Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 218

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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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218. Let’s put that on hold for now.

Buzz. Buzz.
Debra stirred at the insistent vibration of her phone and opened her eyes, startled by the unfamiliar ceiling. She jerked her upper body upright.
As she hastily surveyed the room, she realized this was a penthouse bedroom—far more spacious and lavish than her own modest apartment with its single living room attached to a bedroom.
And right beside her lay Seok-won, his muscular, toned torso exposed as he slept.

“!”

Debra instinctively clapped her hand over her mouth, her expression one of pure shock.

‘What on earth happened last night!’

On the floor lay the expensive dress and shoes she’d worn to the charity gala yesterday, discarded haphazardly.

“Good heavens.”

Debra belatedly realized she was naked and quickly pulled the sheet up to cover her chest.
The moment she spotted her stockings draped over the chair, memories from last night flashed through her mind like scenes from a film reel.

‘It’s a shame to spend Christmas this way. Would you like another drink?’

That’s what Debra had said first as they left the charity gala.
She also remembered being intoxicated by champagne, feeling strangely reluctant to part ways.

‘Sure.’

Debra had been surprised when Seok-won actually nodded in agreement. She’d laughed and taken his hand.
The two of them had then moved to a club downtown, where they lost themselves among the crowds on the dance floor, dancing energetically and drinking while the DJ spun heavy-beat music.
They’d enjoyed themselves until dawn, then returned to the penthouse, where they shared idle conversation and drank expensive whiskey worth thousands of dollars per bottle as casually as beer.

‘Wow, is this really that expensive? I can’t even tell the difference!’

Debra had laughed, sprawled languidly on the sofa, when the slow jazz flowing from the audio system Seok-won had put on made her suddenly jump up and exclaim.

‘Let’s dance.’
‘All of a sudden?’
‘It’s night now, we’ve had drinks… wouldn’t dancing be perfect for an atmosphere like this?’

Seok-won chuckled softly, and without refusing, he rose and took her hand, drawing her body close to his.
The sweet melody of jazz tickled her ears, and she felt the firm muscles beneath his clothes from their proximity, along with his warm body heat.
The moment she became aware of Seok-won’s hand gripping her waist, her heart began racing uncontrollably.
Just then, Seok-won, who had been swaying skillfully to the rhythm, suddenly stopped moving.

‘Why?’

The instant Debra lifted her head with a puzzled expression, her eyes met Seok-won’s as he gazed down at her intently.

‘Oh.’

He’s going to kiss me.
As Seok-won drew closer, cradling her head with one hand, Debra closed her eyes without resistance.
It didn’t take long before the gentle kiss transformed into something hot and passionate.
The two of them, consumed by desire as if sparks were flying, undressed each other and made their way to the bedroom.
And there they remained in bed until dawn….

“I must be insane!”

Debra buried her face in the pillow, tousling her hair frantically.
Part of her wanted to roll around and scream, but Seok-won was right beside her, so she couldn’t.
As she suffered alone in her anguish, Seok-won stirred and awoke from sleep.

“You’re awake.”

Seok-won sat up, his voice still slightly hoarse from sleep.

“…Yes.”

Debra felt her face flush intensely and lowered her gaze.
She couldn’t bring herself to meet Seok-won’s eyes directly.
Even so, as she stole a sidelong glance at Seok-won’s broad, sculpted chest without a trace of excess flesh, she murmured to herself.

‘He’s not even an athlete, so why does he have such a perfect body? And how can he look so handsome right after waking up?’

Even the leisurely way he lifted his hand to brush back the hair falling across his forehead looked impossibly attractive.

“Debra. It looks like you’ve been getting calls this whole time. You don’t need to check them.”
“What?”

When Seok-won gestured with his chin, she turned her head and noticed her clutch purse on the nightstand vibrating continuously. She quickly reached for it.
Debra, with the bed sheet pulled up to her chest, checked the pager inside her bag and saw the Broadcasting Station number displayed on the screen.

“I need to make a quick call.”

Debra picked up the telephone receiver from the nightstand with a flustered expression.

“Go ahead.”

Seok-won rose leisurely from the bed without bothering to cover his muscular, sun-exposed body as he headed toward the shower.
Debra’s gaze naturally traced downward along his shoulders, back, and waist, and as she recalled what had happened last night, her face flushed crimson.

[Hello?]

Debra, who had been fanning herself with her hand to cool down, snapped back to attention at the familiar voice of Yeon and answered.

“It’s me.”
[Debra! Where are you right now?]

At the sound of her angry voice, Debra frowned and replied.

“Why?”
[We’re not editing yesterday’s interview! I got approval from the director, and we need to finish everything today to air it during prime news time!]

Realizing her mistake, she hastily checked the time and saw it was already past 1 PM.

“I’m heading there right now.”
[Hurry up!]

Debra hung up the phone and jumped to her feet, staring at the mirror on the wall.
Her face was a mess with smudged makeup everywhere, and her hair was sticking up in all directions.
The thought that Seok-won had seen her like this made her so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into a mouse hole.

“Ugh.”

Debra, tugging at her hair with one hand, realized she didn’t have time for this and hastily pulled on her undergarments.
Then, as she picked up the dress lying on the floor, a sigh escaped her lips.

“How am I supposed to go to the Broadcasting Station wearing this?”

