Read 12 Hours After - Chapter 65 - An Extra Character Of The World, A Main Character Of The World online free - Light Novel Full

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

After dinner, President Kwon and I walked out of the tuna restaurant. I shook hands with him at the door.

"Then, I'll ask you to do me a favor, President Kwon."

President Kwon bowed his head and got my handshake. "No, I'll ask you to do me a favor."

While I said good-bye to him, I could hear the sound of opening the car door a little way off from me. I raised my head and saw that Secretary Seo was waiting for me in the distance. When I saw him, I said to President Kwon, "Oh, by the way, at that time… What happened that day will continue to be a secret between us. I don't want it to leak it out either. Of course, I got a check back then, but OH Entertainment is now my company."

Kwon recalled things then and said with a quick smile, "Yes, I see."

I was about to say a real good-bye. But then, he said one more thing, "Boss, then… Should I tell Oh Hyun-joo that?"

Come to think of it, there was one more person who knew this fact: Oh Hyun-joo. I thought about it for a while, and said to him, "Oh, that's… I think it would be better for me to talk to her in person."

"Oh, would you?"

'I'm sure it'll be more fun. Maybe she'll recognize me, too. I'm curious about that.'

"Yes. I think it's better. Oh Hyun-joo does not know that I'm going to be a major shareholder, does she?"

"Of course not. I didn't know until just now."

"Yes, then, just keep it that secret. When we meet again, I'll talk to her in person."

"Oh, please feel free to contact me whenever you come to our company. I'll adjust the schedule of Oh Hyun-joo…"

"No, no. We'll meet naturally anyway."

Kwon bowed to me once again for the last time. "Yes, I see, boss."Vice President Jang spoke in front of me, giving me a document that said the contract was complete. "All the detailed procedures are done. The announcement of the contract will be made sometime today. In a week, the boss will officially become a major shareholder of OH Entertainment."

"Yes. Thank you for your work. I trust that you will take care of the rest without any problem."

"Don't worry about that."As soon as Jang left the president's office, my cell phone rang. I picked it up and checked the time. It was an alarm at 8:50. The news 12 Hours After and 12 Days After were coming. Two emails came in just at 8:55.

[P. 12 Hours After]

[P. 12 Days After]

'It is not long before the P in front of the email will turn into Diamond's D.' Thinking that, I clicked on the news.

'No, no, no, no… No.'

In 12 Hours After, there was nothing. I then looked over 12 Days After.

'No… um?' There was just one catchy piece of news.

[Economy – the rebellion of the price of Masung Group]

'If it's Masung Group…'

It was the company of Chairman Jeon Hee-joong, who died of a heart attack on a fishing ground last time. I clicked on it.

[Masung group is engulfed in the prince's rebellion. Since the death of Jeon Hee-joong, Chairman of Masung Group, due to an acute heart attack on the fishing grounds on April 4, Jeon Woo-hyun, the eldest son of Jeon Hee-joong, seemed to take over as the group chairman, but the second son Jeon Woo-jin and several other board members opposed it….]

'Oh, the chairman died suddenly, it has led to conflicts between people.

'There's an old saying, Brothers are not very close in a rich family. That's not right every time, but it's common to see brothers fighting over inheritances anyway. If it's a chaebol group, then it's a fight at the company level. But it's been a long time since…

'There are a lot of people who are fighting among the princes and then split up the whole group. So, these days, the chairman tends to arrange the inheritance before he dies. For the first is construction, for the second is finance, and for the third is fashion. In this way… However, Masung Group Chairman Jeon Hee-joong seems to have caused this problem because he was in his fifties and died suddenly of a heart attack.

'If it's a group fight, there'll be ups and downs in the stock market. The Masung Group is an unlisted group. The Masung Group is a rare company not listed on the KOSPI or KOSDAQ, among the nation's top fifty companies. That's a bit disappointing. If it were only listed…'

'People Search – Jeon Woo-hyun'

'People Search – Jeon Woo-jin'

I could've put both of the brothers in a character search, but this time, I should just go over it.

'I feel sorry.' I locked my fingers together, put them behind my head and backed away. 'I need to make more money.'

During the first month and the second month, I had earned nearly triple, but this month was not good. Of course, I'd already earned $10,000,000 for the subscription fee, but I needed to earn more than that to grow my account and develop my company.

'Well… it'll be much better if I get Diamond Class. Every time the grade goes up, it has been true…'

I turned on the HTS without much thought. If there were any stocks that were skyrocketing or plummeting, I might be able to use People Search in 12 Days After. But around 10 a.m. when the stock price of CDK Entertainment rose 5%.

'What is it?' The contract was already up. So, the higher the stock price, the better.

'Is there any good news on the air?'

I was trying to find out on the Internet, but there was a call. I looked up the phone.

"Boss."

"Hmm?"

"No, because of the news about our company, I called you."

"News?"

"In the Internet newspaper, the name of our company and your name are on the air. Would you like to take a look?"

Come to think of it, Kaiji, Director of Daewon Daily News Lee Won-jae said, "To celebrate this deal, I'll put the news on the air."

'Anyways, there's a public announcement after the market. I think they made the news before then.'

"Oh… Okay. I'll look for it." When I finished the call, I immediately went to the search box and typed 'Invictus Investment.' I saw the news that was released just a moment ago.

'Who is the new owner of CKD Entertainment, which has been surrounded by acquisition news?'

The company that uploaded the news might be the media from the branch of the Daewon Daily News. I clicked on the article.

[It is confirmed that the rumored sale of CKD Entertainment is true. Recently, they suffered from a series of business failures and rumors. Do Chan-ki, the representative of the company, has been saying that it is a groundless rumor in the recent acquisition, but it is not true.]

I read the article quickly. And in the meantime, my name came out.

[The new owner of CKD Entertainment is Invictus Investment, a new company with a somewhat unfamiliar name, known to be run by young CEO Han Sang-hoon (29), a new company less than a month old. The capital of Invictus Investment is $30,000,000, and has safely bought the stake of Do Chan-ki, the representative of the company.]

I read it over and over again, focusing on it, because it was the name of the company, the part where my name was in it, and I wondered if it was good or not. But in this article, it just said a new Investment Company took over CKD Entertainment. It simply stated a list of facts.

[… it is noteworthy whether the big deal will be concluded.]

'He said he'd write it well. There's not much good to say.'

I looked at it for a moment, but then I thought of CKD Entertainment.

'Now they know that our company is taking over the CKD Entertainment. That's why the stock price went up. The rumor of the takeover is good news for a stock price to rise.'

I returned to HTS.

[CKD Entertainment 2%]

The stock price of CKD Entertainment, which briefly ran to 5%, was back down. It was no wonder, as our company had no name and no huge capital. Just like Jiwoo Entertainment, it was hard for the story of an orphan who had been adopted to the home of a chaebol, to come out.

I dropped by the stock bulletin board.

– Finally, a new owner comes out. Thank God. CEO Do Chan-ki, how much did he lose?

– Han Sang Hoon is the new owner? He is young. What's Invictus like?

– Han Sang Hoon? I haven't heard of the name. It's like a rumor. If you buy it now, you're a fool. Be careful.

My name was already going up and down. I suddenly remembered the chairman being cursed at Jiwoo Entertainment.

– Kim Dong-il, you son of a bitch! Because of you, I lost my house and my car…

I hoped I would do well so that our stock price would not go down in the future.

'I'm sure I'll do well.'

I took my eyes off HTS and went back to the news where my name came out.

[It is reported that Han Sang-hoon (29), a young CEO, is running the new company.]

My name appeared in the real news, not in the news of 12 Hours After, and it made me feel strange. I watched the article for a while. But at that time, suddenly a terrible thought flashed through my mind.

"Uh… Wait a minute… This?"

I got out of my seat. First, the rule that the Customer Service had informed me was that the news from 12 Hours After and 12 Days After would follow the rules of the Korean news. My name was on the real news. There was a thing that came into my mind when the two things came together.

'If I become famous enough to appear on the news every day?'

I tried portal sites with a slight tremor. Slowly, I searched my name each letter on the portal site. 'Han Sang Hoon'

There were countless news reports of people named 'Han Sang-hoon,' me and others of the same name.

'… why hadn't I realized that before?'

It was probably because I had always lived as an extra character in this world, as a supporting actor. I'd never thought of it this way, because I'd never lived in the world as the main character, and I'd never imagined my name would appear in the news.

I would become the most famous Han Sang Hoon in Korea. Then I would be able to find out what would happen in my life in the future by 12 Hours After, 12 Days After, 12 Weeks After, 12 Months After and 12 Years After. I could find out everything I would do through People Search.

'And then… like the chairman of the Masung Group… There is no need to die of a heart attack because I can fix the future.'

I got up from the chair and I looked out of the window. I thought I had finally figured out how to use 12 Hours After.

'When I become a main character of the world, news will be written about me. And I will know what news is going to be written.'

I shivered slightly at the fact.

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I picked up the phone in the president's office and said, "Secretary Seo."

"Yes, boss."

"Could you come into the room for a moment?"

"Yes, boss."

Soon Ji-hoon opened the door and came inside. I asked him, "Secretary Seo, you… No, Ji-hoon, you are… Have you ever put your name in the search box?"

"My name?"

"Yes, have you ever searched for Seo Ji-hoon in the search box?"

"No."

Ji-hoon was shaking his head, but he suddenly remembered. "Oh, by the way, do you know the archer Seo Ji-hoon, who competed in the team event at the London Olympics six years ago?"

I recalled for a moment. A few people flashed across my mind, but I didn't know their names. "Well, I don't remember."

"You might not know him. He was in the team competition only once at that time. Anyways, he has the same name as me, so I cheered and remembered him. When the Rio Olympics came again four years later, I searched for Seo Ji-hoon again, but he failed to make it to the national team. I think that was the first and last time. That's the reason I searched under my name."

I nodded, "Well, yeah, yeah… Yeah, I got it. You can return to your seat."

"… yes, boss." Secretary Seo cocked his head curiously and went out the door.

Come to think of it, most people were like that. Except for politicians and celebrities, who would search for news in their own names? I thought for a moment.

'If I could get my own news… Then that news is far more important than other news. All I do is right now is watch other news.'

[CEO Han Sang-hoon has succeeded. The investment industry believes that Han's prediction was right again.]

'And when the good news comes up, I am going to push it as I do.'

[CEO Han Sang-hoon has lost. Investment sources say that CEO Han Sang-hoon's last decision was a mistake.]

'If there is news like this, I can correct the future accordingly.'

[… he has recorded an evening surprise.]

[… he has recorded the upper limit price.]

'The other news, such as above, is a secondary indicator that helps me make my judgment; however, all my news has become accurate news that gives me the same result. That's right, if that's the case… My news becomes the main dish, and other news is a side menu that makes my news good, a spice.

'If there is a problem, it is that my name is a bit common. My last name, Han, is the eleventh largest family name in South Korea. The name Sang-hoon is quite common, too. In order to receive my news in People Search, I have to be the most famous Han Sang-hoon in Korea, but there are already many more famous Han Sang-hoons than me.'

I once again put Han Sang-hoon in the portal site window. As expected, the face that I saw earlier appeared again.

'Ha, ha, by the way… this guy…'

The person at the top of the portal was the same one: Han Sang-hoon, a 56-year-old and lawmaker re-elected three times.

Now that I thought about him, I had seen him on the news sometimes. I saw his face and name, but he just wasn't important. He had the same name as me, but I had nothing to do with him. But this man had become a great mountain for me. Most of the news when I searched for Han Sang-hoon now was almost eighty percent for him.

[Han Sang-hoon, a lawmaker, voiced criticism at the Blue House.]

[Han Sang-hoon asked National Tax Service Director a question at a parliamentary hearing.]

[No problem with the funding of the Congressman. Rep. Han Sang-hoon's rebuttal.]

This man was still active as a lawmaker. According to the special news, the lawmaker seemed to have a bit of a "fighting chicken" spirit." The news about him was coming out in a day or two.

'Why is he fighting like that?'

There were decent lawmakers who I did not know in the National Assembly, but he was an activist who fought and struggled with other party members.

'Where is his district?'

I looked for it and it was far from my hometown. He was re-elected three times from the same area. He was young, with a third term and only fifty-six years of age.

'It is not always the case, but lawmakers who are generally supported by local politics do not easily lose support on any issues.

'If he is re-elected four or five times, he may be even more of a big shot: Representative of the House, Party Representative, Presidential candidate, President… President Han Sang-hoon…

'If that happens, my trying to get my name in People Search is over. The news of 12 Hours After, sends the news if the news comes out in Korea. Sometimes my news will appear, but when there is no Ranking News, it will be similar to receiving Lotto number news.

'This guy is the biggest mountain.'

The rest were mosly professors. Professor of Medicine Han Sang-hoon, Professor of Chemistry Han Sang-hoon, Professor of the literature department Han Sang-hoon… These people were also getting a spot on the news.

[Professor of Medicine at Sungkong University Han Sang-hoon has discovered Alzheimer's disease-causing quality.]

[Professor of Chemistry at Woojin University Han Sang-hoon, research results on the production of high-resilience nanotubes.]

[Professor Han Sang-hoon at Chungwon University is appointed a judge of the New Chunchun Literature Review.]

The next people were athlete and tennis player Han Sang-hoon, professional golfer Han Sang-hoon, professional gamer Han Sang-hoon… these guys were also getting news from time to time.

[Han Sang-hoon is eliminated from the preliminary round of the World Tennis Championships.]

[Han Sang-hoon, who catches the eagle on the seventh hole.]

[A come-from-behind shot! Han Sang-hoon's fantastic finish!]

To be honest, they were not top-class athletes that all Koreans knew, but they were also much more famous than I was. Fortunately, there were no famous celebrities. It was celebrities who appeared in the news the most.

'Internet news usually competitively picks up celebrity news, because the number of clicks is good.'

[Actor Han Sang-hoon is cast in a new drama.]

[Korean Idol Han Sang-hoon, has a romance with a female idol of the same age.]

[Singer Han Sang-hoon Announces new album in September.]

Of course, there were a few big cases.

[Han Sang-hoon, a real-time shot while traveling abroad. A pictorial of everyday life.]

[Han Sang-hoon's chicken eating show at home.]

[Han Sang-hoon's Fine Airport Fashion.]

These simple routines were all reported. So, if there was a famous celebrity, he might be even more powerful than Han Sang-hoon, a lawmaker.

'That's a relief. By the way, how many businessmen are on the news?'

Come to think of it, few of the nation's businessmen were as famous as celebrities and politicians. I didn't know if it was because they were not interested in being public in the first place, but like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett in the United States, there were not many famous entrepreneurs, and there was no news about them. It was usually a negative case when a businessman or investor was on the media.

[The chairman of… has appeared before the prosecution today. … suspected of collusion between politics and business… The chairman stood in front of the prosecutor's photo line in a wheelchair, citing deteriorating health.]

[….. the former director has become controversial because of in-house grooming… The managing director assaulted the employee, saying it was not the basis for accepting customers. He used a lot of abusive language.]

[Mr… has been charged with fraud. Known as the stock rich in Cheongdam-dong… He is known in the investment industry as a genius for stocks, and he has recently attracted tens of billions of dollars from investors.]

Such negative articles were the most common. It seemed that capitalists and entrepreneurs in our country had a negative image of themselves.

'That's unfortunate… Is it because there are not many respectable businessmen in our country?'

When I become famous later, I would be treated like that; it made me feel a little sad to think that. I typed 'a great businessman' in the search window. A lot of news came up.

[The only person who was considered a great entrepreneur is the chairman of Yuhan Pharmaceutical Company, who was an independent activist during the Japanese colonial rule. He thought of the lack of medicines in our country and set up the Yuhan.]

I read more.

[Yuhan is famous for its company's ethical management from its founding until now. There is a legendary anecdote that the company was subject to a tax investigation during the military dictatorship, and they didn't have any fraud or fault. When the chairman passed away in 1971, he returned $40,700,000 to society, except for his granddaughter's tuition. $40,700,000 in 1971, as of now, is a huge amount. It was not just the words that politicians use to give back to society, but it the real return. He is the man who actually returned something to society.]

He was a great man. I read another article.

[The founder of Shin Yong-ho Kyobo Group, famous for his words, "People make books and books make people," is the person who set up Kyobo Books in the basement of Kyobo Life Building in Gwanghwamun. The Kyobo Life building is located in avery expensive area, right next to the statue of Yi Sun-shin, where everyone thought a large-scale shopping mall would come in. However, though everyone tried to dissuade him, Shin Yong-ho made a bookstore, thinking, "In the middle of Seoul, there should be one bookstore representing Korea." Instead of receiving hundreds of thousand dollars in rent, he opened a bookstore that was almost unprofitable. As an independent and prestigious family, he also ranked first in paying inheritance tax in Korea. It is a dignified record, considering other Chaebols are somehow pulling strings to pay fewer inheritance taxes. He was also a person who used the Kyobo Bookstore a lot.]

'Yes, if I think about it, I could be a great entrepreneur. The reason why Korea has such an image is that most businessmen have made such a choice.

'If they ask me to choose between the two sides: the one who appears in a wheelchair in collusion with between politics and business, and the other who is praised even after his death, I will, of course, choose the latter. If I become famous anyway, I want to be famous in a good way.'

I was going to start with $300,000,000, but…

In the past, I asked customer service, "Why are you giving me such good luck?"

They replied, "Think about it."

I recalled the answer. I didn't think I had all the answers myself, but when I thought about it myself, this luck was too much for me to enjoy alone.Around five p.m., the market was closed, and the announcement came out.

[CKD Entertainment's major shareholder has changed, and the stock acquisition agreement has been made.]

[CKD Entertainment announced that it has signed a contract to buy shares that involves changing its largest shareholder. The transferor is the CEO, Do Chan-ki. The transferee is Invictus Investment. The total amount for the takeover is $17,000,000.]

After the announcement, other news also reported follow-up stories.

[CKD Entertainment CEO Do Chan-ki, steps down.]

[CKD Entertainment to welcome a new owner.]

[CKD Entertainment welcomes a new era.]

I clicked on them one by one. Sometimes I had news that came up with my name.

[Invictus Investment is an investment company led by CEO Han Sang-hoon.]

About two out of six had written my name. To know my name was now the beginning.

A week after the announcement of the contract, as soon as CKD Entertainment became mine, an email came to me.

[Diamond Class Guide]

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I opened the door quietly. There was no one in the company.

'And so it is.'

It was 7:50 a.m. now, an hour and ten minutes ahead of rush hour. The reason why I came

so early today was because the "Diamond Class Guide" would come at eight o'clock today.

Yesterday, CKD Entertainment was officially taken over by Invictus Investment. At that time,

there was a call from Customer Service that they would send me a guide at eight this

morning. I sat in my seat and took a long, deep breath.

It was always the same; at this point, I used to feel a little nervous. 7:55. Five minutes left. I

snapped my fingers and stretched. But then, the door to the president's office opened, and

Secretary Seo poked his head in.

"Hmm?" He looked inside the president's office.

"What? Without knocking?"

He was appalled when he heard my voice. "Boss, are you here? I'm sorry, but I didn't know you

came to work early, so I thought I just left the light on yesterday."

"Oh, I came to work early because I had something to do today."

"You did, I'm sorry."

Ji-hoon was not wrong since I usually came to work after ten o'clock. However, I came early

today without any special notice.

"It's okay. Instead, don't let anyone in before 9:10 a.m. today. Okay? I have to concentrate."

"Yes, I see. Boss, today, CKD… you know there's something scheduled at OH Entertainment, right?"

"Yes. That's why I came to work."Ji-hoon closed the door, and the "Diamond Class Guide" came after a while. I clicked on it without hesitation.

[Diamond Skills Guide]

[Congratulations, Han Sang-hoon, who has been promoted to Diamond Class. You can use the

points and enhance each skill by investing them. The cooldown time of the active skill is thirty days, a period equal to the subscription period. There are four different skills available for the

current Diamond Class. Skill points currently not allocated are seven.

People Search Lv3 (Active skill – three points required)

There is one more slot for searching for people. It will be available with other passive skills

applied.

Ranking News Lv2 (Active Skill – two points required)

In a specific category out of the news in 12 Hours (Days, Months, Years) After, you can receive first and second place news with high cumulative view counts in an hour (a week, a month, a year). It's available twice. It will be available with other passive skills applied.

Future News Lv3 (Passive Skill – three points required)

You are going to receive another 12 Days After news at the same as 12 Hours After. Its format is the same as existing news, and active skills are also available the same way. This passive skill is overlaid with other passive skills.]

The first step in the guide was skill selection. It was familiar because it was the third time.

Skills such as People Search, Ranking News, Future News were also familiar, but Additional

News item that sent one more news in the evening had disappeared.

'That's, uh, level one must have been full.'

I looked down at the scroll and noticed a new skill.

[Infiltration Report Lv1 (Active Skill – seven points required)

We will send a reporter to a specific target. The reporter will conduct a 30-day intensive

investigation into the target and bring in one article that will not be reported to the established

press after thirty days. When you are sending a reporter, you can specify what to

investigate.]

'Infiltration Report…?' It was an interesting skill. I read the explanation over and over again.

'The reporter will bring it in a month? Not immediately after he or she writes the article?'

It was quite different from other active skills. It also felt outside the rules to bring an article that

would not be reported by established media.

'How do they want me to use this?'

The problem was that I needed seven points to take the skill. I had seven points, but I

needed all of them to take the skill. If I got this skill, I would have to give up the rest instead.

'Seven points… but with this explanation, I don't understand what it is. What does it mean that I

can investigate and I can specify the target?'

I called Customer Service, because they had been explaining the system well, apart from

everything else.

– How are you, Mr. Han Sang-hoon?

I immediately asked, -What's the target for Infiltration Report? Is it only humans or are most people, organizations, countries, and unique names possible?

– Anything can be the target of Infiltration Report.

– Then, is it possible to investigate stock prices, exchange rates and oil price fluctuations, too?

– Yes, it is.

'If that's the case, I could be a rich man without having to do stock trading separately. If I could

learn the information one day sooner, even for a single day…'

– And when will the reporter let me know? Thirty days from now… will the reporter let me know

within thirty days?

– The reporter will let you know thirty days after you activate the active skill.

– So, what if I ask the reporter to tell me the oil price after thirty days?

– Thirty days later, the reporter will give you the oil price at that time. If you ask for the oil price forty-five days later, the reporter can't tell you that. A correspondent can only uncover past events.

I grabbed my forehead. 'They don't give it to me for free. I think that this skill seems to be

focused on the article not being reported by the established media.'

– What does it mean by an article that won't be reported in the established media?

– It's an article that literally won't be reported by the established media. This includes personal

privacy, corporate account books, and national secrets.

I thought it over. 'Can that make me money?' It sounded like fun, but I was not sure if it could

make money.

I asked a few more questions.

– What happens to people with the same name?

– Unlike People Search, you can specify the subject of investigation. You can give specific

instructions to the correspondent through age, affiliation, gender, etc.

– Is there a case where a correspondent fails?

– If the content of the investigation doesn't exist, the correspondent will return empty-handed.

– What if I told him to get the secrets of the universe?

– The correspondent will provide the article only within the limits of human knowledge. The correspondent is human.

'What?'

Here the atmosphere suddenly died down. I thought it was a ghostly, magical living being

that was a god or a devil, because he was a correspondent for the Future News, and I was

disappointed that they were human.

It might be better for me to buy a reporter for that money. If I gave them a few

hundred thousand dollars to investigate, there would be reporters who would jump into

flames.

– Then wouldn't it be better if I hired and used a correspondent for money?

– Our correspondent is very, very capable.

– Who's that correspondent? Let's look at the profile.

– That's a secret.

'I see. Mr. Zero.'

I shook my head. It was interesting, but I was not sure if I should take this skill right now.

I had seven points. This would allow me to upgrade Future News Lv3 and Lv4. Then, in

addition to the news in 12 Hours After and 12 Days After, I would receive four news

articles, including the news in 12 Weeks After and 12 Months After, and the probability of

making money would be increased significantly. Furthermore, it would be also possible

to combine items, such as Ranking News of 12 Weeks After and People Search of

12 Months After.

'It's definitely a way to make money. But… the Infiltration Report looks funny, I can't

make money with it… No matter who I spy on, If the correspondent does something

wrong, I will go to jail. I'm still short of money. I'll take the skill next time.

'All right, let's upgrade the Future News this time, and receive the news 12 Weeks After

and 12 Months After.'

As I was about to turn off the Customer Service window, I suddenly asked one more question.

– What happens if I change my name? Can I continue to subscribe to this news?

I asked this because I wanted to change my name if the lawmaker Han Sang-hoon got too good. But a somewhat shocking answer came back.

– Subscription contract will be terminated if the subscriber's name is changed.

– Why? The same person is being renamed.

– We're using only the name when you applied for Silver Class. We can't keep the service under the changed name. In this case, you must re-sign with a new name.

– What about the contract again? Is it in the Customer Service?

– Please find our ad and contact us again.

– Find the ad?

– Yes, sir. There's only one ad. It's created randomly on crosswalks all over the world.

'No way! How can I find a randomly generated card on crosswalks all over the world?'

– I know the number on the ad.

– Our number changes when a subscriber's contract is over.

I thought I would try to use the People Search better, but if I changed my name, the news would be cut off.

'I should become famous myself.'

– All right. Thank you.

– Yes, Mr. Han Sang-hoon. Thank you for your subscription.

After leaving the Customer Service, I upgraded Future News to Lv3 and Lv4 as I had decided.

"Congratulations, sir, you have been upgraded to the Diamond Class."

A stream of cliched congratulations came out, and a Master Class guide appeared below. I carefully scrolled down.

'They won't get any higher subscriptions, will they? It's too expensive now.'

[Upgrade your news to Master Class! What you need to upgrade your grade to the Master Class is to control five listed companies in your country with a $10,000,000 subscription fee and qualifications.]

Fortunately, the subscription fees did not increase further; the conditions and qualifications increased from one company to five.

'Five… Yeah, that's all I can do.'

I already had people and systems. Now I would make more money, buy another company, and repeat it. According to Customer Service, the Future News had a total of nine grades: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, master, grandmaster, and two others. The Diamond Class was the fifth, and only the middle grade. Customer Service said something was going to come out of the eighth class. I didn't know what it was, but I wanted to upload it quickly.

'All right, I'm halfway there. I'll go to the upper class soon. Five or ten… If I have money, there is no class I can't buy. Money is all it takes. That's the demerit and the merit of capitalism.'

It was 8:55 and I received two more news items than usual: 12 Hours After D, 12 Days After, 12 Weeks After, 12 Months After…

'All right. I can make a long-term plan with this.'

I clicked on the news 12 Months After. First of all, sports news came into my eyes.

[Sport – What baseball teams will reach the 2019 post-season?]

2019. I read other article titles more meticulously. It was far-fetched future news, unlike what I'd seen so far. News that seemed to be nothing at all might also be money…

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[Politics – What is the report card of Mayor Joo Sung-won one year after re-election?

Economy – The rich-get-richer and the poor-get-poorer, the deepening gap between the Seoul metropolitan area and the locals.

Society – What is the solution to the escalating conflict between the genders?

Life/Culture – Avengers 4 set a new box office record.

IT/Science – Susung Electronics 10 Review.

World – Hunger in Africa is no longer true, but obesity is a growing problem these days,

Sports – Which baseball team will advance to the 2019 postseason

Entertainment – A young playboy won the competition in the Masked Dance King.]

I saw the headlines a year from now without much thought. Money or not, the year-later news was interesting.

'Mayor Joo Sung-won must be doing well. The conflict between genders is a big problem these days… It's getting bigger. Will Avengers 4 be released next year? The Masked Dance King is still popular next year. I haven't seen it in a while…'

In the meantime, my telephone rang. I picked up the phone.

Secretary Seo asked carefully, "Boss, that… Are you done with your work?"

I glanced at the time. It was 9:20. I had a meeting at 10 o'clock today. I closed the mailbox and said, "Yes. Let's go now."

"Yes, boss."I put on my jacket and left. The formal name of today's schedule was the merger celebration. This was to celebrate CKD Entertainment and OH Entertainment becoming a family and making a fresh start. That was the superficial reason, there were actually two reasons for the event.

The first was to show my face, as the real owner of this company, and the second to show that as the second real owner, I was officially delegating power to President Kwon Oh Hyuk.

Because of Jang's concern, 'CKD Entertainment's directors may complain,' I was asked to step forward and line them up. It was like the old king appointing a new lord of the realm in front of the nobles.

'… I delegate my power to President Kwon Oh Hyuk to be the new lord of the realm.'

Of course, in modern times, the king was the majority shareholder, the nobles were the directors, and the lord was the president, but the original structure was the same, although it had been transformed into a language based on capitalism. It was a line-up by power.On the way to Cheongdam-dong, where OH Entertainment was located, I saw a luxury car in my eyes while waiting for the signal. From the front of the SUV to the solid-looking body, I liked it. I asked Ji-hoon, who was holding the wheel, "Secretary Seo, what's that car?"

Following my finger, Secretary Seo answered right away. "That's a Bentley Bentay."

I didn't know when I was in school, but Seo was a high-end car lover. He knew more about luxury models than I did, though he could not afford to buy them.

"Really? That's a Bentley. I like that one."

"It's a Bentley, boss. It's the best in the SUV's."

'How much is that?' I was going to ask that, but I just said without asking, "Well, then call the dealer. Buy one for me with the same blue color." I'd achieved my Diamond Class and I thought that as a prize for myself.

Secretary Seo replied without a word, "Yes, I see, boss."

I looked at the car for a moment while the signal was running. 'It's so pretty…' But I was on my way, a car in the back took over as Bentley edged ahead. By the way, the car was quite familiar; it was a black silver Mercedes van as tall as a man.

'That must be…' It was the car that Oh Hyun-joo was riding in that time when she came to Choo Hospital. I wished it could be, but I was not sure since other celebrities could use the same ride.

Seo said to me, "We're here, boss." He drove into the parking lot of OH Entertainment's office, and the car followed us in it, too. Secretary Seo pulled over to one side. In the meantime, the van also parked about three space away.

'That must be…' I tried to get out of my seat and see who was getting out of the van. But before that, Secretary Seo, who was sitting in the driver's seat, shouted first, "Oh… Oh Hyun-joo. Boss!"

It looked like Oh Hyun-joo. 'In the end, we meet again.'

I wondered if she would recognize me, or how she would react if she found out. I opened the door and got out. Holding the car door, I looked at the van. Oh Hyun-joo was walking this way with the elevator making a clumping noise.

She was still a great beauty, like her face was shining. Maybe it'd been a long time, but I still couldn't adapt myself, only managing to stand firmly. And then, our eyes met.

"Huh?" Her eyes grew bigger. At a glance, she recognized me. She looked at me and said, "You… right?"

I laughed instead of answering. President Kwon forgot me, but she didn't. I slowly approached her. "We meet again. Nice to see you again."

She looked at me with her mouth covered, like a group of girl fans. "No, really. Why are you here? How did you get here?" She didn't seem to know I was the owner of this place.

A man appeared from behind her. "What is it is?"

I remembered him after looking at his face: Oh Hyun-joo's manager. He had taken my business card. His eyes were bigger than hers. "No… you… really?"

I looked at him for a moment.

He looked back at me and muttered my name. "That… Han Sang-hoon… Han Sang-hoon?"

Oh Hyun-joo said, looking at his manager, "Yes, Han Sang-hoon, my lifesaver. You remember that, don't you?"

At her words, the manager shook his head and said, "No… Ms. Oh Hyun-joo…"

"Yes?" When the manager's expression was alarmed, Oh also noticed something strange. She looked at the manager and me alternately, and asked, "What's wrong?"

When asked, the manager looked at me and read my countenance, "I, uh… hasn't our company changed owners this time?"

"Yes."

"The new owner of the company… is that Han Sang-hoon."

"Yes?" Oh Hyun-joo looked at me with big eyes. They seemed to be bigger then when she first saw me."Then, there will be a word from Han Sang-hoon, president of Invictus Investment, which has become the parent company of our company."

It was my turn. I took the manuscript I had prepared and went forward. I had almost memorized it, since yesterday, as it was so short.

"… I'll make sure we don't spare our full support, including large-scale investment." I had a few cliches of platitudes nevertheless. There was a thunderous applause every time my words finished. Far away, the singers in their twenties and thirties dyed in yellow and green, the people who were well-painted with pomade, and the bald directors in their forties and fifties applauded harder than others. It was an interesting landscape.

I went on to more formal talk. It was all right, because this position had always been a ritual in which the king revealed his face and offered his lord the land. Ceremonies were the most important thing in form.

"In the future, we will actively communicate with President Kwon Oh Hyuk…" While I was talking, I caught a glimpse of Oh Hyun-joo on one side. Everyone in this place was looking at me, just like Oh Hyun-joo. When I saw her, of course, she kept eye contact with me. I said for a moment without taking my eyes off her. "I'll try to grow this company even further."

Clap clap… Oh smiled and clapped. By the way, the manager behind her was a bit suspicious. He clapped his hands, but with his head down. It reminded me of Kwon, who hit his fingertips with his head down.

'What's wrong with him?' With that thought, I finished what I had prepared. "OH Entertainment's directors, employees, and artists, please take care of the company well."

Clap clap… I came back to my seat with the applause. My turn was over and the ceremony continued.

"This time, we are going to welcome Kwon Oh Hyuk, who will lead our merged OH Entertainment. There will be a word from the new president."

Kwon climbed onto the podium, held down the microphone a little, and began to speak, "Today is a very special day. Announcing OH Entertainment's new beginning…"

As expected, it was not very interesting. I glanced back at Oh, pretending to listen to Kwon's speech. Oh was looking at Kwon, who stood on the podium instead of me. She looked quite happy.

'How long have they two been working together? I'm sure they are happy now because they met unknown to each other, and President Kwon has become a big man in charge of CKD Entertainment.'

But then the manager looked at me, and flicked his head around. This was the second time.

'It's weird. Is there something wrong with me?' I pondered over the reunion in the parking lot that had just been there.

'No, really. Why are you here? How did you get here?'

'Yes, Han Sang-hoon, my lifesaver. You remember that, don't you?'

When I thought about the conversations, Oh Hyun-joo remembered my name and my face. However, she apparently didn't even know that Han Sang-hoon was the new owner of the company.

'Have she been busy filming lately?'

It could be understandable since I didn't take over this company under my own name, but I took it over through Invictus Investment. Although the notice was published and an article was published, only one or two of six articles published used my name. If people around her didn't tell her, she wouldn't know. But the manager knew I was Han Sang-hoon.

'No… you… really?'

'That… Han Sang-hoon… Han Sang-hoon?'

And he also knew that the new owner's name was Han Sang-hoon. He just didn't know they were the same. His response was similar to Kwon's. There could be nothing wrong with him in the process. We just said hello to each other in case we were late in the ceremony.

I went a little further back in time. That day, that night, when I thought about it, I remembered him taking my business card instead.

'Don't tell me… Intercept? Did he take my business card and throw it away?'

It made sense to think so. She took my phone number to thank me, but I never heard from her.

'I spent the whole day waiting to get a text message!'

I looked at the manager again. He was away from his seat. Just in time, Kwon ceremonial speech was ended. "… our OH Entertainment hopes to take advantage of this and become a global entertainment company."

