God of money

by Stayrr

Is money really everything in a life? If you could live through your life again you must become a God of money. A person who lives for money. A person who treats money with the worth it deserves.

3. 65

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Chapter 65:

When they all sat down at a café, Kim Yonggun spoke with an ecstatic tone.

"General manager Yoon told us you were back. You look different like you are rich!"

Woosung laughed. Kim Yonggun continued quickly. "So what brings you here today?"

"I came to see you two."

"Pardon?"

"I'm here to offer you jobs."

Park Junwoo's eyes widened. Kim Yonggun stammered. "Oh… T…then we'll be working with General Manager Yoon?"

"Yes. I will offer you good salaries. You will get raises depending on your performances. What do you think?"

Park Junwoo bit his lips. He felt like he was finally being rewarded for his hard work. Woosung took out two envelops and placed them on the table.

"Have a look."

Park Junwoo opened his envelop first.

Yearly salary: 50,000 dollars

Incentive: Salary * 400 (Paid when you achieve beyond your quota)

He was being paid 33,000 dollars currently. It was 17,000 dollars more than his present salary.

Plus incentive.

He couldn't believe it. It was an offer he couldn't refuse.

"And the incentive is really on top of the salary?"

Woosung answered seriously. "That's right."

Kim Yonggun also seemed surprised. Yoon Gihwan explained. "President Kang made a lot of money recently."

"Not a lot but enough to bring you in."

"Oh…"

"Do you remember what I said before? I said that you needed to improve to become good enough for the world outside of Daesan."

Kim Yonggun and Park Junwoo listened, their full attention given to Woosung.

"What I really meant was you need to be good enough not only in Korea but in the world." Woosung continued right away after seeing their dumbfounded reactions. "This is only the beginning. If you want to make a lot of money, join me."

Both nodded enthusiastically.

There was no reason for them to reject this offer. They were waiting for this day.

"Then it's decided. You two will join my company." Woosung stood up. "Now, let's get out of here. I will buy all of you dinner. Have you had Kaiseki before? It's great! I made a reservation for us at a nearby Japanese restaurant. Let's go."

Kwak Jungwook did as he was ordered. As soon as Woosung arrived at Daesan office, he called Na Jaeman to let him know.

"Sir, Woosung was here. He came to see his co-workers. They are now heading to a Japanese restaurant called 'Osaka'."

After hanging up, Kwak Jungwook murmured.

"…I feel like a double agent…"

Kwak Jungwook then texted Woosung back.

"I let President Na know where you are."

Na Jaeman called Shin Semi.

"Yes. That's right. It's Woosung. Yes. He said he's heading to Osaka. His account balance is currently 140 million dollars. That's right. He dealt with Pine Tech stocks."

After only a month since the Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Woosung became a VVIP at Nuri Finances.

How?

Woosung was the richest VVIP at Nuri Finances now. During the financial crisis, when Nuri Finances' stock declined, Woosung bought 10 million dollars worth of it.

Everyone thought this was a dangerous time to buy any stocks, yet Woosung was continuously making purchases. Was he being brave, or did he know something?

And if so, how?

Shin Semi couldn't take it anymore. She drove to the Japanese restaurant 'Osaka'.

As she walked down the hallway, she heard laughter from the reserved room.

"Hahahaha. Is that true?"

"And you know what? When I walked into the lawyer's office on Wallstreet, the receptionist called me a yellow monkey and asked if I wanted a banana. At the time, I had no money and I looked poor because I was wearing jeans and carrying a worn backpack."

"So what did you do?"

Woosung answered laughing. "I had to leave. And after I made a lot of money, I went back to that place. I wore an expensive suit and brought my own lawyer. Luckily, I recorded their racist comments, so I turned the recording on for them. I told them I was going to sue them. They all freaked out."

"Hahaha. You're amazing. So you went back?"

"Of course. I always pay what I'm owed back."

Woosung quickly checked his phone. There was a text message from the restaurant's server, who Woosung tipped and asked to let him know when Shin Semi arrived.

"She's here."

"I need to go to the washroom."

Woosung stood up and opened the door. Shin Semi was standing right there in surprise. Woosung greeted her.

"Oh…Hello. Long time no see."

Shin Semi nodded slightly. "I doubt this is a coincidence. I assume you are here to see me, right?" Woosung looked at her directly as he asked.

Shin Semi flinched. Woosung continued. "Then why didn't you knock? Well, let's go. I reserved another room for us."

Woosung walked past her.

"I assume you already had dinner, so let's have a drink."

Woosung ordered plum wine. Shin Semi looked at Woosung without saying a word. Woosung asked her slowly.

"Aren't you even going to say hello? It has been long since we last saw."

She still remained silent.

"Haha, I am a major shareholder of Nuri Finances, yet you disrespect me."

Shin Semi finally opened her mouth. "You…. Bought a lot of our stocks."

The price dropped significantly. If Woosung wanted, he could buy enough to hold over 10% of Nuri Finances.

"I thought about buying up to 5%, but it was getting too complicated. So I decided against it."

Shin Semi realized Woosung had more money than she expected.

"What happened in America? I heard you had something to do with the Pine Tech stock controversy…I don't understand."

"That's all my private information. Isn't that illegal for you to know?" Shin Semi frowned at Woosung's joke. Woosung laughed. "Haha, I'm kidding. You are still so curious. Then let me tell you something."

Shin Semi looked at him expectantly.

Woosung continued quickly. "Do you know today's exchange rate?"

"13.76 to send and 13.49 to receive." Shin Semi could guess what Woosung was going to say. She asked quickly. "Are you telling me you know if it's going to go up or down? Based on data analysis again?"

Woosung grinned.

"You're correct. What do you think? Will it go up? Down?"

"Due to the financial crisis, the outflow of dollars is increasing quickly. Everyone is expecting it to go up."

"Then my next question is this. Until when and how much will it go up?"

Shin Semi stared at Woosung. Did he mean he knew the answer? With such information, one could make an absurd amount of money.

"Are you saying you know the answer?"

"Don't you think so?"

Shin Semi gasped. Woosung remembered it clearly from his past life.

'I remember it reaching 15.00 by early March.'

"What…what do you want? You want dirt on Daeyang again?"

"Haha, no, not this time. Instead, I would like to join groups or clubs you belong to."

"…And you'll tell me the future? How could I trust you? What if you're wrong? I belong to very exclusive clubs."

"Didn't I correctly predict the election result and the global financial crisis? I think that should be enough for you to trust me." Woosung lowered his voice. "And the amount of Nuri Finances' stock I bought should prove to you that I am the real deal. I guarantee you that I hold more cash than you do. Oh, and I have an invitation for you…"

Woosung handed her a piece of paper.

"Place: Daeyang Hotel Diamond Hall near Samsung Station

Time: February 7th 10 am.

We invite you to join KND on its first step."

"This is my new company. Come and see. You'll find out that I am worthy of your exclusive clubs."

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Chapter 66:

KYLO (Korean Young Leader Organization)

It was a club consisted of third and fourth generation children from rich families. Only those with assets of over 50 million dollars and two recommendations from the existing members could join. The age limit was under 40 years old. Any member turning 40 was automatically kicked out.

50 million in asset before the age of 40.

Less than 0.1% of the population could achieve this status. That was why most members were children of CEOs. Shin Semi was surprised Woosung knew of such an exclusive group.

'Who told him about it?'

She thought of the present members but couldn't think of anyone who would be acquainted with him. That meant someone who left the club probably told him. Woosung said to Shin Semi.

"The exchange rate will continue to go up, but only to a certain point."

"Are you sure?"

Woosung stared at Shin Semi directly and answered. "Yes."

"The requirements to join this club are very strict. It may not be possible for you to join. Besides, the members are in a tight clique. Even if you are successful in getting in, they won't tell you any gossips on Daeyang as I did. Do you still want to try?"

"You never know what might happen. I feel like I might meet useful people there, so yes."

Shin Semi groaned.

She wanted to know the future of the exchange rate. The things she could do with this information!

Many in KYLO were greedy. If they learned Woosung's ability to predict the financial future, they would use him mercilessly.

Woosung sipped on plum wine. He then ate a piece of sushi.

He was enjoying this moment. It didn't matter whether Shin Semi helped him.

He could be patient. He waited quietly.

Shin Semi groaned again and thought with careful considerations. She had to be smart about her decision.

Woosung looked at her as quiet as a predator hunting its prey. There was no doubt Shin Semi was attractive. It didn't look like she was wearing any makeup. As he studied her, Shin Semi finally opened her mouth.

"Alright. The three requirements are as followed. You need recommendations from two existing members. The other two are age and asset, and you are ok for both. I will make the recommendation happen for you."

Woosung ate another piece of sushi and replied. "Thank you."

"I will contact you when it becomes finalized."

Suddenly, Woosung's phone vibrated. Yoon Gihwan was calling him. He sounded drunk.

"Hey, newbie! What are you doing in the washroom?"

"Newbie? What happened in calling me the president?"

"Once a newbie, always a newbie!"

"Should I be recording this?"

"Go ahead! I'm not afraid."

Woosung grinned and said to Shin Semi.

"Haha. I think I need to go now."

Shin Semi took a sip from her glass. Woosung stood up and left.

The next morning.

It was busy in front of the office building. People kept going in and out nonstop.

Construction was going on as well, making the area busier than usual.

Kim Yonggun stood in front of the building and murmured.

"So this building…it's Woosung's."

Yoon Gihwan looked at the scene in shock as well. "I'm surprised too. After coming back from America, he had big plans for everyone. He said we were going global with all our projects."

Jang Gwangchul came by and replied.

"I bought this building."

"Oh, hello sir."

"You can call him Mr. Vice President."

"Haha, alright."

Kim Yonggun greeted him quickly. "Hello, Mr. Vice President."

"Oh, you are Woosung's co-worker from Nuri Finances!"

"That's right."

"Hahaha, nice to meet you."

Kim Yonggun bowed.

"Nice to meet you too."

While they chatted, Woosung's sedan rolled in. Woosung came out from the backseat. His expensive suit shined against the sunlight.

Jang Gwangchul bowed respectfully to Woosung.

"Mr. President. Good morning!"

Everyone else followed.

"Good morning, sir!"

Woosung flinched at such loud greetings from everyone.

"W…what's all this?"

Jang Gwangchul laughed and approached Woosung. "Enthusiastic greetings in the morning can lead to a productive day!"

"It's not necessary."

"But today is a special day." Jang Gwangchul grinned as he replied.

Woosung grinned knowingly. "I agree. It is indeed a special day today."

It was the day they planned to release Blue S to the world.

The top floor of Daeyang System's headquarter was where the CEO's first-born Choi Taemin's office was located. After listening to Strategy team 1's leader Kim Hyungwook, Choi Taemin murmured.

"So he took over Pine Tech and released a cell phone called Blue S."

"That's right. That company was recently involved in some sort of controversy."

"And their OS is Android?"

"Yes. He has an office in Silicone Valley where the development team is located. CDMA is not supported in Korea yet, so they are pushing back the phone's release date in Korea to some time in the future."

"How's our project going?"

"We are currently talking with Google. A representative from Google told us that it will be finished by September."

"Is there any chance that KND can release the product sooner than that in Korea?"

"As such a small company, no I don't think so."

"Hmm…"

Choi Taemin was annoyed. Some idiot appeared out of nowhere and dived into a cell phone business. It was only an annoyance now, but Choi Taemin knew if left alone, it could turn into something bigger.

What should he do? He thought to himself. He has no answers.

Kim Hyungwook continued to report. "CEO Kang Woosung was a developer working at Nuri Finances. He became close to an investment guru Jang Gwangchul. After visiting America during the global financial crisis, Woosung created this company."

"What did he do in America?"

"We know he created an investment corporation in Wallstreet, but other than that, we don't know exactly how he made his money.""He then traveled to Silicone Valley, bought a factory for manufacturing cell phones, and returned to Korea."

"What's your opinion on it? Do you think Blue S will be a success?"

"I… I can't tell. Cell phone industry is a very competitive world. It is very hard to make it as a new company. It seems like his company has good financial support, but if it lacks good technological backing, it will fail quickly."

"So there is a chance it could be a success."

"After the release of iPhone, the cell phone market is in turmoil. It is not unusual that there are smaller companies popping up with new ideas to get into the business."

Choi Taemin frowned and rubbed his chin. Kim Hyungwook continued to read his report.

"Release of iPhone in Korea is being blocked, but it seems like WIPI platform will be withdrawn very soon."

WIPI (Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability).

It was a middleware platform used in Korea that allowed mobile phones to run applications. It was declared by the Korean government to avoid excessive competition between mobile companies. iPhone's platform was currently not supported by WIPI and that was why it wasn't released in Korea yet.

"At least we know for sure that TK Telecom won't be releasing a new cell phone any time soon."

"Our new cell phone Amor isn't being received well. If iPhone becomes available in Korea, it's going to be very bad for us. Try to keep it out of the country as long as possible."

"Yes, sir."

Things were not working out as he had hoped. Choi Taemin's voice deepened.

"Did you say his company was named KND? Try to poach some developers from there. We need to start working on our new Android phone soon."

"Of course."

Meanwhile, a hot news popped up online.

"Troubled company Pine Tech becomes merged into KND corporation."

"KND plans to release a new Android smartphone."

"A prototype phone revealed. Its name is to be Blue S: An only friend for you in this lonely world."

"It is to be released in America first, then in Korea towards the end of the year."

"CDMA support development needed for its release in Korea."

At the launching party of Blue S, many reporters came to upload real-time news online. After reading the news, Shin Semi texted Woosung.

"This is Shin Semi. You have been approved to join KYLO. Your welcome party will be a week from today. Come to Sungbook-dong 330-XX by 7 pm.

Shin Semi looked at the photo of Blue S prototype. It was fresh and innovative, just like Woosung.

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Chapter 67: lt;It's himgt;

After checking his message, Woosung grinned.

'Perfect.'

He was getting closer to Choi Gichul. He didn't ask Shin Semi, but Woosung thought there was a good chance he was a part of this group. The possibility filled Woosung's vengeful heart with a dab of maniacal glee.

"Now that the news of our new cell phone is out, all that's left for us is work harder. Are you going to go back to the office right away?" Jang Gwangchul asked Woosung.

"Yes. I have lots to do."

"It's hard for employees when the boss works too hard. So don't overdo it."

"Haha, I know."

"Great. So what are you going to work on first? Coconut? Blue S? Perhaps, algorithm trading?"

Woosung had something else in mind.

'The exchange rate will go up to 15.00 by March, so I should make some money from it.'

The first thing he needed was to look into the future of currency.

Jang Gwangchul glared at Woosung. "Boss. Boss?"

Jang Gwangchul had a gut feeling. Woosung was thinking about making money. He knew it, but he couldn't figure out the specifications of his schemes.

"What are you thinking about? Tell me."

It was like Jang Gwangchul had the sixth sense when it came to money, but Woosung had no intention of sharing investment ideas with him.

"I'm going to start on Coconut. I'm going to try to hire Korea's biggest star Lee Ari." Woosung answered posthaste.

"Lee Ari?" Jang Gwangchul's eyes widened.

Lee Ari.

She was Korea's top star even in 2018. Her father and grandfather were both high ranking government officials. She was both a brilliant actress and a talented singer. Since she came from a rich family, she was known for not getting involved in company sponsorships or tv commercials. She only focused on her artistic career.

"Don't you think she would be perfect? I plan on having her featured on our tv commercial and release a video of her chatting with users using Coconut."

"How would you be able to hire Lee Ari? She is known for not getting involved in any TV commercials."

"That is why she's perfect if we want to attract users."

Jang Gwangchul murmured. "How would you do it? She is impossible to get. I would love to meet her."

"Haha…You'll meet her soon."

After returning to the office, Woosung opened the HTS screen.

Available cash: 76,516,400.10

Even after purchasing two apartments, a building for his parents, and the current office building, he still had over 70 million dollars in cash.

"Let's see…"

Woosung checked the current exchange rate.

February 7th, 2009: 13.8270

After checking the number, Woosung clicked the icon "Currency Future."

"U0902."

He clicked it.

The button meant the rate of currency on February 2009. There were many real-time transactions being made as he watched the screen.

Approximately 500 dollars

1 Tick equaled 0.01 cent.

For every 0.01 cent increase in rate, there was a profit of 1 dollar. With 10,000 dollars in the bank, one could purchase 20 contracts.

By the first day of March, the rate would increase to 15.00. This was a chance for Woosung to make a huge amount of money. He clicked every button with the speed of a blazing breeze. He bought hundreds of contracts.

Woosung wanted to invest his money the right away, but placing this much money could cause unexpected changes to the market. He needed to be patient and buy bits at a time.

Woosung made similar purchases in the American market as well. He didn't expect to make as much money as he made during the financial crisis, but any profit is a good profit.

On February 9th, the rate went down to 13.7910 from 13.8270. A red alert button blinked on Woosung's account, but he continued to buy.

Alex, who was working at Woosung's financial corporation in America, called and asked him.

"Boss, you are losing about 25 million dollars from the currency futures market right now. I wanted to make sure you are aware of it, and that this seems to be the trend. There is a good chance it's going to go down further."

"I don't care. Put in an additional 100 million dollars."

"I…you already put 100 million dollars in. Are you sure you want to double up right now?"

"Yes," Woosung answered with unfazed confidence.

Alex couldn't understand. Woosung was losing money, and he was asking to put more money into a losing market.

Oh my god!

Alex thought Woosung was crazy.

"Boss…I must advise against it. No one would invest like this. It's too risky."

Woosung didn't listen. "100 million today and another 100 million tomorrow, please. I plan to put every available cash I have into this."

He sold a lot of his assets recently and had 800 million dollars to invest. Woosung planned to go all-in."Alex?"

"…Are you sure, boss?"

Woosung said once more with a firm tone. "Yes, put all 800 million dollars in."

"You could lose half of it very easily. Are you still sure about it?" Alex said weakly.

Woosung did not change his answer. "Yes."

Alex was being paid 500,000 dollars per year to work for Woosung. He really wanted to do his best to aide him, but at the end of the day, he had to follow his order.

"Fuck…"

Alex swore as he placed Woosung's orders.

A large hedge fund company called Ryan Capital had an employee named Williams Liam who worked as a quant for a currency future 304 algorithm department. He graduated early from Harvard, and after receiving a master's degree, he chose to work on Wallstreet.

He was able to survive the recent financial crisis. He trusted his math, and he was able to predict the crisis.

"This is strange…"

An unusual increase in purchases was noted in his system. His trading system's Sharpe ratio increased from 2 to 4.

"Someone's making huge intentional purchases…"

Hundreds of millions were being used. This much money meant a country or a large hedge fund was involved.

Williams Liam contemplated.

Should he buy too, or trust the trend?

…Or should he just watch?

He had three choices to choose from.

His salary depended on his performance. Since he has made the right choices in the past, he was being paid a million dollars a year at the young age of 29.

Williams thought carefully.

"Should I…"

On February 14, the exchange rate went up to 14.0110. Woosung made tens of millions of dollars that day.

Alex exclaimed and texted Woosung. He read the message and got out of the car. Today was the KYLO's welcoming party for him. Already, the place was surrounded by several luxury cars.

A familiar face appeared in front of him from out of nowhere.

Shin Semi.

Wearing a sexy violet dress, she looked like a celebrity. Woosung stood beside her.

"Let's go in."

As they walked, a stranger waved and approached them. He spoke with Shin Semi with a tone of familiarity.

"I was surprised to hear you give a recommendation for someone. This must be him. He must be someone special!"

Woosung's eyes lighted with fury as he clenched his fists.

Shin Semi gave a disinterested nod. The man came towards Woosung and offered his hand.

"Hello. My name is Jung Jinsup."

Bitmain's CTO from Woosung's previous life.

Woosung greeted him.

"N…nice to meet you. My name is Kang Woosung."

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Chapter 68:

Jung Jinsup.

Son of the CEO of Korea's top game company, MOX.

He was a smart man who graduated from Seoul University with a degree in computer science. He ended up working with Choi Gichul to open a cryptocurrency trading dealer.

Woosung had to restrain himself from punching him.

He never expected to see Jung Jinsup here!

Woosung knew he would meet him sooner or later, but when it actually happened, he found it difficult to restrain his anger. He gritted his teeth with great intensity. Shin Semi felt the tension welling up in him and looked at him.

"Woosung?"

Jung Jinsup also heard the clenching of his teeth and looked at him with widened eyes. He was sure this was the first time he met Woosung, yet the fury he saw in his eyes were directed at him, no doubt. Suddenly, Jung Jinsup thought he knew why.

"Ha….haha. Are you by chance Semi's boyfriend?"

Shin Semi shook her head. Her ears were reddening. Woosung calmed himself and replied.

"No, it's just that I keep getting calls from work." Woosung took out his phone, which was vibrating at the moment. "I told them not to call me after work…Haha, excuse me."

Jung Jinsup smiled understandingly. "I know how you feel, that's really annoying. I totally understand."

Woosung checked his phone. It was from Alex. When he didn't answer the phone, Alex sent him multiple texts.

"Oh my god Boss!"

"Do you know how much we made today?"

The text messages continued like rapid fire without a hint of stopping.

"I am freaking out."

"Are you a God?"

"How!? How!!!!!"

Its clear that the news made Alex excited. Woosung grinned and whispered to Shin Semi.

"Did you check the exchange rate today?"

She nodded. Woosung continued right thereafter. "It's going to soar. You better get on it."

Her face reddened noticeably.

Jung Jinsup saw this and murmured. "Semi's usually not close to anyone like this…"

Woosung stepped away from her and explained. "Haha, it seems like it's nothing urgent. Let's go in."

The room was elegant, clad with beautiful light fixtures. Women in expensive dresses and jewelry stood around like stars in the night sky, drinking wine.

It felt like a different world.

Sipping a glass of champagne, Woosung murmured. "It feels like a celebrity award show or something."

"Those shows are usually funded by these people in here."

"Oh!" Woosung murmured.

"Please remember, there are very important people in this room."

Woosung smirked coldly.

'Such entitled people…Is she saying I should act a certain way?'

Shin Semi looked around and blew a murmur on Woosung's ear. "That guy. He's the son of LM Electronics' CEO."

LM Electronics.

It was Daeyang's only current competition, but in Woosung's previous life in 2018, it was a dying company.

"That guy talking to Jung Jinsup, he is the son of TK Telecom's CEO."

TK Telecom.

It was one of the biggest communication companies along with KF Telecom in Korea.

Woosung tried to remember every face in the room. His phone was confiscated before his entry for security reasons. He couldn't take notes or photos to study later. He had to rely on his memories alone.

Woosung made it clear to himself that he should pay a closer look at the people conversing with Jung Jinsup.

Shin Semi was very helpful. She introduced many people to Woosung and explained their positions to him. It didn't take a long time for him to realize that this room houses the children of CEO's and high-ranking government officials.

Suddenly, a man tapped his glass to grab everyone's attention.

Woosung turned around and recognized the person.

It was Lee Sunghyun, the second son of the current Korean President, Lee Parksung. He grinned and announced.

"It's pretty cold outside. The financial world is also not so warm right now. I'm sure every leaders here worked very hard to patch your losses up."

Leaders. This was how everyone was called here. Leader Shin Semi, leader Kang Woosung, and so on…

"…But I believe we are all heading towards the right direction. Things are getting better." Lee Sunghyun then turned towards Woosung. "We also have a wonderful news tonight. It seems like we have a new leader in this room!"

Everyone raised their glasses in response to his latter announcement.

"It's leader Kang Woosung, who received a recommendation from leader Shin Semi. Let's welcome him to our world."

It was only then when one at a time, men started clapping their hands until everyone followed.

Woosung looked around in a daze. Jung Jinsup was also applauding. He was disappointed to see that Choi Gichul was not here though.

Lee Sunghyun continued. "Leader Kang Woosung is a newcomer in the business world. Most of you may not know this, but this young man is the CEO of KND Corporation. He purchased Pine Tech recently and has announced a release of a new smartphone. I hope leader Gu Bongjun and leader Choi Gichul, who unfortunately is not here today, will play fair with our new member."

Woosung tried hard not to grin. He bit his lips. So Choi Gichul did belong to this group!

'I knew it!'

Shin Semi noticed Woosung's change in demeanour and whispered. "Choi Gichul is still abroad because of that incident."

"I already knew that." Woosung calmed down and replied.

"You seemed like you were disappointed."

Woosung didn't react to Shin Semi's question. "Haha, thank you for your interest in me. I appreciate it." He answered nonchalantly.

"It's not like that."

Lee Sunghyun then pointed at Woosung and asked.

"I hate to interrupt your conversation, but please pay attention." Woosung turned to Lee Sunghyun. "We would all appreciate a few words from our new leader, Woosung."

Woosung brought out a manufactured smile from within the pit of his gut and gave a speech he prepared.

