Chapter 18

Responsibility for investment. The apartment in Palo Alto where Oh Myung-woo lives has one room and one bathroom. It’s not spacious, but it’s still clean, so it’s okay to live on top of it for a while. “How much is the rent here?” “$3,325 a month.” “Is it close to 4 million won?” I was surprised by the housing rent in the US. It was a price that could not be ignored for a single room. American prices are a bit expensive. San Francisco is more eccentric. Would you like a beer or something?” “Okay” I spread out a table in front of the TV and opened a can of beer. “Great, good.” “It’s cool.” While drinking beer, we talked about things we hadn’t heard before. Married life was the worst, and he eventually divorced, even saying that he made a lot of money with coins. He was a friend who went through a very difficult time together, but he didn’t say the exact amount. It’s an amount that can hurt a hard-working office worker. We even fought over 20 won for ramen. “That is great. She’s pretty and worth her face. Finally!” “I mean.” Oh Myung-wu curses at his ex-wife. In an instant, Jo Soo-ah’s face came to mind. The person who made me realize that not everyone pays for their face just because they have a beautiful appearance. Come to think of it, aren’t most of the idols Oh Myung-woo likes pretty? Oh Myeong-woo told a tempting story. “There are a lot of people who have made a lot of money with coins in the US.” “Okay?” “All kinds of fans are gathered here. Some people have been mining Bitcoin since it was created.” Oh Myeong-wu, who speaks as if he is not a virtue. Bitcoin has a halving period, so mining becomes more difficult as time passes. In the early days, it was possible to mine easily and in large quantities, and those who mined at that time are said to have become incredibly rich. “Do you make coins too?” “Yes. Can I make one for you?” “… … can you make it?” “It’s easy. That’s about it.” Since it has been released as open source, it is said that coin production is possible. However, it is a different matter if the coin becomes famous, is listed on the exchange, and gains interest from investors. “Let’s go to sleep.” “Okay.” I took a shower in the bathroom, spread a blanket, and lay down on the floor. It’s been a few years since I shared a musty blanket and slept in a semi-basement. I didn’t know that we would be reunited in California, USA. Early the next day, Myung-woo Oh hurriedly prepared for work. Wash, take out several sets of clothes, and try on this and that. “I’ll lend you my car while you stay in the States, so go ride it.” “You?” “There is an employee of the same company in the apartment. We can go to work together. Hehe.” And at the time of going to work, I knocked on the door, and a beautiful blonde woman came to visit. “Nice to meet you.” “This is Lila. Hehe. He works for the same company as me.” I quickly understood why he had been laughing connivingly while lending me a car. “Layla, a friend from Korea, has to come and give me a ride from now on.” “I see. Go before it’s too late.” Oh Myung-wu was excited to go to work with Lila. They asked me to bring my international driver’s license. It all had a plan. ‘I see you’re doing well in America.’ If you go to work and date, wouldn’t it be possible to have a family and live well? Married life wasn’t easy, though. “Let’s look around town.” In the morning, I took a walk around the house. Houses with grass and thickly grown trees. I felt a sense of freedom and comfort just by coming to America. ‘The weather is nice. Is this why everyone travels abroad?’ In the afternoon, I took a friend’s car out of the parking lot and drove around the area lightly. I thought there would be a sense of incongruity because it was an electric car, but I fell in love with the performance that goes out as soon as I stepped on it. It was also interesting to be able to control various things from the exhaust sound through the vehicle monitor. ‘Is this tea?’ The electric car of Mirae Motors that I rode on Jeju Island was well worth riding. The discomfort of the accelerator and brake was tolerable, and the electricity charging method was not too uncomfortable. But that doesn’t mean you have to buy an electric car. It was true that it was cumbersome compared to an internal combustion engine. Because the price of a car is high, the advantage of good fuel economy is greatly diminished. ‘It will be 10 years before electric cars become popular.’ But after riding a Tesla, I understand why people rave about it. It’s fast and full of power. ‘Even though it’s close to the size of a small car, it’s fun to drive.’ Here, based on the monitor in the center, various user experiences are provided. ‘The fun of dealing with new things is far greater than the hassle of charging.’ It was like playing with a new toy. Stocks, Forex, Bonds, Coins, Real Estate. I haven’t decided how much to invest 1 trillion in which field. It is thanks to my father that I discovered 25 billion worth of Bitcoin, but it is thanks to my choice and patience to I increased it to 1 trillion. ‘Coins can be invested by observing greed, but stocks must be able to judge the future value of a company.’ The American automobile industry was also dubious about Tesla to the extent that rumors of bankruptcy came out. It used to be 50 dollars a share in 2014, but even now, the stock price has not risen significantly to 66 dollars. ‘Compared to a coin, it’s not even as much as a day’s ups and downs.’ It made me realize why everyone had no choice but to fall in love with coins. If you look at any stock, no stock rises so sharply. If it rises 5 times in a year, it’s a boring axis in the coin board. Didn’t Ripple alone increase 10 times in just one month? As much as Coin’s charm was great, I thought about it even after it came out. A market where endless greed gathers. ‘What is everyone doing?’ I entered the chat room. Until yesterday, the ripple kept going up, which made my stomach hurt a little, but the situation changed in one day. ―Go Bo-kyung: Seniors. Ripple is down ㅠ_ㅠ ―Park Hwa-young: It fell by 6%. Didn’t it fall too much? I lost 1.8 million won. -Na Sang-guk: Don’t worry. Climb again! 