Then, people started to applaud and I also clapped. I didn't hear a single speech, but I mechanically clapped along.

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Five boys with yellow and brown hair said with open hands at once, "Hello! We're… Hearts Hunter's!"

This was the so-called "idol-like greeting." It was amazing to see what I'd only seen on television in front of my eyes.

"I'm Sungjin, the leader. I'm in charge of dancing and singing in the team."

"I'm Franz. I'm in charge of rapping on the team."

"I'm Maha. I'm in charge of dancing on the team."

To be honest, I wasn't interested in boy bands at all. Maybe that was why it was the first time I'd seen them.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you."

The group of boys passed by, bright-looking girls came up and said hello, "Please take a good look! Uptown Girls."

I was greeted again by idols. Unlike boy bands, I was familiar with famous girl groups, but these girls were also my first time. Nevertheless, like any girl's group, their beauty was outstanding. Walking along Gangnam Boulevard, men's eyes were sure to follow automatically. Each of them had a separate pose and self-introduction.

"Venus Serin!"

"Jupiter Sujin!"

"Mercury Ha Young!"

'Isn't this the concept of Sailor Moon? I shook hands with them even AS I thought about it.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you, please have a good performance."

I looked around after being greeted for a long time.

Heh… Secretary Seo was looking at the Uptown Girls with his mouth open slightly. "Secretary Seo!"

When I called his name, he looked at me in surprise, "Yes, boss?"

"After this is over, I want you to look into all the names of the trainees, actors, singers, group entertainers from OH Entertainment, and report to me. "

"Yes, I see."

Just in case I said one more thing, "Not their stage names, but their real names. Okay?"

"Yes, I see."

Many actors, singers, entertainers, and trainees shook hands with me. Everyone said they were celebrities, but it was my first time seeing them. There were so many people I couldn't remember seeing anywhere.

'But television only shines on successful entertainers… There are more than 100 new girl groups a year, right? Celebrities on television are handsome, pretty and colorful, but there are very few people, really. The public is only seeing the good side of the entertainment industry.'

At the end of the handshake, I could hear a murmur in the distance.

'What is it?' As soon as I glanced over, a handsome young man walked over, looking at me.

Kwon, who had been quiet, said, "CEO Han, this is Kim Jun-hyung."

'Oh, this man.' Before the merger, Kim Jun-hyung was a CKD ace. I'd seen him many times in the movies, or in the dramas.

He came up to me, bowed his head and offered me a handshake. "Thank you, CEO. I'm Kim Jun-hyung. I look forward to your kind cooperation."

He was a handsome man, and he looked good and bright. His smile was a good thing for women.

'I heard that the work he had taken in China was blocked by Hanhanlyeong and was unable to come out.' I shook hands with him and said, "Did you act in a recent historical movie?"

"Oh, yes. You mean the Wind and the Waves?"

"Yes, the Wind and the Waves. I watched you play the role of the prince."

"Thank you. I will continue to work hard."

At the end of my greeting with Kim Jun-hyung, I got a sense of who was coming to me.

Clump clump. The owner of the heavy shoes was none other than Oh Hyun-joo, the best actress of OH Entertainment.

"Good to see you, Mr. President."

"Glad to see you, Ms. Oh."

We exchanged greetings only briefly. It was supposed to be something that didn't exist. When others were looking at us, we should be first acquaintances. Like this, after finishing greetings with all the celebrities, I entered the president's office of OH Entertainment with President Kwon.

"You did a good job, boss."

"It was nothing. You did a good job, President Kwon. Anyway, we've got a rough arrangement. As I said before, I'm not going to interfere with the company's affairs directly. President Kwon, I want you to do well on your own."

"Yes, boss."

"But sometimes, I may recommend people or not recommend them."

"Recommend or not recommend?"

"Yes, I don't know anything else, but I've always been pretty good at judging people. I'm confident. So, if I think someone from the company is going to be fine, I'll contact you sometimes if I want to. Not often but sometimes… At that time, please review my opinion carefully."

Kwon quickly blinked his eyes and bowed his head, "Yes, I see, boss. I'm sure of what you're saying."

He was looking at me as a bit of a mystery. I deserved it. At the age of 29, I was the head of a thirty million dollar investment company. When we met at the tuna restaurant, he had asked me, "Excuse me… May I ask what your father does?"

That was how he asked me.

'It's amazing. The email which comes every day is amazing.'

This was the end of all the official work. I was about to call in Secretary Seo, but I remembered the last thing I had to do. "Oh, by the way. That… manager."

"Manager?"

"Please call the manager of Oh Hyun-joo in here. I have something to talk about with him."

Kwon didn't know what the situation was, but he replied without a word, "Yes, I see, boss."The door opened, and the man came in without a word. It was none other than Oh Hyun-joo's manager.

I pointed to a seat. "Sit down."

He sat down at my order, but his hands were trembling on the armrest. He was a little nervous. It seemed that a guilty conscience needed no accuser.

I asked him, "I wanted to ask you something, didn't I hand you my business card for Oh Hyun-joo back then?"

When I said that, he came out of his chair and suddenly knelt down. "I'm sorry. I received the business card at the time, but…"

I didn't keep him down on his knees. I raised him up, but he kept begging. "But I didn't expect you to be this big. I'm sorry…"

He was right. I wasn't a rich man with authority then. I said, easing his mind, "It's okay. I didn't call you to blame you."

"Yes? Then…"

"Please take a seat. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

At my words, he sat in a chair with his head down. I asked him, "Usually, it's a manager's job to block the approach of the public, right?"

"Yes. First of all, I limit people's personal contact with a star. I don't know what Oh Hyun-joo is doing."

He just tried to stick to the manager's duty. I couldn't say anything about that. "Then what did you do with my business card? What did you say to Oh Hyun-joo?"

"I threw away the business card and gave her another phone number."

"Really? What did Oh Hyun-joo say?"

"She said that she sent you a text message, but you didn't reply… She's said it many times because it's weird. So, I was making excuses."

She must have sent me a text message, a number of times. 'She texted me as she asked me my number.'

I changed the subject around and asked, "Did Oh Hyun-joo not read the countenance of her boyfriend?"

"Oh Hyun-joo has never been in love with a man since her debut. The company itself has been managed well, but she is so passionate about her work."

I was happy, but deliberately hardened my face. If I was happy to hear that, the manager might have a weird imagination.

Funnily enough, the manager looked at my stiff face and apologized again, "I'm sorry. Oh Hyun-joo was scheduled to shoot the CF, and she had to audition for the movie…"

I dissuaded him, "Ah, that's all right. I understand everything. I've been at work in a company. First, you had to do your job, no matter what the situation was."

At my words, the manager stayed still with his head down.

I asked him something else, "How old are you anyway?"

"I'm 34."

More than I thought. He was five years older than me. "Are you married?"

"Yes. I have two sons and a daughter." He seemed to say, "I have a wife and children, so please take good care of me." He looked at me with that kind of expression.

'That's not why I asked you.' "Oh, yes, I see… So what happened last time was just… Let's consider it as having happened. Instead, bring it well this time…"

I took my wallet out as I spoke my words ambiguously, and I handed it to him.

'Han Sang-hoon, CEO of the Invictus Investment.'

The new business card changed its name and my position. As the business card changed hands, the attitude of the recipient also changed. This time, he politely took my business card with both hands. "Yes, I see, Mr. President."

"And please tell Oh Hyun-joo that you memorized the wrong number, so the text message went wrong… I don't want to be a person who ignored the message even after I got it from a superstar."

"Yes, I see. I'll explain that actively."

I laughed and tapped him on the shoulder. "Yes, then, please continue to do your job well. "

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and don't change the company's policy because of this. I don't want you to."

"Yes?" said the manager, lifting his eyebrows.

"I want you to stop the public from approaching her from now on. Oh Hyun-joo is the top saleswoman of our company."

He finally understood me. "Oh, yes! I see."On the way home. I got a text message on my cell phone.

-CEO Han Sang Hoon. This is Oh Hyun-joo. My manager forgot your phone number, so I couldn't send a thank-you message. So I want to say "thank you" again. Thank you for saving me then!-

I sent her a reply with a smile… and I saved her number under her name Oh Hyun-joo in my phone list.

About that time, Secretary Seo asked, "Where would you like to go, boss?"

'Company? Or home?'

"Home. Let's go home," I said to him.

"Yes, boss." Secretary Seo picked me up and headed to my studio. I didn't go home to rest; rather, it was going to work. OH Entertainment's acquisition ended in success this time. What I had to do now was to make money again.

'Five companies ruled by a parent company are needed to reach the Master Class. To achieve that, I need much more money than I have now.'

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'Let's see…' I put my accounts on my computer at once: $4,800,000, $5,500,000, $6,200,000, $4,000,000, $7,000,000, $3,100,000, $7,500,000, $1,000,000.

The total amount of money in my eight accounts was about $40,000,000. This amount of money was left after investing $30,000,000 in Invictus Investment.

'I made $20,000,000 last month, and did I pay $10,000,000 for the subscription?'

I looked at the details of the sale. That was right. In the first month and the second month, I was confident that I made $20,000,000 in net profit, but this month I made only $10,000,000. It wasn't because I couldn't trade, but because I didn't get caught in a big event like a duty-free competition. I couldn't help it.

'There are only three or four big events a year. If money doesn't move, I can't make it. That's what the stock market is originally. But nevertheless, I am optimistic about the future. I have eight news stories a day. All investments are so, but as long as the yield is good, assets tend to increase rapidly.'

I clicked on all the news items one by one: D. 12 Hours After, D. 12 Days After, D. 12 Weeks After D, D. 12 Months After. I quickly glanced through the headlines.

[The detonator of the household debt… The signs of the declining fortune of the Star Wars series… The limits of the smartphone are… Jung Sung-woo's move to Lotte…]

I'd seen the headlines every day for four months. I'd just come to know what it was. I rolled my eyes quickly, dug out a gemstone, and stopped moving my eyes.

[The Blue House called Youth Unemployment Countermeasures Committee… Suzy Electronics announced Q2 earnings surprise!]

[Economy – Suzy Electronics announced Q2 earnings surprise!]

'I got one!

'Every company in the country has to report every quarter how it spent money, what business it made and how much it earned in the process. Of course, stock analysts predict quarterly reports of companies that have a significant impact on stock prices, using the slogan "earnings surprise" when they have an outstanding record.'

I glanced up. [D. 12 Weeks After]

'It is now September and the news in 12 Weeks After is just the time since the announcements of companies' second-quarter earnings are scheduled from late October to mid-November.'

I clicked on it.

[Suzy Electronics recorded a second-quarter earnings surprise. Nov. 15. Suzy Electronics announced a surprise performance of $618,800,000 in sales and $21,000,000 in net profit in the second quarter.]

I read down more articles. 'I'm sure the stock price is written.'

It was right there. [In a surprise move that exceeded analysts' expectations, Suzy Electronics closed at $16.40, up 20%.]

I searched for Suzy Electrons with HTS.

[Suzy Electrons $9.90]

Suzy Electrons was trading for less than $10.

'60% profit in three months…'

In fact, it would be a huge profit. If general investors saw this article, they would have sold their house and car, and taken out a loan. But I was different. I was not a general investor. If I said that I would earn $24,000,000 by investing $40,000,000, I would have to pay $30,000,000 for the subscription fees. It would be a loss. Therefore, I had to figure out how to get things done in my mind.

'Nov. 15th – a 20% jump in Suzy Electronics, rising to $16.40.'

'If this is done, I can make a profit on other news outlets in the meantime and earn 20% of the money in the short term on this day. If I make a profit of more than $10,000,000 for the subscription fees, I should do it this way.'

I picked up my cell phone and I turned on the work schedule application.

['Please enter your password.]

I typed in my password with a combination of capital letters and lower letters, and numbers and special symbols, and I entered the application. Then on November 15th, I wrote it down, 'SE 164.'

'It's a kind of code. If anyone sees this, they won't know what it is. I'm the only one who can think of this: Suzy Electronics, $16.40.'

After I wrote the note, I looked at another schedule. It was written 'October 28th, YF 222.' I decrypted the code right away from it. "Yoosung Food. $222."

There was also an event on October 10, "AAAOO." I saw it and decrypted it right away. "Announcement of Als Aluminum's Obtain Order. "

The price wasn't written, but there would be good news anyway. I arranged the good news in this way. Just by looking at a couple of letters, I could trade them. It would be obvious that I would make much more money than before, if I could fill this calendar like this.

'The closest thing is… TRETUP' Late this month, one was scheduled for Sept 27. It was the oldest cryptogram. I thought for about three seconds and made a sentence out of the initial consonant, "Taegwangbangjik's Real Estate Trading hits the upper limit price."

Taegwangbangjik was an old textile company in the province. It was established in the '70s, like a textile company, but it owned real estate in good land in the local metropolitan area. In fact, in the '70s, it was just a factory outside the city, but after a while, it became a land of gold. They decided to sell the land for $240,000,000 this time.

'Their market capital is $180,000,000. So, if they buy that stock now, it'll be worth more than $2.40 for $1.80 in cash. Sometimes some old stocks have that gold buried in the mud. People don't buy such stocks because they've been walking sideways for ten to twenty years that way. There's an expensive piece of land, but they don't know when it'll be sold. They don't know when the money will come in. However, I know the date.

'On the twenty-seventh day, I'm going to buy it slowly, unless other news comes out.'

I closed the calendar app. What should be done next was to use People Search. I entered the major portal site with the mailbox of 12 Hours After turned on. There was a business memo here. It was not a minor mail that came, but a major mail with many people's names.

[List of OH Entertainment artists.]

When I clicked on it, there were profiles of artists belonging to OH Entertainment.

[Oh Hyun-joo (25) – Actress

Kim Jun-hyung (24) – Actor

Sung-jin (22) – Idol

Franz (21) – Idol

Maha (22) – Idol]

I clicked the first one of Oh Hyun-joo at the top, academic and family relations, personal information came out quickly.

[Oh Hyun-joo]

[Real name: Oh Hyun-joo

Age: 25

Education: Ji Seong Elementary School, Ji Sung Middle School, Seoul Arts High School

Family Relations: parents and her younger brother]

– As you can see, it shouldn't be leaked. President Kwon asked me to be careful.-

It was understandable why Secretary Seo said such a thing in his email. This was too detailed to be a simple profile.

[Acting Performance: 9

Appearance: 10

Professional Mind: 9

Speech Ability: 7

Fashion Sense: 3

Artistic Talents: 4

Singing Ability: 5

Dancing Ability: 0

From evaluating various abilities, Appearance is very outstanding, and she is good at acting. Her passion for acting is also very strong. She has a naive personality, and it's hard to shine among the strong-colored actresses. Her role in acting should be well suited. She lacks artistic talents and it's hard to expect her to perform as a multi-player. A small face, good in shape, but we shouldn't let her wear clothes without a coordinator. It's also hard for her to sing. However, never make her dance.]

There was also a personal assessment such as.

'What is this? Did Kwon evaluate it? At the audition?'

When I asked him for the profile of OH Entertainment artists, I said that there would be cases I would recommend or not. When asked, he seemed to prepare his personal evaluations, too. It was accompanied by assessments from the office. He wanted me to see how it looked different from his own.

'I didn't ask him to…'

It was a lot of fun looking at profiles, but I did not ask it to see this. All I needed was a name. I wrote 'Oh Hyun-joo' in my People Search in 12 Weeks After. An article was up soon.

[Oh Hyun-joo – The Goddess of Coffee.]

I clicked on the article and saw Oh Hyun-joo in her overcoat with a coffee. Looking around, I could see something like a filming device. It was like shooting something to end a movie and crank in.

'It's not a big deal…'

I went to see the news in 12 Months After and wrote 'Oh Hyun-joo' there as well.

[Oh Hyun-joo – She had excellent acting as a villain.]

This time, it was drama news. Reading the article, I knew it would be around next spring. The content was not much. She played the villain as the title suggested, but she also played the villain well. That was a good article.

'She can't dance.' I shut the window, muttering to myself. Oh seemed to be doing well next spring. I intended to verify each and every artist in this way. If there was good news, I would push it; if there was bad news, I would cut it off. When I became as famous as Oh Hyun-joo or Kim Joon-hyung in the future, I would use this skill on myself!The next morning, I got up at eight, as usual. I got up rubbing my eyes, picked up the phone and called Secretary Seo.

"Yes, boss."

"Yes, it's me. How's the company doing?"

"Nothing special, but… The stock price of OH Entertainment fell a little bit."

"Really? How much?"

"About 2%…"

Ji-hoon seemed to have not done much stock trading.

"Oh, that's like going down when someone sells it."

"But when I looked it up… Some people have been looking for a negative opinion after our company recently acquired it."

"Really? Why?"

"They say that someone who had nothing to do with entertainment suddenly burst in."

From the surface alone, it was not a wrong idea. however, they didn't know that I was holding onto the future news.

"Well, that's all right. If we show something in performance, the stock price will go up."

"Is that right?"

"Well. Anyway, I'm not going to work today. Tell Jang to do a good job of increasing the number of staff and employees, and look for other companies to take over."

"Yes, boss."After the call, I sat in front of the monitor. I still had about fifty minutes left. I left my work computer on and pushed my chair over. I moved to the game computer with a high-end use with two 1080TIs and played a game.8:50 arrived. I whistled while moving the chair over in front of the work computer. It turned 8:55, and the emails came. I searched for a mail without thinking much. Then, one of the emails caught my eyes.

"Hmm?" Receiving future news had become a daily routine, I'd been getting into a habit, but this was a little different.

'This is… a big case? No, maybe… It could be a lot of money…'

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I read the mail again with my eyes twitching.

[D. 12 Days After]

[Politics – Is it because of the National Assembly's collapse the Blue House or the opposition party?

Economy – This year's real growth is zero percent, excluding semiconductors

Society – Earthquake safety insensitivity needs to improve

Life/Culture – The sales volume of the cartoon 'To Get Away From The Earthquake' has surged.

World – Just before the extinction of African rhinos

IT/Science – How do animals know about earthquakes in advance?

Entertainment – China's unauthorized plagiarism is all right?

Sports – Shim Kwon-sung won the third round of the regular tour]

Three of the seven news stories included the word "earthquake," in Society, Life/Culture, and IT/Science. I twirled my mouse.

'… a coincidence? No, I don't think so.'

But no matter how much I thought about it, it didn't look like that. The sudden rise of these unusual headlines meant that there had been an issue once in recent years.

'Earthquakes… earthquakes.'

'Natural disasters such as earthquakes are a big deal for the nation and for the parties directly affected, but they serve as opportunities in the stock market. If it is the earthquake theme, the stocks of earthquake-free buildings, civil engineering companies needed for reconstruction, and companies that make structural materials for earthquake-resistant designs will benefit from the upper limit price.'

'If there's a real earthquake, it's a big problem.'

I decided to find out how big the earthquake is.

'Life/Culture – The sales volume of the cartoon 'To Get Away From The Earthquake' has surged.' It's likely that some publisher would make a fortune.

'IT/Science – How do animals know about earthquakes in advance?' This news would likely be really interesting science news.

I clicked on the fourth, 'Society – Earthquake safety insensitivity needs to improve.' And as always, I quickly scanned the article.

[The damage from the earthquake could be serious… The expansion of civil awareness… We should be alert by taking an example from Japan.]

But, there was no key factor saying when the earthquake happened. From the beginning to the end of the article, it was full of lessons on what to do when an earthquake would happen. With this article, I didn't know whether the earthquake really happened and when it happened.

'Shall I wait a few more days? The news may be in 12 Hours After and 12 Days After, not in 12 Weeks After and 12 Months After. But that's the only possibility. What I'm looking at is a news story in 12 Days After. As the news in 12 Hours After covers the news from now to 12 hours later, the news in 12 Days After covers the news in 12 days from today. Therefore, the news of the earthquake could hit today.'

'What shall I do?' I was thinking for a moment, and I could see the skill windows at the bottom: People Search and Ranking News. Come to think of it, both had ways to screen earthquake news. First of all, the Ranking News was intuitive. If there was an earthquake that could blow through the whole country, earthquake news should be the No. 1 news within twelve days. However, the Ranking News was only available once a month.

Now I was able to use the Ranking News in 12 Weeks After and 12 Months After, so it would be more efficient to watch it.

'Let's search for the name first.'

People Search was a little bit of a detour, searching for the names of people associated with the earthquake. I turned on the portal site and went over to the Internet to search for 'Ministry of Public Safety and Security,' an institution established after the sinking of MV Sewol, but it disappeared in only two and a half years.

[… the Ministry of Public Safety and Security was abolished after being absorbed by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security…]

I did a search again with 'the Ministry of Public Administration and Security'. The minister of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security was Hwang Chang-gyu.

'Well… It's a pretty rare name. However, he is a minister and his name will be on the top of People Search.'

With that thought, I went straight to the People Search.

[Minister Hwang Chang-gyu visits to console the earthquake victims personally.]

Yes, I got it! I clicked on it.

[The Minister of Public Administration and Security, Hwang Chang-gyu… Last Tuesday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 occurred in Wonju around 10 a.m… We'll set up a task force to check the situation of the earthquake… I promise to support the earthquake victims…]

'An earthquake of 5.2 magnitude in Wonju. 5.2 is a very large scale. It is rare to find such an earthquake in our country. Huh… This has made the news an issue…'

I looked at a calendar. Today was Wednesday. In twelve days, it would be Tuesday. But the article mentioned 'last Tuesday,' and given the expression, I could infer that this was not Tuesday after twelve days, but Tuesday after five days.

'10:00 a.m. next Tuesday.'

As soon as I set the time, I went to the portal site and tried to search for ' earthquake theme stock.' Nevertheless, I had an idea before that. 'Wait… is there anything I can do for them?'

Knowing that there would be an earthquake, if I just made money from it, I would feel guilty.

'But how?

'An earthquake is simply a natural disaster. We can't stop it from happening without God. However, there may be a way to reduce the damage by giving a report to the police.'

I came back to 12 Days After and read the article. I was wondering if there was the detailed information of the damage.

[The walls of the old house are cracked, the columns of the studio are damaged, and fortunately, there were no casualties…]

I breathed a sigh of relief in that 'there were no casualties.' No casualties were reported.

'Well, that's good. So… I got to think of a report.

'There was no loss of life. Then the rest of the problem is usually a money problem at that time, which I can solve. But, just in case, if I report them, and if it causes confusion, the butterfly effect may kill someone. I don't want to receive the email of 'Correction News – Death occurred due to the subscriber's intervention.

'Okay. Let's make money now, and later…'

While I thought about it, I searched 'earthquake theme stock' on a portal site. As expected, there were a series of these stocks.

So, first, you make money, and then…

The theme stocks were also on the rise.

[Seyun Geological – Earthquake improvement specialist construction company

Junyoung Tech – Bridge support, steel casting material manufacturer

Ace Construction – Construction of special self-governing system for civil engineering

Five Metal – Seismic design nuclear valve manufacturer

Nine Reno – Public wireless network operation for firefighters, police, emergency medical institution

Jangyeon Construction – Special technology for earthquake-resistant design

Daejun Gas – National gas digestion facility manufacturing, disaster safety related stock]

'The theme stock of the earthquake is like a theme stock, and once an earthquake has occurred, there is no way to improve its performance or to do anything. The stocks involved are already jumping. What's more relevant is Seyun Geological, Junyoung Tech, and Ace Construction. The companies behind have no reason to jump, even if the earthquake occurs. However, those are the theme stocks, and if they push them to the upper limit price, they will go up without any reason. So, we can't ignore them.'

I decided to buy the three stocks and the other four stocks in small quantities.

'If I do not do split them up, the stock prices may rise due to my buying $40,000,000.'

'Let's slowly divide it until Monday.

'No matter how advanced the technology is, there is no technology to predict an earthquake that will happen tomorrow. Even if I slowly buy them in lots so that the stock price does not rise, there won't be a difficult situation because the stock price has gone up in advance.'

I thought so and started to buy the earthquake theme stocks in the watchlist.Five days later, Fate Day. Tuesday. I got up as usual and watched the news.

'Okay, yeah.' I saw the news and took my coffee to the next seat, where the computer for the game was. My money had already been put in the stock market, so I did not need to turn on the HTS separately. As I was wearing a headset on my head and untying my hands, Secretary Seo called.

"Yeah, what?"

"Vice President Jang has a new company on the list. Can I send you a report by email?"

"Oh yeah? Um…email."

When I was worried for a while, Secretary Seo added a word, "You'll have to come to work, and see the new recruits, too."

I looked at the calendar. I had not gone to work for a week because of the earthquake-related stocks.

"Shall I?"

"If the new employees don't know who owns this company, wouldn't it be a little bit strange?"

"Okay, I'll be at work, then."

"Shall I come and get you?"

"No, I'll go. You don't need to come and go back."

"Yes, boss."

I decided to go to work. I went to the dressing room, put on a suit and took a Porsche key."Hello, this is Kim Ju-han, a new employee."

"Yes, I'm glad to see you."

"Hello, a new recruit, Jung Ju-mi."

"Nice to see you."

I was greeted by new employees. Invictus Investment was adding more and more people. In addition to OH Entertainment management, which we had acquired, it also invested in stocks, in bonds, and directly in companies that were not listed. These were all left to Vice President Jang, because I was not in charge of the work.

Of course, it was smaller than my personal investment of $40,000,000 to buy OH Entertainment, rolling the remaining $15,000,000, but I needed more people to do this. As I received greetings from other employees, Vice President Jang also came out and greeted me.

"Are you here?"

"So you found a company we could take over?"

At my words, Jang said with a smile, "Please look at this, boss."

Jang handed me the report he was holding, and I took it.

'What on Earth did he find?'

In fact, the company I wanted from him was a bit tricky, because I wanted a company that had to be small and could generate synergy with entertainment. I took the report and tried to get into the office. But then, with some rumbling sound, I felt the whole building shake.

"What is it?" Vice President Jang as well as Secretary Seo was surprised. To be frank, I was surprised, too.

'Even Seoul is pretty shaken, right?'

The 5.2 earthquake was greater than I thought. All the employees were confused.

"What is this?"

"Should we go outside?"

At that moment, everyone's cell phone rang at once. Wi-ying! Everyone listened to their cell phones.

-Watch out for safety after an earthquake occurrence. An aftershock of 5.2 magnitude hit 6km west of Wonju, Gangwon-do, Korea Meteorological Administration.-

Now everyone knew that there was an earthquake in the Republic of Korea. Some of my stocks might be at the upper limit price.

"An earthquake?"

"5.2 magnitude?"

Secretary Seo said to me, his eyes widening slightly. "What do you want us to do, get out of here?"

I reassured them. There were no casualties from what I saw in the article. The damage to property was only on the outskirts of Wonju, that was all. I said in a loud voice so that all the employees could hear me, "It'll be all right. Don't be so surprised, let's get back to work slowly."

To be honest, it normally would have been hard to be so calm. However, I knew it was safe here.

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There was silence inside the company, and it seemed that everyone was stunned. It was very uncommon for an earthquake to be in the middle of Seoul. Everyone was standing and looking around, holding chairs or desks. I was the only one without any tension. I accessed the portal site after picking up my cell phone.

[Breaking News: 5.2 earthquake in Wonju]

[Earthquake evacuation tips]

[Beware of aftershocks]

The portal window was completely covered by the news of the earthquake, and the news was pouring out. Even without turning on HTS, the rise of the stocks I'd picked seemed to be visible. While I was on my phone, the staff came back to their senses, because as I said, the vibrations didn't come again. I looked back. Secretary Seo still seemed to be stiff.

I patting his shoulder and said, "It'll be all right," lifting Jean's report.

"I want to hear about the report, Vice President Jang."

Jang bowed his head and said, "Yes, boss."

I went into my office with Jang.

Jang closed the door and said, "I've lived in Seoul for nearly forty years… but I've never experienced this kind of shaking."

I could stay calm because I already knew what would happen. I nodded, "I hope nothing big happens."

It would not be a big accident, since I didn't receive any correction news. I went to work and listened to Jang's report. I honestly didn't expect him to bring a list of takeovers so quickly.

There were two conditions for the companies I asked him to find.

First, the company's market capital should be small enough to be able to be taken over with only the funds remaining in Invictus Investment. I decided not to transfer any more money to the Invictus Investment until the amount of money I held increased to $100,000,000. Therefore, I told him to search for a small company that we could take over only with the rest of the money after buying OH Entertainment.

Second, it should be the same type of entertainment company as OH Entertainment or a company that could create synergy with this company. I needed five companies to rank up to the Master Class, but if we incorporated any companies into the subsidiary recklessly, it would be difficult to manage them. It was better to take over a similar company and create synergy with the entertainment company, rather than a construction company, a pharmaceutical company, and so on.

I asked Vice President Jang, his report in his hand, "So what you brought is a company that meets the conditions I offered, right?"

Jang said with his head down, "Of course, boss."

I opened the report and it was an analysis of a Bule EM company.

[Analysis Report]

'Blue EM? I've never heard of it.'

Looking at what was behind the topic was EM, Entertainment and Media; it seemed to be an entertainment business.

'Another entertainment agency?'

I looked down. Its market capital was only $60,000,000. The majority shareholder's stake was 25 percent. At $15,000,000, we could buy all of them. Even after taking over OH Entertainment, the company still had that much money left in Invictus Investment. I looked down further.

[Major Business: Entertainment agency, running Sapphire TV]

Only then did an acquainted name pop out.

"They are the operator of Sapphire TV channel, right?"

"Yes, boss."

Sapphire TV was an Internet personal broadcasting platform. The trends started with European TV, the nation's No. 1 broadcaster, and as the personal broadcasting market grew bigger, several Internet broadcasting stations rushed into the turmoil. Sapphire TV was a small broadcasting station that survived by securing a certain share among the latecomers.

"What's the market share of the Sapphire TV? I think it's 10%?"

"About seven percent. European TV is taking 50%, Coconut TV is taking 20%, foreign platform Fowlert 10%, and YouTube 10%. Sapphire Television is next."

'7%, it's a lot less. That's why its market capital is $60,000,000.'

"Well… it's the fifth-ranked company, but it is also in charge of an agency…"

"Yes. The agency is just beginning to take off. It's been less than a year since it started an agency."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, there is also a little funny story. You know a comedian, Oh Sung-kyun, don't you?"

I tilted my head, "I don't."

"Yes, it seems right that you don't know him. He was shining in his debut year and then he disappeared from the screen."

I typed Oh Sung-kyun on the portal site and a profile popped up. He was 35 years old, and looking at his face reminded me of him. He imitated an orangutan with an orangutan-like face. But it was only once. I didn't remember seeing him anywhere else.

"But this guy started broadcasting on the Sapphire TV, and it seems to be a lot of fun."

"Well, I guess he had more awareness than a regular streamer."

"Yes, that's why they signed a contract with him and set up a company, so he called in other fellow comedians, worked as a planner, and manages his own personal broadcasting."

"Oh… So, he has been serving both personal broadcasting and agency."

"Yes."

'The idea itself is not bad, and there have been quite a few of these singers and comedians who have been transferred to full-time streamers or YouTube, because their income is good.'

"So, do you recommend combining our project with them and creating synergy?"

"Yes, I do. We could send out some of the entertainers from OH Entertainment later on to do personal broadcasts."

I thought about it.

If Oh Hyun-joo and Kim Jun-hyung, famous celebrities, were put into such small personal broadcasts, there would be nothing good. They might feel a bit awkward and less mysterious on personal broadcasting. But newcomers were different. It would be a new opportunity for comedians who could not catch an opportunity to appear on TV, or idols that were less popular with the public.

"Well, the idea is fresh."

Jang bowed his head at my words. "Thank you, boss."

I looked at the financial statements, but it was so bad. There was a lot of debt, no assets. Sales were irregular, so they just managed to break even. It was hard to keep up with the market capital of $60,000,000.

"Who is the CEO of the company here?"

"He is quite young, forty years old. It is said that President Ahn Yong-gyun is quite unusual by the people in the industry."

"Why does he want to turn over the company?"

"He's a little different from CEO Do Chan-ki. He doesn't want to sell his shares and leave the business, he wants to stay invested. He has been asking us to invest in them through a third-party allotment capital increase instead of handing over a certain stake to us…"

"He wants to run the company, though he will be pushed to the second largest shareholder, right?"

"Yes, his career is interesting. He was the first founding member of European TV, but he left the business because of his disagreement with the CEO. He has been in this market from the beginning to now. He started the agency as a side branch, as I said."

"Well, then he'd like to get revenge on his own. He wants to beat European TV with his own Sapphire TV."

"Yes. He thinks that the company has not grown up because of simple financial power. Therefore, he is looking for investors who have money, but are not willing to touch his management. He has no financial resources and he can not afford to pay corporate bonds or CBs. It is his ambition to take the investment and defeat European TV."

'Revenge is also the main motivation for some people.'

"He looks like a funny guy, just listening to the story. These days, the market capital of European TV is probably $600,000,000."

"Yes, about $580,000,000."

"Well, if he succeeds in getting revenge, the Sapphire TV is going to jump ten times as high as it is now. We'll be able to recoup ten times the investment."

"It won't be easy."

"Yes, that's good. Let's have a meeting with him. And… please contact President Kwon of OH Entertainment and ask him to talk with them. It would be good to listen to Kwon in the field of entertainment."

"Yes, I see, boss."Jang bowed his head and went out of my office. I picked up my cell phone and turned on the application. In fact, I sometimes watched private broadcasts. Inside was European TV, Coconut TV, Fowlert, and YouTube, but not Sapphire TV.

'It's in fifth place. If we grow it right, it'll be a jackpot.

'Personal broadcasts have been continuously rising these days. It's been nearly a decade since it started, and now it seems that personal content is getting more and more in the limelight. These days, children's number one dream is not a doctor, not a judge, but a streamer. No matter how latecomers they may be, they share pie when the market grows. The market capital is small, and there are elements that create synergy. It doesn't seem bad.

'Yes, let's make a try. $15,000,000 is cheap.'

I might earn $15,000,000 today. At the sudden thought, I turned on the HTS. Four of the seven earthquake-related stocks were at the upper limit price. In particular, the major three stocks of Seyun Geological, Junyoung Tech, Ace Construction, which were the most invested in, were all in the upper limit price, as they were directly related to the earthquake. It was really fun to see the chart. The stocks that had been going up and down at 1% and -1% in the morning were at the upper limit price after this earthquake.

'Actually, an earthquake doesn't mean sales are up. A theme stock is usually this way. The earthquake has no relation with the earnings of a company, but the stock price goes up to the upper limit price. It's a combination of man's imagination and greed, no different from a scammed stock made by nature's craftsmanship.'

I opened my account at once. With $40,000,000 plus credit, the entire account, which had invested $60,000,000, was marked in green. '$2,000,000, $2,400,000, $1,800,000…:

All in all, it was about $15,000,000 in profit. It was just the amount needed to buy Blue EM. If only we could predict natural disasters, making money was an easy task like this.

'Then shall I make a harvest?'

I sold half of the stocks at the upper limit price of the day, and I arranged out those that didn't go to the upper limit price and only went at ten to twenty percent.

'Because theme stocks usually play out focused on the leading stock, the winner continues to win.'

There were countless buy-orders at the upper limit price. It meant that there were a lot of people who were willing to make money, saying "Since there is an earthquake, I'm going to make money from it."

