Chapter 38: America?

“America?”

“Yes. The headquarters is in Manhattan, New York.”

“And you, sir, are Korean?”

Masayoshi Son, a young 36-year-old with a Japanese name, watched Oh Se-hyun, a middle-aged Korean man fluent in English and Japanese, with curiosity, tilting his head repeatedly.

“Yes. Our investment firm’s capital is Korean, but we mainly invest in American companies and Hollywood movies.”

“Then, if you were to invest, it would be in dollars… ?”

“That can be arranged according to your preferences, President.”

“But how did you find out about our SoftBank?”

“Our company also holds a significant number of Microsoft shares. Therefore, we receive management reports every quarter. The sudden surge in Japan’s performance caught my attention.”

“Ah…!”

Having a common ground during negotiations is quite a good card. It eases vigilance by turning a stranger into an acquaintance or a related party.

“So, are you coming from America?”

“No. I came from Korea.”

“That’s a relief.”

A slight, mocking smile.

Oh Se-hyun bit his lip, anticipating a negative reaction.

“Since you came from a nearby place, I feel less apologetic. As I informed you via fax, we don’t need external investment right now.”

“That’s why I came in person—to persuade you, Mr. Son.”

“Hmm…. I apologize if the written message didn’t accurately convey my thoughts. We will not accept any investments, regardless of the conditions. This stance remains un….”

“I’ll offer ten times the amount.”

Due to Oh Se-hyun abruptly throwing out the offer, Masayoshi Son was left speechless. Moreover, it was an unprecedented proposal of ten times the amount.

However, Oh Se-hyun uttered the words with the feeling of swallowing poison. Words he wished he could take back.

‘How can a kid have such guts… blood will tell.’

# # #

“Gambling makes people lose their reason. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“How would you know about that? Do you gamble at school?”

He had seen countless people in Soonyang Group lose their minds to gambling. They would squander billions and embezzle company funds to cover their losses.

When caught in the prosecution’s net for embezzlement, they would flee abroad and frequent casinos again. After Soonyang Group appeased the prosecutors, they would return home with massive gambling debts.

The members of this family can quit drugs but not gambling. They have too much money.

“No one at my school carries coins. They don’t even carry anything less than ten thousand won. Credit cards are the norm.”

“Really? The privileged are indeed different. Anyway, what’s your plan with gambling? Are you going to play poker with the president of SoftBank?”

“Yes. Let’s have a race.”

“A race?”

“We start the bidding for SoftBank shares at ten times the purchase price.”

“What? Ah, never mind. Go on.”

It had been a while since he last saw Oh Se-hyun’s surprised face.

“From there, we keep adding five times the amount. Fifteen, twenty, twenty-five times…. However, you have to let him know beforehand that he can stop anytime. And that if he stops, the negotiation ends right there. No going back…. Isn’t that gambling?”

“That Son guy must be sweating bullets, huh? Hahaha.”

Oh Se-hyun clapped his knee and laughed loudly, but the laughter didn’t last long.

“That sounds plausible, but don’t forget our objective. If he agrees at twenty times, we’ll lose out. No, we might even lose out at ten times. Our goal is investment profit, not acquiring SoftBank.”

“I’m planning to race up to fifty times.”

He was surprised by the mention of ten times, but not by fifty times. He simply wore an incredulous expression.

“Don’t make that face. Dell Computer has already gone up over a hundred times. SoftBank shares could also reach a hundred times.”

“Will they really? SoftBank isn’t a manufacturer. It’s just a distributor. A hundred times? We could lose everything.”

“We can’t put the opponent at the gambling table and then back out ourselves. There’s no such thing as playing poker alone, is there? We have to see it through to the end.”

Oh Se-hyun got up from his seat without saying another word.

“You have a knack for gambling, so let’s try this race. I’ll increase the stakes. But Do-jun.”

“Yes.”

“The end of gambling is ruin. Remember that.”

A calm voice.

He wasn’t the CEO of an investment firm, but his father’s close friend.

“This will be the last time. At least until I become an adult.”

Oh Se-hyun nodded lightly.

# # #

“Wh-what are you doing right now?”

“I’ll offer fifteen times the amount. Ah, one thing I should mention first. Once I get up from this chair, I won’t look back. Also, this offer will be considered null. Twenty times!”

Unlike the leisurely Oh Se-hyun, Masayoshi Son’s fingertips trembled.

“Twenty-five times.”

“W-wait a minute!”

Oh Se-hyun knew a thing or two about how someone with ample funds leads a race. He also knew that you shouldn’t give the opponent time to think. You have to push them relentlessly until they fold and surrender.

“Thirty times.”

…….

It was at that moment that the opponent’s trembling hand stopped. Once he grasped the rules of the game, he regained his composure. He was extraordinary indeed.

It was difficult to understand the meaning of that composure.

Was he gauging Oh Se-hyun’s stakes, or did he genuinely not want the investment…? Which one was it?

“Thirty-five times.”

Again, silence.

Oh Se-hyun picked up the briefcase he had placed beside the chair. It was a bluff.

But it didn’t work. The race continued, and Masayoshi Son maintained a poker face, seemingly wanting to see how far it would go.

“Fifty times.”

“……Call.”

Was it obvious on his face? He recognized the exact moment of the final bet.

