Chapter 23: Secret Dealings
by xennovel“Well. It’s hard to decide right now. With this amount of money, it’s obvious to diversify the investment, and there are many variables such as risk-taking, average rate of return, exit strategy and so on.”
This old man sees me not as a child but as a person with assets worth 14 billion.
Realizing this a little late, Oh Se-hyun chuckled and slapped his forehead.
“Ah, did I overstep? I got carried away without realizing it.”
“It’s okay.”
“Alright. Let’s do this. First, I’ll consult with your father….”
I raised my hand, cutting him off.
“It’s my money so you don’t need to consult with my father. Besides, doesn’t my father trust you? That’s why he entrusted me to you. Isn’t that right?”
“You’ve got a sharp tongue. Now that I think about it, you’re right.”
Oh Se-hyun thought for a moment then spoke again.
“Let’s do it this way. First, I think I need to get parental consent. This consent isn’t to discuss investment issues, it’s necessary because you’re a minor. It’s permission for our company to manage your money.”
“Yes.”
“Then our company will draw up an operational plan. We’ll talk again after you see it. How’s that?”
“Just one more thing.”
“What is it? Do you need something?”
“From now on, everything between you and me must remain a secret. No one should know about it.”
“Didn’t I tell you? I keep secrets thoroughly.”
“Including my parents.”
Oh Se-hyun looked at me with a look of suspicion before speaking.
“I assume I can’t ask why it should be kept secret from your parents? Because it’s a secret?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Sigh, I came to persuade my friend’s son but ended up with a scary client.”
Oh Se-hyun let out a short sigh and stood up.
“I’ll get going now. We’ll see each other often in the future, so just call me uncle. ‘Old Man’ sounds a bit distant. Especially since we’re going to be sharing secrets.”
“Okay. Uncle.”
“Actually, I’m older than your father. I’m more like an older uncle, but I’m yielding since ‘uncle’ sounds more friendly. Haha.”
Oh Se-hyun burst into a cheerful laugh and left my room.
I felt it once again.
It’s not luck seven, skill three, but luck nine, skill one.
Right now, luck is on my side, Jin Do-jun.
My father’s choice of his friend’s investment company clearly had my money in mind, and fortunately, he picked a world-class investment firm.
If it had been a domestic investment or securities firm, I would have had to deal with things in a much more complicated way.
I sat at my desk, opened my notebook and grabbed a pencil.
And I began to write my investment plan.
I wrote a very long plan, desperately wishing for a laptop and Microsoft Office.
* * *
“Yoon-ki. Can I have a word?”
“Sure, did you talk to him?”
Oh Se-hyun called Jin Yun-ki, who was sitting in the living room with his wife, aside.
Stepping out into the garden, Oh Se-hyun lit a cigarette.
“What is it? Why so serious?”
“Why didn’t you tell me? 14 billion….”
“Ah, that? I didn’t want you to have preconceived notions because of money.”
“Well, whatever. What happened?”
When Jin Yun-ki roughly told the story of his son’s ranch, the new city, and the compensation, Oh Se-hyun slapped his forehead.
“He’s got luck on his tail.”
“So? What did he say? Did you talk to him well? Tell him not to rush?”
“Yoon-ki, do you know Hyun Jung-hwa?”
“What? Out of the blue? Who?”
“You know. The girl who won the gold medal in athletics at the ’86 Asian Games. The hard worker who said she only ate ramen.”
“You idiot. That’s Im Choon-ae! Hyun Jung-hwa is a table tennis player.”
Jin Yun-ki looked at him as if he were pathetic, but Oh Se-hyun said nonchalantly.
“Anyway, and last year’s Olympics, there was a boxer who was rumored to be a genius? Roy Johnson.”
“Roy Jones Jr.”
“Yeah. That guy.”
Looking at Oh Se-hyun, who kept changing the subject, Jin Yun-ki sighed without realizing it.
He felt pathetic for asking this fool for advice for his son.
“Hey! What the hell are you trying to say?”
“Maybe Do-jun is Roy Jones.”
“What?”
“A genius. You idiot!”
Jin Yun-ki, who only thought his son was mature, couldn’t understand what his friend meant.
