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CH134 | GSI
🕑 Added 2025-02-15 03:30:01 +0000 UTCChairman’s Office, Daehung Group Headquarters
"The approvals are done. Take them away."
"Yes, Chairman."
Assistant Manager Jung Yoon-kyung responded briefly and gathered a hefty stack of approved documents from one side of the large mahogany desk.
"Phew... Staring at nothing but words all day is exhausting. Bring me a strong cup of coffee."
"Understood."
Chairman Park Tae-hong removed his reading glasses, placing them on the desk, and leaned back into his plush chair.
As he rubbed the bridge of his nose with a slightly fatigued expression, Jung Yoon-kyung soon returned, carrying a tray with a steaming cup of coffee.
"The first edition of today's evening newspaper has arrived."
Jung Yoon-kyung placed the coffee on the table along with a freshly printed newspaper.
The first edition was, as the name implied, the earliest print of the newspaper.
Only a limited run of a few hundred to about a thousand copies was printed. This preliminary batch was primarily used to catch errors before mass production, making it a sort of test print.
On the flip side, it was also the last chance to remove problematic articles or refine the wording before the newspaper went into nationwide circulation.
Of course, this wasn't done for free. In exchange, newspapers received advertising revenue from the companies they accommodated.
Some publications even deliberately ran critical articles about specific companies as leverage to pressure them into placing ads.
Because of this, politicians, government offices, and corporations were the primary subscribers of these limited early editions.
Chairman Park Tae-hong, too, received the first edition daily, several hours ahead of the general public.
"I see."
With a slight nod, Jung Yoon-kyung exited the office, and Park Tae-hong straightened his posture. He picked up the evening paper, its ink still fresh.
"Let’s see what kind of news we have today."
Taking a sip of coffee, he carefully scanned the front page.
As expected, the biggest news of the day was President Kim Sung-kyu’s summit with the visiting Bulgarian president, dominating a significant portion of the coverage.
Finding nothing particularly noteworthy, he flipped to the business section—where one headline immediately caught his attention.
[Cheonho Steel Plummets Amid Mass Sell-Off]
Riding the recent surge in low-PER stocks, Cheonho Steel had soared over tenfold in value. However, a wave of heavy selling this morning sent the stock tumbling by more than 4%.
The company, long viewed as an asset stock due to the high real estate value of its factory sites in Busan and Changwon, had attracted significant interest from foreign and domestic investors alike…
"Cheonho Steel’s stock is crashing?"
Chairman Park, who had been leisurely sipping his coffee, widened his eyes and set his cup down.
Holding the newspaper with both hands, he carefully reread the article. His expression turned grim.
"Damn it."
Though Cheonho Steel had no direct ties to Daehung Group or its affiliates, he had a personal reason for his concern—his second son, Seok-won.
One of the two stocks Seok-won had invested in using the funds entrusted to him by Chairman Park was Cheonho Steel.
At first, Chairman Park hadn’t expected much, but his son had managed to multiply the investment several times over, greatly exceeding expectations.
Every month, when reviewing the investment reports, he took pleasure in watching the money grow—like bean sprouts shooting up overnight.
Seeing Cheonho Steel’s stock, which had once soared so high that just looking at it was satisfying, now plummet was enough to make Chairman Park’s heart sink.
"Four percent… Just how much did we lose?"
He muttered to himself, practically burying his nose in the newspaper.
Based on last month’s earnings, he estimated that at least 1 billion won had evaporated.
"Shouldn’t we sell before it drops any further?"
Growing restless, Chairman Park quickly reached for the telephone on his desk.
He was about to call his second son and urge him to sell the stock immediately, but a thought made him hesitate. Slowly, he placed the receiver back down.
"No, no. I entrusted him with the money so he could manage it freely. If I panic and call just because the stock dipped a little, it’ll make me look bad."
It wasn’t like the principal had been wiped out—just a slight cut in profits. What would Seok-won think if he saw his father overreacting like this?
"Ahem."
Realizing that he had nearly embarrassed himself, Chairman Park cleared his throat and tried to calm his nerves.
