28- Thieves (1)
#28. Thieves (1)
Arriving at Yu-won Hotel, Ji-hyeok was able to remind himself that Seo-yeon was a member of a chaebol family from the rather luxurious exterior of the hotel.
How many families in Korea are capable of handing over a business that owns a hotel of this size to their youngest daughter after a few pampering?
Upon arriving at the banquet hall where the after-party for the premiere was in progress, Seoyeon dressed in a dazzling dress welcomed Jihyeok.
“came?”
Jihyeok smiled and said.
“I heard that he looks like he’s going to eat after his business, so his expression is quite bright.”
“That’s it, today is a happy day.”
“I think the movie came out okay?”
“It’s not just okay, it’s absolutely amazing. I’ve seen the edited version a few times, but looking at the finished version, it was really good. The reaction from the audience is also explosive.”
“You said you would?”
Seoyeon smiled bashfully and said.
“Still, I just wanted to. Now, I will believe everything even if the real Jihyeok says he is making fermented soybeans with red beans. Shall we start by saying hello to the guests?”
“So be it.”
In the place where Seoyeon guided them, the father and son of Jin-chul, actor Song Min-kyu, and Daniel and Eugene of Vertical Movement were all gathered.
“Hey hey, come on. I didn’t know that our guru’s network was so wide, it’s amazing.”
“How are you, old man? You must have been busy as well, but you came.”
Ji Ji-seop answered.
“It’s the first business started by the person who made me a member of the National Assembly, so I’ll have to find it, hahahaha.”
“thank you.”
At that time, Actor Song interrupted and said.
“Oh, our Cheongdam guru, are you here? Didn’t Congressman Ji also say that he got a badge because of Mr. If it wasn’t for our guru, I would have kicked out the lead role in such a hit movie.”
“hahahaha, did you? Thanks to the guru, I got acquainted with national actors, and I get a lot of help from here and there.”
“is that so? hahahaha.”
Being an actor Song Min-kyu, it might have been a little burdensome to get entangled with a politician, but thanks to the common denominator Ji-hyeok, it seemed that we had built up a good friendship.
On the other hand, Daniel and Yujin were a little confused because they first learned about Jihyeok’s job.
When Jihyeok approached Daniel, he spoke first.
His expression was very serious.
“Mr. Kang.”
“Mr. Connor, how did you like the movie?”
“Yes, it was a very interesting piece. Predicting fate by looking at a person’s face… Oh, Eugene said it was incredibly fun.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed watching it. I think you have something you want to ask, feel free to ask.”
Daniel hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“After attending the party here, it seems that Mr. Kang helped many people with contemplation like the main character in a movie…. When you said that you invest in people, did you mean to use Mr. Kang’s mysterious ability?”
Jihyuk replied with a smile.
“Half right, half wrong.”
“ah······.”
“You can find out the beginnings of investment through observation or fortune telling, but isn’t the next area of analysis and insight?”
Daniel asked cautiously.
“Perhaps, if I learn that contemplation too, would I be able to have the same insight as Mr. Kang… no, a little better than I am now?”
“well. It’s a discipline that can’t be sure just because you learn it, so it won’t be very helpful.”
“But maybe…”
“Mr. Connor, would you believe me if I told you about your contemplation?”
“Ah… you also saw my contemplation. Could you tell me what it was like?”
“There was nothing special about it. I just wanted to be an honest and sincere person. In the first place, contemplation is interpreted based on accumulated data, so there may be a little gap in the case of foreigners.”
“okay.”
“However, you said that the reason you quit Nomura Securities was because of a disagreement with your boss at work, but I don’t think it’s true.”
Looking at Daniel, who seemed slightly surprised, Jihyeok continued talking.
“The Connor I saw lacked the fighting spirit, so he was more suitable for a stable management than a fund manager or investor. As an investor, you can expect stable returns, but it is difficult to expect tremendous success.”
Daniel objected.
“But didn’t Warren Buffett rise to the top of the world with consistent investment performance?”
“Do you really think so?”
“Are you saying no?”
“Not all investments were successful with Warren Buffett. It is there because it has successfully invested in investments that can benefit big enough to ignore all of the stocks that suffered some losses. You know that when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, Berkshire Hathaway suffered a huge loss.”
Daniel nodded in agreement.
“You’ve been on Wall Street, so you know. At the time, all investment banks were in a state of crisis, so no one was willing to put money into an investment bank. At a time when everyone was just watching the government, Warren Buffett bet $5 billion on Goldman Sachs. Can Mr. Connor make such a decision?”
“For me . . . that must be a difficult decision to make. Then why did you choose me as your partner?”
“Warren Buffett isn’t the only one at Berkshire Hathaway. The Berkshire Hathaway would not be what it is today without great managers like Charlie Munger and Greg Able.”
“It was like that.”
Daniel slowly opened his mouth with a rare serious expression.
“Mr. Kang, I think the time has come to bring this up.”
“Please speak.”
“Please take over the vertical movement.”
Jihyeok looked at Daniel and said.
“If I take over, I will have to step down as CEO of Vertical Movement. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Instead, we will make it possible for you to work as a professional executive in a larger company.”
“Can you tell me what kind of company it is?”
“There is a company that urgently needs to improve its financial structure. Although I have not acquired a stake yet, I would like to recommend Daniel as a professional manager as a condition of investment. Of course, after the business normalization work is over, you will return to the vertical movement.”
After a brief thought, Daniel asked for a handshake and said.
“I wish you well in the future.”
The moment Jihyeok held hands and the takeover offer was accepted, Daniel asked.
