"So the MC Soft investment contract is completely finalized, then."
In response to Seok-won's question—who sat cross-legged in the central seat—Director Yoo Hyun-deok answered immediately.
"Yes, that's correct. We've agreed to invest 3 billion won and take over 25% of the shares, and we've finished drafting the contract."
"Good work."
Leaning back against the sofa's backrest, Seok-won barely suppressed a smile that was about to slip out.
MC Soft was the game company that created Linea, the twin powerhouse alongside Blizzard's StarCraft that had led the early boom of PC bangs in the Millennium era.
It was only natural to feel pleased about having both companies in hand.
Until then, MC Soft had been a developer of enterprise software based on the internet, not a game company.
But when the game developer working on Linea faced financial difficulties due to the foreign exchange crisis, MC Soft acquired the entire company and naturally entered the gaming market.
However, the sudden economic downturn did not spare MC Soft either.
When the company fell into hardship, they had no choice but to seek new investment, but timing was everything.
Liquidity in the market had dried up completely, and to make matters worse, the IMF bailout was announced, so no one was willing to invest.
It was then that Seok-won heard the news and swiftly acted to make the equity investment.
"Back in 2000, when MC Soft listed on KOSDAQ, the subscription competition rate for the IPO was an astonishing 239.2 to 1."
Its market capitalization soared well past 300 billion won immediately after listing, hitting the jackpot, but that was just the beginning.
"The peak of MC Soft's stock price came in 2021."
While still reaping the benefits of the original hit Linea series, anticipation for a new title about to be released pushed the stock price past 1 million won.
At the same time it rose to be a 'blue-chip' stock, its market cap reached a staggering 22 trillion won, marking its heyday.
"But that was the last spectacular firework."
MC Soft was a prime example that the higher the peak, the longer and harsher the fall.
After reaching its peak, accumulated negative factors suddenly surfaced, and the company quickly began its downfall.
But that was a story for later. What mattered now was that investing 3 billion won at this valuation meant a return of 183,233%.
"Missing out on such a jackpot investment would be outright foolish."
Of course, as the company grew, naturally more capital would be required, but even so, dividends would allow investors to recover their funds, so the return would only increase, not decrease.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Finance Director Eom Tae-jun, seated on the sofa to his left, glanced subtly and naturally shifted the topic.
"Have you checked today's exchange rate, by any chance?"
Seok-won roughly guessed what topic was about to be brought up but pretended not to know and replied.
"It dipped a bit—maybe because of yesterday's announcement about the IMF negotiation settlement."
"It crossed over 1,500 won per dollar but then fell back to 1,491.36 won exactly."
Finance Director Eom Tae-jun leaned forward cautiously and continued speaking.
"Now that the upward trend in the exchange rate seems to have stopped, how about exchanging currency around this point?"
"I think that would be a good idea."
General Manager Yoon Ki-hoon, who was present and seemed to have discussed this beforehand, chimed in.
"I was just about to bring that up, so you made the right move."
Seok-won answered casually, and Eom Tae-jun immediately brightened.
"So you were thinking about it too."
However, Seok-won's next words instantly froze Eom Tae-jun's expression.
"Since it crossed 1,500 won, we've been sequentially exchanging everything and having the funds management department invest in stocks to manage the funds. No need to worry."
"…!"
The three were startled by the revelation that the dollars had already been exchanged and fully invested into risky stocks.
Especially Finance Director Eom Tae-jun went pale and urgently asked,
"Are you saying you invested all 95 million dollars into stocks?"
Seeing Seok-won shake his head, Eom Tae-jun looked somewhat relieved.
"Then…"
"It's not 95.64 million dollars but 657.02 million dollars."
"What?"
"What do you mean by that…?"
The three looked puzzled, and Seok-won calmly answered.
"I told you the funds management department hasn't just left the money idle—they've been investing it."
At once, Eom Tae-jun's eyes widened in shock.
"You mean to say the money has grown that much in the meantime?!"
"Exactly."
As Eom Tae-jun was left speechless from the shock, the other two also gaped in disbelief.
Making over 806% profit in just a few months was hard to believe.
Stammering, Eom Tae-jun asked again to confirm.
"You really made that much profit?"
"Yes."
"Th-that's unbelievable…"
Despite Seok-won sitting right in front of him, Finance Director Eom Tae-jun kept murmuring in disbelief, unable to grasp how such a thing was possible.
The shock was immense, and the same went for General Manager Yoon Ki-hoon and Director Yoo Hyun-deok, who were also present.
"What was ninety million dollars turned into six hundred million dollars…"
"We would've been satisfied even if it was just interest, but to think it inflated this much…"
While the two clicked their tongues in admiration, Eom Tae-jun stared at Seok-won with trembling eyes.
