Chapter 26

Double-Double Burger’s Blessing. I am excited to go to work at the company. In the past, it was just nice to get paid every month. ‘I feel relaxed because I have a lot of money.’ I went to work and worked in the office. Tidying up the things I was doing before I retired. I wanted to repay the favor I had received from team leader Ahn and finish well. I had things to take care of more than anything, so I reviewed the records and data of various hospitals and posted a few requests to the support team. “I’ll take care of it before 2 o’clock.” “Thank you, Mr. Bokyung.” “Yes.” The female staff on the support team were a little awkward but kind, perhaps because of Han Chae-won’s relationship. The size of the company wasn’t that big, so I ran into Lee Min-young in the secretary’s office in the hallway. “Chief Kim!” “How are you, Minyoung?” “Yes!” Lee Min-young, whom I once agreed to buy food for in a group chat room. She was wearing a white blouse and a tight-fitting skirt. “Hey, Bob… … .” “I’m sorry. I’m a bit busy. Could you make it something that didn’t have a meal?” “… … ?” Lee Min-young bowed her head, took the documents, and left quickly. ‘Is this tea?’ It seems that the power of the rumor that Na Sang-guk spread is great. There was a time when I asked to eat in a group chat room. I was going to have lunch together so that it wouldn’t be awkward for anything. As a divorced man, this may have been the treatment he deserved, but he felt strangely uncomfortable. Around 11:00, I went to the rooftop and had a light break with my co-workers. “Ugh, when will the house price bubble be caught?” “That’s right. Seeing house prices go up is bleak for a salary earner.” “Didn’t Jong-cheol live in Jamsil?” “Yes. It’s my parents’ house, but can I be independent? It’s crazy to see that 30 pyeong apartments cost 1.4 billion each.” Employees are talking about real estate while drinking coffee. Buying a house in Seoul takes decades, even if you save 20 million won a year. “God, where did you say you live?” Kim Sang-ki asked me. A few months ago, I would have been embarrassed to talk about the semi-basement house. Poverty is not shameful, but uncomfortable. What is the reality? There were many times when I wanted to hide because I was embarrassed to be known for being poor. “I moved near the company a while ago.” “Is it a studio? Or an officetel?” “It’s an apartment.” “Oh oh.” “Chief Kim. Also bourgeois.” New employees and subordinates admire the word apartment. I said it like it was nothing. “It’s a charter, what?” “Ah, it’s a charter.” “These days, they say that loans for deposits are also good.” We drank coffee while chatting about small things, and I thought this was the healing I felt in my work life. The weather is getting warmer little by little, and the leisure to have a little bit of time after busy work. ‘I can’t be involved in stories about struggling with money.’ The culture of work-life was a little different from the United States. In Silicon Valley, there were a lot of quiet nerds. Instead of being very intelligent, they are the kind who can’t socialize or have no interest at all. Oh Myung-woo is also close to a nerd, so I thought that he had adjusted well in America. When dealing with nerds, I didn’t calculate this and that, and I just had to talk about my honest thoughts. They are outstanding geniuses, so we learned a lot while talking to them. Those who talk like they are going to fight fiercely, then laugh while eating pizza and hamburgers. I felt like I was living a social life with my co-workers here, but it was comfortable because I was used to it. “Hey, Manager Kim. I was here.” Na Sang-guk walked by smoking a cigarette. Yesterday, I wondered if I worked outside, and there was a bit of an argument about Ripple in the group chat room, and it was the first time I saw it. “My manager, it’s been a while.” “I heard you went to America on vacation? I heard that you used up all your annual leave this year. How nice was it that you stayed in America for so long?” Why are you so interested in my news? Originally, this is the nature of this person. How many heartbreaking stories have been told in the past four years? “It’s just that California weather is nice.” “Good. The air is fresh, warm.” “I must have been to America, too.” “Yes? Nope. I was just listening. I want to go next year.” “… … .” He said he had never been to America, but he had no words to follow. “Then let’s go to work.” Kim Sang-gi and other employees finished their coffee and went up the roof. When the two of them were left alone, Na Sang-guk asked in a low voice. “However, if Assistant Manager Kim had continued to invest in coins, he would have suffered a lot of losses until now. right?” Do you spread rumors first and then verify their authenticity? To think there are only three people I don’t like in my company life. Isn’t this a good company? ‘Are you going to just buy this company?’ It’s a company for domestic distribution and sales of medical devices from German companies, so it’s difficult to buy, and it’s useless to buy. ‘Even when I leave the company, I have to pay for what I suffered.’ First of all, I tried to release the poison lightly. “I was going to keep this a secret. Only I, the deputy, know.” “Yes. Tell me. You know I have a heavy mouth. I will never tell anyone.” Usually, people who say things like this work hard to spread rumors. “Don’t tell anyone. I earned close to 10 billion, but now I have 300 million left.” “300 million?” “Yes. I tried my hand at this and that. I lost a lot.” “I see. Ugh, sorry. I heard that altcoins fell by 98%.” “Yes. Well, yes.” “If only I had bitcoin, that wouldn’t have happened.” Why is Na Sang-guk’s mouth filled with a smile as he speaks comforting words? I was certain that the rumors would spread within the company by the end of today. I had no intention of pretending I had no money anymore. If you are rich in hundreds of billions, you may be tired in many ways, but if you are rich in hundreds of billions, well. “Here is the ledger requested by Assistant Manager Kim.” “Thanks.” I got the requested material from the support team. After returning to Arcor, there were things I had to do before I left. We reviewed the transaction details of companies with strategic alliances. It is not secret data, but a history of purchasing various items, including eye drops, from a specific company. Both our company and that company were unlisted, so we were able to check the size and quality of transactions through internal data. ‘Every year, the transaction amount has steadily increased, and the number of items handled has increased. I’ve never missed a deadline. After all, it was a useful company.’ Since Arcor is a world-class company in the field of ophthalmology, I believe in the records more. After making copies of some documents, I told the team leader, Ahn. “I will go on a business trip to Sue Eye Clinic in Changwon.” “A business trip? this time?” “Yes. I want to go by train.” Time to finish lunch. After work in Changwon, I have to go back to Seoul right away to go to work on Friday. “What is it? You can send an employee from the Gyeongsangnam-do region.” “Because it’s a place I went to a few times when I was a freshman. I wanted to give you one last goodbye.” “Ah, then it should be.” Rolex, the key currency. Team leader Ahn, who has always had a good relationship with me, gave permission easily. Even if I honestly tell the reason why I have to go down to the province, I think it will help, but it was difficult to bring it up because it was related to investment. “Go with caution. You can be late for work tomorrow.” “yep! manager!” Compared to taking an overnight train in the US, it’s about a day trip to the countryside on the KTX. I went to Seoul Station and took a KTX, a single seat in a special room. Spend time relaxing while looking at your phone. ―Elly: JP Morgan passed! I decided to go to work ten days later. -Kim Shin: Congratulations. I thought it would be easy for her to get a job. ―Elly: I’m thinking about what to do for ten days! I want to go on a trip. -Kim Shin: You liked Miami. Miami was truly heaven. The weather and scenery were nice, but it was a place where many beauties from all over the world, especially from Eastern Europe, came. There are parties and shows every night, and even shooting for famous magazines and TV shows. I don’t know if Ellie would have been watching the models like crazy. A city where there was no time to be bored, even if you were alone on the street. -Elly: I will. Wasn’t Miami a great place for guys? ―Kim Shin: Hmmm. ―Ellie: We are going on a trip to a place much better than Miami! -Kim Shin: Yes. I see. I was texting lightly with Ellie, and when I checked, another message came in. ―Chris: God. A very attractive company here wants to invest. He is very interested in telling the story of God to the CEO of the company. Chris, the CEO of the startup Aurora, was friendly. He constantly informed me via text message or phone call about the various companies he learned about in Silicon Valley. Like repaying the favor for letting me eat a double-double burger. ―Kim Shin: What company is it? ―Chris: A company that develops hydrogen electric trucks. The company name is Nicola. It looks like it’s modeled after Tesla, but doesn’t it feel like it could be something? ―Chris: The prototype has been made public. It seems to be working with battery companies to some extent. Silicon Valley founders. Talking to them, I didn’t know how fortunate I was to be able to search for information whenever I needed it. ‘The logistics market is incredibly large.’ In the United States, trucks transported more than 70% of all cargo. $670 billion in revenue in 2016. Nikola developed a hydrogen fuel cell for trucks and recently unveiled the Nikola One, a company that received a lot of attention. There is no factory or production has been decided, but we are already receiving orders from customers. ―Kim Shin: Aren’t you selling cars to the public like Tesla? -Chris: Yes. If so, wouldn’t the investment money have jumped 30 times? ―Chris: I don’t know the details, but judging by the reaction in Silicon Valley, it seems like a possibility. It’s just an introduction, so God will judge and decide. I decided to find out a little about Nikola and receive promotional materials separately. ‘I’m planting the seeds. But I can’t hope for all seeds to sprout.’ Investing is buying an opportunity. Through opportunities, the company and I were able to leap forward. Even if several fail, only one succeeds. Silicon Valley’s venture capital has an infrastructure for technology development, sales, and public relations, so there are many cases where it provides direct help. In my case, I believed in the reputation and potential of the founders because I was only investing money after seeing the potential. ‘Admitting failure makes me feel much more comfortable.’ Investment proposals for startups continued to come in, probably because the mindset of sowing seeds was born. I also had a conversation about investment with Myung-Woo Oh. ―Myungwoo Oh: Prolis? Absolutely no way with this company. -Kim Shin: Why? ―Oh Myeong-woo: The CEO of this company is a former quarterback. ―Kim Shin: American football? Does that matter to your investment? ―Oh Myeong-woo: There are rumors that girlfriends often change. It’s very, very unfortunate for the management of the company.