The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 37

37. Becoming a Villain in a Chaebol Family – Las Vegas 02 –

***

Even as CES [Consumer Electronics Show] progressed, the stocks of Warner Group and other gaming-related companies continued to struggle.

Of course, the decline had subsided compared to December, with occasional days ending in gains.

However, on a weekly basis, they consistently recorded losses.

Sarah checked the indicators and said,

“As of yesterday, we’ve exceeded minus 50%.”

This meant that the stocks of all the shorted companies had fallen by more than 50%.

“So, what’s our profit on this?”

“500%?”

“Does that mean our profit is roughly $25 million?”

“Since we put up $5 million as collateral, it’s as good as Victoria Corporation’s capital increasing to $30 million.”

$30 million.

It was enough to acquire a 20 or 30-story building in Manhattan or an unpopular small-market Major League team.

‘It’s accumulating faster than expected…’

$30 million—it didn’t quite feel dramatic enough.

“At this point, we could buy an office building near MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology].”

“How much are you looking at, Sarah?”

“$1 million should be enough, right?”

A two-story house in Manhattan was around $200,000. In Boston, where real estate prices were cheaper, even a 10-story building would be sufficient with $1 million.

“You said we’d use the top floor as a residence?”

“For the time being.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just buy another house?”

The cost of renovating the top floor of a building for residential use could buy a small house.

“If we buy a separate house, I’d have to commute.”

“You’re not thinking of living on the top floor and working day and night, are you?”

“Shouldn’t I?”

“What about your health?”

Sarah was the only one who worried about Jung Hyun-woo’s health.

“Sarah.”

Sarah stated firmly,

“I’m against it. It’s not going to work. We need to buy a house.”

She went a step further.

“Yeah, let’s buy a two-story house, and I’ll use the first floor, and Charlie can use the second floor.”

Like Choi Kyung-min did, she was saying she would manage Jung Hyun-woo from the first floor.

“Sarah, isn’t that a bit much?”

“Why?”

“There’s also Sarah’s personal life.”

Jung Hyun-woo couldn’t bring himself to say that she might want to bring her boyfriend over.

Of course, Sarah had no intention of doing that at all.

“I’m fine.”

“Sarah?”

“I’m really fine. And if it’s not me, Charlie won’t eat breakfast. He might even skip dinner with the excuse of being busy and just eat a sandwich or a burger.”

It was an accurate assessment.

“…”

Jung Hyun-woo could only sigh deeply inside.

‘Ha… She’s really like a sister. Sarah knows me too well.’

Even though their skin and eye colors were different, their thoughts were all the same.

“Okay. I’ll make sure to eat properly and get enough rest.”

“Is that even possible while living at the company?”

Jung Hyun-woo shrugged his shoulders and said,

“Then let’s buy two houses right next to each other.”

The housing prices in Boston were half of those in Manhattan.

In other words, you could buy two houses in Boston for the price of one in Manhattan.

“You don’t want the same house?”

“We each have our own personal lives.”

Sarah pondered for a moment before raising her right hand.

“Okay, let’s do that.”

Negotiations concluded.

Jung Hyun-woo breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Ha, I managed to prevent cohabitation somehow.’

He considered this negotiation a half-success.

“Get ready.”

“Ah, is it already time…”

“We’re meeting with JP Morgan today.”

JP Morgan’s main manager, Louis Nolan, was coming to Las Vegas.

***

Louis Nolan frowned at the dry air of Las Vegas.

“Is it always like this even in the middle of winter?”

Was it because he was too used to the humidity of New York?

He found the clear air arid.

As he entered the hotel lobby, he noticed the blonde beauty he had seen before.

‘Is that her nephew next to her?’

She was sitting with a boy who looked like a high school student.

“Nolan! Over here!”

As Sarah waved her hand, Louis Nolan nodded and headed towards them.

“Ms. Hilton, it’s a pleasure to see you.”

He thought that Sarah Hilton’s name itself was a selling point.

“Thank you for coming all the way here.”

After exchanging greetings, Sarah introduced Jung Hyun-woo to him.

“This is Charlie, our company’s chief engineer.”

Louis Nolan’s eyes widened at the words “chief engineer.”

