Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 166

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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166. Would you like to press the button yourself?

June 29, 1995.
In the heart of Seoul, scorching summer sunlight beat down mercilessly on the urban landscape.
Barricades surrounded the Sampoong Department Store, which had remained an eyesore since operations ceased due to structural collapse concerns, while police officers stood vigilant, controlling access to the area.
Today was the scheduled day for the controlled demolition of the Sampoong Department Store—once synonymous with luxury retail.
In preparation for any unforeseen accidents, nearby residents had been evacuated to safe locations, and traffic in the surrounding area was restricted.
Though Seoul City and the police had requested that people avoid the area, the controlled demolition—a rare sight in Korea—and the iconic status of the Sampoong Department Store as a symbol of Gangnam drew crowds of onlookers who swarmed around the demolition site like clouds, eager to witness its final moments.

Beep beep!

“Hey there! It’s dangerous. Please step outside the control line!”
“Geez, you’re being awfully strict. There’s a department store across the street—this distance should be fine.”

An elderly man who appeared to have brought his grandson to watch waved dismissively while the police officer, whistle in mouth, shouted in protest.

“Still, you can’t stay here. Please step back!”
“Ugh, you’re as inflexible as they come.”

The elderly man in the bowler hat grumbled and reluctantly pulled his grandson’s hand back behind the yellow control line.
As spectators gathered from all directions, street vendors appeared as if by magic, hawking food and merchandise.

“Cola~ Sprite available!”
“Cool fans for sale. Fans!”

As the vendors called out loudly to attract customers, a young elementary school boy standing among the crowd spotted a cotton candy cart and tugged at his mother’s hand.

“Mom, buy me cotton candy!”
“Eating too much sugar will rot your teeth.”
“But I want cotton candy anyway. Buy it for me now!”

As the child continued whining, his mother relented and walked over to the cotton candy cart, pulling out her wallet.

“I wonder who he gets this stubbornness from. Mister, how much is one cotton candy?”
“Oh, thank you so much. Just 500 won, please.”
“Here you go.”

The vendor accepted the coin, tucked it into his apron, and asked the child with an excited expression, “Which flavor would you like? Go ahead and choose.”

“Which one should I make for you? Pick one.”

The cotton candy came in a variety of colors—pink, blue, white, and more.
The child examined the fluffy confections, imagining how soft they would feel to the touch, then extended a finger and pointed decisively.

“The white one, please!”
“You got it.”

The vendor quickly prepared the cotton candy and handed it over, and the child accepted it with delighted laughter.
Amid the throng of bustling crowds, Seok-won approached the cordoned-off area, his dark Raybans shielding his eyes and his navy suit immaculate.

“Stop, stop!”

A young auxiliary police officer standing before the line raised the baton in his hand to block the way and spoke.

“You cannot proceed any further.”

Seok-won halted and opened his mouth to speak.

“I’m authorized personnel.”
“Pardon?”

The auxiliary officer regarded him with suspicion, scanning him from head to toe before speaking.

“May I see your identification?”

As Seok-won reached into his inner jacket pocket to retrieve his employee badge, someone shouted urgently from behind the officer.

“Director, you’ve arrived!”

Looking up, I saw Choi Jang-yeol, Executive Director of Midopa Department Store, hurrying over with one of his staff members.

“I apologize—I should have come out to greet you earlier.”

Executive Director Choi Jang-yeol bowed his head with an expression of dismay.

“It’s fine. You must be busy enough as it is, and I feel bad for troubling you by coming here.”
“Not at all.”

Choi Jang-yeol, who was sweating profusely beneath his composed exterior, quickly waved his hand while studying Seok-won’s expression.

“We only have twenty minutes left before the scheduled demolition, so let’s head inside.”
“Of course.”

Seok-won, offering a brief reply, stepped decisively past the control line.
The auxiliary police officer, noticing how Choi Jang-yeol—who oversaw the entire site—had come out personally to greet him with such deference, promptly opened the yellow barrier tape.
Watching Seok-won’s retreating figure as he headed toward the large control tent erected beyond, the officer muttered to himself.

“He doesn’t look that old, but the way that executive was fawning over him… he must be pretty high up in the company. Could he be a chaebol heir?”

The auxiliary police officer, regarding the sight with curiosity, soon spotted a spectator attempting to slip past the control line and quickly blew his whistle.

