Chapter 32: Soju and Sashimi

“Last time, when you mentioned grabbing soju, I was picturing a pojangmacha or a samgyeopsal place. Haha.”

“Isn’t sashimi the perfect pairing for soju?”

Oh Se-hyun’s mood lifted, and he started emptying his glass faster as Lee Hak-jae, whom he met again at a high-end Japanese restaurant, gave straightforward answers without any unnecessary back-and-forth.

“Looks like I’ll be paying for the drinks today. After all, we just closed a 24 billion won deal, so the commission will be quite substantial.”

As soon as the seal was stamped on the contract to transfer twenty thousand pyeong of Bundang commercial district land to Soonyang Construction, the money landed in Do-jun’s account.

“Soonyang will handle all the tax issues, so once should be enough, right?”

“Whenever you contact me, Chief of staff, I’ll be there in a flash. Haha.”

Lee Hak-jae offered Oh Se-hyun a drink as he burst into a refreshing laugh.

“How about I give you an even bigger opportunity? Are you interested?”

Oh Se-hyun’s hand trembled slightly as he accepted the offered drink. A bigger opportunity could only mean the Soonyang Group.

Lee Hak-jae’s warning resurfaced in his mind.

The intention to gain a foothold in the Soonyang Group by using Do-jun.

The thought of increasing his own value.

Why would someone harboring such suspicions suddenly make a new offer?

Could it be a trap?

“I need to check if I can handle it first, right?”

“It’s a little under two hundred billion won.”

Clang-

Ultimately, he dropped his glass.

However, Oh Se-hyun didn’t even notice dropping the glass, and no words escaped his gaping mouth.

Two hundred billion won.

Last year’s national budget was 22.6 trillion won. This was an unrealistic, astronomical figure approaching 1% of the government’s budget.

Lee Hak-jae wore a strange smile as he observed Oh Se-hyun’s dazed expression. It seemed slightly condescending and smug.

“S-sorry. I was just too shocked….”

Oh Se-hyun hurriedly tidied up the surroundings with a wet wipe, trying to regain his composure.

“Looks like it’s too much to handle.”

“It is. Ah, don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I won’t accept it. It’s just that there aren’t any investment opportunities in Korea that can absorb such a massive amount of money. It would have to be split up and diversified into countless investments….”

“What about overseas? Like where Do-jun invested. Couldn’t we piggyback on that?”

Oh Se-hyun nearly slapped his knee at Lee Hak-jae’s words. He understood what he wanted.

“That’s also difficult.”

“Why is that?”

“I can’t go into detail, but Do-jun’s funds went through PowerShares’ US headquarters to a third-party investment firm. And the companies Do-jun invested in aren’t large enough to receive two hundred billion won.”

Lee Hak-jae’s eyes flashed at the mention of a third-party investment firm, but he didn’t press further. He knew he wouldn’t get any more details anyway.

“It’s safe, right?”

This was the most he could ask.

But he learned one thing for sure. Do-jun’s money wasn’t tied up in a massive company like PowerShares but was moving independently.

“There are no safe investments. We’re taking on risks. Do-jun’s risks are within a manageable range, so don’t worry.”

Oh Se-hyun reassured him not to worry and then cautiously asked,

“About that two hundred billion won… Is it money that doesn’t necessarily need to generate profit? Principal preservation is the most important, it shouldn’t be tied up in long-term investments, and it needs to be accessible whenever needed… Is that right?”

Upon hearing the most important principle of slush funds, Lee Hak-jae couldn’t help but chuckle.

That guy has remarkably quick wits.

Oh Se-hyun tilted his head in confusion as Lee Hak-jae nodded lightly.

“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to keep it in Korea? We have banks here with much better interest rates than in the US, don’t we?”

Lee Hak-jae only smiled in response.

Even just managing two hundred billion won and collecting the commission would bring in hundreds of millions of won. He wasn’t someone who couldn’t make such calculations.

However, he was suggesting the best options for his client without hesitation, completely forgetting his own profit.

He’s a much better guy than I thought.

“As I said, this isn’t money we’re looking to earn interest on. Actually, we occasionally have uses for money in the US, so we were thinking of moving some over there.”

This also implied that their US business was growing. And as it grew, the need for illicit funds would also increase.

“Understood. I will review it and let you know our final proposal.”

It was a polite and textbook answer, but Oh Se-hyun had already decided to decline. There was no need to take on the responsibility of managing the Soonyang Group’s slush funds and live on edge.

He was already a successful person in the top 1%, not envying anyone.

* * *

“I don’t know why you want to see this, but it came from New York. Take a look.”

I quickly snatched the few sheets of paper Oh Se-hyun handed me.

“To show Father? Because film distribution is also a possibility?”

I nodded casually and started checking the contractual terms.

However, as soon as I saw the project I was most interested in, I almost cursed.

Damn it, UIP direct distribution!

The movie ‘GHOST,’ which would dominate the global box office in 1990, was already confirmed for domestic distribution by UIP, the direct distribution company that had started operating in Korea the previous year.

If Father’s film company had handled the domestic distribution of this movie, he could have used his leverage with theater owners to include movies he produced… What a shame.

But then another movie caught my eye.

HOME ALONE.

“Uncle. Is this movie in production?”

“Huh?”

Oh Se-hyun glanced at the movie list and then shuffled through the documents.

“This one? It says ‘production hold’? Look at the last page. No, wait a minute.”

Thinking the densely packed English might be overwhelming for me, he began to explain slowly as he read.

“Hmm, a small-scale family movie… The director is a newcomer, the lead actors are also new… Wait, the lead is a kid, just like you.”

Oh Se-hyun stopped talking and started reading the rest of the document.

