Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 245

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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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245. If we can create it, it will be something that changes the world.

9 a.m.
I entered my office with Han Ji-sung, my executive secretary.
Since my subordinates had no choice but to arrive earlier whenever I, as president, came in early, I deliberately made a point of arriving at the company right on time.

“Welcome, President.”

Na Seong-mi and another Female Secretary, who had been sitting side by side at their desks, quickly rose to their feet and bowed with their hands clasped in front of them.

“Good morning.”

I greeted them with a smile and walked toward the inner office.
Na Seong-mi, dressed in a two-piece suit, promptly followed and took the jacket I had removed, carefully hanging it in the wardrobe.

“What’s on the schedule for today?”
“You have a lunch appointment with the president of Woo Young Bank, and an executive meeting is scheduled for the afternoon.”
“Where did you make the reservation?”
“I heard that Jo Bank President enjoys Peking duck, so I reserved the private room at Shanghai Lu in Myeongdong.”
“Well done.”

I nodded approvingly at her meticulous attention to detail and powered on the computer with one hand.

“I’ll bring you a cup of coffee.”
“Yes, understood.”

I sat down and waited for the system to boot up, then spotted a distinctive manila envelope among the mail on one corner of my desk.
My eyes widened at once as I picked up the yellow envelope that lay on top of the morning newspaper and checked the sender’s name.

[Songsan Trading Company]

It was the fictitious company name that Lee Chul-gyun, who had recently begun working under me, and I had agreed to use so only the two of us would understand when he sent me compiled information.
Recalling the conversation we had shared when I first heard the fake company name, I let out a quiet chuckle.

‘Songsan Trading Company, then. Does it have any special meaning?’
‘Nothing like that. It’s simply my hometown—Songsan Township—so I named it that.’
‘…Really nothing special about it, then.’
‘It’s a fake company name anyway, so there’s no need to put much thought into it, is there?’
‘I suppose that’s fair enough.’

I’d expected something significant given how eagerly he’d thrust the envelope at me, but I felt deflated instead.
Erasing from my mind the uncomfortable gaze in Lee Chul-gyun’s eyes—as if questioning what I’d been expecting—I tore open one end of the document envelope and extracted its contents.
Inside was a ten-page investigation report on some company, along with a photograph of a man who appeared to be in his early thirties.

“Left Korean Microsoft this year and founded a venture company called Digital Wave….”

After slowly reviewing the personal information sheet on Ahn Byung-seok, the president of Digital Wave, I picked up the photograph.

“He’s married with children, yet at a respectable age he resigned from a job everyone envies and struck out on his own. That takes real courage and drive.”

Then I leaned back and murmured to myself.

“With that kind of guts and determination, it makes sense he could create the world’s first MP3 player.”

After the technology developed by Dr. Dietrich Genscher’s team received international certification from IEEE.
MP3 gained tremendous popularity among PC users as a method to download and enjoy free music, spreading rapidly in a short time.
But as yet, there was no portable means to enjoy music—only the ability to listen through a PC.

“Of course, it wasn’t just one or two companies that caught the scent of money and started developing MP3 players.”

Among them were global electronics giants like Sony and Philips.
With the proven success of the Walkman already in hand, it was only natural they’d throw themselves into developing MP3 players with better portability than cassette tapes.

“Yet despite all these massive corporations, it was a small Korean venture company that created the world’s first MP3 player. The more I think about it, the more remarkable it is.”

Seeing how Korea—a nation with a modest population and small land area—occasionally produces world-class geniuses and innovative products across various fields was nothing short of miraculous and extraordinary.

“Of course, creating an innovative product doesn’t mean everything ends beautifully.”

After overcoming countless obstacles to finally launch mass production, the aftermath of the IMF crisis struck, followed by patent disputes and various other problems that mired the company in severe financial difficulties, ultimately fading into history without ever seeing the light of success.

“What pained me most was that all the original MP3 player technology they’d struggled so hard to develop was sold off for a pittance to an American company.”

I once read a newspaper article stating that if Digital Wave had retained its original patents, it would have earned approximately 2.7 billion dollars in royalty revenue between 2005 and 2010.
It was truly ironic that such a groundbreaking patent had been allowed to lapse domestically due to financial difficulties—the company couldn’t even afford to pay the patent maintenance fees.
The memory of reading that article at the time and feeling genuinely regretful still lingered with me.

“But this time, I won’t let that happen.”

There was no reason to allow the foundational technology I’d painstakingly developed to be carelessly stolen, benefiting only others.

“Besides, I hold the original MP3 patent rights. If I also secure the technology related to MP3 players, the patent royalties I can collect will be even more substantial.”

Without using the patents I owned, it would be impossible to manufacture MP3 players at all, which meant I could establish an almost monopolistic position.
Whenever hundreds of millions of MP3 players were sold worldwide each year, the patent royalties flowing steadily into my pocket made me feel already satisfied.

“To earn a steady income from MP3s, I’ll need to ensure Digital Wave develops MP3 players as quickly as possible.”

Just then, Na Seong-mi knocked and entered, setting down a coffee cup on my desk with its rich aroma of ground beans.

“Please contact Department Head Yu and tell him to come to my office right away.”
“Yes. Is there anything else you’d like me to do?”
“That’s all.”
“Understood.”