“The expression might be wrong, but he’s definitely not an ordinary kid.”
Starting with the names of athletes, he calls him a genius and concludes that he’s an extraordinary child. It just sounds like rambling.
“Hey! Did you just talk nonsense?”
Jin Yun-ki shouted, but Oh Se-hyun just kept talking.
“Hyun Jung…. No, Im Choon-ae is a hard worker, but Roy Jones is born with it. Honestly, I don’t know exactly what Do-jun was born with, but he was born with something in both hands.”
Only then did Jin Yun-ki’s frown ease.
Do-jun has a special talent. The identity of that talent is still unknown. That’s what Oh Se-hyun wanted to say.
“So you’re saying you just went to Do-jun’s room and confirmed he has an unknown talent?”
“Let’s think about what you want after watching a bit more. I’ll be on my way now.”
“Hey!”
Oh Se-hyun quickly disappeared, ignoring Jin Yun-ki’s calls. Left alone in the garden, Jin Yun-ki was dumbfounded, but one word kept ringing in his head.
Talent.
What is the true nature of that talent?
***
“Sign this.”
“What’s this now?”
Oh Se-hyun, who reappeared after a week, handed Jin Yun-ki a piece of paper.
“It’s a consent form stating that you, as a parent, agree to our company managing Do-jun’s money.”
“What?”
“Why are you so surprised? What? You think I’m going to run off with Do-jun’s money?”
“It’s not that. I just thought it would be enough to just deposit it.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll only invest in places with a higher return than 10% annual interest. I’ll avoid high-risk products to prevent loss of principal.”
Still looking displeased, Jin Yun-ki couldn’t take his eyes off the consent form.
“Yoon-ki. I know how you feel.”
Oh Se-hyun began to speak in a soft, soothing voice.
“But there are quite a few kids like Do-jun. Kids who don’t spend the allowance their parents give them but save it up. Kids who look happily at their piggy banks getting fatter.”
These are kids who know the joy of saving money. Not all of these kids will become rich, but at least they’ll live comfortably without going hungry.
The preference for saving overspending is evident from an early age.
“Of course, Do-jun is a bit more special. So it’s better for me to take care of it. He might get more obsessed with money if he just stares at it.”
“Alright. You manage his money well and observe him a bit.”
“Hey! Am I Do-jun’s father? What observation?”
“You said it, you punk. A unique talent. Observe that.”
Jin Yun-ki laughed, shouted, and then firmly stamped the consent form.
***
“This is the parental consent form. And this is the confidentiality agreement.”
I picked up the agreement before the consent form.
A promise to keep a secret would have been enough, but he even made a document. Meticulous and thorough.
Not only this person who will manage my money but I also have to keep the secret.
He’s the Korea representative for PowerShares. To invest my money, he’ll have to show me the future profitable investments analyzed by PowerShares, and I can’t go around blabbing about that information.
It’s a bit funny to ask an elementary schooler to keep a secret when he can’t even understand the content, but I took it as a sign of his thoroughness.
“But Do-jun. Do you even know what that content is?”
Oops. Was I too focused?
When I took my eyes off the document, I saw Oh Se-hyun’s smiling face. He looked like he was looking at a very curious and cute puppy.
“I’m just looking. Hehe.”
I scratched my head and put down the document, and Oh Se-hyun took out another bundle of papers.
“This is an asset management report, but you won’t understand it, so what do I do?”
“Just explain it to me in a way I can understand.”
“So 60% is bank deposits. I’ll deposit it on the condition that it guarantees more than 10% interest. Since the amount is large, the bank will give more benefits. The rest is stocks, bonds, and project financing….”
Since there’s a real estate construction boom, the rate of return can’t be compared to bank interest. It’s a good choice.
But he changed to a slightly troubled expression. He was having a hard time figuring out how to explain PF.
I should help.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain.”
“Yes. I’ll take care of it.”
“More importantly, please take a look at this.”
“What’s this?”
When I handed him the notebook I had meticulously written over the past week, he began to examine it in a hurry.
I’m a little nervous. What will his reaction be?
With each page he turned, his face became increasingly stiff.
After reading the last page and closing the notebook, he said.
“You… have a lot of secrets.”