“Sir! I told you, you can’t go in there!”
“Come on, what’s wrong with watching a little?”
“You can’t. Really!”

As the surrounding area buzzed with noise, Choi Jang-yeol, walking alongside Seok-won, received a hard hat from a nearby employee and offered it.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, but you’ll need to wear this for safety.”
“Of course.”

Seok-won accepted the hard hat without hesitation and placed it on his head.
Witnessing this, Choi Jang-yeol felt somewhat reassured internally.
Though he had heard various rumors about Seok-won through the grapevine, he had never dealt with him directly and thus didn’t know his temperament well. But contrary to his concerns, he sensed that Seok-won possessed an unpretentious and straightforward character.
Of course, since he was a direct heir to the owner who could dismiss anyone with a single word at any moment, Choi Jang-yeol remained cautious and treated him with careful respect nonetheless.

‘He’s not just a pleasant simpleton—he’s a capable man who multiplied the securities company’s own operational profits several times over in one go. This type of personality is far more dangerous.’

Even an ordinary employee would have attracted significant attention for such performance, but when the person in question was Park Tae-hong’s second son, there was no need to elaborate further.

‘Since Chairman Park Tae-hong settled the succession structure early with his eldest son, it ended with mere interest. Otherwise, quite a few high-ranking executives would have lined up to curry favor with the second son.’

To that extent, the abilities and achievements Seok-won had demonstrated were remarkable.
As they entered the control center, which had been set up under a large tent, Min Pil-gi, the company president, who had been discussing matters with fire department officials while wearing a yellow hard hat, spotted him first and approached to greet him.

“Welcome.”

Seok-won shook hands lightly and spoke with a smile on his face.

“I hope I haven’t caused you any trouble.”
“Ha ha, how could that be?”

Min Pil-gi burst into hearty laughter and treated Seok-won with familiarity.
Although the succession structure of the Park Group had solidified around Park Jin-hyung, the eldest son, it didn’t mean Seok-won would be cast out empty-handed.
Rather, the prevailing expectation was that if he demonstrated his abilities clearly in the securities sector, he would receive several subsidiaries including Daehung Securities and the group would undergo affiliate separation.
When that happened, there would be a significant reshuffle among high-ranking executives, so Min Pil-gi treated him with even greater warmth to cultivate connections in advance.
Under Min Pil-gi’s guidance, after exchanging brief greetings with police and fire department officials inside the command center, Seok-won removed his sunglasses with one hand and gazed up at the Sampoong Department Store building standing prominently before him.
Until just recently, befitting its status as a Gangnam landmark and the most frequented destination, the department store building—constructed by connecting a passage between two massive concrete structures—exuded a grand and imposing presence.
On the expansive wall, a large summer sale banner hung unchanged, unable to be removed due to the hastily issued business suspension and closure orders.

‘That building collapsed and buried people beneath it.’

Seok-won felt a sense of unreality and furrowed his brow.
As he contemplated how the source of this catastrophic disaster—which had inflicted indelible sorrow and profound trauma upon the entire nation—would vanish forever after this moment, a deep sense of relief washed over him.
And simultaneously, he silently prayed that the demolition would proceed without any accidents.
While gazing at the department store building with such conflicted emotions, Min Pil-gi spoke from beside him.

“It’s truly remarkable how such a massive building will be demolished in the blink of an eye.”
“Indeed. They’re using TNT for the explosion, correct?”

Seok-won replied, clearing his mind of distractions.

“Yes. Over a thousand holes were drilled throughout the entire building, and 230 kilograms of TNT was installed. It’s such a difficult, high-precision operation that the explosive installation alone took a full three days.”
“Even the slightest mistake could lead to a major accident, so meticulous work is unavoidable.”
“That’s absolutely correct.”
“With 230 kilograms of TNT detonating at once, the explosive force must be tremendous. You must have conducted thorough pre-demolition simulations to ensure the building doesn’t collapse in an unexpected direction?”

Min Pil-gi answered Seok-won’s question with confidence.

“Of course. We paid a considerable sum to bring in an American company to handle the demolition directly, so you can rest assured.”

Now that he mentioned it, among the people wearing hard hats moving about the site, a fair number of foreigners were noticeable.