After Na Seong-mi left, alone in my office, I sipped my coffee and carefully reviewed the investigation report Lee Chul-gyun had sent.

* * *

Digital Wave, founded by President Ahn Byung-seok—an engineer by training—who boldly left Korean Microsoft, had established its first base at the Seocho Startup Support Center, created by the Software Promotion Institute to support venture companies.
President Ahn Byung-seok, who had paid unusual attention to his appearance that day, paced nervously near the entrance despite being inside the office, still wearing his jacket.

“Sigh.”

Yoon Nam-ho, a department head and university junior of President Ahn Byung-seok whom he’d brought on immediately after starting the venture, let out a small sigh while working at his computer, observing this behavior.
He then rubbed his brow, stood from his seat, and spoke to President Ahn Byung-seok.

“President.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“When the guest arrives, I’ll let you know right away. Why don’t you wait in your office?”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me—just focus on your work.”

Yoon Nam-ho’s brow furrowed sharply at Ahn Byung-seok’s dismissive response, his gaze still fixed on the entrance.

“It’s because I’m anxious about it.”
“…?!”

Only then did Ahn Byung-seok, whose expression had turned bewildered, notice that roughly ten employees beyond the waist-high partition were staring directly at him. He finally realized he was disrupting their work.

“Ha ha ha. I see.”

Ahn Byung-seok laughed awkwardly and entered the inner office with Yoon Nam-ho.
The office itself was nothing special—just a desk with a computer, a long conference table used for meetings, and a few folding chairs arranged sparsely.
Moreover, without even a common sofa, one corner was completely stacked with cardboard boxes filled with printer paper and miscellaneous items, making the nameplate on the door reading “President’s Office” seem rather ironic.
As Ahn Byung-seok pulled out a folding chair and sat down, Yoon Nam-ho stood beside him and asked.

“Is this because of the Daehung Venture Capital people coming today?”
“Yes. Daehung Venture Capital is a subsidiary of the Daeheung Group—you know, the one that owns Midopa Department Store. We didn’t even approach them, but they contacted us first, so they must be interested in investing in us.”

Ahn Byung-seok’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Just yesterday, Daehung Venture Capital had suddenly called wanting to schedule a meeting about investment.
Given how treacherous the world could be, he’d initially suspected it might be a scam, but after confirming they were genuinely from Daehung Venture Capital, Ahn Byung-seok had been so delighted he’d let out an involuntary cheer.

“It’s certainly a critical time if we want to develop the MP3 player you’ve been wanting to create.”
“Exactly. It’s like a golden opportunity has literally rolled right to our doorstep!”

Ahn Byung-seok struck the table excitedly.
They’d been running the company fairly stably by selling specialized software that could transmit faxes over the internet or by accepting manufacturing subcontracts.
But he wasn’t satisfied with that alone—he’d been preparing to develop a device that would allow people to carry and listen to the trendy MP3 format portably, like a Walkman.
However, since this was a product that had never been created anywhere in the world, the development costs were substantial, and the risk of failure was considerable.
So while he was wrestling with this dilemma, Daehung Venture Capital had contacted him, as if they somehow knew about it.
There was no way he couldn’t be thrilled.

“Still, the internet fax software is selling well without any problems. Do we really need to take such a risk and develop something like an MP3 player? Honestly, I’m still not convinced.”

Yoon Nam-ho spoke with a lukewarm expression.

“What are you talking about? If we succeed, we’ll be creating the second Walkman with our own hands. And the world’s first at that! Doesn’t that alone make your heart race?”
“That’s exactly why the risk of failure is so high. We’re not a major corporation like Sony or Hyundai. If things go wrong, the losses we’d have to bear would be far too great.”

Yoon Nam-ho, the department head, maintained his skeptical tone as he responded. While the employees were present, he treated Ahn Byung-seok with formal deference, but in this private space, his manner had naturally become more casual.
When he raised practical objections to the MP3 development, Ahn Byung-seok suddenly lowered his voice and adopted a serious expression.

“Nam-ho.”
“Yes?”
“Why did we start Digital Wave in the first place?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Yoon Nam-ho fell silent and stared at Ahn Byung-seok.

“If we wanted a stable life, we would have stayed at our old company. But we left because we wanted to do something that makes our hearts race—that’s why we started this venture.”
“Sigh….”

Yoon Nam-ho exhaled deeply.

“That something is the MP3 player.”
“Exactly! Once we create it, it’ll be something that changes the world.”

Seeing Ahn Byung-seok’s face burning with passion, Yoon Nam-ho could no longer object and let out a groan of resignation.

“Ugh. You’re the president, so do as you see fit.”

As Yoon Nam-ho raised his hands in surrender, Ahn Byung-seok laughed and patted his shoulder.

“Come on. You need to help me with this—how am I supposed to do it alone?”
“You never listen to a word I say most of the time, but only pull this when it suits you.”

Ahn Byung-seok smiled, knowing that despite his grumbling, this man would throw himself into MP3 player development and work through the night without hesitation.
Just then, an employee knocked on the office door and poked his head inside.

“Sir, a visitor from Daehung Venture Capital has arrived.”
“Oh! Tell them to come right in!”

Ahn Byung-seok scrambled to his feet and answered urgently.

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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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