Choi Ho-geun entered the office with a clipboard in hand, glancing around at his team.
"Have you finished the settlement?"
At the desk cluttered with several monitors, Yoo Seok-hyun, sleeves of his white shirt rolled up, lifted his head and replied,
"It's almost done."
"Me too," another voice chimed in.
The responses were steady, but something still felt off.
Tilting his head, Choi Ho-geun scanned the office and soon noticed one desk sitting empty. His brows furrowed.
"Where on earth did Manager Jung run off to, leaving his seat unattended?"
As Hong Jae-hee rose from his chair and handed the finalized settlement documents to Noh Hee-won, he replied,
"He got a call from the chairman's office a little while ago and went upstairs."
"The chairman called for him?"
"Seems like it."
Almost as if on cue, Jung Hwan-yeop strolled in, dressed in a navy suit.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear. They weren't lying when they said that old saying is always true."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Under their stares, Jung Hwan-yeop looked blank, utterly clueless.
"Wait—don't tell me you were badmouthing me while I was gone."
"How'd you guess? You're sharper than I thought."
"What? For real? That's harsh!"
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Choi Ho-geun crossed his arms.
"Anyway, what did the chairman call you up for?"
"Oh, that."
Grinning sheepishly, Jung Hwan-yeop reached into his inner pocket and proudly pulled out a white envelope.
"He suddenly called me in and handed me wedding gift money. Hehehe."
"What?"
Choi Ho-geun's eyes widened in shock, his jaw dropping.
"Wait—don't tell me you actually handed the chairman a wedding invitation?"
"Come on. No matter what, I wouldn't go that far."
"You would, and you know it."
Choi glared at him with eyes full of suspicion.
"Well… true enough."
"Mm. I guess I can't really deny it."
As usual, Yoo Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hee nodded in perfect sync, and even Noh Hee-won—who Choi had counted on—gave an awkward smile, silently confirming the doubt.
"This is just too much. Way too much."
Looking wounded, Jung Hwan-yeop turned back to Choi with a pouty expression.
"Don't you think you're being a little unfair with the lack of trust in me?"
"There was never any trust to begin with."
Choi brushed him off with an indifferent tone, then urged him to get to the point.
"So how did the chairman even find out you're getting married?"
"Oh, come on. Who do you think my bride is?"
"Who else? Ms. Bella… Oh right, she used to be the chairman's private jet stewardess."
At that, Choi finally looked as though he understood.
"She said she quit to prepare for the wedding, and apparently the chairman gave her a gift as well. Looks like he decided to give me one, too."
"Ahem. So that's how it was."
It was something he could've figured out with just a bit of thought, but now Choi felt embarrassed for having made such a fuss. He averted his eyes.
Meanwhile, Hong Jae-hee leaned in, curiosity shining on his face.
"Have you checked how much is inside yet?"
"No. But judging by how thin the envelope is… it looks like a cashier's check. Heh."
Grinning slyly, Jung Hwan-yeop's eyes gleamed, and beside him, Hong Jae-hee's sparkled with excitement.
"Come on, open it!"
"Heh, that curious, are you?"
"Yes!"
Yoo Seok-hyun and Noh Hee-won, just as curious, had sidled up close without realizing it.
"Well, I guess there's no helping it then."
Feigning reluctance, Jung Hwan-yeop tore open the envelope and pulled out what was inside.
"As expected—a cashier's check. Let's see here…"
With anticipation written all over his face, he checked the amount. The next instant, his eyes went wide, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
"Wha—!"
"What is it? How much is it?"
Hong Jae-hee quickly craned his neck for a look, then shrieked.
"Oh my god!"
"What? What is it?"
Finally unable to contain his curiosity, Choi Ho-geun leaned in, asking with a frown.
"What, is it like ten million won or something? Why are you all looking so shocked?"
"Gasp! Manager—how did you know?"
"…What?"
"It is ten million won!"
Jung Hwan-yeop waved the check in his hand as he shouted.
It had been nothing more than a random guess, but somehow Choi had nailed it. His own eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"You're telling me… it really says ten million won?!"
