The Genius Grandson Of The Cash King Becomes A Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 97

#097

“Hi, Mr. Yoon, would you like to meet up when you have time?”

“Of course. How about tomorrow?”

Jung-hoon, who had secured the acquisition, suggested with an excited voice.

“Tomorrow, I have to go to Jungbu City. I have an appointment to visit the orphanage I went to last time.”

“Oh, what a pity. I have a gala tonight. I acquired a major company today.”

“A gala? Then, could I come too? I want to congratulate you.”

“You can do that. Come to the Shilla Hotel Grand Ballroom this evening.”

“Okay, see you later.”

After hanging up, he addressed his team.

“I’ve arranged the best for tonight. Everyone knows the Shilla Hotel Grand Ballroom, right?”

As soon as Jung-hoon finished, they responded with enthusiastic shouts.

“Yes!”

“It’s a party. Bring plenty of friends.”

“Of course.”

Jung-hoon was honestly a bit skeptical.

‘Do these people even have friends?’

“Well, whatever, they said they’d bring them.”

He then called his grandmother.

“Grandma, congratulations! Should I call you the president of Daehan Bank? Or… shall I call you the president of Mirae Bank?”

“Hahaha, you sound even more excited than I am, Jung-hoon. You worked hard. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“No, I was lucky. I took advantage of the power struggles between Han Pan-soo of Hanho Group and Park Hyun-cheol’s legal cartel. It wouldn’t have been easy if Chairman Han Pan-soo hadn’t mentioned the amount.”

“You did a great job driving a wedge between them. That’s a really big deal.”

Jung-hoon felt pleased by his grandmother’s praise.

“Are you coming to the gala tonight?”

“Of course, I have to go. Did you call Da-hye too?”

“Of course.”

“Hmm. I don’t know if she can make it.”

His grandmother sighed.

“Of course, she’s coming. It would be strange if she didn’t come on such a happy day. And please be a little more affectionate to Da-hye, Grandma.”

“Okay, you rascal. I’ll treat her warmly when she comes. But Jung-hoon, where there are good things, there are bound to be bad things….”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the Cheonjihoe [a potentially dangerous organization] guys probably aren’t feeling too good. You have to be careful because you don’t know what they’ll do.”

“Yes, Grandma. I’ll try not to get too carried away. See you later.”

Jung-hoon hung up and called Da-hye.

She didn’t answer.

He tried to contact her several times after that, but he couldn’t reach her.

He figured she was busy studying.

So he went to the school library.

He imagined her running out to him.

He pictured her waving and smiling brightly at him.

The her in his imagination was already radiant.

Jung-hoon’s heart was pounding.

Arriving in front of the library, Jung-hoon called again.

She didn’t answer.

When he called again, she finally picked up.

“Da-hye!”

“Jung-hoon, I’m sorry. I can’t go out today. Something bad is going on at home, so the atmosphere is really tense.”

“Ah… I understand. It’s okay. I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

“Jung-hoon, congratulations! I heard the news. Tell your grandmother I said congratulations too!”

“Okay, thanks. And if you have time, come. It’s at the Shilla Hotel!”

“Okay.”

Da-hye hung up.

It was the first time.

This had never happened before.

He was worried about what was going on at her house.

He hoped it wasn’t anything serious.

***

The grand ballroom was filled with people, a string quartet playing softly in the background.

The cash king of Korea and the woman who acquired Daehan Bank.

And soon, she would be the head of the future financial group.

Jung-hoon watched his grandmother.

Her face was radiant as she smiled brightly and received congratulations.

In that moment, his anger towards Cheonjihoe intensified.

If it weren’t for them, she would have been spending the day doing chores at home.

They were a threat to him and his grandmother.

He vowed once again to eliminate them.

Jung-hoon, biting his lip tightly, resolved to pursue his revenge with renewed vigor.

“Mr. Yoon!”

“Hi, Steve Chen. How was your time in Korea?”

“It wasn’t bad. I’m just relaxing for a while. They’re already telling me to come back from the US. I’m going to the Hope Orphanage tomorrow and then I’m heading back soon.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was too busy and made you wait too long, right?”

“No.”

Jung-hoon offered Steve champagne, but he preferred beer.

“I like regular beer better than fancy champagne.”

Jung-hoon looked at him and smiled slightly, saying quietly.

“Actually, me too. I prefer soju [Korean distilled liquor] over this.”

“We have similar tastes. Ah, pork belly and soju! It was really the best. It was so appealing that I wanted to start a pork belly barbecue business in the US.”

“Haha, really? If you do, I’d like to invest.”

“Hahaha.”

Steve Chen laughed heartily.

