The Genius Grandson Of The Cash King Becomes A Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 132

#132

“Peter Glider speaking.”

He extended a large hand for a handshake.

“I am Yoon Jeong-hoon, Chairman of Shinhwa Group.”

The two men sat down and sized each other up.

“I don’t believe Shinhwa Group has an automotive company.”

“No, not yet.”

“As you know, I am an automotive designer. I don’t see why you would want to meet me.”

“I don’t have an automotive company, so I’m thinking of buying one.”

Peter Glider chuckled.

“Manufacturing complete vehicles isn’t easy. Cars have over 20,000 parts. That makes company management difficult. You also have to appease the strong labor unions.”

“I already have many manufacturing businesses.”

Jeong-hoon explained Shinhwa Group’s affiliates to him.

He looked slightly surprised.

“You’re much larger than I thought. I didn’t realize it was such a big company.”

“The growth rate is too fast. Sometimes, even I’m scared by how much we’re growing.”

“Hahaha, you’re different from most young Asian chairmen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Asians are usually humble, but you’re not. Westerners find that attractive.”

“I’ve heard that. I’m told you have to actively promote yourself.”

“Yes.”

Jeong-hoon handed him the prepared materials.

“This is Dragon Motors, which we are considering acquiring.”

He quickly flipped through the documents.

“What do you think? I’m curious about your opinion.”

“In my opinion, it’s best not to acquire it. It’s a terrible company. There’s no consideration for design at all.”

Jeong-hoon nodded.

“I think so too. That’s why I want to acquire it even more.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wouldn’t it be a good company if it just had the right design?”

Suddenly, Glider’s face hardened.

“Mr. Yoon, automotive design isn’t that simple. It’s combined with technology. The reason the design is like this is because the technology isn’t there. Technology and design can’t be separated.”

His voice was firm, and his tone was confident.

Honestly, Jeong-hoon was taken aback.

When a large man speaks his mind, Jeong-hoon couldn’t help but shrink back.

But this was something he couldn’t back down from.

“Are you aware that we own Apple?”

Jeong-hoon handed him an iPod.

“No, when did you acquire Apple?”

As expected, having a good company changed his attitude towards Jeong-hoon.

He immediately adjusted his posture.

“If you’re acquiring Apple, you must have a sense for design.”

“Of course. Plus, we guarantee complete autonomy. The technology you mentioned? Honestly, if we throw money at it, we can catch up to Volkswagen in a year or two. But design is different. It depends on who’s in charge.”

Glider looked surprised.

“You have a deeper understanding of technology and design than I thought. I guess that’s why your company is growing so much. I apologize for my rudeness.”

“It’s okay. Would you like to join us in reviving Dragon Motors? I’ll give you full authority.”

As soon as Jeong-hoon finished speaking, a faint smile appeared on Peter Glider’s face.

“That’s a very good offer. I’m sure it would be a good experience to join a small company and help it grow. However, I’d like to work at Volkswagen a bit longer. Leaving my name at Volkswagen is very different from leaving my name at Dragon Motors…”

It was a rejection.

In fact, it was clear that the position wasn’t fitting for his reputation as one of the world’s top three automotive designers.

“I can offer you a very generous salary.”

Glider shook his head.

He raised his arm and checked his watch.

“Thank you for the kind offer today. You must think highly of me. I have a prior engagement, so I must be going.”

Automotive designer Peter Glider got up from his seat and left the cafe.

Jeong-hoon looked at the door he had exited through with a disappointed expression for a while.

“Well, I didn’t expect it to work out on the first try…”

He needed to try again.

Liu Bei [a historical figure known for his persistence] visited Zhuge Liang [a famous strategist] three times before finally getting him.

He needed Glider to dominate the future of mobility.

There’s no one who won’t fall after ten tries, but… I have to try.

Jeong-hoon’s eyes flashed with determination.

***

Late at night, most of the lights in Volkswagen’s design lab were off.

In European companies, which value work-life balance, there’s hardly any overtime.

But Glider couldn’t leave work because of a new car design.

A harmonious dinner with his family was long gone.

He hoped he could just get home today.

His hand, which had been drawing various car shapes on the white drawing paper, stopped.

“Sigh… I’ll stop here for today.”

He let out a long sigh after finishing his work for the day.

A new design car was being born from his hands.

Leaning back in his chair, he looked at the ceiling and suddenly thought of the young businessman’s offer he had met during the day.

‘Chief Design Officer CDO, the highest person in charge of design.’

A new title he had never heard of before.

He said it guaranteed even greater and more powerful authority than the CEO.

But he had experienced many times when working with Japanese people in the past that Asians were different on the inside and outside.

He wouldn’t be any different either.

A newly industrialized country obsessed with technology.

Technology was prioritized over everything.

Design was decided by executives who lacked a sense of beauty and had no artistic sense.

Only Europe, with its firm philosophy of art, knew how important design was.

They didn’t know that it was the secret and important competitive edge of European manufacturing and industry.

‘Well, they’re not yet at the level to understand our art.’