Back then, it was standard for acquaintances or coworkers to give around 30,000 won, while close friends or relatives might put in 50,000. Even considering who it came from, Jung had only imagined maybe a million at most on a check. The idea of ten times that amount never even crossed his mind.
"Unbelievable!"
"I've never seen a wedding gift that generous before."
"Ten million won in a single envelope… who would've thought?"
The team members each chimed in with amazement, their congratulations tumbling out as if it were their own good fortune.
Overwhelmed with joy at the unexpected windfall, Jung Hwan-yeop couldn't hide his grin.
"Hahaha! The chairman really doesn't hold back, does he?"
His smile stretched so wide it looked like it might just reach the heavens.
"But didn't Bella say she got a gift from the chairman too?"
"Yeah, she did. But come on—what kind of man goes asking how much his fiancée got in her envelope? That'd be petty."
"True enough."
Hong Jae-hee let out a wistful sigh, her voice tinged with envy.
"Bella must've received the same gift… You're really lucky."
"If you're that jealous, Deputy Hong, why don't you just go ahead and marry Deputy Yoo already?"
Jung Hwan-yeop teased as he slipped the check back into its envelope.
"Oh, come on, Manager!"
"Hahaha."
Her cheeks flushed bright red, but beside her, Yoo Seok-hyun was grinning, clearly pleased by the suggestion. She never said no outright—only embarrassed—so it wouldn't be surprising if more good news came from the two of them before long.
"Alright, that's enough now!"
Choi Ho-geun clapped his hands lightly, breaking up the playful mood.
"Let's cut the chatter and wrap up today's settlement first. Don't you all want to get off work quickly?"
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
The lively atmosphere quickly settled down as the team members returned to their desks.
Just as Choi was about to sit, a thought struck him. He turned toward Jung Hwan-yeop.
"You've cleared all the positions we held in TG Semiconductor, right?"
"Yes. I sold off the remaining shares today."
Jung answered as he slipped off his jacket and draped it over his chair.
Then Yoo Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hee chimed in from their own desks.
"I sold all the TG affiliate stocks we'd bought up."
"And I liquidated every last share of Hyunwoo Electronics."
Choi gave a small nod where he sat.
"So all the bets we placed this round have been cleared. Good. Nice work, everyone."
Leaning back in his chair with a squeak, Jung Hwan-yeop clicked his tongue.
"Judging by how the market kept climbing right until the close, we could've squeezed a little more profit out of it. Feels like we sold too early—kind of a shame."
"I feel the same way," Yoo agreed.
Hong Jae-hee also voiced her lingering regrets.
Unlike his team members, however, Choi Ho-geun showed no sign of disappointment.
"Our chairman isn't an ordinary man. He told us to pull out here because he's already thought it through. And sure, the market's still strong, but you could tell the semiconductor big deal was starting to lose steam."
It was a fair point, and Jung Hwan-yeop nodded in agreement.
"True. At first everyone was making a fuss as if the deal would go through immediately, but with both groups dragging out negotiations over the sale price, there's been talk it might fall apart entirely."
"Exactly. In this business, if you get greedy and try to squeeze every last bit, you end up losing everything you've already earned. The way to survive is to lock in your profits at the right time."
"Well… that's true."
Jung shrugged in reluctant agreement.
"And with a return of over fifty percent, it's hardly like we came away with crumbs."
"Right. Because we secured our positions just before the semiconductor deal was announced, we cleaned up again this time," Deputy Yoo Seok-hyun added brightly.
"Thanks to this, we'll easily surpass this month's target," Hong Jae-hee chimed in.
Whenever they exceeded their targets, the surplus turned into bonuses, so their faces lit up with excitement.
"So, we made a killing and cleared all our positions. Does this mean we're going out for a team dinner tonight?"
Jung Hwan-yeop raised a hand to his lips and tilted it like he was drinking.
The other team members immediately looked at their manager with hopeful eyes, and Choi Ho-geun finally gave a wry smile, raising both hands in mock surrender.