“Still, to prepare for any unforeseen accidents, we evacuated all residents within a 500-meter radius. We’ve taken safety measures to board up all windows to prevent glass from shattering due to the shock wave. And we have ten ambulances standing by.”

Following Min Pil-gi’s gesture as he raised one arm, I could see ten ambulances marked with red crosses lined up neatly along one side of the controlled road.
Beside the ambulances, doctors and nurses in white coats had gathered closely together, equally eager to witness the demolition spectacle.
When I observed the meticulous safety measures that had been implemented—likely due to the recent string of major disasters—I found myself nodding in silent approval, but then Choi Jang-yeol interjected smoothly.

“The scheduled detonation time has arrived.”

At that, Min Pil-gi rolled up his sleeve to check the watch on his wrist before speaking.

“Time has come already.”

Min Pil-gi positioned himself directly beside me and pointed toward the interior of the tent.

“We’ve prepared a spot inside for you. Shall we head over there?”

As we walked shoulder to shoulder toward the interior of the tent, Min Pil-gi pointed to a middle-aged Western man standing with his arms crossed.

“This is Weigel, who’s overseeing the demolition.”

He was a man with broad shoulders and sun-darkened skin that conveyed a rugged impression.
Clearly a veteran who had spent years in the field, I extended my hand first and greeted him.

“I’m looking forward to an impressive show.”

Weigel, wearing a hard hat and dressed in jeans and a black shirt, flashed a confident grin.

“You’ll witness a spectacular scene shortly.”

His assured demeanor exuded remarkable confidence in the operation’s success.
With the detonation time drawing near, there was no time for lengthy conversation, so I ended our brief exchange and sat down beside Min Pil-gi on the prepared folding chairs.
Glancing at my watch, it showed five minutes before noon.
Moments later, a loud siren wailed as a warning announcement blared through the speakers.

Wee-wee-wee-wee-weee!
[In five minutes, the building will be detonated. All individuals in the vicinity of the department store are instructed to evacuate immediately to safe zones. We repeat. The controlled demolition will commence shortly…]

As the siren and warning announcement repeated, the noisy atmosphere created by the spectators suddenly fell silent, and tension permeated the air.
The police officers maintaining the perimeter turned their bodies and gazed at the department store building, which now emanated an ominous atmosphere.

[All workers confirmed to have withdrawn from the site.]
“Roger.”

After confirming the status with the on-site foreman via radio, Weigel disengaged the safety mechanism connected to the detonator and was about to press the switch when he suddenly glanced at Seok-won sitting beside him.
As their eyes met when Seok-won turned his gaze, Weigel gestured with his chin toward the detonation switch mounted on the makeshift table and spoke.

“Would you like to press it yourself?”
“Is that possible?”
“Ha ha! Of course. It’ll be an unforgettable and absolutely thrilling experience.”

Without hesitation, Seok-won nodded, and Weigel grinned widely as he spoke.

“Just press this switch here with all your strength.”

Seok-won briefly looked up at the Sampoong Department Store building visible ahead, then took a deep breath and exhaled before firmly pressing the switch with his thumb.
After a brief moment of silence, a brilliant flash and a deafening explosion shook the heavens and earth.

Boom boom boom! Crash!

As the TNT charges, meticulously calculated and installed throughout the building, detonated in unison, the five-story Sampoong Department Store structure collapsed in less than ten seconds, engulfed in a massive cloud of dust as if swept away by raging waves.
The blast wave filled the surrounding area with thick smoke and dust.
The spectators who had come to witness the event stood transfixed, their eyes wide with awe at the majestic sight.
Contrary to their concerns, the demolition succeeded without causing significant damage to the surrounding area, with only the department store building crumbling in place, and everyone erupted in cheers and applause, celebrating the successful completion.

“Wow, that was really spectacular!”
“Did you hear that sound earlier? That boom boom boom!!”
“They brought down such a massive building all at once—incredible!”

Inside the tent where the officials had gathered, applause and exclamations burst forth.

“Good!”

Weigel flashed a thumbs-up with a playful wink, and Seok-won smiled and nodded in return.
As he watched the fire trucks that had been standing by rapidly spraying water to settle the dust blanketing the area, Seok-won finally felt the heavy stone that had been weighing on his heart completely lift away, leaving him with a profound sense of relief.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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