He simply couldn't believe that, after making such an enormous profit, Seok-won sat there as if it were no big deal.
In the atmosphere where everyone was still shaken, Seok-won was the first to speak.
"You don't need funds immediately, do you?"
Eom Tae-jun, catching Seok-won's gaze, answered reflexively.
"Ah, no. Not really."
"Then we can grow it a bit more and give it to you. That's what I understand."
"..."
How was he supposed to respond to this situation?
His mind gone blank, Eom Tae-jun simply bowed his head in a daze.
"Y-yes…"
General Manager Yoon Ki-hoon also couldn't hide his embarrassment and just stared at Seok-won.
A short while later, after leaving the president's office, Eom Tae-jun looked almost entranced as he spoke to Yoon Ki-hoon.
"Could what the president said inside really be true?"
Yoon Ki-hoon turned his head back to glance at the president's office and replied.
"It's hard to believe, but... I can't see any reason why the president would lie about something like this."
"That's true."
Eom Tae-jun nodded, then sighed deeply.
"Haah. Six hundred fifty-seven million dollars... Is it even possible to increase money this much in just a few months, not even a year?"
Director Yoo Hyun-deok, though not joining the conversation, showed a strongly sympathetic expression.
Yoon Ki-hoon also found it hard to believe, furrowing his brows in thought before making a decision.
"We can't just take this at face value. We have to verify it ourselves."
"What do you suggest?"
"Since the funds management department handled the investments, why not ask Manager Choi directly?"
"Ah, that should work."
At that, Director Yoo Hyun-deok quickly stepped forward.
"I'll go get Manager Choi."
"No, let's just go ask him right now while we're at it."
Yoon Ki-hoon shook his head and immediately started walking, with Eom Tae-jun and Yoo Hyun-deok quickly following behind.
***
"The market's closed!"
Noh Hee-won, whose voice sounded brighter than usual—perhaps because it was a weekend with only a morning shift—announced that today's trading had ended.
At that, Jung Hwan-yeop, sitting in front of multiple monitors, stretched widely, raising both arms above his head.
"Ugh, finally it's the weekend!"
Choi Ho-geun stood from his seat and addressed the team.
"They don't pay you extra for staying late. Wrap things up quickly and get out of here."
"Yes, Chief!"
After hearing the team's responses, Choi Ho-geun turned to Jung Hwan-yeop.
"It's cold out. Let's hit the sauna together sometime."
"Oh, sorry, I already have plans."
Jung Hwan-yeop answered apologetically while tidying his desk.
Normally, he would have eagerly jumped at the chance, saying, "Is the Chief buying sauna today?" but suddenly declining made Choi Ho-geun narrow his eyes.
"What plans could you possibly have when you'll just be scratching the floor at home all weekend?"
Jung Hwan-yeop gave a playful smile, as if he wanted to slap Choi, then pulled a bottle of cologne from his drawer and spritzed it lightly.
"I have a date today."
Seeing him shrug proudly as a man with a girlfriend, Yoo Seok-hyun, preparing to leave, asked.
"Going to meet Bella?"
"Yeah."
Jung Hwan-yeop made a peace sign with his fingers and chuckled.
"Wow, that's nice. A date with a beauty like Bella... I'm jealous—ouch!"
Yoo Seok-hyun, who had just commented, suddenly got pinched in the side by Hong Jae-hee sitting next to him.
Noh Hee-won stifled a giggle at the sight, while Choi Ho-geun shot a displeased glance at Jung Hwan-yeop, who was humming a happy tune.
"You just wait until she dumps you and you come crying for consolation drinks."
"Not consolation drinks—soon I'll be handing out wedding invitations, so look forward to it. And Chief, if you want to keep your wife happy, you should get home early on weekends too."
"Enough, you punk."
While the two teased each other, Noh Hee-won spotted Director Yoo Hyun-deok awkwardly entering the office and quickly stood to greet him.
"Director, welcome."
Upon seeing Yoo Hyun-deok, the other team members also rose from their seats.
"It's fine, carry on with your work."
Waving them off, Yoo Hyun-deok approached Choi Ho-geun.
"Manager Choi, busy?"
"No, I was just tidying up because the market just closed."
"Then let's go to the break room for a bit and have a chat."
Though wondering what the director suddenly needed, Choi Ho-geun nodded.
"Alright."
Yoo Hyun-deok then led Choi Ho-geun out of the office to the break room at the end of the hallway.
The break room was equipped with a coffee vending machine and sofas — a spot employees often used to chat while drinking coffee or smoking.