As the race concluded, arrogance of a victor was evident on Masayoshi Son’s face.

He lost. It’s embarrassing, but….

But for Oh Se-hyun, the game wasn’t over yet.

Now it was time to raise the stakes.

“At fifty times, how many shares will you give?”

“That part will require an internal meeting….”

“Forty-five times.”

“What? This…!”

He showed clear signs of panic, but as a sharp-witted person, he understood that a new game had begun and quickly grasped the rules.

“Forty times.”

“One million shares. No more….”

Now Oh Se-hyun had to read the opponent’s stakes. He was not someone who wouldn’t know that as the investment multiple decreased, the number of shares had to be increased to secure a fifty-fold profit.

Both men quickly started calculating. How many shares needed to be transferred to maximize profits? But Oh Se-hyun was the one leading this game.

Masayoshi Son couldn’t let go of his desire for the surplus.

He bet again.

“Thirty-five times.”

“Five million.”

The gazes they exchanged had settled; this was the final bet. It was time to stop the race.

After all, this was not a battle of pride, but a negotiation.

“……Call.”

As the gamble ended, both men simultaneously let out a long breath.

Oh Se-hyun, recovering his tense body and mind, reached out his hand, but no hand came out to meet his.

“Giving five million shares right now is impossible. At a minimum, two million shares would require a capital increase. Will you accept this?”

It didn’t sound like he was trying to break the deal now. He was stating the reality and suggesting a solution.

“Good. Let’s finalize it with a capital increase of two million shares and the acquisition of three million shares.”

Only then did Masayoshi Son reach out his hand and smile broadly.

He sold shares with a face value of 150 yen for 5,250 yen. Through two rounds of give and take, he earned 25 billion yen. It was natural that he couldn’t help but smile.

“I apologize for saying this, but Miracle Investment is unfamiliar to me… it seems you have considerable financial resources.”

“We’re quite comfortable. We currently have over 100 billion yen in liquid assets.”

Leaving the astonished Masayoshi Son speechless, Oh Se-hyun had already started drafting the contract.

* * *

“We’ve contracted at thirty-five times the price for five million shares. Now, all we can do is trust your luck and wait.”

“Don’t worry. It will go well.”

“But are you really going to dispose of all your Dell shares?”

He seemed to have given up on persuading him, and it felt like a final confirmation.

Selling high-flying stocks and using a portion of that money to buy shares of a mere software distributor at an absurdly high price.

Anyone would consider it insane, but the guy who made trillions of won with this exact move was standing right before his eyes.

“There’s no reason to hold onto Dell shares after making a hundredfold profit. After disposing of the Dell shares and purchasing SoftBank shares, you can keep the remaining money, Uncle. I’ll be a high school student next year. I plan to focus solely on my studies for three years.”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard a student say they’re going to study and it sounds so awkward. Hehe.”

Oh Se-hyun, who had been chuckling, turned serious again.

“As the top student in your entire school, it’s obvious you want to go to Seoul National University. What about your major? It’ll probably be Business Administration or Economics, right?”

“No. I’m going to law school.”

“Law school?”

“Yes.”

Oh Se-hyun blinked at the completely unexpected answer.

He knew better than anyone that this wasn’t a guy who would become a prosecutor or judge and live a comfortable life after making enough money.

“My grandfather, the top businessman in Korea, and my uncle, who majored in economics in England, are by my side. What would I learn at university?”

“Then law school? What are you going to learn there? Surely you’re not planning to become a prosecutor or judge?”

“Of course not. It’s just for show.”

“Show what?”

“That I study well for a third-generation chaebol. There have been people from chaebol families who went to Seoul National University, but no one with grades good enough to get into law school.”

Oh Se-hyun’s lips curled into a faint smile, as if he had guessed the real reason for wanting to go to law school. He thought it was an attempt to impress Chairman Jin once more.

He didn’t elaborate. There was no need to reveal the reason.

“I see. So, about Dell? When would be a good time to sell?”

“The current trading price is fluctuating between $47 and $49, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s sell it all off within that range.”

“Alright. And the current exchange rate is 111 yen per dollar. 230 million dollars will go into SoftBank, and I’ll manage the rest as you said. Okay?”

Nothing particularly memorable happened after that. All I did was review the movie production lists sent from the US and decide whether to invest or not.

I will dedicate myself to my studies and definitely get into Seoul National University’s law school. A significant number of high-ranking Korean officials come from there.

Chairman Jin, who didn’t graduate from this school, controls them like his own limbs. That’s the power of money. But in Korea, the strongest ties are academic connections, especially from university.

I will hold money in one hand and the ties of alumni in the other, using officials like my own limbs. That way, they won’t think of themselves as mere appendages. They will consider themselves alumni helping each other.

This subtle difference will be the power that puts me slightly ahead of Vice-chairman Jin Young-ki, who only uses money to control people.

However, my plan to focus on my studies had to be temporarily put on hold.

In the sweltering days of midsummer, when I unfolded the newspaper as usual, all the headlines were the same, as if they had been copied.

[Global Semiconductor Industry on ‘High Alert’]

My eyes snapped open.

Semiconductor exports have been enjoying the biggest boom since the founding of the nation, surpassing 2 billion dollars as the largest single export item in the first half of the year. What is this like a bolt from the blue?