"Firstly, I am honored to be part of such an exclusive group of leaders. I thought about what I should bring today. I felt like a gift for everyone is appropriate."

Lee Sunghyun looked around and replied. "I don't think anybody here needs anything from you. Let's ask. Does anyone here need a gift from Woosung?"

Everyone laughed at his joke.

Jun Taewon, who was the son of TK Telecom's CEO, yelled out rudely. "So you're gonna make a smartphone? Then it seems like I should be the one giving you a gift."

"Hahaha!"

Many sneered unpleasantly.

In 2008, all cell phones could be only sold by telecom companies. If these companies didn't accept Woosung's new smartphone, it couldn't be sold in Korea.

Woosung answered with an unfazed magnificence.

"Haha, if you are offering, then I wouldn't object., but my gift is a little different. It is an information you can use to recover from the recent global financial crisis." Shin Semi's eyes widened. She knew what Woosung would say. He looked around. "Does anyone know what the exchange rate is today?"

Most looked dumbfounded, but Lee Sunghyun smiled lazily and answered.

"14.01."

"Thank you. Today is February 14th. Does anyone know what the rate will be on March 2nd?"

Everyone murmured among themselves.

Suddenly, Jun Taewon pointed at the sky and yelled. "If we knew that, why would we be here? We would be up there because we'd be gods."

People again laughed at Woosung, but he continued with a brisk demeanor. "I will take that as a compliment. Because it would mean the information I am about to give you is priceless. I guarantee that on March 2nd, the exchange rate will rise to 15.30. It could be even be higher."

People sneered at him. They didn't believe him. Woosung understood their distrust. Shin Semi frowned at everyone's rude reactions.

"If I'm wrong, I will give up my membership." Woosung added.

Lee Sunghyun looked at Woosung, his face is now filled with a obvious seriousness. "You are going too far. It seems you are not taking this membership seriously."

Woosung laughed. "Haha, I am doing it because I am taking it VERY seriously. I thought money would be too obvious as a gift, and that is why I am giving you information." As Woosung spoke, more people looked at him with interest. "I have a lot of information. If you ever need it, please let me know. I am happy to trade with any of you."

Shin Semi glared at Woosung, who continued.

"Oh and I don't mean information on exchange rates or finances. I am well-versed in many different areas. I use big data for my info, so consider me your big brother."

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Chapter 69:

TK Telecom's Jun Taewon flinched at Woosung's words. "Are you kidding me? Big brother? Like Godfather? Should I be afraid? Should we all be afraid? Hahaha."

"Hahaha."

Everyone sided with Jun Taewon's snide comment and sneered at Woosung's absurd proposal. Woosung was becoming the laughing stock of the crowd. Shin Semi frowned. He looked at Jun Taewon.

"Leader Jun Taewon, there is a lot of information within the data, and I am an analyzer who can read them. Information on the exchange rate is one of the many I gathered from the data."

"So you're saying you're a data analyzer?"

Woosung glanced at Shin Semi.

He was asking her to vouch for him.

Shin Semi nodded.

"Everyone knows I have never recommended anyone to join until now. Kang Woosung is the only one I helped." Everyone started to stop laughing and listened. "It has been a year since I met leader Kang Woosung. He predicted the global financial crisis and the result of the general election last year. He told me the exact number of seats the day before the election. He has predicted too many things to call it a coincidence."

Lee Sunghyun stared at Shin Semi and asked. "He guessed the exact number of seats for all parties?"

"Yes." Shin Semi answered without hesitation.

Political information could be incredibly useful for everyone in the room. Lee Sunghyun asked without a hint of his earlier gleeful countenance.

"Are you referring to the method used during the Barack Obama election in the US?"

Woosung answered. "That's correct. It's very similar to that."

Data analysis was a new concept at this time. Lee Sunghyun turned to Jung Jinsup, who graduated from computer science program. Jung Jinsup tried to explain.

"What he probably did was extrapolate from the previous exchange rate trends."

"It's not that simple. I also considered the current world financial state and other aspects during my analysis." Woosung answered without giving Jung Jinsup leverage to say more than he needs to say.

"Using statistics method?"

"I can't reveal you everything. All I can do is give you the information I gather. You can see for yourself if I am right."

Woosung took out a piece of paper and showed it to everyone.

"This is the record of my bank account during the financial crisis. I started with 300,000 dollars and ended up with a hundred million dollars."

300,000 to 100 million.

Woosung continued.

"That's only my Korean account." Woosung took out another piece of paper. "This is my American bank account. There are about 500 million dollars deposited in this account as of this moment."

People finally started to pay more attention.

500 million dollars.

It was a lot of money even for these people. Game company MOX was worth 4 billion dollars, which meant Woosung could own 10% of the company. Nobody was laughing at him now.

"I think this makes me look more trustworthy, right?"

No one answered. Many looked deep in thought.

Afterward, the party went on. People talked among themselves. Casually, they were exchanging business information and even making deals. Rich people stuck together and made each other richer.

It was a well-known fact that in Korea, 70% of the wealthy were rich by inheritance. A self-made man was a thing of the past.

The "leaders" acted as if they worked and earned what they possessed. Woosung found it funny. No one approached him.

"I told you this was going to happen." Shin Semi told Woosung.

"I wasn't expecting much anyway."

"You made a mistake today. If you were hoping to change this world, I'm afraid you will fail. These people won't accept it. They will become weary of you."

Woosung joked sarcastically. "But I always hear rich people claiming to want to change the world for the better." He chuckled.

Shin Semi frowned at him. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Woosung asked her.

"Do you know the 80-20 rule?"

"Do you mean the Pareto principle?"

"Yes. It states that for many of the events in the world, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the cause."

Shin Semi didn't respond.

"That means even if 80% of these people don't want any changes, 20% will."

Shin Semi bit her lips and asked. "Are you saying there will be people who will seek you out?"

"Yes. That will be the start."

"Start of what?"

Woosung didn't answer.

Some glanced at him during the party, but no one approached him during the entire event.

After returning to his apartment, Woosung took a shower.

His home was an expensive 1800 square feet condo filled with big screen television and leather furniture. As he looked out the window, he could see the Han River sparkled.

Woosung thought of his enemies.

Choi Gichul.

Jung Jinsup.

So far, he met both of them in this new life. He could beat Choi Gichul. He knew Jung Jinsup wasn't responsible for killing him, but he was sure Jung Jinsup was still involved somehow.

Woosung walked into his computer room. He turned on the screen and checked his coin status.

Korea: 21414.0123 BTC

US: 300161.4101 BTC

Total: 321575.4224 BTC

Over 300,000 BTC.

The speed of mining was decreasing, but he was happy with the progress.

Woosung's goal was to possess over 5 million coins. With this amount, he could rule the cryptocurrency world in the future.

Next was checking the exchange rate.

Today's rate was 14.10. It should rise soon.

Woosung felt tired. His joints were tense, and his muscles felt heavy. Woosung went to bed and fell asleep as soon as his body dropped on the mattress.

During the night, the exchange rate had a drastic rise.

14.21.

14.29.

14.35.

Through his corporation, KND Investment, in the US, Woosung had 800 million dollars invested in it, while he had 70 million dollars in Korea.

Everyday, Alex texted him constant enthusiastic updates.

"We finally went over a billion-dollar mark."

"Congrats on becoming a billionaire!"

"Over 1.1 billion dollars today."

"Are you sure you don't want to cash it now? I think this should be enough."

"Boss, don't be so greedy."

The rate hasn't reached 15.00 yet, but Alex was becoming anxious.

"1.3 billion dollars."

"Boss, it's 1.3 billion dollars…"

"Are we still holding it?"

Woosung's answer was always yes.

The rate finally went over 15.00 and was at 15.10. However, it was only February 27. Woosung didn't plan on selling it yet. He knew that by March 2, it would soar to 15.60.

Finally, the day has come—March 2.

Woosung already told Alex before the market began that he wanted to sell everything by the end of the day.

Woosung asked him to sell small portions at a time to not rose any suspicion.

And as planned, by the end of the day, he sold everything. When Woosung checked his account, he had 1.5 billion dollars.

Before he turned off the screen, Woosung noticed the exchange rate.

16.0101.

It was going higher than in his previous life.

The future Woosung knew had changed.

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Chapter 70:

Ryan Capital's Williams Liam screamed into the phone.

"Keep buying!"

After the rate went over 15.00, tens of millions of dollars were being settled. He knew it then.

This was it.

The person or organization buying all this time decided the rate was close to reaching its max. Liam planned on following suit, but it was still an upward trend. Liam knew the trend would not change right away. Liam started to buy more dollars from the Korean foreign exchange market.

In 2009, the Korean foreign exchange market was worth about 4.4 billion dollars.

When Ryan Capital went all in with its 1 billion dollars, the exchange rate strengthened and went up further.

"Keep going, keep going, keep going…"

Liam collected the dollars Woosung sold at 13.00 and 14.00. As these transactions occurred fast, the rate soared even more.

At this rate, Korea could lose all its dollars.

Korean bank research bureau and Financial Service Bureau reported to the Blue House, the Korean Whitehouse.

An emergency report reached the Secretary general.

"Sir, there is a report from the Korean bank regarding an exchange rate issue."

"I already looked into it. An American hedge fund got involved?"

"Yes. A company called Ryan Capital."

"We currently have over 320 million dollars in reserve. If we use all of it, we could fix the problem right away…"

"If we do that, the US government won't just stand by. They are sensitive right now because of the recent financial crisis."

"Alright. Then I will let the President know so come up with other options and report back to me."

As the Secretary general stood up, the phone rang. He answered it and after a brief conversation, he paled.

"It went over 17.00. I will call for an emergency meeting with the President immediately so please call all the relevant departments.

Lee Sunghyun, who was working as an attorney at the Law firm Pyunghwa, checked the exchange rate.

16.83.

He remembered Woosung from the KYLO party.

"It can't be…How…?" It was too good to be a coincidence. "A report indicated that a major portion was bought from a foreign company… Does Woosung have that much money abroad?"

The report from the Blue House suspected a billion dollars were in play.

Woosung said he had about 500 million dollars, and he expected the rate to go up to 15.30. That meant one of two things.

Either Woosung was lying, and he was behind the rate increase, or Woosung was telling the truth and someone unrelated was behind it.

Either way, Woosung was involved.

"Should I call him?" Lee Sunghyun wondered.

Jung Jinsup didn't believe Woosung at first.

Data analysis.

He studied it briefly during school.

He knew data analysis could never provide guaranteed results. Despite all that, Woosung still made a big impression on him at the party.

Big brother.

Jung Jinsup began to think perhaps it was possible. He kept checking the exchange rate frequently.

"14.30…"

Was it just a coincidence? Jung Jinsup didn't invest in it, but it became a habit for him to check the exchange rate everyday.

He checked it twice a day.

"14.50?"

He hesitated. Should he invest? If it went over 15.00, he knew he would regret not acting on it. Yet he didn't want to lose any money either.

"…14.81."

As he hesitated, the rate kept going up.

Finally, it reached the number Woosung promised.

15.30.

Then it soared to 16.00 and 17.00. He picked up the phone and called.

"This number you dialed is currently busy. Please leave a message after the beep."

He called again after a few minutes, but it still went to the voicemail.

"Are others from the party calling him too?"

Jung Jinsup bit his lips nervously. Finally, he picked up the phone and called Shin Semi, the woman who brought Woosung to KYLO.

Woosung was on the phone with Alex.

"Boss! Did you see?"

"Don't be disappointed. It wasn't meant to be."

Alex laughed over the phone. "Disappointed? Me? Do you know how nerve wrecking it was for the last two weeks?"

"Then why did you ask?"

"The rate volatility level went up suddenly."

"What?"

"Until 15.60, the volatility level was 12%."

Woosung sighed. Alex didn't have to explain. He already knew this.

"You're saying someone got involved?"

"A sudden change doesn't happen without a reason. I'm guessing a company got involved. It can't be a country. If the Korean government got involved, US wouldn't let it go. This isn't good for Korea either."

"A private company then."

"Yes. I'm guessing a hedge fund." Woosung nodded in agreement. Alex continued smartly. "This would also mean someone's watching us."

"So someone wants my money…"

Alex remained silent.

1.5 billion dollars in Woosung's account.

He earned it, which meant someone lost it.

"Wallstreet is filled with sharks. When there is a good algorithm, someone will target it and kill it. We were lucky this time but…We need to be careful from now on."

Woosung agreed and hung up. He leaned back and murmured.

"Be careful…"

So far, he has won against the market. However, any changes to the future could mean Woosung could lose everything next time.

One more thing.

"A hundred million dollars can change the future…"

This was the first time the future he knew changed. This meant his action of mining large quantity of coin could also change the future. Woosung's stress went through the roof.

Suddenly, his phone rang again.

It was Shin Semi.

"She must be desperate."

His phone wouldn't stop ringing all day.

7 missed calls.

All the leaders of KYLO shared their phone numbers. Woosung saw he had three missed calls from Jung Jinsup, two from Lee Sunghyun, one from Shin Semi, and one from an unknown number.

Woosung didn't call anyone back. He knew value usually increases with rarity.

Shin Semi bit her fingernail. He was right again. This was the third time. Once or twice could be coincidences, but a third time?

She really believed Woosung could predict the future by data analysis. She tried to stay calm, but it was difficult.

When Jung Jinsup called her asking for Woosung's alternative contact information, she finally called Woosung herself.

He didn't answer her. She remembered the last time something like this happened.

After the general election result, she called him, but he didn't answer. He only came to her when she sent someone to get him.

Was this his way of making her come to him in person again?

She had her pride. She didn't like this at all.

How could she change this relationship?

She needed to become the one in power. Shin Semi thought carefully. She needed to learn to control him and get any information he had.

She will get her chance. She just had to wait for it.

Now, how could she get him to come to her without asking?

Suddenly, her phone rang.

"The Chairman is asking for you."

"Pardon?"

"The Blue House has asked for help regarding the exchange rate problem."

Shin Semi looked at her screen.

Exchange rate: 17.0310

This was getting problematic.

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Chapter 71:

Investing in the exchange rate market was a stressful period for Woosung. Naturally, he wasn't able to focus on his company work during this time.

After everything was settled, Woosung could finally get back to his company.

When he arrived at work, he sat down and studied various things including the exchange rate trends and the world financial news.

Woosung's room was filled with books on daytime trading and forex trading. One day, Woosung was reading late into the night in his office when Jang Gwanchul walked into his room.

Forex trading strategy was the book Woosung was holding.

"Boss, are you planning to upgrade the algorithm trading system?"

Woosung thought of hiding the book, but instead, he answered him. "As I said earlier, I am trying to think globally."

"Don't overwork yourself. If you lose your health, you'll lose everything."

Woosung laughed awkwardly. "Haha, okay."

"Then I'll see you later."

"Phew…"

Woosung sighed with relief.

Jang Gwangchul must have spread the news. Yoon Gihwan, Park Junwoo, and Kim Yonggun came to Woosung and asked about how they would upgrade their algorithm trading system.

"I was thinking it's about time we need to adjust the winning stock recommendation algorithm. Are you already on it, boss?"

When Woosung couldn't answer, Yoon Gihwan murmured quietly. "Umm…What's with your reaction? Do you not trust us? The vice president told us. He said you're looking into forex trading."

"Oh…"

Kim Yonggun pointed at the books in Woosung's room. "And that's why you are reading all these books, right?"

"Haha, I guess."

"So how much work have you done on it so far? We can help you."

Park Junwoo added. "We might not be much, but we can still help."

Yoon Gihwan asked. "Are you getting involved in currency future? Or FX?"

"I am considering both," Woosung answered cautiously.

"Alright. Then we will look into both as well."

"O…okay."

This was a week ago. As far as Woosung could remember, no more exchange rate turbulence would happen until the 2016 Brexit. This meant from now on, Woosung had to rely only on the algorithm function.

This was Woosung's plan all along, but he felt tired of having to continue studying when he was so rich already.

Woosung shook his head. "I can't think like this. I can't become lazy."

He continued to study. It was a good thing he was smarter now, or else, it would have taken him much longer to learn.

Foreign currency trading always occurred in pairs.

Korean Won/Dollar.

Dollar/Euro.

Yen/Dollar.

The currency on the left was called the base currency, while the one on the right was called the quote or counter currency. The exchange rate was affected by the interest rates of national banks in each country.

For example, if the interest rate in a Korean bank increased, foreign investors would flock to it. On the other hand, if the rate was low, fewer dollars would enter Korea. In turn, the exchange rate would rise.

This wasn't always the case. The exchange rate was of national importance, so the government often involved themselves to maintain a certain level.

If it went up, it brought it down; when it went down, it brought it up.

In a democratic country, the government was allowed to have only a minimal influence. The best thing was for the market to correct itself.

When Shin Semi arrived at Nuri Enterprise's CEO Shin Yongwon's room, he asked her. "Advisor Shin, how many offshore funds do you have right now?"

"A little over a hundred million dollars."

"How much of it can you cash in right away?"

"About 50 million dollars."

"Before the exchange rate goes down, make sure to use all your available cash."

"But…"

Before Shin Semi could reply, Shin Yongwon glared at her. "This is a chance you can't miss. Anyway, the Blue House asked all the banks for help for this reason. They expect us to put our personal funds in."

Shin Semi murmured. "The foundation of finances is trust. We can't justify doing anything that will cause us to lose this trust."

The current exchange rate was 17.00.

This was a great chance. "Have you still not realized why you haven't received a promotion for a long time?" Shin Yongwon looked at his daughter with disappointment.

"If this is the way to get a promotion, then I don't want it."

Shin Yongwon turned away from her. "You have so much more to learn. Soon, the foreigners will get involved in the Korean market. If we do this, it will help stabilize the exchange rate without the Korean government having to get involved directly.""If the government gets involved, the other countries will not look kindly on it. This is why the government gives chances like this to corporations like ours."

Shin Semi asked untrustingly. "But this is only your interpretation of the government's request."

"What was the point of going to Princeton and graduate from the economics department? You are still so naïve. I shouldn't have let you go to that school." Shin Yongwon criticized her crudely.

"Because of people like you, general population sees every businessman as a con man. The world sees Korea as a corrupt country. Why do you think the Nuri Bank fails to make it in other countries?"

"There is no guarantee your way will make us successful. Unless you have clear data to prove your theory, do as I say."

Shin Semi knew her father wouldn't change his mind. It was always this way. When she remained silent, Shin Yongwon gave her a final warning.

"Or else, you'll lose everything you have."

Shin Semi stared at him with a blank expression and left. Shin Yongwon looked at his daughter with a heightened sense of disappointment.

She needed a drink. Without thinking, Shin Semi arrived at the building where Woosung's company KND was located. She took the elevator and went up to his office.

"I am here to see President Kang Woosung."

At the unexpected appearance of a beauty, the developers murmured. Kim Yonggun especially got excited.

"Um… she…she…"

Yoon Gihwan turned around towards the door and saw her. "Hmm? Advisor Shin Semi?"

Kim Yonggun rose from his seat and knocked on Woosung's door. Woosung was just about to walk out. He greeted her in surprise.

"I didn't realize you were coming…"

"If you have time, would you like to have a drink?"

Woosung couldn't say no.

They found a quiet place and here, they decided to sit down. Shin Semi drank in silence while Woosung would peek at her in secrecy.

After a few drinks, Shin Semi finally shared her thoughts. "While I studied at Princeton, I always swore I wouldn't become one of those rich corrupt businessmen."

Woosung nodded in agreement. "I see."

"I studied my ass off, I graduated with good grades. I had many offers from Wallstreet, but I returned to Korea."

"The Chairman's orders, I presume?"

Shin Semi shook her head.

"No, it wasn't like that. I wanted to. I planned to make Nuri Enterprise a bank known all over the globe."

Woosung decided to compliment her. "Haha, your father must have been proud."

Shin Semi laughed bitterly and answered. "No, it was the opposite."

"Oh…"

"He wasn't happy with me."

Woosung stayed quiet. Shin Semi looked at him.

"You are the big brother who analyzes big data to find answers. Do you think you can figure out what I did wrong?"

Woosung did not have enough time to contemplate, but he understood the gist of what she's saying. She must have had an argument with the chairman, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" Woosung asked as if it was a natural thing for him to say.

Shin Semi stayed still. Woosung continued slowly.

"When I predicted the financial crisis and the general election result, you doubted me. After you found out I got them right, you started trusting me." Woosung laughed with a sarcastic undertone. "When I asked to join KYLO, I wasn't sure if you would say yes."

Shin Semi stammered. "W…well that's…"

"I'm not blaming you. I am just telling you the facts of our relationship." As Woosung continued, Shin Semi's expression changed. "You want to know what you did wrong?"

Shin Semi nodded. "Yes."

"I think what you did wrong is that you haven't proven yourself yet."

Shin Semi inhaled deeply.

"As I proved myself with real results, you need to do the same to the chairman."

She nodded again.

Shin Semi felt confused. She felt different around this man. Why was that? As she pondered by her lonesome, her curiosity sparked back to her memory.

"By the way, why didn't you answer my call?"

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Chapter 72:

Her sudden question flustered Woosung.

"I…I didn't know. I was busy, I didn't realize you called."

"You must have seen you missed a call when you checked your phone later that day, right?"

"Honestly, I have been so busy with the new company I haven't had the chance to look at my phone at all."

Shin Semi scoffed a begrudged answer. "Well, I guess I'll believe you."

Woosung felt guilty for some reason.

'Why is she upset?'

Shin Semi ate a piece of steak and explained. "I called you because other KYLO members have been calling me."

Woosung's eyes sharpened. Someone called Shin Semi because he couldn't get a hold of Woosung. He could guess who it was.

"Was it Jung Jinsup?"

"Yes, and there is one more."

Woosung couldn't think of anyone. Shin Semi answered.

"Lee Sunghyun. The current KYLO president. He called."

Lee Sunghyun.

Attorney at the Law Firm Pyunghwa and the second son of the current Korean President.

What did he want?

"Why didn't you answer other members' calls? Didn't you join KYLO to get close to them?"

"For the same reason why I didn't answer your call."

Shin Semi replied seriously. "These people are not used to waiting for anyone. They may take it the wrong way."

Woosung smiled. "I will remember your advice."

After work, Williams Liam sighed deeply and sat down.

He made another huge profit from the recent transactions.

He already exceeded his goal for this year.

Unless he made a major mistake for the rest of the year, he was sure to get a big incentive. He was grinning happily when someone approached him.

"I gathered the information you requested."

"Okay. Thank you."

Liam opened the test database ran by Ryan Capital.

New York stock exchange.

Chicago commerce exchange.

These places provided the information on any transactions that happened in their systems for a fee. They couldn't give away any private information, but they provided which banks or hedge funds were used to make the transactions.

Liam was looking for a specific transaction serial number.

Each trader had a unique serial number. Using this, he planned to figure out who was involved and which algorithm was used.

"Let's see." Liam's eyes flared. He started analyzing the data like a rabid dog. "Let's first put everything in order based on the serial number, then filter out any transactions involved less than 10 million dollars."

This reduced the amount of data to half.

Liam used the statistics package R Studio and created a graph with the filtered data.

As he studied it, he picked up the serial number he was looking for.

This trader bought continuously at 13.00's until it reached 14.20. Afterward, there were no more purchases. When Liam looked at its sell records, it looked like this trader started selling after the rate reached 15.00.

"It seems like it sold everything as soon as it went over 15.00's. This can't be based on an algorithm. This kind of all-in technique is too risky to be recommended by any trading system…"

This meant someone made a human decision to do this. Not even the world's greatest bank Goldman Sachs would attempt something like this.

Liam opened the excel file named "2008-09-10-11."

A similar thing happened during the financial crisis. A trader bought options right before the Dow Jones dropped.

"It can't be…" There was no such thing as coincidences in this world. "Who?"

Liam started to get goosebumps. Even the best expert investors couldn't pull off something like this.

As soon as Woosung arrived at work the next morning, three people looked at him, expecting news in more ways than one. Yoon Gihwan, Park Junwoo, and Kim Yonggun surrounded Woosung and pushed him into the conference room.

"President, we have been contemplating about this project for days."

Woosung nodded and listened.

"We came to a conclusion. There is no way the three of us could come up with something like a winning stock recommendation function like you did. This meant one thing. It is impossible for us to develop an algorithm for FX margin or currency future."

Woosung frowned at the word 'impossible'. He didn't like the word. Yoon Gihwan noticed Woosung's expression and added quickly.

"But we haven't given up yet. We thought about what we can do, and we came up with HFT (High-Frequency Trading). This is our prototype."

As soon as Yoon Gihwan finished, Kim Yonggun opened a PPT.

"FX HFT Test Results."

It appeared that they already tested the product.

"If you use this in Korea, there will be some network issues…You aren't thinking of Korea as the target customer, are you?" Woosung asked.