I didn't want to say anything about it. That was what I was doing, too. However, I was the one who would win this game.[Sell order is completed. Sell order is completed…]

I won, won, and won. It took about an hour to clean up the trades.

'It's easy. It's too easy…' I ended the sale by whistling. The stocks at the upper limit price were half gone, just in case it would go up tomorrow. I closed the HTS after every sell order. I earned more than $10,000,000 today. It used to be hard to live in the world before, but these days the world was just easy to live in.Notice:

I'm sorry to inform that I won't upload the next chapters about a week for the family vacation. Stay to be always healthy. See you later.

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I clicked the mouse a few times. There were various numbers floating on the monitor.

15.4%, 7.5%, -3.2%…

It was the earthquake theme stocks that were left behind after earning $10,000,000 yesterday. Some were trying to go further, while others were trying to get off their high.

'Then let's sell them out here. Or… Shall we hold them a little more? This is frankly a gamble. A theme stock is based on people's psychology, so we don't know when or how the stock price will move.'

I looked at the stock bulletin board.

[There's no earthquake that comes and goes just one time. An aftershock is coming. Hold your belt tight.]

[If it hits another 6.0 today, the stock price will go up to the upper limit price right away.]

["An aftershock is coming?" You son of a bitch! There are a lot of people who have lost their homes in Wonju right now.]

[I don't care if there's an earthquake or not in Wonju. I live on Jeju Island.]

'There are people like this at all times, who want to make money. They don't care about whether others lose their homes or lose their lives.'

I also made money from the earthquake-themed stocks, but I didn't want an earthquake to come again.

'I feel like I've become a bad person for some reason…'

I didn't want to hold any more shares because I thought so. I slowly pressed the sell button.

'Sell, sell… and sell.'

Around 1 p.m., I made about $7,000,000 in the afternoon. The total was $17,000,000 this time. It was a huge profit, but I ended up doing my ceremony with a light fist. These days, I had made this much profit two or three times a month, and I felt a little numb.

'Will it be a little different if it's more than $100,000,000?'

However, I would have to go and find it out in the future. After the sell-off, I went to the portal site and searched for 'Earthquake Damage'.

[Houses are falling apart.]

[New one-rooms are cracked.]

[The walls of the dormitory collapsed and the students were evacuated.]

There were articles like this. It was as 12 Days After had said.

'Despite everything, it's fortunate that the matter didn't go any further.'

I looked around the articles without much thought. But in the meantime, it stood out.

[Donation for victims of the earthquake in Wonju.]

If it had been like the old days at work, I could have said, "I am sorry, but I'm too busy making a living." However, this time it was somehow disturbing.

'I made $17,000,000 this time… Shall I donate a little to give my name to the world?'

It seemed to be a good idea. If I wanted to let the world know my name, I would like to let them know in this way. I just wanted to be someone who could share my fortune with the world rather than the luckiest good-looking man. I picked up my cell phone and called Secretary Seo.

"Yes, boss, what's going on?"

"Oh, Ji-hoon, do you know…"

"Yes?"

"There are people who donated hundreds of thousand dollars on the news…"

"Yes."

"How much do you think will be memorable?"

"Well, at least three hundred thousand dollars?"

'Three hundred thousand dollars is too little. Yesterday's sales commission alone is likely to exceed three hundred thousand dollars.'

"If you make it bigger than that?"

"Well, the more you donate, the more memorable. Especially if you get first place, they will remember. Ordinary people only remember gold medals."

'That's right. First place. People pay attention to the first place in a single-viewed list.'

"Well… yeah? I get it."

"Do you want to donate, boss?"

"… See BKS News tomorrow at 9:00."

I lay half down on the sofa and watched the news.

[… the President urged the National Assembly to discuss the bill, saying that the bill must be handled this year.]

When I checked the time, it was about 9:40.

"It's time to be on…'

At that moment, the waiting news came out.

[The following are the people who sent donations to our BKS News to raise money for the earthquake victims in Wonju.]

I watched it. First came the amount of money and the names of people who had sent the donations above the screen.

[$50,000 from the residents of Boram Apartment, $300,000 from all employees of Kisung Electronics, $20,000 from Kim Chan-yong, $12,000 from all faculty and students of Jisung Elementary School.]

The announcer, with well-organized bobbed hair, read out the sums for the people who sent the donations in a fine voice. I watched him for a moment. When it came to the third page, my name also appeared. I gathered my hands and waited for my name to be called.

[$3,300,000 from Invictus Investment CEO Han Sang-hoon.]

Han Sang-hoon. I felt weird listening to my name. I couldn't believe my name was called by the public broadcaster News at 9.

"$3,300,000."

By the way, was it my mistake? The voice of the announcer, who had been calling out other names without a wobble, seemed to have faltered slightly when he said three million, three hundred thousand dollars.

'Because it's more than anyone else.'

I didn't mean to compete with the people for donations, but the $3,300,000 I had donated was the biggest sum, anyway. At this rate, someone watching this show would remember my name once.

'And… if there's ever been a name for a public broadcaster like this… There will be times when it's called again. These days, the replay service is active and video clips are uploaded on YouTube.

'These days, it is hard to hide whether it is good deeds or bad deeds. Right now it's all over the news, but there will be times when the name 'Han Sang-hoon' comes up in the media.

'So this is how it's done… Let's increase the money again. If I want to pay $10,000,000 in monthly subscription fees and make a profit, I shouldn't let the money rest.'

I turned on the calendar application. Four days from now, on the timetable, was written 'TRETUP.'

"Taegwangbangjik's Real Estate Trading hits the upper limit price."

Five days from now, Taegwangbangjik would sell its forty-year-old golden land. What was regrettable was that its market capital was only $180,000,000 in total. Now I had earned $17,000,000 from $40,000,000, I donated $3,300,000 and so had $53,700,000 left. If I invested this much money into the stock market, it would be a great disaster and a sudden declaration that I was engaging in hostile MAs.

'I have met the most difficult section again.'

Before paying $30,000,000 to Invictus Investment last time, I felt it when I ran $60,000,000; my country's market faced a glass ceiling at the $60,000,000 barrier. In this section, there was an unearned stretch of no further increase. This was the point where returns no longer increased with money moving on the KOSPI KOSDAQ.

Of course, thanks to 12 Weeks After and 12 Months After, the opportunity to make more money increased. With the $50,000,000 I had now, I could take full advantage of the news. So even if my assets were $100,000,000 or one billion dollars, I could invest only $50,000,000.

'Well… I will have got to get into another market after all.'

I sat on the computer and moved the mouse to turn off the screen saver and found a folder located on the right top. There was a folder that plainly said "Study." I double-clicked it all. Inside there were many categories.

[Hong Kong Hang Seng]

[China Shanghai]

[Japan Nikkei]

[U.S. Dow]

[U.S. Nasdaq]

[Gold Futures]

[Oil Futures]

[FX Trading]

'All of them are large markets far above the KOSPI's trading volume. The Korean stock market is no different than my playground now. If I want to raise the money I have now, I have no choice but to raise it in a larger market. It's time to get into the world-class stage.'

The first reason I had been reluctant to enter was that I was not familiar with these markets compared to KOSPI and KOSDAQ, and secondly, with only the world news of 12 Hours After and 12 Days After, it was not efficient for me to challenge. Now that I had the news of 12 Weeks After and 12 Months After, it was worth challenging the world markets.

'But I am afraid that this time is a little ambiguous. Is it going to be good?

'Every country has a different time to open its stock market. It is usually set during the day, and it is natural. If the stock price fluctuates during the night, investors will not sleep comfortably. But the email of 12 Hours After comes only at the time set for Korea.'

'Wherever you go, it will be sent at Korean time,' Customer Service had said.

'If you enter the US market … the email coming at 8:55 am will be night news, and the email coming at 8:55 pm will be daytime news. I will have a little trouble with the time difference. I have to sleep at night.

'With this time difference, is it going to be okay?' Suddenly I had a thought, 'If I am worried about the time difference, I can do an experiment now.

'If I go abroad, I will have a time lag in Korean stocks. If I experiment with this, I may be able to adapt to overseas stocks.

'Yes, I've never been abroad to make money. Let's not go to a very far country, but one very close…'

I was thinking about it when the phone rang. It was Secretary Seo. I picked up the phone and answered.

"Congratulations on your debut on the broadcast."

"Oh, yes, thank you."

"$3,300,000… it was overwhelming, and the announcer seemed a little surprised."

I thought it was a mistake, but it seemed real.

"Really? Well, yes, by the way."

"Yes, boss."

"I've been thinking of traveling somewhere for about two nights and three days… You want to come with me?"

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you could take me."

"So, where do you want to go? I don't like it too far, but I love it close."

"Isn't it nice that Japan is well?" he said. "It's close, clean, well-guarded, and they have good food. The yen's been cheap lately."

"Japan?"

'Good. I like sushi and ramen. But, just thinking about it a little, Japan is not good because we are in the same time zone. Korea and Japan have no time difference at all.'

"Oh, no Japan."

"What? Why?"

I couldn't say there was no time difference. I thought about it and got something good to excuse.

"Oh, the radiation, I don't want to be exposed."

"Oh, really? I'm a little bit reluctant, too."

I chose the closest of the study lists, where there was a time difference.

"Hong Kong, let's go to Hong Kong."

"Hong Kong? Good. When will you go?"

"Tomorrow, right away."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes, find out what flight we can be on."

"But it's a little expensive—"

"I'll pay all the expenses."

"Yes, sir!"

When I finished the call, I put down my phone and looked back at the Study folder.

'I'm going to the global market if my assets exceed $100,000,000.'

'I need at least $100,000,000 for the subscription fee and to increase the capital of Invictus Investment. It will be done soon. Frankly, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ are now my personal pockets. I can get $20,000,000 to $30,000,000 at any time from them.'

I put Taegwangbangjik on the watchlist. I would buy it in Hong Kong tomorrow.

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I opened my eyes, and a strange room came into my eyes. I got up from the bed. When I went out through the living room in my bedroom, the balcony was decorated with flowers. Standing on the balcony and looking out, I could see the view of Hong Kong at a glance.

I was at a five-star hotel suite in Hong Kong. The accommodations were quite expensive, but it seems to be as good as it cost. I stood there for a moment, staring at the whole of Hong Kong, and came back in the room. The clock said 7:05. Considering my habit of getting up at 8 o'clock every day, the time was perfectly the same. There was an hour's time difference.

'Then 8:55 is 7:55…' At any rate, I thought we could act according to the biological clock.

'Then, shall we go eat?'I took a quick shower and headed down to the hotel restaurant. The dining was excellent, like a five-star hotel's. It was hard to choose what to eat. I was going to overeat in the morning if I tasted them all.

I ordered the roast rice on the main menu with the nameless meat side dish and vegetable fried rice, a slice of pizza and a salad, then took a cup of morning coffee. The oddly sweet fried rice and the unknown meat side dish and vegetable fried rice were excellent.

I was having a meal, and Secretary Seo sat in front of me, with his plate full of food.

"You're here, boss?"

"You got up early, too?"

"You know, I go to work at eight o'clock every day."

"Oh, yes."

Secretary Seo had been an hour ahead of others in the company. He went to work at eight every morning. I'd instructed him to do so whether I went or not. That was because it was the right time for me to receive the email at 8:55. In return, there was a clause that stated that he could leave work two hours earlier than others, limited to when I didn't go to work. Since taking over OH Entertainment, I had hardly gone to work these days, so Ji-hoon probably headed home early.

"What do you do when I don't go to work? You have time all day."

"I usually study. I'm studying economics again… I'm studying stocks, too. Ah, I'm studying coding again these days."

"Coding?"

"Yes. I started to back when I started my own business, but I've started it again lately."

"Really? Wasn't it just a start-up business?"

"I needed to do some coding to communicate with the developer. That way, I could talk."

"Yes… …you've lived a hard life handling the computer, too?"

"Yes, the end is… it's bad."

"Oh yes, but you're still doing well. I'll ask you for advice if I take over a software company."

"But these days, the software is so structured that dinosaurs eat it all. I don't really want to recommend it."

"Really?"

"You know, the computer programming is what these guys do… So like the Mawith that caused our company to go bankrupt, they run into the IT business these days, if they think they can earn money there. Big companies come after us, beat us up and take ideas away. In the meantime, they say to us, 'Why isn't there a great start-up business in Korea?' I think it's funny."

"By the way, who made the Mawith such an investment company?"

It was Ji Hoon's enemy, and I'd like to pay it back if I could.."

However, the enemy was quite strong. is a portal site with a 90 percent share in Korea. It is the king of the software field.'

"What the… Does such a large company play the gangster thing?"

"That's right."

"Huh."

'But come to think of it, in fact, all the big companies in our country do that. When bakeries are money, they do bakeries; when the flour-based food is money, they do it; they do everything to make money. IT software is just following the procedure. It's only been an industry for twenty years, so it's only a little late.'

'The market capital of is twenty billion dollars? Thirty billion dollars? Ji Hoon's revenge is likely to be difficult right now.'

"Isn't this the place you're supposed to come to with a beauty, instead of bringing me?"

"That's better for me, but you know, I've been too busy, quitting the company and starting a new company. I need to be fresh. I'm okay. It's good to be outside. Hey?"

"If the boss likes this… but by the way, the woman, your girlfriend then…"

There was only one girlfriend he knew. I raised my finger and said, "Ah… stop. That's no."

I didn't want to think about my ex-girlfriend. It ended so badly.

Ji-hoon took notice and apologized right away. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry, boss."

I chewed the end of the pizza and said, "And you? Do you want a date?"

"Well, I'm a little more comfortable now, so I'm thinking of a blind date."

"Umm… a blind date."

"But if I name our company, I'm a little worried about it because I don't think the girl likes it."

I wanted to say, "What's wrong with our company?", but I couldn't. If he said that he worked for Invictus Investment, everyone might think he was working at an unnamed company. In fact, our company was a small company that did not fit the specs of Ji-hoon.

"But you still get paid a lot of money."

"If I say I get paid this much, she'll think it's a lie. I can't even bring my salary statement on a blind date."

I said, smiling, "That's true."

I got up from my seat after emptying all the coffee. Ji-hoon was emptying half of the plate he had brought, but I couldn't wait. It was 7:55 soon.

"I'll go up first."

"Oh. Are you going to meditate again?"

"Yes, just decide what to do for lunch."

"Yes. Hong Kong is a place for shopping and eating. I've already organized all the restaurants around us."

Ji-hoon talked about lunch while eating breakfast. I had to admit the food cravings of this guy…Back in my room, I sat at the table and turned on my laptop. It was 7:55. Four emails came just at that time. I read them one by one. It was not uncomfortable at all. Then I turned on HTS. The Korean market was about to open. When I placed a buy order in Taekwangbangjik, I was finally certain. 'All I have to do is check the time difference, and if I have Wi-Fi, I can work anywhere.'

The working environment was not so different from hotels in any country, or my studio.

"Italia, Spain, England… and before that, I have to go to America, especially Wall Street.""Oh, I'm full."

The trip to Hong Kong became almost an eating trip, perhaps because the person who came with me was a gourmet and glutton. From the first day to the day I left, I ate a lot of food that I couldn't remember: Dim sum, Wantangmyeon, Pojaypani, and some food which was so hard to pronounce. I always returned to the hotel with my stomach full. Tomorrow, I would go back home after my trip to Hong Kong.

I traveled around Hong Kong and in the meantime I bought Taekwangbangjik after breakfast, before lunch, and after lunch, then ended buying the stock.

'Now, when I arrive at Korea and the good news comes up, all I have to do is sell it.'

For two nights and three days, I spent my money without paying attention to expenses, but when I thought of the money I would earn in Korea, it would be nothing.

'If I would find a place I like, it would be okay to come here and live for a month or two.'

I picked at my cell phone thinking that way. It was 7:50 p.m. In five minutes, there would be an afternoon email. Laying on the sofa I went to my mailbox. However, I was so full that I couldn't concentrate. I scanned the news faster than usual.

[Heavy rains from this afternoon]

[AI's progress is a threat to people.]

[Kim Kuk-joo is nominated as the grand prize winner of this month's play, Comedian.]

[New record of simultaneous access to Steam]

[New Wi-Pad Review]

I was so sleepy that I just checked and turned them over quickly.

'Hmm?' I looked up because I thought I saw something unusual on the news 12 Months After.

[IT/Science – The sales of Kai Games' new fantasy War Ground is number one. Steam sets a new record for concurrent users.]

That was the keyword that I was concerned about. "Steams sets a new record for concurrent users."

'Steam is the largest game service company in the world. Setting a new record for concurrent users here is no different from being the hottest game in the world.'

I clicked on the article.

[Local game company Kai Games made a big hit, renewing the number of simultaneous users of its new fantasy, "War Ground," also called FWG; it added fantasy themes to the recently popular battle royale genre, and received a great response from both existing battle royale genre fans and fantasy gamers.]

'Kai Games? I seem to have heard of it.'

I turned on my laptop right away and searched for 'Kai Games'. Kai Games was a small company listed on the KOSDAQ. Its total market capital was $120,000,000. It'd been on the list for about six years now. It was a genre that was popular at that time. It was a mid-sized game company that hit the jackpot several times, such as playing AOS games, making smartphone puzzle games, and creating MMORPGs.

'But… did the game from this company set a new record of concurrent users? It's a piece of huge good news. Its worth will rise ten or a hundred times more.'

It was one of the best news. When I saw the news, the article also came up: "Kai Games challenges the world market with its new fantasy War Ground this year."

'This winter? Then there's not much time left. By winter… then how many shares can I buy? The market capital in total is $120,000,000…'

'I'm usually reluctant to buy shares by raising the stock price, because my earnings go down that much. But I have to buy this even if the stock price goes up because of the amount of money I have. As soon as the sell order comes out, I have to buy it. This is an opportunity for a company at $120,000,000 to become a billion-dollar company.'

I turned on the HTS and immediately put 'Kai Games' on the watchlist.

'When should I buy it… in winter? Even if I pay the subscription fee twice or three times, I'll have $100,000,000. Then, with all that money?'

After I thought about it, I realized, "This is not about buying stocks and making short-term gains!"

I picked up my cell phone and sent a text message to Vice President Jang.

'Vice President, put aside other things, but analyze Kai Games and report to me by tomorrow. As soon as I get back home, I'll go to the company. I want to get the report as soon as possible.'

Hong Kong and Seoul. The distance was great, but the reply came right away.

'Yes, boss. Can I ask you why?'

I sent back a reply shortly, "I'll tell you tomorrow. Just to tell you in brief, I'd like to buy this company. Even with hostile MAs, I'll make it mine."

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"Are you here?"

I entered the company in a line of greetings, wearing jeans and a sweater. The employees were not surprised by that, because sometimes I went to work dressed like that. But they were a little surprised that even Secretary Seo went to work in his private clothes. Ji-hoon was always dressed up in a clean suit. But I brought a carrier, and they guessed that we had been somewhere, but come back in a hurry.

I sat down in the office and soon Secretary Seo came in with Vice President Jang.

"Did you have a good vacation?"

"Yes, it was good. Oh, I bought a gift for Vice President Jang. Secretary Seo."

In my words, Secretary Seo took out the watch box he had and handed it to Vice President Jang.

"No, you don't have to do this…"

"I think we were the only ones having fun when you were working."

Vice-President Jang took the watch box and opened it. "Oh, it's beautiful." He was usually rather grim, and looked a little surprised by the splendor of the watch. "Thank you, boss."

Perhaps he'd be more surprised to know the price of the watch, but it'd be better for him to look it up and know than me letting him know.

"Please work hard in the future, and as I said before…"

"Yes, I have it ready." Vice President Jang handed me the report at his waist.

Kai Games Analysis Report

I took it and turned it over page by page. Its market capital was $120,000,000. Sales had increased and decreased, but it had been jagged. The CEO Shin Dong-woo was a young man, just forty-four years old. He started out as a game developer for big game companies such as JC and worked on a big project, and at the age of 34, he founded Kai Games. He developed Full 3D MMORPG New Earth Online, which was popular at the time, and listed in the market after it came out.

Since the company was listed, it had not achieved much. When the new game came out, the stock price went up in anticipation. However, when it opened, it was only so-so, so the stock price went down. The same situation had been repeated again and again.

'That's great. This new game is the best, but maybe everyone thinks it's no big deal again. It is similar to a Rice Barley Game.'

'Barley, barley, barley, barley, barley.' If someone gives out barely five times, the person who catches barley usually predicts that it will come out again next time. But this time, it's really nice. The person who catches it is the real owner.

I saw the most important stake situation.

Zhiyuan Limited 24%. The top shareholder was a Chinese company.

I looked at it and said, "The top shareholder is Chinese?"

Vice President Jang explained it to me. "Yes. Three years ago, they did the capital increase with consideration of a third party when they imported New Earth MMORPG. It's a way to get it back, while giving out royalties."

Whether it was an entertainment company or a game company, Chinese capital had come in quite a few times. It seemed like that was the case with the Kai Games.

'I have to be a major shareholder in order to be recognized for control. Their stake is 24%…'

This was a real boon. I wanted to incorporate it into my subsidiary rather than just making a profit. That would help me upgrade to a Master Class, killing two birds with one stone. I looked down.

Shin Dong-woo 18%.

Shin Dong-woo, the company's founder, was the second-largest shareholder. It was not much for being the founder.

"The founder does not have a huge stake. That's probably because of the dilution of the Chinese company coming in, right?"

"Yes, boss."

'He'd better keep his stake as the CEO. That way, he'll have the desire to work. If he sells his stake now, it could disrupt the development of the game…

'It will hurt more if the stock price rises later. The game may have a negative effect. The reason why parents raise their own children is that love is the first thing, but the second thing is that they expect their children to be good to them.

'I guess the answer is to contact the Chinese people anyways.'

I came to a conclusion. It'd be better if I were to become a major shareholder in this company, and had no problem with the game's development.

'Okay. Then I'll ask Jang to…'

I looked down further, thinking that way, but I didn't think much. I had already come to a conclusion. But there was a familiar name for the third major shareholder, Tak Joon-gi.

"Tak Joon-gi 5.6%."

"He is the Master T of the Garden Envy, and a grandson of Tak Jin-woon, founder of Suyeon Group."

I had muttered the name out of my mouth without realizing it. But when he heard it, Vice President Jang gave me a further explanation, "As you can see, he is one of the successors of Suyeon Group, and a travel agent's director. He is also a big hand in the stock investment business, who's been working here and there because he likes to invest in stocks."

I knew a lot about that. But nevertheless, I pretended not to know.

"Oh, I see… the heir apparent of the Suyeon Group…"

"Yes, but in the investment industry, his yield is quite high, and he is called Midas' Hand. He makes a lot of bold investments and a lot of profits."

"Ooho…"

'Come to think of it, what he says is right. Tak Joon-gi is in this Kai Games, too. He is good at stocks. The stock price will start to fluctuate in the winter.'

At that time, Vice President Jang said one more thing, "It's a rumor, but it is known that he works with forces that manipulate stock prices to maximize their profit margins."

'Forces that manipulate stock prices… does he mean Garden Envy?'

It was not an open force that operated publicly. However, it was correct that they rigged the market.

"Oh, he is an unusual person."

"I heard his personality is quite unique, too."

"How?"

"Well… I don't know the details. In any case, according to rumors, he often spoke and behaved unlike the grandson of the chairman of a large company. That's why he's treated like an abandoned son in the Suyeon Group, and I know he's quite behind in the inheritance ranks."

'He is a mysterious person. Maybe we'll meet in the real world, like Kaiji. I might be making a deal with him about his 5.6 percent stake.'

With that thought, I read the report thoroughly and carefully. It was also written about the game. "Battle Royale Genre Fantasy War Ground to be released in December."

'It's mid-December, so it's too close. It's mid-September, and if it's released in December as scheduled, it's only about three months away. They're still in the development phase, so no one knows if it's going to hit the jackpot or not.

'The stock price of Kai Games is struggling ahead of the new release. Usually, game stocks go up in anticipation of the new releases, but people find out if games are fun or not after the release.

'If that happens, the stock price will go up. And when it's released, it goes out of control. Fantasy War Ground will be a huge hit all over the world, and the value of Kai Games will be different then.

'Because of that, we have to make a deal before then, there is a high chance that this $120,000,000 company will become a company worth a billion dollars. The money I have in my account is about $55,000,000!'

I picked up my cell phone, thinking about it.

[Taegwangbangjik $36.50 29.8%]

I found that Taekwangbangjik, which I made a partial purchase in while touring Hong Kong, was at the upper limit price. I corrected my thoughts.

'No, I have about $60,000,000 in my account right now. Until then, I will increase my money as much as possible, and acquire it at an appropriate price.'

Having reached my conclusion, I put the report down next to me. There was a report on the 'Blue EM' I had received last time. I spoke to Vice President Jang, "Have you been in contact with the Sapphire TV… or Blue EM?"

"Yes, boss. I contacted him while you were in Hong Kong."

"What did he say?"

"He was very pleased with our contact. He seemed desperate for new investment."

"Yes, then… just tell him the Blue EM is under consideration. Let's play games with him a little bit. Now we should focus on the acquisition of Kai Games."

"Do you think so?"

"I think… this Kai Games is more likely to grow rapidly, and there's good news coming in December. Let's target Blue EM after the acquisition of Kai Games. If you think about it, personal broadcasting is good while being connected with entertainment, but don't you think it's better to connect with games? "

"Is that so?" Jang seemed to be a little weaker in that area because he was older.

"Yes, there are a lot of game shows in personal broadcasting."

"Aha, I didn't know that."

"Anyway, let's make Kai Games the first priority and try to take it over. Mr. Jang, please contact the Chinese company first. Let's start by wondering if they'd like to transfer their shares."

"Yes, I see. How much do you think about the amount of the transfer?"

The Chinese company's stake was roughly $28,800,000. I opened my four fingers and said, "Up to $40,000,000."

Vice President Jang was a little surprised. "Yes? Then the premium is over 30%… Don't you think that's a little bit high?"

Of course, it was a lot more, compared to the price right now. But 30 percent would just go up in a day. I said, "That much, I'm sure this company, this game will be a success. So please work with the idea of bringing this into our company."

"Yes, boss," Jang bowed his head and left the room.

Seo, who was standing by him, spoke to me, "Boss, will this Fantasy War Ground be a real success?"

"Yes, I thought so when I saw it."

"I've been looking for a video on YouTube, and… I don't think it's going to make a lot of money. There are too many battle royal genres these days… Can it get a big hit?"

To be honest with myself, I wouldn't have been so sure just by watching the video. In the first place, games, novels, movies, and blockbusters might be quite predictable. However, it was near the realm of God to predict a big hit that would dominate the times. Still, I spoke in a confident voice, "It looks good. Wouldn't it be fun to play battle royals in a fantasy world?"

Ji-hoon said with pursed lips, "I played a game from this Kai Games company when I was a student… I didn't feel anything great."

But when I heard that, there was an anecdote that came to my mind in the past. I said with a low voice, "Hey Ji-hoon."

"Yes?"

"Didn't I tell you before? People in foreign countries say to a person who failed once, 'You failed last time, so you will do well this time.' But Koreans say to a person who failed once, 'You failed last time, so you will fail again this time.' "

"Oh, yes…"

"That's what you look like now."

"Yes," Ji-hoon nodded, his eyes stiff.

I looked at him and said, "I think. Stock investing is similar to fiction."

"Yes? What do you mean…?"

I sat back in my chair and said, "When both have a reversal, it's the most dramatic."

Ji-hoon tilted his head as if he was not sure what I was talking about.

"Think. When is the most delightful time in martial arts novels? Isn't it the time when the main character, who has been ignored every day, ends up wielding marvelous martial arts?"

"Yes."

"Then, if the game company, which has only produced unpopular games every time, suddenly comes out with a blockbuster…"

"Ah," Ji-hoon looked at me with his mouth slightly open.

I pointed my finger at the ceiling and said, "At that time, the stock price will show a very dramatic rise."

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I saw the calendar application go off.

[AAOOO]

I'd already memorized it by looking at it several times, so I knew it.

"Announcement of Als Aluminum's Obtain Order., OK."

After aiming to take over Kai Games, I was busier than ever. Surprisingly, because of the money, I didn't think money would actually be a problem after the Platinum and the Master Class, but this time I was in a bit of a hurry. It really was a matter of money. I wanted to make more money.

'Money is magical. It makes even rich people fret.'

'Then I'll sell the Daeshin Battery until the 5th, and then I'll buy Als Aluminum.' As I was thinking about it, the phone rang.

"Boss, this is Vice President."

"Yes, please come in."Soon Vice President Jang opened the door and came in. He had a carry-on in his hand.

"I'll be back soon then."

"Yes."

Vice President Jang decided to travel to Shanghai, instead of me, to visit Zhiyan Limited, the parent company of Kaisoft. Zhiyan Limited had a branch office in South Korea, but the decision maker was in mainland China.

At the words, "We'd like to buy a stake in Kai Games," they had replied, "Then come to China."

That's why Vice President Jang decided to go there himself. We asked for a deal, but they set the negotiation table. That did not mean there was no intention of selling.

"As I've said before, I'll ask you to make an agreement as much as you can, even if they call it expensive."

"Yes, boss."

I was counting on this deal to be made, because they had a reason to sell. "I'm sure you'll be smart. Unlike three years ago… they're probably suffering from the Hanhanlyeong."

"Yes, boss, I'll focus on that."

'The areas blocked by Hanhanlyeong are cultural content industries such as tourism, games, and entertainment. In the case of tourism, Chinese people come to Korea and spend money. If they stop doing so, there is nothing to lose except Korea, and entertainment or games imported from Korea. They banned the cultural contents with intensity.

'On the other hand, items such as semiconductors and electronic components were left untouched. Because while imports of tourism and cultural content are simply areas where only Korea takes the money, semiconductor and electronic components play a large role, they become money for those who sell them all. In a world, they were angry, saying "Why did you do this to me? Apologize!", but they also said, "I'll take this, not that.' It's very cleverly protecting their own interests.

'Sometimes, of course, there are also people who lose money in China in the process. They are companies that have invested in Korean companies in the cultural content business.'

Zhiyan Limited was such a case. They imported Korean games to China and sold them there. They paid royalties and bought a Korean company to take them back. However, the import of Korean games was recently blocked by the Hanhanlyeong.

'This is in our favor, and they must be anxious.'

That was my idea. Of course, they would have thought of holding it a little bit more after seeing the potential of Fantasy War Ground, but these people wouldn't know it would be a big hit around the world, either.

'Maybe they will bet a little bit more expensive.'

That would be enough, if I could make more money and cover it. I decided to make as much money as I could until Fantasy War Ground was released. First, I would buy Kai Games using the capital increase of Invictus Investment, and then I would buy more Kai Games with the rest of my money.

'This is a very big prize. This opportunity is worth $100,000,000. No, it's going to be more than that. Yes… then… it wouldn't be a job to break the Master Class, would it? If I have the money, the acquisition is a matter of procedure.'

I thought so, but the phone rang again.

"Boss."

"Your order, the Bentley, is here."

"Oh, yeah?"

The Bentley, which I had signed the contract for after acquiring OH Entertainment last time, seemed to be here. I had checked out all the options and spent nearly $400,000, but if I had the idea of buying the Kae Games at that time, I wouldn't have bought it. But it was late to regret it now.

"Then when we get off work, let's go over and take a look."

"Yes, boss."I saw my new car, a Bentley Bentayga. Unlike Porsche, it was slightly lighter, and had a rather profound look. That was great, but I was a little bit concerned. With this money, I could have bought a couple of hundred thousand more shares in Kai Games. But if I thought that way, I would die without spending any money.

The dealer came up to me and apologized, "I'm sorry I'm late. This model was so popular that our orders have been piled up, Mr. President."

'The price of this car is at least $340,000, but the order has been piled up. As expected, the economy is said to be in bad shape, but only for the working class.'

I waved the car keys with the 'B' symbol on the wing, and said, "I'll head home with this car. Secretary Seo, you can go home, too."

"Yes, boss."

I took my new Bentley and headed home. A Bentley was definitely the car that everyone stayed out of its way, even in Gangnam. Even in a situation where they struggled to go first, they saw my car and made way so I could pass.

"That's convenient."

'Although having a lot of money doesn't mean happiness, it seems to make a person feel comfortable.'

On the street or at home, money made me comfortable. I came into the parking lot of my studio in my new car. A Bentley was also rare in our studio parking lot, which was full of expensive cars. I could feel the sense of getting out even here, where the rich were everywhere. I opened the door and got out of the car, and a strange voice reverberated in the parking lot.

"A Young!"

'What's this?'

"A Young!"

The voice was heard once again.

'A Young?'

I turned my head towards the sound. A tall blonde woman was holding on to the car door and shouting. "A Young!"

It was a strange situation. I looked up at it. From a closer look, the blonde woman wasn't dyed but real white. Her skin was white, her nose was tall, and she was a typical white beauty. She was slightly shorter than me, but her legs seemed to be longer than mine.

'Is she a model?'

I was wondering, and she shouted once more, "A Young!"

Her voice seemed to be in a hurry. I walked closer to her, and she let go of the car door. She was holding someone in the passenger seat, a person whose face I knew. It was Lee Ah-young, the owner of my studio.

'Huh? Ah!' I now realized, 'A Young was Ah-young.'

'If we write Ah-young in English, it will be about A Young. If a foreigner with poor Korean pronounces it, it will be like A Young.'

The white beauty kept trying to shake her, "A Young!"

But she didn't seem to be conscious of what was going on.

'What's wrong with her?'

By the way, as I got closer, I smelled alcohol. I could not be sure what kind of alcohol was, but it smelled like fine alcohol anyway.

'What? Is she drunk?'

I'd seen her come in one day after drinking, and so it was today. As I approached, a blonde beauty looked at me and spoke to me first, "Can you help me?"

She seemed to be asking for help because she couldn't move Lee Ah-young.

"Yes, sure."

I approached her and gave her my back. The blonde helped me to get her on my back. The combination of perfume, alcohol, long hair, and soft touch came all at once as she got on my back. She was a little heavier than I thought, but it wasn't that difficult for me, who had carried men on numerous occasions in judo. I carried her on my back and walked toward the elevator. The blonde followed me and hit the up-button of the elevator.

Soon the elevator arrived with a chime, and I got into the elevator with her on my back.

The blonde beauty spoke to Lee Ah-young on my back in English, "A Young, what's your address?"

But Lee Ah-young was completely insensitive. She couldn't even answer.

I told her the number of the floor, "Twelfth floor."

She hesitated a little when she heard me. Maybe it was because my pronunciation was weird. I was good at reading and listening, but I was not good at speaking because of improper education in English in Korea. I tried to say it again, but before that, the white beauty pressed the 12th floor.

'Did she understand me?' I was thinking, and she said to me, "How do you know that?"

I thought it probably seemed a little suspicious for her because I knew the address. I answered very briefly and simply, "I'm a neighbor," instead of telling that she was my landlord and I was living next door to her.

"Ah~ okay."

She must have noticed the word 'neighbor'. I came to her room with Lee Ah-young on my back. But again, there was trouble: the room password. Even I didn't know it. I said to the blonde, "I don't know the password."

"Ah!" She was also embarrassed. We had brought her to her room, but we couldn't get inside.

'Should I take her to my room first?'