“This boy?”

“Programming is the youngest field in the world. Age isn’t important in this field.”

“Even so…”

“Charlie already has plenty of experience.”

Plenty of experience.

He would have said it was absurd in other fields, but this was an exception.

Louis Nolan scratched his head and extended his right hand.

“I’m Louis Nolan.”

Jung Hyun-woo reached out and shook his hand.

“I’m Charlie Jung.”

Louis Nolan released his hand and sat down.

“Are we talking here?”

They were sitting in the hotel lobby, which doubled as a bar and cafe.

“I don’t think it’s a story that requires a private room.”

“Still…”

Louis Nolan’s eyes seemed to say that this was not right. However, Sarah and Jung Hyun-woo were nonchalant. They didn’t particularly choose a place even when they met Peter Lynch.

“It’s okay.”

After Sarah, Jung Hyun-woo also said it was okay, so he shrugged his shoulders.

‘These IT people.’

He thought that IT people didn’t know the proper etiquette.

‘I don’t know how they can discuss a deal worth millions of dollars in a hotel lobby.’

On the other hand, Jung Hyun-woo saw that he was decked out in luxury brands from head to toe and sighed inwardly, wondering if Wall Street people were all the same.

‘Hoo… I hope he’s not a stuffy old man.’

Louis Nolan clearly looked different from the smart Peter Lynch.

“I understand. Then let’s talk here.”

He forced a smile and declared that he had persuaded the higher-ups.

However, Sarah and Jung Hyun-woo’s reactions were indifferent.

“That’s good.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Louis Nolan couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by their nonchalant reactions.

‘Tsk, they probably don’t know how difficult it is to persuade the higher-ups at JP Morgan.’

He pulled out the documents with a helpless expression.

“Now, let’s get down to business, or rather, money matters.”

Louis Nolan thought that this was the real deal from now on.

‘I didn’t come all the way to Las Vegas to show off in front of a woman and a kid.’

Investment Bank Representative Neil Hamilton had accepted $10 million, but he wanted to lower the price as much as possible.

‘The more I cut the amount, the better my performance will be.’

Louis Nolan was an ambitious man looking to climb higher. That’s why this deal was even more important.

“How much is JP Morgan prepared to spend?”

Sarah had offered $10 million during the last meeting.

“How about $5 million?”

Half from the start.

He wasn’t Thanos [Marvel supervillain known for halving populations].

Jung Hyun-woo clicked his tongue inwardly.

In contrast, Sarah calmly responded to his words as if she had expected it to some extent.

“That’s too little.”

Louis Nolan also knew that $5 million was too little.

“According to our engineering team, they said that building the system doesn’t require that much money.”

Before coming here, he visited engineer Eric Vogel and discussed this matter.

At that meeting, Eric Vogel suggested that $10 million was a bit excessive.

Based on his opinion, Louis Nolan wanted to find a compromise below $10 million.

“What if JP Morgan’s calculations are different from ours?”

“Shouldn’t we narrow the gap between our differences?”

Sarah was still holding the knife [in control of the negotiation].

“Narrow the gap?”

“How about $6 million?”

“Next, it’ll be $7 million? Is this JP Morgan’s way of doing things?”

Louis Nolan sighed briefly inside at Sarah’s harsh criticism.

‘Ha, this rich girl probably doesn’t know how much money $1 million is.’

In 1983, the per capita GDP of the United States was $15,000.

The average office worker earned an annual salary of around $20,000 to $30,000. With this salary, it was impossible to save $1 million in a lifetime.

In addition, Wall Street’s main manager, Louis Nolan, also earned only $100,000 a year.

In other words, $1 million was a lot of money even for a financier like Louis Nolan.

“Please don’t be so sarcastic. We have to carry out the project with a limited budget.”

He didn’t have full authority.

He was saying this.

Sarah could understand his words.

“Okay. Then how much did you bring?”

She still took an aggressive stance.

Louis Nolan couldn’t help but narrow his eyes as her attitude seemed different from before.

‘Does she not care if the project falls through? Or has she found another securities firm?’

She might be in talks with Goldman Sachs, which could be said to be JP Morgan’s rival.

‘That would be troublesome.’

