Chapter 123: Seeing Off and a Surprise Encounter

After finally persuading my father not to see me off, I arrived at the airport, only to find Oh Se-hyun waiting for me, which was unexpected.

“Why did you come all the way here?”

“Just feeling a bit sad to see you go, you old man. Isn’t the new car launch in three days? Wouldn’t you like to see the new car release before you leave?”

“No, it’s fine. Whether I see it or not, nothing will change.”

“Still, isn’t it the first car coming out under the HW name?”

It’s just the minivan we were preparing since the Ajin Automobile days. It has nothing to do with why I acquired the car company; it’s just something moving forward with inertia. There’s nothing special about it.

The time to reveal the reason for the acquisition, which will become HW Automobile’s slogan, will be when we enter the new millennium.

Being reborn as a new car company in a new era will attract attention and have symbolic meaning.

“I think it’s better to stay out of it for now. People might misunderstand it as the major shareholder interfering. Shouldn’t you skip the new car launch too, Uncle? Let’s leave it to the experts for the time being. Aren’t they the experts from Ajin and Soonyang?”

“No way. I’m going to have a look. Occasionally showing up and making those guys nervous is necessary.”

He knows the role of an investor, or rather, a shareholder, much better than I do, so I didn’t say anything more.

“By the way, have you talked with Father?”

“About DMC?”

“Yes.”

“He hasn’t given me a definite answer, why would he give one to you?”

“Isn’t a friend a better person to confide in than a son?”

“That kid… always so perceptive.”

Oh Se-hyun chuckled and playfully bumped my shoulder.

“Just wait a little longer. He has a lot of enthusiasm to do it, but he’s being more cautious because he’s worried about the practical possibilities.”

“Please just casually mention that we need to start by the end of this year at the latest. Once the preparations are done and the building is up, it’s best to move in right away, don’t you think? Once Father settles in, more people will follow.”

“Don’t worry about things here and go take care of your business. I’ve already talked to them over there, so you shouldn’t have any inconveniences.”

I said I was going to clear my head, but he already knows that’s not the real reason.

“Yes, I’ll take it easy.”

After sending the concerned Oh Se-hyun back, I boarded the plane to New York.

* * *

“Do-jun!”

I heard a familiar voice calling my name happily in the arrival hall.

“Hyung!”

Sang-joon, whom I hadn’t seen in a year, had changed a lot.

The flamboyant outfits and brightly colored hair he used to have for his music were nowhere to be seen; he looked ordinary in just jeans and a shirt.

“What? Did you quit music? You look too much like a goody-two-shoes now.”

“Yeah, I quit,” he chuckled.

The sheepish smile on his face told me he wasn’t joking.

“Really?”

“We can talk about that later, let’s go. Mother is preparing a feast to feed you. You have to eat it all, even if you have to force it down.”

Entering the apartment where my mother and brother lived, the smell of food filled the air. I think my mother misunderstood something. I didn’t return from abroad; I came from New York in Korea.

Yet, the dining table was full of Korean dishes, including stews.

It was a table that clearly showed her apologetic heart for not being able to personally prepare a meal for her younger son while taking care of the older one.

Even if my brother hadn’t told me to, I had to appreciate this sentiment. I cleaned the plates completely and patted my bursting stomach.

I spent a full day just eating and sleeping.

Once I adjusted to the time difference, I shared drinks and talked with Sang-joon.

“What? Did you really give up on music?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“What I realized over the past two years is just one thing. I was just an audience member, not a lead or supporting actor. I couldn’t even get on stage as an extra.”

“No chance at all?”

As I poured him a drink into the glass he was fiddling with, Sang-joon smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“The guys playing songs with beat-up guitars on the streets of New York are better than me.”

“But your dream wasn’t to be a singer, was it? It was producing, right?”

“Exactly. I need to extract music through the instrument of a singer, but I can’t do that. I have a bit of an ear for music. That was all there was to it.”

“So, what are you doing now?”

“Nothing. I’m just lazing around here.”

There must be many young people lamenting their lack of talent, but seeing my own brother hanging his head makes my heart ache.

“So what? If you laze around long enough, you’ll see the end of it. Don’t be impatient. It took you two years to realize your limitations, so it’ll probably take about two years to find new possibilities, right?”

Sang-joon smirked at me.

“We should have been born in the opposite order. That would have made more sense.”

* * *

“Wow! Howard. Look at you! What a gorgeous man!”

Has it been about three years since I last saw her?

Rachel Arieff, who had aged but looked even more sophisticated, exaggerated as usual and pulled me into a hug.

“You too. How long are you going to be this handsome?”

Rachel grinned widely at my compliment.

Damn it. Why do these kinds of comments only come up with people I meet for work?

With Min-young, whom I barely see once a month, the first thing I ask is, “What should we eat?”

“James was saying? You’ve got a lot on your mind these days, so try not to do anything.”

“But I can’t just grab busy people and hang out. I’ll just do enough to keep my mind from rusting.”

She’s the largest shareholder and manages over $2 billion, but maybe because she’s known me since I was ten, Rachel treated me like a big sister.

“Okay. Shall we just have a quick briefing on the current status?”

“Let’s finish lunch first.”

