An Investor Who Sees The Future

Senior Sangyeop looked at me and asked, “What’s on your mind?”

“I just have a bad feeling after looking at recent economic indicators and news.”

While crises often come without warning, if you keep your eyes open and observe closely, noticing the signs is not impossible. For example, before the IMF crisis, the Korean won was overvalued relative to the country’s economic strength, and before the subprime mortgage crisis, mortgage bond delinquency rates were on the rise.

As always, the truth hides within falsehood, and discovering it is no easy task. Just days before the IMF crisis, government economic departments were claiming there were no issues with the Korean economy, and up until the subprime mortgage crisis hit, mortgage bonds maintained a triple-A rating.

Of course, I hadn’t truly discovered anything by analyzing all sorts of economic indicators. It was just a feeling. When I was discharged from the military, I was just a guy who had stumbled upon superpowers by chance, but a lot has changed since then.

At least I hadn’t wasted the past year. I’m not sure how that affected my superpowers, but it definitely enhanced my ability to use them.

Although I still couldn’t control things as I wished, my intuition had sharpened significantly.

Perhaps that’s why my gut feeling reacted even before foreknowledge surfaced.

What I feel lately is like the calm before a storm. Everything seems fine for now, but an impending sense of unease suggests a storm is approaching.

I chuckled and said, “It’s not certain yet.”

Senior Sangyeop’s expression turned serious. “No. If you think that way, there must be a good reason.”

All my previous investments had been successful, so Senior Sangyeop had full faith in my market insight.

That belief was shared by Hyunjoo and Ellie. Only Taekgyu knew the truth.

Sensing the heavy atmosphere, I changed the subject. “How about K Company?”

“Same as always. Still busy, still doing well.”

The affiliated company, K Company, is entrusted with managing the companies invested by OTK Company. They receive reports, analyze and come up with solutions for issues that arise daily from dozens of startups.

“Edm Entertainment is planning a 28% rights offering this time.”

Ownership percentage is not fixed. Through capital increases and decreases, the number of shares can increase or decrease, leading to changes in ownership percentage.

From an investor’s perspective, one must be cautious of dilution of ownership value. Therefore, similar to OTK Company, K Company has specified veto rights (our consent must be obtained to issue new shares above a certain percentage) and preemptive rights regarding new share issuances.

In technical terms, this is called a rights offering. General public offerings and third-party allocations are only possible when we waive our rights.

“GJ and RCK Bros are showing interest, I think it’s better to allocate to GJ considering potential business partnerships. They have multiple cable channels there.”

“Please proceed.”

Generally, domestic decisions are left to Senior Sangyeop, while international decisions are entrusted to Nuna Hyunjoo.

Ring ring!

The phone on the table vibrated.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Director Ju from SSK Group.”

“Why is he calling?”

“He wants to invest some personal assets.”

Senior Sangyeop is renowned in the industry for his investment skills.

The word must have spread widely, as even conglomerate heirs sought his advice on managing their personal assets.

I held back a chuckle.

“Senior, you’ve truly made it big.”

“Is that your way of speaking?”

Many people wanted to entrust their money to K Company, but all were turned down.

Currently, just managing K Company’s assets is overwhelming with the current manpower. There isn’t enough room to handle other people’s money.

There’s no need to go out of my way to do good things for others.

“Is Gi-hong doing well, senior?”

“Yeah. Sung is still working at the company.”

Originally working at KYB Securities, Senior Gi-hong confidently resigned amidst a restructuring phase. That was fine, just fine up until that point.

After that, he tried supporting private equity funds like RCK Bros and Rain Capital, but they all fell through, just like everywhere else.

Only then did he regret quitting on his own, but it was already too late.

While vigorously searching for a job, he contacted Senior Sang-yeop. Conveniently, K Company was struggling with severe manpower shortages as Sang-yeop was alone.

Sang-yeop proposed joining the company, and Gi-hong, who was at home with nothing to do, quickly joined K Company.

Although he got in through connections, having experience in financial companies proved very helpful in setting the company’s framework initially.

Subsequently, experienced individuals came pouring in, making him practically like the youngest, but he seems to be pulling his weight adequately.

Regardless of whether he is good at his job or not, his passion is evident. Seeing him boast about K Company at gatherings with juniors proves this.

He even enthusiastically promoted the fact that they are making huge profits through investments, and that starting salary for new employees is 70 million won with performance bonuses in the millions.

Even in the high-paying financial sector, this is quite exceptional.

The rumors spread like wildfire across the entire school through juniors. Seeing this, former classmates and juniors who hadn’t found employment all reached out to Senior Sang-yeop together.

Their aim was job placement requests.

They displayed the spirit of “what we, not others, have done” by leveraging their academic connections. People who had never cared when Sang-yeop was struggling with debt.

Seeing this, it seems true that success breeds friends.

Not just job requests, but offers for high-ranking positions poured in incessantly. The phone rang so much, Sang-yeop couldn’t bear it and even had to change his phone number.

“Is it normal to receive so many messages like that?”

“Stop talking. Did I ever say to Ki Hong that if I give my number to a school friend one more time, he should cut me off?”

“…”

Manager Sung will probably fire us soon.

After finishing our meal, we got up from our seats.

“I will pay today.”

“No, I will pay. I already took out the corporate card.”

Taekgyu said, “If we swipe the corporate card, isn’t it the same as us paying?”

“…”

K Company is mostly owned by OTK Company (precisely 98%), and OTK Company is mostly owned by us (precisely 97%).

Pocket money or corporate card expenses, the money coming out is no different from our wallets.

“Just swipe it.”