“We can skip this one.”

Oh Se-hyun tossed the papers onto the desk and shook his head slightly.

“Why?”

“Warner Brothers was going to produce it for eleven and a half million dollars, but the production budget skyrocketed. So, they passed it on to 20th Century Fox, and it’s under review again, apparently?”

“But they will still make it, right?”

“Who knows? I don’t know much about this side of things. But if it’s faltering from the initial stages of production, it’s unlikely to succeed, right?”

Far from it. It’ll be a huge success. A massive one.

Now that I thought there was still a chance, I couldn’t focus on any other movies. Even blockbuster movies like Total Recall and Die Hard 2 no longer felt appealing for just their Korean distribution rights.

“Uncle. Did the money from selling the Bundang land go into Miracle?”

“Soon. Why?”

His gaze at me was strange, as if he already suspected something.

“I’m thinking of investing in this movie.”

Unsurprisingly, he started with a sigh.

“Do-jun. Stock investing and movie investing are completely different games. If stock prices fall, you lose money, but if a movie doesn’t break even, you lose everything. There’s no timing the exit.”

This time, I had no justification to persuade him, nor any way to explain.

An unreliable director and lead actors, a huge production cost despite being a family movie. Pouring money into a movie that even major American film companies were hesitant about was suicide in anyone’s eyes.

It was a natural reaction for Oh Se-hyun to be worried with such a grim expression.

But I had to seize this opportunity. I couldn’t miss this golden chance for Miracle Investment to etch its name in Hollywood as a film investor.

Of course, the tenfold return in profits would come as a bonus.

“Uncle.”

“No matter what you say, I’m against it this time. This isn’t an investment. It’s gambling. And you’ve already lost before you’ve started.”

Oh Se-hyun was blocking me before I could even speak, so I played my last card.

“This is the last time. I won’t say another word about investments in the future. Even then, is it still a no?”

“Do-jun!”

He even raised his voice. I understood his concern, but I was starting to get annoyed too.

“This is unearned income from selling land. It’s okay if it disappears, it’s my money if it fails. I promised my parents I’d live doing what I want. Besides, even if all the money Miracle manages disappears, it wouldn’t be a problem, would it? My grandfather is the richest man in the country, isn’t he?”

Oh Se-hyun’s expression changed in real-time at my calm voice.

He seemed to realize the gap between himself, who had made his own way, and me, who was born with a silver spoon.

A world where losing a significant sum of a hundred or two hundred billion won ended with just a scolding.

A world where even ruining a company worth trillions of won was forgiven with a few years of probation.

An alien-like existence who looked at money with completely different eyes from ordinary people who lost their jobs over a few hundred million, no, even tens of millions of won due to a wrong decision.

That was the world of a chaebol family.

Oh Se-hyun gathered the scattered documents on the table and stood up.

“What you want is to invest in this movie as quickly as possible, with as much money as possible, right?”

His tone was cold, devoid of any familiarity. I replied just as formally.

“That’s correct.”

“Alright. I’ll do as you wish.”

“Oh, one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“We need to secure the Korean distribution rights.”

“We might be the sole investor, so that won’t be a problem. Anything else?”

“No.”

“I’ll process it as quickly as possible and report back.”

Judging by the emphasis he placed on the word ‘report,’ he seemed quite upset.

But his displeasure would melt away like snow in spring when he saw the year-end box office numbers.

* * *

Oh Se-hyun’s expression was still grim as he left Do-jun’s house. He could understand why Do-jun was being so stubborn. It stemmed from the fear of further displeasing his grandfather if his father’s film company failed.

The desire to help his father, even by importing American movies, was understandable but reckless.

“Sigh. This loss is going to be a significant blow.”

Oh Se-hyun was a professional.

Even if the reason for the substantial loss was his client’s reckless decision, he had no intention of shirking responsibility. He felt obligated to make up for the loss with his own abilities.

“Damn it, the Jin family keeps bringing nothing but trouble.”

To recover the losses from the movie investment, he had no choice but to accept the slush funds Lee Hak-jae had offered.

Managing about a hundred billion won for a year would make it possible. Oh Se-hyun drove towards the Soonyang Group headquarters.

***

As Microsoft released Windows 3.0, it rapidly began to dominate the PC market. Consequently, the company’s stock price also surged.

Dell Computer, which was listed at 30 cents, also continued to break records, and its stock price soared.

Thanks to this, Oh Se-hyun, who had been furious with me, now wore a beaming smile as if nothing had happened. He even comforted me, saying that the eight million dollars, or about fifty-six billion won, lost on ‘HOME ALONE’ could be easily recovered in a few years.

Conversely, Korean stock prices plummeted.

This was due to the loan aggregate ceiling regulation implemented in Japan in April to end the bubble economy. And this was just the beginning.

Implemented at the peak of Japan’s bubble economy, it caused the Japanese economy to sink into an endless abyss.

With the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, the Northern Diplomacy, President Roh Tae-woo’s greatest achievement, reached its peak. And on October 3rd, Germany, which had been divided into East and West since World War II, was finally unified after 45 years.

Starting with this, Eastern European countries, which were satellite states of the Soviet Union, largely shifted to capitalist systems, effectively marking the end of the long-standing Cold War in this year.

Now, the entire globe was entering the capitalist era.

From the release of HOME ALONE on November 16th, Oh Se-hyun was probably the only person in Korea anxiously watching the movie’s performance.

Oh Se-hyun, who called New York every day to check the box office numbers, came to see me on the first day of the new year in 1991.

“You might be the richest elementary schooler in the world, excluding Arab royalty.”

The paper he handed me was filled with numbers, and the final figure, 200 million dollars, was circled in red.