Chapter 4

### Chapter 4: How to Catch This Guy (1)

Manager Jeong's brow furrowed slightly.

"Can't you remember that either?"

"Yes."

Manager Jeong looked at Jaejun with a worried expression.

"Manager, I'm fine. Please don't look at me like that."

"Yes, I'm sorry. There's about 500 million won."

500 million won in cash.

"Isn't that less than you expected?"

"Until a month ago, it was 3 billion won."

"Then where did the rest go?"

"As soon as you returned to the country, you spent it all."

"3 billion won in a month?"

'What the hell... This guy is crazy.'

Hearing that 3 billion won was spent in a month, Jaejun almost slapped himself.

'What on earth did you do?'

He knew that the value of money in 1996 compared to 2022 was about twice as much.

In other words, this lunatic spent nearly 6 billion won in a month if it were 2022.

"Where did you spend it?"

"You did a bit of everything. You spent 3 billion won in a month."

"Spent on what? What did you do?"

"I'm not sure about that."

"It wasn't on entertainment, right?"

He instinctively knew it wasn't for entertainment.

Wouldn't you need people, whether men or women, to have fun?

Surely, you didn't spend 3 billion won alone.

It had been almost a month since the accident, and not a single person had contacted him. This could be evidence that he hadn't been hanging out with anyone recently.

While it's true that the children of conglomerates don't usually interfere in each other's private lives, not hearing from anyone for a month was excessive.

Manager Jeong smiled slightly at the mention of entertainment.

"Maybe, or maybe not."

Manager Jeong's vague response made him feel even more frustrated.

'Something's up, but he's not saying it...'

"Did I use that money to support politicians or invest somewhere?"

Manager Jeong's eyes sparkled.

"Why do you think that?"

"Given that you spent so much in a month, it seems like the most logical conclusion. No matter how much you partied, you couldn't spend 1 billion won a day. And you didn't buy 30 cars."

"Political support... I'm not sure. We were just speculating. You have a close relationship with the children of VIPs."

"Close relationship... Not exactly good news."

The children of conglomerates being close.

A bunch of people who can't stand each other.

Jaejun's questions didn't stop.

"I see. Then, besides the 500 million won, do you have any other assets?"

"Real estate in Gangnam, land in Gyeonggi and other regions, savings, government bonds from the U.S. and Japan, fixed deposits, and funds. Altogether, it's about 50 billion won."

50 billion won.

50 billion won in cash and real estate.

"All the assets of your deceased parents were inherited by you."

"Then, the actual scale of the assets is even larger, right?"

"Yes."

50 billion won.

A huge amount of money.

In his previous life, he would have had to win the 200 million won lottery 25 times to have this much.

In other words, he would have had to win the lottery every two weeks for a year.

But now, this 50 billion won was in his hands, and he could use it whenever he wanted.

He felt a sense of emptiness.

The amount of money was so unrealistic.

The units of money were still unfamiliar.

But.

He needed to get used to it.

1 billion? 10 billion? 1 trillion?

He needed to adapt to the units that the rich used casually.

Anyway.

'With 500 million won available... It's not a bad amount to start getting used to the money of a conglomerate.'

Jaejun bit his lip slightly.

'It's not enough.'

It was far from enough to overcome the company's survival crisis within two years.

Money that wasn't being spent was just a number.

It would be difficult to buy a 100 billion won car, but buying stocks or bonds would just be a matter of pressing a few keys.

'To liquidate real estate, I need to convince my grandfather again.'

To avoid being knocked out by the IMF crisis in about two years, he needed to stockpile foreign currency through various investments.

Specifically, dollars.

The ultimate goal was to stockpile dollars.

To do that, he needed to gather information from the company and have a system to manage the money.

If an individual tried to manage a large amount of money, the government would come after him.

"Manager Jeong, where are the documents I asked for?"

Manager Jeong took a yellow envelope from his pocket and handed it to Jaejun.

Jaejun smiled at Manager Jeong instead of saying thank you.

It was also a message that he wanted to be alone now.

As expected, Manager Jeong was quick to catch on.

"I'll take my leave now. I'll see you at the company, Young Master."

"Pretend you don't know me at the company. I'm just a regular employee."

"Understood. Although it's late, I sincerely congratulate you on your top entry. Thanks to you, the chairman has been smiling a lot lately."

Jaejun responded with a bright smile.

Manager Jeong bowed and left the room, and Jaejun took out the thick documents from the envelope.

These were the personnel records of Current Securities.

Information that only an employer who pays salaries could see.

Being a conglomerate meant being in a position where you could have everything if you wanted.

The personnel records of employees.

Jaejun planned to use this information actively.

Before officially starting work, he would memorize all the contents.

To become the top person, he needed to expand his influence and gain a voice.

The first step was to build a network.

'These people. I'll gradually make them my own.'

***

One month later, 5:30 AM.

Knock knock.

The butler knocked on Jaejun's door.

"Yes."

"Master Jaejun, are you awake?"

"Yes, come in."

The butler entered Jaejun's room.

Jaejun was reading several newspapers.

The room was neatly organized.

The butler found it very enjoyable to watch the change in Jaejun over a short period.

Every time Jaejun acted like a lunatic, his heart had burned with frustration.

His eyes welled up with tears.

"...You woke up early."

"The morning air is nice."

Jaejun looked at the butler.

