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CH15 | DI
🕑 Added 2025-02-09 03:30:01 +0000 UTCHow can Rachel’s dilemma be summed up in one sentence?
Money or ethics.
This is how money works.
It comes to people during times of confusion,
Forcing difficult choices.
As someone who hopes to be Rachel’s future fund manager, What should I do here?
Obviously, side with the money.
My role is always to subtly tip the scales So that the judgment favors money.
“Rachel, I know you feel heavy-hearted, but this is out of our control.”
“That’s… true.”
“We’re salaried employees. If this deal goes through, Goldman will make money, and we’ll have fulfilled our respective duties and responsibilities. There’s no need to take it so personally.”
Rachel bites her lip.
It seems she doesn’t like how blatantly I’m siding with money.
I can even sense a bit of disdain in her expression.
‘As expected, she’s quite the idealist.’
But if I tried to appease her now with some empty words,
I’d only hear later, “He changed because of money.”
I have to side with money from the start.
Consistently, all the way.
“Does that mean you’ll do anything for money…?”
“We’re not breaking the law. We’re simply exploiting a loophole. And we clearly marked it in the footnotes.”
“You acted with the intention to deceive!”
“Well, it’s like a campaign promise. The clients already know there’s some exaggeration mixed in.”
There’s no reaction to the word “campaign promise.”
It seems her father isn’t a politician.
“What if the client doesn’t know? What if they really believe it—how will you take responsibility then?”
“Rachel, our client isn’t just any ordinary person. He’s the CEO of a company. He probably knows the market information of his own business better than we do. He’s not naive enough to just blindly believe what we say, so there’s no need to worry.”
Yeah, don’t worry, even if you try to deceive him, he won’t be fooled.
But Rachel is still biting her lip hard.
Her eyes are cold as she looks at me.
“Weren’t you a medical student?”
You’re the guy who once studied to save lives, and now you’re saying this kind of crap?
What happened to your conscience?
It’s an unusually emotional response, not quite befitting her usual demeanor.
But that’s okay too.
After all, people become closer by fighting.
“Didn’t I tell you I was aiming to become a plastic surgeon? I’m not too squeamish about packaging things up and making them look better.”
“So, you’ll do anything if it makes you money?”
“As long as it doesn’t break the law.”
“Huh, what do you even want to do with all that money?”
“I want to develop a cure.”
“What?”
“I’m going to cure an incurable disease.”
Yeah, I know.
Totally out of the blue.
But this isn’t your counseling session; it’s my session to introduce my future fund.
For a client with an oversized conscience and a strong sense of ethics, you have to provide a story that matches.
And I had it prepared.
“There’s a disease that took away someone very dear to me.”
Here’s where I let out a bitter smile.
A long, heavy sigh while staring at the floor.
“Someone dear to me was dying right in front of me, But I couldn’t do anything. That person was the most precious thing to me in this world…”
It’s not a lie.
I am precious to me.
“The person I cherished more than anyone, Suffering in excruciating pain, losing even their dignity as a human… And I could only watch. Because there was no cure.”
Not going to lie, my eyes actually start to tear up.
Because, really, that’s a deeply f***ed up feeling.
“I don’t ever want to feel that powerless again. I’ll never let anyone go through that kind of pain again.”
Yeah, I’m crazy about money, but, hey, there’s a reason for it.
If you look at it in the end, it’s even for a good cause.
“This disease isn’t profitable, so no one’s making a cure. That’s why I have to step in. I need to gather the money. Whatever it takes.”
I’m proactive and ambitious, after all.
I can wrap it up now.
When I look up, Rachel’s face is a mess of confusion and guilt.
There’s no sign of doubt about my story.
Well, the resonance of truth is strong.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had such circumstances…”
“It’s only natural you didn’t know. I’ve never mentioned it.”
Here, I give her a soft smile.
Then, I put my index finger to my lips.
“Please keep this story a secret. If people hear I’m making money to save lives… I’ll be ostracized on Wall Street.”
You know, don’t you?
A character like this only gets ridiculed on Wall Street.
“I promise I’ll keep the secret.”
Well, it doesn’t really matter if you tell.
I can just brush it off as a story I made up to impress a pretty face.
But secrets have a way of bringing people closer.
‘Not bad.’
A fund manager’s top virtue is not losing money.
I’m someone who reliably secures money by any means necessary, and I’ve even added a noble cause to it.
A cause is important.
The princess seemed to dislike my recklessness.
But if that recklessness is framed as being for the sake of saving lives, the story changes.
This story seems to be working quite well.
Rachel is looking down at the floor, embarrassed.
“I’m sorry for being rude without knowing anything.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“By the way… how much money do you need?”
“At least 4.5 billion, at most 50 billion dollars.”
“What?? Is that even possible?”
“I’ll make it happen, somehow.”
I’m serious.
But I left out the part where it’s not my money.
The ones who will provide the necessary funds are members of the wealthy club, including Rachel.
That’s my own secret that no one can ever know.
“You’re amazing.”
Rachel smiled.
That’s a genuine smile.
My conscience pricks a little.
‘Rachel isn’t like the people on Wall Street…’
She’s not desperate to devour others, nor does she operate on default distrust.
“I’m envious. Honestly, I don’t have such a clear goal. I kind of just ended up on Wall Street.”
“I was just living an average life too, until tragedy struck.”
“Still… it’s impressive.”