"No. We already contacted Jonathan in America and installed it at an IDC in California. We learned that compared to making transactions through the Korean server, it is 0.00005 seconds faster."

Oh?

Woosung was pleasantly surprised. "Then we will report to you regarding the test result." Yoon Gihwan continued confidently.

Kim Yonggun clicked, and the next slide appeared.

After the presentation, Woosung had to admit his surprise.

"I see that you worked hard on this."

Yoon Gihwan smiled proudly. "Haha, you have been working so hard on the new algorithm that we thought we can't just sit around."

Woosung groaned. He was not working on the algorithm at all, but now it seemed like he had to.

"We will continue to test it and show you the final product before the end of this month."

Yoon Gihwan added emphatically. "You need to finish your algorithm for us to test it accurately, so please finish it ASAP."

Woosung was speechless, he had nothing to say back at them, but luckily, someone burst into the room.

"P…President, you need to come out quick."

"What's wrong?"

"T…that attorney is here."

"Attorney?"

"L…Lee Parksung's son Lee Sunghyun is here!"

Woosung grinned.

'So he's here.'

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Chapter 73:

Lee Sunghyun.

He was the second son of Korea's current President and an attorney working at the Law Firm Pyunghwa specializing in Corporation/Customer relationship.

He was rumored to be interested in entering the political world like his father.

Woosung was from the future. He knew exactly what would happen.

He bowed deeply. "Welcome to my humble office. I apologize. I meant to call you back, but I've been so busy with my work…"

"Haha, that's alright. I realize how hard it is to run a company."

"You are so kind. I see why people love you so much."

"You flatter me. I am actually awed by you. You became a CEO at such a young age."

They kept their conversation light. They seem to enjoy playing this game of flattery together.

10 years from now.

Lee Parksung becomes involved in a controversy during his second term. An investigation begins, and Lee Sunghyun becomes a subject of interest to the related investigation too.

'He probably got arrested.'

Woosung died before the investigation was completed. The rumor at the time was the President would likely be prosecuted, while Lee Sunghyun would be released.

While Woosung was deep in his thought, Lee Sunghyun lowered his voice.

"Haha, I have an important matter to discuss with you."

Woosung replied with a lower tone. "I am all ears."

"I watched the exchange rate as you suggested. It was impressive, although I am a bit worried that it reached 17.00."

Woosung answered honestly. "I wasn't able to predict it more accurately. I should have considered the possibility of hedge funds getting involved and therefore pushing the upward trend further along. I am embarrassed."

Lee Sunghyun looked at him in kind. Woosung was so confident during the party, but now he looked humble.

"I believe in admitting one's mistake." Woosung explained.

Lee Sunghyun observed Woosung. "If you continue to make mistakes, you will lose people's trust."

"I gain trust through my results. I don't have to convince people of my abilities."

Lee Sunghyun nodded approvingly. "There will be a provincial election in June next year and a by-election in July."

Liberty Korean Party will win the majority. Woosung knew this, but he couldn't remember the exact number of seats.

"You can't be planning to run as the candidate for the Liberty Korean Party, which means…" Lee Sunghyun was a big fish. He definitely would not run for a position in a remote countryside. "You plan to participate from the sideline then. In Seoul most likely." Woosung continued.

Woosung guessed correctly. Lee Sunghyun lost all his doubts.

Woosung added. "I assume Oh Hoon will represent the Liberty Korean Party while Han Minsook will represent the Democratic Party. I expect it to be quite an election."

This was not an information known in public ears. Only those high in the government knew it. How could Kang Woosung know this top-secret information?

"Did you come to this conclusion from your data again?"

Woosung tapped his head. "It came from my brain. Data may have the info, but I am the one analysing it."

"Well, you better have more accurate results from now on than the one for the exchange rate."

Woosung smiled and answered. "I did predict correctly that it would rise and possibility beyond 15.30. I may not be able to predict the exact number of seats, but I can analyze to find out who will win the election. When I say I can predict it, I also mean I can MAKE it happen if necessary."

Lee Sunghyun replied slowly. "If the big brother can show me another proof of your ability, I would love to offer you a job of digital media chief for the next year's provincial election."

"Let's see…I have information in many different areas…Politics, finances, world…The quickest and surest way to prove myself would be probably the North Korean missile test."

Lee Sunghyun's eyes widened and exclaimed. "Pardon?"

"It is possible to predict the North Korean's behaviour based on big data. Within one week, North Korea will provoke us with a missile."

Lee Sunghyun couldn't hide his shock.

How could anyone predict something like this?

Woosung smiled knowingly and continued.

"If you give me more time, I can probably come up with an exact date. Could you wait for me for an hour?"

Lee Sunghyun nodded earnestly.

Woosung's smile deepened. He left and murmured to himself. "Just like the exchange rate volatility, I remember the North Korean incident very well."

Two rounds of North Korean missile test will be conducted today. Nuclear test will follow. Stock market will fluctuate due to uncertainty.

Shin Semi was glued to the TV all day. Woosung predicted that the North Korean missile test would happen today.

He foretold an exact date. Then he suggested that she report it to the chairman. He advised her.

"This is a sure thing. Because of this incident, the market will fluctuate. Show your father that you're different than him."

Shin Semi told Chairman Shin Yongwon confidently. She wanted to show him one can be honest and still become successful. She wanted to build a transparent company, an ethical company.

Shin Semi watched the news anxiously.

Woosung promised that it would happen today.

That was when a breaking news broke out.

"We have a breaking news."

Her heart pounded.

"A serious automobile accident occurred on the Olympic highway with five fatalities."

She became frustrated and wanted to turn off the TV but stopped herself. She tried to calm down and continued watching the program.

After an hour, another breaking news came out.

"This is a breaking news. North Korea has fired two missiles. According to the report, the missiles have been fired at approximately 2:30PM towards the East Sea of Korea."

After the news, the red light of KOSPI turned to blue. Chairman Shin Yongwon was called immediately.

Woosung and Lee Sunghyun were sitting in front of a TV together.

Woosung said to Lee Sunghyun, who was staring at the screen in shock. "I analyzed 10 years worth of news from all over the world."

"I can't believe you even got the time right! Hahaha! You are indeed a big brother!" Lee Sunghyun wasn't listening. He instead exclaimed in excitement.

Woosung laughed, but Lee Sunghyun again focused on the news and didn't even notice Woosung.

"As you can see, data analysis is an amazing tool. It is the future of the world. It can be used everywhere for everything."

Lee Sunghyun turned around to look at Woosung. "What do you want?"

He seemed like he was ready to offer anything. Woosung replied with the answer he prepared in advance.

"I heard the government is looking for a financial algorithm for the National Pension plan and an official messenger app to be used by government officials. I want you to introduce KND's algorithm and our Coconut app to them for consideration."

Lee Sunghyun frowned. "Hmm… I'll have to check, but I don't think I have the power to get your products chosen. You are very greedy."

"All I want is a fair chance for these opportunities. Just let my company's products be able to compete against other corporations' software."

A fair chance.

Lee Sunghyun could pull some strings to make it happen.

"And that's all you want? Just a chance?"

"Yes." Woosung answered firmly.

"I guess I can make that happen."

Lee Sunghyun made a few calls, and within an hour, Woosung's requests were met.

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Chapter 74:

This was the power of being the President's son.

Lee Sunghyun only needed to make a few calls to make things happen. The government messenger was to be selected in 4 months, while the algorithm for the National Pension was to be decided after the provincial election.

Woosung felt the power of political authority.

He may be a rich businessman, but compared to Lee Sunghyun, his power was very limited.

If he did something illegal, could he get away with it with money?

Woosung shook his head. Maybe, but not for sure. Those with power could. Someone like Lee Sunghyun and Daeyang's CEO could order around the police and the prosecutors easily. They owned the justice system.

Lee Sunghyun turned to Woosung.

"The team leaders of each division will be asked to meet starting next month to start preparing for the election. As the chief of digital media division, you will need to attend as well."

"I understand."

"Then I will call you later."

Lee Sunghyun left the office. Woosung sat down on a chair and sighed. It has been a long day, but unfortunately, there was still more work to do. His phone hasn't stopped vibrating for a while now. The caller ID indicated that it was Jung Jinsup. It was time to meet him.

He met with Jung Jinsup in Gangnam. Jung Jinsup was the future CTO of Bitmain and Woosung's boss. There was a distinct possibility he was involved in Woosung's death. Jung Jinsup knew about it and didn't do anything to stop it.

Woosung had to restrain himself from punching him in the face. Jung Jinsup took him to a bar.

"There are some nice ladies working here. If you ever need a place to do business, bring your clients here."

He turned around to the woman standing nearby.

"The madam will take good care of you. Right, sweetheart?" Jung Jinsup was the same. He was a creepy lecher.

The madam smiled and answered. "Of course. We always welcome young handsome CEOs. We have a lot of pretty girls here so let me know your type."

Woosung tried to calm down his anger and replied. "Thank you. I will call you if I need you."

Woosung and Jung Jinsup entered a private room.

"So Woosung, I am impressed with you. What statistics package did you use? R or Python? How many equations did you use?"

Jung Jinsup clearly knew a lot about analysis. He graduated from a computer science program after all.

In his previous life, Woosung never doubted Jung Jinsup's skills or ability as a programmer. Woosung replied using technical words to further earn his trust.

"I used both. I started with the Python. R isn't adequate for working with a large amount of data. After sorting with Python, I used NumPy, SciPy, and other libraries with my own personal equations."

Jung Jinsup understood it immediately.

"NumPy and SciPy…That's brilliant. I would love to learn your equations but…I guess you won't tell me?"

"Haha, as I said before, it's a trade secret."

"So you're telling me you discovered the exchange rate trend based on your analysis, and you can figure other things out as well?"

"Exactly."

"Now, would you be able to predict a specific person's behavior pattern too? Like what that person likes? How to make that person like you? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Woosung did understand, but he couldn't understand Jung Jinsup's intention. When Woosung looked confused, Jung Jinsup lowered his voice and continued.

"There is a woman I'm interested in, but I can't figure out what she likes. She is not a nobody, so I can't do anything rash. She can't be bought with money either."

Woosung finally understood.

Problems with women.

He wanted Woosung to apply data analysis on psychology.

In 2018, it was a commonly used practice.

Companies analyzed customers' browsing histories and placed intentional ad banners in strategic places. However, in 2009, this was not common, and Woosung wasn't sure if he could develop a system for it.

When Woosung hesitated, Jung Jinsup added. "As you must already know, Lee Ari is the biggest star now. I found out her phone number somehow, but she barely responds to me. She is from a powerful family, so I can't just push her around. I don't know how I can get her…"

Woosung couldn't believe what he was hearing. Jung Jinsup didn't notice Woosung's disgust and continued.

"Hahaha, you know what I mean, right? You're interested in Semi, right? She is not going to be easy. I tried a few times but gave up. She plays hard to get."

Woosung grabbed the glass and drank it in a single gulp. He calmed himself down and replied slowly.

"I see. Lee Ari is such a big star that it may be possible to do it."

Lee Ari was going to be an even bigger star in 10 years. Woosung was also her big fan and knew a lot about her career. He felt like he could use this information to his advantage. Jung Jinsup's face shone with a smile.

"Really? Hahaha. You can figure out what a person likes? You really are a big brother!"

"You flatter me. But as you must know, I can't guarantee anything. Most likely I will be able to figure out vague and limited information."

"Anything you can find out, I would appreciate it! And if you help me out, I will set up a meeting for you with Taewon." Jung Jinsup exclaimed.

Jun Taewon.

Son of TK Telecom's CEO.

He was rumored to be the next CEO of the company. If Woosung wanted to release Blue S in Korea, Jun Taewon was someone he had to meet.

Jung Jinsup continued. "However, just like you, I can't guarantee how successful the meeting will be. It will depend on you."

It was a good opportunity, but Woosung shook his head. Woosung already had a connection with Lee Sunghyun, who most likely could introduce Woosung to Jun Taewon as well.

"That's a good offer, but I need something else from you. Meeting Jun Taewon is something I think I can figure out myself."

Jung Jinsup frowned.

Woosung added quickly. "What I need is…Do you by chance know Choi Gichul very well? I need Daeyang for my smartphone manufacturing parts."

Jung Jinsup grinned. "Haha, of course. He is like a big brother to me. He is currently finishing an MBA program at Dartmouth."

"When he returns to Korea, please introduce us."

"That's easy."

"Great. I really need him."

Jung Jinsup shook Woosung's hand. "Now it's time to drink!"

Jung Jinsup buzzed the madam again.

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Chapter 75:

Jung Jinsup loved women and booze. Woosung drank with him late into the night.

"It's great here, right? You better thank me for bringing you here. I didn't even tell anyone at KYLO about this place." Jung Jinsup boasted.

Woosung wanted to leave but stayed and agreed.

"Haha, thank you, bro."

"Hahaha, another drink! Now, why are you sitting like a monk? You look lonely there all by yourself. Grab a girl!"

Jung Jinsup groped a woman beside him. The woman moaned excitedly.

It was a disturbing scene. Woosung pretended to be drunk and asked Jung Jinsup.

"I want to be prepared for meeting Choi Gichul. Can you tell me what I need to avoid doing or mentioning? What does he hate the most?"

"That would be his big brother."

"You mean Choi Gitae?"

Jung Jinsup shook his finger. "No, the other one. The oldest, Choi Taemin. One time we were drinking, and he said that he wanted to kill his brother."

Woosung swallowed. Choi Gichul hated his brother so much he wanted to kill him. Woosung knew he meant it and if he got a chance, he would act on it. He stammered on purpose and replied.

"I…I see."

"So make sure to never mention the name Choi Taemin, okay?"

"Alright."

Jung Jinsup smiled in satisfaction and raised his glass. "Now, let's drink. The night is still young!"

Woosung had more questions he wanted to ask but he didn't want to look suspicious. Jung Jinsup was getting busy with the woman next to him. Woosung drank by himself with a troubled visage.

The next day.

Woosung sighed as he sat down in his office. He could smell the alcohol in his breath. Before they left the bar together, Jung Jinsup said to Woosung.

"Thanks for the drink."

He made Woosung pay.

The bill at the end of the day was about 10,000 dollars.

It was nothing to Woosung, but he hated spending money on Jung Jinsup.

'I will make sure he regrets his life.'

Jang Gwangchul walked into Woosung's room and asked, disappointment was all over his tone.

"Who did you drink with last night? You didn't take me with you. I'm sad."

"I didn't want to, but I had to."

"You drank for business?"

Woosung nodded; Jang Gwangchul grinned. "Welcome to the grownup's world."

"I don't want to be in such a dirty world." Woosung frowned. "By the way, did you get to talk to Lee Ari's management?"

"I did but they said they aren't sure if it's possible. The decision is hers."

"I see."

"Why not get someone else?"

"Then it would be meaningless. She is the best option."

Jang Gwangchul suggested thoughtfully. "There are a lot of great idols out there."

"But no one big enough to be a trendsetter like her."

"I understand Lee Ari is the biggest star, but if we don't have a backup plan, we might end up with no one."

"I will talk to her myself. Please arrange a meeting."

"Alright, I'll try."

After Jang Gwangchul left, Woosung started his research on Lee Ari.

The first thing Woosung did was web crawling.

He gathered as much information as he could on SNS, news, and various online communities.

He then sorted the data using R Studio.

Woosung was by now a pro at data analysis. He also knew Lee Ari's future.

As time went on, Woosung created a report.

In a black van on her way to a studio, Lee Ari sat with a reserved gaze. With her sharp bob, flawless skin, and slim body, she looked like a fragile Greek statue. In her hand was a report.

She stared at it as she asked her manager.

"Where did you say this came from?"

The manager worked with Lee Ari every day, but his heart pounded every time he saw her. He answered.

"It's from KND Corporation. They want to hire you to advertise their new app Coconut Talk."

"Oh…I remember."

The manager added carefully. "It's not a bad idea to meet with them. They are offering a lot of money too. Of course, I'm not saying you should do it for the money! Everyone knows you care about being a true artist, not money."

"Haha, yeah but I know money is important too!"

The manager replied with a smile. "Haha, of course. I heard they are offering more than $500,000, and it's not a TV commercial. You know what Facebook is, right?"

Lee Ari nodded.

"All they want is to record you using the Coconut Talk and upload the video on Facebook. The contract is for a year."

"Hmm…"

While Lee Ari pondered, the manager replied. "You do what you want. The boss wants you to be happy."

She was only 20, but she was a huge star. Her management company valued her as its biggest asset.

Lee Ari believed in being an artist, not a sellout, but the report was so intriguing. What it said resonated with her, more so than what her management company recommended for her career. Lee Ari asked her manager.

"What do you think?"

The manager scratched his head and answered. "Oh, haha. My opinion doesn't matter. It's your decision."

"But I want to hear your thoughts."

"Well…I think…"

He glanced at her. He wanted to come to the same conclusion as Lee Ari's. After thinking, he offered.

"I think you shouldn't do it. I think becoming a commercial model will negatively affect your image as an artist. Remember last time when there was a problem with the product you sponsor? You were partly blamed for it! It was unfair."

Lee Ari handed the report to her manager and replied. "Haha, you're right but have you read this?"

"Lee Ari."

"What she needs to do to become the world's biggest star."

It was a grand title. Manager nodded.

"Haha of course. I read it carefully before giving it to you."

"Oh, I see. So you did read it."

"It seemed like whoever wrote it didn't understand the entertainment industry at all. He said your current TV show is a wrong choice for you. Don't you remember how hard our boss worked to get you this job?"

Lee Ari was on her way to meet with the staff for her new TV series "Lovely Woman." The writer of the report, KND's Kang Woosung, suggested she should instead take the main role for a different TV drama titled "Intimacy."

As the title suggested, "Intimacy" was not a G-rated show.

Lee Ari was popular for her "innocent girl" image so it was decided by her management team that this show didn't suit her.

"I know how hard our boss worked to get me to where I am. I am very appreciative. I am also thankful to you, manager."

The manager smiled broadly. Lee Ari leaned back and thought.

'It's time to get a new manager.'

They worked together for a whole year, yet he didn't understand her at all. How could he not agree with the report?

Lee Ari was disappointed.

'The audience wants to see a different side of me. My fans and the media have already mentioned this before.'

The report was convincing, but she couldn't change to a different show because of a single report from a stranger.

Lee Ari thought carefully. She became a celebrity because she wanted to be loved. She never felt it from her own family, so she swore to become a top star.

The report promised to make her the beloved star of this country and the world.

"I don't think it's a bad idea to meet with him." She murmured quietly.

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Chapter 76:

The office of Top Entertainment.

Woosung looked outside the window.

A crowd of fans was waiting for the black van to open.

"We love you!"

"Lee Ari! We wanna see you!"

"You're the best, Ari!"

The fans ranged from teenage girls to grown men in their 30's. Standing next to Woosung, Jang Gwanchul murmured.

"Wow, she's definitely a big star."

"How about you? Do you like her too?"

Jang Gwangchul replied. "Of course I like her, but I have no chance with her."

"Why not? With your success, it might happen. Even today's meeting was possible because of your status."

Jang Gwangchul looked outside and answered bitterly. "Haha, I have been working so hard all my life. Then I suddenly realized that I'm over 40. Lee Ari is over 20 years younger than me. I have no chance with her."

"Age difference is only a number. There are plenty of couples with large age gaps. What matters is love."

"You sound like you want me to date her."

"Haha, it's not like that. I'm just wondering why you aren't dating anyone."

"Well, all I have left in me is greed. I have no energy for relationships. It's you who should be dating right now. Lee Ari is in your age group, right? Good luck!" Jang Gwangchul murmured.

While they chatted, Lee Ari, her manager, and their boss walked in. Woosung bowed to them.

"Nice to meet you. I'm KND's Kang Woosung."

"My name is Lee Ari."

It was true that most celebrities looked better in person. Lee Ari was beautiful, magnificent even, much more so than on TV.

Her features were delicate, yet she had an aura of subtle sexuality. Woosung shivered but tried his best to act nonchalantly.

"Let's have a seat. I'm sure you guys are all busy, so let's get to the business."

Lee Ari's eyes shined. Woosung was different.

Usually, whenever she met a stranger, they always gawked at her.

"You are so much more beautiful than on screen."

"You look gorgeous."

"Can I shake your hand?"

"I went to the same junior high as you did!"

Every man she met always tried to impress her, but this man was different. Lee Ari's interest grew.

Woosung opened his laptop to start a presentation for her. He had done many major presentations in front of a large crowds before. This was a piece of cake.

Steady voice.

Confident eye contacts.

Simple yet direct presentation.

Accurate data.

It was perfect.

Woosung spent about 30 minutes on where Lee Ari's career should head. After the presentation, the CEO of the Top Entertainment asked.

"So you're saying she should give up her cute girl image and aim to become a classy yet sexy star?"

"Yes."

Lee Ari smiled and asked. "Thank you for your presentation. I appreciate how hard you worked to hire me for your product. What I don't understand though is why I should become a model for Coconut Talk."

"Let me ask you first. Did you like my presentation?" Woosung answered immediately.

Lee Ari nodded with a small smile.

"Coconut Talk is a messenger system. In the future, users will converse about everything via this app, including you."

Woosung looked at her. Lee Ari was the daughter of a politician. She understood what Woosung was suggesting, but her manager was oblivious.

"You haven't answered her question…She asked you why she should become the spokesperson for Coconut."

Woosung turned to the manager and answered.

"Well, firstly, I am offering a good compensation for the role. I will double whatever you usually charge other companies."

Lee Ari and the CEO seemed surprised. The manager tried to hide his reaction and continued.

"But…Lee Ari can't be bought. She hasn't done many commercial works and it wasn't because she wasn't offered enough."

"I am well aware of that fact, and that's why I brought this presentation."

The manager pointed at the report and complained. "I am also unhappy with this report. What you suggest doesn't suit Ari. Classy sexy? That's not right for her. What people want is innocent girly Ari."

CEO Moon Yongjun seemed to feel the same way. "I agree with you that her first album was a success, but it may not have been necessary because of its sexy concept. The second album wasn't as big of a hit, but not necessarily because it lacked sex appeal."

Both the manager and CEO didn't like Woosung's suggestion despite the data Woosung provided as proof. Woosung turned to Lee Ari.

She seemed to have a different opinion but remained silent.

Woosung was out of ideas.

'What should I do now…Is this not going to work after all?'

Woosung felt the strong need to hire Lee Ari. He changed the future of Coconut Talk including its release date and format. Woosung worried this could change the success of the app as well.

'All I need is for Lee Ari to like my idea. The other two don't matter.'

While Woosung waited, the manager added. "The entertainment industry is not something you can predict with data. Lee Ari is not someone who can be analyzed and judged by internet data."

"1.5 million dollars."

"Pardon?"

"I will offer you 1.5 million dollars for a one-year contract. All you have to do is upload photos of yourself using Coconut Talk on Facebook."

The CEO suddenly looked interested. The manager glanced at his boss. When neither replied, Woosung offered.

"2 million dollars. Same conditions."

The CEO looked at Lee Ari, who stared at Woosung. Her manager started to pant.

two million dollars. It was a lot of money. Woosung looked at of them. None of them replied.

"How about three million dollars."

"What?"

Three men exclaimed. The manager, CEO, and Jang Gwangchul.

"But that would require TV commercial too," Woosung added.

Jang Gwangchul poked Woosung but was ignored.

Woosung looked at Lee Ari. She was the one who had the power to make this decision. Three million dollars was a lot of money, but she would be worth it. The number of users she could attract was limitless.

"What do you think? Would this be enough?"

When Woosung asked, the manager and Moon Yongjun looked at Lee Ari. 3 million dollars was definitely worth it. They no longer cared about Woosung's presentation and what he recommended. They wanted the money. Lee Ari looked at them in disappointment.

"It's enough money, but…"

When Lee Ari hesitated, Woosung offered again. "5 million dollars."

Lee Ari was shocked. "… pardon?"

"I will give you 5 million dollars."

Jang Gwanghcul's eyes widened. Moon Yongjun and the manager couldn't even breath. The room was filled with tension. Woosung stared directly at Lee Ari.

When she didn't answer again, Woosung said one more time.

"10 million dollars."No one breathed. Lee Ari's eyes were in shock. Jang Gwangchul laughed awkwardly.

"H…aha, Woosung is very funny. He likes to joke."

"I'm not kidding. I believe Lee Ari is worth every penny."

Jang Gwangchul shook his head. "Hahaha. O..of course I know Lee Ari is the biggest star out there, but…Can we talk in private, Woosung?"

Woosung had eyes only for her. He asked her.

"What do you think?"

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Chapter 77: lt;K coingt;

Hiccup.

The manager hiccuped loudly. The CEO appeared mystified.

Lee Ari stared at Woosung in shock.

10 million dollars.

She made her debut at the age of 18, and within two years, she reached the top. However, even as a top star, she made less than 10 million dollars during that two years.

