Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 246

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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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246. Of course! Absolutely, we should.

“Thank you so much for visiting such a humble place.”

Ahn Byung-seok greeted the visitors from Daehung Venture Capital with an excessively deferential manner.

“I’m Ahn Byung-seok, the president. And this is Yoon Nam-ho, our development director.”

With that, Ahn Byung-seok produced three business cards and extended them to the people from Daehung Venture Capital standing across from him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Park Seok-won. This is Yu Hyun-seok, our department head, and the gentleman on the left is my attendant secretary, Han Ji-sung.”

Seok-won introduced his companions and handed his business cards to Ahn Byung-seok and Yoon Nam-ho.
As Ahn Byung-seok accepted the cards with both hands, his eyes widened momentarily before blinking.
The title “Representative Director” embossed in gold foil on the card was particularly striking.

“Forgive me, but the title listed here….”

Ahn Byung-seok trailed off, cautiously glancing at Seok-won, who appeared to be around his own age or perhaps even younger.
Yu Hyun-seok, standing beside him, answered on his behalf.

“He’s our company president.”
“Ah!”

Ahn Byung-seok gasped involuntarily, startled, and quickly bowed his head deeply.

“My apologies for not recognizing you.”

Yoon Nam-ho was equally flustered—he had never imagined that a company president would visit in person.
Seok-won observed the two men’s flustered reactions with a gentle smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“You seem quite surprised. I should have let you know I was coming.”
“No. Not at all.”

Ahn Byung-seok, who had not expected to meet the president of Daehung Venture Capital, felt cold sweat trickling down his back despite it being far too early in the year for summer.

“Well… let’s have a seat first.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”

Rather than the sofa, I positioned a long conference table between us and sat across from him.
Ahn Byung-seok, watching my reaction as I settled into the folding chair, asked cautiously.

“If you’re uncomfortable, shall I bring my desk chair for you right away?”
“That won’t be necessary.”

I declined with a smile, but Ahn Byung-seok remained visibly anxious, studying my expression carefully.
Had I known this would happen, I would have decorated the President’s Office more impressively—a regret I’d entertained more than once.

“Since Digital Wave is a venture company that only recently started, we’re lacking in many preparations.”
“That’s fine. In fact, a company with solid substance is far better than one that’s merely polished on the surface but hollow within. In that regard, Digital Wave strikes me as a company with real substance, which is quite appealing.”
“Is… is that so?”

Hearing unexpected praise, Ahn Byung-seok inwardly sighed with relief, grateful that the first impression hadn’t been unfavorable.
Just then, the Female Secretary knocked and entered, setting down coffee cups on the table before leaving again.
Having regained considerable composure during that brief interval, Ahn Byung-seok glanced at me across from him and spoke first.

“To be honest, I never expected you to visit in person like this.”
“Typically, meetings are conducted at the level of Yu Hyun-seok, our Department Head here.”

In fact, for a small venture company like Digital Wave, it was standard for a deputy manager or section chief to conduct the initial meeting, not even requiring Yu Hyun-seok.
So it was only natural to be surprised and flustered when both the Department Head and the President himself suddenly appeared.

“Actually, I’m the one who instructed the investment review for Digital Wave.”
“Is that so?”

Ahn Byung-seok’s eyes widened as he looked at me.

“Your company’s technological capability in developing network communication software for data exchange between computers, including internet facsimile, struck me as quite intriguing.”
“Thank you for viewing us so favorably.”
“And from the materials you sent, I heard you’re currently developing something new.”

As I casually broached the subject, an immediate response came.

“Ah, yes. Have you perhaps heard of MP3?”

Smiling inwardly, Seok-won nodded and replied.

“I’m quite familiar with it. It’s an audio format standard that compresses analog voice signals into digital form, isn’t it?”

Contrary to expectations, Ahn Byung-seok was inwardly surprised by how extensively knowledgeable this person seemed to be about digital technology despite the specialized nature of the topic, and he continued speaking.

“Exactly. It achieves sound quality similar to WAV files while offering the advantage of being stored and played back in a much smaller file size.”
“Which is why there’s also the considerable downside of increased illegal music file sharing on the internet.”

At the sharp observation, Ahn Byung-seok’s smile became awkward.