At that time, indoor smoking was still allowed, so this was a normal scene.
When Choi Ho-geun entered the break room, he was surprised to see Executive Director Yoon Ki-hoon and CFO Eom Tae-joon waiting, and he quickly bowed his head.
"You're here. Sorry to call you out like this when you're busy."
"No problem," Choi replied.
After a brief hesitation, Yoon Ki-hoon spoke up.
"Since you're about to leave soon, let's get straight to the point. About the company funds managed by the Asset Management Department… the president said the returns were huge. Is that true?"
Choi Ho-geun, who had been inwardly tense thinking something bad had happened, quickly sensed the situation and relaxed.
He smiled inwardly and replied,
"Yes, that's right."
At that, CFO Eom Tae-joon could no longer contain himself and cut in.
"Are you saying the $90 million entrusted by the Finance Department was grown to $650 million?"
Choi Ho-geun nodded calmly as if confirming the exact figure.
"To be precise, $657,023,359."
"!"
"My goodness."
All three simultaneously gaped, unable to hide their surprise.
"So the president's words were true."
Yoon Ki-hoon exhaled in disbelief, and CFO Eom Tae-joon, flushed with excitement, added,
"Six hundred fifty million dollars! How much is that in Korean won?"
Choi Ho-geun kindly calculated and answered.
"992.1 billion won."
"Nine hundred and ninety-two billion!"
Overwhelmed by the unimaginable amount, the three of them gaped once more.
Suppressing a laugh, Choi Ho-geun felt a quiet sense of pride swelling inside.
Though he never said it outright, Choi and the asset management staff had felt like outsiders since they came over from securities with Seok-won.
And since this was the Seok-won's personally overseen department, they had endured some envy and jealousy from others, which made this news feel like a breath of fresh air.
"How on earth did they grow the money that much?"
CFO Eom Tae-joon asked with a face full of curiosity, almost desperate to know.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid that's something I can't disclose."
"I-I see…"
Choi Ho-geun replied bluntly, and Eom Tae-joon stepped back with a disappointed expression.
"One thing I can say is that even back when we were at the securities firm, under the direction of the president — who was then the head of the department — we made the highest returns ever recorded."
"Ah, that explains it. No wonder the president had everything planned out."
Executive Director Yoon Ki-hoon nodded as if he finally understood.
"So this investment in domestic stocks, was that also done under the president's orders?"
"That's right."
Everyone accepted it without surprise, but CFO Eom Tae-joon asked with a slightly anxious look.
"The stock market hasn't been doing so well lately. Surely we're not taking losses, are we?"
Choi Ho-geun answered confidently with full assurance.
"I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but the president has never once failed in an investment. And this time will be no different."
The three looked a bit taken aback by their unconditional trust in Seok-won, but sincerely hoped, just as Choi said, that this investment would also succeed.
It was an enormous amount—9 hundred billion won, or rather, if you include the funds managed internally by the Asset Management Department, well over 1 trillion won. Just imagining a failure was enough to make their heads spin.
"I understand. There's much to do, so I'll let you get back to it."
Saying this, Executive Director Yoon Ki-hoon suddenly stopped and called out as if remembering something.
"By the way, is there anything you're lacking or need? If it can help with your work, we'll support you however we can."
Choi Ho-geun immediately responded, as if it was perfect timing.
"When we make trades, there are often times we need to send and receive faxes, so it'd be great to have one more machine. Also, additional monitors and telephones would help… Oh, and if possible, it'd be nice to replace the team's chairs with more comfortable ones."
"Alright. I'll tell the general affairs department, so don't worry."
"Thank you."
Choi Ho-geun smiled as he expressed his gratitude.
"Well then, I'll be going now."
"Yeah, take care."
After a polite nod, Choi Ho-geun left the break room. CFO Eom Tae-joon, his face still flushed with excitement, said,
"The president's words were true after all. I feel like I've just won the lottery."
"Tell me about it. I still feel completely dazed," replied Executive Director Yoon Ki-hoon.
Standing nearby, Director Yoo Hyun-deok nodded in agreement.
"Make sure to give the Asset Management Department whatever special attention they need from now on, so they don't face any difficulties."
"Of course. When they're bringing in this much money, how could we deny any request?" CFO Eom said with a bright expression.
"First, we need to take care of the fax machines and equipment that Manager Choi mentioned."
"Yes. I'll report it to Director Lee right away."
"Better make it generous — two or three machines more. And replace all the other supplies with the best and most expensive ones."
Normally, someone might have complained about such preferential treatment, but even Director Yoo nodded without a word, fully agreeing for now.
"Understood."