"But still… Seok-won has done too good of a job."
Whatever magic he had worked, he had grown the money by an incredible amount. Losing even a fraction of it wasn’t something that could be laughed off.
"Ugh."
Fidgeting anxiously, Chairman Park reached for the phone several times, only to pull his hand back, groaning in frustration.
***
That evening, Chairman Park left work earlier than usual and was now sitting on the living room sofa, dressed comfortably, reading the newspaper.
"You’re out in the living room? That’s unusual."
His wife, Jo Deok-rye, clad in a simple home dress, sat across from him and asked.
"It’s my house. What does it matter where I sit?"
"It’s just that you usually disappear into your study right after dinner. Now you’re suddenly occupying the living room sofa."
"Listen here. Do you think the study is some kind of leisure space? I’ve been busy with work, but you don’t understand my struggles."
"Alright, alright. If you’re going to stay out here, should I cut up some fruit for you?"
"No need. I ate too much at dinner anyway."
Chairman Park glanced at his wristwatch before casually throwing out a comment.
"Seok-won’s late."
"It’s not even 7 o’clock yet."
"If work is done, he should come straight home. Where is he wandering around?"
Jo Deok-rye looked at him in disbelief.
"He’s not a child, you know. He can come home a little late. And while we’re at it, how about you stop running around all the time with golf games and drinking parties? You should be thinking about your health and coming home earlier. And stop making your secretary carry you inside every time you come home drunk!"
"When did I ever—"
Realizing he had only dug himself into a hole, Chairman Park quickly lifted his newspaper, using it as a shield against his wife’s glare.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
From the kitchen, their housekeeper, Mrs. Gunsan, wiped her wet hands on her apron and hurried over to answer the intercom.
"Who is it?"
[It's me.]
Hearing Seok-won’s voice over the intercom, Mrs. Gunsan immediately pressed the unlock button.
"Looks like he's home now."
"Ahem."
As Jo Deok-rye headed to the entrance, the door opened, and Seok-won stepped inside, holding a briefcase in one hand.
"You're back?"
"Yes."
"Good work. Have you had dinner?"
"I grabbed something quick in front of the office."
"Alright. Before you go up to your room, go see your father for a moment."
She glanced toward the living room as she whispered to him.
"Father?"
"He's been waiting for you all evening. I don’t even know why he's holding that newspaper—he hasn’t turned a single page."
Jo Deok-rye had long since noticed that her husband wasn’t actually reading.
Nodding, Seok-won walked into the living room and greeted his father.
"Father, I’m home."
"Alright."
Chairman Park, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation from the beginning, pretended to nonchalantly lower his newspaper as he returned the greeting.
"Come to my study for a moment."
"Yes, sir."
As Chairman Park rose from his seat, Seok-won followed him.
***
Inside the study, Chairman Park settled comfortably into his usual seat at the head of the room, finally letting his tense expression relax.
"Why did you call me in?"
Seok-won, now seated on the sofa to his left, asked curiously.
"It's nothing major, but I saw in today’s evening paper that Cheonho Steel’s stock took a big hit."
"Oh, that."
Realizing what this conversation was about, Seok-won smiled slightly to himself.
"Actually, I was planning to talk to you about the investment, so this is perfect timing."
Chairman Park, keeping a serious expression, leaned forward and began speaking at length.
"I know you handle things well, but when the market is unstable, it's wise to take profits at the right time..."
His real intention was to convince Seok-won to sell off at least some shares before the stock dropped any further.
However, before he could finish, Seok-won reached into his briefcase and pulled out a thin file, placing it in front of his father.
"What’s this?"
"A profit report."
"But it’s still too early to receive this month’s report."
"I already closed all positions and locked in the profits. This is the final performance report."
Chairman Park Tae-hong’s eyes widened in shock at the unexpected news.
"You sold everything?"
"Yes."
"Cheonho Steel is one thing, but did you really liquidate all of our shares in Ogwang Industries too?"
His tone grew sharp as he pressed for confirmation, but Seok-won simply nodded with an easygoing demeanor.
