The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 285

The Invisible Hand (3)

If Richard Hammond of the present day saw money as a toy, Son Jin-hyuk of the past treated it like a bothersome object.

Like an old photo album tucked away in a corner, gathering dust because there was no real reason to open it. He couldn’t bring himself to throw it away, so he kept it, and it was like when you’re packing to move and you think, ‘Oh, this was here?’

He was like a house cat, content as long as he was full and warm. He was also similar to a neutered cat in that he lived without desire. He was even similar in that he could play alone all day with just one ball.

Even now, knowing what his deficiency was, I don’t fully understand his nature. He looked at money, luxury goods, and women as if they were dog poop.

The feeling of fatigue from the long flight gathering in his eyes, Hammond’s thoughts broke through when Hong Gi-jun pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Then wouldn’t it be better to reduce it from one year to six months? If we’re going to block it with just that money, we need to make the market healthy in advance.”

Hong Gi-jun nodded.

“I’ve calculated it, and it shouldn’t be insufficient, right?”

“If we go in quickly, the amount isn’t that important. Especially if it’s in the billions.”

Again, Hong Gi-jun’s head moved up and down.

Capital is like a magnet that gathers iron filings, so when money is gathered in lumps, even tiny amounts of money rush in and form a mountain in an instant.

“Three months. We need to inject it in advance, as you said.”

“If that’s the boss’s will, I’ll try my best. But an absolute breakwater role is impossible. You know that too, boss, right? We should only buy the useful ones.”

That’s obvious.

In an emergency, even the state ruthlessly investigates failing companies, so there’s no reason for an investment firm to enter to throw away money. Even if it’s an investment based on humanitarianism, no businessman loses money.

“The good thing about going in early isn’t just that they gain stamina. The wave will inevitably weaken. But there’s nothing we can do about the ones that are broken by the storm.”

“That’s something we can’t help, as you said.”

Jin-hyuk couldn’t tell them to save everyone either.

His only request was to prevent families from committing suicide, fathers from being found as homeless, and friends from being left naked and starving, and to prevent those who would run away to live alone.

Then, shock mitigation would be enough.

“Still, if the ankles are strong enough to hold, the body won’t fall. Other companies will also hold on. So, we’re only injecting dollars enough to submerge the ankles, just enough to hold the ankles.”

“That’s right, boss.”

A breakwater.

Based on the one-year forecast released by the Sein Economic Research Institute, he had come after calculating that 2 billion dollars would be enough. He added another 1 billion dollars to that.

He planned to insert blood packs in advance before the blood ran out. Generously.

If anxiety is detected, foreign capital will inevitably leave, but if RB Investment, a large investment firm that has spread funds all over the world, pours 3 billion dollars into the Korean market?

‘Oh, maybe we don’t need to pull out?’ They would start to worry. That way, at least half would remain.

‘Even if we end up applying for a bailout, we need to reduce it to the level of a cold, as Jin-hyuk said. Anyway, as long as Hammond is here, the money won’t disappear.’

‘Oh, I’m going to die of regret,’ he would have said. If he were an ordinary returnee.

When the foreign exchange crisis hits and the fixed exchange rate is released, the dollar value will triple from now. That, that, that-! Because of that romantic bastard, as Shadow said, we’re going to miss out on a good earning opportunity.

However, Hong Gi-jun is not a frog playing only in the well called Korea. [A reference to a Korean idiom about being narrow-minded.]

Only the guys playing in the well worry about the exchange rate. He has companies all over the world, so why would he worry about exchange losses?

“Boss, if that time comes, are you going to threaten the US and the world?”

“I have to. If the exchange rate goes up too much, it won’t be fun for me either.”

“So, that’s why all the important products are made in Korea? You’re not planning to export if the exchange rate goes up?”

It just happened that way. Hong Gi-jun muttered in Korean.

It was the result of imitating Jin-hyuk in the past and accepting Jin-hyuk’s opinions in the present.

Team Leader Son Jin-hyuk had proposed withdrawing overseas factories early on.

The withdrawal of factories soon led to the liquidation of overseas corporations······.

‘Come to think of it, Yong-rak, who was the head of the overseas corporation, returned to Korea at that time and went to the electronic legal team.’

The future value of the technology that was leaking out was greater than the taxes and labor costs that were being saved, and even if the market was temporarily opened to grow, as long as borders existed, foreign governments would eventually become exclusive in some way······. It was a report that reviewed both quantitative and qualitative aspects.

‘He said that no country opens its market out of goodwill.’

Old Chairman Hong Gi-jun chuckled at the expression that was not like a businessman.

