night view.”

“That sounds good.”

Driving, Ellie made a reservation at a restaurant.

Just like last time, Victoria Peak was bustling with locals and tourists. We parked below and took the Peak Tram up with other tourists.

Once inside the restaurant, we found a table by the window with a great view. Ellie fluently ordered seafood and wine.

Hyunjoo asked me, “You’re going back to school this year, right?”

“Yes. I don’t have much to do for now, so I should keep studying.”

My sister chuckled at my words, “You might learn something there. It’ll be fun nonetheless. I enjoyed my school days too.”

Taegyu nodded, “Yeah, good times. Starting from freshman year, I used to come home drunk and with cigarettes every day until dawn. One time Mom almost called the police, thinking I was a dead body collapsed in the shoe rack.”

“Shut it.”

“Okay.”

I asked Ellie, “How was college life for you?”

She shook her head and began to speak.

“I have no memories other than studying. I didn’t have many friends because I went to study abroad alone.”

Ellie attended an international school in Hong Kong and her mother graduated from university in the UK.

As the sun completely set, the night view of Hong Kong unfolded. The buildings along the coast were illuminated by various vibrant colors.

“So, how was it meeting the legendary Asian investor in person?” asked Hyunjoo unnie.

I honestly replied to Hyunjoo’s question, “It was impressive.”

Just by meeting and talking with him, I could catch a glimpse of his confidence and philosophy on investing. I might understand why people are willing to spend a lot of money to have lunch with Warren Buffet.

If I were to say that I met Chase Southwell in person and shook hands and talked with him, no one would believe me, right?

I recalled the words he had heard earlier.

“But what good news do you have? Have you heard any interesting stories?” Hyunjoo unnie tilted her head.

“I can’t think of anything in particular,” she replied.

“Aren’t you two getting a raise, Hyunjoo unnie and Ellie?” I joked.

“Oops! That could be possible,” Ellie chimed in.

“If the salary increases, the workload will also increase.”

“Hmph.”

Ellie pouted.

We talked about our recent activities over the meal. Hyunjoo unnie mainly talked about the current situation of the companies we invested in, Ellie asked various questions about university life in Korea, and Taekgyu was still babbling about random things.

Seeing him grinding his teeth each time he spoke, I feel like in about 30 minutes he might snap at Hyunjoo unnie.

I mostly listened. It’s easier to remain quiet sometimes.

Ellie rested her chin on her hand, swirling her wine glass with the other hand. Her cheeks were flushed, perhaps from the alcohol.

“That appearance is oddly cute.”

“I also want to go to college with Jinhoo.”

“Really? Are you drunk or something?”

When I glanced at Hyunjoo noona, she nodded as if agreeing.

“What about Golden Gate?”

“Just stop and apply to a Korean university. I also want to major in Business Administration.”

“… ”

Wanting to get into Golden Gate but studying Business Administration instead of pursuing Golden Gate seems a bit strange, doesn’t it?

Ellie said something as if she had a thought.

“Oh! If you re-enroll, you’ll take classes with that junior, Yu-ri, right?”

“Gasp… How do you still remember that name?”

As I was flustered, Taekgyu remarked, “That’s right. They’re both sophomores. We even registered for classes together not long ago.”

“No, that’s because I didn’t know well and asked for help.”

Ellie chuckled and said, “Oh. Can I hear more about that?”

I spoke while looking out the window, “The night view of Hong Kong is always beautiful.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“… Okay.”

***

After a three-day trip to Hong Kong, we returned to Korea.

While lying on the couch, I received a message from Yuri.

Ding!

“[Senior, have you arrived in Korea?]”

I replied,

“I just got back.”

“[When are you coming to school?]”

“I’ll go tomorrow.”

I thought about going today too, but decided not to because I felt lazy, and it’s the add/drop period anyway.

As I closed my eyes and lay down, suddenly I heard a scream from beside me.

“Oh no! No!”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Taekgyu urgently said to me,

“Hey, something terrible just happened!”

“What is it? Did Yoonjun suddenly decide to raise interest rates by 100 basis points?”

“It’s something incomparable to that!”

“What on earth is it?”

“Just see it for yourself.”

Taekgyu went into a site called Lululeap and opened an article.

[“Lost Fantasy M development halted”]

Linux Pentagon has halted the development of the mobile RPG game Lost Fantasy M. According to industry sources, Linux Pentagon withdrew from the mobile market due to the commercial failures of their previous releases, Raketails and Parastone 2, naturally leading to the suspension of the project. Linux Pentagon stated that it was an unavoidable decision to focus on developing console games and clarified that they had consulted with the developers sufficiently beforehand.

