The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 225

225. The End of Competition (3)

Jung Hyun-woo returned to the United States.

Waiting for him were numerous meetings, pending approvals, and Sarah’s nagging.

Sarah nagged because Jung Hyun-woo’s contact had become infrequent.

“It wasn’t easy to get in touch.”

“You took your cell phone.”

He had taken a first-generation cell phone manufactured by Motorola on this business trip to Korea.

“That… I couldn’t use it.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t use it?”

“There was an issue with national compatibility.”

Roaming, which could be easily used with the touch of a button in the 21st century, was impossible in the 1980s.

“So, all the calls you made from Korea or Japan were from the hotel?”

“The hotel and the office.”

“Ha…”

“The world still feels distant.”

Jung Hyun-woo said, placing his luggage under the table.

“I should narrow the distance in the world, taking this opportunity.”

Sarah paused upon hearing his words.

“Narrow the distance in the world?”

“That’s the path to the future.”

The world of the 21st century has become incomparably closer with network systems, satellite communication systems, and smartphones.

“Isn’t your dream getting too big?”

It was a time when the Cold War was more prominent than globalization or networking.

“How are international oil prices?”

Sarah narrowed her brows as Jung Hyun-woo changed the subject.

“You can check international oil prices anywhere in the world now.”

“It’s an 18-hour flight.”

As of 1986, nothing could be checked inside an airplane flying in the sky.

Of course, there were airplanes like Air Force One that had powerful communication equipment, including satellite communication, but such networks could not be expected on ordinary commercial planes traveling between the United States and Asia.

“Hmm, it dropped again today.”

“By a lot?”

“Moderately.”

“Then we benefit.”

When oil prices fall, interest rates also fall. This was like a formula.

“How’s the Victoria Fund doing?”

“We’ve reached a new agreement.”

“A new agreement?”

“We’ve agreed to share losses equally, 50% each, if Japanese real estate investment stops.”

Sarah tilted her head.

“Real estate investment stops? What does that mean? Does it mean the Bank of Japan is going to recover the loans?”

Jung Hyun-woo took off his coat and answered.

“Japanese real estate is rising absurdly.”

Sarah was well aware that Japanese real estate prices were rising at a tremendous rate.

“Thanks to that, the Victoria Fund’s profits have increased.”

Jung Hyun-woo made a gesture of widening and then narrowing his hands from side to side.

“Everything in the world has action and reaction.”

“Are you trying to explain physics?”

Jung Hyun-woo shrugged as Sarah raised her voice.

“It’s not that. It means that if Japanese real estate prices rise too rapidly, we could be blamed.”

Sarah realized what Jung Hyun-woo meant. She said, folding her arms.

“So, the Japanese government could designate us as the culprit and then deport us?”

“Even if they don’t deport us, they could impose punitive taxes or recover loans.”

“So, if that happens, Kajima Construction and Victoria Fund will bear the losses half and half?”

Jung Hyun-woo opened his bag, took out the necessary items, and answered.

“It’s not to that extent; I’m thinking of stopping real estate investment before that happens.”

“Then what’s the story about sharing the losses half and half?”

“If we stop investing, the things Kajima Construction has prepared won’t lead to sales.”

Sarah unfolded her arms and placed her hands on the table.

“So, you’re saying we’ll bear about 50% of the losses incurred by Kajima Construction.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and said.

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t this too favorable a condition for Kajima Construction?”

“They initially demanded 100%.”

Sarah narrowed her eyes and said.

“Then didn’t Charlie fall for their bluff?”

“That’s not it. They didn’t think real estate investment would stop.”

“Real estate investment won’t stop. Why do they think that?”

Jung Hyun-woo, having roughly finished organizing his luggage, pulled out a chair and sat down.

“They think the Japanese real estate bubble has reached its limit.”

Sarah also didn’t think the Japanese real estate bubble would just keep growing.

“The limit of the rise is about 20-30% left?”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head and answered.

“No.”

“No?”

Sarah’s tone rose sharply, but Jung Hyun-woo answered calmly.

“It could rise another 50% to 100%.”

Sarah, uncharacteristically, gaped at his answer.

“No way!”

If there was a 100% profit, the Victoria Fund’s profit would easily exceed $50 billion.

‘That doesn’t make sense. It’s enough to take over the management rights of America’s largest company as is.’

It was an amount that could buy IBM outright, rather than growing Victoria Corporation to surpass IBM.

“Does Sarah think so too?”

“Then doesn’t Charlie?”

“That’s why we made such an agreement.”

Sarah calmed down and asked.

“If that happens, what will Charlie do? Will you recover the remaining funds as is?”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head from side to side.