He was a guy who didn’t hesitate to use words close to sarcasm in his reports.

A neutered pervert with a sharp tongue.

Hammond smiled brightly as he watched Hong Gi-jun, who was lost in thought with his chin in his hand.

“We have to stop it somehow. I don’t want the boss to become a public enemy.”

Then he gave him an expectant look.

“Boss, but what are you going to do with the rest of the billions?”

“Play with it. I have a use for it, so let it grow a lot.”

“I might just buy a few companies in the US. There are a lot of companies founded by eccentrics.”

“Even if you buy them, leave the management rights. That’s how you motivate them.”

“Yes sir! Boss!”

Hammond’s eyes were excited.

Even when he was first entrusted with 50,000 dollars as a test, his eyes sparkled like a child who had received a toy car. He was a year older than Hong Gi-jun, so he must have been around thirty-six at the time.

To Hammond, money was not money.

This fat man with a child inside treated money like a board game block. His values and approach to assets were different, so even Hong Gi-jun couldn’t step into Hammond’s world.

“What are you going to use it for if you let it grow?”

Perhaps because he was like a child, Hammond never stopped asking questions.

It reminded him of his friend’s daughter who followed him around and chattered whenever he went to the countryside.

“I’m not going to use it.”

“Then who will?”

“Steve.”

“Ah-.”

I wonder if the questions will stop now…

“Boss. But are you really going to build a space station?”

…It doesn’t stop.

“I have to build it. Definitely.”

“What are you going to do with a space station?”

“We have to keep moving forward.”

Hong Gi-jun kept his words to a minimum.

He felt like he was getting old answering the endless questions of a 12-year-old with a beard.

“Won’t it take a long time? The space station you’re planning is on a different level than the Russian ones, right?”

“We have to look ahead 30 years. The sooner we move, the sooner it will be.”

“I can’t imagine the scale of the boss. Only Richard would understand.”

I never dreamed that I would get involved in such a thing. Hong Gi-jun smiled bitterly.

Once you start moving ahead, you have to keep going. It’s the same with running and fighting. Waiting for the pursuer on purpose is something only a pervert would do. Like a neutered house cat pervert with a sharp tongue······.

“Isn’t there a shortage of manpower in Korea?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not like the two research institutes are there for nothing.”

“The universe I see is a little different. To pioneer something, we need idiots who are on a different level than me.”

His expression was as bright as a child’s, but his tone was enough to attract Hong Gi-jun’s attention.

“Yeah. It won’t be easy.”

“I’m only telling this to the boss, but I know some idiots. They were fired from the Pentagon and NASA-”

“You said you only have me as a friend?”

“I didn’t say they were friends. Richard doesn’t make friends with idiots.”

“Idiots are useless.”

When they were together, Hong Gi-jun felt like he was becoming a child.

His thoughts and his way of speaking.

“They’re smart. They were fired for doing weird things, so that’s why they’re idiots.”

“What did they do?”

“The guy at NASA pointed out a problem with the space shuttle design and fought with the director. You know that shuttle, right? Last year, it went boom in the stratosphere.”

Boooom-!

Hammond brought his bent hands together and then spread them wide, making a gesture that resembled an explosion.

“The guy at the Department of Defense changed the Russian nuclear launch code. He said he would make it so that even if we fired, they wouldn’t be able to fire. It almost started a war.”

“One is stubborn, and the other is a madman. I like them. Bring them. As many as you can. It’s not the best, but it will help.”

Only then did Hammond grin.

“Richard knows what the boss is thinking. You’re not going to use them directly, are you?”

“Of course not. I have to make them teach. I can’t trust and go with people whose starting line and destination are different.”

“I agree. Let the idiots make money doing what they enjoy, and the boss extracts the technology. The boss is a born manager.”

‘Why is this glutton being so flattering?’ Hong Gi-jun muttered, then scanned the wall with his eyes as a habit.

He shook his head and checked his wristwatch. What kind of office doesn’t have a wall clock?

“Is today the day for the 200m semi-final and final?”

“Yeah. It might have started by now? Why? Does the boss like that stupid game too?”

Hong Gi-jun gestured with his chin without answering, and Hammond operated the TV remote control.

[Johnson-! Garcia from Cuba! Jeff Williams, and Patrick Stevens from Belgium are heading to the final!]

Ha, it’s an American broadcast, so they don’t attach the country name when introducing American athletes.

Hammond asked while watching the results of the men’s 200m semi-final A group race.

“Ah! Boss, you know about Thorn from Korea, right?”

“Yeah. He’s a very good friend.”

“He entered the country with the boss’s daughter. Did the boss intend that?”