The one person who would lay down his life for Jaejun.

The only person who had always been on Jaejun's side.

Even as a lunatic, Jaejun had at least one person by his side.

The butler looked Jaejun up and down.

"Master Jaejun, your first-day suit looks very nice."

The butler wiped away a tear with the back of his hand.

Seeing this, Jaejun felt a pang of emotion.

Jaejun smiled and stood up, and the butler dusted off Jaejun's chest.

"Go down. The chairman is waiting."

***

Yoido, the first-floor lobby of Current Securities.

New employees, including Jaejun, were gathered in front of a bulletin board.

7:30 AM.

A man approached them with a piece of paper.

"Good morning. Welcome to Current Securities. Time is of the essence in a securities company. We don't give new employees time to get used to the company atmosphere."

He spoke very quickly.

"The company motto is 'Learn and improve on your own.' Soon, each new employee will be assigned a mentor. Follow your mentor to gain practical experience and learn. When I call your name, come forward and go to your assigned position."

No new employee training, straight into the field.

Do they believe in our skills because we passed the rigorous blind test?

'I like it.'

Despite Jaejun's enthusiasm, sighs could be heard from various places.

As names were called, the new employees gradually disappeared, and Jaejun was the last one left.

A man was gesturing to him.

'Could he be my mentor?'

"Mr. Jaejun."

"Yes, senior."

"You look sharp for a top entry. Wait here for a moment."

The man quickly left the hall, and Jaejun stood there blankly.

About 10 minutes passed, and a man ran up.

A good-looking man in his early 30s.

'Is that... Kang Hosuk?'

The business card photo in the personnel records made him look very proper, but in person, he didn't seem that way.

Moreover, the comments in his performance review noted that he was always late despite his outstanding skills.

"Mr. Jaejun, I'm Kang Hosuk."

"Nice to meet you."

Jaejun shook hands with Hosuk.

"Mr. Jaejun, nice to meet you. Let's first get a feel for the company atmosphere. Even if it's the company motto, it's dangerous to throw new employees into the field right away."

Jaejun followed Hosuk down to the first floor, and they walked in silence.

Hosuk looked at Jaejun with a warm expression.

"Mr. Jaejun, this place might seem overwhelming at first, but you'll get used to it soon."

'Working at a securities company was my goal, but I'm starting in 1997.'

"...Yes, thank you."

As they climbed to the second floor, Hosuk chattered non-stop.

By the time they reached the second floor, Jaejun was getting tired of the constant talking.

This was the heart of the securities company.

Where the money flowed.

The stock market.

Jaejun saw the stock market board, with red and blue numbers moving frantically.

In a space of about 300 pyeong, about 40 brokers were working.

They were looking at 3 to 7 CRT monitors, moving their fingers busily.

'They're busy from the morning.'

Behind the stock brokers, the new employees were staring at the monitors.

This place clearly divided the paths of 'Analyst-RA' and 'Fund Manager-Supporter.'

Perhaps the fate of new employees was decided from the start.

Their paths diverged based on their performance.

Whether to become an analyst as an RA or a fund manager as a supporter.

Jaejun observed this scene carefully.

It was a question he had been pondering for a long time.

Supporter or RA.

But today, seeing the scene, he felt a warmth in his chest.

Experiencing the intense atmosphere of the field was the right path.

Becoming the top person in this field.

A fund manager.

It was more appealing than the path of an analyst, who analyzes the market and companies and guides investments.

Soon, Hosuk and Jaejun headed to the third floor.

The Research Center.

The 'house' where the brains of the securities company, the analysts, resided.

There were high cubicle walls, and signs for companies, bonds, real estate, and stocks were visible.

'As expected, Current Securities. Just like in the books.'

At the time, tasks were not yet specialized, but Current Securities was already cultivating analysts with diverse expertise and in-depth analysis of various companies.

Jaejun confirmed his grandfather Im Byungdal's belief in professionalism and value investing.

Hosuk stopped and began explaining to Jaejun.

"Based on the center, the window side is the space used by the buyside, and the corridor side is the space used by the sellside."

The buyside was for fund managers, and the sellside was for clients.

In other words, their workspaces were separated.

"The buyside prepares reports for the front office sales and trading and the middle office planning and risk management departments."

Hosuk continued.

"The sellside prepares public reports or informal reports for clients. The sellside is a bit behind the buyside. The seats are not as good. Haha!"

The image of analysts on TV is all buyside.

And analysts didn't want to be in the sellside, which provided support from behind.

However, the sellside had its advantages.

Especially in the Korean securities industry, which has had many ups and downs.

During the foreign exchange crisis, the IT bubble burst, 9/11, the global financial crisis, and the European debt crisis, many buyside analysts had to take the blame for failures.

"Mr. Jaejun, you don't talk much."

"I do when it's necessary."

"When is it necessary?"

"When I need to express my opinion."

"Ah, your personality is as clean as your appearance, hahaha. Well, let's go to the planning department to get our assignments."

Jaejun and Hosuk climbed to the 6th floor, where the planning department was located.

As they entered the planning department, the first thing Jaejun saw was a nameplate.

<Planning Director Seo Hyung-gil>

'The master of internal politics, Seo Hyung-gil.'

This was the first time Jaejun met Planning Director Seo Hyung-gil, whom he had seen in the personnel records.