“Rachel, you can start thinking about it slowly from now on. What did you originally want to do?”
“Well, I don’t know. My father wanted me to become a lawyer, but I didn’t like that idea.”
Collecting information even in this situation.
It feels a bit scummy, but I’ve gotten a good hint.
‘Her father’s a lawyer…?
But it’s strange that a lawyer is treated like royalty.
What kind of lawyer makes an MD bow to them?
That’s something I’ll figure out gradually.
If I pry too much, it’ll raise suspicion, so I’ll stop here for today.
“Shall we go?”
“Sure.”
“Oh, by the way, I’m moving to the M&A group starting tomorrow. Don’t be surprised if you don’t see me around.”
Starting tomorrow, Rachel and I will be in different departments.
We’ll need to set up appointments to meet.
So, I should plant a little seed for the next meeting.
“About that meeting, it should be fine. That company has its own market research department.”
“Then why did they hire us?”
“Because the information they really want isn’t that.”
“What? What do you mean…”
“There must be another purpose.”
Here, I add a mysterious tone.
And smile like an Eastern sage.
“If you’re really curious, ask to join the client meeting tomorrow.”
Judging by the MD’s attitude, if Rachel requests it, they’ll take her along.
Once she experiences the meeting, confusion will hit.
She’ll be dying of curiosity, but too cautious to ask her mentor.
Meanwhile, the mysterious words of an Eastern man will echo in her mind.
The one-liner I’m about to drop now.
“If you need me, come find me anytime.”
***
After parting ways with Ha Si-heon, Rachel returned home and threw herself onto her bed, thrashing around for a moment.
‘What on earth did I just say?’
The image of Ha Si-heon with a bittersweet smile on his face, full of untold stories, lingered in her mind.
— My parents have both passed away.
He had said the same thing during the welcoming party and his self-introduction.
Ha Si-heon had mentioned that he had lost his parents.
When she pieced together what he just told her…
‘He lost his family to an illness.’
This explains Ha Si-heon’s unusual background and his career change.
He had aimed to become a plastic surgeon to make money, but after losing his beloved family, he entered Wall Street.
So that others wouldn’t have to experience the same pain.
It was like something out of a movie or drama.
To someone like that…
— Wasn’t Sean a medical school graduate?
— Would you do anything as long as you can make money?
— What are you going to do with the money you earn?
She had gotten emotional and reacted without thinking, unable to hold back, after he so firmly defended Goldman.
She, someone who grew up in a wealthy family without much hardship, had dared to question, “What’s so important about money?”
The thought made her face flush with embarrassment.
‘I didn’t expect him to have that kind of look on his face…’
As a pacifist, Rachel found Ha Si-heon, who constantly seemed to provoke those around him, uncomfortable.
But,
— I had to watch as a person I cherished lost even their human dignity in terrible pain… I don’t ever want to feel that helpless again.
— I will never let anyone else go through that kind of suffering.
Behind his provocative and reckless demeanor lay a story that most people couldn’t even begin to imagine.
When she thought about how she had acted like a naive rich girl in front of him…
No matter how many times she punched her pillow, the shame wouldn’t disappear.
‘He really doesn’t mind, right?’
He said it was fine.
He didn’t seem like someone who would hide any lingering resentment.
‘Yeah, it’ll be okay.’
She tried to convince herself of that and fell asleep.
But the next morning, when she saw the empty desk beside her, the memory of her careless words came flooding back.
‘Wouldn’t it be weird to go ask him if he’s really okay?’
While she was hesitating, the MD walked into the office.
“Rachel?”
“Yes?”
“Today’s Colton meeting, you’ll be joining us.”
Rachel felt puzzled by the MD’s sudden suggestion.
She had heard this during training.
Usually, analysts don’t attend client meetings.
But now, she was being asked to join a client meeting on her first project.
‘Is this because of my background again?’
She didn’t like it, but there was no choice but to follow orders when your boss asks.
That’s how she arrived at the meeting place.
“John! It’s been a while since we’ve met face to face, not just over the phone!”
“Hasn’t it only been two weeks?”
“Haha, but it feels like two years!”
After exchanging friendly greetings with the CEO of Colton Group, the MD turned to Rachel.
“This is Rachel Mosley from our team. Her father is a partner at the law firm Cravath & Swaine.”
“Oh, is that so?”
The CEO slightly raised his eyebrows.
He recognized the name of her father’s law firm.
There are countless law firms in New York, but Cravath & Swaine is different.
One newspaper even put it this way:
“For those wishing to enter New York high society, there are three doors: Harvard University, Goldman Sachs, and Cravath & Swaine.”
It’s a law firm that caters to the richest of the rich, the true upper echelon of New York’s elite.
“I see.”
The CEO tried to maintain a neutral expression.
As the head of a company himself, he wasn’t the type to be intimidated by a prestigious law firm’s name.
But there was another reason the MD had brought Rachel along.
“Rachel’s father is also Henry Kissinger’s lawyer.”
“Really?”
The CEO, who had only been nodding along indifferently, suddenly brightened.
After all, who is Henry Kissinger!
He’s one of the most famous living diplomats and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
“I’ve always admired him! Have you ever met Kissinger in person?”
“Yes, I’ve met him occasionally since I was young.”
This was Rachel’s true value.
Her father wasn’t just any lawyer.
He had been the personal attorney for Henry Kissinger and other top leaders of society for decades.
Not just in America… but among the most powerful figures in the world.