As I was thinking, suddenly the white beauty stepped forward and began to press a password outside the door.

"Hmm. Wait a minute."

'525720' I watched it without realizing it, but she didn't think of pressing the password and clicking the asterisk.

'In our studios, we all have to press the asterisk at the end of the password.'

Sure enough, there was an indication that the password was incorrect. The white beauty said with a tilt of her head, "Isn't this it?"

Once again, she pressed '525720' and stayed still. In a little while, it would say it was wrong again. I could no longer wait, and I pressed an asterisk at the end of the password. '525720*'

The door opened with a chime. She exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! Thank you."

I was surprised, too. 'You don't know the address, but you know the password?'

I had to take her inside the room anyway. I went into the room with Lee Ah-young on my back.

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'What…!'

Lee Ah-young's room was more of a mess than I thought. On the sofa were dizzying amounts of clothes, and on the table were bags of cookies and bread.

'She's been acting like she's cool… but she's worse than I am.'

But there were some things that made the room more chaotic than such junk; the paintings in the room, which appeared to be figures, things, metaphysical modern arts. I had no idea of what the pictures were or what they meant. On one side were white canvas and oil paints. All of them seemed to have been painted by Lee Ah-young.

'Was she once a painter, or just a hobby?'

It was too good to say it was a hobby. I was thinking about it when Lee Ah-young, who was on my back, groaned.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh." With the smell of alcohol, hot breath came into my ear. My face was burning red.

'Damn it.' I was angry somehow. 'What's the matter with her? What is she going to do when other men see her?'

I found the bed. As I lived next door, I found the bedroom without difficulty; the structure of her room was the same as mine. I put her down on the bed.

"A Young, are you okay?" the blonde beauty asked, touching her forehead. Ah-young kept fidgeting about her neck, as if the Polo T-shirt she was wearing was uncomfortable. The blonde beauty grabbed her T-shirt and stripped it off. At the same time, her voluptuous chest and the dark green bra surrounding it were revealed. I turned my head away to keep my manners. By the way, there was a mirror on the other side of the bed.

'Is it a cultural difference?'

The white lady didn't care much about whether a man was in the same room or not. She even unwrapped Lee Ah-young's skirt and dropped it down her legs. A dark green, colorful set of panties with black stockings and bras was in sight.

For about three seconds, I unconsciously saw it, but this was torture. I closed my eyes and put my hand up there. Then I could hear Lee Ah-young's voice. "Well, it's cold…"

I thought I didn't need to be here anymore. I said to the white woman, "I'll go."

She replied, "Ah, okay."

I opened my eyes as I couldn't leave the bedroom with my eyes closed. Fortunately, the white lady pulled up a blanket from the tip of Lee Ah-young's foot to her neck. I could look at her without guilt.

Lee Ah-young looked at the white lady with her slightly loose eyes and spoke in English and Korean mixed words, "Well? Jessie? Why are you here?"

It was a typical voice of "I'm drunk" with a slight rise in the end. I looked at the blonde and said, "Please take care of her."

Then I left the bedroom, leaving the words behind. But, behind me, I heard another voice from Ah-young.

"Huh? It's Oppa next door?"

I opened my mouth wide. 'What?'

She'd been weird since we first met.

'Hi, how are you?'

'Did you buy a new car?'

'Please send the monthly rent to this account.'

She was a woman who was just too businesslike to say these words, but she called me "Oppa".

I left her room and went right into my room. I untied my tie and sat on the couch. I repeated what she said. "It's oppa next door?" I was so…

I thought there was something very fragile about her now. Above all, it was too dangerous to drink to the extent that she could not control herself. The fact that such a beauty did not put much attention on herself meant that anyone could take her.

'She's been walking around like that… what're her parents doing? She's a very rich woman at that age… living alone away from her parents. She has a white friend… then… is she a kind of black-haired foreigner?'

It was odd at any rate…The next day, I turned on the HTS to clear up the shares I had held. It was no more, no less, just $10,000,000. It was the day to pay the subscription fee due in two days.

This month's performance… I earned about $35,000,000. This was a record update. It was helpful to get two pieces of information from the news in 12 Weeks After. Perhaps next month, the rise would be even steeper. With the news from 12 Weeks After, the news in 12 Months After would be provided in the calendar application, too.

'All right, let's increase the investment for Invictus as soon as next month, add two more subsidiaries, and run straight to the Master Class.'After the stock sale, I returned to the mailbox to do the rest of the work. What was left was People Search. I could pick a time zone just twice a day, and search for people's news. I looked back at the list that Secretary Seo had sent me last time and typed search words "Kang Hyun-woo: 23, an actor and model" in the news 12 Months After.

He looked handsome.

'But… the name is so common…'

I tried it once again with that thought.

[Kang Hyun-woo's second half Super Save.]

There was a goalkeeper with the same name. The unknown was the problem. The news was stolen by someone with the same name. I went on to see the next profile.

[Eun Soo-min: 22, a would-be Idol.]

'A would-be idol… 22?' She was a little late for an idol at 22. I typed it with my head slightly cocked. But the following news came up. [Eun Soo-min took the stage with an amazing groovy rap in the Idol Manager 108.]

'Oh!' I clicked on it.

[Eun Soo-min, 22, received attention for her great rap skills on the popular idol management program "The Great Nation's Idol Management Program, the Idol Manager 108." In the personal mission, she perfectly performed FutureY's "White Happiness" to captivate judges and viewers. Her performance was so overwhelming that she was chosen as the clip of the month on the Internet and was ranked seventh in the vertical rise.]

'Idol Manager 108 is a famous program. It is a popular survival program that brings together would-be idol members from each agency and makes their debut as a girl group. It's great to have won seventh place here. Keeping this ranking will make her debut as a project girl group and virtually guarantee her success.'

I searched 'OH Entertainment Eun Soo-min' on YouTube. There was a video. It was like a freestyle rap on a stage, and despite being a woman, the powerful voice and clear pronunciation were impressive. All the comments were complimentary.

– Wow, when is she going to make her debut? She'll chew on all the fake rap kids when she comes out.-

– That's amazing. She has a pretty face… and she's good at rapping.-

I read more articles.

[Rap teacher Leo praised Eun Soo-min's rap and said, 'There is no problem for her to be a solo rapper. After leaving her agency OH Entertainment, Eun Soo-min, who had been practicing alone as a private trainee, ended up crying over the compliment.]

'Hmm? Did she leave her agency?'

I did more searches. The next season of 'Idol Manager 108' would be held early next summer.

'Did she leave in the meantime?'

I picked up my cell phone and called President Kwon right away. Kwon answered my phone immediately, "Yes, boss."

"How are you?"

"I am fine."

I exchanged a few clichés and went straight to the point.

"By the way, isn't there a trainee named Eun Soo-min?"

"Yes, sir, do you know her? She's a trainee."

"Yes. I've been interested in her personally, and I looked into her through YouTube and the like."

"Oh, did you?"

"Yes. But she's quite old. Didn't you have her debut?"

"No, that's not true. She's good enough… Last time, she was on the verge of debuting, and the project was up. It's been two years."

"So… you don't have a new contract with her?"

"On the basis of her ability, I'd like to renew her contract… but she seems to be a little tired. She's been practicing here for almost seven years as a trainee, but… her debut last year was canceled."

"Well, I think she has some star quality…"

"Do you see that?" As I said before, Kwon believed that I had a strange foresight.

"Yes. I saw her on YouTube. I'd like to keep her in our company a little longer."

"Is that so? If you think so, I'll consider it as well."

"Yes, please."

I finished the call and returned to the mailbox of 12 Hours After to read the article again. By the way, there was another mail in the mailbox. It was none other than the correction news. The future seemed to have changed with a word I said to Kwon.

[Eun Soo-min, who had been practicing for eight years at OH Entertainment, ended up crying over the compliment.]

'Hoo, she's crying at the end of the day.'

The story was a little different, but there must be a lot of things in it. Anyway, it was okay because she got seventh place as a member of our company. The young woman would be one of OH Entertainment's next stars.

'That's good. I got one.'

I was using the People Search for characters like this, because I was looking for news for OH Entertainment every day in 12 Months After. I had two slots and two more months, and I would be able to search for all our artists, but the Ranking News was becoming a little bit jittery. Since I had won the lottery, I'd had a chance to use it. However, today, I was a little disappointed by the news, which had only many view counts.

[Politics – The sex scandal between the current party leader and his female secretary.]

[Economy – Government announcement of 9.10 measures in the newly selected overheated area.]

But this month, I still had hope in the 12 Month After and Ranking News. The hottest news in 12 Month After might be something of money, because the category I chose was IT/science, and if I had any new technology news, I might be scraping up money. However, the most watched news was 'Fantasy War Ground'.

[Fantasy War Ground rewrites a new history of the game. It is the second best-selling PC game ever.]

'It must have been a big hit! This little company got second place in game history. I absolutely have to take it over. I will ask him once more when Vice President Jang finishes the meeting and comes back.'That evening at six o'clock, as I had been waiting, Jang called me, "Boss, I am in Shanghai. I finished my first meeting today."

"Oh, really? What did they say?"

"They were all so eager to sell it and I put it off for a day. I'm going to see them tomorrow and take the negotiation to our side."

"Well, well done, but don't push too hard. After all, it will be in our hands. Pull it hard when you pull it. I really want to buy this company."

"Yes, boss, don't worry."

'The deal is going to work as expected, because we know their weaknesses, no matter how expensive it is, and they won't be able to keep overbearing us out of the way.

'Okay, then, let's add Sapphire TV here… if the three things such as entertainment, personal broadcasting, and games are combined, it will be synergistic.'

I applauded myself and thought about it, but the doorbell of my room, which did not ring frequently, rang.

'Who is it? I didn't give do anything for a courier.'

It wasn't obvious until I turned the doorknob.

'Oh, the landlord.'

When I opened the door, I saw Lee Ah-young standing there. She was wearing a big T-shirt with training pants and a comfortable outfit. But apart from that, yesterday's sobbing figure was nowhere to be seen, and she again greeted me with a restrained, provincial look.

"Hello."

"Oh, yes. Hello."

She opened her mouth with a little shame, though. "Well, I heard from my friend yesterday that I was on your back…"

I nodded and said, "Oh, yes. The white girl asked for help in the parking lot, so I carried you home."

"Thank you. How can I thank you?"

"Don't mention it. It's okay. If there's anything we can do to help our neighbors, we should help."

Lee Ah-young answered politely with her head down. "No, thank you. I'll give you a separate thanks. Thank you again, anyway."

'I don't need thanks…' But before I could say anything more, she left with those words and went back to her room. I looked at her back for a moment. I recalled what she had just said, "I'd come home on your back…"

It was very different from yesterday.

'You? Where's Oppa going?'

I closed the door with that thought. I added 'strange' to her category: rich, beautiful, glamorous.

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I heard the sound of the doorbell. I knew who rang the bell. It was none other than Lee Ah-young, the landlord, who was now outside my room. A text came from her during the morning today, two days after the incident.

– Can I ask you when you come home after work today?-

At the time, I was watching HTS at home. I didn't go to work, so I didn't need to come back home. Nevertheless, I left a reply with the time when others left the office.

– I'll be back at six o'clock in the afternoon.-

If I said I was home, I might look a little pathetic. In fact, I was working harder than others at home.

– Good, I'll stop by your room after 6 p.m.-

'Why?' I cocked my head and replied.

– Yes, I see.-

I took a look in the mirror, fixed my neck with a false cough, and opened the front door. Outside the door, the owner of the apartments, Lee Ah-young, was showing off her gorgeous beauty again today. "Hello."

"Hello." She seemed to not have put on any make-up, though her lips appeared to be slightly swollen, but it made me rather excited to see.

'I don't think there's a girl who's this pretty in OH Entertainment, except Oh Hyun-joo… She's good enough to be a celebrity. I don't know what her job is. Even if she doesn't have a job… she'll be fine. Maybe with the monthly rent coming out of this studio building, she lives a life of luxury.'

I was thinking about it, and she handed me something she had brought. "Well, take this."

But what stood out more than what she handed over was her robe. She was wearing a long soft cardigan today, which was quite similar to the color of the dress I had seen then. I could recall the image of a white lady taking off her drunken pants. I was a bit stiff.

Then she said, "I made cookies in return."

I received them and said mechanically, "Thank you. Did you make them yourself?"

"I was going to take a little off the rent, but I thought it was too impersonal."

It was a little funny to say that she would cut my rental fee. She was also rich at around $10,000,000, but considering the money and stocks at the Invictus Investment, my assets had recently exceeded $100,000,000. I laughed inwardly, but I didn't show it on the outside.

"Oh, yes, thank you."

"No, I have to give you many thanks, enjoy them."

She left and went into her room, next door to me. I came back to my living room with the cookies she had given me and sat down in front of the TV. The cookies she had made looked pretty cute. Various animal patterns were painted on a round background. I tried them, and muttered unconsciously, "… They're not very good…"

To be honest, they weren't as good as the cookies sold at the convenience store. They were a little hard and not that sweet.

'She'd rather buy them for me.'

However, considering that a rich woman did this herself, this one seemed to have more affection for her neighbor. So I ate some more of the bad cookies in consideration of her sincerity.I looked out of the window. The snow of the rafters was touching the window. I looked at it and said, "It's November, and it's snowing."

Secretary Seo, who was holding the wheel, confirmed, "That's right."

It was now mid-November, two months after signing a contract with a Chinese investment firm to buy Kai Games, and a day after the disclosure.

"So when is the meeting?"

"It's at 2:00 p.m."

"Shall we go right after lunch?"

"Yes, boss."

Today I was on my way to see Kai Games management. As I said to President Kwon Oh Hyuk last time, I was going to Kai Games and held an event to show the king. 'I give you the estate of OH Entertainment.'

'Whoo, this is the second one.'

Of course, it wasn't all smooth sailing to get here. It took two months, and during those two months, I'd been more focused on stock trading than ever. Even after acquiring Kai Games, I wanted to buy more shares. I wanted to eat this amazing item by myself.

Then one day, a call came from the Financial Supervisory Service.

'Is it the poison that the stock turnover ratio has been too high to maximize returns ahead of the acquisition? No. Actually, if I think about it, I'll just have to say that what's coming is here. With such crazy returns on the table, it is something that I'd come across one day or another.'

I tried to put on a brave face as much as possible, as I hadn't done anything illegal. Sure enough, they looked at my accounts, IPs, computers, and so on.

But they rather complimented me.

– That's an amazing return. We didn't get it right, but… This is…we've never seen an individual make such a big profit with an IP alone.-

– You're a genius in investment. Really.-

– No charge.-

It was natural because I just traded stocks on the future news. It wasn't stock price manipulation, it wasn't news manipulation. I just bought stocks that would go up first, and sold them ahead of others. Rather, the transaction process was neat; whether up or down, I bought it, split it up, and sold it over and over again. I had only used a very formal method of reducing risk.

Most of the people who surveyed me looked at me in doubt at first, but later said, "I envy you." They told me, even secretly, that if I could just give them one good source… They seemed to want to ask me like that.

'The people of the Financial Supervisory Service are also people, so why wouldn't they want money? They aren't able to trade stocks because of their profession.'

I was rather worried that they would ask for the purpose of the monthly subscription fee of $10,000,000 rather than the record of stock trading, but it never happened. Whether the people of the Financial Supervisory Service were authorized to do that, or were not willing, or the Customer Service had blocked it by secret forces…

In any case, no one asked for the whereabouts of the $10,000,000 every month. As a result, I had only gained fame among government officials for my predictive genius, and being neatly good at stocks. I was cleared of any charges, but even if I was innocent, there was a point in this that I would have to run my business legally clean, whether it was individual money or company money.

I said to the secretary, "Secretary Seo, how is it going with the reinforcement of the legal team?"

"Jang says it's going to take a while, he doesn't know any legal professionals. He seems to be working with his past contacts."

"Well, if he doesn't know them, he'd better be careful."

"Yes."

I looked out the window and thought about the advice of Jang. I consulted with Jang, who had many experiences, during the FSS investigation.

"The Financial Supervisory Service has come to my house." I did not want to reveal my personal history, but I said it was an important issue.

At the end of my words, Vice President Jang said, "If you are proud of yourself, it will not be a big deal." At the same time, he gave a slightly different opinion, "If you can, you'd better make connections in politics, as well. It will be good in the long run."

If it was a little wrong, it was an illegal and cohesive connection. However, it seemed to be a good thing to get on the line in reality, because if I got out of the eyes of government or government officials, I might make an unnecessary problem for me or my company. If I didn't have to exchange something worthwhile, I should also be open to politicians if I could.

'Politicians…' I was not very attracted, but I couldn't help it. I thought if I made a lot of money, it would be all done for me.

While I was thinking about it, Secretary Seo drove the car through Cheongdam-dong and into Samseong-dong, where the sign 'Kai Games' was visible in the Samseong-dong building.

I thought, 'Now this is our company's, too' as I picked up my phone and went to the Kai Games stock board, a day after I had announced the acquisition. On the bulletin board, the reviews about our company were mainly followers.

– Invictus? What is this? Do they have any money? They'd better have someone with money to make it a success. Please keep investment and advertising tight.-

– I've never heard of or seen this company. The Chinese company tried to earn money through this game company, but they seemed to given up and sold it.-

– Looks like this company recently acquired OH Entertainment. Better than the Chinese company.-

– This company bought entertainment and a game company. Han Sang-hoon? What the fuck? 29? Fucking little bastard.-

Stock bulletin boards were always a mess. The swearing was also habitual.

'When the stock price rises, these people will cheer…'

I checked the stock price this time, and it seemed to rise slightly after we announced that our company had acquired Kai Games, then it turned around and went down that day. The public still didn't seem to know our company's name, but the acquisition itself was likely to make our company famous. Kai Games' new Fantasy War Ground would bring huge profits to Invictus Investment, Kai Games, me, and all of us.

'Okay, then we will go straight ahead and proceed with the Blue EM.'

I clenched my fist with all my strength, and in the meantime, Seo drove into the building with Kai Games, and pulled over in the underground parking lot.I went into Kai Games with Secretary Seo.

"Welcome, CEO Han."

Inside, the CEO of Kai Games, Shin Dong-woo, was waiting for us. I shook his hand, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Shin."

He was quite large, about six feet tall, and fat. He was nearly three hundred pounds. His face had a typical round shape. He looked gentle with his glasses. The preliminary report of Vice President Jang said, His game development ability is excellent, but he is a CEO who shows a slight lack of management. He was good at development, but his activity seemed to be a little low.

He opened his hand and said, "Come with me, the directors are waiting for you."

I followed him to the inner conference room and entered; there were a lot of people waiting for me.

'Huh, another handshake storm.'

I thought about it and went inside. But inside, I saw a familiar person. Everyone stood up to see me, but he was sitting alone and looking at me arrogantly. He was Master T, Tak Joon-gi of Suyeon Group…

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Shin Dong-woo, president of the Kai Games, introduced me to each of the directors of the Kai Games.

"This is the chief of development general."

"This is Chae Joong-sun. Nice to meet you."

"Thank you. I'm Han Sang Hoon."

I held his hand and waved it, but I put my attention on Director Tak Joon-gi, who sat in the back.

'I thought I'd see him someday, but… I didn't think that was going to happen today.'

He was the third-largest shareholder of the Kai Games, but he didn't seem to directly interfere with management, similarly to me. He also didn't have a formal title, like an outside director. But today, he showed up with the directors at this meeting where we greeted one another.

'Has he come to see who became the first major shareholder?'

I tried to sneak a look at him, but every time Mr. Shin showed up with new faces and introduced them to me.

"This is Kim Young-ji, the finance director."

"Nice to see you."

"Yes, good to see you."

By the end of the greetings, it wasn't until the last minute that Tak Joon-gi stood up. As he moved, I could see the people next to him flinching away. They bent over and gave way to the king, as if they were the followers. Tak Joon-gi was moving forward.

CEO Shin also stood aside and said, "This is Tak Joon-gi, our third-largest shareholder."

He only had a 5 percent stake, but they treated him as a superior. Perhaps the fact that he was the third generation of a chaebol family, and that he was a big hand in the investment industry, was a big factor. I faced him. He was quite tall, about 180cm tall, slightly taller than me. I looked up and met his eyes.

Looking closer, his image was definitely different from when I had seen him from a distance in the Garden Envy. His eyebrows were thick, his nose was big and slim, and he felt like a big man as a whole, but his eyes were small and long, so I could not tell what was inside. In addition, his lips were thin and small, so he seemed to be rather petty.

He extended his hand and said, "I am Tak Joon-gi, it's good to see you."

As I had done when I had met Kaiji outside last time, I greeted him, "I've met you for the first time. I'm Han Sang-hoon." I spoke as if there had been no business in the Garden Envy.

He looked at me and said, his eyes shining, "Yes, Mr. Han. I've heard a lot about you."

The look was like saying, 'I know you have been to Garden Envy.'

'What the…?'

I tried to find out what his intention was. "Oh, really? Where did you hear my story…?"

At my words, he laughed and spoke vaguely, "Here and there."

I thought, letting go of his hand in moderation. 'This man… he's certainly a man who I should be careful of.'

If Garden Envy was a den of snakes, then this person was the huge snake that moved them, a python. I shook hands with him last, and then followed Mr. Shin's guidance and went up to the top of the podium.

"Now, Han Sang-hoon, who is a major shareholder of our company, will say something."

I made the same inaugural address that I had done for the inauguration for OH Entertainment; I just changed the name to Kai Games.

".. and full investment and support to Kai Games…"

There was no need for procedures such as having delegation ceremony like OH Entertainment. Shin Dong-woo, the founder of the company, was already at the center of the company.

"I'm confident of the success of the Kai Games…"

While giving a speech, I took a peek at President Shin Dong-woo. He looked at me in a friendly manner. Like OH Entertainment, I said, "I'm not going to touch any game development. Just make a good game."

As I had said so, he was now able to devote himself to developing the game without any interference. I heard that the Chinese board of directors asked many things and interfered in game development.

– You shouldn't have this white bone.-

– Let's do this in red.-

– Please do something that will work in China.-

They had been giving such orders, and he had been quite stressed. Now that all the Chinese board members had resigned after taking over the company, President Shin Dong-woo had no one to tell him what to do with development. It was natural for him to thank me, because I had drawn thorns out from his eyes. He would be more concerned with development.

"… I'd like to ask you…"

As soon as I was done, everyone clapped enthusiastically, to impress the new owner. But one person, Director Tak Joon-gi, was like leader Kim Jeong-eun in North Korea, crossing his palm up and down and clapping slowly. He was using that manner, 'Let's see how you do.'

'Oh, yeah. You're a royal family. Is that it?'

He had probably lived being clapped at rather than clapping. After the meeting with the board members, I followed Mr. Shin's guidance and looked around the entire company. Looking back at the game developer, it was certainly exciting. When I saw the games up on the monitor, I could see Fantasy War Ground, the big hit of the future.

"It's a new genre of Battle Royale, which has transformed modern war into a fantasy fight with swords, bows, or magic instead of guns. We'll be in CBT soon for the regular users."

'This game will be the ultimate hit that will captivate gamers all over the world.'

I'd been looking around the whole company like that.

"Then I hope you work hard to the end."

"Yes, of course!"After a last-minute goodbye with Shin, I returned to the underground parking lot.

As soon as I got into the car, Secretary Seo said, "That Fantasy War Ground looked so interesting when I saw it in front of me. I think it's going to be a big hit."

I nodded, "Sure. I told you that it's going to succeed."

Secretary Seo looked at me in a rear-view mirror. "I think you have an amazing perspective. Really."

"No, no."

But then my cell phone rang, and a text came in. It was an unknown number, but I could tell who sent it by looking at the text.

– This is Master T. I would like to see you at the cafe on the second floor, in front of the Kai Games. Duros.-

Director Tak Joon-gi, Master T, wrote the text and sent it with my nickname in the Garden Envy. He knew that I had attended the meeting he had hosted.

'But how did you know that?'

I had time to recuperate and reflect. I'd only been to the meeting once and never given my name there. I'd only seen him once in the distance. He was surrounded by people and didn't even have time to see me.

'What possible scenario…'

There were only two possibilities that I could think of right now: first, Kaiji, Director Lee Won-jae, made a statement to him. Second, Section-chief Kim Hye-sook, who had given me an invitation to Garden Envy, sold the information.

'… Who was it?'

I was thinking about it, Secretary Seo started the car. Of course, it was time to get off work. I stopped him, "Secretary Seo, wait a minute."

"Yes?"

"Wait here for a moment… No. Go on home. I'll get off here."

"Yes?"

"It's because I've got some personal business to do around here. Go ahead."

At my words, Secretary Seo tilted his head, but he obeyed my order.

"Yes, sir. Boss."

I crossed the crosswalk at the green light. On the second floor of the building across from Kai Games, there was a large dessert cafe, as Director Tak Joon-gi had said. I thought as I entered the building, 'Why is this guy calling me… …what the hell is he trying to do?'

I doubted him. But no one could cheat on me. I had an eye for the future. Even if someone was trying to tie me up with a lie, I was confident that I would resist it. Entering the cafe, Director Tak Joon-gi waved his hand at me from the inside corner. I approached him and sat down and said, "Why did you ask me to meet you?"

At my words, he grinned and said, "No, well… It wasn't because of something. I just wanted to see you personally. As you know… I like excellent investors. By the way, you are a 29-year-old man with $60,000,000 assets. It was very interesting."

He seemed to know only with the assets of Invictus Investment.

'It's $160,000,000, not $60,000,000.'

He couldn't have imagined I had earned $60,000,000 more in my personal accounts in two months after investing $30,000,000 into Invictus Investment. Even if he was a member of the royal family, a human was only a human being. No person with power could know the future. That meant, no matter how much he held his form in front of me, it just seemed ridiculous in my eyes.

He said, tapping his finger twice against the window where the Kai Games looked. "I'd like to ask you, by the way. Why did you buy this company?"

I answered simply, "I think it's a good game company."

He looked at me with his snake-like eyes, having hands on his chin. "Is that just about it?"

"Yes. I enjoy investing in game companies. Isn't the sale all for the game company? It's good because it's simple. If the game hits, the stock price goes up. If it fails, it goes down. I approached it in that sense. Especially this beginning… it is considered to be a work of both stability and novelty by mixing fantasy with the popular Battle Royale genre."

He didn't seem to know much about the game. Even though he was in his forties, I felt like he couldn't understand anything when I was talking about the Battle Royale genre.

'But if he were a son of a rich family, would he have played a game? He was probably golfing and traveling abroad at that time.' I asked him the same question, "Why did you buy this company?"

He once again said with a sizzling smile at my words. "I'm confident that I can sell it and make money."

I asked him implicitly, "Well… did Director Tak have a good view of the game, too?"

If he pretended to know here, he was 100% lying. But he began to laugh openly at my words. "Hahaha!"

As I tilted my head, suddenly he looked straight at me and said one more thing, "I don't know the game."

It was a remark that I didn't understand with common sense. He didn't know the game, but he bought the game stock.

But he twinkled his eyes and said, "But I still know the stock. You know, stocks are a kind of pyramid scheme, a trick game."

At the remark, I thought once again, 'This man is a dangerous man.' But nevertheless, I decided to listen to him more.

'A crisis is an opportunity in the stock market. If this person tries to put me in danger, that will be an opportunity, too.'

I grinned at him and said, "That's right."

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Tak Joon-gi and I were different ages, but the conversation was quite good, because we had something in common: being competent investors.

"I'm confident that I can sell any stock for more than that."

I laid down my eyes and said, looking at my face in a cup of coffee. "That's the same with me. I'm… I always play the winning game."

But there was a critical difference between us.

He opened his eyes and smiled. "Yes. Anyway, the goal is that someone buys my stock for a lot more than the price I paid? Somehow."

He and I seemed to be quite different in how capable investors were. "Somehow" was like he would scam a stock.

– There is a rumor that there is an operational force for scamming stocks next to him.- I remembered Vice President Jang's remark.

In contrast to that precisely, I would have to say, "I am the investor who recognizes the future stock price, and you are the investor who makes the future stock price."

'If the FSC heard about this, he'd go straight to the cell. But he says it in a place like this, but it may be an expression of confidence. He's still a member of the Suyeon Group.'

– If you're close to politics, you'll find it convenient in many ways.-

'Suyeon Group has never been out of the top ten in the business rankings for sixty years. Of course, there must be a decades-old connection with the political side. No matter how much director Tak Joon-gi is treated as an abandoned son in the Suyeon Group, he will be protected in passing.'

I said to him, "Then, did you make the Garden Envy for that?"

"Haha, no, no. That's not all. As I said before, I like competent investors. So… I made it interact with them."

As he said, his tone was a bit different than usual. He didn't want to tell what he knew, what he thought, or anything.

I said with a nod, "Okay, I see."

"I don't know what Han will be like, but I'm pretty lonely. Especially, I don't really feel that much of a connection with those people," he said, tapping a couple of times on the window.

I looked out the window. Outside was a group of high school students, ordinary people such as grandparents, mothers, and babies. People who were not necessarily specific to a group.

I asked him, "Those people?"

He smiled back at me and said, "Why not?" He held his hands forward and said, pointing one finger up and one down. "Who reigns above, and who is ruled below. I don't want to have any connection with those inferiors."

It was a little creepy to hear that.

'This man…' I laughed a little because I was dumbfounded.

But when he saw my face like that, he laughed profusely. "Ha ha ha! I think we are the same class. From the first time I saw you, I felt it." Then he suddenly turned a straight face and made a strange swear, "Bugs, dog-pigs. I hate those vulgar things very much. I like people who are rich and capable, like Mr. Han."

I was quite surprised inside, but answered deliberately, sipping a cup of coffee. "Thank you for your good words." I glanced at him and I had a rough idea of what he was like.

"I can't help but think you look good. It's not easy to make sixty million dollars at the age of twenty-nine. You are a genius. That's why I have to think like that. It's why I'm here today. You don't come to Garden Envy these days. Instead, I came to see you. I happened to be the majority shareholder of the same company, but when the judgment of Han and my power are combined… maybe we can do something bigger."

'Something bigger…' I nodded for now. "Yes, maybe."

But around this time, a giant man at the back of the cafe stood up next to Director Tak Joon-gi. After feeling him, Tak looked back and gestured to him, "Oh, okay. Go ahead and wait."

The big man passed me on the way out of the cafe. He seemed to be Tak's secretary.

"I think you're busy, but our conversation is too long." I tried to end the conversation.

'Bugs, dog-pigs.' Just after hearing his remark, it wasn't very pleasant to be in front of this man.

"No, I'm not too busy… Such a fool doesn't differentiate whether he has to intervene or not!" He even said such harsh things to his personal secretary. I had seen such an article before. 'A secretary of the chairman of a large company is treated as less than a human being.'

At this point, I became very disgusted with him. Naturally, humanely, he might have thought that I was the same kind of fellow who was born as him, who stood above others from the beginning, ruled over others. But I was born in an ordinary house, made friends with ordinary people, and had lived. I'd been standing on top of others since I had met a strange fate, but I'd never imagined myself like that.

I thought, 'How can I fuck him?' There was an answer nearby. I asked him, "By the way, what are you going to do with your stake in Kai Games?"

"Kai Games?"

"Yes"

"Oh, I see… actually I had a plan with my Chinese friends… but since you bought this company, I had to abandon the plan."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and so, I will hold this stock a little more… because Mr. Han, the genius of the investment, bought this company."

"Oh, I see. I'd also like to buy your stake if I could… I mean."

"My stake?"

"Yes. If I want to participate in management, I'm afraid I'm a little bit short with the Chinese stake."

"You're not taking part in management…"

I started lying here. "That was a lie."

"Yes?"

I laughed and said, "It's common sense if a child has his toys, he does whatever he wants. But after buying thirty-eight million dollars worth of goods, if I can't get my hands on them… that will be ridiculous. Of course, I'll be in management. I'll be involved in game development a little bit, and I'll take out the people I don't need. It's management efficiency. It's management efficiency." I said something he'd like to hear.

Sure enough, he laughed again in my words. "Ha ha ha! Right! That's right! We can't afford to buy thirty-eight million dollars worth of stuff and put it in the house." And then he said with a straight look. "So, you want to buy my shares?"

'He had a dramatic change in his expression.' I said with that thought, "Yes, I will increase my stake by nearly 50%, change some board members, and put the right man in for the audit… then it's easy to raise the stock price again."

"Yes."

"That's why I'd like to buy the shares of Director Tak. I could buy a stake in the market… but wouldn't it take a little while? Ants may be involved in the deal."

He looked me in the eye and said, "Well… how much do you want to pay for it?"

That was the point. I brought up what I had in mind. "I bought $28,800,000 for $38,000,000. I bought it at a premium of about thirty percent. I'll buy your shares at the same premium."

In my words, Director Tak was quite surprised. "… at the same premium?"

"Yes, I will."

His reaction was already expected.

'Usually, the shares of the first and third largest shareholders differ in equity, but even if they are the same amount, they are not of the same value. The majority stake in the group is because it has the power to control the group as a whole. Of course, even the three largest shareholders can exert influence on the stake, but they cannot dominate the company this way or that way. But I will buy it at the same premium, paying almost five to ten percent more.'

"Well… it's certainly not a bad price." He really began to think about it. Whatever he had planned with the major Chinese shareholders, it would not have been easy for him to take thirty percent profit for a total of five percent of the shares so neatly. It would not be bad for him to get this offer because his plan went awry with my coming.

He looked at me with an expression of "Is that too good a condition?" He was not a fool to take a step back, seeing the conditions.

I said one more thing he wanted to hear, "As Director Tak said, if the power of Mr. Tak, Suyeon Group, and my strength are combined, we can do bigger things. I hope you'll accept this offer as a down payment for me to start a good relationship with you."

He laughed longer than ever at my words. I thought he was a human being who liked this kind of thing as well, a man who liked to reign and control others with power.

"Well, then, I can't take it all. I'll accept a twenty percent premium and give them over to you, because if we're going to have a good relationship, I'll have to show my respect."

'Huh! Twenty percent is much more than normal for the third major shareholder.' I thought, but I reached out my hand, "Thank you, Director Tak."

'Of course, this price is hugely cheap considering the success of Fantasy War Ground'.

Director Tak did not even know that he had just signed a foolish contract, and said, "Don't mention it. You increase your stake, I make money; this is win-win for each of us."

"Thank you very much, Director Tak."

'Pah! You are a loser. Two months from now you'll know how cheap you have been selling stocks.'

As we finished shaking hands, his cell phone rang once.

"Well, the stupid bastard… I'm going to have to go."

"Yes, I'll send you a proposal."

"Yes."

I hoped the conversation would be over right here. Since I had done my business with him, I want him to disappear.

But Tak was putting on his coat and said something else, "Ah, by the way, I was going to tell you something."

"What?"

When I tilted my head, to my surprise, he said, "The other company that you have, CKD…"

He brought out the CKD story. He didn't know that the name had already changed.

"Yes."

"Have you changed the president of the company lately?"

"Yes, I changed the name to OH Entertainment."

He raised his head slightly and said, "Oh, yeah? Is that why he did it?"

He said things I didn't know. I was dumb, but he lowered his voice and said another word quietly. "Mr. Han, I'm old enough and I'm working for the group, so I know a little more about this story. So, let me give you a little bit of advice."