“Are you planning to leave the CEO of Vertical Movement to Eugene?”
“That’s right. Yujin is the type of person who will be the best investor, with a rare bold personality and a fighting spirit. Connor must have relied heavily on Eugene’s judgment. ”
“Did you find out about that by looking at the coffin?”
Jihyuk smiled and said.
“well. You’ve been watching me for a long time, don’t you know better than me?”
Jihyeok’s words were too accurate to refute.
***
When the party was almost over, Seoyeon led Jihyeok to the Sky Lounge on the top floor of the hotel.
Whether it was closed or there were no customers, Jihyeok and Seoyeon were the only customers in the lounge.
“Would you like a glass of wine?”
Jihyeok nodded lightly, and Seoyeon ordered wine from the staff.
After a while, the staff served a rather old 1990 vintage wine with a decanter.
Jihyeok smiled and said.
“If you say you’re having a hard time, how can you just throw away a bottle of wine worth tens of millions of won?”
Seoyeon let out a small sigh and said.
“It is said that it was prepared to sell to VIPs, but I drink it because I think it will remain as a malicious stock if I do not sell it. I’m more into whiskey than wine. But how did you know this was an expensive wine? It’s not a wine you would normally know with a discerning eye…”
The wine Seoyeon ordered was Romanee Conti Grand Cru 1990.
The base price alone was well over $20,000, and hotels sold wine for at least $30,000 to $40,000.
It was a wine that Jihyeok also drank only once at a year-end party when he was in New York.
From Seoyeon’s point of view, it was a moment when she became more curious about Jihyeok’s past.
“I just drank it once before. By the way, there are not too many guests.”
“Haa… The food and beverage division is more of a problem than the room utilization rate.”
“That is a rather big problem.”
In fact, it is not the room utilization rate that determines the hotel’s sales and profits, but the food and beverage division.
Food and beverage sales account for at least 30% and up to 70% of total sales, but looking at the situation in the Sky Lounge at U1 Hotel, it seemed difficult to exceed 10%.
“I am trying various marketing methods, but sales are not improving more than I thought. Phew… Because when the real movie proceeds come out, you have to make up for it from interest.”
“I bet your father didn’t want you to turn it like that.”
“What can I do? It’s a situation where I can’t shake my hands right away…”
Ji-hyeok was well aware of the condition that Chairman Seong-cheol Jin had to hand over the two subsidiaries to Seo-yeon.
If the company is normalized, the U1 shopping mall will be handed over.
That was to test whether Seoyeon had the qualifications as a manager, but there was a high probability that it would not be the correct answer to mobilize her own funds to improve the situation.
“Is the cosmetic side also in a bad financial situation?”
Seoyeon shook her head and said.
“I closed a few road shops and avoided the loss situation, but sales fell that much. In the meantime, it’s not easy to increase the store again because I’ve been spending too much money on marketing expenses. furthermore······.”
Seoyeon hesitated for a moment.
“What is it?”
“Secretary Goh looked at the cash flow in the cosmetic sector, and it seems that embezzlement is systematically taking place within the company.”
“Hmm…”
“So that’s why…”
Seoyeon poured her wine and twisted her body.
It was the look I usually see when I have something to ask for.
“Can I take a look at this?”
What Seoyeon brought out was the profile of an employee at the manager level or higher at Yu-One Cosmetics and Yu-One DF.
From noble mtl dot com.
Photos that appeared to have been taken relatively recently, date of birth, and most of them even the time of birth were detailed.
Jihyeok smiled and said.
“How much do you think the travel expenses will be if these people take care of all the coronations?”
“Exit… business trip fee? Don’t do that, help me just once. I mean, I really have no money.”
“It’s a joke. I was treated to expensive wine like this without living, and I have to help with that much.”
Seoyeon smiled broadly and made a fuss.
“really? Thank you, Jihyeok. So who did the embezzlement?”
“There is nothing difficult about teaching. By the way, if we catch the embezzlement, will the company go back to normal?”
“That’s not it, but…”
“Don’t go round and round, say what you really want to say. As for the employee who embezzled funds, can’t you catch him soon if Secretary Go takes off his feet? It will take some time.”
Seoyeon’s face was slightly reddened.
I was even more hesitant because I wondered if I was relying too much on this man, let alone not being able to speak easily to ask a favor that I had never done since I was born as the daughter of a conglomerate family.
While Seoyeon was contemplating, the man was smiling fatally as if he had read her mind.
Seoyeon seemed to say Jihyeok’s smile.
‘It’s okay, tell me, I’ll solve it.’
Seoyeon said as she closed her eyes.
“Please lend me that money.”
“…”
When there was no answer from Jihyeok, Seoyeon opened one eye and looked in front of her.
“huh? What’s this?”
“This is the condition for issuing convertible bonds that I want.”
“yes? Did you prepare something like this?”
“I’ve been preparing since Seoyeon said that she had been gifted the two companies.”
“Ha… did you wait until I hung on?”
“You have to look hard to know if money is valuable. And, if you read it, you’ll see that professional executives should be seated as people I recommend. He is an international expert in financial management, so he should be qualified.”
Seoyeon quickly read the document and said.
“Is that enough?”
“Ah, please make me a temporary seat at the cosmetics side.”
“Jihyeok’s place? why?”
“You want me to catch the thief?”
“Oops, are there any people on this list who could commit embezzlement?”
Jihyuk said with a sly smile.
“Would you like to have it? All of them are thieves. Where the hell did you gather all these thieves and sit them down?”