Chapter 22: A Chip Off the Old Block

“If I want to do something you don’t like, will you stop me, Father?”

“Of course not. Whatever you choose to do, I’ll always be there to support and help you.”

“Even if I wanted to become the president of a company bigger than Grandfather’s?”

A sudden burst of laughter escaped my father.

“Ha ha! What do I do now? It seems your dream is too big for me to help with.”

I expected him to at least offer empty words of encouragement. Wasn’t he being too honest with his son, who dreamed of a company bigger than Korea’s number one enterprise?

“There is.”

“What?”

“You can help me plenty.”

In an instant, my father’s laughter subsided, replaced by a serious expression.

“How? I’ll tell you in advance. I’m not interested in company management, you know that.”

“You know a lot of people who can help.”

“Me? No, I don’t know many people in the Soonyang Group. Just Chief of Staff Lee Hak-jae, that’s all. But he’s not someone with enough free time to help you.”

“You mentioned it a moment ago. You studied business administration in England. Don’t you have any friends you studied with?”

Once again, my father was at a loss for words.

* * *

“Well, look who it is. Hey, Jin Yun-ki! It’s been a while.”

“Come on, it hasn’t even been a year. Why are you overreacting?”

It was a habit of someone who always had to act friendly when meeting clients. Especially when those clients were big shots who handled hundreds of millions of won.

Oh Se-hyun, a friend Jin Yun-ki occasionally met for drinks, was the Korea representative for the global asset management firm PowerShares.

PowerShares was established in 1935 with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. It had over 7,000 investment professionals, offices in 40 countries and managed assets worth $120 billion.

It was truly an empire of money.

Oh Se-hyun was a man of exceptional skill, becoming the youngest representative in the PowerShares Asia-Pacific region.

Despite being two years older than Jin Yun-ki, they had been close friends since their time in England, where they mainly conversed in English.

“What brings you here? Did you suddenly come into some extra cash to entrust to me?”

“Hey, don’t you know my situation? I’m a good-for-nothing bum living off my father’s allowance at this age. Where would I get money to invest?”

“Isn’t that allowance ten times my annual salary? Just save half and give it to me. I’ll make it grow.”

“You commoners don’t understand the spending habits of a second-generation chaebol like me. No matter how much I have, it’s never enough.”

Even when he spoke sarcastically, their friendship remained unblemished.

That was the nature of their relationship.

“Alright, so why is a broke guy like you looking for me?”

“It’s because of my son.”

“Son? Hey, if it’s a kid issue, go see a teacher. What kind of advice can I, a money-grubber, give you?”

“It’s like this. My second son wants to become an entrepreneur like his grandfather and asked for my help.”

“Second son? You mean Do-jun? Right? Isn’t he in elementary school?”

“Yeah, he’s in fifth grade.”

“Wow, that kid’s something else. Did you put him through gifted education? He doesn’t seem like the son of an idle father.”

Oh Se-hyun chuckled, tapping Jin Yun-ki’s shoulder in amazement. But Jin Yun-ki couldn’t share the amusement.

“I know. He’s grown up so fast. Sometimes, he’s more mature than I am, so I can’t just brush it off.”

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“Just have a meal with us and advise him not to be too hasty in choosing his career path. Whether it’s management or business, it’s still far in the future, so tell him to enjoy his youth and have fun for now.”

“Chairman’s grandsons are different. I’m always nagging my son to study hard and get into a good university.”

“Jealous? Heh heh.”

Jin Yun-ki’s laughter prompted Oh Se-hyun to raise his fist again.

***

“I can’t stand guys who brag about money, and I hate spoiled brats who had it easy because of their parents, but your father was different. He was the first person who made me think someone could be so pure.”

“Hey! Can you stop with the swearing in front of the kids?”

“Ah, sorry. I’ve lost my temper dealing with the whims of the nouveau riche. Heh heh.”

The person my father brought was quite interesting.

PowerShares is an incredible place. In 30 years, wouldn’t it be a super asset management company handling 800 trillion won annually?

It was a speculative capital that wouldn’t bat an eye at ruining a Southeast Asian country. But this man, the Korea representative, seemed a bit too lax, lacking a sharp edge.

Throughout the meal, he kept up a lively banter, showing the demeanor of an ordinary neighborhood old man.

“I’ll excuse myself first.”

Sang-joon quickly finished his meal and went up to the second floor.

That kid, he must be going through puberty already.

He barely speaks at home these days. Since it was a phase, his parents were starting to tread carefully around him.

As the meal drew to a close, my father began exchanging glances with his friend.