Now, Woosung was offering 10 million dollars just for a single one-year contract.

Lee Ari felt anxious. This was too much money. Only the biggest Hollywood stars were paid this much, but this has never happened in Korea. Lee Ari began to wonder if Woosung had an ulterior motive.

Woosung saw her suspicion and explained. "Your status and image are worth this much money. You are the biggest idol of teens and people in their 20's. They are our target audience. You are the perfect person for this job."

Lee Ari still looked uncertain. She even looked afraid. Was it because it was too much money?

"I realize that 10 million dollars is a lot of money to consider, but I am offering it to you because I am certain that your role will make us even more money."

Jang Gwangchul poked Woosung's waist again and shook his head. He didn't agree with Woosung.

Lee Ari was still deep in thoughts. Jang Gwangchul stood up suddenly.

"Haha, I am getting really hot. Can I go out for a cup of water?"

The CEO answered.

"S…sure."

Jang Gwangchul dragged Woosung out with him.

He screamed at Woosung.

"President Kang, how can you offer her 10 million dollars? If you run our company like this, we will soon go bankrupt."

Woosung replied loudly. "It's alright. Lee Ari is worth it."

Jang Gwangchul looked shocked. "What? Are you her fan too? Is this because you're her fan?"

"Haha, is there anyone in Korea who isn't her fan?"

"But this is business! You need to think objectively."

"I am doing just that."

Woosung lied. He was being emotional.

Jung Jinsup.

Choi Gichul.

If he could get to them, Woosung was willing to give up everything.

"But 10 million dollars? Do you know Gwyneth Paltrow?"

When Woosung nodded, Jang Gwangchul replied in frustration.

"Do you know how much she gets paid?"

"About 1 million dollars. We already talked about this when we were looking into hiring Hollywood stars for Blue S and Coconut release in America. You said it would be 700,000 dollars for Drew Barrymore and 20 million dollars for Beyoncé."

"So you remember, yet you offered Lee Ari 10 million dollars?"

"Because I believe Ari will be more effective than Beyoncé."

"W…what?"

Woosung answered even louder so people inside could hear him.

"And that is why I am willing to pay even 20 million dollars."

Crack.

A loud sound of someone falling came from the meeting room.

Inside the room.

Manager helping his boss up from the floor.

"Are you okay, boss?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. They are talking about Ari, right?"

"I think so."

"…20 million dollars?"

The manager nodded. "He is either her biggest fan or plain crazy. Could it be that this Coconut is going to be a huge hit? What do you think?"

Lee Ari's manager shook his head.

"I…I don't know. 20 million dollars… Maybe he's bluffing?"

"No way. I know Jang Gwangchul. He has tens of millions of dollars in cash. A boss of someone like him would have much more. It can't be a bluff."

Lee Ari was looking at the door. Moon Yongjun asked her.

"Oh, what do you think? Your opinion matters the most of course, but I really think this is a great opportunity."

His eyes shone with greed.

"I agree with you but…"

"But?"

"I'm just wondering why he would go this far."

"Why? Because he wants his app to be a huge success! What else could it be?"

Lee Ari had a different idea. She felt like Woosung was hiding something.

When Woosung walked returned, he asked her right away. "So did you decide?"

After a few more seconds of hesitation, Lee Ari finally nodded.

"But 10 million dollars is way too much. I don't feel comfortable with it. I will do everything including the TV commercial for 2 million dollars. I also want you to continue to provide me with reports like you did today."

Woosung offered his hand and Lee Ari shook it. Moon Yongjun sighed disappointedly and asked.

"I…is the reduction really necessary?"

Lee Ari didn't pay attention to him. She continued to look at Woosung and asked.

"Shall we sign the contract?"

Jang Gwangchul took out the prepared contract.

On their way back to KND office, Woosung sent a text message to Jung Jinsup.

"Bro, I just hired Lee Ari for my new Coconut service app."

Quickly after it was sent, Woosung's phone vibrated. Woosung ignored it.

"I'm in the car with some people so I am unable to answer your call. Sorry."

"Is it really true, then?"

"Why would I lie to you? We just signed the contract and I happened to remember your request so that's why I texted you."

"My company tried to hire her many times for our game, but we failed every time!"

"It wasn't easy for us either."

"How did you do it? Tell me! I will tell my marketing people, so they can learn from you."

"Haha, we were just lucky."

"Luck is also an ability. You must be good."

Woosung grinned. Jang Gwangchul asked.

"Who are you messaging? Is it Lee Ari by chance?"

"Haha, no. It's a friend."

"A friend?"

"Haha, yup."

Woosung continued to text quickly.

"Thank you for the compliment. Now that I hired her, it will be even easier for me to help you."

"I wish all my employees are like you."

"I will contact you in a few days. Maybe I can arrange a meeting."

"What? Meeting?"

"Maybe we can all have dinner after the commercial shoot."

There was no immediate reply. Woosung wondered.

'Why isn't he answering back?'

After about 5 minutes, Jung Jinsup texted back.

"If you can arrange that, I will ask Gichul to help you out with your cell phone manufacturing. So make it happen!"

He sounded like he was doing a favor for Woosung. Woosung didn't like his tone.

'He thinks he's above me.'

Woosung hated him even more now, but he texted back politely.

"Of course. I will do my best."

When they returned to their office, there was a woman sitting in front of a computer typing fast. She looked sharp and confident. Woosung looked at her closely. She looked familiar.

When he got closer, he became shocked. Her hair was clean and wavy. She seemed to have light makeup on.

Woosung called out.

"Amelia?"

When she didn't reply, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, boss."

"When did you arrive? You should have called me."

"Haha, I got here yesterday. I just wanted to get to work right away."

"…I see."

"Oh, and I wanted to thank you."

"Pardon?"

Amelia whispered to him. "For the incentive."

Woosung felt guilty about taking the entire profit of coin, so he gave her a bonus of 500,000 dollars.

"It's for your hard work. Even now, you are working non-stop."

"Haha." Amelia smiled prettily.

Woosung smiled back and asked. "By the way, what are you working on? Did you already start on the messenger app?"

"Oh, no. I had some extra time, so I created a new type of coin that's better than coin."

"Coin?"

"Well, it's more like a platform. It can be used as a platform for things like Coconut and other services."

Woosung exclaimed.

Blockchain platform!

Just like second generation coin Ethereum and third generation platform Eos!

It was more than just a coin. It was a platform where services could run.

Amelia smiled and continued.

"If we develop the Coconut service on this platform, the blockchain concept could be applied and make it un-hackable."

"H…how did you make it all by yourself?"

"It's only at an early stage. I need to work on it much more to finish it, but I am stuck in a few places. I was hoping to get your advice."

Amelia's eyes sparked, and Woosung started to get nervous.

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Chapter 78: lt;K coingt;

Woosung had a feeling Amelia had a lot of questions. He took her into a conference room where they sat and continued their chat.

Amelia explained. "After I got your message, I had a lot to think about. It won't be hard to run the Coconut service on blockchain base, but wouldn't it be too much work long term?"

"So you created a platform?"

"Haha, yup. This way, Coconut won't be dependent on anything and whenever we need security adjustments or improvements, we can provide SDK (Software Development Kit) just like the Android. I thought it would be best."

"I think I need to give you another bonus."

Amelia replied in embarrassment. "Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't asking for a bonus…"

"But you deserve it. Don't feel overwhelmed by it. Incentives and bonuses are performance based. By the way, didn't you say you had some questions for me?"

"Oh! I just had an epiphany; we are creating a block through the process of mining coins, but our goal for Coconut is to have the customers use it as much as possible for chats. I feel like these two concepts don't go together."

"That's exactly right."

Woosung suddenly remembered one of the cryptocurrencies from 2018.

Steem.

This currency was paid whenever a user posted an article online or clicked "Like." Woosung figured Amelia was about to discuss the same concept.

"So I thought why not reward the users with coins whenever they use the Coconut service? The more they use, the more rewards they get. I was thinking about making a platform for this concept."

This was exactly how Steem worked.

"To do that, it might be hard to have coin that work on PoW (Proof of Work)."

PoW.

It was a way to earn cryptocurrency by working for it online. coin was a good example of this concept.

On the other hand, PoS (Proof of Stake) was different. The reward depended on how much of a particular cryptocurrency you owned. This concept did not exist at this point yet.

Amelia's eyes widened and asked.

"Proof of Work?"

"Yeah, I just came up with the term for it."

"Wow, you're so good. It's a perfect name for the concept."

"Was that your question? To use PoW or not?"

"Yes. I feel like using the service, but mining is a separate thing. We need to come up with a different method for the platform."

"Then how about PoS?"

"PoS?"

Woosung explained the concept to her. Amelia listened with a thorough careful consideration with a murmur. "Which platform should I choose…What's the right answer? Oh, how about combining the two together?"

Amelia was considering the use of a hybrid method, which was often used in 2018. She continued to think out loud.

"…But operating both would make it too complicated."

Woosung waited for her to finish her thought process, but even after 10 minutes, it seemed like she couldn't come to an answer.

Alas, Woosung gave her an offer. "Even if it's complicated, why not try it? I can help you."

Amelia's eyes shined. She looked at Woosung with adoring leers.

"Boss!" She looked like she wanted to kiss him.

"I'll make up a plan for you so let's work together."

Amelia nodded happily.

Jang Gwangchul was waiting for Woosung outside the conference room. When Amelia returned to her chair, Woosung took him inside. Jang Gwangchul glared at him with an obvious hint of rage.

"I guess it's your money, so I can't say anything about it, but if you continue to spend money like this, there is no future for this company."

"I'll be honest. I agree with you. 20 million dollars would have been over-the-top, but I still believe 10 million dollars was reasonable."

"Because?"

Woosung retained a firm hold of his calm demeanor as he explained. "How much do you think Coconut service will be worth in the future?"

Jang Gwangchul seemed surprised as he murmured. "Maybe same as Cyworld? If things work out great, it could even become worth as much as Nexter, the portal site?"

"Haven't you thought about it becoming bigger than Daeyang System?"

Jang Gwangchul didn't reply. In the future, companies based on software services such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon become large corporations.

"I am expecting it to be worth up to trillion dollars. To make it to that level, we need to invest."

"But 10 million dollars is way too much."

Woosung realized he couldn't convince him, but he also couldn't tell Jang Gwangchul the truth, including about Jung Jinsup.

"I suspected the financial crisis was coming, but I bought put options on Dow Jones. That is how I made my money. I gambled all my money on it."

Jang Gwangchul stared at Woosung with interest. "R…really?"

"If you knew about it, you probably would've stopped me. Most people lose money when they dabble in options."

"Are you telling me there will be more decisions you make that I will find too risky?"

"Yes. I will do things you might find crazy. I may use a lot more money on things, and you might not understand why."

"And you want me to just accept it?"

"No, it's not like that."

Jang Gwangchul sighed deeply. "Woosung, I trust you, but what you did, and what you are going to do will be very hard for anyone to accept."

"I will listen to your opinions, but if I don't back down, then please just trust me and follow my lead."

"…And how would I know you're making the right decision?"

"I will prove it."

"How?"

Woosung frowned for a second before giving a reply. "Soon, one of the previous Presidents of Korea will pass away. He won't die of a natural cause, but he also won't be murdered."

Jang Gwangchul slapped the table and raised himself up in a maddened frenzy. "You're crazy! How can you predict something like that?"

Woosung lowered his voice. "Calm down."

"How can I calm down?"

"It's the person who is being investigated right now. Just wait and see."

When Woosung said confidently, Jang Gwangchul started to worry. "Do you know what you're saying?"

"Yes. I sometimes surprise myself too. You said before that I smell like money. I think what you smell is actually ghosts."

"W…what?"

"I dream every night. In my dreams, I see the future. My dreams have never been wrong so far."

Jang Gwangchul couldn't believe Woosung. He kept glaring with suspicion.

Woosung then proclaimed to Jang Gwangchul. "It will happen before the end of May. If I'm wrong, I won't do anything you don't approve of ever again."

Jang Gwangchul had no choice but to agree on this deal.

A few days later.

In the KYLO regular meeting.

Shin Semi sipped on a glass of champagne and glanced at Woosung, who was chatting familiarly with Jung Jinsup.

There was no room for Shin Semi to join in their chat. They laughed and talked. She couldn't hear their conversation.

Lee Sunghyun approached Woosung and asked to talk with him in private. It was shocking to see such an important man showing interest in Woosung. They conversed with serious expressions. Lee Sunghyun asked with a frown.

"It can't be…"

"I can see anger, pain, and desperation. It's solid information based on tens of thousands of photos.""It will happen within a few days. It could even be today."

Lee Sunghyun asked in shock. "Today?"

"Yes."

Lee Sunghyun paused. He remembered the North Korean missile test. He had his doubts on Woosung's prediction this time, but he also couldn't ignore it.

Shin Semi joined in with a question. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Haha, it's nothing."

Shin Semi frowned at them. "It looked like you are talking about something really interesting."

Suddenly, Lee Sunghyun's phone vibrated. He looked at Woosung as soon as he saw the caller's number. Woosung nodded in response. Lee Sunghyun answered the phone and nodded with a grim look, his skin getting paler. After hanging up, he announced.

"I just received an important news."

Other members seemed to have already heard the news too. They looked at each other with rigid gazes.

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Chapter 79: lt;K coingt;

It seemed like most, if not all, people in the room received a message from their own varying sources.

Shin Semi asked Woosung. "So you provided this information to him first?"

"Yes. As you suggested, the first thing I needed to do was break down the exclusivity of this group. Now, I have gained their trusts."

"That was easy."

"Haha, no way. It's never easy to predict the future. You know that very well."

"I mean, it was easy for you, Woosung. I've been wanting to speak with you for a while now, I wanted to thank you for what you told me last time. I was able to gain the Chairman's trust again with the information you gave me."

"You're welcome. Think of it as me repaying you for introducing me to KYLO."

Lee Sunghyun suddenly came to Woosung. "I'm leaving now, I will see you later. Call me if you have any other new information. I have a lot to trade with you."

Woosung bowed and answered. "I understand."

Shin Semi nudged Woosung with a joking voice. "It looks like you guys are great friends now."

Woosung grinned. "You and I are good friends too, right? We've known each other for a long time now."

She blushed as she answered. "I guess so."

"So we're better friends than I am with Lee Sunghyun. Don't you think so?"

Shin Semi stammered. "N…no."

Woosung teased her. "What? I thought we were very close!"

Shin Semi answered posthaste. "I said no!"

It seemed like Shin Semi was getting angry. Woosung changed the subject quickly. "So don't you have to go too? Everyone's leaving in a hurry now."

"Pardon?"

"This is a big news. Don't you have to go back to the headquarter?"

Shin Semi bit her lips. "I do."

Woosung showed her his phone, which hasn't stopped vibrating.

"Yeah, me too. I need to get going. See you later."

Shin Semi nodded, but her eyes never met Woosung's.

After getting into his car, Woosung murmured. "Could it be…?"

He got a distinct feeling that Shin Semi was interested in him.

"But it can't be."

Woosung forgot about it right away and answered his phone. Jang Gwangchul was on the other end.

"President Kang!"

Woosung answered calmly. "Please don't scream into the phone."

"How could I not? Were you serious about the ghost thing?"

"Yes. I told you. When you said you could smell money on me, I was shocked. I'm telling you, what you felt was the ghost on me."

"It can't be. How could this be? I can't believe this is happening." Jang Gwangchul's voice is filled with a mystified tone.

Woosung continued quickly. "I have something to tell you. I plan on adding data analysis as part of our business. I think with my ability, it could be very lucrative."

"Who cares! The ex-president has died! Just as you predicted!"

"I must give it right back at you. Who cares! What we need to focus on is our business. The death of one ex-president has nothing to do with us."

Jang Gwangchul started to stammer. "W…what?"

"I realize it's a sad time, but business is business.""Other people are probably already working on using this event to their advantage. The political scene will change because of it, and other businessmen are probably thinking about adjusting their business model to meet this change."

Jang Gwangchul couldn't say anything.

Woosung continued. "This will affect everyone, including our business. Haven't you even considered that yet?"

Jang Gwangchul didn't like this situation. It felt like he was an employee being reprimanded by his boss.

"W…well, I haven't had the time and the news was so shocking…"

"Which means we need to be even calmer and think about what we can do for our business. I expected more from you."

Jang Gwangchul heard Woosung's disappointment and replied hurriedly. "I understand, so stop nagging me! We'll talk in the office."

When Woosung came back home, he showered and sat in front of his computer. The internet was filled with the sad news and people's reactions, but he wasn't interested.

Woosung checked the progress on his coin mining.

"Let's see."

850,211.3412

He was happy with the numbers he's seeing. When he checked the servers, he noticed a few red lights.

Woosung wasn't surprised. These servers were working nonstop every day. It was normal for some of them to be overworked. He called the offices in America and Korea, he asked them to switch out the broken servers.

The next thing Woosung checked was his account balance.

US: 1.689 billion dollars.

Korea: 175.4 million dollars.

The numbers included the value of his properties too. He had almost 2 billion dollars. With coins and Coconut service in the future…

However, these were future values.

Woosung focused only on his current assets. "With only this much money, I won't be able to buy a significant portion of Daeyang's stocks."

Woosung was rich, but he still couldn't be compared to big corporations such as Daeyang or MOX.

"Waiting for the cryptocurrency boom will take too long…"

Woosung tried to think of other options. What could he do so he can make Jung Jinsup's life miserable now?

The only way he could think of was using Lee Ari, but he was sure she wouldn't show up to any meetings if she knew Jung Jinsup would be there.

"Jung Jinsup…Jung Jinsup…"

Woosung thought of things he had that he could use.

Money.

Programming skills.

His knowledge of the future.

He then thought of the things Jung Jinsup possessed.

Large shares of MOX.

His position as MOX's vice president of development department.

His personal assets.

Woosung didn't know the exact number of shares and amount of assets he had.

No matter how much thinking he did, Woosung couldn't come up with anything useful.

Finally, he gave up.

"Let's just get back to work."

He diverted his attention on K coin development.

He had to complete this project in order to finish the Coconut app before the government selection. He focused on the security of the chat program. It had to be perfect or else the chance of it being chosen by the Korean government would be slim.

While he was focused, a message distracted his frenzied typing.

"Your company's messenger has been selected. Please contact the following number for details. 02-xxxx-xxxx."

It was a message from the Public Procurement Service.

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Chapter 80: lt;Everything from 1 to 10gt;

Woosung met up with Lee Sunghyun at a hotel room.

"Thank you so much for your help. Things worked out well my company." He bowed.

"It was nothing. It's partly because your messenger is a great product. It has great security features too. It wasn't hard to convince them to take your app."

"Thank you."

"No problem. If you keep up the good work and supply me with good info, I will make sure KND's trading algorithm gets selected for the National Pension plan." Lee Sunghyun looked confident.

Woosung replied. "I will do my best."

"Anyway, today's meeting isn't formal so relax. It will just be two team leaders and us."

"Alright."

"Now, did you bring what I asked?"

Woosung pointed at his laptop. "Yes. It's in here."

"Sorry for asking to bring it, but there are a lot of people who are doubting your abilities."

"Haha, no worries. It's no trouble."

While they chatted, two people came in one after another. They were the leaders of the marketing and political policy departments. They sat down and looked at Woosung with a strong sense of suspicion. The marketing team leader with frameless glasses pointed at Woosung and asked.

"Is this the guy?"

Lee Sunghyun introduced Woosung to them. "Yes. This is the leader of the digital media department. He will be responsible for analyzing and controlling the internet to our advantage."

"Hello. I'm the CEO of KND. My name is Kang Woosung."

"I've never heard of a company named KND. It must be very new?"

"Yes. It was created only a little while ago. It is a software development company."

"Then you're a computer programmer?"

"Yes, you could say that."

"How old are you?" Marketing team leader Park Sukho already knew of Woosung from Lee Sunghyun, but he asked anyway.

"I'm 27."

Lee Sunghyun defended Woosung. "He may be young, but he is very capable. He will be a great asset to us for the next year's election."

"I will take your word for it, but…"

It was clear he had difficulty accepting this situation. A young programmer…

Lee Sunghyun nodded to Woosung. Woosung opened his laptop and offered. "Let me show you what I have."

"Alright."

Woosung showed them his analysis of the upcoming election. He explained that based on the SNS, he could tell how the population and the media thought of each candidate. Currently, their own candidate wasn't seen in the best light.

The two department leaders continued to frown. They didn't like what they were hearing, thus they still felt like they couldn't trust Woosung. Internet wasn't something they've seen with the utmost importance and reliability in the political world.

Lee Sunghyun asked the two leaders. "What do you guys think?"

"This isn't some school election. This is a national event. How can we trust 'internet data?' It's no better than believing in gossip magazines."

Woosung replied. "I believe in public opinion."

"We all know that, but what people say anonymously on the internet doesn't represent the general public's opinion."

"Your way of thinking is too old-fashioned. The Internet is the new way to go now. Everything can be found and done on the internet nowadays."

An unprecedented tension filled the room. Lee Sunghyun looked at Woosung with interest.

Park Sukho reddened. "What did you say?"

"Even the American President Barack Obama believed in internet data. I am trying to help you here."

Lee Sunghyun continued to watch without a word. Park Sukho felt he couldn't lose this fight, so he argued back.

"This isn't America. Korean people think differently than Americans. You can't apply what worked in the US to Korea."

Woosung retorted with wit. "So based on your logic, we shouldn't bring American technology to Korea either. American technology wouldn't suit Korea."

Park Sukho glanced at Lee Sunghyun. He wanted help, but Lee Sunghyun remained silent and neutral.

Park Sukho looked at Woosung and said, "Business is different than politics. Politics is about gaining people's heart, while business is about making money."

"Business also involves gaining the customers' hearts. That's the best way to make money."

Lee Sunghyun planned on not getting involved. He wanted them to resolve the differences by themselves. Park Sukho sighed.

"Hmm…"

These were people he had to work with.

Woosung tried to lighten the mood by compromising. "Please consider my data just as a piece of supplementary information for now. Once I've proven myself, then you can take it more seriously."

Finally, Lee Sunghyun stepped in. "Haha, sounds reasonable. Let's start with that."

The meeting ended.

Lee Sunghyun talked to Woosung in private. "Haha, you were impressive today."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Please do your best for this team."

"Of course. Anything involving you is always my priority."

"I am happy to hear that."

Woosung offered. "Anytime you need me, please let me know."

"You sound like a true businessman. You are looking to trade?"

Woosung lowered his voice. "Haha, I can't hide anything from you. Well, I am planning to get involved in the communication business."

"Are you talking about MVNO?"

MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) was a wireless communication service provider that did not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provided services to its customers.

Woosung replied. "No, I am referring to becoming the fourth mobile carrier. Currently, three companies control the entire industry in Korea. I would like to be the fourth one."

"…pardon?"

"My smartphone manufacturing is coming along nicely. The apps for the phone are also being developed. If I can become the carrier, it would complete the picture. Do you blame me for wanting this?"

Lee Sunghyun's eyes widened. It didn't seem like Woosung was joking. "It's a huge risk. You could lose a lot of money every year for a long time until you make it. That's why not many attempted it."

"I am ok with the risks."

Lee Sunghyun was shocked. "…pardon?"

"I know the risks very well. This will be also beneficial for you. Didn't the current president promised to lower the communication cost down this term?"

It was indeed one of the promises of President Lee Parksung. He swore to decrease the cost by 20%. However, this was almost impossible when the three carriers monopolized the business.

"You are more ambitious than I thought."

"Shouldn't I? Don't you have a big dream too?"

Lee Sunghyun kept his voice. Woosung looked at him with anxious eyes. Before this meeting, he thought hard about asking this question.

Woosung already got a lot out of Lee Sunghyun. He got the government deals for Coconut and most likely the algorithm as well. Should he risk his relationship with Lee Sunghyun for an even bigger deal?

In the end, Woosung decided it was worth it.

If he wanted to destroy Choi Gichul and Daeyang, he needed to become big.

There were a few who attempted to become the fourth carrier, but they all failed, even in 2018. Woosung felt that with his knowledge of the future, he could do it. Woosung asked Lee Sunghyun. "Don't you think your new world should include new people?"

Lee Sunghyun remained silent.

Woosung continued. "You don't have to answer me right now. I am always ready, so please contact me when you know."

Lee Sunghyun was reluctant but he gave a nod in response.

As soon as he got into his car, Woosung called Jang Gwangchul.

"I asked him. He didn't react much."

"It won't be easy."

"But possible."

"But we are a start-up company. We haven't completed Coconut service nor the smartphone. We have only a minimal profit from the algorithm trading system so far. I realized expanding is important, but creating a solid foundation is also necessary."

"You don't have to worry about that."

"And even if we become one of the carriers, will the customers use our service? If they don't, do you realize how much money it will take to maintain the business?"

"I have enough money. You don't have to worry about that. Didn't I tell you that I made a lot of money during the financial crisis?"