And then he turned serious, his smile vanishing.

It was time to get down to business.

Jung-hoon spoke first.

“What do you think about the acquisition proposal?”

“Hmm, I was a little surprised when I heard that. The dream of people in Silicon Valley is to sell. To sell at a high price.”

“Then there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“That’s right. But there’s still so much I want to do.”

“What do you want to do?”

Jung-hoon asked.

But instead of answering, he asked a question in return.

“I want to ask you. Why did you propose the acquisition? With your insight, Mr. Yoon, you must know that my service won’t make money for the next 10 years, maybe even longer.”

‘How could he not know that?’

It really had been losing money for almost 10 years.

But after that, it would become profitable.

And it would play a much bigger and more important role than just making money.

“Of course, that could be the case. Videos generate a lot of traffic. But people like movies more than books. That’s why. The powerful power of images!”

Steve Chen nodded.

“Please be more specific. That’s the most important thing in the sale decision. Actually, money isn’t the most important thing. I’ve already made a lot of money while at PayPal. I want to do something more valuable.”

Jung-hoon thought about his positive experiences watching YouTube.

‘What’s the key?’

Tons of information? No, there’s already too much information on the internet.

Fun? Maybe.

But it couldn’t be limited to that.

A thought suddenly came to mind.

He remembered how many free videos he watched on YouTube when he was studying.

Accessible knowledge.

He changed knowledge from text to video so that anyone could easily understand it.

‘Yes, that’s it.’

“We easily forget what we read, but we don’t forget what we see in videos. Images have a powerful impact. What if we turn knowledge into video?

Steve, imagine. Lectures from prestigious universities around the world are uploaded to YouTube. People all over the world watch them. What happens if you explain difficult concepts with pictures and videos?”

“Wow, it’s thrilling just to imagine.”

Steve Chen’s eyes widened.

“That’s the value of YouTube that I see. But this won’t be the end. It will become even more important in the future. That’s why I want to acquire it.”

Jung-hoon looked at Steve Chen after finishing.

The acquisition interview, like a job interview, was over.

Steve Chen shook his head slowly.

A short sigh escaped his lips.

“Phew, wow. Have you been watching our service closely? Or have you planted a spy in our company?”

“Not at all.”

“Our motto, the core values shared with the developers, came out of your mouth exactly as they are.”

“Hmm, is that a compliment?”

“Of course!”

Steve Chen handed Jung-hoon his beer.

Jung-hoon also held out his hand and clinked glasses.

And he emptied the beer in one go.

“Wow! I love this feeling so much. The cool sensation of carbonation going down my throat.”

Steve looked at Jung-hoon and smiled.

“I accept the acquisition proposal. The amount is… whatever you want. I think 10 million dollars would be good.”

Jung-hoon doubted his ears for a moment.

‘What? 10 million dollars? 10 billion Korean won [approximately $7.5 million USD]? Is this guy kidding me?’

“Hmm, you must know your value most accurately. That’s the mark of a good business person. It seems like Steve Chen is more suited to be an engineer than a businessman. 10 million dollars.”

Jung-hoon smiled slightly and shook his head.

“Hahaha, is that so? It doesn’t matter. 5 million dollars is fine too. It’s definitely a loss, but it’s a company that can’t guarantee a profit. I should be grateful just for buying it. Anyway, I can move towards my dream.”

“Hahaha, then pursue your dream. I will support you from behind.”

“Thank you.”

“Ah, the acquisition amount is….”

Steve’s eyes widened.

It is human nature to be curious about numbers even when pursuing a dream.

“The acquisition amount will be 1 billion dollars.”

-Thud

The beer bottle in his hand fell to the floor and shattered.

Beer splashed on his feet, but he didn’t notice.

He stood there frozen, staring at Jung-hoon.

He was so surprised that he couldn’t move, only blinking.

And he muttered in a small voice, like someone possessed.

“1 billion dollars? 1 billion dollars?”

“And I’ll send some gifts when you go to the orphanage. Ilsong Electronics, which I recently acquired, has released a new laptop.”

Steve couldn’t properly respond to Jung-hoon’s kindness.

He still hadn’t come to his senses.

He was still lost in the shock of 1 billion dollars.

***

Jung-hoon went to the school library and met Da-hye.

Had she been studying too hard?

She looked tired.

“Are you okay? You look exhausted.”

“I’ll be better now. I get energy when I see you.”

She hugged him, holding him tightly.

“I missed you. Really.”

“Me too.”

She raised her head, closed her eyes, and stood on her toes.

Her thin lips met Jung-hoon’s.

He was intoxicated by her scent for a brief moment.

He took Da-hye down to Jungbu City.

There was someone he wanted to introduce.