Rather than being the chief officer of such a backward company, it would be more valuable to be a security guard at the Volkswagen design lab.

Glider packed his bag and prepared to leave work.

It was late at night, but he was going home by bicycle.

His theory was that people in jobs that used their brains should consciously use their bodies.

That’s why he always enjoyed exercising as much as possible, and he used his bicycle a lot on busy days like these.

With his art supply case on his back, he vigorously pedaled his bicycle and left the company.

The clock was already past 10 o’clock.

Wishing to return home quickly, he decided to take a shortcut.

It was a crime-ridden area, but he thought no one would be there on such a cold winter day.

The winter wind began to whip his cheeks.

He pedaled his bicycle faster on the dark road.

He gripped the handlebars tightly, as if nervous.

He thought he was almost out of the area.

-Thud

A heavy object hit the bicycle wheel hard.

-Crash, bang.

He felt his body floating in the air.

The last thing he saw was the twinkling starlight.

“Ugh…”

A groan came out of his mouth involuntarily.

He looked around, trying to understand the situation he was in.

Sure enough, five delinquent youths were grinning at him.

“Hey, mister, where are you going in such a hurry?”

“What are you doing?”

“Give some pocket money to the poor youths.”

They were wearing delinquent clothes and had short skinheads.

Their eyes were glazed over.

They were neo-Nazis who caused trouble in this neighborhood.

The thugs began searching his body.

They took his wallet, watch, ring… and even his precious art supply case.

“Stop it.”

“Ooh, mister, you’re quite rich.”

“Thank you. We’ll put it to good use.”

They whistled and tried to disappear.

“No, give me back my art supply case.”

He shook the leather art supply case.

“This? It must be important. Then we definitely can’t give it back.”

Glider had to get back his most prized art supply case.

It was a gift from his parents.

He got up and ran towards them, but only kicks came back to his whole body.

“Stop it.”

Glider turned his head in the direction of the familiar voice.

***

“Hiss, hiss, hoo, hoo.”

Inhaling twice and exhaling twice.

While repeating the basic breathing of jogging, Jeong-hoon ran.

The cold German night air was cooling his hot alveoli.

He struggled to figure out how to persuade Peter Glider, but it wasn’t easy.

He could feel Glider looking down on him.

He didn’t take it badly.

He thought it was their pride in design.

Powerful authority?

He had already offered it, but Glider didn’t even pretend to listen.

Was it money in the end?

Would it be possible if he offered an absurd amount of money?

He shook his head.

He didn’t think an artist would be concerned with money.

He kept thinking about how to bring him in, but he couldn’t see an answer.

Jeong-hoon increased his speed.

He was out of breath.

Then the stress was relieved, and sometimes unexpected solutions appeared.

Like the unbelievable situation now.

The person lying on the floor was clearly Peter Glider.

***

He came all the way here while running to a quiet place where there were no people.

It wouldn’t matter if it was Korea, but quiet places in foreign countries were usually crime-ridden areas.

Jeong-hoon sped up to get out of the crime-ridden area quickly.

But in the distance, a bicycle that was going ahead suddenly crashed.

And five or six young men were searching the man’s body.

He couldn’t pass by injustice.

“Stop it.”

“Get lost, you monkey.”

A white man approached him.

A giant nearly 2 meters tall.

‘Monkey? I can’t stand racism.’

Jeong-hoon aimed for the giant’s white Adam’s apple as it was.

-Ugh

He couldn’t even scream and collapsed.

“Huh? Mr. Yoon?”

“Peter Glider? Is that you?”

The two recognized each other.

Glider shouted at Jeong-hoon.

“Stop it. They’re dangerous guys.”

Jeong-hoon wanted to, but the other side didn’t.

As soon as the giant collapsed, two men rushed at him at the same time.

-Thud, thud

He hit their temples and knocked them unconscious.

The youths hesitated at Jeong-hoon’s skill.

Glider shouted at them.

“Stop now and go. Just give back the art supply case. I don’t care about anything else.”

The man who saw his friends collapse took out a gun.

“You…”

He pointed the gun at Jeong-hoon and approached slowly.

“If you used your fists, you have to take responsibility. How dare you, a monkey…”

Jeong-hoon raised both hands and signaled his surrender.

No matter how fast he was, he couldn’t beat a gun.

He approached Jeong-hoon and pointed the gun at Jeong-hoon’s forehead.

The cold gun felt chilly.

He looked at the man.

He was high on drugs.

It was an unavoidable situation.

Jeong-hoon pushed his head forward and strongly gripped the gun.

“Uh, uh.”

The surprised youth pulled the trigger.

But no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t fire.

The gun cylinder did not retract due to the grip of the hand strongly gripping the gun.

“If you were going to use a gun, you have to take responsibility.”

Jeong-hoon struck his arm.

He could feel the bones breaking in his fist.

Jeong-hoon took Peter’s belongings and handed them to him.

“Are you okay?”

“Here’s your art supply case and belongings. Is it important?”

“Yes, this art supply case was my father’s keepsake. He was the biggest help in getting me here.”