“So, Do-jun. You want to be a businessman when you grow up?”

“Yes.”

“Like your grandfather?”

“A bigger businessman than my grandfather.”

“Soonyang Group is the biggest in Korea. A bigger company. You’re quite ambitious.”

“It’s not ambition, it’s a dream.”

“Is ambition from your grandfather, and dreaming from your father?”

Oh Se-hyun’s eyes suddenly gleamed.

“Yoon-ki, can I have a word with Do-jun alone?”

My father nodded, and Oh Se-hyun rose from the dining table.

“Do-jun, listen carefully to what this old man has to say.”

My father said with a smile.

As soon as Oh Se-hyun entered my room, he scanned it quickly before pulling up a chair.

“Not messy, very tidy.”

He seemed to be analyzing my personality based on my well-organized room.

“Alright, Do-jun. Ask me anything you’re curious about. This old man, believe it or not, is quite successful.”

Being the Korea representative of the world’s largest asset management firm meant he wasn’t just quite successful, he was incredibly successful.

For now, I feigned ignorance and asked my first question.

“Are you the president of a big company too?”

“Yes, I’m the president of a very big company. But it’s a bit different from your grandfather. I make rich people even richer.”

“Then you must meet a lot of wealthy people?”

“You could say that.”

“Then you must hear a lot of stories about making money when you talk to your clients?”

“What? Wow. You’re sharp. They said you weren’t like an ordinary kid, and it’s true. Haha.”

He let out a hearty laugh. Let’s see how long that laughter lasts.

“I’m tight-lipped. If I went around blabbering about rich people’s money, I wouldn’t last long in this industry. Word gets around fast. And I don’t ask too many details either.”

It was also a matter of professional ethics. The wealthy had many secrets. Even if he glimpsed a part of those secrets, he had to keep his mouth shut to avoid being ousted from the industry.

“Then you’ll keep my story a secret too?”

“Wow, I’m getting surprised a lot by an elementary schooler today. You’re quite unique. But you’re not my client. I have no reason to keep your secrets.”

“Huh? Didn’t my father tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

Oh Se-hyun blinked, puzzled.

“About my money. I have 14 billion won in my bank account right now, and I’ll get more than 10 billion won when the remaining land is sold. Wouldn’t that make me your client?”

Oh Se-hyun just blinked. He probably wouldn’t experience a bigger shock than this in his entire life.

When you hear something that’s too far out of the ordinary you dismiss it as nonsense at first but after realizing it might be true based on the speakers trustworthiness, it leaves you stunned.

That’s why he could only stare blankly, unable to utter a word.

The greater the shock, the longer the silence.

In my past life, there were many underage rich kids thanks to stock transfers from chaebols, but it wasn’t as common now.

Moreover, even in my past life, most of those underage rich kids were rich in transferred stocks, and the amounts were only a few tens of billions of won.

The money I had now would be worth well over a trillion won in thirty years.

It was simply unbelievable for a 12-year-old kid to possess.

I waited for Oh Se-hyun to regain his composure and open his mouth.

It took nearly five minutes before his stammering voice finally spoke.

“O-o-one… hundred and forty billion?”

“More than another 10 billion will come in within this year.”

“D-did your grandfather give you all that money?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“You said it yourself a moment ago. You don’t ask your clients too many details.”

“R-right. You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Still visibly shaken, Oh Se-hyun was stammering as I handed him my bankbook.

“This is my bankbook. You can check it.”

While Oh Se-hyun repeatedly confirmed the numbers printed in my bankbook, I decided how to proceed to the next stage.

I couldn’t keep up the childish act forever. To move things forward, I had to reveal a bit of my true self.

“Gosh, this isn’t why I came here today.”

Oh Se-hyun scratched his head, letting out a hollow laugh.

“I wanted to give some good advice to my friend’s son, but now I’m not in the mood for that.”

An asset manager’s professional instinct.

There were countless places to invest, but investable money was always scarce. With such a huge sum dangling before his eyes, his desires would be stirring.

“Your father asked me to talk to you about growing up slowly. Fine arts, music, sports, those kinds of extracurricular activities, it’s good to nurture talent from a young age, but management, business, making money, those are things to start when you’re. An adult, that’s the normal way.”

“I saw on the news that in America, a 12-year-old made $2,000 selling stamps and a high school student made a fortune from newspaper subscriptions.”

“Peddling and business are different. Anyway, what are you planning to do with this money?”

“What do you think I should do?”

One thing I learned from Chairman Jin!

I had already decided what to do with this money, but I also needed to hear the opinion of a top asset manager.

Because the more information, the better.