“You can’t go home when the party is in full swing.”

“The party is in full swing?”

“The bubble party, I mean.”

Sarah was worried that Jung Hyun-woo was being too optimistic.

‘The problem is that he’s made too much profit in Japan.’

So far, Jung Hyun-woo’s investments in Japan had never failed. There was a moment when he faltered after the semiconductor agreement, but the Japanese stock market soon recovered from the shock.

“What are you going to do if you don’t get out of the party?”

“I have to go to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.”

“Buy stocks?”

“If real estate is blocked, isn’t that the only option?”

“What if the Japanese government blocks that again?”

Jung Hyun-woo answered.

“They won’t block that.”

“Why are you so confident?”

“When a bubble occurs in real estate, the lives of the people become difficult, but that’s not the case with the stock market.”

Real estate is not just an investment, but also a necessity of life, encompassing food, clothing, and shelter.

On the other hand, the stock market is far from a necessity. The stock market is where companies that need money sell stocks to raise investment funds.

“What if the bank recovers the loan because of insufficient collateral?”

Jung Hyun-woo spread his hands upward and answered.

“I have to persuade them.”

“It won’t be easy?”

“It won’t be that difficult either.”

Sarah narrowed her eyes and asked.

“Are you going to use bribes again?”

She didn’t like slush funds [funds used for illicit purposes].

“Slush funds? Sarah, we took out a loan using real estate as collateral.”

Sarah raised her right index finger.

“That’s true. But you know, if you can’t buy real estate, the principle is to repay the money you borrowed on the condition of buying it.”

Jung Hyun-woo smiled at her words.

“Sarah, why did we stop investing in Japanese real estate?”

“Because Japanese real estate prices went up…”

Sarah clapped her hands for a moment and raised her voice.

“Ah! That’s right! Since Japanese real estate prices have risen, the loan capacity secured by real estate must have also increased!”

If you borrow money based on 50% of a 10 billion building, you can borrow 5 billion [currency unspecified, but implied to be Yen].

However, if a 10 billion building becomes 20 billion, you can borrow up to 10 billion, which is half of that.

Following this logic, if the price of real estate purchased by the Victoria Fund rises, the Victoria Fund’s loan capacity also increases.

“So, you don’t have to worry.”

Sarah looked at Jung Hyun-woo with eyes full of respect and said.

“Charlie, aren’t you a genius?”

Jung Hyun-woo shrugged and answered.

“If I were a genius, wouldn’t I have won the Nobel Prize?”

Sarah chuckled at his question.

“Are you going to work tomorrow?”

“I have to go to work.”

“Then hurry up, wash, and sleep.”

The time was already heading towards 8 p.m.

Creak.

Jung Hyun-woo got up from his chair and said.

“Sarah.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows because his voice was lower than usual.

“Why?”

“Thank you.”

A soft baritone.

But Sarah just laughed.

“What’s with that cheesy voice?”

Jung Hyun-woo shrugged and said.

“Was it cheesy?”

“It’s not like Charlie.”

Jung Hyun-woo waved his right hand as if he couldn’t help it and headed to the second floor.

* * *

On the way to work.

Jung Hyun-woo couldn’t help but frown.

“It’s excessive.”

Sarah’s Ford car was still there, but large van vehicles were flanking the front and rear of her car.

“Robert said we need to pay attention to safety now.”

“It’s not like bodyguards are new to us.”

Until today.

Before today, the entire commute was one sedan vehicle. But after traveling to Korea and Japan, Jung Hyun-woo’s commute had completely changed.

“The more famous Charlie becomes, the more people will have different thoughts.”

Jung Hyun-woo had no intention of denying Sarah’s words.

‘This is Boston, and I can’t live like Warren Buffett or Carlos Slim.’

Despite being people who had achieved astronomical wealth, they lived in modest homes throughout their lives.

What made this possible was the characteristics of the region or the symbolism of the person.

However, it was difficult to apply both in downtown Boston.

“It’s not easy.”

“Doesn’t Charlie want to leave here?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and answered.

“If possible.”

He didn’t want to live alone in a secluded mansion outside the city.

‘It would be like a large solitary confinement cell.’

Even if there was a swimming pool, tennis court, and small theater, there would be no people there.

“How did Sarah live?”

Sarah tilted her head at Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“Me?”

“You lived in a mansion.”

“Well, we had a lot of servants.”

Old servants were like family.

“Should I live like that too?”

“Becoming famous isn’t always a good thing.”

“That’s right.”

“Do you regret it?”

Jung Hyun-woo turned his gaze out the window and said.

