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CH205 | GSI
🕑 Added 2025-03-10 03:40:01 +0000 UTCChairman Park Tae-hong couldn't hide his momentary shock at the unexpected statement.
After quickly composing himself, he asked again as if to confirm.
"Did you just say you want to buy Daeheung Venture Capital?"
Looking straight into Chairman Park's eyes, Seok-won replied calmly.
"Yes."
"Huh."
Letting out a dry chuckle, Chairman Park straightened his posture, sensing that his Seok-won must have a reason for bringing this up.
"What made you suddenly take an interest in venture capital?"
"You told me not to cling to the securities firm and to pursue what I truly want to do, didn't you?"
"I did."
"I believe there are plenty of opportunities to make money not just overseas but also domestically, so I plan to use Daeheung Venture Capital as an investment platform."
"Hmm…"
Chairman Park stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment.
"Well, even though the Eldorado Fund is technically yours, to others, it's just a foreign company. Using a domestic firm like Daeheung Venture Capital would certainly make business operations more convenient in many ways."
"Exactly. It would also reduce resistance from those receiving investments."
It was a logical argument.
Besides, Daeheung Venture Capital was one of the few financial subsidiaries under the Daeheung Group, and since he had already intended to pass it down to him along with Daeheung Securities, the decision wasn't difficult to make.
"Alright. I'll give it to you."
"Thank you."
"However, since the slush fund scandal is still ongoing, transferring the shares now could cause unnecessary trouble. For now, you should take charge of running the company, and we'll handle the ownership transfer gradually as the situation settles."
At that, Seok-won suddenly made an unexpected proposal.
"If I purchase the shares instead of receiving them as a gift, there won't be any issues, will there?"
"You want to buy the shares?"
Chairman Park blinked in surprise.
"Yes. Even if I receive your shares as a gift and combine them with the ones I already own, my stake would still only be 30%."
Having long planned to separate the financial subsidiaries from the group and pass them down to Seok-won, Chairman Park had already gifted half of his pre-IPO shares in Daeheung Venture Capital.
As a result, Seok-won owned a 15% stake in the company, making him the third-largest shareholder after Mido Department Store and Chairman Park himself.
"Mido Department Store is an allied shareholder, so you’d still have no trouble exercising control, right?"
"Of course, but for the investments I plan to make, I want Daeheung Venture Capital to be a private company that operates entirely according to my vision."
"…!"
"So, I intend to buy not only Mido Department Store’s shares but also those held by individual investors—ultimately taking the company private by delisting it."
"Did you say… delist it?"
Chairman Park Tae-hong leaned forward in shock.
"Yes."
When Seok-won responded in a calm tone, Chairman Park was at a loss for words, his expression showing clear confusion.
"The company was only recently listed on the stock exchange, and now you want to voluntarily delist it? Is that really necessary?"
"There will be times when I need to make bold, even seemingly reckless investments, but with the company in its current structure, that won’t be easy."
"Hmm… That’s true."
No matter how powerful an owner might be, they could never completely ignore the shareholders.
"But even though the stock market isn't doing well and the share price has dropped significantly, buying up all the shares would still require a substantial amount of capital. Will you be able to… Ah, of course you will."
Chairman Park had started speaking with concern, but as he recalled just how wealthy Seok-won is, he pressed his lips together awkwardly.
Given Seok-won's financial power, acquiring Daeheung Venture Capital outright wouldn’t even make a dent in his wealth.
As a father, he felt immense pride and admiration for his son, who had amassed such fortune on his own without any outside help. Yet, at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a bit wistful—there was little he could offer his son anymore.
"If you weren’t capable, that’d be one thing. But since you can handle it, I have no reason to stop you. Do as you see fit."
"Thank you."
"But on one condition."
"…?"
Chairman Park leaned back in his seat, looking at him.
"I’ll give you my 15% stake as a gift. Consider it settled."
"I could just buy it. There’s no need for you to—"
"That would be an insult to my dignity. What kind of father takes money from his own son?"
Chairman Park cut him off firmly, as if the very idea was absurd.
For Seok-won, the amount was insignificant, and he saw no need to accept the shares as a gift when he could simply buy them and avoid unnecessary tax implications.
However, out of respect for his father’s pride and authority, he chose to comply.
"Alright, I understand."
Seeing this, Chairman Park nodded in satisfaction.
"I’ll inform the company. Discuss the specifics with Secretary Gil."
"Understood."
With a brief reply, Seok-won began preparing to leave.
"I’ll be going now. Please get some rest."
As Seok-won walked out, leaving Chairman Park alone, he leaned back on the sofa, staring at the closed door and murmuring to himself.
"Daeheung Venture Capital… I don’t know what he plans to do with it, but if it’s him, he’ll figure it out."
Although the company had recently reduced its losses significantly, it was still barely profitable. Chairman Park was already eager to see how Seok-won would transform it.
* * *
Wall Street, New York.
Rodney, the CIO of Quantum Fund, sat at his desk, surrounded by four computer monitors, closely monitoring the stock market.
As graphs and numbers fluctuated chaotically, he noticed an unusual movement and let out a low murmur.
"Hmm…"
Running a hand over his clean-shaven chin, he stared at the monitors for a long moment before picking up the intercom on his desk.
"Get in touch with Ian and tell him to come to my office immediately."
[Understood.]