'What is he going to say?' I watched his mouth.

"Wouldn't it be a little difficult for you to run the entertainment company so hard?"

I frowned and said, "Yes?"

"I think it was better when there was a representative of Do Chan-ki there before, in many ways."

I cocked my head one more time. "In what way?"

He slapped my shoulder and said, "You know that, don't you? Hahaha." He laughed again and turned around and said, "Then I'll see you again next time, Mr. Han."

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"The acquisition of the shares has been completed," Vice President Jang said as handed me the document.

I took the document, which read that Tak Joon-gi's six point five million dollar stake was redeemed at around eight million, adding a premium of twenty percent.

"Then our stake will be?"

"It's twenty-nine point four percent."

"Okay, now move our employees, traders, and buy Kai Games."

"How many shares shall we buy?"

"Up to 50%."

"Up to 50%?"

I glanced at the calendar. Fortunately, the Fantasy War Ground CBT, scheduled for December, was delayed by about a month and a half due to the Kai Games situation.

"Yes, please buy it until January of next year, even if the price goes up a little bit. When you put up a public notice, please tell them we are buying shares to stabilize the management situation."

"Yes, I see." Jang bent his head and started to head outside.

I caught him once. "Ah, Vice President Jang!"

"Yes?"

"How did you feel about Director Tak?"

"What do you mean?"

"What was your impression or something?"

Jang recalled him for a moment and said, "Well, he looked like an ordinary chaebol third-generation: self-confident, upbeat style, but a little bit arrogant, too."

"Well, I see."

"By the way, he complimented you a lot, saying that you're competent."

I was not so happy to get praised by him many times. I said, nodding my head, "Oh, yes. I see."After Mr. Jang left, I stood up and looked out the window. At lunchtime, a lot of celery people came out of buildings and flocked to the alley restaurants. As I saw it, I suddenly recalled Director Tak who spoke those words, "Bugs, dog-pigs."

'I only thought such a person were in novels.'

Well, considering the people on the news lately, I thought Tak was one of them and not a very unusual case.

'It's probably the tip of the iceberg that's on the news…

'If we see a cockroach at home, it's usually said that there are hundreds of cockroaches in the house. Considering the news reports of a chaebol who plays the ridiculous power trip just once or twice a year, we can roughly guess how many chaebols actually think of ordinary people as bugs and dog-pigs. The press is on their side in the first place, so if we think about the silence of the press, it's a very small number of people on the news.

'If it's on the news, it may be for political reasons, or pressure from their competitors… for that reason.'

Suddenly I thought of Lee Won-jae, the director of the Daewon Daily News. The guy…

I didn't know how Director Tak Joon-gi had known my name, but it might be one of the two. Lee Won-jae of the Daewon Daily News, we knew each other's identity, might say that, or Section Chief Kim Hye-sook, who gave me an invitation, might say that. Either way, whoever said it could be a big problem for me later, especially later, when I would do a big job with Tak.

If either of these two were keeping an eye on me, I might be in trouble. One of these two people was the owner of a company that was good at information, and the other one was the one who knew how my main accounts worked.

'What shall I do?'

I fiddled with my cell phone. There was 'Lee Won-jae' on the list. However, I could not ask him, "Did you say that?" I saw Kim Hye-sook by pulling up the list. If it was her, I could ask her plainly.

I called her, thinking, 'Then, shall I dig from here?'

Before the connecting call rang three times, Section Chief Kim Hye-sook answered my call. "Uh, Mr. Han. What's the matter?"

It was as if she had been waiting for my call. I said to her, "Not different. I'm calling to ask you about Garden Envy."

She seemed to be quite surprised to hear the words Garden Envy coming out of my mouth.

"Uh, hold on a second," she paused, then went on again, "You mean Garden Envy, Mr. Han?"

It seemed to her that this was still a secret.

But I spoke with a slight squeeze on her. "Section Chief, please be honest with me."

"Oh… yes, of course," she said. She had always been with the fine accent, but her voice sounded a little wobbly.

"Have you ever sold my information to them?"

"Yes? What does that mean?" She asked me as if she had been misinformed. It was a common tactic used by people who needed to think about what to say.

"It is as I said. Don't change the subject. Have you ever mentioned my name, my age, my gender, my appearance, that sort of thing, to Garden Envy? Have you ever done it, or not?"

"I've never done it, sir. I'm not talking about your personal identity anywhere. That's ridiculous."

"Really? So how did they know my name?"

"Well… I'm sure Director Tak Joon-gi has a wide network of investment connections. Maybe that's why he recognized you."

But her words were a little strange. I never said it was Director Tak Joon-gi who knew my name in Garden Envy. I made a point of saying, "I never said that the person who knew my name inside the Garden Envy was Director Tak…"

When I said that, she said in fright, "Oh, well, since Director Tak is the host, I think he's the one who recognized you. That's how I guessed it."

It was somewhat awkward. The way she talked was unnaturally shaken. 99.9%. I was convinced that it was her.

If she had really guessed, she should have had to have a little time to think about it for at least a few seconds after what I said. However, the fact that Tak's name came out of her right away was that she had been thinking about him since I started questioning her.

I said in a cold tone, "Oh, yes, I see."

"Mr. President, I think you have a misunderstanding… please don't misunderstand."

"Ah, yes, I see," I hung up coldly.

'Business is based on credit. We have to trust each other to work together. This Seo-kwang Bank is close to me, and I made the biggest deal with them. But she has let loose my personal information. She may be a spy of Mr. Tak and sell my information again.'

I picked up the phone and said, "Secretary Seo."

"Yes, sir. What would you like for lunch?"

I guessed that was exactly what he thought, as it was lunchtime. I said to him, "No, let's make one phone call and go eat. Why don't you put me on the phone with the manager of the Cheongdam branch of Seo-kwang Bank?"After lunch, I went back to the company parking lot, chatting with Seo. Pressing the up-button to hold the elevator, while waiting, I asked Secretary Seo, "So, how is Chang-wook doing?"

Chang-wook was one of the junior members of our founding club.

"He went back to his hometown. He just passed the civil service exam."

"Oh really? That's great. It's hard to become a public servant these days."

"I thought he would pass because he studied hard. He used to say he prepared for the seventh-grade civil servant level, but it turned out that he had to lower it to ninth grade."

"Yes, these days, students at Seoul National University and Yonsei University are also trying to take the seventh-grade civil servant exam. It wouldn't have been easy."

The elevator stopped in front of us. I went in and said, "How about Min-seo, who was popular in the business startup club… she was pretty?"

"Oh, Min-seo. She asked me, but I forgot. She called me once last weekend. Personally, she wants to see the boss."

"Me? Why?"

"She's been putting applications in all over the big companies, apparently, but she's failed and is snooping around our company."

Even if she was the junior member of the startup club, I didn't like her snooping around our company, after she failed out of the big companies.

"Talk to her, I'm busy and it's hard. Instead, I want her to put in a formal job application."

"Then she'll be disappointed."

"No, is our company an alternative company to poke at when she fails at some big companies? I don't like that, either."

"That's the same with me, too… I'll tell her to put in her job application."

"Yes, Vice President Jang will take care of it well."

Employees would bow when I came into the company. I tried to get into my president's office with those greetings. But one of the staff members followed me and said, "Mr. President, you have a visitor."

"Who…?

"The Cheongdam branch manager of Seo-kwang Bank …"

It was a little surprising. I called him before lunch, but he was already here. When I went inside, waiting next to Seo's seat was a man with gray hair and a suit. in his sixties.

"Hello, President Han, I saw you at our branch last time. I'm Lee Hyo-eun, the manager of the Cheongdam branch of Seo-kwang Bank."

I opened the door to the president's office and said, "Oh, yes, come in."

He told me as soon as he closed the door to the president's office. "As soon as I heard that you were going to close your account and transfer all of your deposits, I came in a hurry in surprise."

He would have had to do that, because few people like me made tens of million dollars of deposits and hundreds of million dollars in trading.

I shook my head and said, "Oh, yes. I couldn't help it, either."

"Yes? What do you mean by that…"

"I will no longer deal with Seo-kwang Bank… At least I'm not going to make a deal with the Cheongdam branch."

"Yes? Why? President Han, can you just think it over again? We'll take you back on better terms."

He spoke to me as if pleading, but that was just what this was: Gapjil, to overuse one's power.

I felt like I was doing Gapjil like this way. But there was no way to I would put my deposits in a bank where they sold my information. I couldn't keep my money where such people were. It was a legitimate act.

"I don't think that's possible. Seo-kwang Bank has a big credibility problem."

"Then, President Han. Could you at least tell me why? If you say the reason, we can reflect on ourselves, make improvements, and do it."

At the words, I thought about Section Chief Kim Hye-sook, hitting the table twice for a moment. If she had been honest that she had been forced to reveal things, because of Director Tak or Suyeon Group's power… at least I wouldn't have hated her. Rather, I would have felt a little she was a poor woman who was forced to speak out under the influence of the chaebol and its third generation.

However, she said, "No, I've never done it, sir. It's nonsense that I have been talking about you."

'I hate people who lie to me, especially when it comes to work.'

I told the branch manager her name. "I am a little bit uncomfortable to say it, but ask Section Chief Kim Hye-sook. She'll know why."

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"Meet An MBE Super Ant. Let's meet for the first time in the new year of 2019. It's Han Sang-hoon, the young CEO of Invictus Investment."

At the end of the MC's remarks, the audience applauded. I swallowed once and then moved on. It was a recording show that had already finished rehearsing once, but I was quite nervous.

The young and beautiful MC spoke eye to eye. "I've hosted "Meet An MBE Super Ant as an MC, but I think he is the youngest CEO ever. Excuse me, how old are you?"

"I am thirty this year."

"You are CEO Han Sang-hoon, who turns thirty this year, has founded and has been running an investment company called Invictus Investment, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"Oh, that's great! You started your own company when the other guys were looking for a job."

"Yes, I've dreamed of starting a business since I was a student. I've been lucky to be able to follow my dream."

"So, how much are the current assets of the Invictus Investment you founded?" The male MC said, looking at the manuscripts that had been prepared. "What? Seventy-five million dollars?" He already knew, but he was good at acting.

Even the audience was sold when they saw his performance.

"Seventy-five million dollars?"

"At that age?"

"In the world!"

The murmurs were heard gradually.

'This is not including the money in my personal accounts…'

The male MC went on to say, "At the age of thirty, a CEO. Seventy-five million dollars in assets. Then, the viewers and audience may have an idea. Let me ask you a little rudely. What's your father doing? Running a company? Or…"

"My father runs a judo training center in a normal manner."

"Oh, really? Then what about your grandfather?"

"My grandfather used to be an ordinary farmer…"

"Did you have a lot of lands, then?"

I laughed and waved, "No, that's not it at all."

"So, were you not born in a rich family?"

"Correct. I should say that my home is a little less than the middle class of moderate wealth. It was just a normal home."

"Then, you're a self-made man. Can you tell me a little bit about what happened?"

"I've had quite a bit of luck in the beginning. It's hard to go into details."

It was really hard to go into details. However, there was a prearranged manuscript before the recording.

"You mean Lotto or coin or something?"

"Oh, yes. Those things…" I let the early stories crumble in this way. There was a difference between what I said here and there, and it was not something that deserved to be said. I went on to say, "That's how I got started with five million dollars in capital."

"Wow!" The audience seemed to be focusing on five million dollars rather than my story itself.

"But, it became seventy-five million dollars?"

"Yes…"

There was no problem saying something else, but when I lied, my mouth seemed to be burning. Currently, my assets in January 2019 were around two hundred million dollars, not seventy-five million. The assets of Invictus Investment were the seventy-five, and the other one hundred twenty-five million was in my personal accounts.

The female MC asked me, "Then, it's five million dollars growing to seventy-five million… Approximately fifteen times over. So it was all increased by investments?"

"Yes."

"That's a little hard to believe."

At the words of the female MC, the male MC cut in. "I know. Some people were recently arrested for faking their own success stories. Do you do Facebook or Instagram?"

I shook my head, "No, I don't do that."

"Why? Aren't many young people doing it?"

"I don't have the time to do that."

"Huh… if you're going to do that, I am going to go in right now. I am wondering if there might be luxury real estate or foreign cars bragging."

'It is only for swindlers trying to cheat by showing off their own financial resources. He who has real money, and he who makes money, have no reason to do such things.'

I shook my head and said, "I don't like doing that much."

"Oh, you don't like foreign cars or luxury real estate?"

"No. I like a good house, a good car, and everything. It's just that I don't want to brag about it. It doesn't look very good in the world these days. That's my opinion."

The female MC nodded and said, "You have a sound mind. You seem a little distant from a con artist, just by looking at what you're saying."

I said honestly, "Yes, I've never encouraged anyone to invest. Instead, I would rather ask individual investors not to invest in stocks."

As I said, the MCs as well as the audience, looked quite surprised. I was on a stock-related broadcast and told them not to do it.

"That's amazing. Don't do stocks?"

I nodded with conviction, "Yes."

"You've earned tens of million dollars in stocks, and you tell others not to do… It's a bit ironic. Can you tell me why?"

"First of all, individuals have difficulty accessing key information that affects the rise and fall of stock prices. Their information acquisition is often a day or two slower than others." This was the case with people like me.

"Secondly… there are quite a few people who arbitrarily manipulate stock prices…" This referred to someone like Director Tak Joon-ki.

"In that sense, it is very difficult for individual investors to make money in the stock market. So I want to tell them not to invest in stocks."

Of course, just because I told them not to do, there would be no one who would not. Everyone in the audience was like that right now. They paid careful attention to "I made seventy-five million dollars," but they would ignore my words, "Don't invest in stocks."

'The one who wants to do the stock trading will do it in the end, and the one who doesn't want to, won't do it, even if others recommend him to do so, I think.'

"Then, why did you set up an investment company? Don't you attract funds from other investors?

"Our company neither receives nor recommends investment from ordinary investors. Invictus Investment is my personal investment company that runs on my own assets."

"Oh, I see. It's a private investment company that doesn't take investments from others."

"Yes, I was going to run the fund alone, but… it's too big to do that. I was just set up a company because I needed help from others to take over another company."

"So, you're saying you won't accept any investment from the public in the future?"

"Correct. First of all, until it I'm running about a billion dollars, and I start investing abroad in earnest, I'm not going to do that. I don't need that much money right now."

The male MC opened his eyes wide and said, "A billion dollars?"

"Yes."

"You've got about seventy-five billion in assets now; that means you're going to have to make ten or fifteen times more profit."

I said bluntly, "That's about it."

The male MC laughed and said, "Haha, if that happens, I'll invest in it right away. No, then please take my money!" At his words, the audience giggled.

"Yes, by then, I'll be back on this show. But before that, I'd like to do well with my own money. I don't need any money until I invest overseas."

"You're very confident. A billion dollars!"

I raised my head and said, "Maybe not that far. Five years at a stretch, maybe two or three years at a short."

Actually, I was expecting it to happen within a year, but I said so for now. Five years, two or three years, it seemed to sound crazy to them.

The male MC also smiled and said, "Huh. That would be a great thing to do." He squinted his eyes and looked at me. After a moment he said, "I'm going to invest in it right away. No, please take my money!", but he did not believe me at all.

'Huh! You think it's ridiculous that you've been hosting this show as an MC for a few years on Economic TV. Half a year from now, I won't accept your money even if you ask me to take it.'

The female MC turned the spotlight around. "The company that you made that way has taken over two companies, OH Entertainment and Kai Games. I don't know what you've seen and invested that way…"

"I choose a company that I know well and that I will know well."

"What you know well and what you will know well?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a little bit deep knowledge in entertainment or games?"

"I think I can judge people pretty well and I am also very interested in the games. So I invested in entertainment and game companies."

The recording continued. At first, I was quite nervous, but as time went by, I grew accustomed to the broadcasting.

"What if you could tell us the secret of successful stock investment?"

"I watch the news a lot"

"News"?

"Yes, the news tells the present story, but over time it becomes the past. In the past, there was some news that led to a rise in stocks, and that's what I'm focusing on. I spend a lot of time predicting what the news will be like in the future."

"I see."

"If you could recommend a stock…?"

"It's a little bit too much to say… …but both of the companies we've invested in are promising."

"OH Entertainment and Kai Games?"

"Yes. I think they're both going to have a storm surge this year."

"You said that you don't take any investment from other people's money, so you're recommending companies you've invested in?" the male MC asked rashly.

'This guy is just not likable!' I thought about it and spoke a little out of the script. "To be honest, I think it's a little absurd for analysts to recommend people to buy this and that. If it's a really good stock, they should buy it themselves. Why would they let a person make money? I simply bought stocks that I thought they were good, and I can't tell you because I don't own any other stocks."

My comments made the audience quiet. I was sure they'd all bought a lot of stocks that someone had recommended. I carried on my talk.

"In the case of Kai Games, I bought the shares of the first major shareholder and the third major shareholder, and then I raised my stake to sixty percent through the open-market purchase. I've spent my money. Spending my own money to buy stocks is the clearest and most certain recommendation, isn't it? If the stock prices fall, I'm the one who loses the most."

The female MC nodded and said, "That's true."

I spoke clearly to the camera watching me, "Watch the stock prices of OH Entertainment and Kai Games this year. You'll soon find out whether I'm telling you the truth or not."

"Thanks for your time."I was coming out of the broadcast and asked Secretary Seo, "How was it?"

"You were good. Just like that! There was an impact."

"What are the reporters saying?"

There were also quite a few economic journalists here. That was why I responded to the show in the first place so that my name and our company names would show more on the news.

"First of all, I heard they liked it because they have a lot of stuff to write about, 'CEO Han Sang-hoon's confident interview. What will happen in the future?' "

'In these securities broadcasts, big hands usually say vaguely in this way, "Oh, yes, but it can climb, it can take off." That's what they say because they might be wrong later.'

But I looked at the camera and made a confident promise that the prices of the stocks I had bought would rise.

"If things go well, you'll be a hero, but… if they don't, you might become a swindler in no time…," Secretary Seo said cautiously.

But I said bluntly, "Yeah. Okay, this is a bet too. A hero or a con artist. Let's see what happens."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I patted Secretary Seo on the chest and said, "Look, do you see me losing on the bet?"

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Editor: Aelryinth"Kie-e-e-e-e-ek!" The dragon, flying through the clouds, roared toward the sky. From there the man who was looking down rises from the dragon's back and jumps towards the ground. He begins his free fall through the wind. When things like houses, hills, trees, and rivers on the ground become clear, he pulls on the rope he is holding. The parachute on his back is unfolded and he stops his free fall and slowly drifts down to the ground. His target is to fly toward a small town just a short distance from the castle. However, a muscular Orc with green skin right next to him is coming with his parachute open. The two look at each other in mid-air, and both of them hit the ground.

The two scramble on the ground almost at the same time and look at each other. In the meantime, an axe is shining next to a tree stump. The two run for the axe, no matter who comes first. The man manages to grab the axe in place of the muscular Orc by a tenth of a second. Then he rushes toward the terrified Orc warrior.

At the same time, the phrase Breathtaking Fantasy Battle Royale! Fantasy War Ground CBT Grand Opens! appears.'They've done a good job expressing the contents of the game in a short time.' I looked down at the scroll. I could see the check box for "CBT Tester Winning."

'CBT stands for 'Closed Beta Test,' which refers to a game that is tested by a number of gamers before the game is released. It's a kind of rehearsal. Usually, most successful games will be almost outstanding at this point. As I expected, Fantasy War Ground will receive tremendous acclaim from here. If it's a world-wide hit, it should be good!. '

I put my name and phone number next to the confirmation cursor and pressed the "OK" button. "Name is Han Sang-hoon…" However, I met the phrase, "We are sorry that you didn't win the lottery for the CBT. Please wait for the upcoming OBT."

I failed out of my own company's CBT. I picked up the phone right away and said, "Secretary Seo."

"Yes, boss."

"Call Kai Games, ask them for a Fantasy War Ground CBT key."

Secretary Seo said, "CBT key?"

I said in a slightly sullen tone, "Yes, I failed."

"Ha, no, these guys, don't they know the name of their major shareholder?"

"They would have picked one at random. Get one anyway, and you get one, too."

"Me too?"

"Yes, it's our company's game. You should try it."

"Yes, sir."

'Of course, in one way or another, the game would succeed because correction news didn't come. Just in case, I asked the Customer Service. There is no time limit for the correction news. So whenever the future changes, they'll send it to me. I just want to see how the game works with my eyes.'

I got a call about a minute after I had called Seo. It was Shin Dong-woo, CEO of Kai Games. He telephoned me and apologized, "Mr. President, I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize."

"Our staff chooses testers randomly. They didn't know you are the president… I'm sorry. We'll text you the closed beta key right away."

'He's been really good to me. I've raised my stake in the company to 60% and didn't say anything, so maybe he's been a little nervous. "If I don't do this right, I'm going to be fired as a founder." Steve Jobs was also fired from his company, Apple, with less equity in his company.'

Of course, I didn't intend to fire him. I just wanted to get enough of the success of the Fantasy War Ground by myself.

"Oh, that's okay. I understand. I'm applying on the Internet, and I can't get special treatment. I should have told you in advance."

"No, I'm sorry."

"No. By the way, how's the CBT, getting ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, then, please continue to work hard."

"Yes, sir."

He said the same thing one after another and stayed still. He seemed to think he couldn't hang up until I hung up first. I poked out my lips and pressed the call-end button. According to the text message, there were 20 beta keys like "XGKMPK2125 KEWN2385KJ."

'I just need one…' I sighed as I entered a beta key. A message appeared soon. "Congratulations! You've won the CBT for Fantasy War Ground!"

Soon the game download window popped up. I started to get in. It was ten minutes after ten AM. The trade had ended early today, and I would spend my time playing the game that I had invested in.

In the meantime, Seo called again, "Boss, Shin Dong-woo sent me the CBT key right away. Do you want me to send it over?"

"Oh, no. I just got it on the phone myself. I got my keys, too."

"Oh, yes. And Vice President Jang wants you to come to work."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, because of Blue EM and personnel affairs."

After buying a stake in Kai Games, I reached out to the next company, Blue EM. The work went smoothly because they wanted to attract more investment.

"Well, aside from Blue EM, what's the matter with personnel affairs?"

"It's not a problem, but there came some sort of guidelines for hiring young people."

"Where? Government?"

"They've come from two different places at the same time; from the government, from Seoul City."

"Well, it's because of the youth unemployment."

"Yes. It gets worse and worse."

I knew it better than anyone. In recent years, I seemed to have seen the keywords "Youth Unemployment" in the category "Politics" and "Economy."

"So, they want us to hire more young people? They're cutting corporate taxes?"

"Yes, that's what it sounds like. So the Vice President wants to talk to the boss himself about this."

"Ummm…"

The game was being downloaded in front of my eyes, but I couldn't refuse Jang's request to play it.

"I'll go. Now."

"Will you?"

Come to think of it, I had a job at OH Entertainment, too. I thought I could stop by the company in the morning to receive reports, and go to OH Entertainment in the afternoon.

"Yes. And tell President Kwon, I'm going to OH Entertainment in the afternoon."

"Yes, sir."

I got up from my seat after finishing my phone call. 'I have to go to work, go to work.' I combed my hair and dressed in a suit, and looked out the window. It was snowing. After seeing the snow coming, I went out of the studio with a thick coat. By the way, Lee Ah-young was coming out from next door. She wore white pants, a light blue sweater, and a white parka on the outside. She looked like a big rabbit.

She looked at me, "Oh, hello." She greeted me first and was a little tense. Because of the last time's happening, I felt a little more familiar with her than before.

"Hello." We stopped in front of the elevator together.

She asked me, "Are you going to work now?"

"Oh, yes."

"Do you usually go to work at this time?"

Going to work at 10 AM was certainly not a normal situation.

"Ah… that's different then."

She nodded at my words. "Oh yes."

'What does this lady think of me? I'm having free time at work?'

But then, she said, "I like being the CEO of a company, too. you can go to work at your own time."

I looked at her in slight surprise, "How did you know?"

She answered my question briefly, "I saw the TV program…"

"Ah!"

There was only one TV show that I'd ever been on: Meet A MBE Super Ant.

'Did she see that? It's not a program that a young woman would watch.' I was thinking about it, and she kept asking, "No matter what, it's better for an individual not to invest in stocks, right?"

Come to think of it, she was quite rich, perhaps looking for other investment sources besides real estate. Then, she might have watched the TV program.

I told her, "Yes, I don't recommend it. Especially, Ah-young, don't you major in fine arts ?"

She was surprised at me this time, "How did you know?"

"I've been in your home, though I didn't mean it."

She opened her mouth wide, "Ahh…"

We knew each other better than we thought. In the meantime, the elevator opened in front of us and we both got in. I spoke to her as I pressed the ground floor for the parking lot, "A stock may have a fifty percent winning rate in a field that one knows well. As for arts, we don't have any listed stocks. Stock doesn't suit an artist very well."

She said with a slight smile at my words, "Well, I'm not even called an artist yet. I'm, I'm still, I'm a graduate student." She even brought up her personal story.

"Oh, I see." So, I also brought up a story I was curious about. "Who's that white girl, then?"

"Oh, she was a roommate in college."

'Roommate? Was that why she knew her password? Come to think of it, there are a lot of people like that. Maybe she's such a person who has the same password for homes in the U.S. and Korea.'

"I graduated from college in the U.S. Then I came to Korea for a while… I went out to have fun with her, and… that's what happened."

'As she graduated from college in the US, she is not a foreigner with black hair.'

"Yes, I see."

In the meantime, the elevator reached the ground floor and we went to our cars.

"Yes, then." She bowed her head to send me off.

"Yes." I also raised my hand goodbye."So, the capital increase by issuing new shares for Blue EM will be completed sometime next week."

Blue EM was a case of being short of money, so we decided to make a third-party paid capital infusion. Blue EM, which had been struggling with lack of funds even when it was trying to start a new business, received our funds while it was in a tight corner.

"Yes, I'll… I'll talk to you in private, but the Blue EM…" I saw the report that Vice President Jang brought in. The CEO's name was Oh Seong-gyun.

"Tell CEO Oh Seong-gyun to reorganize the service centered around Fantasy War Ground's launching this time."

"Well… it will be not bad for synergy between subsidiaries."

"There's synergy between companies, but just tell them it is going to be a big hit. Tell them to get ahead of European TV. I'll tell Kai Games to give full support."

"Yes, sir."

"And the next one is…"

Jang took out the second report he was holding and put it in front of me. It was a bit of a stiff issue compared to what we'd been talking about before, whether it was a game or an Internet broadcasting.

"It's an issue both for the federal government and the Seoul City Government."

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I accepted the documents that Vice President Jang brought: one from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the other from the city of Seoul. I turned them over. There were stories like 'Extended Employment for Youth by Small and Medium Business' and 'Youth Unemployment Countermeasures by Seoul City.'

By the time I read all of them, Jang said, "You know, with youth unemployment becoming a problem recently, policies are pouring in."

I suddenly remembered the last talk I had had with Secretary Seo. What about Min-seo, a junior member of the business startup club? She wanted to meet the boss because she couldn't find a job. Everyone was in a difficult situation because they didn't have a job. It seemed to be getting worse and worse, even though it was directed at me.

"If we hire a young man, they will give us benefits… It's not a bad suggestion: do good work, and get a subsidy. Vice President Jang, what do you think of?"

"I think it's good, but…"

"But?"

"They are not very many people needed in the company. That's why I asked the boss."

I looked back at the report and said, "What do you mean they are not very many people needed in the company?"

"It means we don't have work for them right now. Maybe it's just a waste of labor charge. It's also a problem when training new employees."

"But it's a good cause. If we join them, we might be able to appeal to the government, to politicians."

"Yes, that's the case, but it's a matter of the cost."

I studied it with my chin up. It reminded me of the time when an investigation was conducted by the Financial Supervisory Service. I passed it without much trouble, but if anything was wrong, I might be in danger.

'Even if it costs… …if I think of this as some kind of investment too, I think it's not bad. The cost itself isn't much anyway, I can deal with it myself. It's worth it if we hire young people and make ourselves some credit, because we have to donate where the jobless are.'

I looked up at Vice President Jang and said, "This is… Let's do it."

"Do you think so?"

"Yes. Didn't you say that last time? In order to become rich in Korea, we have to be close to civil servants to a certain extent."

"Yes, I did."

'What he says is true. If we divide the economy into two categories, not like the canonical cohesion, the big axis is the government and the other is the market. They have no choice but to rub together in various fields. In addition, they say that they live on taxes, but because public officials also wield power, businessmen are forced to read their countenance. This will be about buying a favor without giving the politicians and the public officials money directly.'

"… let's make it hot. Don't pretend like we're getting a grant. Let's be at the top of the list, whether it's the Ministry of Employment and Labor or the Seoul City Government. So let's implant a good corporate image for the civil servants."

"Yes, sir."

"By the way, is there anything else you need when we add more people?"

"Oh, I think there's a space problem."

"Ahh…"

Our office, which was quite spacious when we first came in, had been expanding to a point where it seemed a little messy recently. I said, pointing up with my fingers, "Isn't it empty upstairs still?"

"Yes, boss."

"Then we'll rent there. Would that be enough?"

"We'll have empty space for a while."

I just thought about it and said one more thing, "Oh, and just in case, could you ask them how much the sale price of this building is, and if they're willing to sell it?"

'Even if this isn't the case, our company is bound to grow bigger and bigger. It wouldn't be bad to buy the building itself rather than making a fixed outlay on rent.'

"Yes, sir." Vice President Jang excused himself and left the room.

After he went out, I glanced down at the report he had brought. If we had ties to the political community, it might be helpful to pressure people such as Lee Won-jae of the Daewon Daily News and Director Tak Joon-gi of the Suyeon Group. I looked at the report with my arms crossed and turned to the monitor.

Come to think of it, now they might start the CBT. I knew the future roughly, but I still wanted to know what the direct evaluation was like. I searched for Fantasy War Ground and looked around the responses from game webzines, game communities, and famous game strippers. As it was a great hit, it was good for the whole.

– It's refreshing. I'm going to do this for a while.-

– It's fun. I hope there's no more lag.-

– As the above says, there is some server lag. I could do it without it. Since we're in the CBT, this is going to get better, right?-

I turned on the HTS and saw the stock price of Kai Games. The stock that used to play in the 1% range in the morning was around 4% by the time they were with the CBT.

'Okay, it's going well.' Kai Games' stock price had been rising ever since I had taken over. The reason for this was that even after receiving the volume of first major shareholder, the Chinese company, and third-largest shareholder Tak Joon-ki's in block deals, I had continued to buy more and more shares until my stake reached sixty percent of the shares, and so the price had risen more than thirty percent since my first purchase.

Of course, it wasn't a real gain for me, since I used my money to raise the price. By the way, as I kept buying shares, there was a rumor, "The major shareholder of Kai Games knows a great deal of good news to himself without anyone else knowing, and that's why he continues to buy." The strange rumor turned around, and the ants joined the buying spree and the stock price continued to rise.

'It's nothing, it's just that I bought it because I knew it was going to be a success… Now that the CBT has started, some of the game's leading players, who know the game well, must have figured out what the big news the major shareholder knows is: the game is really fun. Game players are all about fun. Watch out for Kai Games and OH Entertainment.'

It was becoming more and more true to say, "Pay attention to OH Entertainment and Kai Games."

'The problem is OH Entertainment…' OH Entertainment was the first stock I had acquired, but it continued to fall even after the acquisition. The drama that was tied up in China still hadn't unraveled, and with the exception of Oh Hyun-joo and Kim Jun-hyung, no celebrities had been able to achieve good results. Therefore, on the OH Entertainment Stock Bulletin, there were written many swears and complaints directed at Mr. Kwon, our company, and me in various ways.

-Kwon Oh-hyuk, you bald ass, you're an old man. It's like his management skills are like his hair numbers.-

-What are these boys, Invictus? Did they take over to pay for their dowry?-

-What is it that Han Sang-hoon is doing with his company?-

Of course, it wasn't that I didn't have anything to do. I was doing the People Search for the entertainers and prospects of the company every day, and giving the orders, "Do this for this guy and that for that guy." But I usually saw the news in 12 Months After, and gave the orders, so it took longer for the effects to be reflected in the stock price.

'The Idol Manager 108 airing, which is expected to be a big hit this summer, still has half a year left. The stock price may fall a little further by then. I don't like that. I want to be more famous.

'If I say, "This is going up," it goes up. And if I say, "That's going up," that goes up; I am going to be such a huge investor, so that when I hit "Han Sang-hoon" in the People Search, I'll have a better chance of coming out.

'Should I buy more shares of this stock then? In fact, whatever happens, the price goes up when someone buys it. My stock goes up when I buy it. So, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. My prophecy of 'OH Entertainment stocks will rise' can be realized, by raising the shares by myself.'

'Can I talk to President Kwon about this?' As it happened, the board meeting was scheduled for 2:00 p.m. today.

I picked up the phone and called Secretary Seo.

"Yes, boss."

"Call OH Entertainment and tell to President Kwon that we'll have lunch together at 1:00 PM, and then we'll go to the board."

"Yes, boss."Kwon asked me over the sizzling, boiling sausage stew, Budae Jjigae, "So, you want to buy more shares in our company?"

I looked around for a moment. There was no one around listening. "Yes. Originally, the shares of Do Chan-ki were a little small for a major shareholder. I am trying to increase my stake further in order to stabilize the management and boost the stock price… about ten percent more."

'This is a huge good source. If the general public hears it, they can sell their houses and sell their cars to buy the stock. If I had seen the news on future news, "OH Entertainment parent company, Invictus Investment, will increase its stake," I would have bought it right away. I've been trading stocks on the news, but now I will be a subject of creating news like this.'

"Shareholders will like it. Yes, I see, Boss."

Lifting some cooked ramen, ham, and noodles from the Budae Jjigae, and putting them on my plate, I said, "By the way, how many shares in OH Entertainment do you have now?"

"I have about 2.6 percent."

It was small. That was what he had left after he handed over OH Entertainment to CEO Do Chan-ki in the old days by taking some shares instead of cash. Of course, it was worth around three million dollars, but it was too small a share for a company-run president.

"Then, I think its okay for you to increase your stake before the company begins to buy its shares in earnest."

"Me too?"

"Yes, as you know, if we sweep ten percent of the market, the stock price will rise smoothly. It's like breaking news that only you and I know. It wouldn't be a bad idea to increase your stake now and think you're getting a bonus. If you buy it, you can say that you're responsible for management. It'll be okay to stock up on your annual salary and loans."

I spoke for him from the bottom of my heart; it was a 100% favor. Moreover, as I believed in him, I had set a pretty high salary for the CEO of a small company, so there was a chance that he had cash and high credit.

Kwon nodded and said, "Yes, I think so."

But his words were a little weak. I advised him one more time. "Of course it'll cost you the money you're saving for education, but make sure you buy it. If I put in an order saying 'Go!', Invictus Investment will start the buying in less than a week. You have to buy it before then."

But then, Kwon said, "Yes… but sir!" I looked at him, and he continued, "I'm single…"

I tried to pick up the ramen with chopsticks, but I was surprised and apologized to him. "Oh, I didn't know that. I'm sorry."

"Ha-ha, that's okay. At my age, it's normal to think I'm married."