However, Ichikawa Shigeru, the father of Lost Fantasy and former CEO of the entire Pentagon, could not accept the company’s unilateral decision and expressed his intention to resign along with the developers, saying he would not tolerate it.

“What is this?”

Taekgyu shouted in frustration.

“They’ve stopped the development of Lost Fantasy M!” “Wait, what is Lost Fantasy?” I asked, perplexing him.

He looked frustrated with my question.

“Lucy, the main character in Lost Fantasy 12, is the character on my car. I told you before, but you’ve already forgotten?” I couldn’t recall. I tried to calm Taekgyu down.

“Why was the development stopped?”

“There is a tear-jerking story behind it,” he said.

“Oh, really? Then I won’t listen,” I replied.

“Just listen,” he insisted, starting to explain in detail. Lost Fantasy is a game produced by a Japanese gaming company called Pentagon.

Traditionally, Japan dominated the console game market. However, with the shift of the gaming market towards online and mobile platforms, companies producing console games faced difficulties.

Struggling with financial problems, Pentagon decided to merge with a company in the same industry, Linux, creating a giant company named LinuxPentagon.

Despite the merger, the situation did not improve significantly. While the status of console games decreased, in the recently entered online gaming market, they were overshadowed by companies like Ice Storm from the US and LC Soft from Korea.

Eventually, they ambitiously entered the mobile game market but faced major losses consecutively, recording the largest quarterly deficit in their history.

If they fail once more, the management will have no choice but to step down.

Translate:
Unlike mobile games with many light users, the console game market has a thick layer of enthusiasts. The management judged that if they create a suitable console game with numerous enthusiasts like the Pentagon, they could make enough profit. Therefore, the management decided to stop the development of Lost Fantasy M and disband the team to focus on console game development.

As a result, Ichikawa Shigeru, who had been developing Lost Fantasy from the early stages, fiercely opposed the decision and threatened to leave the company.

“This is totally a blow to Shigeru.”

Pentagon and Linux merged equally. Since it was not an acquisition by either side, the issue was who would take over the management. Ichikawa Shigeru, the manager of the Pentagon, willingly handed over control to Linux. He wanted to step away from management and create the games he desired, as he originally came from a development background.

But now, even that seemed impossible.

Taekgyu spoke in frustration, “Shigeru just stopped development for a mere 1 billion yen! Does that make any sense?”

“Do you know that 1 billion yen is equivalent to 10 billion won?”

“So what! Just for 10 billion won!”

“… Is 10 billion some kind of joke to you?”

I asked, confused. “If it’s not released, can’t you just work on another game?”

In response, Taekgyu clenched his fist and shouted, “Lost Fantasy is different from other games.”

“What makes it different?”

“It’s about dreams, adventure, and hope!”

At this point, I really couldn’t understand what was being said.

“Check out the Luluweb Lost Fantasy bulletin board here. We are currently collecting signatures to send a protest email as a group to the Linux Pentagon. Here, a gamer named EDM is even planning to go protest alone in front of the headquarters the day after tomorrow; they’ve already purchased a ticket to Japan.”

In fact, photos were uploaded showing the airplane ticket and the protest picket written in Japanese.

Hmm, it seems like they don’t have much to do. Are they unemployed?

Taekgyu asked while glancing at me, “Don’t you see something in front of you by now?”

“What do you see?”

“Something like ‘Lost Fantasy M Mega Hit.'”

“No, not at all.”

Even if Yeji could see it, not everything that is correct is visible. If that were the case, holograms would be popping up by the millions every day.

Taekgyu seemed determined as he said, “It won’t work. Let’s just invest ourselves.”

“Huh?”

“We should provide development funding to Shigeru Ichikawa for the global Lost Fantasy users. It will only cost less than 10 billion won, after all.”

I thought, What will I do with the money I earn? I should spend it on my hobbies.

Although it was what he really wanted, I felt sorry for discouraging him. With about 10 billion won, there would still be some leeway.

“Just wait a moment.”

I dialed the CEO of K Company.

Click

“Is it a good time to talk now?”

[Of course, go ahead.]

I got straight to the point.

“There is a game company in Japan called Linux Pentagon, where a developer named Ichikawa Shigeru works. Please contact him and convey that OTK Company, not Otaekgyu, is willing to invest 1 billion yen in development.”