To anyone’s eyes, she’d be broadcasting to the entire company that she’d spent the night away.
And how could she possibly show up to work in such an extravagant dress?
Just then, Seok-won emerged from the bathroom, rubbing his wet hair with a towel, and asked.

“Are you heading out?”
“Ah. Yes. I need to get to the office urgently.”

Debra replied, her discomfort evident.
Standing half-naked before each other, embarrassment flooded through her.

“I’ve set your original clothes aside over there.”

Seok-won raised one hand, gesturing toward the table by the window.
Debra turned her head in surprise and saw her clothes, already laundered and neatly folded, arranged alongside her shoulder bag.
Her face brightened with relief as she quickly changed into them, then rushed to the bathroom where she hastily splashed water on her hair, combed it through, and applied a quick touch-up of makeup.
Once she’d finished this emergency repair, Seok-won had already dressed himself.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll head out first.”
“Of course.”

Debra slung her shoulder bag over her shoulder and began to move, then paused briefly.

“About… last night.”

She turned to look at him, and Seok-won met her gaze silently.
Debra deliberately adopted a clipped tone and lifted her chin slightly.

“I think I made a mistake getting caught up in the moment yesterday. So let’s not burden each other with it—let’s just forget it happened.”

Seok-won regarded her quietly for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“If that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“…Yes. Then.”

Debra resumed her steps, opened the door, and exited the bedroom.
Standing in the elevator descending from the Penthouse to the lobby, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirrored wall and exhaled a deep sigh.

“Sigh….”

Though she had been the first to suggest they forget about last night, a wave of melancholy and regret washed over her nonetheless.
What could she even call this feeling?

“Enough. It was just one night’s sleep, that’s all. Besides, I need to work—work!”

Debra buried her complicated emotions and deliberately erased the events of last night from her mind.

* * *

Rewinding time to that morning.
Though the Christmas holiday had ended, Rodney, who had taken leave through the end of the year, emerged into the living room dressed casually in cotton pants, a shirt, and a knit vest layered over it.
His plan was to rest a bit in the morning, then board a chartered business jet in the afternoon to spend the year’s end with his family in the Bahamas, the Caribbean’s premier resort destination.

“Good morning, sir.”

A young Latin American maid in uniform greeted him upon his appearance.

“Good morning. Would you mind brewing me a cup of coffee?”
“Of course.”

Rodney walked toward the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows where warm sunlight streamed in, settling onto the bright living room sofa.
He habitually reached for the Wall Street Journal resting on the table.
Given that the federal government shutdown was the most pressing issue recently, related articles dominated the front page in bold headlines.

[Federal Government Shutdown Now in Its 11th Day!
Since the 15th, the federal government has been operating under a partial shutdown, suspending certain operations and functions. We have now entered the 11th day of this impasse.
Approximately 800,000 federal employees remain on temporary furlough at home, and while countless citizens continue to suffer inconvenience, the political establishment remains locked in a war of words without producing any solutions.
Republican Speaker Sabitz maintains his position that he cannot cooperate on budget passage unless the White House agrees to spending cuts and tax reductions.
In response, President Davidson argues that reducing spending on social welfare programs inflicts suffering upon the people, demanding that Congress immediately pass budget amendments and increase the national debt ceiling.
In the midst of all this….]

Contrary to expectations that the budget would be resolved before year’s end, the political landscape remained deadlocked, prompting Rodney to click his tongue briefly.

“Tsk. Both sides should have backed down by now, yet they’re dragging this fight out far too long.”

Although several more days remained, if I couldn’t orchestrate a dramatic compromise today or tomorrow, it would be impossible to process the budget bill within the year on a timeline basis.
However, seeing that neither the White House nor the Republican Party showed any sign of yielding, the possibility seemed rather low.

“This might turn out just as Mr. Park predicted—the shutdown could drag on longer than expected.”

Rodney leaned back against the sofa’s backrest, his arms crossed as his expression grew heavy with contemplation.
An employee brought fragrant coffee and set it on the table before departing, but lost in deep thought, I didn’t even touch the cup as I repeatedly pondered how the stock market would unfold in the days ahead.
Then, having reached some decision, I turned my body and picked up the telephone installed on the side table next to the sofa, pressing the dial button.

[Hello.]

When Ian, the chief manager of Quantum Fund, answered, Rodney spoke with a grave voice.

“It’s me.”
[You must be on vacation. What’s the matter?]
“I called because there’s something urgent I need to tell you.”
[What is it?]

Rodney adjusted his grip on the receiver with a serious expression.

“That instruction I gave you about liquidating the S&P 500 futures short position.”
[Yes.]
“Put it on hold for now.”

Ian’s voice carried a note of bewilderment at the sudden directive.

[Why the sudden change?]

Rodney recalled Seok-won’s expression from yesterday’s charity gala, when he had spoken with such certainty that the stock market would plummet.

“Something’s been nagging at me.”
[Nagging at you?]
“I’ll explain the details later, but for now, just know to suspend the liquidation.”
[Understood. I’ll hold off for now.]
“The market will open soon, so let’s end this call.”

After setting down the receiver, I finally picked up the teacup and took a sip of the now-appropriately cooled coffee, muttering to myself.

“The odds seemed low, yet he was so confident about it—there must be something to it.”

His sharp instincts persistently whispered that I would deeply regret liquidating my position now.

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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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