He was about forty years old. I guessed I had a stereotype picture of him. I didn't say that anymore. I didn't know how he hadn't been married yet, but he also had a CEO title and quite a bit of money, so it wouldn't be difficult to marry. I was a little bit concerned about his baldness, but I was sorry anyway, I rolled my head around to change the topic. Come to think of it, there was something I wanted to ask Kwon. I carefully opened my mouth to what Director Tak Joon-gi said before he left our meeting. "By the way, President Kwon, the CKD where you were at in the previous years…"

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"When you were in CKD… were there any sexual offerings or something like that?"

I spoke softly. It was a very low and small voice, but when the words came out, Kwon opened his eyes wide and looked around. He was afraid there was someone listening, but I'd already seen to that when I was talking about stocks earlier. There was no one sitting around here.

Instead of answering my question, he said to me, "Why are you asking such a question?"

I grabbed the ham on my front plate and said, putting it in my mouth. "Someone's talking. He used to be offered sexual services by CKD, but now he is sorry since he doesn't get any sexual offerings," I invented deliberately. Actually, Tak Joon-gi didn't say that directly, but he was inferring that. When I brought up the story like that, there was a reaction.

"That's… that's…." Kwon blurted out his words and wondered what to say. As before, he had no talent for lying.

I said in a confident tone, "There were sexual offerings, weren't there?"

As I spoke, Kwon couldn't say anything. It was a silence to admit the truth, but that was not enough. I questioned him, "Are there still?"

When the word "still" was told, he finally opened his mouth, "No! No, it doesn't happen now. Never."

"Was there before?"

"I'm not sure if there was, but when our company was a subsidiary, they had a request. I refused until the end, but it's true that there was such pressure."

Thanks to Kwon's protection, it certainly seemed that celebrities belonging to OH Entertainment had been shunned, including Oh Hyun-joo.

"Is Do Chan-ki the one who asked for it?"

"We were a subsidiary, but we were still another company with a very different system. Do Chan-ki was the only one who could make such a request."

I recalled him in front of me during the negotiations. I frowned and said, "He was also being discriminated against for sexual reasons… he sent others to that place."

At my words, Mr. Kwon opened his eyes wider. Maybe he thought I didn't know that CEO Do Chan-ki was gay.

"Well, it's a common case. Black people who are discriminated against for being colored do slave rap. When they get hurt, they get to be annoyed, but it's human beings who easily bother others." Kwon once again remained silent. "Well, I see. Anyway. That's not happening right now, is it?"

"Mr. President, I can tell you that at the risk of being the president. There's been pressure now and then, but… I turned it down."

"Where does that pressure come from? Exactly."

"PD, senior press officials, or chaebols."

"Is there a Suyeon Group among them?" I said, thinking of CEO Do Chan-ki. But that was wrong.

"… there was no Suyeon Group." I thought it was odd, but he added a word, "But I don't know. Most of the chaebols… they usually contact us through their agents. Everyone is watching these days, they don't want to get hurt.

'Well… I see,' I nodded.

Kwon noticed my countenance. I didn't mean to blame him, but the atmosphere seemed to have gotten too heavy.

I said to him, "I see. I was just curious when I heard that story, but I'm glad it doesn't happen anymore."

"Oh, yes…"

I stood up and said, "Then let's go to the board of directors."

"Sure," said Kwon, as I stood up.

I said a word to him in case, "Oh, by the way, what I said about the stock… It's not official. It's not even fixed yet. Whatever you do, it's your choice, but… I never said anything."

Just in case, because I could be caught doing insider trading. I, of course, saw him only once during the hearing before the appointment of the president, but even that ended in suspicion, so I'd better be careful.

Kwon took my words as they were and said, "Don't worry. Mr. President. Actually… I recently bought an apartment and can't afford it. I've already got enough loans."

"Oh, did you?"

Then there was nothing to watch out for. I left the Budae Jjigae restaurant with him and walked slowly toward OH Entertainment, three minutes' walk from here. As we were on the way, a familiar van was passing through the alley we were walking through. The high black Mercedes van was Oh Hyun-joo's Mercedes.

"Oh, that?" I said, looking at it.

Kwon confirmed, "That's right. She's back from shooting 'The Running Star'."

"Oh, did Oh Hyun-joo appear in the Running Star?"

The Running Star was one of the national entertainment shows airing on Wednesday evening: a talk show with very high ratings. I rarely watched TV, but it was a program I watched.

"Yes, she went out with her fellow actors to promote a movie."

"Oh, I see. When can I see her?"

"She filmed it today, so it'll probably be out in about four weeks."

"Oh, I see."

Then it was time. The Benz van suddenly stopped on the side in front of us. Oh Hyun-joo got down from there and ran over to us, waving. "Hello, Mr. CEO and Mr. President!"

She always had a great look, a beauty that seemed to make the whole world beautiful, a beauty that shone with its own light. She ran to me like a puppy welcoming its owner and asked, "Mr. CEO, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I have a board meeting today."

She put her hands together and said, "I see!" As she seemed a little tense, it seemed that this was something good to her.

Kwon asked her, "What about the shooting? Did you do well?"

"It was great. The producers and MCs were so nice to me. I had a lot of fun filming without any pressure."

'There are four MCs for the Running Star, and all four are men. A man has no choice but to be nice to her by instinct. Her beauty is so magical.'

'Ah… the world is unfair…' I felt a little sad to see her beauty.

'The world is so unfair that someone may try to die, but if a woman is born with the same beauty as her, most of the men who exist in the world, and even women who are not jealous, are easily obedient.

'Perhaps it is more powerful than money. They say that if they show babies a picture of a handsome and beautiful woman, even the babies prefer them. I think everyone would like her.'

She stopped next to me and started walking in step with us. "What were you two talking about?

To be honest with us, we were talking about stock insider trading and sex offerings. But I couldn't tell such a story in front of her.

"Uh… I mean…" Kwon was caught off-guard here as well.

I replied, "We were talking about the board agenda."

We walked to the side of her van. Oh Hyun-joo's manager greeted me first, "Hello, Mr. CEO," and then greeted Kwon, "Hello, boss."

Oh Hyun-joo said goodbye to us there, "I'm going to go to lunch. I haven't had breakfast, and I'm hungry because I've been filming."

I opened my hand and said to her, waving from side to side, "Yes, goodbye."

On the contrary, Kwon gestured up and down, "Yes, go in."

"Yes, then, work hard," she said and got back in her van.

When I recovered my consciousness, there were quite a few people around me.

"Wow! Did you see her? It's Oh Hyun-joo, Oh Hyun-joo."

"Really. The real her is prettier."

There were also words about Kwon and me.

"Why are those people pretending to know Oh Hyun-joo?"

"Well… I guess he's a rich guy. Did you see the watch?"

"Which one?"

"The hairy one."

"Huh, is he her boyfriend?"

Come to think of it, there was a tax on her beauty, a tax for being famous. That was right. She almost got stabbed by a stalker… I thought of that time after a long moment and laughed."The strategy for the second half is to do this, so is there anyone else with something to say?" As the board meeting was going on, I raised my hand only once. About half an hour after the board meeting of directors began, I raised my hand and everyone's attention was on me.

"Oh, Mr. CEO."

"It's nothing much. There's the Idol Management 108 for this summer, right? I want to put a lot of our trainees in there."

"We've got two who will appear on that show."

Two? Two was too few.

"Aren't there more trainees? Try to find out who can go, and get as many as possible into the show."

The reason for my stubbornness was simple. I'd seen the news at least ten times in the entertainment category of 12 Months After. I'd never seen such frequent news in the entertainment category before. In other words, it would be a big topic that would hit the entertainment industry this year. It might be a good opportunity for OH Entertainment, which had failed to have a girl group hit in recent years.

"There are some girls who are not very good at it…"

"It's okay to be a little short on their skills. It could be an issue. Of course, I'm sure our board members have good eyes to see, but… think about it. How many people read a prize-winning novel in the spring literary contest, where professors are on the panel of judges? Instead, tens of thousands of web novels are judged by the number of views. Times have changed."

All the directors listened to me. I went on to say, "Consumers' assessment is more vital than professionals' assessment. I think this Idol Management 108 is going to be a huge hit. Of course, you'll need to raise their skills to the highest level before that, but then you'll have to leave them up to the public to evaluate. Singers… especially if they're an idol, they may not survive even if they are good at it, but only survivors are the ones who are really good at it."

The directors were not able to argue with me. It was because the idols they had produced in recent years had failed, rather than I was right; it was the main reason for them to be silent.

The director who was in charge of idol groups said, "Yes, then, we'll change our policy according to CEO Han Sang-hoon says. We will send out more trainees to Idol Management 108."

I now looked down at the report with my arms crossed. To be honest with myself, I didn't think much of it anymore. I'd seen the future news and I'd said everything I wanted to say. But this was just one thing I would do. OH Entertainment would be cruising this year.

[Idol Management 108, a trainee Lee Joo-hyun got into the top 12.]

[The rank of Lee Yoo-jin from Nove Entertainment is suddenly raised.]

[Idol Management 108 is about to confirm its debut members; who will be in the final members?]

'I've been watching dozens of these articles. By now, I'm sure there's a lot of correction news on what I just said on the way.'

I clasped the air a couple of times and opened my palms. It was as if the future were in my hands.

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I took turns watching the left and right monitors and quickly made fun of the keyboard. Hundreds of thousand dollars of stocks came and went in seconds, but I was now quite used to this.

'Hey, guys, just buy this!'

I looked at the account balance and the stock window. I almost sold out, but one account, which earned 40% and $1,200,000 from buying $3,000,000, was not close to the upper limit price.

It was lunchtime, but the sell order was pushed back. 'Then shall I just get out of here?'

I had just unloaded $3,000,000 worth of shares at the market price. The stock price was falling. If a big hand like me sold out a large number of shares, there was chaos between ants.

'Hey guys, well, work hard, then.' I turned off the HTS and got up. As always, my account was cruising. I had been earning between $30,000,000 and $40,000,000 each month in a stable manner. Thanks to this, even though I paid $10,000,000 in monthly subscription fees, my accounts had risen to $120,000,000. There'd been so much money these days that almost all of it was not even used. In fact, only about $30,000,000 to $40,000,000 was needed to play on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ.

'Of the $80,000,000 left… first of all, to buy the fourth and fifth companies, I am going to increase the capital to Invictus a little bit. Should I buy a building with what I have left… overseas options are still too much for me…'

I opened an account for overseas options and was practicing with about $100,000 in it, but the earnings were not as good as I expected. First, I'd had unhelpful news, rather than economic news, in the category of the World.

[An Indian man who hasn't cut his hair in fifty years.]

[Three Pandas were born in China.]

Secondly, even if they came out, they didn't reflect what they were in stocks.

[OPEC proposes oil reduction.]

[The U. S. presses China, the yuan's exchange rate is on the rise?]

This might be because there were so many market participants compared to the Korean stock market, and the variables were also complicated. But I practiced for now because I would need to enter this market in the long run. Before I went out for lunch, I turned on the calendar application and looked for stocks to go after.

'TBES NG'

"Well… earning surprise… Nature's Gift…" I knew, but I couldn't quite remember what 'TB' was in the front. What was it?

I stared at it hard, and soon I remembered. "Aha, the best! The best earning surprise of Nature's Gift."

I remembered. A month ago, that was what the Future News article said. It was the best earning surprise all the time. Nature's Gift was the number two health-functioning food company in Korea. Recently, sales of health-functional foods made by mixing red ginseng and several medicinal herbs were rising as they became hugely popular on home shopping. Gift sets seemed to have been selling like hot cakes in the last quarter of last year as Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving Day, overlapped the end of the year. So, in the fourth quarter of last year, they literally achieved their best sale record.

'When it comes to good sales, even if they hear not to buy it, they are willing to buy. Let's buy some today. What's disappointing is the total amount of their market capital. The total is only about eight hundred million dollars, so I don't think I can buy that many shares. Then let's buy about thirty million dollars, with a target profit of about ten million!'

I set a target like that, and then I made my own purchases and hung up a little more on the limit buying.

'Limit buying refers to buying and selling automatically when the market price reaches the condition I want. Of course, it's less efficient than what I do myself; if someone other than me sees the way I work, they will say, "What's this guy? How does he know the stock price in the future?" However, this is unavoidable. It's a secret that I have to keep to myself until I die.'

After buying a little bit, I caught sight of the stock price of Kai Games. On the third day of the CBT of the Fantasy War Ground, Kai Games' stock price was slowly rising. Maybe it was because of the ants who played the game and had an inkling that it would be a big hit.

I got up from my seat and left for lunch. Suddenly, I went into the Kai Games stock bulletin board with my cell phone.

– Fantasy War Ground. This is fun. I will buy more shares as soon as I get paid my salary.-

– The reviews are good and it has a good Gamer's Rating. It's a big hit.-

– It's been thirty years since I've played games, and I feel like this is it. Hold it tight!-

– The major shareholder bought a lot… Han Sang-hoon seems to be an able man.-

At last I saw an article praising me. I grinned at it. Then, in the meantime, a text message came in from Secretary Seo, 'Boss, two days from now, Ahn Yong-kyun, CEO of Blue EM will come to thank you. Please come to work then.'

I wrote back, strolling around Gangnam Station. 'Yes, I see.'"Thank you, Mr. CEO. I'll do my best not to harm your name."

"Yes. I hope you'll continue to do well."

"Yes, sir."

After he went out of the president's office, Vice President Jang congratulated me, too. "Congratulations, boss. This is the third acquisition."

"Thank you. You have done a good job, Vice President."

This was after the investment in Blue EM was completed. Only two companies were left until I reached Master Class. I said to Vice President Jang, "So there's no more to invest in?"

"I've been looking for something, but… there's no business that fits exactly what you want. They're all too big or too dangerous."

"What's left of the money?"

"Nearly none."

Invictus Investment had nearly run out of money to invest in Blue EM and buy a stake in Kai Games in the market. I stroked my chin and thought, 'If I get a higher grade, the benefits are good, but…'

Even now my personal account was stably earning money. Kai Games, invested in by Invictus Investment, would soon surge. I wouldn't have to overdo it or buy a company that was big enough to run with the seed money. It was all just a matter of time. It might take half a year.

"Yes, I see. Don't overdo it and look for it slowly. I'll give you a capital increase as soon as you find it."

"Yes, boss," Jang answered me and left the president's office.

'All right, so this is done… I'll make more money. If I have money, it's nothing to take over a company. It's a procedural matter anyway…' I turned on HTS thinking to buy more shares of the targeted Nature' Gift. I'd already bought ten million dollars worth of the stock for the previous two days.

'I'll buy another ten million dollars worth today. After the weekend… if I buy another ten million dollars by next Wednesday… The evening surprise news is coming up that day.'

A rough schedule worked itself out. I made up my mind and checked the stock of Nature's Gift in the stock window. Nature's Gift was undergoing some strong adjustments in the -6% range today, perhaps because of the fatigue, it had been up to for a while. It was a pretty depressing report card for the ants. Of course, I didn't mind. Maybe I was losing around six hundred thousand dollars today. But I didn't feel even a little emotional, because I knew it was not a big deal, and it was going to go up eventually.

'It's better to buy it cheaply when the stock price goes down.' I bought more shares, thinking that. But, strangely enough, the sell orders continued.

'Umm…?' I thought it was a little strange, but I kept buying more shares. To be honest, I was a little overconfident. After all the winning streaks, even I kept looking at the sell orders, I thought, Why are they selling their stocks like such a fool? Let's see. I'm going to buy twenty million dollars more from now on, and it will finally go up.' I thought so and I continued to buy the shares. I changed my accounts to buy and as expected, the stock price went up.

-2%. There was no stock that would not go up if I bought. There were not very many poker players as big as me in the first place. But then, about half an hour later, all of a sudden, there was more selling, and -22% of the time, the lower VI (Volatility Interruption) was caught at -30%.

'Uh?' I finally stopped buying, feeling a little queer. 'What is this?'

In the meantime, the stock price was at -30%. It had been pushed to the lower limit price, and the sales residuals had begun to pile up at the lower limit price. I already bought over thirteen million, so I had lost nearly four million dollars today alone.

'This… this is something happening.' I turned on the Explorer calmly. Even though four million was big money, this was also money that could be easily recovered in a day or two. Of course, it would be hurt a little if the thirteen million that I put down was blown away.

'A company worth eight hundred million dollars is not going to go bankrupt in a day or two…' I thought so and went into the portal site and searched for 'Nature's Gift.' Two or three articles appeared.

[A person was found dead after taking Nature's Gift Healthy Food.]

'Oh, my God.' Someone must have died from eating the healthy food. I touched my forehead. If this was it, I couldn't guarantee if it was a company worth eight hundred million in total.

'The earning surprise news is next Wednesday… In the meantime, I can't believe this is happening.

'It's like winning a Lotto, running for a bank and being hit by a truck. But this happens sometimes in the stock market. This is the bad news when I'm waiting for a signal, but someone hits me behind.'

"No, they have to write this up in the article of the earnings surprise!" In the future news, it only said, 'The best earning surprise of the fourth quarter of last year.'

I came back to the stock window with my lips pursed. The lower limit price was piled up to more than ten million dollars. This was the lower limit price, I had nothing to do.

'I am going to have to be a little bit more determined tomorrow, too. I might lose anywhere from a third to half of the thirteen million. Ah, I haven't been so alert lately… If it is the earning surprise news, it isn't a hundred percent good news.'

I watched it, reflecting, but I recalled the stock price that was being adjusted in the -6% range at the beginning of the market. Maybe a few people knew last quarter's earnings surprise. That's why the stock price kept going up… So, did some people know the bad news today, too?

I thought so. Come to think of it now, before it was announced to the press, someone had hurriedly disposed of their shares. I felt slightly offended by that thought. I went back to the portal site and looked for more of the death story. Now, 'Nature's Gift' was already hot enough to be at the top of the real-time search word list. I looked in the order in which the news came up. The first press to report the incident was 'Light Economic News,' but it was a familiar name.

This was definitely the company that first released an article with my name on it when I bought OH Entertainment. It was the company operated by Lee Won-jae, director of the Daewon Daily News.

I turned my eyes on the monitor and looked at my cell phone.

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"Hmm…" I watched the HTS. Nature's Gift was not thinking of coming out of the lower limit price.

'Today's not a good day to escape unless there's a correction or a rebuttal news! The loss must be fixed as soon as the loss is made. It would be better to try to recover from the loss quickly than to obsess over the loss.'

I picked up the calendar application again, and only a week after the sale of Nature's Gift, it was written with 'FMMULPSC.'

'FM Media's upper limit price on success in China…'

FM Media was a company that provided webtoons and web novels. It was not long after it was listed, but it was reported that its webtoons had become popular in China and it went to the upper limit price.

'Yes, this is confirmed to be at the upper limit price…' This one was comfortable and nice, too. I started buying it with the money I'd used to get into Nature's Gift. The loss would be made up here. I changed my target and bought FM Media. Of course, at the same time, I watched Nature's Gift sneakily. Since $13,000,000 of sell-order residuals were accumulated, it was worrisome. The stock price didn't even move from -30%.

I looked at it and I thought, 'By the way, how could she die from eating healthy food? A healthy person?'

'Health-functional foods are foods that literally assist health. It's a combination of red ginseng and some things good for health; it's not a medicine…'

And it was a little strange that she died after eating it. While I was trading the stock, I went to the portal site with a different window.

[Nature's Gift]

[Power Red V of Nature's Gift]

[Death by Power Red V]

There was nothing else to search for. Real-time search words were full of them on the portal main News. I clicked one of the articles in spite of my bitterness.

[A woman in her sixties died of septicemia after taking Power Red V of Nature's Gift.]

As usual, I read only the core keywords.

[Power Red V with red ginseng and probiotics.]

[Caution is needed as the ginsenoside of red ginseng can cause fatal side effects with similar estrogen effects in menopause women.]

[Probiotics are living germs that can disrupt the immune system or adversely affect the metabolic pathways.]

[She was known to have had diarrhea and blisters after taking it.]

[Death from septicemia. She had no other disease than high blood pressure and adult infirmities.]

I thought I knew the story roughly, but I still wondered if this would kill a person. Even in the article, it was said that the correlation was unclear.

[Red ginseng and probiotics have been designated safe foods and approved as health-functional foods. Also, whether any other substances have been introduced into the product manufacturing process should be closely examined.]

'Surely, it would be too much to conclude at this stage that she died from eating this healthy food. But stocks are essentially fed on dreams and hopes.'

It was true that the article was published today. [A death occurred after eating the health-related food from Nature's Gift.]

'If there is a clear correlation between death and health-related foods here, or if there is anything in the manufacturing process that shouldn't have gone into it; either way, there is a lower limit price. Once the compensation for damage is paid, no one will be willing to eat the company's products for the time being.'

'It's too big…'

I searched again for the first article to report this. What was slightly strange was that it was Light Economic News, one of the Internet news companies run by Director Lee Won-jae.

'This might be…' If it was as usual, I would have passed it, but when I knew the background of this person, I was a little suspicious. 'If there's a chance to make tens of millions of dollars from a single story… He's a man who can write this.'

I clicked on the article in the Light Economic News. Here, too, was the story of the side effects of red ginseng, the dangers of probiotics in the front. It only added at the end, 'It is being questioned. It's possible. It seems so.'

It used ambiguous expressions like these to make it look like she died after eating this.

'100% sure, it was written with that sort of nuance.

'It's just in case the company files a lawsuit. If this article is not true, there will be victims: first of all, Nature's Gift company itself and its shareholders, including me. So in case of a lawsuit, they will say, 'We only had reasonable doubts as a media company,' and they created a loophole to escape. Even if it turns out to be a lie later on, the media company itself will not suffer much damage.'

That was what happened in the '80s when the beef tallow scandal of Samyang Ramen happened. At that time, Samyang Ramen used beef tallow instead of palm oil, which became a huge incident with reports that it was using industrial tallow.

In fact, it was often just beef oil for Koreans who enjoyed eating it, but because they did not eat it in the U.S., it was found to have been classified as industrial tallow and using industrial oil in the ramen. At that time, the incident grew into a wave and Samyang Ramen lost its market share.

I didn't know if the shares had been listed at the time, but if they had been, they must have gone down to the lower limit price. It was later discovered that the industrial tallow was deliberately used in the 1960s for people with insufficient animal oil consumption.

'They tie it up completely, and then they hit it with an out-boxing…' I now returned to HTS and saw the recent sales of Nature's Gift.

'Hmm?' I had deep doubts. Since about two weeks ago, the amount of short stock selling had increased considerably. According to the sales trend, institutions bought stocks, but foreigners sold a lot of shares. Ants couldn't get in on the short stock selling; in a word, it was the foreigners who sold. To be precise, they were people who used foreign securities companies.

'Are these pure foreigners? If they are black-haired foreigners…' During the two weeks of the short stock selling, the stock price went up. This was because pension funds and other institutions made large purchases.

'I'm sure they were told the performance of the company is great. Like me. The stock market is always like that. A crisis is an opportunity, an opportunity is a crisis. The bait of good performance seemed delicious, so they came in, but traps were all about it.'

I looked at the volume of the short stock selling, which was similar to the volumes sold by foreigners.

'They are a bait and an angler…' I picked up my cell phone and searched for 'Lee Won-jae.'

I'd tried to ask him once, 'Did you sell my name?' but I had quit. However, I would like to ask him this time, "What happened to this news? Is it a scamming stock?"

But it was also true that I didn't want to get involved with this guy. I felt sorry for him to call and ask, and I thought for a moment, 'Should I do or not?'

But then I got a phone call from Lee Won Jae.

'What is this?' I looked around with my cell phone, up and down. 'Is there a surveillance camera here?' I thought about that, but I got the call.

"Hello? Long time no see, CEO Han." His voice came over the telephone.

I replied with as much calm as possible. "It's been a long time since I saw you."

"How are you, CEO Han?"

"I'm always doing great. By the way, what did you call about?"

"It's no different… but I've contacted you because we have a good item on our side."

"A good item?"

"Yes, a good item."

In other words, there was good information for the media to sell. I looked at the HTS, and Nature's Gift wasn't thinking about moving, at -30%.

'Don't tell me… do you mean this thing?' I said as if I didn't know, "What item do you have? You seem to have a good item, if you've called me."

"It's because it's a little big. We can't put it all in our basket. Ha-ha-ha!"

It must be a lie that they couldn't put it all together. They could use a loan if the information was 100% correct. This guy doing this meant that my financial strength, enough money to twist the stock price, was needed.

'If news and money were combined in the stock market, it can have a tremendous effect. News gives probability, money gives reality.'

"Please be a little more specific. That way, I'll know whether I'll buy something or not, right?"

"If you spend about twenty million dollars, you can expect to get six million dollars in expectation. The price is twenty percent of your profit. Would you like to buy in?"

Upon hearing that, I quickly drew up a scenario, on the premise that what he was selling was Nature's Gift.

'I spend twenty million dollars… they can't go on the short stock selling because it's at the lower limit price. They'll tell me when to buy and when to sell. They'll write a good article and send it out. That's it. Because it is at the lower limit price, they'll get 30% if it goes back to the right price.'

"Can you wait a minute? It's a big deal and I'm worried."

"Yes, sir."

Once I had bought time like that, I rolled my head, thinking hard.

'First of all, they make the short stock selling and leak fake news to make it go to the lower limit price. Then, they collect the shares again from the lower limit price and send out the rebuttal news. This is a scenario which they can make money twice, once at the above and the other at the bottom. If this happens, the vulnerable ants will be left stranded.'

'If the ants hear that a woman died, there's no ant that wouldn't want to sell, as the sell-order residuals are piling up at the lower limit price. When they manage to sell their shares, they will say that she survived, and the stock price will go straight to the ceiling. So the result is that ants are at a high point when they grab the stock, and if they sell, the story of flying is established.'

I thought, 'What should I do? Someday a rebound will come. Should I wait until then? But I didn't know when that would be. Then, should I climb up when the rebound comes?' They will sell it as good, then they will say, 'She really died.'

'Perhaps the man who set up this operation has already won the prosecutors, police, and other media over to his side. Surely this is a web woven by others. It's too much to try anything more here.

'Then, shall I negotiate with them? To make a few hundred thousand dollars?' But that's not very good, either. Anyway, I'm earning tens of million dollars if I am not in this. It's no big deal to earn tens of million dollars from scamming a stock on someone else. I don't want to do that paying a 20% commission.'

I said to him, "No… I don't think I need to."

"Oh, really?" answered Lee Won-jae in a slightly regretful tone. "Then I can't help it. I'll call you back if I have something good next time."

"Yes."

After the phone call, I called Secretary Seo right away and said, "Seo Secretary."

"Yes, boss."

"Are there people who filter out wiretaps?"

"Yes."

"Please contact them and have them scan my office and our entire company."

"Yes.""Clean. From the president's office to the bathroom… Everything."

"Oh yes, thank you for your good work."

'It must have been a coincidence, then. Just when I was about to call, I got a call from him.' I looked outside, thinking that way. In the distance, the sun was moving west, through the woods of the buildings. I looked at my cell phone and Nature's Gift ending at the -30% limit.

'The fisherman was fishing… and I got caught in a hook while passing by? It's not very big, even if it costs me thirteen million dollars. I just need to shake it off and get up, but the problem is… I'm in a bad mood.'

I thought, 'How can I drag the angler into the sea?'

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I leaned over the sofa and watched the TV. On TV, a reporter was explaining something in the background of the National Assembly.

"… the controversy is likely to continue in the future."

I looked at it and thought, 'Well… it's time to be on the air.'

Sure enough, the announcer had a chance. "Healthy functional food good for the body, you've all heard it before, haven't you?" It was on the air. The announcer went on and on. "But recently, a suspected case of dying from eating healthy food has shocked consumers. It was covered by a reporter, Jeon Gook-hwan."

The screen changed and someone's interview video was released right away. "She was a healthy person. The doctor said her blood pressure was a little high, but other than that, she was healthy…" He was the husband of the dead woman.

A reporter wearing glasses said, lifting a long red bottle, "But after she drank this, she died?"

It was a mosaic but I'd been looking for it all day and I could see it right away; it was Power Red V of Nature's Gift.

"She has itched all over since she took this, and then… suddenly…"

"Mrs. Hong, who was normally healthy, but when she was sixty years old, buying and eating this health food led to her death. One month after taking this product, she felt itchy, and she had an unknown cause of blisters, and died of acute septicemia."

"The manufacturer countered right away."

"Our company produces all of our products on the recommendation of the Food and Drug Administration. There is no evidence that she died from taking this product."

There was also an interview for a doctor in a gown, saying, "… the chances are low. However, reports of side effects have been reported, and the FDA notes that it could cause serious diseases such as fungal infections…"

The news seemed to last almost a minute.

"… the police have launched an investigation to determine the exact nature of the case."

When I saw it, I thought, 'Even tomorrow, I can't sell the stock because it was just on the eight o'clock news. Thirteen million is small money for me, but big money as well. I'm not sure if this stock of Nature' Gift is being manipulated, but if it's a scammed stock, I'll probably lose at least half of the money. If I can make the short stock selling, I'll be able to do it.'

'When the true cause of death by taking this health-functioning food is revealed… In fact, it wouldn't be strange to delist it directly…'

But it wasn't very likely. I found it very difficult to reveal such a pharmacological causal relationship, as I had been looking for the news either before or after work. If this red ginseng and probiotics had an element that could kill people directly in the first place, it wouldn't have been sold.

I drew a scenario. 'Once the crash is right, because a person died and the news came out… But it's going to be an easy game to play if they make a crash here and then buy the stock at a cheaper price and give it a reversal. Now that the police investigation has begun, there will be a series of articles about it: once they push it with negative articles, later they will give it positive articles and a reverse, the situation will turn around."

'It's a matter of timing… but the knives are held by the press covering this. When are they going to use the knives?'

I thought about Director Lee Won-jae. 'That guy…' To be honest, he was not very likable. Although he was not as cruel as Director Tak Joon-gi, treating ordinary people like dog pigs, he was a bit creepy in that he made profits by the manipulation of information.

'Maybe he could've been a good colleague… I know the news in the future, and this guy can send out the current news. If we worked together, we could create a lot of synergies. However, there are too many problems working with this guy. The biggest problem is that he is basically not reliable.

'I just want to buy this company and get out of here. However, the Daewon Daily News is an unlisted company, not a company which can be bought by money, as it was formed from the flow of capital from a large company in the first place. It would be more likely I could buy the parent company. That will cost me a billion dollars.'

I was thinking about it and suddenly I thought, 'Should I buy a media company? A major media company, such as the Daewon Daily News, may be too much, but the Internet newspaper, a newspaper company that has a clean record, is likely to be affordable. Major companies, whether in the U.S. or South Korea, are all slightly connected to the media, trying to manipulate public opinion to their advantage.'

Our company would continue to grow, too, and I thought we'd better keep a friendly press company on it. In addition, if I got to Master Class, I would get the 'Undercover Report' skill.

I didn't really know how it worked, but the Customer Service said, "Our correspondent is very competent." Even if I were to grasp the information, wouldn't it be good for me to have a media channel to report it through?

Come to think of it, most of the news I would be looking for would be special editions, a lucky press that would accept all such special editions. If it could be, it'd be better to be mine, too.

I texted Secretary Seo right away when I thought, 'Okay, fine, then…'

– Get in touch with Vice President Jang and tell him to check out media companies which we can invest in. I'd like a listed company, but it would be okay for even a non-listed company.-

The reply came quickly, -Yes, boss.-

'If I have a media company, it may be able to rig my future news a little. For example, a month from now, if there is the news, "Ballad singer Koo Jung-chan and girl group Chae So-young's love affair," it could explode a week later. Sometimes, it could send out the news, "CEO Han Sang-hoon of Invictus Investment has another big investment hit this time" or a compliment. Then the possibility of Han Sang-hoon appearing on the news in 12 Hours After will be increased…

'Okay, then, do it…'

I picked up my cell phone and looked at the clock. It was 8:53. I didn't know time was passing by because I was watching the news. I stood in front of my computer and prepared to receive emails.

[D. 12 Hours After]

[D. 12 Days After]

[D. 12 Weeks After]

[D. 12 Months After]

As expected, the four emails came. But when I looked at them, a sudden thought came into my mind, 'Maybe… I can set the timing.'

'If I can tell when an angler is going to lift the fishing pole, I can make up for the loss. What's needed to set the timing is names. First, Nature's Gift owner, Won Young-sung, has no response at this moment, but chances are high that he will open his mouth in a police investigation or something like this.'

If I tracked him, something might come out. I put his name on the list first, and the names of the Minister of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, and so on. I would be putting these names on the 'People Search' in turn from time to time.

[The health functional food that has been issued is harmless…]

[There is little correlation with this death…]

From these people's mouths, if such stories came out, it would be the time of the rebound.

Lee Won-jae had said, 'If you spend twenty million dollars, you will get six million.'

'It means that if I spend a few million dollars more on top of my thirteen million, I can make up for the loss, averaging down… Of course, it may be better to just make sure of my loss in a cool way and focus on other stocks, but it's a matter of pride. I haven't lost a single time before, but this time I will lose.'

'OK, let's look at the situation and think about the averaging down of the stock. If this is a real scammed stock… I can't fuck myself up alone.' I watched the news, thinking that way.

In the news of 12 Months After, I got a good news story. [AS Jin, the defense industry has been taken over by Susung Electronics.]

'All right, it's good for Susung Electronics to take it over. Big hit… the date is September 10th next year.'

On the calendar, I wrote my initial thoughts like that way. 'ASJ TO SE'

'Next September is a little far away, but then this stock will benefit me greatly.'

I lost money today, but I felt comfortable with the thought that I got one of these big bites.

'Yeah, this is a little unfortunate, but anyway…' I closed my mailbox, thinking that way.

'Then what am I going to do today? Shall I watch a movie? I've been a little busy lately, so it's been a long time since I watched a movie in a private theater. After watching a comedy movie I can laugh at, the stress will dissipate.'

I took a can of beer out of the refrigerator and tried to pick up a cookie and head to the private cinema.

But then, strangely, I heard someone pressing down on my studio keypad.

'Who is it?' I was a little creeped out. I was the only one who knew my home password. But someone was pressing the keypad to enter my studio.

'A thief? Or…?' There was not much money in my studio. I didn't like luxury goods in the first place. If I had a valuable thing, it was a hundred thousand dollar high-end watch. Come to think of it, that might be enough. I walked around, wondering if I could use something as a weapon.

Then, outside, a voice said, "Why isn't this working?"

As soon as I heard the voice, I could tell what was going on. "Huh, this lady, really…" I put the beer I was carrying on the shelf and opened the door.

Outside, Lee Ah-young looked at me with her eyes slightly lifted and said, "Uh? Oppa next door? Why are you coming out of my studio?"

'Why does this lady go around like this all the time when she can't even drink?'

I told her, "This is my apartment, yours is next door."

"Huh?" She looked next to herself. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry, oppa," she said in an embarrassed voice.

She said that she was sorry, but I didn't think she would remember. I looked at her just to see if she got in. She stumbled in front of her door as if she was going to fall down, before she managed to enter her password.

'525720*' I spoke out the password. To be honest, I couldn't forget it, because I had it memorized.

She was lucky enough to type her password correctly. The door opened with a click.