“If I regret it because of this, people will curse me, right?”

“Oh, are you conscious of what people think?”

“Victoria Corporation is a company that can only survive if there are consumers.”

“That’s a rare orthodox argument.”

It was by no means easy for three cars to drive side by side through downtown Boston during rush hour.

In the end, Jung Hyun-woo was late on his first day.

“Charlie, how long has it been?”

The one who spread his arms wide was Robert.

“Robert, isn’t this a bit excessive?”

Jung Hyun-woo protested slightly as soon as he saw Robert.

“What if it’s excessive?”

“Let’s just attach one car like before.”

“If Charlie wants, I’ll do that. But Sarah, is that okay?”

Sarah thought for a moment and then answered.

“Having gone to work for the first time today, it will be difficult during rush hour.”

“Then we’ll reduce it to one car during rush hour and attach two cars during the evening commute.”

Jung Hyun-woo intervened between the two and said.

“It won’t be easy during the evening commute either.”

“Then…”

As Robert trailed off, Sarah added to his words.

“How about putting the remaining team on the dawn shift?”

“The dawn shift? Then the labor costs will be high?”

“It’s good to reduce the gap in the security team. We can hire more people if necessary.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly upon hearing Sarah’s words.

“Hoo… Am I going to be kidnapped by someone?”

Robert answered his question.

“Someone might kidnap you, or they might break into your house with a gun.”

“What about the police?”

“Isn’t it common for the police to show up after the job is done?”

The time it takes for an armed robber to break into a house and the time it takes for the police to dispatch to stop them cannot be compared.

‘That’s why rich Americans all live in mansions.’

Rich people who don’t live in mansions lived in luxury apartments with perfect security, like Aria.

Not many people lived normally in ordinary residences like Jung Hyun-woo.

“I only went for three weeks, but it feels like the atmosphere has completely changed.”

Robert smiled gently.

“Our company and Charlie’s story are coming out in the media every day.”

“Coming out every day?”

“Because the Victoria Fund is making huge profits.”

The Victoria Fund’s rate of return was, in a word, insane.

“It’s not good.”

Robert said as if joking.

“It seems there are people who don’t want to be rich.”

“It feels like my lifespan is shortening.”

Losing the freedom not to be exposed.

This was quite a big problem for Jung Hyun-woo.

‘In the end, was I not an extroverted person?’

He might have been more suited to being a development team leader or a fund manager than a CEO.

But it was already water under the bridge.

“Okay, okay, let’s have a meeting.”

As Sarah raised her voice, Robert and Jung Hyun-woo, the two men, followed her into the conference room.

All of Victoria Corporation’s executives were gathered in the conference room.

‘John, Ann, and even Mac are here.’

John River was the head of the game division, Ann was the CFO [Chief Financial Officer], and Mac was the head of the service division.

“Everyone, welcome.”

Victoria Corporation’s executives greeted him with bright smiles.

“Charlie, welcome.”

Jung Hyun-woo raised his hands up and said.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t buy gifts because I came in a hurry.”

Several people chuckled at his joke, which wasn’t a joke.

“Charlie, let’s start the meeting.”

It was Sarah who urged Jung Hyun-woo.

“I understand.”

Jung Hyun-woo straightened his posture and turned his gaze to the documents piled up on his right.

“What is this?”

“This is the material Charlie needs to refer to for this meeting.”

It was Ann who answered instead of Sarah.

“Hmm, there’s a lot.”

“You’ve been away from the company for three weeks.”

John River also added.

“There are many things that need to be decided at today’s meeting.”

Jung Hyun-woo turned his gaze to him and said.

“Okay. Let’s start with the game division.”

John River, head of the game division, reported that the North American game market had revived due to Nintendo’s success, and that console and game pack sales had increased dramatically.

“Sales and the number of users are all increasing. But not everything is good.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and said.

“You mean there are parts that have gotten worse. Let’s hear about it.”

John River lowered his voice and talked about the parts that had gotten worse.

“Nintendo demanded a contract renewal and presented bad conditions.”

The contract between Nintendo and Victoria Corporation was to be renewed every two years.

“You mean the conditions have gotten worse?”

John River nodded and answered.

“They’ve gotten incomparably worse. In particular, it’s hard to accept paying the cost of producing game packs in advance.”

This was a condition where the game company had to pay the money first and then produce the game packs.

“Is the sales payment still collected three months later?”

John River nodded at Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“That’s right.”

It was a condition that could be called an uneven playing field.

“What does John think?”

John River answered his question.

“We must fight Nintendo on behalf of North American game companies.”

He didn’t think he could accept Nintendo’s unreasonable conditions.