It came to exactly 310,000 won.

A black Benz S-Class was parked in front of the restaurant.

“Nice car.”

Senior Sangyeop chuckled, “It’s a company car anyway. Jinhu, aren’t you planning to buy a car?”

“I was thinking about it.”

Soon after, the chauffeur arrived, and we got into the car.

“First, take us to Samseong Park, then to Yeoksam Station.”

I leaned back in the back seat, lost in thought.

A year ago, after completing investments in startups, I didn’t have much to do. I was just watching the value of the companies I invested in rise.

“Is it about time to start working slowly?

The car arrived in front of the house.

I got out of the car with Taekgyu and said from the back seat,

“Exclude the startups, and if you have long-term products you are investing in, switch them to short-term ones. Be prepared to liquidate them anytime at my command. I will let you know as soon as I learn more.”

Senior Sangyeop nodded.

“Got it.”

***

It has been about a month since the semester started.

I tried not to miss school whenever possible.

I was worried about returning to school after a long break, but thanks to Yuri taking care of everything, I had no trouble adapting. I also became quite close with my juniors.

Above all, I could clearly feel that the way the kids looked at me had changed since that day.

Among them, the person whose attitude changed the most was her.

Hye-mi, with heavy makeup and large earrings, approached me and pretended to be friendly.

“I didn’t think you were my type before, but you look cool these days. Did you know that I’ve actually liked you since the first year?”

“…”

Doesn’t she realize the contradiction in her words?

It’s not easy to adapt when someone suddenly changes. In a sense, one could say she remains unchanged.

Hye-mi asked affectionately,

“I’m going for coffee now, do you want to come, Jinhoo?”

“I quit coffee.”

“Then how about going for a meal?”

“I quit eating too.”

“…”

Leaving the bewildered Hye-mi behind, I went into the classroom.

Yuri, who was there first, waved her hand.

“Please sit here, senior.”

I sat next to Yuri.

“Taking 21 credits in one semester is not something ordinary.”

“Well, I did get exempted from attending two English classes.”

There are also many students at Hanguk University who are exchange students or of Korean descent.

Usually, students who no longer need to learn English submit a simple report to earn their grades. Thanks to improving English skills over the year, I was able to meet with an American professor and get exempted from attendance. The same goes for Yuri. Thanks to studying abroad when she was young, Yuri’s English was at a native speaker level.

While taking a major course, Yuri asked in a soft voice, “Where did you get 5 million dollars from? Are you really not going to tell me?”

“I told you. It was borrowed,” I replied. Everyone was curious about the source of the 5 million dollars, to the extent that even professors who heard rumors were asking.

Although I said it was borrowed money, no one believed me. Who would lend 5 million dollars to a mere university student, logically speaking?

However, the answer to that came easily through Senior Gihong. “That guy Sangyeop, no, the CEO of K Company, is close to him. They are not just club seniors and juniors but like real siblings. The CEO treasures him so much. If he asked for 10 million dollars instead of 5 million, he would have lent it.”

There was even a plausible story added that I might have invested money before Gihong set up K Company. Rumors surprisingly often contain some truth.

From my perspective, I brushed it off easily. “Hmm, I see. If Senior says so, it must be true. I’ll believe you.”

But Yuri’s expression clearly didn’t convey trust. How much does she really know about me?

Seemingly lost in thought, Yuri suddenly said, “Oh! Isn’t today the day the car is being released?”

I was surprised. “How did you know?”

Yuri showed me her phone. “Taekgyu Oppa told me.”

“······.”

“Why did this kid say that? No, when did he exchange numbers in the first place?”

Yuri said, sticking out her tongue slightly.

“Let’s go together after class. We have to test drive it.”

***

During the time I’ve been in Korea, I didn’t really need a car because I haven’t been here long. However, due to school and work, I felt the need to move around.

I can’t keep renting a taxi forever.

Finally, I went to the dealership with Taekgyu and Senior Sangyeop last week to purchase one. The car will be delivered today.

After class, I headed to the Porsche dealership in Samseong-dong with Yuri.

The dealer welcomed us warmly.

“Have you arrived?”

Inside the store, employees from the leasing company were already there.

“Please come this way.”

In the delivery area, a white Panamera, the model I changed to this time, was parked. With some added options, the price soared well over 200 million won.

Yuri carefully inspected the car on my behalf. Then, nodding as if everything was fine, she asked, “How do you like it, Senior?”

“It’s good,” he replied.

Come to think of it, this is my first car. There was a time when I had to ride taxis because I didn’t have a car. Let’s leave that gloomy past behind in the depths of memory.

Ring!

“Yes, Dad?” Yuri left to answer the phone, and I proceeded with the paperwork and accepted the car key.

We got into the car. The Panamera smoothly responded to the throttle. Driving it myself, I found it even more appealing.

“This car is nice. If you drive it to school, you’ll become even more popular, right?”

“But there are many kids driving even fancier cars.”

Like Go Junhyung, who drives a Bentley. It’s not uncommon to see Mercedes or BMWs in the school parking lot, but a Porsche would definitely stand out.

“Also, this is a new model that just came out.”

“But how did you buy this car with money?”

“It’s not my money, it’s a corporate lease.”

Even though it’s under the company, it feels like mine.

I changed the subject. “Did you just talk to your father?”

Yuri nodded.

“Yes. He’s on a business trip to the UK right now, and it seems like the atmosphere is tense.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“A while ago, the date for the Brexit vote was confirmed. So now both sides are in opposition.”

“Is that so?”

At that moment, something flashed in front of my eyes.

I stared blankly at the hologram.

-Brexit vote passed-