When I saw it open, I started to close the door and go back into my apartment. But then she collapsed on the spot with a thump.

'Huh…' I waited a moment for her to get up. But she didn't stand up, her hair all over the ground like that. It was January now, and cold in the hallway. Even so, there might be aftereffects if she slept here. 'She could have a stroke…'

It would not be so beautiful to think of such a beauty having such a thing happen. I was forced to approach her and get her up. She was drunk and clung to me.

'… I can't help it.' I entered her studio with her back and legs in my arms, the so-called "bridal carry." I could feel a strong sense of deja vu. No wonder. I did the same thing last time. But there was a difference from last time: there was no friend watching Ah Young.

I laid her down on the bed in her bedroom. She still had a flamboyant beauty and a sexy body. The strings of my reason faded slightly.

'If I think about it, she came to my studio first, right? Is this… does she like me?' It was a strange theory.

Suddenly, she brought her hands to her eyes and muttered, "Mom… Dad…"

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I looked at her in amazement. Now I saw teardrops forming on her long eyelashes.

'Is she crying?' It made me feel guilty to see her cry. I didn't do anything, but I had a funny idea. I said to her, "Ah-young, are you awake?"

She was crying without an answer.

'What the hell… suddenly crying for her mom and dad?'

I looked back. There was a tissue on her dressing table. I headed to the dressing table to get it. But there was a picture there. First to stand out was the young Ah-young, wearing a school uniform. Unlike now, she had no makeup on her face. She looked so innocent.

I had thought she had a little face surgery. She hadn't.

There were people behind her who looked like her mother and a father. Her father was handsome, and her mother was also a beauty. She was smiling happily between the two, holding a bouquet of flowers. It looked like a high school graduation ceremony.

I caught a few more details in the picture: her father's watch and her mother's ring. It made me sulky. This lady was definitely born in a rich family. I looked at it and took some tissues and went to her side. Her face was about to look slightly funny as the mascara spread sideways in tears. I called her name.

"Ah-young."

She had no words. In the meantime, she seemed to have fallen asleep. I wiped her tears away with a tissue. Then I muttered unknowingly, "Don't cry… why do you cry? You are super glamorous, a pure beauty, a rich girl with about ten million dollars, but you're crying so sadly. If you cry, all Korean girls should cry."

That was how I felt. I'd been rich since I met a strange fate, but my life had been a series of hardships before that. Even if I tried, I couldn't get out of debt. It wasn't until high school that I got help from my parents. To face the world alone was the fate of ninety percent of men and women in Korea.

'Even a rich girl might have a hardship sometimes, but…'

To be honest, if she didn't have to suffer from money, what else was wrong with her? Having wiped away all her tears, I covered her with a blanket. I was sure she was pretty stuffy in her out-of-the-way suit, but it was her job. I didn't have the confidence to take it off like her friend before. No, to be exact, I was not confident of taking just that off comfortably.

'I'll go then.' After work, I tried to get up from the seat. But then she grabbed me by the sleeve.

"Don't go."

I tried to think as objectively as possible. But no matter how much I thought about it, the woman in the bed was telling me not to go.

Again, a strange scenario was drawn, and then she said one more word, "Daddy."

The word made me calm down. 'This time, who are you calling daddy?

She must be mistaking me for her father. I quietly took off her hand that was holding my sleeve.

'I'm not your father.' I just turned around and left her alone. I didn't think what the animal in me would do if I stayed anymore, so I went back into my apartment before I could think of doing anything more strange.

My beer and cookies were still on the shelf. I picked them up. The beer was still cold, as it was just taken out of the fridge. If I thought about it, it took about three minutes to come back from her room. It seemed to be about three hours. It looked like I'd been to a room of time and spirit. Instead of going to my private cinema with that cold beer, I just came over to my couch and opened the cap.

A little foam came out with the sound of carbon dioxide. While drinking, I thought about Lee Ah-young from just minutes ago. It didn't look so good that a grown woman cried out for her mother and father. I didn't know the details.

'Have they divorced? Is that why she told me not to go, because her father abandoned her mother? Or… '

Instead of watching a movie today, I spent time drinking beer on my own, thinking up scenarios.The next morning, I received the future news at home without going to work. I filtered out the money-making news quickly, and in the People Search of 12 Hours After, I searched for "Han Joong-gil", the current head of the Food and Drug Administration. A piece of news popped up.

[Chief of Food and Drug Administration, Han Joong-gil ordered to investigate all of Nature's Gift Products.]

I screamed, "This is it!"

This was him. He was the key man who could give a reversal to Nature's Gift. I searched for this person's name on the news in 12 Days After.

[Chief of Food and Drug Administration, Han Joong-gil, visited Osong Bio Research Center.]

There was other news. It was a little disappointing, but it was not bad because it gave me a clue to the reversal. If I did well, I might be able to paint the stock price before the forces could draw a picture. In the news of 12 Weeks After and 12 Months After, I also searched Han Joong-gil, as systematically, the future news might come in the news of 12 Weeks After and 12 Months After. But nothing important came up. Of course, the probability was low.

'In the end, this game will be over on the news of 12 Hours After or 12 Days After…!'

I turned on the HTS while thinking about it. With the rhythmic ticking of nine o'clock, Nature's Gift was at the lower limit price again today. I got hit by -30% twice in a row, so my money invested was cut in half right away. So far, I met only the upper limit price, but as I was with the lower limit price twice in a row, I certainly felt it. Stocks was a scary game.

'Is my loss roughly seven million dollars?' But I didn't do the calculations in detail. Instead, I focused on buying FM Media, which would go to the upper limit price soon time.

'I can make it again. I can make… fifty million dollars this month… No, let's make sixty million dollars.' I was so enthusiastic about the sale with that mind.I walked into her bedroom with Lee Ah-young in my arms. I felt a strange sense of detachment.

'What is this? I've done this before.'

I tilted my head and put her on the bed. She was smiling in a good mood. I looked at her and thought, 'Are you laughing because you like it after drinking? You don't even know I'm suffering because of you?'

Angry, I picked up the quilt and roughly covered her up and tried to leave. But then, Lee Ah-young grabbed my sleeve, "Don't go."

I looked down at her coldly at the words. 'I'm not your father.'

But this time she opened her eyes and told me, "Oppa, don't go. Play with me." And then she pulled me into her own bed. I lost my reason and I stripped her of her clothes as her friend had done. She black bra over her pale skin. I took off my coat and tried to run over her. By the way, at that time, I was suddenly hungry.

'Why am I hungry in this situation?' But I was really hungry, even with the half-naked Lee Ah-young in front of me. I was so hungry that I opened my eyes. I could see the ceiling.

"Ah."

'I've done this before, for some reason…' As I thought about it, I picked up the cell phone sitting at my bedside. It was 5:30 p.m., which was usually dinnertime. After selling out by 3:30 p.m., I fell asleep for a while and slept until now. Somehow, it was a dream that left me with regrets. No, to be precise, yesterday's regret came out as a dream.

'Uh… I should forget it. Let's go get dinner. I'll look for some Nature's Gift news while I eat.'

I got out of bed and changed into a light suit. But then my apartment bell rang.

My parents, Secretary Seo, and the owner Lee Ah-young would ring the bell. The first three would call me before they would come. So, it was Lee Ah-young who was pressing the bell. I looked at the door for a moment.

'Does she remember yesterday?' Come to think of it, it wasn't as bad as the last time as she was, because she came to her apartment by herself.

'Does she remember something very strange?' If she did not look at the whole story but just put together the short stories, she might have a huge misunderstanding.

'No way…!' I opened the door at the same time. Sure enough, Lee Ah-young stood with both hands together.

She greeted me as usual. "Hello." She didn't seem to really misunderstand as her voice was calm.

I received her greetings in a dutiful manner. "…Yes, hello."

She hesitated for a moment and told me, "Well… thank you yesterday."

I told her, "Ah… do you remember?"

She said, making tongs with her thumb and index finger, "A little bit, frankly, I can hardly remember… I feel like I saw you yesterday, too."

I laughed inwardly, '"You" again? Yesterday you called me your dad.'

Whether I thought that or not, she said, pointing to one side of the hall with her finger. "So I saw the recording of yesterday…"

I glanced over there. Come to think of it, there was a CCTV at the end of the hall, facing the entire corridor. Everything must have been recorded in the CCTV: she pressed my password on my apartment, could not get in, pushed her own password, and fell asleep on the spot.

The CCTV probably kept track of me hesitating and leaving her room quickly. There was nothing to be misunderstood. She bowed her head and said, "I think I've given you another excuse."

I looked at her for a moment and nodded, "It's okay. Neighbors have to help each other."

She shook her head and said, "No. This is the second time… I'm sorry, I don't have anything to say…" she admitted as if she were really sorry.

I drew out my words carefully, "Well, I don't want to tell you what to do, but try to behave yourself a little bit more. It's not good for a woman to be walking around drunk on her own. I don't think it's going to be good."

As I said, she said with her hands together, "I'm sorry. I rarely drank alcohol when I was in the United States… I recently came to Korea and made friends."

'Aha, Korean-style drinking culture is not adaptable?' I spoke to her politely in spite of the thought, "Yes, I mean… you should drink as much as you can handle. From now on."

She said, lowering her head, "Yes."

I thought it was done at this. I tried to close the door.

But then, before the door was closed, she told me, "Hey, I'd like to ask you something."

'What? Does she remember something strange yesterday when I saw her in bed?'

Still, I didn't do anything wrong yesterday that would have stung me. I replied with my head tilted, "Tell me."

But she raised an entirely unexpected question. "Do you know a company called Nature's Gift?"

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I hardened my heart and looked at her for a moment. It was strange that she brought up a stock story all of a sudden, but it was also Nature's Gift! I replied, of course not saying that I had thirteen million dollars tied up in it, "Yes. I know that it's a stock that's plummeted recently due to rumors, but… Why?"

She stared at me, "That's…" She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Have you had dinner?"

I was just going out because I was hungry. "No."

"Then, can we talk over dinner? I'll buy dinner."

I couldn't refuse this beautiful woman when she looked up to me with her eyes wide. I was curious about her situation, and so I nodded, "Yes."

"Then… is there anything you want to eat?"

Originally, I was thinking about eating alone, such as Kimchi Stew or Sundae Soup, but I would have to change the menu, having dinner with such a beautiful girl.

"Salmon Sushi…" It was an inadvertent mention, but she got it right away.

"Oh, I know a restaurant where they are good at. Then I'll… get ready to go out. I'll see you in this hallway in ten minutes… no, fifteen minutes."

I nodded, "Sure."

She went back into her apartment, just like that.

I was lost in thought after closing the door. 'What is it? Why would she ask about Nature's Gift? Did she get bitten while she was doing the stock by herself?'

I thought she might be. Come to think of it, she talked about what I said on the air and talked about stocks for a while. At that time, I remembered having such a conversation.

"If you're not an expert, you'd better to not do stocks."

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

'Did she do the stocks alone after she had said she would not? After all?'

'Whether an expert tells them to do the stocks or not to do it, the person who is willing to do it is set on playing them.'

"Hmm… so she was upset to see the loss, so she drank…"

I came to my senses a little bit thinking about the scenario, but I remembered that she said, "Mom… Daddy…"

'Wouldl a woman who loses in a stock cry out for her mom and dad?' I didn't think so. 'Then, what the hell?'

I would hear it from her mouth in a minute, but it was hard for me to wait. I wandered around my room for a moment and suddenly realized that I was in a sweatshirt. Still, it was a date and I couldn't go out like this. I went to the dressing room and changed quickly, dressing for a date with a beautiful girl.

I came out of my apartment slightly earlier than the appointed time. Just as I did, Lee Ah-young came out of hers. She was in a stylish all-black fashion: black coat, black boots, and a black bag. Her face, on the other hand, was white, a stark contrast. She was usually pretty, but she was really beautiful, dressed in all her might.

Somehow my mouth didn't fall off, so I said, beckoning to her, "Let's go.""This way…"

I followed Lee Ah-young along the alley of Garosu-gil in Cheongdam-dong. I could see a restaurant on the side of the alley, a fish tank on the sign, which had the symbol for "Fish" in Chinese characters.

"There."

It looked luxurious at first sight. I walked in there with her. Meanwhile, five or six men in their twenties passed by. I felt that their eyes fall on Lee Ah-young naturally.

'Men are all the same. Unless they have their own woman next to them, they turn to beauty.'

'Wow, she is so pretty,' I could almost hear them shouting inwardly.

Then Lee Ah-young told me, "I'm glad I made a reservation. I called in a hurry…"

I said, nodding my head, "Oh, yes."

Now the men looked at me and had a gaze like 'Who's that guy? What's he dating a beautiful girl like that?'

'It's because I live next door, I muttered inside, entering the restaurant. When I entered the restaurant, a female part-timer approached me and asked, "Have you made a reservation?"

Lee Ah-young, who was following behind, said instead, "Lee Ah-young."

The female part-timer also paused for a moment after seeing her. I guessed even a girl was charmed by a beauty."Oh, wait a minute. This way."

Lee Ah-young and I entered a room under the guidance of the part-timer. Lee Ah-young seemed to have been here a lot. She picked up the menu and told me, "Here, this is delicious…"

She explained them one way or another. She seemed to have the taste for the gourmet.

"Then, I'll do as recommended by Ah-young."

"Yes, then." She called in the part-timer and deftly placed an order. "… please."

"Thank you."

After the order-taking part-timer left, I looked at her, and she looked at me. A moment of awkward silence followed, and she spoke first.

"Ah, I'd like to say thank you again. I'll buy this dinner, but I wonder if it's enough to thank you."

"Yes, that's fine. It'll be a bit of trouble if it happens again."

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry. I didn't know my drinking capacity."

"Yes, you should learn it. The culture of drinking is very different between America and Korea."

"Yes." She opened the conversation first, so I naturally spoke.

"By the way, why did you ask about a company called Nature's Gift? Did you buy the stock at any time?"

"No, it's not that…" She blurted out her words, and then said, "I was wondering what Han Sang-hoon thought about this crash."

When I heard that, I thought first, 'This is the first time I've been named… So far, such as oppa and daddy were only called.' But even thinking about it, I recited ordinary words on the outside. "I think… it's good value, but no matter how hard it is, there's been a death. It's worth a crash before it's factual."

She spoke with a nod, "I see… I see, but… didn't you feel like this… this was a manipulation?"

I was even more surprised than when I heard the name of the stock earlier. So I said, "How did you know that…?"

Then she opened her eyes wide and said, "That's what it looks like to the professionals, too, isn't it?"

I shook my head, "No, I'm not certain, but… I thought it was a little weird, but before the news came out, there was a lot of short stock selling. That sort of thing…"

She blinked for a moment, took something out of her bag and handed it to me. "Would you like to take a look at this?"

It was a small bag the size of a palm. I took it and checked its contents. There were three ID pictures in there. But there was someone I knew the face of. One of the three pictures was Master T, Director Tak Joon-gi of Suyeon Travel.

I thought as I looked at it, 'What, how does she know this guy?'

Besides, the other two looked familiar, too. I was sure I'd seen them somewhere. I looked at her.

Then she said, "Maybe this crash… was made by these people."

'I was thinking that way, too. How does she know this?' I hid that thought and hinted to her, "Who are these people?"

She said, pointing at each picture, "This is Lee Won-joon, Director of the Daewon Daily News, the successor to the Daewon Daily News…"

'Oh… this is Kaiji's brother.' I thought I saw him somewhere, but he was Lee Won-jae's brother.

She went on, "This is Tak Joon-gi of Suyeon Travel, a big hand at investment."

I nodded.

She pointed to the last person and said, "And this is Kang Ju-hyuk. He doesn't have a title, but his nickname is Newsmaker."

"Newsmaker?"

"Yes. He's really good at making news and raising and lowering stocks. That's why he's making a lot of money out of it."

I looked at the pictures and asked her, "Why are you telling me this?"

"I was wondering if there's any way to punish these people."

I lowered my eyes for a moment. I didn't like these guys either.

'But why does she want to punish these people?'

I looked at her and asked, "Why? You didn't buy any stocks of Nature's Gift… Do you have anything to do with this company?"

She shook her head, "No, that's not it."

"Excuse me." But it happened that the part-timer brought us some food and our conversation was cut off for a moment.

"Enjoy it," Ah-young said to me, looking at the fancy food that came out. "Then let's have dinner and talk. The salmon in this restaurant is really good.""Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

She walked out the door, accepting a receipt from the part-timer. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I ate something with other people's money.

"How was the dinner?"

"It was delicious," I said honestly. It tasted good, but it was a little small. It was a restaurant with a bit of female preference, so the amounts on the menu were small.

She knew it, too."A little bit small, right? For a man to eat."

"Oh yes, a little."

"Uh…"

We walked along the Garosu-gil for a moment towards the public parking lot where my car was parked. I waited for her to bring up the stock story again. She didn't talk more about the stock any more in the restaurant.

'What the hell? How does she know them, and why is she trying to punish them?' It was harder to bear and I tried to ask her.

But then, she suddenly stood up and said, "Oh, this bar is very good."

There was a strange restaurant, I could not tell if it was a bar or an eatery.

She said, "Would you like to eat more if you're still hungry?"

I nodded, "Yes, I would." Actually, I was going to go home and have another ramen.It was really nice inside. All those sitting around were men and women or people who were likely to be lovers.

This time, Lee A-young ordered again, "I want one Paella." However, she brought up the subject of alcohol in advance. "Would you like some wine?"

'You were drunk yesterday? But again?' But that idea passed in a second. A beautiful woman asked me to drink first, and I couldn't refuse. I nodded.

A sommelier came with a simple snack, gave a performance, poured the glass, and left.

She picked up the glass first. I followed suit. As I saw this, I thought she really loved drinking.

But after a sip of the wine, she suddenly said, "They are my parents' enemies!"

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The alarm rang, and my eyes flipped open. I had slept on the sofa and felt sick.

'I couldn't even sleep in my own room as I liked…'

I came to the bed muttering inside. Lee Ah-young was sleeping soundly on my bed, still in the all-black fashion she had worn yesterday, still attractive. Seeing her sleeping, there was no difference between her and an angel. I just wanted to slap the angel on the cheek.

"Gee…" I was looking down at her. Her cell phone began to ring inside the blanket she was covering, and the angel opened her eyes… then met my stare.

"Mommy!" She was greatly surprised.

I looked at her with my eyes wide and said, "This is the third time. You know that if you have three strikes in baseball, you are out, right?"

She looked around and told me, "Did I… did I get carried up yesterday, too?"

I nodded and said, "You really don't know how much you can drink. Your drinking capacity is two glasses of wine… maybe two or three glasses of Soju… It's about a can of beer. Don't go to a drinking party. If you're forced to, just drink cider."

That was true. Last night, she had just two glasses of wine and blacked out so much that she called me oppa.

She put her hands together and said, "I'm sorry. I usually drink better than that, but I thought I was more drunk with the atmosphere yesterday."

The mood was good yesterday until she had had a drink.

She got out of bed and tried to fold the blanket she was covering.

"Oh, leave it alone."

"But I'm sorry…"

"If you're sorry…" I was going to add something, but I changed the subject. "By the way, do you remember what I said yesterday?"

She said with her head tilted, "What did you say yesterday?"

"Yes, I said, "Don't dream of your revenge." Don't you remember?"

She was more surprised, "Revenge?"

I thought she had been completely blacked out. 'That was after she had a drink…'

I thought for a moment about what had happened last night."They are my parents' enemies. They're…"

I said to her in amazement, "Enemies?"

She hesitated for a moment, then emptied the wine from the glass in a gulp. It didn't seem right to her, but I refilled her glass, apparently because she wanted to be brave. The second glass would make her black out, and she kept talking about it. "Yes. Do you know… Go-young Food?"

I had never heard of it and I shook my head, "No."

"That was… that was my parents' company. It was a company that delivered food supplies to public institutions. It was great at one time and my father worked really hard. So it was listed on the KOSDAQ… and we were once well-off."

'Was her source of wealth a grocery store?… she says that she was once well-off… By the way, she lives well now, and she must have been doing really well back then.'

"But it was three years ago. Our company had a temporary difficulty because our major client went bankrupt. My father got some kind of deal at the time."

"A deal?"

"Yes, I don't know the details well, but I think it was some kind of deal with the company's stock price."

'Sometimes a major shareholder's help or at least approval is needed when conducting an operation for a scammed stock.'

"But my father refused because he cared more about his company and his employees than anyone, however…" She took a drink of wine once more.

'If I think about it, I should have restrained her at that point, but I never imagined she would black out to the point where she would become unconscious.'

"One day, however, one of the products we were supplying was found to contain deadly colon bacillus. The news went up as if it had been waiting, and my father's company was quickly destroyed. The stock price had plummeted, the deal had been cut off, and some investigation had started… My father couldn't stand it."

She gulped down the glass once again. "I should have been beside him… but I didn't know at all because I was in America. When I got home… the last words in the suicide note I saw were… 'Oh, my daughter, I didn't do anything shameful.'"

She tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn't. I quickly pulled out a kerchief and handed it to her. She wiped away her tears and said, "I heard about it from my mother later. The newsmaker came and tried to make a deal with my father, something strange started to happen when it broke down. But in the end, they did what they wanted. The company was kicked out of the KOSDAQ and quickly ruined. My mother was doing everything she could to protect her property, but… in the process, she found a tumor on her body."

She emptied the rest of her glass and told me, "Oppa."

I opened my eyes wide and looked at her. The word "oppa" came back.

'She's drunk.' But it was too late by then.

"I thought about it when you helped me twice before. This oppa is a good man. This oppa is trustworthy. Besides, you know stocks well, don't you?"

"… yes."

"So, avenge them, instead of me. Please take revenge for my parents. I'll pay for it with all I can."

I shook my head, "No, it's hard."

"Why?"

"Revenge is not an easy thing to do." I thought of a few scenarios and shook my head once again. "Don't forget your revenge. They're… they're far more rich and powerful than you are. I know you feel bitter, and want to avenge your parents, but you'd be better to file a complaint with the police or the prosecution."

"That's not possible. At that time… my parents asked for help from the police and the prosecution. But they didn't help at all. Rather, they were swayed by the media and treated my parents as criminals."

I listened quietly, then said, "So, it's hard. If they're… I'm sure there's quite a bit of a connection. So give up revenge.""You told me all yesterday about your parents… the stories then."

She said, incredulously pointing to her chest, "Did I?"

"Yes."

"Whew," she sighed. "I was just going to ask you how I could punish them…"

"I heard it anyway and I'll tell you again… Don't dream of revenge. It's hard."

As I said, she lowered her eyes for a moment and said to me, "… I know that."

It was a little pitiful to see.

She looked at me and bowed her head, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I really won't drink again."

I nodded, "Ah… yes."

She bowed to me and left my apartment. I laid down on my bed after she went out. 'It's comfortable here, too.'

There was a little trace of her perfume left. Suddenly, I thought, 'This is the second time… and I wonder if she's swearing about it like a eunuch.'

But it was not my style to do something with a drunken woman. She wouldn't want it, either, and I thought about her for a moment, 'I understand the situation, but it is absurd for her to seek revenge.'

I thought I had about ten million dollars left over. If I hit this financier, Tak Joon-gi, with the money, it was like hitting a rock with an egg. Considering the power of the politicians, businesses, and media which were helping Tak Joon-gi, it might be surprising that she had the word 'revenge' in her mind. She went to study abroad early, so she might not know much about Suyeon Group… or their power and status…

'I don't want her to lose money for doing something weird.' I was thinking about it, but I remembered my situation.

'Oh, my God,' I got up like a spring in bed. It was no time to worry about others. I had $13,000,000 tied up in the stock, but now it might be $6,000,000.

'I can't believe I lost seven million dollars.' Seven million dollars was not small money, although it could be earned back from other stocks.

'I have to get out of here somehow…'As soon as the news came at 8:55, I went straight to the People Search. Then, in 12 Hours After, and 12 Days After, I wrote the KFDA chief, Han Joong-gil. It came up on the news of 12 Days After.

[KFDA announces the results of the Nature's Gift investigation.]

I clicked on it with my eyes open. Then I quickly skimmed the news.

[The KFDA, which launched a full-scale investigation into Nature's Gift, announced its findings at 2 p.m. on Sunday, following the death of a customer taking Nature's Gift product last week.]

I swallowed and looked down. If there was a bad result here, I would sell the stock as soon as possible and get out of here. Whether or not the result was manipulated, I had to consider that the forces of the short stock selling would end this trade.

Unlike the Go-young Food of the parents of Lee Ah-young, if there was a good story, it could be said that the forces would take a profit at the low price once, and one more profit at the high price.

'Director Lee Won-jae offered me such a deal and it's probably the second case, but…'

It was as expected.

[We couldn't find any direct cause of septicemia, and we can't blame Nature's Gift for careless management.]

This was the second case! If it was the 23rd, it was this Friday. 'The announcement is at 2:00 p.m. this Friday; shall I average down until then?'

I turned on HTS to check the stock price of Nature's Gift. It had been hit twice by -30% in a row, and it was still trying to start today in the -6% range.

'The point is where to fall down, and where to get up… In fact, it should be said that the operational forces are making some calculations. As they see how bravely the ants are coming in with a large amount of money, from above, then they stop or raise it. So, by no means are ants allowed to make a profit from the scammed stock, except for the lucky few ants; even most of them play in this game and end up losing money.'

But I had a sure card. Positive news from public organizations at 2:00 p.m. on Friday would certainly bring a short-term rebound.

'Then let's pay attention to it then…' I turned to other stocks as I thought about it. 'Then I have to work hard to make up for the loss…'I quickly broke my vow. Kai Games, which I had spent nearly eighty million dollars on, was starting at 6%.

'Oh, they must be in the middle of the CBT…'

I believed everyone was just beginning to appreciate it. In fact, six percent was also a surge, but it was just a small start, considering how Kai Games would grow. If my expectations were true, Kai Games would give me a return of nearly a thousand percent within this year. I went to the Kai Games Stock Bulletin.

– The ants who are selling now! Did you sell after you tried this game? It's a masterpiece compared to everything in the last ten years. All the reviews of the testers are great. They usually criticize domestic games, but this is different.-

– Han Sang-hoon has had a great eye, since he suddenly bet eighty million. It has kept going up.-

– I hear he's a genius investor, and I think it's real. I'm going to hold it in trust with CEO Han.-

Seeing that made me feel much better.

'It's super blue-chip, too. It may be shaken for a moment, but it must continuously go up.' At the same time, as I was thinking about it, Kai Games' stock price went up to 7%, 8%, and the 9%.

I looked at it and thought inside, 'Yes, this stock will upgrade me to one more level. Come on, keep going up.'

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I hit my finger at the table and looked at the monitor.

[FM Media 30%]

The FM Media that I bought was going straight to the upper limit price as it was on the news 12 Days After. It would be a scene where ordinary people would applaud and cheer, but for me, it was a daily routine, so I sat in silence. I only thought of it to the point.

'Well, this has restored all the losses I had at Nature's Gift.'

I turned to Nature's Gift. Since the story of the death had occurred, Nature's Gift had hit -30% on Monday, -30% on Tuesday, and yesterday, Wednesday, it was over-exploited and rebounded by 5%. But it was fighting again today at -3%.

At this moment it went down to -6%, and then -3%; it was completely up and down. At the ant level, it was a stock that could never be predicted. But it was obvious that someone was smiling at this: the architect of this scammed stock.

'Master T? I'm not sure, but… maybe.'

Tak Joon-gi was not the only one scamming in our country. However, there would be few people who could afford to plot against a company worth eight hundred million dollars. Only Director Tak Joon-gi or someone of that rank would be able to do it. Suddenly, I searched for 'Go-young Food'.

[Intestinal hemorrhagic colon bacillus was detected in the Go-young Food product delivered to the school.]

[Angry parents went to Go-young Food to protest.]

[Lee Kang-san, president of Go-young Food, left a suicide note and hung himself.]

[Procedure to abolish the listing of Go-young Food.]

There was a lot of bad news. When I looked it up, there was a Go-young Food chart still showing. It went public in 2010 and was delisted in 2016. In 2013, its market capital reached $200,000,000.

'I don't know much, but their family assets are at least thirty million dollars, and if they have more money, could be as high as a hundred million. The real estate they have now is definitely not shabby…'

Before the delisting, the company was moving in and out of the $100,000,000 range before the news broke.

'I can't believe they delisted the company of the market capital at a hundred million. Their gains must have been substantial.'

I came back and saw Nature's Gift, and all of a sudden the stock price which played at the minus range suddenly surged to 10%. I looked at it and thought, 'Should I sell it now? If this is the case, the losses can be fixed at about half price.'

I took the mouse cursor to the sell button and held it back. This rebound seemed to say, 'Is it painful? Sell it now. I'll make up for some losses.'

It looked as if it was beckoning. I was probably the one who had gotten bit the worst. I had bought $13,000,000 on the news of the earnings surprise.

'The more I think about it, the angrier I get.' I didn't know who these guys were, but I was angry at the thought of them taking my money.

'I'll see you tomorrow, you bastards…'

I put the cursor back.

'There will be a definite good news tomorrow, news from the Food and Drug Administration. This is news from a state agency, which there is public confidence in, so there must be a rebound. It means that I can sell it at a better price than now. If I get to average down on good timing, I may come out with a profit.'

'Yes, let's wait until tomorrow, no matter what the price is today…'

I turned off HTS, thinking about it.Friday. I slowly read the news at 8:55 and sold FM Media gently at the start of the market, 9:00 a.m. The stock price started at 16% on the news that the martial arts novels serialized on this site will be adapted to games and dramatized in China, but I began to sell the stocks without being more greedy. I had bought more shares than initially scheduled with the idea of making up for the losses I had had at Nature's Gift.

'I'm sorry. I'll only eat this much.'

20%, about to hit the ceiling today, the stock price fell on my selling spree. Some ants fell out in astonishment at my selling position. Seeing it, I stopped the sale and waited for a while. The rest of the residuals would be sold in the afternoon, or next Monday. After this sale, I moved back to Nature's Gift. Nature's Gift was playing in the -1% today. I watched it carefully.

'The result will come out at two o'clock in the afternoon. The forces who have scammed the stock will one hundred percent already know the result by connections to the Food and Drug Administration, and then there will be a rebound. At that time, I will get to average down.'

I was thinking about it. But around eleven o'clock., the stock price suddenly began to fall by eight percent.

'What is it?' I searched for Nature's Gift.

[A second victim was found after eating the product of Nature's Gift]

[Breaking News: The report of the second side effects of the product of Nature's Gift.]

"What?" I shouted, surprised. I clicked on the article.

[A forty-year-old woman, Shin, suddenly has a faint fever with dizziness.]

[She is known to have taken Power Red V recently.]

[It is known that she was hospitalized after her examination.]

The second victim, but it was not really big news.

'No, no symptoms are written, but she was hospitalized?'

But it certainly was news that was going to make investment sentiment worse. The news was from Catch News, a medium-sized Internet news company.

'… if they are given money, they'll write a story for it… even if it's not the line of the Daewon Daily News.'

And this second victim, Shin, identified only by her surname, could be easily hospitalized by manipulation, since the first victim was dead. I looked at the stock window, -12%. No matter how much it was, Nature Gift was still a company with a market capital of four hundred million.

'If they put someone in the hospital and move forty-eight million dollars…'

There was nothing they could not do. I could tell by looking at the Go-young Food case that those who scammed a stock were people who could easily kill a person for money. -16%, -18%, I thought as I watched the stock price continue to fall.

'Isn't this the last ant-fooling thing they want to do before it turns upside down at two o'clock?'

I recalled the proposal that Lee Won-jae had made to me: 'If you spend about twenty million, you'll have six million in profit.'

The time might be right now to receive the item. Thinking about it, I ventured into buying. Stock prices went down -20%, -24%, with almost panic selling, but I was calm and modest. I bought in small quantities, but when I was trying to get the shares, there was another one who came in and took it. The stock price began to rebound without falling further on my and his buying. -22%, -20%…

'This… this guy?'

I tried to buy up the shares with a handful, 'Buy two million dollars worth.' When I ventured on betting big, the selling stopped for a while. But at the same time, at -18%, someone took nearly a million dollars worth.

'That's him!' It was heavy pulling, and I was starting to buy competitively with a buyer who I didn't know. -16%, -14%, -12%.

'It's very… very clear it's an operation.'

There was no need to watch any more. I kept buying stocks and the stock price continued to rise after our two big hands made large purchases. It went up to -6%, -2%. In the end, the stock price had risen back to the level of just before the news of the second victim came out.

I stopped buying here for a while, to manage the risk I might not know about. Looking at the clock, it was 11:30 a.m. I watched the stock price move, breathing for a moment. The stock price was taking a short break near the no-change range. I waited for a moment with a buy-order at -5%.

'It's going to be two o'clock soon… The stock price will rebound…'

I watched it quietly. The stock that had just been violently shaken was idle for more than half an hour. I picked up my cell phone and went to the stock bulletin board without taking my eyes off the stock window.

– What the hell is this? It went down and went up.-

– I got fucked by a single blow today. It's a totally scammed stock.-

– It just dropped off as soon as the news came out, and the main driver of the forces is driving badly. Hey, main driver, let's eat together.-

'Usually, the number of comments on the stock bulletin board is the same as the index of stock price spikes. So is the intensity of the comments.'

– I've been a shareholder for three years and I can't stand this any longer. I'll report it to the FSS.-

'Some say that, but frankly, it is very unlikely that an operational force will be captured. In the first place, there has to be a victim, and there is a media outlet reporting it. It is difficult for the FSS to prove how the stock price was manipulated.'

I suddenly remembered what Lee Ah-young had said: He's a newsmaker. The picture she had showed, with a dry figure, long and raised hair, piercing eyes with lateral lines, and pale skin.

'He was like some kind of lizard man…'

I watched the stock window as I thought about it. Today's lunch was pizza. When I traded stocks, even a rich man like me couldn't eat properly.

'What the hell is money?'

But it was hard to do anything else right now with tens of million dollars at stake.

'I'm going to have the best dinner tonight when this is over.'

I watched the stock price with that promise to myself. It was around 2 p.m., the appointed time. At 1:54 p.m., the stock price suddenly began to soar, 8%, 12%. 16%. There was no news yet, but the stock price would go up first.

'I feel sorry for the Korean ants.'

Most ants probably wouldn't even know if the FDA announced it today. Even the fast-informed ants would not know about the ministry's announcement. They could not know the result, unless there was some personal acquaintance with the FDA. The stock price hesitated for a while, at about 22%. Then at 2:00 p.m., when the news broke, the 30% upper limit price rolled up. I watched it with my arms crossed.

'I bought a little over ten million dollars this morning, didn't I?'

As I had roughly calculated, it was in the range of profit-making. I had succeeded in averaging down. Now I had to think about when I would get out of here. If I thought simply, it had to go a little higher than it was now. As it hit the lower limit price twice, and there was a rumor once… the product image was already gone and consumers wouldn't buy it.

The public only remembered the story of the day when an incident happened, and not the story of the days afterwards. If later on, they say it's not fair, Nature's Gift was already imprinted on most of the public as 'a health food that a person ate and died.'

'Then, even if suspicions are cleared completely, they cannot sell it.' Thinking about it, I began to sell moderately here. This was a spider's web that someone had laid out anyway. If I was caught, I should be satisfied with my safe return.