Hearing his secretary’s response, Rodney set the receiver down and turned his attention back to the stock charts of GE, Coca-Cola, P&G, and other major companies.
"This doesn’t smell right."
It was no coincidence—every single one of the top ten S&P 500 stocks was declining simultaneously.
There had been growing concerns about a second federal government shutdown this year, but that alone didn’t explain this pattern. Other stocks remained unaffected.
In fact, Cisco was surging once again, reaffirming just how strong the internet boom was.
Yet, despite being another internet beneficiary and an S&P 500 top-ten company, Microsoft had remained flat all morning before suddenly dipping.
Rodney tapped his fingernail against the desk, his gaze fixed on the screens.
"This kind of movement is impossible unless someone is unloading a massive amount of S&P 500 top-ten stocks."
Just then, a knock sounded, and Ian, the chief manager of Quantum Fund, stepped into the office.
"You called for me?"
"I know you're busy with the market open. Sorry for interrupting."
"It’s no problem."
Ian replied casually as he approached the desk.
"So, what’s this about?"
"Something’s going on with GE and the other top ten S&P 500 stocks. Do you know anything about it?"
At that, Ian's expression stiffened slightly.
"I was planning to verify a few more details before reporting to you, but it looks like you caught on already."
As expected of a seasoned trader who had survived the brutal world of Wall Street, Ian had also noticed the unusual activity.
"Someone is short-selling."
Hearing his own thoughts echoed, Rodney nodded slightly and leaned back in his chair. Then, fixing his gaze on Ian, he asked,
"We’re not talking about small-cap stocks here—these are the ten biggest names in the S&P 500. Shorting them all at once would require an astronomical amount of capital. Who the hell would pull a crazy stunt like that?"
Shorting all ten of the top S&P 500 stocks was practically the same as shorting the entire U.S. stock market.
The absurdity of it all made Rodney blurt out an expletive without thinking.
"I was curious myself, so I made some calls to check around. Nothing is confirmed yet, but it looks like Eldorado Fund is behind the sell orders."
"Did you just say… Eldorado Fund?"
"Yes."
Together with Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM), Eldorado Fund was one of the most talked-about funds on Wall Street. It was also a fund that Rodney personally had a keen interest in.
Hearing its name mentioned, Rodney furrowed his brows.
"Hah… Of all things, it had to be Eldorado Fund."
Letting out a sigh, he crossed his arms and nodded as if coming to terms with the situation.
"To short-sell on this scale, you’d need at least ten billion dollars, if not more. Only a fund of Eldorado’s caliber could mobilize that kind of money."
"It’s just the most likely culprit—we don’t have definitive proof yet."
"No, no. To pull off something this insane, you need the kind of guts that someone like Park Seok-won has. I’d bet anything that Eldorado Fund is behind this short-selling."
Rodney spoke with absolute certainty.
Ian didn’t argue—he, too, had suspected Eldorado Fund from the start.
"If Park Seok-won is behind this, then this isn’t just a reckless gamble. He must be convinced that a major market crash is coming."
"They only profit if the market tanks, so that makes sense."
"If the stock market, which has been soaring on the internet boom, were to crash, the only major negative catalyst I can think of is the federal government shutdown. Could that be what he’s betting on?"
Ian frowned and shook his head.
"If that were the case, it wouldn’t make much sense. During the last shutdown, stocks didn’t drop—in fact, they kept climbing."
Rodney grimaced slightly at the reminder.
"That’s true. I still remember the pain of shorting the market back then and taking a loss."
"Not just us—countless funds on Wall Street misread the situation and suffered heavy losses."
Ian clicked his tongue in frustration.
The more they thought about it, the harder it was to decipher Eldorado Fund’s strategy. Rodney tilted his head, looking puzzled.
"They should know that too, so why would they short the market now? It doesn’t add up."
"Even the best traders make mistakes. Maybe this time, Eldorado Fund has miscalculated."
Given what had happened during the last shutdown, it did seem like Eldorado Fund was taking an unreasonable risk.
But for some reason, Rodney couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling creeping up on him. He crossed his arms and muttered, almost as if testing his own doubts,
"Park Seok-won is a man who has consistently delivered astounding results. Not long ago, he made a killing by selling hedge options against Japanese companies. I can’t see someone like that making a reckless bet on an inverse position purely out of greed."
"You think he sees something we don’t?"
"That’s a possibility."
Rodney’s expression grew serious as he lifted his gaze.
Then, turning to Ian, he spoke decisively.
"Let’s short one hundred million dollars as well."
Ian’s eyes widened in shock.
"You’re planning to follow Eldorado Fund’s move?"
"Yeah," Rodney nodded.
"I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that Park Seok-won is going to pull off another winning bet this time. But this is such an obvious contrarian position that if we do take a loss, I want to make sure it’s within a manageable range."
"...Sigh. Understood."
Ian shook his head as if there was no stopping him.
"I’d like to talk you out of it, but you’re the one responsible for investment decisions. I’ll follow your orders."
"While we short the market, double-check if there’s any risk factor we might have overlooked."
"Got it."
With that, Ian turned and left the office.
Rodney shifted his gaze back to the monitors, watching as the stock prices continued their downward trend—evidence that the short positions were taking effect.
Deep in thought, he murmured to himself,
"What exactly did Park Seok-won see?"
No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t find the answer.
Comments
Jarod lane
I’m liking the trust the dad is showing now