Hammond, the only employee who was allowed to have private conversations with Hong Gi-jun besides his family and friends, did not hide his curiosity.

He had gone to find young Jin-hyuk, so it seemed like he had intended their meeting, but he hadn’t thought that far, so it wasn’t intended. The Olympic trip was something he hadn’t predicted······.

“No. The fact that those kids met must have been the work of an invisible hand. It’s not something I can force.”

“Oh, an invisible hand? I thought the boss didn’t like what those philosopher bastards said?”

Hong Gi-jun chuckled at Hammond’s humor.

‘Not all words are the same, you idiot,’ he muttered.

[Actually, Group A was Johnson’s solo run. What about Group B?]

[It’s interesting that the medal contenders are gathered in Group B. I’m starting to suspect that the invisible hand pushed the competitors together for Johnson.]

This guy and that guy, they’re using the invisible hand like a buzzword.

The goddess of luck, the goddess of victory, the invisible hand, the hand of God, what else is there······.

Idioms that appear only during the Olympics.

[In Group B, there are medal contenders Frank Fredericks, Ato Boldon, Michael Marsh, Obadele Thompson, and Jin-hyeok Thorn.]

[Michael Johnson was the favorite. Until Thorn appeared. But when we lifted the curtain, it wasn’t just Thorn. My god! The other athletes started going crazy after Thorn appeared!]

[Are you talking about the elimination of British athlete Linford Christie?]

[Yes-. Young athletes who were not expected to be as good as Linford wiped Linford off the half-track. A player who came up as the first in the heats was eliminated in the quarter-finals! Linford’s record wasn’t bad either. I think this is the greatest advantage of fair competition.]

[Leveling up?]

[Absolutely. That’s the true power of sports! To make everyone healthy!]

[Now, we will begin the semi-final B group race.]

Tap- tap tap-.

Hong Gi-jun, who was looking back and forth between the TV and the table, tapped the table with his index finger.

Hammond, who was watching the TV listlessly with sleepy eyes, turned his head.

“Boss? Are you nervous?”

Hmm-.

Hong Gi-jun straightened his upper body and took a long breath.

“Steve, he is······.”

“Yeah. He is.”

“Let’s take the H out of his family name.”

“Okay.”

He was an eccentric, and he refused anyone’s intervention or nagging in asset management, but if it was a request in another field, if it was Hong Gi-jun’s word, Hammond would not argue.

“But boss.”

“Yeah?”

“You said there are no secrets from Richard.”

“I swear.”

“The boss said it. Steve is not a fictional character. He’s not someone who exists through faith like Jesus or Hammond’s girlfriend. He exists in reality.”

“That’s true.”

“But why don’t I see him? Why don’t you ever show him to me?”

“What?”

Hong Gi-jun put on a nonchalant face and acted innocent.

“Steve Son. No, it’s Thorn now. Who the hell is he? Is he an invisible Thorn? RB is a company that I control, but on paper, Steve is my boss.”

“You’ll meet him soon.”

Hong Gi-jun smiled and pointed to the TV with his chin.

[Kooom-!]

[Semi-final B! They’ve started! Aaaaaah! Thooorn! Unbelievable! Untouchable! Unstoppable! Invisible! He’s different from the start!]

[Oh- God-! Even the great Fredericks and Boldon can’t catch up. The match was already decided before he even left the curve.]

[Jesus Christ! A crazy run! It’s like watching a final race!]

[Kooom-!]

[Wow-! Brilliant! World-wide-!]

[19.45 seconds! He’s going to the final, breaking the world record!]

[It’s so amazing. I’m speechless. It’s a talent given by the heavens.]

[Thorn, roaring like a barbarian towards the sky that gave him his talent! Korea!]

Hammond, who didn’t understand Hong Gi-jun’s chin gesture, scratched his thick belly while leaning back.

Raymond, who said he had no secrets from him, wasn’t answering and was just watching TV, so he felt a little disappointed and embarrassed.

“Umm-, yeah. He runs well. I don’t like guys like that. If you stay still, you don’t get out of breath or have muscle pain, so why run so hard?”

[Kiyaaaaaa-!]

Hong Gi-jun, who suddenly burst into laughter, shook his shoulders silently.

It was because the sight of the lazy panda Hammond and the lion’s roar of Son Yu-jin that was heard on TV at the same time were strangely combined, tormenting his sight and hearing.

‘Why run? That guy is running to live. No, he ran to live.’

A talent given by the heavens?

It’s a talent, but no one gave it to him.

Yes, it was a talent.

Another name for the memory engraved in the soul.