"Fine, fine. Just wrap up the settlement first."
"Yesss!"
"Dinner party!"
"Meat! Meat!"
Jung Hwan-yeop and the rest of the team erupted into cheers.
***
"You may come in."
At Chief Na Sung-mi's words, Executive Director Yoon Ki-hoon, a slender man with gold-rimmed glasses, straightened his suit once more before stepping forward and passing through the wide-open door.
Entering the chairman's office, Yoon walked up to the spacious desk where Seok-won sat and gave a respectful bow.
"A short while ago, the Financial Supervisory Commission released its position on the sale of Minguk Life Insurance."
Seok-won gave a small nod, leaning back in his chair.
"What did they say?"
"They've announced that negotiations will first be held with the U.S.-based Metropolitan Life, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Chairman Shim In-yeol before his arrest last year. The condition is that the government will provide no support. If those talks fail, they'll proceed with an open sale to both domestic and foreign investors."
Seok-won responded with a disinterested expression.
"Metropolitan Life is preparing for a U.S. stock market listing. There's no way they'd enter into a deal that could drag down their IPO price."
"I believe the same, sir."
"If I recall correctly, Metropolitan Life's exclusive negotiation rights run until April, right?"
"That's correct."
"Then the government surely knows that once the exclusivity expires, they'll have to move straight into a competitive bidding process."
"Most likely, yes."
Seok-won laced his fingers together and replied casually.
"Then make sure we're ready to bid as soon as it opens."
"Understood."
Yoon Ki-hoon lingered a moment, as if something else was on his mind, before speaking again cautiously.
"And there's one more matter I should report."
"Go ahead."
"It's about Gold Bank, the company we invested in under your direction."
"Has something gone wrong with Gold Bank?"
"No, not at all."
Yoon quickly waved his hand, then glanced carefully at Seok-won before continuing.
"Gold Bank's share price rose again today, surpassing 4,500 won per share."
"That's good news."
Seok-won replied with little interest, as though he'd already known.
But Yoon couldn't hide the excitement in his voice as he went on.
"It listed on KOSDAQ just last October at 500 won per share, and in less than five months it has skyrocketed by a staggering 800%."
Despite the staggering surge, Seok-won's lukewarm reaction only made Executive Director Yoon Ki-hoon grow more animated.
"Thanks to the rally, the valuation of our Gold Bank holdings has jumped from 1 billion won to 13.5 billion won."
Bluehole Venture Capital had invested 1 billion won early on, securing 200,000 shares of Gold Bank at 5,000 won per share.
Later, during preparations for its KOSDAQ listing, the company issued a bonus stock grant, which boosted their holdings to 3 million shares. At the same time, the adjusted per-share valuation fell to just 333 won.
"Riding the wave of the internet boom, Gold Bank's business model is attracting huge attention. But isn't it clear this kind of meteoric rise in such a short time is overheated? We've already made more than enough profit—wouldn't it be wise to sell off at least a portion of our stake now?"
So that was why he had suddenly brought up Gold Bank—he was worried the share price might crash as abruptly as it had risen.
But while Yoon fidgeted nervously, Seok-won remained relaxed.
"It's climbed quite a bit, but it hasn't even reached the waist yet, let alone the head. Just leave it as it is."
Yoon's eyes widened in shock.
"You really think the stock will climb further after an 800% surge?"
"That's right. It still has a long way to go before it peaks."
Seok-won answered with confidence, while Yoon stared at him in disbelief.
"The stock will probably go sideways for a while as people cash out, but once the profit-taking is absorbed, it'll leap up again."
It sounded far too optimistic, but since Seok-won was hailed as a financial prodigy—one of Wall Street's titans—Yoon didn't dare argue.
"Then… how high do you think it will go?"
Yoon asked hesitantly. Seok-won curved his lips into a sly smile.
"If my prediction's right, it'll easily break twenty thousand won a share."
"Tw—twenty thousand won? Are you serious?"
"Of course. Do you really think I invested just to make pocket change?"
Realizing he meant every word, Yoon swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.