But since the biggest fish survived, the guys who ran the operation must have been pretty fucked up. As the press and the KFDA had been working together, they must have done a lot of work designing this.

I had lost nearly ten million dollars early today, but I had made a slight profit now. Therefore, those who ran the operation missed out on ten million, right before their eyes. I sighed in relief, and they sighed in regret. But even though I got out safely, I didn't feel good.

'These guys… I don't know exactly who they are, but if I have a chance, I want to make them cry. If I have a chance…'

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I looked out of the window. The green buds were coming out one by one through the ragged branches. I looked at it all and declared, "It's spring!"

Secretary Seo, holding the steering wheel, agreed, "That's right!"

Time passed and it was March, springtime. I opened the window to enjoy the warm spring sun. But rather than the good feeling of the warmth of the spring sun, the displeasure acridness of smog hit me. I closed the window right away.

"Ah, I think the smog is too much these days."

"That's right."

"Is there no way we can solve it?"

"Wouldn't it be a Nobel Prize if we could?"

"… that's right. If I had a company like that, I'd invest my entire fortune. I'm sure it would hit the jackpot."

Upon hearing the remark, Secretary Seo said in a slightly funny way, "Three hundred million dollars?"

I said, looking at Seo's round face in the rear-view mirror. "Hmm? Three hundred million dollars?"

"Yes, three hundred million dollars. That's what it said in yesterday's article. It's three hundred million dollars in the boss's fortune."

"Really?"

"Yes. Haven't you seen it?"

"No, when did that happen?"

"I texted you yesterday, and I said you had some news in your name."

Come to think of it, I had a text message yesterday. It was while I was eating with my sister and my parents.

– Boss, there's an article with your name on it. I'll send a link.-

I just looked at it and forgot. I picked up my cell phone and searched for Han Sang-hoon in the search window. Then I moved on to the news section.

[An Assemblyman, Han Sang-hoon made a bitter speech to the tyrannical presidential office of the Blue House.]

As expected, he was the first to appear. National Assemblyman Han Sang-hoon was still working hard. He was rather outspoken in his words and actions and was popular with supporters as a delightful and refreshing member of the National Assemblymen. Of course, people on the other side said, 'His conduct is not neat and he is not qualified to be a National Assemblyman,' but by his actions, public awareness was growing.

[Does National Assemblyman Han Sang-hoon hold the power of the party? There are even news reports that he could appear as a party leader.]

'Hmm…' scrolled down, thinking. CEO Han Sang-hoon, not National Assemblyman Han Sang-hoon, was hung at the fifth article.

[Kai Games' Fantasy War Ground has been a big hit, and it has surged in the last few days.]

I clicked on the article.

[Kai Games' Fantasy War Ground is gaining popularity, as it has broken the record of simultaneous users in a day. In the midst of the recent boom in Battle Royale genre games, the company also topped the number of simultaneous users on the global game provider platform Steam, beating all its competitors.]

First of all, the game was a big hit, like the future I had seen. If I went to a PC room in Gangnam, most people were playing Fantasy War Ground from Kai Games, and sometimes even I did. I dressed my character in pretty clothes, and if I spent my money on my company's game, I would take this and that, and it would come back to me, like a payback.

[… the stock price of Kai Games responded to this. It has been rising rapidly since the open beta test. It is Han Sang-hoon, CEO of Invictus Investment, who is smiling the most. CEO Han Sang-hoon, who took over Kai Games from a Chinese investment firm late last year, has increased his stake to sixty percent through in-market purchases after absorbing other major shareholders' shares.]

The other major shareholder here was Master T, Director Tak Joon-gi. He might have thought he sold his shares at a good price, but now his stock was almost four times higher than back then. I didn't know for sure, because I didn't have a chance to meet him, but I was sure he was going to be very upset, because the shares he had sold at seven million dollars were now worth thirty million dollars.

"You don't play games, but you said you were playing games. Does that make sense?" I kept scrolling, making a sarcastic sarcasm that Director Tak Joon-gi wouldn't hear.

[In total, Invictus Investment's current stake is valued at $264,800,000, and CEO Han Sang-hoon, who owns 100% of Invictus Investment, is said to have more than $300,000,000 in assets, including his other companies OH Entertainment and Blue EM.]

Ji-hoon seemed to think that my fortune was three hundred million after seeing this last sentence. Of course, this did not include the money in my personal accounts.

"By the way, who wrote this article?"

It was an article about me, but I didn't even see where it came from. I scrolled up and looked up who wrote this article. This was from the company of Kaiji Lee Won-jae, Director of Light Economy News. I saw it as I pulled my chin.

Well, actually, it was news that would come out. Fantasy War Ground's big hit and Kai Games' surge was a good piece of material to write, but it troubled my mind a little bit as it came from this company.

'He's a black-hearted guy.'

I wondered if there was some strange intention behind it. I said to Secretary Seo, "Did they get in touch with our company when they sent this news?"

"Yes, they did. They were trying to write this article and asked me to review it. So I read it and it didn't have a bad story to tell. I told them to write it."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes."

I turned my head out of the window and nodded, "… Okay."

"What's wrong? I read it and it was good. Boss?"

I shook my head and said, "No. you did a good job."

Secretary Seo thought he did something wrong. But he had only carried out my order faithfully: 'If the news with my name on it isn't very bad, let it go.'

I wanted to be more famous.

"By the way, how's the acquisition of Oracle News going?"

"Vice President Jang says it will be finished by the end of the month."

"Umm, it that so?"

Oracle News was a small to medium-sized Internet news company.

At my order, 'Get one media company we can invest in, not to sort out whether it is listed or not,' Vice President Jang brought me the lists of some companies.

There were a lot of companies on the list, probably because of the hustle and bustle of Internet newspapers these days, and I picked a news company that was as clean as possible. That is, as neutral as possible without the influence of big companies or anyone else.

Oracle News, which meant a prophet, was a bit strange since I'd become the owner who received the future news. Perhaps Oracle News would send out a little 'future prophecy' news to match its name in the future, by an anonymous contributor who hid his identity.

"But not that, uh… no progress on the acquisition of another company?"

"He says there are no sales. I wonder if Vice President Jhang is picky about the terms…"

"Well, then I'll have to say that he should relax the terms, not to take care of the synergy, but just take it over if there is a decent company."

"Will you?"

"Yes. I've succeeded in making this investment. I'll be a little aggressive."

I decided to buy two companies to qualify for Master Class, even if they were rather expensive. The assets of Invictus Investment were going to be over three hundred million dollars, as was used in the article, and I was rolling around a hundred and fifty million. To be exact, there were less than fifty million in my personal accounts. I was earning enough money now, but if I were to upgrade here one more time, I'd have to upgrade to a higher grade, as well…The car stopped for a moment at the intersection of Shinnonhyeon Station. It was almost at my apartment.

"So what else is our schedule for this week and next week? Is there another thing I'll have to come to work for?"

"You don't have to come to work… but you have to go to Seoul City Hall."

"Hmm?"

"I told you last week. There's an award ceremony Seoul City wants to give you next Wednesday."

"Oh, yes, you did. Will the ceremony be at Seoul City Hall?"

"Yes."

I said, putting my fingers on my head, "Well… I didn't expect to get a prize at my age."

Our company recently received an award, as it had been selected as a model case for the Youth Job Creation Project hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. It was none other than Joo Sung-won, the incumbent Seoul Mayor. It was a funny coincidence that I had made a lot of money on the theme of the Seoul Mayor in the past.

Vice President Jang had said, "As you may know, even if I do not have to say it, current Seoul Mayor Joo Sung-won is considered the top candidate for the next presidential election. His approval rating has been rising even more recently."

Mayor Joo Sung-won's approval rating had risen further recently. I didn't know whether he was doing well in municipal administration or not, but it seemed true that the rumors that had made the whole nation shake during the last Seoul mayoral vote last year were rather beneficial.

"Please meet him and make sure to open a relationship with him. Mayor Joo Sung-won was reportedly surprised at the CEO's investment performance, and more, at your age." Jang told me, 'If you want to succeed in Korea, you have to be close to politicians to some extent."

He seemed to say even more under his words. Frankly, I didn't like the fact in itself, but in reality, I couldn't help it. I didn't want to be held back by government officials and politicians for nothing, either in investment or in business.

'Well, I'm going to go say hello, and I'm sure I'll have an acquaintance with him… I don't know how he'll help me later. Who knows if he will be president two years from now? It's a good start. We'll meet as an award-giver and an award-receiver.'

While I was thinking about this and that, Secretary Seo drove the car into our parking lot.

"Well, you did a good job."

"Don't mention it! Goodbye."

I got out of the car and took the elevator. My apartment was now something I was quite used to, and it really felt like 'my home'. If I wanted to spend money, I might be able to move to a place like a luxury villa in Seocho-dong, or a rich town in Hannam-dong, but I felt most comfortable paying rent here.

Ding-dong!

At the sound, I came out of the elevator and promptly ran into my landlord, Lee Ah-young. She had jeans and pink knitwear on, and was holding a big bag containing picture materials. She looked like a graduate student at a college of art.

I bowed my head first and said, "Hello."

She, too, bowed slightly to me and replied, "Hello!"

'It won't happen again'. As she had said, after she had slept at my apartment before,

she had never been so drunk again.

"Are you going to school?" I asked her briefly.

She said, "Yes," and passed by, leaving the word behind.

'Well, she begged me for help, but I didn't do anything for her, so did she get upset?'

But there was no way I could help. There was a rather intense encounter, but we now felt like we were back in an ordinary relationship.

'Well… maybe this is normal…' I entered my apartment with such a thought.

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Outside the window, I could see Seoul City Hall, which looked like a wave spread across the wide lawn.

"Ahem." Reflexively, I adjusted my voice and arranged my collar. In a few minutes, I would meet Joo Sung-won, one of the most popular candidates in the presidential race. I'd rarely been nervous lately, but now I was a little skittish. The car Secretary Seo drove headed towards the parking lot of Seoul City Hall.

But in the meanwhile, Secretary Seo looked out the window and said, "Wow, that's the same car as the boss's."

I turned my head and looked over. A Bentley Bentay was right next to our car. It was the same kind of car as my baby. Only the black color was a little different.

'A three hundred thousand dollar car…' It was a car that no one could run easily. I tried to sneak a look at the car through the window, but the shading was so thick that I couldn't see inside.

'Who is it?' The moment I thought about it, the car pulled ahead of our car and drove into the parking lot first. I asked Secretary Seo, "Is there more than our company that is receiving today's award?"

"I think there are about four of them?"

"That must be a president's car for someone else."

"Oh, I think so. Come to think of it, no one can easily drive the car like that." Secretary Seo, who had driven into the parking lot, asked me, "Shall we go, boss?"

"Yes." I started walking with Secretary Seo after we got out of the car, when a slightly familiar voice was heard in the distance.

"Who is this?"

I looked over there. To my surprise, there was Master T, Director Tak Joon-gi standing by the black Bentley.

"I did not expect to see you in a place like this, CEO Han."

Next to him, I could see the giant bodyguard I had seen last time.

"Oh, yes, it's been a long time." I forced myself to smile and say hello to him.

He came up for a handshake, and I complied. "How are you? I've heard a lot about you from the news and from the people in the industry."

"Oh, did you?"

"Yes, especially the Kai Games is amazing."

He brought up the story of the Kai Games with a smile on his face. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not. It meant that even if he said so on the outside, he was burning inside. The stock price of Kai Games was up twenty percent more than last week's gains, exceeding four hundred percent in gains.

'Oh, yeah, you feel uncomfortable.' I thought so on the inside, but laughed on the outside. "Yeah, well, I thought we'd make it good, but… it's been more successful than expected. As you know, a movie or a game should be a good time, shouldn't it?"

"Ha-ha-ha, that's right! You're very lucky, CEO Han."

After I spoke with some humility, he turned it off as luck. It must have hurt his self-esteem that he sold his shares cheaply.

'Yes, you think so, you idiot.' I nodded as I thought. "Yes, I am. By the way, Director Tak, what brings you here today?"

"Oh, I'm here to get the prize today. The Youth… something." He turned his head and saw the big secretary.

The man said, "It's a Youth Employment Campaign, sir."

"Oh, that. That." He wasn't a representative of Suyeon Travel, he was just a major shareholder. He had the title of director, but I didn't know exactly what he did. Maybe it was just a title for the founder's grandson, but he was here for the prize.

'Aren't all these awards given to the representative? No, maybe… Maybe these prizes might go to the Suyeon Group.'

"Let's go, then. It's nice to meet you like this, CEO Han."

"Ha-ha-ha, yes." I went up to Seoul City Hall with him, with some slight discomfort.

"Oh, good to see you, Director Tak."

"Who are you?"

"This is Koo Chan-yong of the A Solution. We met before at an investment presentation."

"Ah… I remember. You were in Internet security, right?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you for remembering me."

'Oh, shit.'

Before meeting Mayor Joo Sung-won, Director Tak Joon-gi was quite popular among the businessmen who were appointed to get the prize. A white-haired man with a completely shaved head also came to bow his head.

"Hello, Director Tak, I'm Go Soon-gil of Jangmun Construction. How's your father?"

"Yes…"

'To be sure, the influence of the chaebol on our country is enormous. If the nation's total market value is eighteen hundred billion dollars, half of that is nine hundred billion dollars, said to be the total value of chaebol affiliates. When they try to do business, they have to be connected to a chaebol. Director Tak Joon-gi is supposed to be treated like this just because he was born with the surname Tak.

'It's not fair…'

Meanwhile, a woman with a neat business look approached and said, "CEO Han, and Director Tak, come this way."

The five winners followed her into the mayor's office. Inside, Mayor Joo Sung-won was waiting for us.

"Happy to meet you, everyone."

Mayor Joo Sung-won was quite handsome, seeing him in person. He had a big nose and a big mouth and usually had a smiling face. I thought he looked like a popular middle-aged trot singer in the picture, but he was more than that.

'Well, they say that a politician is not much different from a celebrity.'

"Come here, please," he beckoned to us and said.

Before he could say anything further, the beautiful secretary introduced us one by one.

"This is Director Tak Joon-gi of Suyeon Group."

Mayor Joo Sung-won also opened his mouth right away when he heard the words 'Suyeon Group.' "Oh, you're from Suyeon Group! Nice to meet you."

Director Tak Joon-gi also bowed to him. "Happy to meet you, Mr. Mayor."

'He's not a man who will bend his head to anyone… He acts like a king everywhere, and he seems to bow before power. Considering the relationship between former presidents and chaebol owners, it is somewhat convincing. Every administration has a close company and a non-friendly one. The political inner story is unknown, but a company's rise and fall are determined as a result of its closeness and intimacy.

'They say that he is the asshole of the Suyeon Group, but he is quiet here.' While I was thinking about this, it was my turn.

"This is Han Sang-hoon, CEO of Invictus Investment."

Mayor Joo Sung-won, after hearing my name, said, "Ahhh, CEO Han Sang-hoon." He shook hands with me more firmly than before. "You're amazing for your young age."

"That's too much praise," I replied modestly.

"You're from a poor family, aren't you?"

"Ah… Yes."

"But it's great that you have built such a great fortune. We're from the same hometown."

"What? The same hometown?" I thought of my hometown Chungcheong-do for a moment. 'Is this person from Chungcheong-do?'

But he said, "I'm also from a poor family. Ha-ha-ha!"

The laughter was clear and cheerful. It seemed to be coming out of pureness that was not like a politician. I shook his hand with a smile.

After meeting with the mayor individually, we had an award ceremony inside the mayor's office. If it had been a school day ceremony, students would have been the audience, but now reporters were the onlookers. Mayor Joo Sung-won took the award document and handed it to me, and I looked at the camera, holding that.

The cameras flashed. After the award ceremony, we had time to eat together. We had pizza and spaghetti together at an Italian restaurant near Seoul City Hall.

'Get as close as you can get.' As Jang advised, I talked to Mayor Joo Sung-won as much as I could. I didn't know if Mayor Joo Sung-won came from the same hometown, but he talked to me throughout the meal, as if he favored me.

"Then, CEO Han, what do you think will happen to our economy?"

"It's not going to be easy. I think the competition between China and the United States, our biggest trading partners, is going to get worse…"

Asking about our economy, not about the Seoul administration, he surely had a big dream to be a presidential candidate.

"Well, that's a long shot. I hear politicians say that it won't last very long because of the political elements in the United States."

"No, in small terms it will be, but it is certainly going to be a long-term one because it's a matter of 21st-century supremacy, beyond economic matters."

Mayor Joo Sung-won was very interested in my words, so I gave out as much knowledge as possible.

"Over the next year, in fact, the pressure from the U.S. will intensify until China gives in with the white flag. The U.S. is bleeding, but it's booming right now, so they're going to try to beat China to the top even if they have to use their physical strength."

It wasn't just a prediction, it was from 12 Weeks After and 12 Months After, a mixture of what I had read on the news. Therefore, someday, he would say, "CEO Han Sang-hoon said that… It really fits." There would be times when he would think about it over the next twelve months.

"Well, then it won't be easy for our country, either."

"Yes, but at the same time, a crisis is an opportunity. In the process, our country will also have a chance."

After lunch, Mayor Joo Sung-won said goodbye to us, "Thank you again for your cooperation in our campaign. Goodbye, then."

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor."

"Goodbye, Mr. Mayor."

Certainly, the power of the Seoul Mayor seemed to be enormous. I also looked at him eye-to-eye until the end. When I saw him laughing at me, the quest that Vice President Jang had given me, 'Stay close to the current mayor of Seoul, the next presidential candidate,' seemed to be finished completely.

'All right, next time we meet, I can pretend to know more.'

While I was thinking about it, Director Tak Joon-gi greeted me. "It was nice to meet you again after a long time, CEO Han Sang-hoon."

"Yes, Director Tak, I agree." I also returned a formal greeting to Director Tak. But, when I said goodbye, the way he looked at me was a little strange. It was like a snake's eye for prey, something creepy and sticky.

'In some ways, he is an unpleasant guy.' I walked toward the parking lot where Secretary Seo was waiting, thinking about that.

"You're back, boss."

I replied, loosening the tie I was wearing. "Yes, let's go. I pretended to be nice in front of the mayor, and I'm tired."

By the way, then, Seo said, "Boss, there's a reporter here who wants to interview you."

As he spoke, someone appeared behind Secretary Seo.

"A reporter?" I looked at him in surprise.

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Behind Secretary Seo, a middle-aged man appeared. I stared at him with a dryly; he had long, raised hair, sideways slanting sharp eyes, and pale skin. He looked just like a lizardman, a lizardman. I tried to think of his name for a moment. I couldn't remember the name, but I did remember the nickname Lee Ah-young had told me: Newsmaker.

I was thinking about that, and he extended me his hand and said, "Nice to meet you, CEO Han. I am Kang Joo-hyuk."

Just at that moment, I thought of that name: Kang Joo-hyuk.

"Ah… Yes." I held his hand and shook it a little reluctantly.

'Jaeil Economy? That's not going to be the Daewon Daily News. By the way, why is he…?'

At the moment, he smiled and said, "First of all, congratulations on your award!"

"Oh, thank you."

"Well, I have to interview one of the winners of this award… I really wanted to interview the CEO, so I was talking to your secretary. Would you be able to take an interview?"

Behind him, Secretary Seo had a triumphant look on his face, as if he said, "I've got one, boss."

Well, he deserved it, because I'd been saying to Secretary Seo for a long time: let me be exposed to as much media as possible, whether it's our company or my name.

But the problem was that the person he had brought was a very, very dangerous person.

'Secretary Seo doesn't know what this guy is doing.'

I turned to reporter Kang Joo-hyuk and said, "Why did you think of me… there is like Director Tak Joon-gi, of Suyeon Travel."

"Ahh… Director Tak Joon-gi? He's from Suyeon Group, so he's a little…" Kang nudged his face at me and spoke with his voice down, "These days, readers don't really like the way a man born in a rich family is posted. We can't have click counts on it. Besides, I heard he is a tough guy."

'I know Kang has been working with Tak for four or five years.'

They had been colleagues from the time they broke down Go-young Food. This man lied without a blink of an eye. It was an amazing skill, in a way.

I also told him as naturally as I could. "Oh, that could be, because these days are a time of relative deprivation."

"Yes, and I wanted to get an interview with CEO Han, not someone else. I heard you were talking to the mayor earlier. You are from a poor family, right?"

"Yes, well, yes."

"That's good. I guess. Rather than saying that the third generation of chaebol won a prize for spending money, it would be better for the CEO of a poor family, who is thirty years old, winning the prize for hiring a lot of young people. Isn't this a good picture, CEO Han?" he said to me with a rather stupid smile.

I looked at him for a moment. 'This guy… is the one who's been ordered to come by Tak Joon-gi, though he thinks he has not been found out.'

I knew his true identity through Lee Ah-young: the Newsmaker who makes news to sway stock prices and extort money from ants. As I knew he was an assassin, it wouldn't be a bad idea to listen to him.

'It is possible to avoid daggers or trajectories just by looking behind you. If I'm good, I can make a counterattack.'

"It sounds like… that's a good story. All right. Let's do the Interview."

He bowed to me and said, "Really? Thank you, CEO Han!"

Secretary Seo behind him opened his thumb. I looked at it and thought inside, 'Huh… it's not an eel you've caught, man. It's a viper.'

"What do you usually see when you look at stocks?"

"I'm more likely to see their future growth potential. Stocks are what grows after eating dreams. I tend to try to predict the future as much as possible."

"Oh, I see. But isn't the future unpredictable by people?"

"It's not just impossible. Don't you think that futurologists like Alvin Toffler are amazingly predicting the future? I don't think it's impossible, but I'd like to say it's very difficult."

"It's very difficult?"

I said, nodding my head, "Yes. But if I succeed in that difficult thing, the profit is very high."

"Oh, that's a good word."

He wrote down as he listened to what I was saying. That looked very familiar. I was sure he'd been working as a reporter for a long time.

"And finally, please say something to the young people at this time."

"Me?"

"Yes. tell some kind of blessing or some prickly advice to the young men of this age, as a successful man in your thirties."

At the words I stroked my chin for a moment and said, shaking my head. "No. I don't want to say that much."

"Then…?"

"I just want to cheer them up… that's all I want to tell them."

The reporter, Kang Joo-hyuk, stared at me for a moment and said, "But why don't you tell them something a little bit specific? You're a good predictor of the future. Tell them, 'Don't waste your life. What about designing your future? For example, how about learning Chinese? Or why don't you learn coding?'"

I shook my head strongly and said, "I don't want to. I've been successful at an early age, but… that's because I've had some luck, too. It's not entirely my ability."

That was not a word of humility. Without the news of 12 Hours After, I wouldn't have been able to do this.

I went on to say, "They all have their own reasons, and to tell an unspecified number of people to do this or that, I… I think it's arrogant. I think it's irresponsible. So… I just want to cheer them up, no matter what the young people do. I want to say that."

He quickly typed with his hands. "Then do whatever you want, and do it well?"

But I didn't like it. "No, I don't want to say, 'if you work hard at anything, it will be done.' I think that's a lie, too. Some things don't work, even if we work hard. Of course, sometimes it's helpful to step back and rest."

Reporter Kang Joo-hyuk stared at me.

I went on to say, "So I just want to say, 'Whatever you do, I cheer for you. Cheer up. There are times when luck comes to life.' That's all I want to say. I got a little bit of wealth at this age, but… I think that's largely due to luck."

"Hmm," Kang Joo-hyuk raised his lower lip and said as if he were somewhat dissatisfied, "Is that so? I see."

I didn't know if it was because he didn't have enough for an article, or because it was different from what he thought.

"Then I'll finish the interview with this. The content of the interview will be adapted to the best possible level, and it'll be on our weekly magazine and Internet site in about a week."

I nodded, "Yes."

Reporter Kang Joo-hyuk put his laptop in his bag.

I was looking at him. 'What is this? Is that it?' I thought so. As soon as I broke up with Director Tak Joon-gi, he asked for an interview, and I thought something was going to come up with a strange offer, but there was no such thing.

'… is he just here to see me today? Is this a pre-investigation?'

But just then, he said, "By the way, this is a personal question…"

I opened my eyes wider. "Tell me."

"Who do you think will be chosen as the Old City Regeneration Project maker of Seoul City?"

I said with my eyes blinking, "… what?"

"Don't you know Mayor Joo Sung-won's pledge?"

"Aha… the Old City Regeneration Project."

'It was the biggest, number one pledge of Joo Sung-won. Such a pledge is to rejuvenate the Old City spirit by demolishing old buildings in Seoul City, creating new buildings and new commercial districts. To be honest, there are no good pledges like development or redevelopment. It's the kind of commitment that the real estate agents like, the residents like, and everyone likes.

'That's why Dong-bo Construction, in which he was an outside director became a leading stock at the time of the Seoul mayoral election. Usually, most political theme stocks focus on who will be elected before the election, and what the elected will do after the election. It's a so-called policy theme. Now that it's been a little over half a year since Mayor Joo Sung-won was elected, it's time to start the engine.'

I asked him, "Has it been under way lately?"

"Oh, didn't you know that?"

Frankly speaking, I didn't know. There was no such news in the future news. Even without such news, my calendar application was already covered with a treasure map made of initials, so I didn't think to look for it.

"As soon as he was elected, everyone has asked him to keep his promises. It's been a radical development lately, the first redevelopment project in Jung-gu… They're even close to selecting a business operator."

"Aha… and does it include Dongbo Construction?"

"No, Dongbo Construction was not on the list, because the mayor used to be an outside director there… I think he just left them out, as he was afraid of preferential treatment."

"Huh."

'These days, if they have connections, it might be a negative factor since the people around watch that carefully.'

"Then…?

"About five have been nominated… " He took a piece of paper out of his sleeve.

'Oh, now you've revealed your true mind.'

I could see the paper as a dagger, not the paper itself, but a dagger trying to stab me.

"The most likely ones are Bisang Construction and Jinyang Development here. It's compressed by these two…"

I asked him, "Where did you hear that?"

"Haha. Well, I could hear things here and there… while I was working as a reporter. It's a rumor. Haha."

'A rumor? Not one you made up?' I didn't think the nickname "Newsmaker" was made for nothing.

I furtively said, "Oh… so I'll have a good chance if I just pick one here. Isn't that going to be pretty easy?"

He said with a real smile, "Of course!"

Maybe he thought he nearly got the fish, he seemed to be laughing like that. However, I was not a person to be caught easily.

'Pah! Can you hook me up?'

I thought how to sink this guy under the sea, below the surface of the water. That way, he would probably not even be able to shed tears of grief.

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[Are you really from a poor family?]

[I don't know exactly what the definition of a poor family is, but my family was not well-off. We were about the average of Korea, or a bit below. I never had enough pocket money when I was in elementary, middle, and high school, and all my college tuition was covered by student loans.]

[Then you've always had a craving for wealth since you were a child?]

[It wasn't that much when I was young. All I had to do was buy Tteokbokki (spicy Korean rice cake) at a snack bar with my friends and enough pocket money to play games together in an Internet cafe. It was the same in college, and the yearning for money started when I was getting a job and making money.]

[You've made money, and you've got a craving for it? ]

[Yes. The reason is…]

I scrolled down and looked at the article with my chin on my hands. What I was looking at was none other than my article by newsmaker Kang Joo-hyuk. He said it would take about a week, but within three days, an article was posted on the Internet.

[I think I've gained a lot of wealth at this age because of luck.]

[CEO Han Sang-hoon quietly finished the interview in a humble tone.]

After I read over the article with my own quick reading ability, I thought. 'Not bad.'

To be exact, he wrote about me as a young man's idol, a young CEO in his thirties, as a case of a black hen laying white eggs.

'I'm sure he is surely a reporter…'

At the end of the article, there was also a by-line, 'Another article by reporter Kang Joo-hyuk.'

I turned in that direction.

[How long will the gloomy shipbuilding industry last?]

[OPEC's increase agreement. How will it affect the domestic economy?]

As an economic reporter, he wrote very ordinary articles.

'Working as a reporter… does he do that?'

But now I saw there was an article like this: [Seoul City's Old City Regeneration Project has had a rough voyage from the start with the selection of business operators.]

I clicked on it. The article was about the process, and the controversy, of selecting business operators for the Old City Regeneration Project.

'Well, surely… does he get his sources from working on the front lines?'

I imagined it for a while: when he was working as a reporter, there were times when he had information with which he would make tens or hundreds of thousand dollars, a few million dollars, or tens of million dollars, if he just got the right capital. However, his salary was low. Then, of course, he might want to sell the information to someone who was going to pay the right information fee and make the right use of it.

'A person like Director Tak Joon-gi… If he is Director Tak Joon-gi, good news is worth buying for tens of thousand dollars for a small amount, and hundreds of thousands of dollars for a large amount. Kang could get more money out of it. An ordinary office worker would make such a deal or two, and the taste would have unbearably been sweet and ecstatic. But such news doesn't come out every day, or very often. It would come out at most once every two to three years. He wants to make money, but there is no news.

'So he goes so far as to manipulate the news or make news that never happened. The Newsmaker…'

It was a rough-drawn scenario, where someone like Tak Joon-gi might have seduced him in the process.

'Then he gets involved with the second and third son of the Daewon Daily News…' As I was thinking of that, I could hear a three-tap knock from outside the door.

"Come in," I said.

There were only two people who could knock at my door without going through Secretary Seo's phone: Seo himself, and Vice President Jang. Soon, the door opened and Jang came in, holding quite a large quantity of A4 paper.

"Boss, I've got the report you asked for."

I got up from my seat and took it. "Oh yes. Thank you."

It was quite heavy to receive as there was a lot of it.

'Why don't I receive them by email?'

I would like to, but I preferred to read it by circling, underlining, taking notes and scribbling on paper. That way I could concentrate. I put them on my desk, and I spread them out. There were five company reports: Bisang Construction, Jinyang Development, Hanbit Construction, City Scene, and See V Construction.

Chang went on to say, "The selection of operators and the announcement of operators, are a complete secret. so I couldn't figure out at all who and how they were doing it."

"Well, that's a sure thing." I said on the outside, but on the inside, I thought, 'Tak Joon-gi and Kang Joo-hyuk may know.'

Jang asked me, "Boss, are you going to invest in the related stocks of Old City Regeneration Project?"

"I'm just going to review it."

Jang nodded and said, "Certainly, stock prices have been fluctuating a little lately with the expectations."

I tapped on the reports on my desk, "Well, what kind of company do you think would be a good choice?"

"From what I have personally seen, it's not just a development, but a comprehensive redevelopment that changes the Old City. I know that the most experienced Bisang Construction, Jinyang Development, or Hanbit Construction are the most likely ones here. The other two are start-ups, so they are going to be a little more difficult."

Bisang Construction, Jinyang Development; the two matched the companies recommended by newsmaker Kang Joo-hyuk. Only the other one, Hanbit Construction was different.

I nodded and said, "I see… Thank you very much for your work."

"Not at all. I'll go then."

"Yes. Have a good day."I turned to the reports on the desk, and suddenly, in thought, caught Vice President Jang as he was going out of the door. "Oh, by the way, how's the Oracle News going?"

"Oh, that's going as well as the boss said."

I said, nodding my head, "Oh, I see. Please continue to work hard for that, too."

"Yes, boss." Vice President Jang bowed his head to me and closed the door.

Left alone, I read all five company reports, from financial statements, the company's history, CEO's biography, and so on. I thought the same thing: It seemed like there was a high chance that Bisang Construction or Jinyang Development would win the first business contract.

Although Hanbit Construction had its own capability, I was concerned that it was an unlisted company. Seoul Metropolitan Government might not deliberately push the two companies to manipulate stock prices, but the listing itself meant that the market recognized their construction capabilities to some extent.

'But it's not impossible at all, so let's remember.'

I went to the HTS monitor.

'Bisang Construction 4%'

'Jinyang Development 3%'

The two stocks were rising side by side today. Looking at their chart for the recent month, it was almost the same. It was timing when the theme was about to start, after coming down and going up together.

'Why would he give this information to me? Did he want me to join the operation?'

'If the buying is finished, it may not be bad in itself. As can be seen in Garden Envy, the release of information to the rich is always a good source of income. There are countless stocks on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ, and of course, people don't know the whole deal.'

'Just as something needs to be promoted to be sold, the more publicity there is, the more likely it is that the price will go up. It is particularly helpful to people like me who are rich and who invest in stocks.

'Being attracted by the idea that it's a big hit if it is selected as a business operator, if I buy a stock, the stock price will go up. That's why everyone in Yeouido acts like a famous investor: first of all, they want to show that they are good at stocks. Second of all, they are going to buy some stocks, and then they give some recommendations to others and leave.'

The chart showed that both stocks had been walking sideways in the past year. Of course, it went up and down during that time, but if I averaged the chart and drew a line, I would draw almost a horizontal line.

'The fact that they have made this horizontal line… that they've had a lot of time to gather…'

Dong-bo Construction was the main theme stock of the Seoul mayoral election, but it was only a fantasy created with a business card, "Working as an outside director to attract ants." People with deep knowledge of the industry might have found that Bisang Construction and Jinyang Development were better for the redevelopment project.

'In particular, I'm sure anyone who's operating a scammed stock must know.

'If I think so, I'd better not invest at all. That's what happened in the early part of the year, in the Nature's Gift case, but it's very difficult to deal with spiders in their web. Back then, I only managed to come out alive, but I couldn't think about how to handle the spiders. Even now, if they have cobwebs here, it won't be easy.

'It will be bad if I don't have solid information.

'But I have the future news. If something is scratched out of here, I could be stronger than a spider with a web. Then let's gather some more information… and think about whether or not I'm going to fight here.'

I'd already received this morning's news. If I got the future news in the evening, it would be the beginning of an information war. I went to the stock bulletin board first, as I had time. First, I looked at Bisang Construction.

– Bisang Construction, let's go up riding the Old City Regeneration Project of Seoul City.-

– Look at the latest sales figures. Jinyang Development is no match.-

– Mayor Joo Sung-won, if you have eyes on, please raise the hand of CEO Jung Gi-woong, do it when I talk gently.-

Jung Gi-woong was CEO of Bisang Construction, forty-five years old. It was believed that as the CEO of a construction company he belonged to the younger generation.

Next was Jinyang Development.

– Jinyang Development, let's go to the upper limit price tomorrow!-

– This business operator should be Jinyang Development. They've done a great job recently on the project to redevelop the Old City in Gwangju.-

– Seo Hak-bum, don't you have a connection to Seoul City? If you've worked for more than thirty years, you may have a connection.-

Seo Hak-bum was said to be the CEO of Jinyang Development. He was 68 years old, close to seventy, but ran the company energetically.

'I don't know who's going to make the selection and presentation, but… I know the names of the two of them… and if I search their names, I'll find something.'

My prediction was just right.That night, I waited in front of the computer for 8:55 p.m. I used to see the afternoon news a little bit late because it was a long way from the opening of the stock market, but I waited for the news for today and received the news: D. 12 Hours After, D. 12 Days After, D. 12 Weeks After, D. 12 Months After.

Every news had two slots to write down names. This was due to a level-up in People Search. I wrote Jung Gi-woong and Seo Hak-bum in each of the slots. But there was an unexpectedly big fish. When I saw the article from the People Search, I touched my lips.

'What's this?'

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