20% or 30% of coins go up quickly. ―Na Sang-guk: How can I just climb every day? There should be an event that lasts for a short time like this. ―Na Sang-guk: This is an ant dropping in technical terms. ―Park So-jin: Dropping ants? ―Na Sang-guk: Kids with money are deliberately lowering the price to eat only themselves. If you sell it at this time, you won’t be able to buy it when you go up, and you’ll have to suck your fingers. ―Park So-jin: Ah. Ants are like that! ―Lee Jung-shin: You are my assistant manager. In-depth investment knowledge! I just admire. ―Na Sang-guk: You have to be alert to the coin plate. To board the express train. Trust me and follow me! In the group chat room, most of the coin stories were occupied. There are too many conversations, so I look down. ―Park Hwa-young: Now it is over 10%. I’m the deputy ―Bokyung Ko: Does it keep coming down? Bad news from America? ―Na Sang-guk: That’s a good thing. -Go Bo-kyung: Yes? ―Park Hwa-young: Did you take -11%? The money is just running out. I feel proud and happy only when I go up, but the fear of a downturn is huge for novice investors. I had $640 million in Ripple. I could have blown $70 million today alone.’ Money close to 80 billion in Korean currency. Even if it was a luxury for everyday consumption, the money for a lifetime could disappear overnight. ‘Compared to stocks, coins are real… … .’ On the one hand, I thought it was dangerous. Many people bought coins belatedly, like our company employees. Beginners will experience fear at a drop of more than 10%, and above all, coins are expensive now. Even when Ripple was a few hundred won, there were many stories that it was expensive and that it was not worth it. Now that it has risen 10 times, the value of the investment is much less than the risk. Eventually, after thinking about it for a while, I posted it in a group chat room. ―Kim Shin: Be cautious about investing in Ripple. Coins may go down at any time. I just posted a message to be careful because I don’t know what the future will be like. ―Go Bo-kyung: Senior.Helloo. Can you give me one recommendation for a coin that will continue to rise in the future? o(ㅠ~ㅠ)o ―Lee Min-young: Manager Kim. This is Minyoung from the secretary’s office. I haven’t forgotten that you said you would buy me food last year ^^ ―Park Hwa-young: Is it going down? I invested in Ripple even for that wedding fund. Must never fall ―Kim Iseul: Hello! I’m on the western sales side. It seems that the jurisdiction is different, so the assistant manager’s company only greeted lightly and did not have a deep conversation. When are you coming to work? ―Lee Eun-young: Have a good vacation. But are you from Seoul? The weather has been nice these days. The number of female employees increased tremendously because someone invited them to the group chat room. Before and after getting married at the company, I tried to keep an eye on my ex-wife, so I minimized conversations with female employees as much as possible. After the divorce, bad rumors spread, so I had no time to talk to the female employees except for Jo Soo-ah. ‘Did I say I’ll buy you food?’ I didn’t remember. It’s something I don’t normally do because of my personality. ―Kim Shin: Because I am an American, I do not know when I will return to Korea. ―Lee Eun-young: It’s a pity. America is a country I want to visit. Company life is difficult, but I hope you are healed. ―Kim Iseul: Have fun and come! Have a good rest! ―Bokyung Ko: Will Ripple continue to fall like this? Should I sell it right now? Posts that are scary to say. Although the number of people in the group chat room has tripled to 40, it seems that the female employees are especially welcoming. ―Kim Shin: I thought it was time to take a break, so I sold everything. So it’s hard to recommend a coin. Remember that you are responsible for your investments. The advice stopped at this point. I don’t want to hear resentment if things go wrong here, and I don’t want to get tired of people I’m not close to. After that, I watched a few YouTube videos related to US stock investment on Myung-Woo Oh’s computer. American companies are well-known, but the details are not well-known. Eating a 1955 burger at McDonald’s, not considering the financial statements. The size of the US domestic market economy is enormous. And because of the overflow of capital and unrivaled technology, the growth rate of startups that have set the direction well is phenomenal.’ Watching YouTube for about 2 hours, I feel like I am in a new world. Since I am in the US now, I feel like I am getting better at studying economics. And I thought I said something useless, so I checked the group chat room again, and there were many conversations in the meantime. ―Na Sang-guk: Investment is at your own risk. You say the obvious like it’s great haha ―Na Sang-guk: Although Assistant Manager Kim started coining early, is it because his investment experience was short? hehe ―Lee Eun-young: Does Assistant Manager Kim have a short investment career? -Na Sang-guk: Of course. Some people have been investing in stocks since college. ―Na Sang-guk: One explanation to get rid of your fears. Ripple once fell 30% in one day. After that? It skyrocketed right away. ―Na Sang-guk: A temporary correction is proof that the market is healthy. Just like when you exercise, your body gets tired. Fall out of people to fall for, buy people to buy from. That’s how it goes up. Do you understand? ―Lee Eun-young: Yes, I understand. ―Go Bo-kyung: Then, can I keep holding it? How much should I sell it for? ―Na Sang-guk: At least 100 floors? I see more than 10,000 won in Ripple’s potential. To be honest, if I hold it until summer, I think I will eat more than 30,000 won haha ―Na Sang-guk: Reported a short-term low of 10,000 won. It would be nice to invest. As for selling points, I will analyze the market situation and inform you separately. It was Na Sang-guk’s words like an expert.