After a quick lunch of salad and French fries at a restaurant in Manhattan, we headed to Miracle Investment’s headquarters.

I felt like I would probably never get used to Wall Street.

It’s a place where a completely different species lives. Just like Hollywood.

Their concept of money is different. They earn a ridiculous amount and spend a ridiculous amount. By my standards, many things seem completely useless, but they are full of elements that are very important to these people.

The paintings hanging all over the office hallways, and the vases and flowers placed everywhere, are just a few examples.

Those paintings are originals, and they pay enormous monthly rental fees to famous galleries, using them as tools to enhance the office’s prestige. The vases are also works by famous artists, and the flowers are changed and maintained every morning by experts. They squander a huge amount of money on all this.

It seems crazy at first glance, but it’s considered natural here. The reason is their clients.

The American upper class who don’t know what to do with their overflowing money.

What started as catering to their tastes has now infected even the people who work here.

Oh, there’s someone similar. My aunt.

My aunt follows the American upper class exactly.

The conference room I entered with Rachel was prepared not just for a simple briefing but for a very detailed and thorough report, complete with a beam projector.

As expected, no matter what anyone says, I hold their lives in my hands, so they wouldn’t do things carelessly.

After listening to the investments made so far and the future investment plans, I opened my mouth.

“From now on, direct investments in dot-com companies are prohibited. No matter how rosy the future looks, you shouldn’t trust them. Of course, you shouldn’t trust your gut feelings either, and don’t trust the data.”

The dozen or so managers sitting in the conference room began to murmur.

Isn’t Silicon Valley the place where all the world’s money is gathering right now? If we don’t invest there, we’ll be called fools on Wall Street.

When someone flinched as if to offer a different opinion, Rachel glared at them sharply, and they all shrank back.

“When we invest directly in companies, we can’t decide when to exit. Isn’t it something we learn when we’re first learning to walk that we shouldn’t get caught up in the game? We have to lead the game. Direct investment is the dot-com founder’s game. We only play the game on NASDAQ.”

“Wasn’t Howard’s ability to make high profits by investing directly before they went public? Are you being cautious now?”

Rachel asked on behalf of everyone.

What should I answer?

I can’t exactly say that I ironically watched the dot-com bubble burst and huge amounts of money disappear into thin air on the internet, can I?

“What do you call it when someone packages something with no substance in nice words to deceive people and get them to spend their own money?”

“Fraud?”

“That’s right. Fraud… these days, they call it something different.”

Everyone’s eyes were on my mouth.

“Venture spirit.”

The conference room was as silent as a graveyard.

“Even if it’s just a single cent, we need to invest in companies with actual sales, IT companies that provide concrete services, even if their performance isn’t good. For example, places like Amazon.”

Most of them seemed to only know of Amazon’s existence. But there was one friend who was strong on details.

“Are you talking about the online bookstore, Amazon?”

“Yes, Amazon.com.”

The friend strong on details shook his head.

“If you’re talking about Amazon, which was founded in 1994, its investment value is close to zero. Last year, the company’s IPO price was $18 per share, but it closed at $1.96 on its first day of trading after a massive drop.”

“How do you know so much about it?”

When I asked in surprise, the detail-oriented friend sighed and couldn’t lift his head, and the conference room erupted in laughter.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

“How much did you lose?”

Barely stopping my laughter, I asked, and Rachel held out her palm.

“Five thousand dollars?”

Rachel shook her head slightly.

“Fifty thousand?”

Rachel nodded.

“Everyone told him there was no potential, but this guy ended up investing his own money. And he took the loss himself. Hehehe.”

“That’s a shame. If it were me, I would have invested ten times, no, a hundred times that amount.”

It’s not too late even now. The stock price is still the same.

Rachel’s eyes widened as she realized I was serious.

“Howard, are you serious?”

“Of course. Amazon receives orders and delivers books. They have at least a small amount of sales. It’s a simple concept, but it’s different from the noisy dot-coms. Companies with simple and easy-to-understand service concepts are the real deal. The rest is just a bubble.”

Why does everyone only realize this simple principle after paying enormous tuition fees?

“From this moment on, recover all the money invested directly in dot-com companies. Make up a reasonable excuse and accept some losses. And only invest in the stocks of companies listed on NASDAQ. That’s the first rule.”

“Is there a second one too?”

Rachel didn’t doubt me even for a moment. She’s the one who’s seen the results I’ve produced closest.

“The second is to completely withdraw from NASDAQ in the first quarter of 2000, no matter how much it’s booming.”

“Why?”

“Because by then, everyone will know.”

“That venture is just fraud?”

“Exactly.”

The American NASDAQ Composite Index will soar to 5,000 before completely collapsing. It’s the gift of the new millennium.

The managers, who had no idea about this, started to speak with perplexed expressions.

“But Howard, the investors won’t stand for it. If we’re the only ones pulling out of the booming dot-com investments, they’ll withdraw their investment funds. There are plenty of other investment firms.”

“Then make it clear and invest. Say it’s because the clients want it. And don’t forget to clearly notify them of the risks.”

While everyone exchanged bewildered glances, I wanted to see their skills.

“Now, let’s separate the wheat from the chaff. Among the thousands of companies, who knows if the next Microsoft will emerge?”