"Yes, I cleaned out everything."
Unlike his son, who remained calm, Chairman Park was visibly unsettled, as if he regretted his earlier panic over the falling stock prices.
"But Ogwang Industries’ stock went up again today. Wasn’t it too hasty to sell?"
"Both companies had already far exceeded their fair value. Just like Cheonho Steel dropped today, it was only a matter of time before heavy sell-offs started. It was a precarious situation. And since we had already reached our target profits, I decided it was time to cash out."
Seok-won’s response was firm and decisive.
Chairman Park still looked reluctant, so Seok-won reassured him.
"The stock was already at its peak. If we got greedy and hesitated, we could’ve missed the right exit and ended up struggling to get out. It’s better to take slightly less profit but walk away cleanly."
Despite his young age, Seok-won showed remarkable restraint—he didn’t chase after more gains but exited the market with a level head. Chairman Park couldn't help but be impressed.
At the same time, he felt a twinge of embarrassment. While his son had kept his composure and made a rational decision, he had nearly lost himself in greed.
Noticing his father’s conflicted expression, Seok-won smoothly changed the subject.
"Since we invested early, before the stocks really took off, our returns turned out quite well. Have a look."
"Alright, let’s see."
Chairman Park, now visibly intrigued, picked up the file and opened it with anticipation.
Investment Summary Report
Ogwang Industries
- Initial Investment: ₩11,300,000,000
- Return on Investment: 5.3x
- Profit (Excluding Principal): ₩48,590,000,000
Cheonho Steel
- Initial Investment: ₩5,000,000,000
- Return on Investment: 10.4x
- Profit (Excluding Principal): ₩47,000,000,000
Total Profit: ₩95,590,000,000
(Nine hundred fifty-five billion nine hundred million won)
"You… You made over ₩950 billion?!"
Chairman Park’s mouth dropped open in sheer disbelief.
He stared at the figures on the report, then began tracing each digit with his finger, as if double-checking them would somehow change the number. But no matter how many times he looked, the number remained the same—950 billion won.
Seok-won, however, remained unfazed.
"The stock prices kept climbing for the past month, so we ended up with solid returns."
"Haha! What are you talking about? This isn’t just ‘solid’—you made ₩950 billion in less than a year!"
Still reeling from the shock, Chairman Park suddenly burst into laughter, his face lighting up with joy.
"Actually, the exact profit is ₩669.13 billion."
"...Huh?"
At Chairman Park’s bewildered expression, Seok-won smirked slightly and said,
"You haven’t forgotten our agreement, have you? You promised me a 30% bonus from the profits."
"!?"
"That means if you deduct ₩286.77 billion, the remaining amount is exactly ₩669.13 billion. Ah, and don’t forget the company’s 1% commission—so we need to subtract another ₩9.559 billion."
Chairman Park’s face darkened. His voice rose in outrage.
"1% should be ₩6.6913 billion! Why the hell is it ₩9.559 billion?!"
"It’s 1% of the total profit before deducting my bonus. If you’re doubtful, I can show you the revised trust agreement you signed last time."
Chairman Park groaned in frustration, glaring at his son’s smug expression.
"You’re practically a highway robber without a knife."
"But at least I deliver results."
As much as he wanted to argue, even Chairman Park had to admit that Seok-won’s investment skills were exceptional.
Still scowling, he huffed while Seok-won cheerfully continued,
"The liquidation funds will be deposited into your account tomorrow. You can start withdrawing whenever you need."
"And if I reinvest, you’ll take another 30% cut?"
"Of course."
"You ruthless little—"
"I’ll take that as a compliment."
Seok-won grinned unabashedly.
"Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading out."
"Yeah, yeah, go on."
As Seok-won rose from the sofa and left the study, Chairman Park remained seated, still fuming.
Once the door clicked shut, he picked up the investment report again and carefully reread the figures.
His brows furrowed deeper with each number he counted—until, eventually, a proud smile crept onto his face.
"...Damn kid. He might just be better at making money than I am."
Still, that 30% bonus… no, it wasn’t just a little painful—it really stung.