Even if they couldn’t provide the service, they couldn’t let Goldman Sachs do it.

If this negotiation fell through and Goldman Sachs ended up providing this service, he would be scolded by Neil Hamilton and would definitely be fired from JP Morgan.

‘Hoo, is my neck on the line for this negotiation?’

The negotiation, which he had intended to approach with a light heart, became heavier than ever.

“What does Victoria Corporation think?”

“What do you mean, what do we think? We should have conveyed our intentions last time, right?”

$10 million.

Louis Nolan inhaled.

‘She definitely seems to have something to rely on.’

They couldn’t have come this far if they didn’t have another negotiating partner.

‘Could it be those Goldman Sachs guys?’

If it wasn’t Goldman Sachs, it could be Bank of America or Citibank.

‘Maybe it’s those guys.’

The ones he referred to as “those guys” were Lehman Brothers, who were continuing their aggressive moves on Wall Street.

Lehman Brothers went bankrupt due to the 2008 global financial crisis, but at this time, they were still active players.

“Ms. Hilton, $10 million is a lot of money.”

“I know. But we’re not building the service for free.”

She was saying that Victoria Corporation’s profits should also be considered in addition to the service installation costs.

‘Hoo, she wants to secure a large margin.’

It was when Louis Nolan put his hands together.

Jung Hyun-woo, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth.

“Nolan, if $10 million is difficult, how about this method?”

Louis Nolan tilted his head.

“What method are you talking about?”

“We’ll only receive $1 million as a contract fee and receive $10 per month depending on the number of users.”

Louis Nolan was a financier who was good at calculations. His mind began to spin rapidly.

“Are you saying that if there are 100,000 service subscribers, you’ll receive $1 million every month?”

“The number of securities firm customers using computers probably isn’t that high. We’re aiming for about 10,000 people.”

10,000 people at $10 a month.

That would be $120 a year, and annual sales would be $1.2 million.

‘Are you saying you’ll get $10 million over 10 years?’

Louis Nolan thought that Jung Hyun-woo’s proposal was similar to a bond-like revenue structure.

‘If it’s a bond, it’s not bad.’

He smiled with satisfaction.

“Ms. Hilton, would this method be acceptable?”

This method was something that Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah had agreed on a few days ago. She had taken an aggressive stance at the beginning to push this method.

“Hmm, that’s difficult.”

As she lowered her eyes slightly, Jung Hyun-woo raised his voice.

“Sarah, I want to work with JP Morgan.”

“Charlie.”

“JP Morgan is the world’s best bank, right?”

It was true that JP Morgan would emerge as the world’s largest bank in the 2020s, but not at this point.

“Still, this is a bit…”

It was a deal where we were losing too much.

Jung Hyun-woo frowned as if he was upset.

“Just let me do it.”

Of course, all of this was acting.

Louis Nolan wanted to support Jung Hyun-woo without knowing it was acting.

“Ms. Hilton, how about $12 a month?”

He thought that he could spend a little more money if it wasn’t a lump sum.

JP Morgan’s reverse offer was something that Sarah and Jung Hyun-woo hadn’t anticipated either.

‘It seems quite appealing.’

Sarah’s veins were flowing with the blood of the Hilton family [known for business acumen].

‘If it’s appealing, I should pull it in.’

She proposed to him with a regretful expression.

“Since Charlie wants it this much, I can’t help it. Let’s do $15 a month.”

$15 a month.

That’s $1.8 million annually.

Adding the contract fee of $1 million, it would reach exactly $10 million in 5 years.

‘Hmm, this is a bit difficult.’

$10 million in 5 years was a slightly difficult amount, but it was also an acceptable amount if it was only for VIP or platinum members.

‘They provide that much profit.’

Besides, there was no guarantee that this service would last for more than 5 years.

‘And I might not be in this position in 5 years.’

Louis Nolan nodded instead of cutting $1.

“I understand. Let’s do $15.”

He extended his hand to Sarah, and Sarah shook his hand with an awkward smile.

“You’ve had a great success today.”

Louis Nolan didn’t think it was a great success. However, he calculated that this was better than spending a large sum of money in a lump sum.

And a few months later, this deal caused an unexpected butterfly effect.

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