Jang Gwangchul stopped nagging Woosung. The call ended soon after.

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Chapter 81: lt;Everything from 1 to 10gt;

Hong Soobum and Jang Gwangchul entered Woosung's room abruptly.

Hong Soobum asked Woosung. "I heard from the vice president. You are interested in the mobile carrier business?"

"Yes, so that we can do everything from infra to service."

"Sir, manufacturing smartphone and mobile communication business are two very different things."

"Current communication industry uses HSDPA with the development of LTE coming up in the future. With HSDPA's speed of 14.4Mbps, it takes over 7 minutes to download an 800mb movie." Woosung continued. "In 2-3 years, LTE's biggest advantage MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) will change this business."

Woosung had a clear and deep understanding of communication technology.

When Woosung tried to continue his explanation, Hong Soobum interrupted him. "I understand that you studied a lot about this but knowing about it isn't enough."

Woosung asked evenly. "Then what do we need?"

"Firstly, we need permission from the government. Because of the three existing carriers' cartel, it will not happen."

Woosung glanced at Jang Gwangchul and continued. "Do you know a man named Lee Sunghyun?"

"You mean the son of the President? Yes."

"We became close acquaintances recently. He said because of the current President's promise of having a mobility fee reduction, he will consider my request seriously."

Hong Soobum looked at Jang Gwangchul, who already knew this. Hong Soobum started to sweat.

'Things are happening way too fast.'

He recently heard about the messenger being selected by the government, but that was only a 1.2-million-dollar deal.

Communication business needed billions of dollars to start and maintain.

"I also think we don't have enough funds. Within a few years, we could potentially have losses of hundreds of millions of dollars. We will need at least 10 billion dollars just to keep afloat."

10 billion dollars.

Woosung currently had only 2 billion dollars.

He needed an additional 8 billion dollars, but Woosung wasn't worried. "I can get about 2 billion dollars. The other 8 billion can be earned."

Jang Gwangchul interrupted with a grave expression. "Woosung, Coconut is still not completed, and it requires a lot of money to finish. Same for the smartphone. We have two projects that are still in the development stages. So where would you earn that much money from?"

Woosung had a plan. With iPhone, Apple's stocks were going to soar. All he had to do was buy as many stocks as possible.

Woosung also remembered some bio stocks rising due to the spread of new flu at the end of the year.

There were so many chances in the future. Woosung wasn't worried.

"Listen, it's not like we need the 10 billion dollars immediately, right?"

Hong Soobum nodded. "T…that's true."

"We can make money from algorithm trading, or we can publish more KND stocks. There are so many ways to make money."

After a few seconds of silence, Jang Gwangchul looked at Woosung.

"10 billion dollars. It's 10 billion dollars we're talking about."

"ONLY 10 billion dollars. We can't give up on this chance because of only 10 billion dollars." This could be a huge opportunity. If it became successful, the money would roll in. "This could be the goose that lays golden eggs."

Jang Gwangchul was hoping Hong Soobum could change Woosung's mind, but it was clearly useless.

"Director Hong, you need to only focus on Coconut. That's it."

Hong Soobum shrugged his shoulders and looked at Jang Gwangchul helplessly. Woosung also turned to Jang Gwangchul.

"By the way, I got a call from America. The final version of Blue S is completed."

"So all we have left is to launch it."

"Yes. I heard that the iPhone 3GS will be released on June 9th. It will sell like hotcakes."

Hong Soobum asked. "Then wouldn't we be at a disadvantage? People won't buy two new phones."

"If the two products have similar qualities and one is cheaper, which phone would you buy?"

"Well that's our hope, but…"

"It will work. Anyway, I need to go to Silicone Valley for a while. Please come with me, Vice president."

"Hmm? M…me?"

"Of course. You need to witness the release of KND's very first smartphone."

"A…alright."

"I will buy the tickets for tomorrow."

Woosung, Amelia, and Jang Gwangchul arrived at Silicone Valley. Amelia went home, while Woosung and Jang Gwangchul headed to the office.

When they arrived, Logan handed them a well-packaged box. On the surface was the name Blue S. Woosung opened it.

"So this is it."

"As you suggested, the release date has been set to June 12th. It will be through T-Mobile. Luckily, there aren't a lot of places that deal with Android phones so Google helped out a great deal. Things worked out well."

Blue S was the first Android phone that had the potential to compete against the iPhone and win.

Logan continued. "Per your instruction, we have 10,000 phones ready to go. The price has been set lower than the iPhones. 4GB model will be 450 dollars and 8GB will be 550 dollars."

After inspecting the phone, Woosung asked.

"The hardware costs about 210 dollars, right?"

"Yes, but we expect it to go up slightly."

"That's fine. I love the design and the specs."

It was exactly the same as Daeyang's phone from his previous life.

Width 120mm.

Height 65mm.

Thickness 12.1mm.

The display was 3.5-inch TFT-LCD with the memory of 256mb. Wi-Fi was included.

With specs like this, it was comparable to iPhone 3GS.

On top of that, Coconut Talk was already installed into the phone. Woosung had high expectations for this feature.

'Coconut Talk service latency was measured to be an average of 0.03 seconds. For the iPhones, it turned out to be as late as 1 second. In terms of speed, ours is definitely better.'

Woosung replied. "With respect to UX, Coconut is better as well. Users will like that."

"And we also started airing the TV commercials. As you wanted, we hired Lady Nana for it. It's already looking very promising. We had a lot of inquiries about the phone because of it."

Lady Nana.

She was one of the most popular pop stars in America in 2009. Woosung spent tens of millions of dollars on this ad campaign.

Logan smiled. "We also created a Facebook page. It already has tens of thousands of likes. Everyone at the office has high hopes for this product."

"Unless something unexpected happens, Blue S will be the new sensation." Woosung turned to Logan. "From now on, when people think of Android, they will think of this phone."

Woosung felt confident. In his previous life, Daeyang's Blue S was a huge international success. Woosung believed that without a doubt, this phone would be sold out like hotcakes.

June 12th.

Woosung was having coffee in leisure with Jang Gwangchul.

"I told you so."Jang Gwangchul couldn't say anything. "If we want to meet this huge demand, we will either have to expand the existing factory here or outsource it to a company in China. What do you think?"

"I will follow your decision."

Jang Gwangchul looked at Woosung in amazement.

Woosung said quietly. "Well, let's first hire more factory workers."

"Ok."

"All of our 10,000 phones sold out. I told you so! If you hadn't stopped me from outsourcing it to a Chinese factory, we could've sold more phones already."

Jang Gwangchul looked at Woosung with a deep-seated regret implanted on his chest.

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Chapter 82: lt;Everything from 1 to 10gt;

Jang Gwangchul looked remorseful. Before launching Blue S, Woosung suggested expanding the existing factory in Silicone Valley or hire another factory in China because he expected the phone to be a hit. However, Jang Gwangchul rejected the idea because he felt they were expanding too fast.

Now, it seemed like Woosung was right. Woosung looked at Jang Gwangchul with furrowed eyebrows.

"I thought about pushing harder for it, but I didn't want to sound like a dictator. That's why I took your advice."

"I…I know."

"I always feel like I am being too pushy with my ideas because you and others always think I'm going too fast. It seems I should have trusted my gut instincts instead."

While Jang Gwangchul looked at Woosung with guilt, Logan approached them with a smile.

"This is awesome! Everyone wants our phone, both online and offline. Our factory is running at its max, but we still can't meet the demand."

Woosung murmured.

"…If we had 500,000 phones ready, we could've made 100 million dollars because each product gives us a profit of 200 dollars. Instead, we just made only 20 million dollars."

Jang Gwangchul groaned loudly.

Woosung said to Logan. "The maximum number of phones we can currently manufacture per day is 5000, so in a month, we can only make 150,000."

"Well realistically, it would be more like 130,000."

Finally, Jang Gwangchul apologized loudly. "Fine, fine! It's all my fault! I admit it, but in my defense, you always want to do things that are too risky! I know you have been doing very well in everything you've tried, but I wanted you and this company to be on the safe side."

"I know why you did it, and I don't blame you for it, but there are things that I will do despite your opinion because it's necessary."

Jang Gwangchul could guess what Woosung was referring to. "Are you talking about the mobile carrier business?"

Woosung nodded firmly. Jang Gwangchul groaned again. "Hmm…Fine! I won't stop you."

"How about other things?"

"Well…. Depends."

Woosung glared at him. "Are you saying you'll continue to reject my ideas?"

"I…I will try my best to restrain myself."

Woosung smiled. "Haha, that's all I wanted to hear. Now, let's enjoy our moment of triumph! Our phone is a success, and all we have to do now is to make more."

The entire office was in a mood to party.

Because of the death of an ex-President, the entire nation of Korea was in a state of mourning. Despite Blue S's incredible success abroad, its news was barely mentioned in Korea.

However, Daeyang and other smartphone companies in Korea were well-aware of its victory. A hardware department employee at Daeyang checked the international IT review website and murmured.

"So Blue S is sold out?"

Blue S was the phone his boss was keeping an eye on. He printed the news and included in the daily report.

After checking the news, the secretary general bit his lips.

"10,000 phones are sold out. The factory is running at its max capacity."

It hasn't even been released in Korea. This was a problem.

Becoming popular in the US meant that it's easy for it to become a worldwide success.

"Blue S… Blue S…I hate that name."

He called the development lab and asked them to purchase the phone for study.

With a Blue S in hand, the Secretary-General visited the Vice-Chairman's room.

"This is the phone."

"Blue S. An android-based smartphone."

"They appear to be working with Google closely. We will delay their release in Korea as long as possible, but we have no control over them overseas."

Choi Taemin looked at the phone with interest. "Its specs are comparable to iPhones?"

"That's right, and this fact has been proven by various review sites as well as our own lab."

"So they have the technology to pull this off?"

"The only thing they seem to lack right now is a mass manufacturing ability. Once that's fixed, they will grow fast."

"So it wasn't a bluff that they could become a close competitor to iPhone."

"KND is also known for their development team. The developers there get treated very well. Their salaries are very competitive."

"Well, all we can do for now is delay its release in Korea as long as possible. If they are having difficulty with mass production, we'll have to try to win by overwhelming the market with our phone's availability."

"We can't have our price lower than theirs or else our phone may be perceived as an inferior product."

Choi Taemin frowned. "See if they impinged on any of our patents at all. Let's see if we can have any kind of legal ground against them." Choi Taemin added. "Make sure to destroy them at all cost."

"Yes, sir."

The factory was running full-time, but the demand was too great.

Every day, they would receive an order of over 30,000 phones.

The office was filled with excitement. Woosung approved the factory expansion and bought more lands. He invested the entire 20 million dollars earned from selling the first batch with his land endeavors.

Jang Gwangchul asked Woosung. "Are you sure you don't want to outsource the manufacturing to a Chinese OEM? We'll have a better profit margin that way."

"Apple will be doing that and make a huge profit, so I did consider it."

"Then why did you change your mind all of a sudden?"

"When GM couldn't handle the financial crisis last December, the American government went into great lengths to save it. I wondered then, would they have done the same for Apple?"

Jang Gwangchul answered without hesitation. "I don't think so."

"That's probably why many of the tech companies in Silicone Valley went bankrupt and disappeared during that time."

"So you want…power more than money?"

"Even in Korea, Daeyang insists on having all manufacturing done in Korea rather than outsourcing it to China where the cost would be lower.""That is how they maintain their presence and power in Korea."

"I get it. Daeyang is called the company that supports all of Korea. If it went bankrupt, huge portion, if not all, of Korea will be affected."

"They have the power over politics and media."

"So are you planning to become the next Daeyang?"

"We'll become like Daeyang in America. In Korea…"

In Korea, KND will become so big that it destroys Daeyang. Woosung didn't finish his thoughts out loud.

Jang Gwangchul warned him. "I understand your dream, but Daeyang probably already know everything about our smartphone. They will soon make a similar phone with better specs and cheaper price."

"I know."

"They will catch up to us, no doubt about that. It's only a matter of time before they destroy us."

"That is why we have disclosed our smartphone blueprint to the public and create an environment that attracts talented developers."

"What if Daeyang does the same thing?"

"We are the original. It is hard to beat that." Woosung looked at Jang Gwangchul and continued. "We can do this. Our phone will be the original smartphone. Whatever Daeyang makes after will always be considered a copycat."

Jang Gwangchul sighed. "When you first mentioned manufacturing a smartphone, I was excited. I thought that once we make it, that will be it! It seems like it's only the beginning. Now, whenever you come up with the next plan…" Woosung looked at him silently. Jang Gwangchul continued. "It seems like it is never-ending."

"Business is never easy."

"I know that."

"We have so much to do. We have to find new developers and businessmen for our mobile carrier business. We need to hire more people for the factory here. And…"

As Woosung listed the things they had to do, Jang Gwangchul shook his head. "Fine, fine. We have a lot of work to do. Let me know the first thing that needs to be done."

"Now that our phone is a success, the next is the app."

"You mean Coconut Talk?"

"That's right. We have to upload the app to the Apple App Store so that iPhone users can experience how great our service is."

"Fine. I will talk to Soobum."

"Please ask him to upload it ASAP."

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Chapter 83: lt;Everything from 1 to 10gt;

After getting a call form Jang Gwangchul, Hong Soobum uploaded Coconut Talk to the Apple App Store himself. Afterward, he texted Jang Gwangchul.

"Uploading is completed. Approval will take up to 5 days."

"Ok."

Hong Soobum leaned back and murmured. "Phew. Now the only thing left is launching the PC Version."

It has been a long journey and finally, they were starting to see the fruits of their labor. The smartphone was sold out and the number of Coconut Talk service users have increased accordingly.

Their greatest worry was that those who bought the smartphone would delete the preloaded app, but it turned out over 80% of the customers were signing up to use Coconut Talk.

"Lee Ari's Facebook marketing is going well too."

If things continued as they are, the Coconut app would do very well. While Hong Soobum was deep in his own thoughts, a developer approached him.

"Sir…I would like to talk to you in private."

Hong Soobum could guess what it was about. This was exactly how he approached his boss at Nexter when was giving his resignation.

"Should we go somewhere private?" He nodded with guilt. Hong Soobum tapped his shoulder and said to him. "Let's go into the conference room."

After having a seat, Hong Soobum asked.

"A raise, or something else? You can talk to me. I will do my best."

"I appreciate everything you have done for me. Despite KND being a start up company, you matched the salary I got at Nexter. You also gave me stock options. I am very appreciative, but…"

"But?"

"The salary is competitive, but this company still can't compare to big corporation's benefits."

"You knew this before accepting the job. Besides, we are starting to make profits. Soon, we'll be able to provide you just like the big companies."

"But things are still very unstable. There are always high risks with small companies. Will KND be still standing in 4 years? I can't help but worry."

"So you are leaving?"

"I will be honest. I got an offer from Daeyang. Better salary and conditions."

"We can match that."

"I know you'll talk care of me, but I can't stop worrying about the future. I keep thinking that I need to be at a big, stable corporation for my piece of mind."

"Do other employees feel the same way?"

"I think so."

"I am surprised, especially after the success of Blue S."

"The success is only because Daeyang hasn't released its own phone yet. A small company can never win against a large corporation like Daeyang."

Hong Soobum's face was rigid. The room became tense. There was nothing that could be done.

"So there is nothing I can do to convince you to stay."

"I'm sorry, sir. I think I am done here."

Hong Soobum smiled bitterly. "We just finished the app development and are about to see it grow…Oh well, I guess it can't be helped."

When the developer left, another came in with the same decision. Hong Soobum sighed deeply.

Silicone Valley.

The second factory Woosung purchased was similarly equipped as the first one.

Someone knocked on Woosung's door.

Woosung answered. "Come in."

The door opened and a familiar figure walked in. It was Sunda Amit, a key Blue S developer Jonathan Logan scouted.

"I have something to tell you."

Woosung pointed at a chair. "Please have a seat."

"I would like to give you my resignation."

Woosung knew something like this would happen. He asked calmly.

"Have you read our personnel policy by chance?" Amit shook her head. Because Woosung was focused on the development of Blue S, he has been neglecting the HR department. "Firstly, we offer the best package in the industry for our employees."

Pay Top of the Market.

It was the same as how Netflix managed its people.

Woosung continued. "I don't know your reason behind it, but if it's because of your salary, there is no need. I don't care how much it is. I will pay the highest salary in this industry."

Amit blinked. "Even if it's over 200,000 dollars?"

Woosung replied. "Even if it's over a million dollars. Money is not an issue in our company."

"Oh…"

"Tell the HR your number and if the department agrees that it is a fair amount for the industry, we will give it to you. If it's not about the money, I would like it if you can tell me so I can help fix it. Even after all this, if you feel like you need to leave, that's fine. Please tell Logan tomorrow, and he will start the process."

Amit nodded.

"May I ask where you got an offer from?"

Woosung would've found out eventually, so Amit answered without hesitation. "It's Daeyang System."

Woosung's guess was correct. He replied. "Alright. Please think about it and let us know."

After Amit left, Woosung called in Jang Gwangchul.

"Another one just came in," Woosung said to Jang Gwangchul. "That's the fifth one so far."

"Two people already quit in Korean office."

"Well, we should feel lucky that no one here has actually left yet. Talented developers are hard to come by."

Woosung sighed deeply. "So Daeyang must finally see us as its competition."

"This is only the beginning. They will release a similar smartphone and messaging app like Coconut."

"Then let's try to steal a few of their developers."

"H…hmm? Steal their employees? How? Do you know anyone who works there?"

"Use the head-hunters."

"I guess…But it will be hard to do that in Korea."

"We need to do our best. I'll bet there are many programmers in Daeyang who would be interested in working for us. KND is a hot company now."

"Did you already get a call?"

Woosung nodded.

Jang Gwangchul sighed. "Oh! What did you say to get an invitation?"

"Blue S is using Google's Android. I explained the advantages of this situation. Once our presentation at Google I/O goes well, Blue S' sale will increase further and it will become easier to pouch good developers."

"Well, we can hope."

"I'll do my beset."

After their conversation, Woosung texted Go Sangjun.

"Are you attending the Google I/O?"

He attended the Microsoft's MVP. Woosung was sure Go Sangjun would come.

"Of course. I heard you released Blue S. It's a big news here too!"

"Haha, thank you."

"How did you make such a product? Was it with Jonathan Logan? Is it his work?"

Woosung wanted to be direct.

"A lot of people worked hard on this project. By the way, are you interested in working for me? Our business is expanding so fast that we need more people."

"Of course, I'm interested."

"My offer is still the same from last time. I will pay you more than what Daeyang's paying you."

There was no answer. Woosung was reminded of the power of big companies. It wasn't just the high salary, but stability and benefits too.

Money alone wasn't enough, unless it was an incredible amount.

"If you aren't interested, could you introduce me to someone who might be. We need as many people as possible."

"Alright. I'll think about it."

"Great. Thank you."

Woosung realized how hard it was to find good people.

KND was still so small with minimal profit so far.

"Is this the only way? Keep losing people and trying to hire new people to fill the holes?"

Woosung felt frustrated. This was only the beginning. Daeyang would attack KND in many different ways.

What should he do?

He had to assure everyone that KND would be a big, stable company. It had to grow. Woosung finally made a decision and called in Logan and Jang Gwangchul.

"I would like to buy a company."

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Chapter 84: lt;Everything from 1 to 10gt;

Woosung was interested in buying a company named Tel-Tech.

It was a mid-sized Korean company that manufactured cell phones. In 2007, it applied for a corporate workout and currently in the process of corporate recovery. To put it bluntly, it wasn't doing very well.

At one time, it released a popular cell phone named Racer, but it only had a brief success.

"Tel-Tech. It's a medium-sized cell phone company. Currently, it's in the process of a workout so MA shouldn't be difficult."

Jang Gwangchul knew this company. "It will cost us at least 500 million dollars."

"If we sell over 1,000,000 phones per year, then our profit will be a billion dollars. This means we can afford a 500-million-dollar company."

"It's too risky."

While they argued, Logan offered his opinion. "I agree with Woosung." He continued confidently. "Our technology is the best in the world. The only problem we have right now is mass manufacturing. If Tel-Tech can fix this problem for us, 500 million dollars will be worth it. If we try to do it from scratch, it will take a very long time to find and purchase factories, not to mention, we need to hire and educate new workers. This will take months, and by that time, people could lose interest in Blue S."

Jang Gwangchul replied. "Well…we are assuming that our phone's popularity will continue."

"It will. If I wasn't confident of it, I wouldn't have been part of this team."

Jang Gwangchul sighed, perhaps for a millionth time this month. There seemed to be no end to Woosung's ambition and planning.

He continued. "You know why Tel-Tech is going through the corporate workout, right? It purchased a mobility company LK for 300 million dollars, which was the wrong decision. They tried to grow too fast and they failed. There is a really good chance that we might end up in the same situation."

Woosung replied. "It was because Tel-Tech was being attacked by Daeyang, just like us. We are different. With KND's brand power and technology, we will grow fast."

Jang Gwangchul had no choice but to agree at this point. "Well, if you insist…Alright."

"Then please return to Korea ASAP and take care of it. I will finish up here and join you soon."

"There are so much to do now. MA, then prepping for the mobile carrier business."

At Jang Gwangchul's complaint, Woosung laughed. "Haha, you wanted to become a businessman, so here you are!"

"I didn't realize it would be this much work."

"And there will be even more in the future. I have a lot of business ideas."

Jang Gwangchul groaned.

Presentation at Google I/O was done by Logan, who was the chief of the development team. Woosung sat in the audience, watching his every move. As Logan explained about Blue S, the developers in the audience talked among themselves.

"What you see on the screen is the GitHub address where you can download the Blue S's PCB layout. We also uploaded relevant codes, so feel free to download them."

The audience exclaimed.

"They are releasing the layout to the public?"

"That's crazy. It's a trade secret!"

"And they are also giving away the codes."

"I can't believe it!"

Logan continued calmly. "As you know, it is very difficult to optimize Android OS to different hardware. We were successful and we are happy to reveal how we did it. Of course, the information is only for individual developers. Other companies cannot use it for their business."

"Oh!"

"Knowing just the codes would be useless, and that is why we are disclosing the hardware blueprint and the layout as well."

Many in the audience raised their hands. One of them asked, "Then will you continue to reveal your information in the future?"

"Yes. However, the phones will be made from the premium version of the codes and the layout, while the uploaded information will be of an older prototype version. Anybody is welcome to use our information to customize it. If you upload your ideas and we like them, we may even purchase them from you. Now, I will introduce you to our CEO."

Woosung stood up and walked up to the stage.

"We will evaluate your ideas objectively and we will pay up to 10 million dollars."

The developers exclaimed.

This was Woosung's plan. This way, he could reach every talented developer in the world.

After the presentation, Woosung, Amelia, and Logan left the conference room.

"I have someone to meet, so I'll see you guys later."

Logan walked away, leaving Amelia and Woosung.

Suddenly, Go Sangjun approached them, waving his hand. "Oh, hello! You're that little girl from the MVP summit."

"Hi."

"You're all grown up now. You looked like a student then."

Amelia laughed shyly.

Go Sangjun lowered his voice and whispered. "I hope I'm not interrupting your date."

"Haha, it's not like that."

Woosung laughed, Amelia blushed and stammered. "I…it's not like that at all."

"Haha, then let's go for lunch. I have a lot to talk about."

When they entered the restaurant, a familiar face walked towards them. Woosung flinched.

"What a nice surprise," Woosung asked curiously. "What are you doing here, Advisor Shin?"

"I'm in a tech business so of course I should attend things like this."

"Oh…"

"Would you mind introducing your friends?" Shin Semi's voice sounded cold.

"This is Amelia, one of my employees, and this is Go Sangjun from Daeyang System."

Shin Semi greet them in perfect English. "Nice to meet you. I am Shin Semi and I am the chief of pin tech business department at Nuri Enterprise."

Go Sangjun recognized her immediately, but Amelia had no idea who Shin Semi was.

Shin Semi asked after shaking their hands. "Would you mind if I join you guys?"

Woosung glanced at his group. Shin Semi noticed and narrowed her eyes.

Go Sangjun looked at Woosung and replied, "Haha, I'm fine."

Amelia answered as well, "That would be fine with me."

Woosung shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I guess that would be great. Let's go."

Go Sangjun sat down at the table and asked, "I was surprised to hear you are releasing your information to the public. So you weren't lying."

"Haha, of course, I meant what I said!"

"I thought you were lying to me."

"Our CEO is not like that."

Suddenly, Go Sangjun's eyes widened.

Go Sangjun was talking to Woosung in Korean. Amelia replied to him in Korean! She understood and spoke the language! Shin Semi also looked surprised. Go Sangjun replied quickly.

"Haha, I'm just kidding. I know Woosung's not a liar."

