Chapter 90. Is This Even Possible? (2)

Seong Yuna couldn't hide her surprise.

Recently, Yuseong Electronics had been aggressively acquiring and merging companies, to the point where people were saying the company's strategy had changed. But to think it was all because of Han Miru!

[When you come back to Korea, let's have a meal together. Since you said you'd pay, I'll have to get something expensive.]

Seong Yuna was taken aback by this.

"Did Miru say that?"

[Come to think of it, she's still in the U.S., right?]

"Uh, how did you know?"

[Because I received a message.]

"Oh, really?"

[By the way, she's doing something quite interesting in the U.S.]

"Something interesting?"

[Did you not hear about it?]

"Yes... I didn't."

How could I have heard when I couldn't even contact her?

[Then you should hear it directly.]

"My phone seems to be turned off."

[Ah! Last time, she contacted me using a U.S. number. I'll give you that number, and you can call her. She'll answer.]

"Got it."

After the call ended, Seong Yuna fell into thought.

'So, Chairman Yoo Jae-ho has been in constant contact with her, but not with me?'

Actually, it wasn't constant contact, but only when necessary. But she didn't know that, and the feeling of betrayal made her shiver.

How to put it?

It felt like introducing a close friend to another friend, only to find out they went on a trip without her.

She calmed herself and called the number Chairman Yoo Jae-ho had given her. After a few rings, a familiar voice answered.

[Hello.]

"It's me."

[Ah! Yuna. What's up?]

Hearing her voice, the worry she had felt seemed foolish.

She said sharply,

"Why can't I get in touch with you? I've been so worried..."

[What? How worried?]

Seong Yuna quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, why is your phone turned off?"

[It must have slipped my mind to charge it. And there wasn't much to contact about anyway.]

"Didn't you turn it off to play with blonde beauties?"

[I wish.]

Seong Yuna said sharply,

"What do you mean?"

[Just a joke.]

At least she's safe, which is a relief.

"Tsk! You're still in the U.S.?"

[Yes.]

"What are you doing there?"

[Just this and that. But how did you get this number?]

"Chairman Yoo Jae-ho gave it to me."

[Ah! I see.]

"Chairman said you're doing something interesting in the U.S."

[He said that? It's not that big a deal.]

"What is it?"

[I'll tell you next time.]

"What? You're not going to tell me, but you told the Chairman? You two must have gotten close without me."

Then Han Miru said, as if it couldn't be helped,

[Actually, I started a company with someone I know in the U.S.]

"What kind of company?"

[Just a small investment firm.]

"What's the name?"

[Continuum Capital.]

"Continuum Capital...?"

The name sounded familiar, very familiar.

After mumbling the name for a moment, her eyes widened.

"Wait! Continuum Capital? You don't mean the one that caused the Thomas Motors scandal, do you?"

[That's right.]

"What!?"

Seong Yuna was shocked.

"Wait. So the Thomas Motors scandal was caused by Miru?"

[It was David Rockhart. I just helped a bit.]

"So you were involved, right?"

[You could say that.]

The Thomas Motors crash was a major event that shook the stock market.

In some ways, the Premus incident doesn't even compare. While the Premus incident involved a mere 1 trillion won, Thomas Motors had a market cap of over 40 trillion won. Due to Continuum Capital's report, over 30 trillion won evaporated.

"Unbelievable. Continuum Capital was a company you created?"

[David Rockhart is the CEO. I just assist.]

It doesn't seem like just assistance.

"I heard Continuum Capital made a fortune from short selling."

[Not a fortune, just a decent amount.]

"..."

How much is 'decent'?

It must be in the billions of dollars.

[Ah! Keep it a secret for now.]

"Got it."

If this gets out, there will be chaos.

"When are you coming back?"

[Probably next week.]

"Still have work to do?"

[Almost done.]

Seong Yuna, feeling a bit annoyed, said,

"Bring a gift when you come back."

[What?]

"You're not going to come back without a gift, are you?"

[Of course not. I was planning to bring one.]

That made her feel a bit better.

"I'll look forward to it."

[Sure. I'll contact you when I get back.]

Seong Yuna couldn't believe it.

'So, Continuum Capital was created by Miru? And she caused the Thomas Motors scandal? And she was just a new employee not long ago?'

After thinking for a while, she muttered to herself,

"Is this even possible?"

* * *

David asked,

"It seems you got a call from Korea."