He didn’t let go of her hand when they arrived.

Jung-hoon entered a Chinese restaurant with her.

Eun-soo and Cheol-joong were glaring at each other.

“Hyung [term for older brother or male friend]!”

When Jung-hoon called out affectionately, Eun-soo looked up.

“What happened?”

Eun-soo asked Jung-hoon.

“It’s a long story. Anyway, it’s true that Cheol-joong hyung did something wrong, but let’s just forgive him.”

“What? Does that make sense? How can I forgive him? He said such hurtful things.”

It seemed like the usually gentle Eun-soo had been deeply hurt that day.

“Eun-soo, I’m sorry. Hyung was wrong.”

Cheol-joong approached Eun-soo and hugged her tightly.

She seemed to change her mind quickly.

Wailing, Eun-soo barely managed to say,

“Don’t do that again.”

Eun-soo’s eyes were filled with tears.

“Phew, that’s a relief. I’m glad you guys are getting along. And now you’re really like Cheol-joong. You were so strange that day. I was really clenching my fists.”

Da-hye, who had been very surprised that day, also sighed in relief and said.

“I know. I feel more comfortable now. I think I was wearing clothes that didn’t suit me until now. The Cheonjihoe guys and our prosecutor Park Hyun-cheol helped a lot.”

“Ahem.”

Jung-hoon cleared his throat and shook his head.

“What? Prosecutor Park Hyun-cheol helped? How did he help?”

Da-hye asked with a slight smile.

Jung-hoon looked at Da-hye.

Her smiling face clearly showed a misunderstanding.

“It’s not good that he helped. That prosecutor tried to kill hyung.”

“…… Ah.”

Da-hye, who sighed briefly, dropped her glass of water, spilling it.

She had a blank expression and didn’t move.

She was pale.

“Are you okay?”

When he asked with a worried expression, Da-hye came to her senses and answered.

“Sorry. I suddenly lost strength in my hand. I think it’s because I don’t exercise enough. I studied too hard. Hahaha.”

She smiled awkwardly with a stiff face.

‘Why is she like this? She seems to react strongly to Park Hyun-cheol’s name. Does she know him?’

‘No way?’

‘That can’t be.’

Jung-hoon shook his head, dismissing his thoughts as absurd.

Then the food arrived.

The unique scent of greasy Chinese food stimulated everyone’s appetites.

Everyone focused on the food and started eating.

Jung-hoon, Eun-soo, and Cheol-joong all ate until they were stuffed, just like in the old days.

Jung-hoon looked at Da-hye.

He was worried about her because she wasn’t eating properly.

‘Does she not like Chinese food?’

He decided to take her to her favorite Korean beef restaurant next time.

***

Jung-hoon ordered an investigation into Selto Bio, which was in the same building as Shinhwa Pharmaceuticals.

Hwang-seok and Kang Sang-cheol submitted their reports.

Selto Bio is a pharmaceutical CMO [Contract Manufacturing Organization], meaning a contract manufacturing company.

According to the report, they are investing in the biosimilar business with the money they earn.

Biosimilars are essentially a business that replicates and produces bio-pharmaceuticals whose patents have expired.

General medicines can be easily replicated if you know the ingredients.

However, raw materials are key to biopharmaceuticals.

The key is to secure similar raw materials and produce the same medicinal effect.

This company had strengths in this area.

This company was the first in the world to successfully replicate biopharmaceuticals.

In Jung-hoon’s memory, this company would become a major success later.

It must be acquired, both for the money and to preempt the healthcare and bio industries in the future.

They could acquire it cheaply now, but someone else was also interested.

He couldn’t afford to lose it.

Eun-soo and Kwak Hyun-soo monitored Selto Bio for several days.

And suspicious people were seen coming and going.

Cha Young-mi’s tracking revealed that they were gangsters active in Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul].

He decided he should start expanding into Gangnam this time.

Then he got a call from Kwak Hyun-soo.

“They just went in. Should Eun-soo and I handle it? Or….”

“I need to meet the president in person. I’m nearby. Wait a little bit.”

Jung-hoon, who was at the cafe, went outside. He pushed through the crowd surrounding his car and got in.

A car that is rarely seen in Korea.

A Bugatti Chiron.

His face was reflected like a mirror on the shiny black Bugatti.

‘Hmm, handsome.’

He got into the car.

When he started the engine, it announced its presence with its unique exhaust sound.

He pressed the accelerator very lightly.

He moved forward slowly.

The people surrounding him parted like the Red Sea.

The attention of the surroundings was a bonus.

People were busy taking pictures with their phones.

The Genius Grandson of the Cash King Becomes a Tycoon.