“I’m glad you didn’t lose something important.”

“Thank you so much.”

Glider bowed his head and expressed his gratitude to him.

“But you almost got into big trouble. You were lucky today.”

“Are you talking about me? Or those guys?”

“I’m talking about you.”

Jeong-hoon smiled slyly.

“Those guys were lucky. If my friend had caught them, they would already be…”

At that time, Ji Hyun-bok approached.

“Shall I kill them?”

“No. Not to that extent. Just make sure they don’t run wild.”

“Understood, Boss.”

Ji Hyun-bok smiled coldly and walked towards the fallen men.

Some time later, painful screams echoed five times in a quiet park in Wolfsburg.

***

The next day, Peter Glider called.

He offered to treat him to lunch.

Jeong-hoon readily accepted.

Glider treated him to schnitzel, a traditional German dish.

“This is a traditional German dish.”

“There’s a similar dish in Korea. We call it tonkatsu.”

“Really? I’d like to try it sometime.”

“If you come to Korea, I’d definitely like to treat you. There are many huge tonkatsu restaurants. Haha.”

Glider just smiled apologetically.

The two finished their meal and took a walk together.

“Dragon Motors is a small company, but it has big dreams. We’re going to create an electric car company, not an internal combustion engine company.”

“What? An electric car? Tesla is far ahead in electric cars.”

“Yes. Dragon Motors will be working with Tesla on various collaborations. And research on autonomous vehicles has already begun. It’s being carried out secretly by its subsidiary, Apple.”

“Dragon Motors and Tesla are collaborating?”

He looked incredulous.

“Yes.”

“You’ve been saying unbelievable things since yesterday. You own Apple and you’re collaborating with Tesla…”

“Yes, that’s our plan. But if you’re not there, we’ll cancel everything.”

“Hahaha, so this wonderful plan depends on me?”

He looked pleased.

“I’ll join Dragon Motors too. I can’t just stand by while a dragon ascends. I have to get on board quickly.”

Oh?

Jeong-hoon persuaded him more easily than he thought.

As expected, Apple and Tesla were a big help.

“Actually, I was going to accept your offer today.”

“Is it because of yesterday’s incident?”

“I can’t say it’s not. Helping someone in crisis is not something anyone can do.”

“Anyone would have done that.”

“And… I heard about your passion for art. An acquaintance of mine is involved in the art world in Korea. He said that Shinhwa Group buys works by young artists at high prices.”

‘It’s not passion, it’s investment.’

How can I not buy those people’s works when they go up hundreds of times in value?

Jeong-hoon decided not to say anything.

“I’m embarrassed.”

“Is there a reason why you buy works of art from poor young artists at higher prices than the market price?”

“It’s to help them continue to work in the future.”

“That’s why I wanted to join you. If you love art, I thought you would fully understand the importance of design.”

The two shook hands.

Peter Glider’s eyes sparkled.

“My current salary is 2 billion won [approximately $1.5 million USD]. I want to receive 3 billion won [approximately $2.25 million USD] at Dragon.”

Jeong-hoon flinched.

He couldn’t help but shrink back.

The maximum salary Jeong-hoon had thought of was 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD]….

He was increasing his own salary by 50 percent by changing jobs.

Money was also important to the artist.

“Hmm, I understand. I look forward to working with you. Dragon Motors CDO [Chief Design Officer] Peter Glider.”

Jeong-hoon also agreed.

Compared to the tens of trillions he would earn, it was just a speck of dust.

***

“There’s no first class, Boss. I’m sorry. I’ve committed a sin worthy of death. When I get back, I’ll be in front of the chairman’s office with my hair down, begging for forgiveness.”

Cha Young-mi apologized profusely first.

He had urged her twice to make a reservation, but she kept putting it off, and the plane was canceled.

He had no choice but to take business class.

A long distance of 12 hours.

“There’s nothing we can do. We’ll see when we get back.”

Jeong-hoon clenched his teeth tightly.

The sound of cracking rang in his ears.

As he imagined ways to torment Team Leader Cha Young-mi when he returned, one corner of his mouth naturally went up.

Business class wasn’t bad either.

However, he was bothered by Ji Hyun-bok, who kept glancing at him from the front.

He had actively followed him, saying he was guarding him.

He wondered if he had come along because of the harsh morning cleaning of the computer room with Cha Young-mi.

Business class was not a bad seat, but it could not be compared to first class.

Jeong-hoon grumbled and fell asleep.

The fragrant smell of ramen was wafting from the tip of his nose.

Even in his sleep, he thought.

‘Cup ramen? Ah, they boil ramen here and give it to you. I have to eat it too.’

“Hey, are you kidding me right now? Do you know who I am?”

A sudden man’s voice strongly hit Jeong-hoon’s ears.

Jeong-hoon looked around.

‘What crazy bastard is yelling?’

A beautiful flight attendant was flustered in front of the angry man.

‘Ha, have I ever seen such a rude bastard?’

It was a boring flight, and a smile flowed across Jeong-hoon’s face.