"How did you know?"

David said matter-of-factly,

"Because you were speaking Korean."

"Right."

It was a pointless question.

The meeting about what to do tomorrow was already over. It was late, but she felt a bit disappointed to just go to bed.

Maybe have a drink?

Just as she thought that, David asked,

"Want to go for a drink? If you're free, you can come with me."

She nodded.

"Sure."

They got dressed and headed to a bar near the hotel.

They had been together for a while, but this was the first time they were drinking together. They sat down and ordered beers.

The atmosphere in the pub was great.

There was a pool table in the center, a dart machine on one side, and a table football game. Everyone was drinking and having a good time.

People of various races and genders were chatting loudly. Most were in their 20s and 30s, with more men than women.

Being in the heart of Silicon Valley, most seemed to work for startups. Some looked younger than me.

At the next table, a heated discussion about startup ideas was taking place. Everyone was full of passion.

In the past, only the wealthy could start businesses.

But the internet changed the world. Now, anyone with a good idea can start a business.

While the monopoly of IT giants is intensifying, the number of startups is still increasing.

This is because the market is growing.

In Silicon Valley, many young people are still challenging themselves to start businesses. Even if I have regressed, I can't remember all the faces of the companies and founders. And the future I know is only 10 years ahead.

Perhaps one of the people in this bar will create a huge company.

"I wonder what I was doing at that age."

"What were you doing?"

After thinking for a moment, I said,

"Well, I was wasting time in the military."

"Isn't military service considered a good experience for Korean men?"

"That's just a way to rationalize it. If you think about it, being forced into a cell without any fault is also a good experience, right?"

Wouldn't you have a much better experience if you didn't go to the military?

If you ask someone who says the military was a good experience to do it again, they'd probably grab you by the collar.

"Ah! I saw you do well in the negotiations yesterday."

He chuckled at my words.

"Sometimes, being forceful is more effective than persuasion. If I had left them alone, they would have continued to hesitate and not make a decision."

"So you helped them make a choice?"

"It's a 30 billion dollar stake being sold for just 100 million. But if they didn't sell, they would have to face lawsuits and public criticism. No matter which choice they made, they would regret it. So it might have been easier to think they were forced to sign."

"Your explanation makes sense."

"Well, I was a bit angry. Until the truth came out, I thought he was a genius and an excellent developer."

"But it turned out he was a fraud obsessed with his reputation."

David nodded.

"It's still amazing to me."

"That he was so obsessed with his reputation?"

"No, that you saw through it so quickly. When you first said you were investigating, I didn't think it was true."

Everyone knew Rolf enjoyed attention and had a strong desire for fame.

But how severe it was, even Alex didn't know. Maybe Rolf himself didn't know.

If I hadn't seen how despicable he was in the first cycle, I wouldn't have known either.

At first, Rolf claimed he had developed it himself, but when evidence was revealed through a lawsuit, he changed his story to say he had developed it with Jason Kim.

When that was proven false, he later claimed that he had given Jason Kim various advice, which led to the creation of Mimir.

He endlessly insisted on being connected to Mimir's development. Of course, Seed dismissed these claims and treated him like an idiot.

I looked around.

"Rolf must have once been as passionate as these people."

David nodded.

"When he first started his company, he might have been a dreamy young man."

Money and success change people, for better or worse.

Although it was for the worse, he succeeded in leaving his name in history. Because he created a company that changed the future of people worldwide.

David, while drinking, asked,

"Why did you choose me?"

Of course, it's because I knew he would become an excellent investor in the future.

"I knew about David before. I wanted to work with you. It was a good thing to hear that Big Victory Investments had failed."

David tilted his head.

"Was I that famous?"

I smiled.

"To me, yes."

Actually, when he worked at Big Victory Investments, he was known but not that famous. He became famous when he worked at Shark Management.

In the first cycle, he was one of the most famous investors in the world. He was especially known for his expertise in M&A.

While M&A usually focuses on the acquisition, the post-acquisition phase is even more important. The value of a company can rise or fall depending on what happens after the acquisition.

David accurately identified the weaknesses of target companies, acquired them at the lowest possible price, and used various methods like restructuring, selling, merging, and splitting to increase their value and resell them for huge profits.

The companies he acquired typically doubled in value within three years. This made investors eager to invest.

However, he often showed a cold and ruthless side during the process and received a lot of criticism. Some called him an activist investor, while others called him a corporate raider.