Woosung changed the subject. "How's the mood in Daeyang? Your company keeps poaching my people, so I am having a lot of difficulties finding new workers."

At Woosung's complaint, Go Sangjun sweated. "We are busy with developing a new smartphone. We are working with Google too. As for poaching your developers…"

"I am happy to make constant offers to my own employees both in Korea and America."

While Go Sangjun was sweating uncomfortably, Amelia murmured. "I'm not like that."

"Hm…m?"

When Woosung asked, Amelia replied, "I will work for you forever."

Shin Semi murmured quietly, "You are a lucky man, Woosung, to have such a loyal employee."

"Oh, haha, of course. I feel confident having such a talented developer like Amelia with me."

Amelia continued. "I'm serious. I got a call from a head-hunting company, but I hung up on them right away."

Woosung looked at Amelia and said warmly, "Amelia, I am always thankful to you."

Amelia looked away and blushed. Shin Semi watched this interaction unhappily.

Go Sangjun smiled. "What's going on here? You two look way too close!"

Shin Semi bit her lips.

Woosung shook his head. "Haha, I told you. Nothing's going on between us."

Shin Semi exhaled.

Woosung tried to change the uncomfortable subject and started eating. "By the way, I meant to call you, Advisor Shin."

"Really? That'll be the day."

"There is something I need help with when I return to Korea."

Shin Semi answered again in an unkind tone, "You need another corporate gossip?"

"Haha, nothing like that."

"Then you better have something ready to trade with."

Woosung smiled confidently. "I have something that you would love to have. It's something that will allow me to gain your trust. We will talk when we get back to Korea."

When the lunch ended and they were about to leave, Logan approached them with a stranger. When Woosung saw him, he knew immediately who Logan brought.

Rich Miner.

He was the man who created the Android with Andy Rubin.

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Chapter 85: lt;Becoming a mid-sized companygt;

"Woosung, this is Rich Miner. He is the co-founder of the Android and an adviser at Google Ventures."

Woosung's eyes widened as he shook Rich Miner's hand.

Logan said proudly, "Because of this guy, things worked out great! We will start on the new version release immediately."

Woosung exclaimed, "Oh! I'm glad to hear it."

Amelia murmured very quietly, "Whatever. I could've done it by myself."

Woosung didn't hear it. He was so mesmerized by Rich Miner, who said to Woosung, "I have been following your phone, Blue S. It's very impressive. Logan told me that you are interested in the open platform."

"Haha, that's correct. I believe in sharing technologies."

Rich Miner's eyes glinted. Woosung continued. "But money is of course also important. I believe in a successful business as well."

"Of course, and as you probably heard at the conference, the new version will be announced in September. The project is currently named Donut."

Woosung nodded. It was the same in his previous life. Rich Miner continued. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

Woosung opened his arms. "Anything! I will try my best."

"I am curious about how you optimized the hardware. There aren't many reference phones so we haven't had a lot of reported problems, but we are well aware of potential internal issues. It seemed like you managed to fix a lot of these problems."

Amelia answered for Woosung, "Indeed there were a lot of problems including the memory assignment. It was very difficult to work around them."

Woosung introduced Amelia to Rich. "Haha, this is our key developer. She was responsible for optimizing Android into the phone."

"Oh!" Miner looked at Logan. When Logan nodded, Miner continued. "So this is her."

He then took out a Blue S from his pocket. He turned it on and opened various apps on it. He looked excited.

"All the apps work so smoothly. I was pleasantly surprised." He then turned to Woosung. "And Coconut Talk was also very impressive."

Miner's compliments were never ending, but Woosung had a feeling that he didn't come here just to flatter him, and he was right. Miner finally asked Woosung.

"Does KND by chance have any investors? I know you already have profits, but I hoped that you may be interested in one."

Woosung turned to Logan, who explained. "I told him about some issues we are having at our company. Rich is very tight-lipped so don't worry about him spreading any rumors." Woosung nodded as Logan continued. "It just happened that his company is looking for technology exchange. They are impressed with Blue S, so they were hoping to get some advice on a few things including BSP. So I asked if Google could invest in us."

Miner explained. "We can do it right away. We believe in your company."

It was a great opportunity, but Woosung didn't want to give up any shares and get unwanted business advice from another company.

"I would be a fool not to be interested in Google's investment, but I am concerned about losing any control over my company."

Shin Semi and Go Sangjun gawked at Woosung.

Did he just reject Google's offer?

Miner licked his lips. "How about if we make it a straight-up financial investment? You won't have to give up any control over your company."

It was clear that he really wanted this investment opportunity. Woosung answered tentatively, "If that's the case, then it sounds promising."

Miner finally smiled. "Haha, I think this could be a win-win situation for both of us."

Logan added. "Rich told me about his new project, Google Ventures, and that's how we got talking."

Miner smiled bitterly. "Because of the financial crisis, a lot of people were let go. When Google Ventures was created, many people thought it was not a good idea, but I thought differently."

Woosung suddenly perked up. "Did you say a lot of people were let go from Google?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Would it be possible for me to hire all of them?"

Miner looked at Woosung in surprise. "All of them?"

"KND is a growing company. We need more people."

"Most were from the marketing department. Only a few were fired from the development department."

"We haven't started yet, but Coconut Talk will soon include sponsored advertisements. We need to place ads strategically and tastefully in the app so we need people for that. Woosung continued quickly. "I'm not saying I want to hire all of Google's people from every country. Only those in the US. I will also be able to match Google's salary."

Miner laughed. "Haha, it sounds like whatever money we invest in your company will be used to pay the salary for these people."

"No worries. KND will grow very fast."

Shin Semi was listening silently. She glanced at Woosung.

Google.

It was the biggest name out there, yet Woosung acted confidently and indifferently.

Amelia was also looking at Woosung.

'Hmm…'

Rich Miner shook Woosung's hand and said with a happy tone on his voice, "It sounds like an amazing deal for us."

Woosung replied, "Please make sure it happens quickly."

Things did happen very fast. A 100-million-dollar investment was made and those that were let go by Google were immediately hired by KND. From 30 employees, KND suddenly expanded to over 100 employees.

Blue S continued to be sold out with excellent reviews from various IT sites.

Tel-Tech CEO's office.

CEO Park Byungki read over the papers Jang Gwangchul brought. Jang Gwangchul explained with an enthused voice.

"As you know, Google placed a significant investment into our company. Blue S is currently sold out in the US.""KND is a financially stable company. We also guarantee 100% succession of employment."

"But the name Tel-Tech will disappear."

"Think of it as it being reborn into the name KND. We would also love to have you as one of our vice presidents."

Jang Gwangchul did his best to convince Park Byungki. Tel Tech was knee-deep in debt, and this was the best hope it had, but Park Byungki still had difficulty letting it go.

"I spent my entire youth on this company."

"I am well aware of your hard work, and that is why we are offering you this deal."

"I know that, but giving up this company means giving up on myself. I am 60 years old, and there will be no more new beginnings for me."

"Think of it as becoming a part of something bigger."

"I really wanted to do better, but here I am…"

When Jang Gwangchul stopped responding to his complaints, Park Byungki finally said pointedly.

"My company's bank contacted me and is pushing me into this deal. They think this is the only way for me to pay back my company's debt."

"You know this is the way to go."

"Is it just me or the deal your company offered is too good? You are offering to pay back all my debt and buy my share of the company at a fair price. You are also offering me a position as a vice president. The conditions seem too good to be true."

"Our CEO is like that. He is young, but he is generous and fair." Jang Gwangchul meant what he said.

"Haha, that must be why. I would love to meet him sometime soon. Could I make my final decision after I see him?"

"Sure. He is on his way back to Korea."

Jang Gwangchul texted Woosung, who just arrived at Incheon International Airport. When he got the message, Woosung headed towards the Tel-Tech headquarter right away.

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Chapter 86: lt;Becoming a mid-sized companygt;

Woosung entered Park Byungki's room. Jang Gwangchul was still chatting with the Tel-Tech's CEO. Park Byungki looked up at Woosung.

"You are younger than I thought."

Woosung sat down. "I am 27. I am a year older than Mark Zuckerberg."

"So confident! It's like seeing my younger self."

Jang Gwangchul laughed. "Hahaha, were you like him when you were young? Then you must've been told that you're crazy!"

"Haha, it's true."

They were joking like they became good friends. Woosung looked at them in silence.

Park Byungki looked Woosung and said, "I already told Jang Gwangchul that you need to make sure my company grows strong. My worst fear is that my entire life's work will disappear and be forgotten."

Woosung bowed. "Don't worry about that. I have good intentions for Tel-Tech."

Park Byungki continued. "I read over your offer. It was perfect and generous. If I reject it, my employees will hate me and call me senile."

Woosung knew Park Byungki was sold on the idea. "Thank you for your decision."

"Haha, it is me who should be thanking you."

"As I promised, I will make our companies into the world's best."

"Good. I just wanted to see your face before I sign the contract, so thank you for respecting my wishes."

Woosung bowed. "We will make a great team. Please feel free to advise me in the future. I will always be happy to listen."

They shook each other's hands.

A few days later at a press conference.

In front of hundreds of cameras, Woosung and Park Byungki held hands and posed. After the photo shoot, the reporters started to ask questions.

"Tel-Tech was bought for about 600 million dollars. How will the fund be delivered?"

"It is already paid in full."

"It was reported that KND took care of Tel-Tech's debt as well as purchasing all of the shares with cash. Is this true?"

"Yes, that's true."

The effect of the recent financial crisis was still ongoing, so for a company to pay 600 million dollars in cash was considered sensational. Woosung said to the reporters.

"Part of the 600 million dollars was from Google's investment in KND."

KND was the only Korean company Google ever invested in. It was also the first Korean company to release an Android phone. The reporters murmured with excitement.

Woosung continued. "In addition, KND has decided to hire Google's ex-employees for smartphone development and Coconut service management. I strongly believe that Google and Tel Tech's contribution to our company will create an incredible synergy."

Hiring Google's ex-employees meant that KND was hiring the bests in the world.

Reporters continued to ask. "How many of Google's ex-employees are you hiring?"

"Is it true that you are keeping all of Tel-Tech's current employees?"

"What will happen to President Park Byungki?"

"When will Blue S be released in Korea?"

"There is a rumor that KND's significant fund comes from illegal sources. What do you say to that?"

"KND is dabbling in many different businesses. There are many who believe this is a bad idea in this economy. What do you think?"

Woosung answered each question carefully. It took a long time to answer all of them.

After 20 minutes of answering, Woosung said finally, "I will take one last question.

When many reporters raised their hands, Woosung picked one of them.

"My name is Lee Hangu from Korean Financial Newspaper. Please tell us about your big picture of your company."

"I said something to my partners when I first created this company." Woosung paused.

That was a year ago.

He had nothing but confidence, and after only a year, he was the CEO of a mid-sized company.

He wondered where he would be in a year or two.

He was excited about the future.

"I bet my life on it. I will work like my life depends on it. I will make my company the best in the world."

After returning home, Woosung sighed.

"Phew."

It was a long day.

After resting for a few minutes, Woosung groaned and stood up. "I need to get back to work!"

He turned the computer screen on and checked his coin status. This was his nightly routine.

"1,001,501.0145 BTC"

He now had a little over a million coins. Mining process was slowing down, but a million coins could translate into a billion dollars even if he sold everything at only ten thousand dollars per coin.

With this many coin, Woosung knew he could control its trend in the future, but he wasn't done.

His plan was to be able to monopolize every big cryptocurrency including Ethereum and Eos.

This was the only way to accomplish his revenge against Choi Gichul and Jung Jinsup.

While Woosung seethed, his cell phone vibrated.

It was from Lee Sunghyun. He had to answer. "Hello, sir."

"I heard the news. You are taking over Tel-Tech?"

"Haha, yes. Blue S is selling much faster than expected in overseas, so I had to do something about it."

"Tel-Tech is in the middle of a corporate workout, so I am surprised at your decision."

"Well, I am confident in my ability."

"Haha, of course. I was just thinking that if you let me know in advance, I could have helped you out to make the process easier. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about the mobile carrier situation."

Woosung held his breath expectantly, but Lee Sunghyun's words were disappointing.

"It won't be possible this year, but next year may work. Even that would be a huge stretch. I'm afraid it's going to cost a lot."

Woosung understood. Lee Sunghyun was asking for a bribe. Woosung needed to pay him if he wanted this deal.

Woosung replied slowly, "I am sorry for troubling you."

Woosung thought quickly.

What could he do?

If he offered Lee Sunghyun a bribe, then it would be only the beginning. He would ask for more and more.

In 2018.

President Lee Parksung will be caught accepting briberies. If Woosung gave Lee Sunghyun a bribe, it could turn very tricky in the future.

Woosung needed to do it in a way that was untraceable.

The best method was to pay him in cryptocurrency, but coin dealers did not exist yet.

When Woosung remained silent, Lee Sunghyun said it more obviously. "I know it's a lot of work but that's the way it is. You need to understand, the cost of things like this is unavoidable." He sounded like he was getting annoyed.

Woosung answered quickly. "You are working so hard for me, so of course I should take care of the cost. I will prepare the same hotel room from last time."

Lee Sunghyun laughed in satisfaction.

"Haha, then I will work even harder to make it happen ASAP."

He hung up finally.

"Bastard…" Woosung swore.

He knew something like this would happen, so he already hired a private company that took care of things like this in complete discretion. However, there never could be a 100% guarantee that this will not catch up to him in the future. Woosung hesitated, but he had no choice. He prepared a cheque and sent it to the hotel room.

The next day.

KND's take over of Tel-Tech was the front-page news. The newspapers also included the information on Blue S. Nuri Enterprise's Chairman read the paper and called for Shin Semi.

"Thanks to you, we were able to take care of our bond situation. Is this what you meant by earning my trust?"

"Yes." She answered abruptly. He knew she was upset about something.

"Is there something you are unhappy about?"

"No."

"Earning someone's trust is a long process. You need to continue to show me good results."

"I understand."

"Good. Now, what about your marriage?"

Shin Semi looked flustered.

"Sir, I…"

"I have been patient with you so far, but it's time."

"Dad!"

"Both of my children aren't married yet. I am very disappointed."

"You promised not to talk to me about personal stuff at work!"

Shin Yongwon grabbed his chest. "I am so frustrated! I want grandchildren!"

"I will get married when I meet a great man with bigger success than I have."

"There are many men like that in Daeyang and LK."

"You mean the sons of those CEOs? They aren't smart or great. They were just born rich."

"Your surroundings and your family define who you are. You are so naïve, Semi."

Shin Semi answered firmly. "I won't disappoint you."

"I can't be patient about this anymore. I have already hired a matchmaker and there are a few blind dates arranged for you."

Shin Semi bit her lips. She could think of only one person who could help her in this situation.

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Chapter 87: lt;Becoming a mid-sized companygt;

Daeyang's CEO Choi Gunwon and his oldest son Choi Taemin were watching the news. Choi Gunwon threw the newspaper at Choi Taemin.

"We can't stop their phone release in Korea anymore. The earliest we can launch our own phone is at the end of this year. KND is planning to release the newer version Blue S around September. Is this really the best you can do?"

Choi Taemin answered quickly, "I have ordered our team to make sure we finish before September."

"You better make it happen. If it doesn't work out, stop KND from releasing their phone. Use whatever you can to delay it. Use your wife's connection too. Why do you think I got you married to LK CEO's daughter?"

Choi Taemin nodded. Choi Gunwon ordered, "Now, get Gichul to come back to Korea."

"He is not ready."

"I will be the judge of that."

Choi Taemin lowered his face to hide his frown.

Choi Gunwon continued, "Gitae is doing fine with his own company. Why can't you be more like him?"

Second son Choi Gitae. He was responsible for Daeyang's DS sector.

"The best of my sons will get the Daeyang System. The other two losers will get whatever is leftover."

Choi Gunwon threatened his three sons like this every day.

Competition among the brothers was intense.

"What would you like Gichul to do?"

"Get him to take care of CE."

"Alright."

"And get the media to drop any KND related news. I can't stand it anymore."

Choi Taemin told his assistant, "Get the media to drop the news."

The assistant understood immediately, "I will take care of it, and we were able to poach three developers from the Korean office and one from the American office."

"And how about Tel-Tech?"

"We stole the best developers from that company too, so KND is not getting their money's worth."

"Check it again to make sure."

"Yes, sir."

When Choi Taemin took out a cigarette, his assistant lighted it quickly.

As he smoked, Choi Taemin ordered, "Get Gichul back to Korea."

"Yes, sir."

Choi Taemin continued to frown.

"And I will be going to Nonhyun today.

The assistant wet his lips nervously and replied, "We were unable to hire Lee Ari, but we got Yoo Sona instead. She is an up and coming new star. She'll be even bigger than Lee Ari very soon with our help."

"Fine."

The assistant bowed and left.

At Lee Ari's TV commercial studio, Woosung and Jung Jinsup stood and watched.

Jung Jinsup said excitedly, "I was right about how hot she is! I am so excited! She makes me crazy."

Woosung agreed, "You have good eyes, sir."

"Haha, I know. We are all going for drinks after, right?"

"Yes, her boss will be coming too, so it will be the four of us."

"Sure, why not."

Jung Jinsup tapped Woosung's shoulder. Woosung felt goosebumps as he restrained himself from punching him. Woosung hid his anger and smiled.

"I will try to leave with her boss, so it could be just two of you. Good luck."

"Haha, alright."

"By the way, everyone wants to know about you and your success, Woosung."

"Well, I've been lucky."

"Come on. Be honest. We both know things don't work out this well because of luck."

"Haha, I guess you're right. It's actually all thanks to my data analysis."

"Just how good are you?"

Woosung lowered his voice. "As you know, CP data analysis can be very informative."

"It is only if you use it correctly. I know better than anyone how hard it is to do that."

"It's hard, but it's possible."

"Is that so?"

Woosung nodded knowingly. Jung Jinsup's eyes sharpened.

Woosung continued, "It's not something I can talk to you about here. Maybe later in private. Now, I think the filming is almost over so shall we go first?"

"Great."

"Cut! Ok! We're done." The director signaled the end of the day.

Lee Ari got into her car and asked her manager, "Do I really have to go?"

Her CEO, who was already in the car, answered, "Come on, we went over this already. We have to do this. Please, Ari."

"This is the last time."

"Haha, I know, I know. This is the first and the last time. Just like we agreed."

"Alright. Let's go."

Hotel private room.

Woosung made sure the table was ready with expensive food and bottles of 30-year-old Ballantine, which was Jung Jinsup's favorite.

There was one more thing Woosung prepared.

"Please come in."

Three beautiful women walked into the room. Jung Jinsup looked at Woosung in confusion.

Woosung explained, "Haha, we can't drink without beautiful women."

"But what about Lee Ari?"

"It will be a while till they arrive, so why don't you have a few drinks with these ladies? Lee Ari and her CEO will call me before they come."

The women sat close to Jung Jinsup and asked seductively, "Could you pour us some drinks?"

Jung Jinsup grinned as the women smiled at him. "Hahaha. I really like you, Woosung."

"I made sure to find your type."

Jung Jinsup filled Woosung's glass, and Woosung did the same for him.

"I love it! Let's drink!"

Jung Jinsup emptied his glass without a second thought.

Lee Ari and her boss arrived at the private room, but other than the table full of food, the room was empty. They looked at each other.

"What's this?"

"Did we come to the right place?"

"Yes. I checked it a few times to make sure."

The CEO called Woosung, but there was no answer.

"What's happening?"

5 minutes.

Even after 10 minutes of waiting, no one showed up. Lee Ari got fed up of waiting and stood up.

"Maybe they got caught up."

"But that can't be."

The manager looked at the food.

"Maybe they want us to start without them?"

"R…really?"

The CEO called, but Woosung again didn't answer his phone. After another 10 minutes, the CEO called a hotel staff.

"Did someone leave a message for us by chance?"

"Oh, he said to go ahead without him if he doesn't come on time."

"Oh!"

They were all starving. Without another word, they feast.

"Haha, you are so hot, oppa! Are you serious?"

"Totally! I make a few million dollars a day."

"Wow! I want to spend the night with you, Jinsup. I want to kiss you!"

Jung Jinsup was already drunk. He was having a grand time with the women. He looked excited and it seemed like he forgot about Lee Ari.

Woosung looked at him sharply.

'What a douchebag.'

Woosung hired the best professional escorts in Gangnam. He paid tens of thousands of dollars for the night and it was going according to his plan.

"Woosung, get me a room."

Woosung answered quickly.

"I already prepared a room for you just in case."

"You…"

For a second, Woosung worried that Jung Jinsup figured out his plan, but he smiled and continued.

"You are so well prepared! I love it! I just need a little time with these ladies, then I'll be back."

"I think Lee Ari and her boss are caught up, but they will be here soon."

"Perfect. I'll be back."

Jung Jinsup and the women left, and Woosung went out to the lobby for a walk.

After a few minutes, Woosung tipped a bellboy a hundred dollars and asked him to bring a bag from the entrance bench.

The bellboy moved quickly and brought Woosung a black bag. After checking within the bag, an unpleasant grin covered Woosung's face.

Inside was Jung Jinsup's sex tape.

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Chapter 88: lt;Becoming a mid-sized companygt;

Woosung was indeed well prepared. He had instructed the escorts to make sure Jung Jinsup was drunk out of his mind. He also told them to record everything.

Afterward, the women left and Woosung walked toward Jung Jinsup who was unconscious on the bed. He poked him a few times.

"Hmm…"

Jung Jinsup groaned but couldn't move a muscle. Woosung tapped his cheek, but Jung Jinsup was still motionless. Finally, Woosung slapped him as hard as he could.

Slap!

The sound was loud, but still, Jung Jinsup couldn't wake up.

Woosung slapped him again. It was with such great ferocity that Jung Jinsup's cheek turned beet red and his lips bleed.

Woosung murmured, "Finally, it begins."

The next day.

Woosung answered Jung Jinsup's call casually, "I didn't want to disturb you so I didn't call you. It must've been quite a night last night."

"Gosh, I drank way too much. I can't remember much."

"I told Lee Ari what happened. Unfortunately, she seemed annoyed. I wouldn't call her for a while if I were you."

"Alright. I'm sorry I didn't make it. You went out of your way to arrange the meeting for me and I missed it."

"Haha, it's ok. Things like this happen."

Woosung heard the toilet flushing a few times. Jung Jinsup came back to the phone.

"Damn. I'm still so nauseous."

"I feel like it's partly my fault."

"No, it's my fault. I drank too much. By the way, where did you find those women?"

"Oh, I got someone to hire them so I don't know exactly…I will try to find out for you."

Jung Jinsup licked his lips. "They were so hot! I want them again."

"I'm glad you had a good night."

"Man, I feel guilty I keep getting gifts from you and I haven't paid you back yet."

Woosung replied in a smooth tone, "That's alright. I am just thankful you are willing to introduce me to Daeyang."

"Oh, right. I heard Gichul is coming back to Korea. His dad is ready to forgive him, I guess?"

Woosung replied with an enthused reaction, "That's a great news."

Choi Gichul.

He was Woosung's main target.

Jung Jinsup continued, "When he's back, I will arrange a meeting for you two. I heard your phone business is going well?"

"Yes. I have been worried about where I could get more parts for manufacturing."

"Gichul told me he is going to be responsible for CE, but he should still have some influence in the display and semi-conductor departments."

"I'm glad."

Choi Gichul.

Woosung still remembered the feeling of wanting to punch him.

"By the way, I don't know why my cheeks hurt so much this morning. It must've been a rougher night than I remember."

Woosung tried hard not to laugh as he replied, "You must've had a great time."

"Totally."

They joked for another 20 minutes. Woosung could feel that Jung Jinsup was beginning to trust him and even like him as a friend.

Things were going according to his plan.

Incheon international airport.

Choi Gichul arrived through the VIP door. As soon as he exited, his assistants took his luggage. Choi Gichul got into the car.

"I will take you straight to the office."

The driver announced and drove carefully. He remembered how cruel Choi Gichul was, but he couldn't quit his job. Although he was only a chauffeur, he was being paid better than most high-ranking office workers.

"Are you better at driving now?"

Choi Gichul was gone for over a year, but he hasn't changed a bit.

The driver bit his lips and replied, "Yes. I will do my best."

"Good luck. You know what I like, right?"

"Don't get caught at red lights and go straight non-stop."

"Good."

The driver started to sweat nervously.

Choi Gichul was abusive as usual to the driver. He got out in a frenzied fury and went to see his brother Choi Taemin who treated him with a solid malice.

"You better not cause any more problems. I already told the CE department, so make sure to show up everyday. Don't assault any more female staffs. If you cause one more issue, you're out. Got it?"

The next was his second brother.

"Wow, long time no see, Choi Gichul."

Middle son Choi Gitae.

His face looked kind, but Choi Gichul knew better than anyone how harsh he could be.

"You too."

"Haha, it's nice to see you. I heard dad gave you the CE department?"

"Yeah. I guess he forgave me."

"What an idiot you are. It's a test. He is testing all of us against each other to see who will get Daeyang. Why are you so stupid, or are you just pretending?"

"Who cares. It will either be you or the oldest."

"Wow, you think I have a chance? Awesome!"

Choi Gichul knew how to flatter his brothers.

Choi Gitae said to Choi Gichul, "Let's go for drinks."

"Oh, I'm supposed to meet Jinsup…"

"Oh, that game company's CEO's son?"

Choi Gichul nodded.

"Then I'll join you."

Choi Gichul stopped himself from sighing and answered, "A…alright."

"Do you not want me to come?"

"N…no."

Choi Gichul hated himself for not being confident around his brothers. However, they were much older than him, and he still couldn't recover from the trauma of their abuse when they were young.

After hanging up, Woosung grinned. The meeting was taking place earlier than expected, and Choi Gichul's brother Choi Gitae was also joining them.

He rang the bell to one of the mansions in Hannamdong. A security guard came out and checked his ID before letting him in.

Inside were people laughing loudly.

Three men.

Eight women.

Three of them were celebrities. As soon as Woosung entered the room, Choi Gitae's eyes widened.

"Wow, you are better looking in person. Nice to meet you. I am Choi Gitae of Daeyang System."

Woosung shook his hand and thought.

'So this is that drug addict.'

It was one of the gossips Shin Semi told him.

"Nice to meet you too. I am Kang Woosung of KND."

"Haha, I am happy to make your acquaintance. Today will be my treat."

Woosung bowed lightly. "Thank you."

Jung Jinsup was walking towards them. Beside him was Choi Gichul.

Jung Jinsup introduced them. "Hey, you're here! So this is Gichul."

"Hello. My name is Choi Gichul."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Woosung."

Choi Gichul.

Woosung tried his best to stay calm. It was hard. His breath started to get rough. Thankfully, Choi Gitae asked Woosung, "Let's go in. I am curious about how you created Blue S."

Everyone looked at Woosung with interest.

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Chapter 89: lt;Unexpectedgt;

Famous celebrities and beautiful escorts sat around Choi Gitae, Choi Gichul, and Jung Jinsup.

They looked like kings surrounded by their own harem.

Choi Gitae raised his glass.

"I am happy to be drinking with such good friends. Cheers!"

Within 30 minutes, Woosung could tell Choi Gichul was helpless around Choi Gitae. He was like a mouse constricted by a snake's body.

Choi Gitae turned to Woosung and asked, "I heard KND phone is very popular in the US. You also took over Tel Tech, so I assume the phone will be released in Korea soon?"

"I am hoping to have it launched before September this year."

"So you will be our competition from now on."

"I am flattered. I am nowhere near Daeyang's scale."

Choi Gitae grinned unpleasantly. "Now that I have met you, I feel like you will become big very soon. Oh! Gichul told me you were concerned about some manufacturing parts."

Jung Jinsup winked at Woosung, who replied, "Yes. The demand is increasing, so we need more of everything including memory chip, audio, camera, and display. We are using foreign parts now, but I thought it would be better to use Korean products."

Choi Gitae answered like a pride pack-leader, "Of course. Koreans should use Korean products. I will make it happen for you, so let me know."

Everyone knew Choi Gitae was the head of DS department.

Woosung thoughts ran wild.

'Is he hoping to outperform Choi Taemin by using me?'

Woosung answered without hesitation, "Thank you. I appreciate your help."

They continued to drink. Choi Gichul kept giving Choi Gitae nervous glances. Woosung watched silently.

Choi Gitae kept smiling as he asked Woosung various questions.

"How did you make your money?"

"What is your business plan for the future?"

"I heard you are involved in many different businesses. Which is your main focus?"

"Do you have any new interest lately?"

"I heard you predicted the exchange rate. How did you do that?"

He wouldn't stop asking questions. Woosung answered vaguely.

"I was lucky."

"I will have to assess the market to see what I should do."

"I am planning to focus on the smartphone business."

"I am working on the Coconut PC version launch."

"I used the data analysis."

Woosung answered thoughtfully. He didn't want to lose to Choi Gitae in anyway.

"Haha, you are amazing. No wonder you are considered the up and coming businessman of the year."

"I am flattered."

It was already 2AM. Time flew by while they talked.

Choi Gitae said to everyone, "I didn't realize how late it is. You may go whenever you want. I'm leaving, so I will see you all later."

Each man stood up and went into separate rooms with different women. Woosung did the same.

Woosung turned to two women that followed him into the room.

"I am actually not feeling that great right now, so I won't need you tonight." The women's eyes widened. Woosung continued quickly, "It's embarrassing. I hope you won't tell anyone."

Both women nodded. One of them was a very young, aspiring idol. She looked relieved. It was clear she was forced into this situation.

The bed was big enough for more than three people.

"I will sleep on one side, so you guys can rest on the other side."

Woosung took off his jacket and laid down.

'Who knows if there is a camera hidden in this room?'

Just like Woosung did to Jung Jinsup only a few days ago.

The next day.

Breakfast was delivered to the room. It was bean sprout soup, which was great for hangovers.

After the meal, Woosung walked out to the living room where Choi Gichul was sitting on the sofa. Woosung looked at him sharply.

"Good morning."

"Oh, yes."

Choi Gichul said indifferently. Woosung laughed awkwardly and continued, "Haha, I heard a lot about you from Jinsup."

"Really? I'm surprised."

"It was mostly about you taking over the CE department."

"Oh…"

"I asked him for you in hopes that I will be able to get a good deal on the smartphone parts."

"I see."

Choi Gichul continued to provide only short answers.

This was a different person than what Woosung remembered from 2018.

Why?

Woosung tried to figure it out but couldn't. He said to Choi Gichul coolly, "I hope to see you often."

"Choi Gitae did ask me to take care of your situation, so we should talk about it."

"I see."

"Firstly, please provide me a list of products you need and the unit prices you are currently paying for each. We will go from there. I will send you the email address by text."

Unit prices were usually a trade secret. Unit prices of different parts decided the retail price of a product. Woosung couldn't believe Choi Gichul was asking for such a sensitive information so casually.

Woosung didn't lose his smile as he asked. "Are you asking me for the current supply cost we pay for our parts such as memory, camera, and display?"

Choi Gichul nodded. Woosung tried very hard not to laugh at his audacity. "I'm afraid that's not possible."

Choi Gichul frowned harshly.

Woosung continued. "That is a confidential information."

Choi Gichul raised his voice slightly.

"But it's how we do things at Daeyang."

"Not for my company. I have solid confidential contracts with the companies that provide me with parts."

"Are you saying you don't want to work with us?"

"Not this way. I would love to use Daeyang's parts, but you need to be reasonable."

Choi Gichul murmured, "Why can't you just do what I say…"

Choi Gichul was definitely very different from the way he was in 2018. In Woosung's previous life, Choi Gichul was a smooth talker and a savvy businessman.

'What happened in that 10 years?'

Woosung couldn't remember any major events in Choi Gichul's life, which meant it was probably something very personal.

Woosung continued, "And by the way, shouldn't Daeyang be the one providing me with the unit prices? I am the buyer in this case after all."

Choi Gichul's frown became even worse. He scowled at Woosung with a quiet frown.

Woosung continued, "How about this? I will give you the average price of all the parts, but you need to guarantee 10% discount. If you can do that, I will buy in bulks."

Choi Gichul finally answered, "I don't think we'll come to an agreement right now, so we'll talk later."

"Alright."

Choi Gichul stood up.

"I'm very busy, so goodbye."

He looked angry. Woosung grinned after he left.

Woosung arranged a meeting for his managers at work. Jang Gwangchul and Park Byungki also showed up.

"So Vice president Park, I need you to lead the deal with Daeyang. I know you have much more experience than me in dealing with that company."

Park Byungki nodded. "That's true. Daeyang is the worst. Even though they are the seller, they expect the buyers to feel grateful. They also raise their prices frequently and make mistakes on purpose. I went through a lot of issues with them. In the end, we tried to purchase from other companies as much as possible. I would advise you to do the same."

"I agree. I will be purchasing only minimal orders at the lowest cost."

Jang Gwangchul asked, "Then why bother dealing with them at all?"

That was true, but it was personal for Kang Woosung.

"I just would like to be acquainted with Daeyang for the future. It's smart to know your competition and what parts they use for their own phone."

Jang Gwangchul couldn't quite understand, but he nodded anyway.

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Chapter 90: lt;Unexpectedgt;

When Woosung got home, he turned on his computer and opened the folder that held the information he collected on Daeyang. He opened the subfolder on Choi Gichul and added more information.

"He appears to fear Choi Gitae."

"He shows passivity and negativity when he is working on anything that involves Choi Gitae."

"Need to find out why his personality changed."

Woosung then opened the folder named Choi Gitae. He added a few lines.

"Owns a mansion at xxx-1 Hannamdong."

"He is having affairs with actress Kim Heesoo, Lee Minji, Jung Hyeji, and a new idol Lala."

"Hired many bodyguards."

"Awkward relationship with Jung Jinsup."

Woosung leaned back on his chair and thought.

'Choi Gitae and Choi Gichul.'

They were the business princes of Korea and they were ruthless.

'It's not going to be easy to deal with them.'

Choi Gitae was a cruel man. During the party last night, he showed a very harsh side. He slapped a woman for making a mistake with the drinks. He threw a glass at the wall. He was a typical rich brat.

Choi Gichul didn't show any emotion when Choi Gitae acted in such a violent manner. He seemed used to it.

Woosung wasn't worried though. He wasn't the old Woosung who was a nobody anymore. He was the CEO of a rising company. He was in a position to buy products from Daeyang.

He came a long way.

Woosung felt proud of himself.

"June 25th. A one-on-one talk with top star Lee Ari."

"Only on Coconut Talk."

The marketing for Coconut Talk began on TV ads and the internet. Already in the iPhone App Store, it was the second most popular app in the social network category.

However, in Korea, it was still not well known.

Compared to MSN, it was nothing. This was an expected situation.

After the commercials with Lee Ari, however, things started to pick up.

"Korea 10211."

"Korea 10525."

"Korea 11119."

Every time the site was refreshed, the number of users increased. In addition, the app was a success in the Korean government. The workers gave great reviews.

"Korea 14219."

"Korea 18219."

"Korea 25219."

It was now time for the special talk event with Lee Ari.

"20000 users."

"30000 users."

"50000 users."

This was the power of Lee Ari. More and more people signed up to have a chance to chat with her. While she messaged with her fans, Lee Ari wondered.

'How could he forget where the meeting was? How? Why?'

She couldn't understand. She was a top star. There were people lining up to have a glimpse of her.

Yet he forgot where the meeting was taking place?

How?

While deep in thought, one of her fans messaged her.

"I love you so much! You're so beautiful and talented. I especially liked it when you had a bang!"

Lee Ari answered kindly.

"Thank you! I will let my stylist know."

"Haha, by the way, what's your type?"

"Oh, my type…"

Who?

Lee Ari never thought about it seriously.

"On an interview, you mentioned Kam Sungmin. You aren't dating him now, are you?"

"No."

Lee Ari shook her head. One name popped up in her head, but she denied it.

"I'm only your fan so I have no right to get involved, but I really think you would look great with the group Bigwon's Park Jihwan."

The fan clearly wanted to continue the chat, but the conversation was terminated abruptly. This was a special event for everyone. The goal was for Lee Ari to chat with as many fans as possible. The amount of time a fan could have with her was limited.

"Time over. You have been disconnected."

The next fan in line messaged Lee Ari.

While Lee Ari worked, Woosung and Yoon Gihwan talked among themselves. The other two from Daesan were also sitting nearby.

"When are you going to be done with that algorithm you promised?"

Woosung scratched his head. "Oh…Haha. I've been really busy lately. I am working on it. As I said before, it will also be used by the National pension department, so I will get to it as soon as possible."

"You are taking too long. We are getting impatient."

While Woosung smiled awkwardly, Park Junwoo brought out a laptop and connected it to the beam. Yoon Gihwan continued.

"We couldn't just sit around, so we prepared something. As we promised before, we are working on the high-frequency trading architecture."

Woosung nodded. On the screen, the excel program started showing various graphs and tables.

"You said we could test it any way we want with one million dollars, so we did."

Mokdong IDC

"Quote confirmation: 0.00021 seconds"

"Market order confirmation: 0.00027 seconds"

Yoon Gihwan's house

"Quote confirmation: 0.00041 seconds"

"Market order confirmation: 0.00152 seconds"

Office

"Quote confirmation: 0.00031 seconds"

"Market order confirmation: 0.00093 seconds"

Yoon Gihwan explained as he pointed at different parts on the screen.

"It was clear the IDC from Nuri was the fastest. So we thought, how can we make the most money using this? To be honest, we thought about doing something unethical, like driving up the price with fake orders and then selling the stocks we own at a higher price."

This was a possibility, but it could cause problems in the future.

Yoon Gihwan continued, "But we all agreed that this was immoral, so we continued to think. What do we have that we can use?"

Woosung answered, "Winning stock recommendation algorithm."

"That's right. We decided to combine the three. The IDC, high-frequency trading algorithm, and the winning stock recommendation algorithm. We named it real-time winning stock recommendation algorithm."

Yoon Gihwan took a sip of water and continued.

"Park Junwoo is going to now take over the presentation. Junwoo worked very hard on this, so you better give him a good bonus later."

"If it makes good profits, I will make sure you get a huge incentive!"

Woosung's original algorithm analyzed the past data and provided a rough prediction. Because it didn't analyze in real time, it couldn't provide an estimated time of when the stock would rise.

What Park Junwoo added to this system was the real-time component. It filtered Woosung's algorithm's recommendation once more to narrow the list down.

"I created it so it focuses on small increases, but with our speed, we can complete many transactions. For example, even if there is a profit of 10 cents, if we can carry out 10000 transactions, it could be a profit of 1000 dollars."

"That's brilliant, and what about in America?"

"Even in the US, we were able to see 3% profit daily for the last month."

Park Junwoo looked proud. 3% per day meant 300% profit in a year.

Woosung ordered, "Then let's invest 50 million dollars in the Korean market and 50 million in the US. Our goal will be 500 million dollars by the end of this year."

Yoon Gihwan's eyes widened as he stared at Woosung. If they were successful, the three of them could make a huge bonus.

Woosung continued.

"As I told you guys before, I am willing to pay high salaries. I am ready to support you in any way, so make me a big profit and you will get rich too."

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Chapter 91: lt;Unexpectedgt;

After everyone left, Woosung switched his computer open and transferred 50 million dollars each to the two accounts used for algorithm trading. He didn't look too closely at Park Junwoo's product, but based on the test results, Woosung thought he could trust it.

In the past, he would have checked every little component of it, but now, he didn't have the time for it. He had to learn how to delegate tasks to his employees.

Woosung checked the Coconut service status again. Over 50000 users were registered. It was definitely a big success.

He couldn't be satisfied yet though. Woosung went to see Hong Soobum and Jang Gwangchul.

"Do you remember what I said before?"

There were a lot of things Woosung said in the past. They looked at him in silence.

"I think we are ready to enter the Chinese market."

"Already?"

Woosung nodded. Smartphone industry would explode soon and China was a big market he couldn't lose.

"Yes, and I need to appoint someone to lead this project. We must start the investment process and create a messenger company in China."

Jang Gwangchul's eyes widened. "We are getting busier with the mobile carrier business, yet you want to add more work?"

Woosung looked at Hong Soobum for help. "What do you think, Vice president Hong?"

At the promoted title of vice president, both Jang Gwangchul and Hong Soobum looked at Woosung in surprise.

Woosung continued. "The business in the US is settling down nicely. Based on how well it did in America, we know Blue S will do well in Korea too. Besides, we are done with PC, Android, and iPhone versions of the app, so it's time to begin a new project."

Hong Soobum.

Woosung knew he was a talented developer and a savvy businessman. Woosung knew Hong Soobum was the best person for the job. Hong Soobum asked nervously.

"China…You want me to take care of the Chinese project?"

"As you must have already known, the Chinese population is huge. Everyone knows it is the sleeping dragon of Asia. Don't you want to be a part of this life-changing project?"

Hong Soobum listened with thorough thoughts.

Woosung continued."And of course, I won't let you do it all by yourself. I will be there with you the whole way. I just need you to be the main point of contact."

Woosung was very convincing. Jang Gwangchul began to be jealous. "President Kang, are you keeping me out of such an important project?"

"Haha, it's not like that."

"Haha, then when are we going to China?"

"After we are done with the preparations. We will create a company, localize the messenger, and hire appropriate people. I need someone to take care of these things."

When Woosung turned to Hong Soobum, he nodded.

After the conversation, Jang Gwangchul took Woosung to a private room.

"I got a call from Yoo Sona's management company. Her CEO would like to meet with us."

Yoo Sona.

She was a member of a new idol group ThirtyNine. This set Woosung's interest in hiring her as the next celebrity for the one-on-one talk event with the fans. Woosung asked.

"What do you think?"

"I've heard some rumors about her. I don't think it's a good idea."

"What kind of rumors?"

Jang Gwangchul whispered, "I heard she does sexual favors for her career advancement."

Suddenly, the name Daeyang entered Woosung's mind. She was part of a TV commercial for Daeyang System after all.

Jang Gwangchul continued, "I don't think it's a good idea…but if you insist…"

Jang Gwangchul clearly didn't like the idea, but Woosung felt differently. He had a distinct feeling that he had to meet her.

"I think we should have a dinner with them at least." Jang Gwangchul looked at him disappointedly, but Woosung continued quickly. "Don't worry. I will be smart about it."

Woosung arranged a meeting with Yoo Sona and her manager. Her CEO wasn't joining them, which worried Jang Gwangchul.

The manager stayed behind and Woosung met with Yoo Sona in private. Cosmetics envelopes her face and she donned an alluring outfit.

"I'll do anything you want me to do." She said it forcefully.

It was clear that she didn't want to be here, but her eyes were determined. She wanted to be successful and if this was the way to do it, she was ready for it.

Woosung said calmly, "Shall we have dinner first?"

Yoo Sona asked, "Is this going to take a long time?"

Woosung started to cut into his steak and replied, "You are in a hurry?"

"So you're saying you want to take your time with me?"

Yoo Sona picked up her utensils as well and started to enjoy her steak.

Woosung asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

"The only thing I'm afraid of is being broke in the dirt."

Her hands were shaking. Contrary to her confident voice, she was clearly nervous. Woosung pretended not to see it and asked, "I like it rough."

"I am used to it."

Woosung thought of Choi Taemin and asked, "Daeyang?"

Cough.

Yoo Sona coughed in surprise. Woosung handed her a napkin and continued asking, "Don't you want revenge?"

"Pardon?"

"Haha, why don't you have a drink first?"

Instead of the cup Woosung handed, Yoo Sona picked the glass of wine and gulped it down.

"You like making fun of girls, is that it? Then I will play your game."

She was only 20, but the way her actions told Woosung she went through a lot in her life. She was filled with fury and determination.

Woosung said to her, "My hobby is to make money. I plan on being the richest person in Korea."

Yoo Sona murmured cynically, "Me too."

"Great. We have something in common."

Yoo Sona licked her lips and asked, "I think we had enough talk. Let's just get it over with."

"I'm afraid I can't."

"Pardon?"

"As you must have already noticed, anything that happens here needs to be confidential."

Yoo Sona looked at him nervously. What was he going to do to her?

What kind of weirdo was he?

As Yoo Sona paled, Woosung smiled. "Have a seat."

She was frightened. This situation was unfamiliar to her. Yoo Sona knew someone who smiled like Woosung was someone to fear.

She tried to look calm, but her hands were trembling uncontrollably.

Woosung continued quickly, "I need you to tell me what happened at Daeyang."

Yoo Sona's eyes widened, but she nodded. As she told her story, Woosung realized that it was worse than he expected.

Yoo Sona entered the car. The manager, who was taking a nap, woke up.

"Oh…you're back."

He checked the clock. It wasn't even two in the morning. It was different than her other clients before, but he didn't say anything about it.

He checked her through the back mirror and noticed Yoo Sona's appearance was exactly the same as when she left the car earlier. Her makeup was intact and her hair was dry. The only difference was that her mascara was smudged.

She must have cried.

He asked her quietly, "A…are you ok?"

Yoo Sona answered abruptly, "Yes." She closed her eyes.

"Alright. Then we'll head home."

They drove away and Woosung looked at the car through the window of his room.

Yoo Sona.

The ordeal she went through was painful.

"Dammit."

It was an unpleasant experience to see a woman cry, but Woosung managed to get the information he wanted.

He wanted some dirt about Choi Taemin. As Woosung expected, he was a cruel bastard.

Woosung remote accessed his home computer and started to record what he learned today.

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Chapter 92: lt;Unexpectedgt;

The next day.

Yoo Sona woke up early in the morning and got into her car where her CEO was waiting.

"You must've done great with KND's president last night! He hired you to model for the KND's TV commercial! One million dollars for a 1-year contract!"

Yoo Sona flinched. "I didn't do anything special."

"If you keep this up, you should be able to pay your family's debt back by the end of this year."

"It's all thanks to you, sir."

"No, it's all you, Sona. I told you, I will make you famous!"

"We will go to the shop now." The manager informed them as he started the car.

The CEO continued, "I know this may not be the nicest way, but this is how the real world works. If you want to make it fast, you need to do whatever it takes."

"I know. Just please make sure you pay me my share."

"Haha, of course! You are the jewel of my company, so I will take good care of you!"

Yoo Sona closed her eyes and thought about what happened last night.

'Why did I do that?'

While she told her story, she started to cry.

She cried in front of a complete stranger. Strangely, the man seemed to give off a genuine form of concern. He handed her a napkin, and he consoled her.

"I should get you something good to eat. You look tired and your skin looks rough."

The CEO yelled at the manager, "You need to take better care of our star. You're her manager!"

"I'm sorry."

"Fine. Now, Sona, we got a possible contract from Dongnam Pharmaceutical company. They think you may be the right person for their TV commercial for a vitamin drink. The only thing is that its Chairman is old, and…He likes things in a certain way…"

Yoo Sona knew what he meant. She answered quickly, "I'll do it."

If she wasn't in this profession, she would have ended up in a brothel. She kept reminding herself this was what she wanted and it was better than the alternative. She closed her eyes tightly.

The CEO smiled and continued through the day with an ecstatic grin.

Jang Gwangchul asked worriedly, "Are you sure nothing happened? I can trust you?"

"Yes! I'm telling you the truth. Do you really think I would take advantage of a young girl? I just talked to her, that's all."

"I trust you as a person, but I'm not so sure about you as a man."

"Gosh! I'm telling you the truth."

"But that's odd too."

"What?"

"You are a healthy 27-year-old man, yet you don't have a girlfriend, and you don't sleep around. You just work. That's really odd." Jang Gwangchul continued quickly. "Men want to make money so we can use it, especially to get women. That's what normal men do. Yesterday was a perfect opportunity for you."

"I'm not like that. I'm a businessman."

"But unless you are a monk…" Jang Gwangchul murmured quietly. "A…are you by chance suffering from…erectile dysfunction?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Jang Gwangchul's eyes widened. "W…what?"

"I think it's something to do with my mental health. I just can't do it."

"Oh, then let's get you a doctor. I know someone very good. You should have told me so I can get help for you."

"I'm fine. It's getting better slowly."

Jang Gwangchul looked at Woosung sympathetically. "Are you seeing a doctor? If not, you must! I'll take you."

Woosung stood up. "I have a few businesses to take care of outside of the office. I'll see you later."

Jang Gwangchul's eyes welled up. "Just let me know if you need any help, ok? We can even go abroad for treatments."

"Alright. Just go."

Woosung picked up his laptop bag and left.

He arrived at Jung Jinsup's game company. When Woosung entered the headquarters, some people looked at him and murmured among themselves. They seemed like they recognized him.

He was on TV after all when he publicly announced that his company would take over Tel-Tech.

'I must be famous now.'

Just then, Jung Jinsup came down to meet him. "Oh, you're here."

Woosung bowed. "Nice place here."

Jung Jinsup poked Woosung in the waist and joked. "We are leasing this space, but I hear you own your own building."

"Yes, but I'm not sure if that was the right decision."

"It's in a good area, so of course that was the right choice. Anyway, let's go up."

Every game users' actions were recorded in the database.

Item purchases.

Movement between the towns.

Monster hunting.

Item usages.

Every move was logged. Woosung analyzed the data Jung Jinsup gave him and found about 20 IDs with abnormal activities.

After a few days of monitoring, it was revealed that 17 of these IDs were involved in illegal actions including copying items and using internal bugs to play unfairly. Oh Minjae, who was the chief of the OS team, listened intensely to Woosung.

"I used the STL analysis. With this method, I picked out the unusual IDs that were bug users."

STL analysis.

It was short for Seasonal and Trend Decomposition using Loess.

"Could you explain in more details? Like what equations you used, what kind of filters you used for the raw data, and so on."

Woosung replied, "I can't tell you everything, but basically, I used STL analysis, reminder, and Jitter detections to find these IDs. If I had more time, I could probably do better."

Jung Jinsup listened in awe. He thought Woosung was just a clever businessman, but he was clearly more than that.

Oh Minjae asked in awe, "It's already at 85%…"

"I can make it to 90% in no time. It could be even better, but that would take a while."

Oh Minjae turned to Jung Jinsup and nodded. "Then we have no reason not to use his system."

Bug users.

Or nuclear users.

They were those who abused the game. In 2018, they were eliminated by an internal analyst team, but this was 2009.

It was less sophisticated now. Many CS agents were hired to monitor these users manually.

Jung Jinsup smiled proudly. "We'll be able to cut down on CS employees."

Oh Minjae agreed, "We won't know for sure till we implement it, but I think you're right."

Woosung replied, "I'm glad to be of help."

"Well, now we come to the matter of fees."

"Of course I won't charge you a lot, sir. I will send the estimate to Oh Minjae, and it will be a fair number. Oh, and I can also analyze the customer satisfaction level. Would you be interested? If you are, you'll have to provide us with more of your data."

Jung Jinsup nodded. There was no reason not to trust Woosung.

After a drink with Jung Jinsup, Woosung came back home and logged on to Jung Jinsup's company's game Legend.

It was one of the most popular games in Korea with over 300,000 users and sales of over a billion dollars. There were over 30 servers available.

Woosung created a character for each server and formed a guild.

"There is nothing you can't do with money."

He hired a substitute gamer and got all the characters to reach level 90.

He also owned a few castles in several servers.

"Now, let's see if I can cause inflation within the game."

As a castle owner in the game, he could control the prices of items in the castle. He set the prices and the taxes at their highest level.

Kim Yonggun enjoyed playing games after he got off work.

Legend was his favorite.

As soon as he logged in, a popup came up.

"Every user in this castle will have to pay 20% more for all items?"

Kim Yonggun's character was currently in a castle named Arin. Arin castle was considered a popular place in the game because it was surrounded by many good hunting grounds.

In the game, it cost 10 cents to buy 100 gold. An increase of 20% was very upsetting.

He chatted with other users about this matter. The other gamers living in other castles were having similar problems.

"There is an increase of 25% in Dragon castle."

"It's 15% up in Noah Castle."

It had become known that five castles all had increases in prices.

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Chapter 93: lt;Game kinggt;

MOX's CEO Jung Hyosung was in a good mood. He received a report that morning from the strategy department.

"This month's sales for Legend has increased 10% and 20% for Legend 2."

"And the reason is?"

"It's thanks to Managing director Jung's quality improvement project."

"Haha, so it's Jinsup's work! That's my boy. He's smart like me."

"Haha, I agree."

"But he's still very young. I hope you take good care of him, Chief Choi."

"Of course."

The chief of the strategy department left the room and returned to his chair. His assistant came up to him and asked.

"Are you sure we don't have to report this?"

"It's fine. I'll take care of it. It will blow over soon. Guilds fight each other all the time."

"But it's different this time. It's strange. There has never been a time when so many guilds increased the prices all at once."

"You are still new here, so you don't understand. It happened before. Do you not know of Nuts Liberation War incident?"

Nuts Liberation War.

It was a famous incident that happened in 2005 inside Legend.

A particular guild's tyranny was so horrible many users including those from different servers fought to get rid of it.

The assistant answered in frustration, "I have been playing Legend for the past 5 years and that was an exception."

The chief continued quickly, "Besides, all the involved castles are owned by different guilds anyway. They will fight for a while, and things will settle down."

He waved his hand to dismiss his assistant, who still remained wary.

This was happening in too many servers. Out of 32 servers, 16 of them were involved so far.

21 years old.

Go Jongsu was a game addict whose job was a professional gamer for hire.

He logged on to the 21st server Areline as the character named K9.

K9's current level was 95.

There were three substitute gamers hired for this character. They worked 8-hour shift to boost this character every day. Within only a few months, it became one of the top ten characters within the game.

Go Jongsu sent a message to all of the guild members.

"Guild members. Are you ready for the siege?"

"Ready."

"Ready."

"Ready."

They were about to go to war to take over a castle. This wasn't just a game for many. By becoming a castle owner, they could tax other traveling characters for game gold. They could then sell these golds online.

Essentially, they could make real money.

10,000 golds equaled 10 dollars.

Go Jongsu checked his weapons and announced.

"Then, let's begin."

He moved his character to the designated area and the other characters followed his lead.

"We begin."

"Whichever side surrounds the castle flag will become the winner."

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1"

After the countdown, the war began.

Go Jongsu had the best weapons money could buy. There was no way his side could lose.

When Woosung logged on to Legend, he noted that all of his characters leveled up significantly.

K9 95 Lv.

Gauser 94Lv.

Daeyang Mania 96Lv.

Blue Red 93Lv.

Most characters were over level 90 and their weapons and items were of highest quality and power.

Woosung had the best characters in the game.

When he logged on to the server Areline, a popup came up.

"Do you agree to be the new owner of this castle?"

"Yes."

Woosung's character appeared on the screen with a crown on top of his head. Woosung smiled in satisfaction and continued on with the other characters in other servers.

When Woosung met Jung Jinsup, he thought hard to come up with the best way to get back at him. In the end, Woosung decided he could use the game to destroy him.

He planned to become the tyrant over all the servers and drive all the other users out of the game.

He had more than enough money to make it happen. He hired several professional gamers so it could not be traced back to him.

He checked his game account balance.

6.7M Gold.

This meant he could exchange it for 67,000 dollars. This was the money he earned as a multi-castle owner.

"Well, I spent about 100,000 dollars on this game, so at least I am getting close to evening out."

Woosung closed the game and opened the coin server.

The speed of mining decreased significantly.

He was getting only about 7 coins per server every day

But he already had enough coins. In 3 months, a miner in the US will purchase 1309 coins for a dollar. Woosung planned to buy them himself if possible.

After work, Kim Yonggun returned home and connected to Legend. He was still angry about the increase in tax within the game. He checked the game chatroom to read what other gamers thought.

"What is Legend GM doing? I hate this game now."

Things happened fair and square, so stop complaining!"

Different gamers felt differently about what was happening in the game.

Kim Yonggun collected the data and analyzed them to calculate the average increase in taxes within the group.

Out of 32 servers, 25 increased their taxes an average of 20%.

All within the last two months.

However, all the guilds and characters of these servers had different names.

It was strange.

He has been playing for many years and this never happened before. The data looked too clean and organized. Because it looked too perfect, Kim Yonggun started to suspect someone was behind it.

"It's just too weird. Within the last two months, 25 servers' castle owners changed. Each has a different guild. This has never happened before as far as I can remember."

After much thinking, Kim Yonggun closed his computer and laid down on his bed.

"Gosh, I'm getting a headache!"

He was so tired from work he didn't have the energy to play games nowadays. He figured he should just wait for this situation to pass. He thought things would settle eventually, and he would start playing again then.

Many other gamers were feeling the same way.

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Chapter 94: lt;Game kinggt;

A gamer logged on to the 26th server Kudre as the castle Lindsay's owner, Red Bat. Suddenly, a notice popped up.

"June 24th 2009. 14:45 You have been confirmed to be an illegal bug user. Your account has been suspended. If you have any questions, please contact the customer service center.

He read it and re-read it, becoming angry.

"Dammit! Dammit…"

His friend sent him a link recently that could help him with the game. When he saw it, he suspected it to be a bug, but he used it anyway. He only used it once though, so he couldn't understand how he was caught.

Especially now when he was just about to take over a castle!

A similar thing happened to Jo Jungmin, who was playing at the 27th server Jessnuts.

"You have been confirmed to be an illegal bug user. Your account has been suspended. If you have any questions, please contact the customer service center."

"Dammit! This isn't fair."

His character was at level 95. He slept only 4 hours every day to get this far.

He was addicted to the game. Jo Jungmin was furious. All the time and effort he spent turned to nothing.

It didn't matter if he used an illegal bug. Perhaps he did in the past, but he couldn't really remember anymore.

However, he was sure he wasn't the only one who used this bug.

Everyone used it. He became resentful. He felt like he was the victim.

This was the worst timing. He recently became a castle owner and was just about to earn real money.

Why did it have to happen now!?

Jo Jungmin called the customer service right away.

There were two types of gamers.

Hard user.

Light user.

Woosung used the data Jung Jinsup provided to filter out the illegal gamers, especially the ones he needed to leave so it could be easier for his characters to thrive. Many were hard users, and once they were booted out from the game, it was easier for Woosung to take over more castles.

Finally, he was at the 32nd server named Latist.

Inside, four out of five castles were already his. The only one left was named Arin. Woosung logged in as a character named Wealthy Hunter.

The name of his guild was Riot.

Woosung uploaded a message for all.

"The Riot begins now."

Woosung's character started to move with his weapon. The other guild members followed him.

When they reached the front of the castle, the countdown began.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

The first move was by the existing castle owner with his followers. He had a strong character, but Woosung had a secret weapon. He possessed a Cronos Sword, which caused four times the damage as any other swords in the game. It was worth over 20,000 dollars.

It was a massacre. No one could stop Woosung. The Arin's existing guild was strong, but it was no match for Woosung.

Finally at 3 am.

Woosung won the castle. He clicked the button "Accept" to be the new castle owner.

MOX's strategy development team chief Choi Gilak looked at the report with a frown.

"There is a 3% decline from last month? Really?"

"Yes, and we are only two weeks into this month. It's because of so many members leaving the game."

"I don't understand, the reviews we have been getting so far were positive. Gamers have been complimenting how we got rid of all the illegal bug users. So why are we losing customers?"

"Did you have a look at the customer type graph I created?"

Choi Gilak nodded. "Hard user 10%. Light user 90%"

"Majority of the light users are in their teens and early 20's." Choi Gilak remained silent. He could guess what his assistant was about to say. "Because of the increase in taxes and item prices, the young users with no money are leaving. We need to stop this before it becomes too late."

"Did you call the Guild chapter?"

"I couldn't get through."

"How about suspending the responsible accounts?"

"We don't have a legal reason to do so."

"If these tyrants became successful this fast, they must have used a bug."

"Our team checked it and they were all clean."

Choi Gilak sighed. Something bad was brewing. He could feel it.

It was worse than how it appears because this was happening to both Legend 1 and 2, which made up 80% of the entire company.

MOX's fate depended on these games.

Choi Gilak answered.

"Fine. I'll take care of it."

Choi Gilak stood up and went to the development general manager.

"I think we need to move the characters."

"Are you talking about the increase in the taxes in some castles? That's not something new."

"Our sales are going to be down significantly this month, and I'm sure it will happen next month too. We need to take over a few castles and stabilize the situation right now."

"But we can't just interfere willy-nilly. If we use our master account and the users find out, would be in trouble."

Choi Gilak replied.

"But the sales! We have no choice. We need to be proactive about this."

"There must be another way."

"This is an emergency!"

Choi Gilak sighed in frustration. He turned around and replied, "Fine. We'll wait on it for a while, but you may be making a huge mistake."

That same day, MOX's stock price declined to $50.40, a dollar lower than the previous day.

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Chapter 95: lt;Game kinggt;

The next day, MOX's stock weakened further. Its internal problems with the games weren't public knowledge, yet the shareholders were selling their stocks.

It was because of those with insider information.

Woosung was buying the stocks little by little so that it goes unnoticed.

"The problem is the 5% rule."

5%.

If an individual or a company bought over 5% of a particular company, it had to be disclosed. If Woosung's name was mentioned, it would be an issue.

Woosung thought of Jang Gwangchul. MOX's stock would decline further. In his previous life, however, things happened very differently. MOX released an FPS game in China, which garnered huge success. The mobile version of Legend was also a hit, and MOX became a 20-billion-dollar company.

"So what I need to do is to buy as many stocks as possible now so I can take over the company…Then develop the games that are popular in 2018…"

This way, he could accomplish his revenge and make a huge business profit.

Woosung called for Jang Gwangchul and explained his plan of adding a gaming component to the Coconut Talk.

Jang Gwangchul replied, "So this will be profitable for the company? And we need to make our games too?"

"Well, to be honest, I would like to do this as my personal project."

"But you would like to buy the stocks under someone else's name."

"Yes. I will take over MOX and use it as our own game development department."

"How much is the company worth now?"

"As of yesterday, it's 3.2 billion dollars."

"So if you only bought half of it, it would still cost you 1.6 billion dollars."

"For now."

"What?"

"The stock price will continue to decline."

To Woosung's confident prediction, Jang Gwangchul asked, "You are hiding something from me, aren't you? You already spent so much money on taking over Tel-Tech and preparing for the mobile carrier business. Now, you are saying you have enough money to buy MOX?" Jang Gwangchul took a deep breath and continued. "Even if MOX's stock price goes down, it will still cost hundreds of millions of dollars. You're saying you have that much money?"

"We'll make money with Coconut very soon. Blue S's sales are also increasing quickly. I can also sell a small share of KND if necessary to raise funds."

Jang Gwangchul didn't buy Woosung's explanation. This was reasonable since Woosung did have another secret.

He was waiting for the new flu, H1N1.

Then in November, there would be the Dubai Shock.

Woosung knew there were more future events coming up for him to make money.

Jang Gwangchul looked at Woosung and asked, "No, you are lying to me. Look at my eyes and tell me the truth."

Woosung stared at him and replied, "Why aren't you asking me why I want to use someone else's name for the stock purchase? Isn't that a more important question?"

"I assumed you must have a good reason for it."

"Then, what about this? The answer you are looking for is actually within the assumption you just mentioned."

"If you don't want to tell me, just say so."

"Do you remember what I said about my dreams?"

Jang Gwangchul nodded slowly. Woosung continued, "I can see many different things in my dreams. Sometimes I can see opportunities to make money. That's why I am confident about my plan."

"Is there anything you can tell me?"

"Do you know what H1N1 is?"

Jang Gwangchul remembered hearing about it on the news, but only vaguely. It wouldn't hit the headlines until the end of July.

"We will soon be facing a pandemic flu. The entire world will fear it. It will be a great chance to make some money."

Big events caused volatility in the stock market."I am still not sure how to go about it, but I'm working on it. Oh and remember, this is a secret."

Jang Gwangchul nodded firmly and replied, "And as for using someone else's name, I know someone who might be able to help you. Let me look into it."

Woosung nodded.

After Jang Gwangchul left the room, Woosung remote accessed his home computer and opened a file with information on his previous life.

There were two more big events left this year.

H1N1.

Dubai shock in November.

Dubai World asks for a debt standstill. It asks the creditors for a 6-months standstill on its debt repayment.

Woosung remembered the KOSPI index going down over 1% due to this incident.

This was his chance.

"The first death from H1N1 in Korea has been recorded. The Health Authorities have warned the public to avoid heavily crowded areas including restaurants and public bathhouses. They are also recommending washing your hands as often as possible."

"Currently, tens of thousands of people are suffering from H1N1 in the world. Unlike other countries, however, the Korean government is showing an unprepared and uncaring attitude towards its people."

Jung Jinchul, an owner of a new internet café, turned off the TV.

He just opened this new business recently, but because of H1N1 scare, it was empty. He was losing money every day.

He sighed.

Restaurants. Internet cafes. Malls. Grocery stores.

The streets were empty.

After work, people went straight home and many spent a lot of time playing games. The game industry boomed, except for Legend. Choi Gilak became more nervous.

"The other game companies are gaining more users…But we are still losing customers."

The general manager was aware of this problem. "Are you saying it's time for us to act on it?"

"The new guilds are invincible. I used my personal guilds to fight and take over the castles, but it was impossible. The balance within the game has been destroyed."

Choi Gilak was again asking to use the master account.

The master account was created and owned by MOX. It could bend the rules within the game to get whatever outcome it wanted. There was no way anyone could win against the master account character.

"I believe this is the only way to restore the balance in the game."

"Fine. Let's try it in a couple of servers."

Choi Gilak nodded.

Woosung's phone vibrated with a message.

"You have lost the 27th server Arin castle."

Woosung looked at it in surprise. This was unexpected. He has been the owner of this castle for the past month and no one managed to win against his character.

"Master Knight?"

It was a nickname he has never seen before. Woosung checked the data Jung Jinsup gave him, but while he checked the database, Woosung found something strange.

"Huh?"

It looked like Master Knight seemed to have unusual items and abilities that went against the game logistics. This was not possible.

This meant one of two things.

There was an error or the character was owned by a hacker or a bug user.

Woosung analyzed the character, its items, and its past activities.

"This doesn't make sense. There is no record of this character until now." Woosung was now sure that it was a hacker. "Did I just get hacked? Or the game got hacked?"

But it still didn't make sense. Woosung studied the character further.

After two hours of it, Woosung decided, "This isn't from hacking or any kind of bugs."

Woosung swallowed nervously. This situation reminded him of the time when he was murdered.

Company interference.

Woosung's death started when he found out about strange transactions with certain IP addresses. He initially thought the company was hacked, but it was the company itself that was behind the illegal activities.

This was the same situation. MOX developed the character and interfered with the game from the inside.

"Bastards…"

Unfortunately, he couldn't use this information. He couldn't release this information to the public without revealing himself too, at least not at this point.

Instead, Woosung contacted his substitute gamers.

"Take over the 27th server Arin castle immediately."

"Hire more gamers for this and make sure to destroy Master Knight."

"I don't care how much money it costs."

"Make sure to record the takeover."

The gamers responded quickly. Woosung was furious, but he was also excited.

This was his chance to bring MOX down to its knees.

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Chapter 96: lt;Game kinggt;

Woosung's hired gamers with a minimum of level 80 characters lined up for an attack. The first thing they all did was PK (Player Killing).

They went around the castle killing many of Master Knight's guild Masterpiece's members as possible.

One by one, the Masterpiece members left the game.

"I can't play this game anymore."

"The Riot guild's members are hunting us down. I am done with this game."

"Peace out."

"I'm leaving too."

Eventually, only half of Masterpiece's members remained. Meanwhile, Woosung hired more people to become members of his own guild, Riot.

Choi Gilak couldn't believe what was happening. He tried to manipulate the game further with the master account, but he was stopped by the general manager.

"You need to stop now. If you go on any further, we may be discovered by the public."

"But we only won one castle out of it."

"What?"

"How many times do I have to explain? I am so frustrated."

"I know you said it's because of the young gamers leaving Legend. I get it, but what we need to do to fix it is to make the game more fun for them. Why are you getting angry at me?"

"Why won't you support me? We are working for the same company."

"Exactly. We are in the same team, and you need to do a better job in the development department."

Choi Gilak reddened in anger. "If we don't lower the taxes in these castles, this company is over. It's not just Legend 1. Similar things are happening in the second version too. This isn't a simple matter to be settled among the users. If this continues any longer, we could all lose our jobs."

This was turning into a serious argument. The general manager tried to avoid it by replying in a calm manner.

"I understand. I will try my best to come up with a solution."

"You better get to it fast."

While the country panicked because of H1N1, Woosung bought and sold healthcare stocks to make money.

Unfortunately, he wasn't making big profits.

The volumes of these stocks were too small. Woosung wanted to invest millions at a time, but all he could purchase was hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stocks.

However, it was different in the US.

There were plenty of pharmaceutical company stocks with big volumes. Woosung took long positions in many companies, especially Pfizer.

Pfizer stock was only about 14 dollars in July, but by September, it went up to 16 dollars.

Woosung earned a lot of money from this purchase, but he was still not satisfied. He obtained about 600 million dollars, but Woosung's definition of big money was in the billions.

He made back all the money he spent taking over Tel-Tech. When he purchased the company, he arranged it so that KND "borrowed" money from him. The interest rate he set was 7%, which meant every year, he received 42 million dollars from his own company to his personal account as a form of interest payment.

Woosung also had numerous other incomes including interest rates from his bank, stock dividends, coins, and his salary as the CEO.

However, this was all still not enough.

Woosung checked the MOX stock price. It was continuing to decline as he hoped.

37.10 dollars.

37.05 dollars.

He ordered his US company to take a fake short sale position on MOX stock to make it go down further.

36.50 dollars.

Once it went down, he canceled the sale order.

Suddenly, a text message arrived.

"I've uploaded the analysis report."

The fight against the Master Knight was recorded and sent to the professional gamers for analysis. They all agreed on one thing.

The game was manipulated.

Woosung managed to find out from where the character was being played. The IP address indicated that it was from the MOX headquarter.

It wasn't a hacker, it was the company itself.

The report was published online where Legend users and other gamers could see.

"This doesn't make sense."

"Have you ever seen the items like that before in the game?"

"How could that character cause so much more damages than any others I have seen?"

The internet game forum became filled with curious comments. Everyone agreed on one thing: what the Master Knight did was not possible, which meant the game was hacked.

"Legend has been hacked!"

"What the hell! Did the hacker take all the castles then?"

No one could even imagine the possibility of the company interfering. Then, an anonymous comment was made.

"I think I've seen this before. I think it might be the game company that manipulated the game."

"Is that possible?"

"OMG, I can't believe it!"

"We need to call the customer center."

"Let's go to the headquarter!"

"We need to get them."

People went furious. MOX was flooded with angry emails. The gaming communities were in an uproar.

The news reached CS Team leader Oh Minjae. He asked the development team for an explanation.

"We are currently checking things out."

He sent the same message many times, but every time he just got the same vague answer.

In desperation, he arranged a meeting with Woosung who gave his opinion.

"I can't be certain of whether it is the bug or the company, but the rumors on the internet seemed legit."

Woosung has gained Oh Minjae's trust within last few weeks, so Oh Minjae nodded. "Hmm."

"It would be faster if you talk to your development team."

"That department is going through an issue right now."

Woosung knew what he meant. Only a few in the company knew of the master account and its activities and clearly, Oh Minjae wasn't one of them.

Suddenly, Jung Jinsup walked in. "Chief Oh, what are you doing!"

Oh Minjae looked at Jung Jinsup in confusion.

Jung Jinsup yelled again, "This isn't the time to have stupid meetings!" His face was red. Oh Minjae stood up as Jung Jinsup continued. "Several players barged into the headquarter demanding an explanation. Take care of them. NOW!"

Oh Minjae left in shock. Jung Jinsup calmed down and sat beside Woosung.

"As you know, things aren't going well in the company right now. Someone is messing with us."

Woosung murmured, "You mean the character that is either being controlled by a hacker or the company?"

Jung Jinsup flinched and asked, "Yes, that's it! Do you know what is happening?"

"Actually, this meeting was about that, and I couldn't come up with anything solid. I'm guessing it's a hacker."

Jung Jinsup sighed in relief, "Really? Thank god. And thank you!"

"Haha, no problem. You look like you had a rough day. Would you like to go for a drink? I will take you somewhere nice."

Jung Jinsup's eyes lit up.

Woosung continued, "I found a place with some gorgeous ladies."

"Let's go!"

At an expensive brothel in Chungdamdong, Jung Jinsup drank heavily.

Woosung asked, "You look like you have a lot of worries."

Jung Jinsup took another sip and answered, "Sales have gone down significantly. Stock prices too. It also looks like someone's collecting our stocks."

"Really?"

"It looks like a foreign hedge fund, but we can't tell why it's doing it."

"Oh…"

Woosung was surprised at how much MOX knew of the situation. Jung Jinsup suddenly asked, "Are you interested in games by chance?"

"Pardon?"

"If KND could invest in our company, that would be a big help. And…"

When Jung Jinsup hesitated, Woosung urged him, "You can tell me anything."

"We are developing a new game right now, and an investment from your company would be a huge help. You know MOX is a solid company. The stock price will rise soon and it will be very profitable for you."

Woosung frowned and thought.

'They should've had enough funds to last a while and release FPS game next year…What happened? Did they lose that much money from this controversy?'

Because of Woosung, MOX lost many users. It tried to revive the game by spending a lot of money on marketing, but it failed again.

When Woosung hesitated, Jung Jinsup said disappointedly, "How could you not say yes immediately?"

"Then, how about this? I will lend you the money with your share of the company as collateral. Interest will be 1%, but if the stock price goes down, the total credit will go down too."

"And if it goes up?"

"Haha, then you will have enough money to pay me back and take back your shares. Remember that the interest rate of 1%. Think carefully."

"Do you know how many stocks I own?"

"Based on my calculation, 15.5%, so about 42 million dollars." Woosung tapped his head and continued, "I'm an analyst so of course, I should know these things. I will also buy some stocks for you too. This will make the stock prices go up, which means you'll make money and I will make money too. It's a win-win situation."

Jung Jinsup licked his lips. He liked the idea. Woosung poured him another drink.

"Let's hope the stock price goes up!"

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