“Yes. That’s true.”
“Well, side effects like these always emerge in the early stages of technological advancement. The illegal sharing problem will be resolved step by step.”
“Yes. You’re absolutely right.”

Ahn Byung-seok quickly agreed while reminding himself once more that the person before him was the president of Daehung Venture Capital.
His skillful technique of tightening and loosening his grip on the conversation was far from ordinary for someone who appeared so young.
Remaining seated, Seok-won glanced around the austere President’s Office, which lacked any unnecessary decorations, before speaking.

“Since this is an entirely new product, the development costs must be substantial.”
“That’s why we’re currently searching for new investors to cover the shortfall in research funding.”

Finally, as the long-awaited topic emerged, Ahn Byung-seok leaned forward in his chair.
I could sense the anticipation brimming in his gaze.
Seok-won picked up the coffee cup before him, took a sip, set it down, and asked Ahn Byung-seok directly.

“How much research funding do you need?”

Ahn Byung-seok then glanced cautiously at Seok-won before answering carefully.

“I believe we could begin development with approximately 400 million won.”
“400 million. That’s an ambiguous figure.”

Ahn Byung-seok was well aware that 400 million won was woefully insufficient for developing an MP3 player.
However, he had quoted only the minimum amount, fearing he might lose this barely secured opportunity if he asked for too much.
Leaning back in his chair, Seok-won maintained direct eye contact with Ahn Byung-seok while crossing his arms.

“Aside from the initial payment, how much total cost do you anticipate will be necessary to complete the prototype?”

Ahn Byung-seok exchanged a glance with Yoon Nam-ho, who sat beside him, then moistened his dry lips with his tongue and squeezed his eyes shut.

“One billion won. Or rather, to be safe, we’d probably need around two billion.”

Two billion won was far more than Digital Wave’s annual revenue.
Finding someone willing to invest such a substantial sum on credit alone, without any meaningful collateral, to someone like Ahn Byung-seok was no easy task.
Sure enough, Yu Hyun-seok, the department head who had come with Seok-won, wore an expression of utter disbelief upon hearing the figure.

‘Did I… make a mistake?’

Even if I could secure the remaining research funds elsewhere later, I should have simply quoted a lower amount. I regretted it now, but it was already too late to take it back.
Just as I was about to abandon my hopes, watching this fortunate opportunity slip away—
Seok-won stroked his cleanly shaven chin with one hand and spoke.

“Two billion won, you say. That’s not exactly generous, but it should be enough to move forward with development.”
“…!”

Contrary to his expectations, Ahn Byung-seok’s head snapped up at the positive response.
Beside him, Yoon Nam-ho wore an equally shocked expression as Seok-won spoke decisively.

“Excellent. Let’s proceed with a two billion won investment.”
“Y-you’re serious?”

Ahn Byung-seok’s eyes widened, and his voice rose involuntarily.
Yu Hyun-seok, who hadn’t anticipated such an immediate investment decision from Seok-won, was startled and hastily tried to stop him.

“Chairman.”

Seok-won raised one hand, silencing Yu Hyun-seok.
Then, watching Ahn Byung-seok and Yoon Nam-ho, who looked ready to dance with joy, he continued unhurriedly.

“Of course, if development fails, we could lose all the research funds invested. Since this is a high-risk investment, we’ll need appropriate compensation to justify taking on that risk.”
“Ah….”

There was no way he’d simply hand over the money for nothing.
Remembering the universal truth that nothing in this world is free, Ahn Byung-seok suppressed his excitement and asked what conditions were required.

“What would you need from us?”

Receiving investment was far preferable to taking out bank loans where he’d have to pay interest every single month, so he was prepared to accommodate virtually any request as long as it wasn’t excessively unreasonable.

‘Of course they’ll want company shares, but how much should I give them? What if they ask me to hand over half?’

While President Ahn Byung-seok was running through all manner of thoughts, Seok-won opened one palm flat and displayed it.

“50%. I want half of all the technology patent rights that will be obtained during the MP3 player development process.”
“Even so, half the company shares is… Did you just say something?”

President Ahn Byung-seok, who had been hesitant thinking they naturally wanted company shares, blinked and doubted his own ears.

“I said I want half of the patent rights related to the MP3 player being developed.”
“Really? That’s all you need?”

This time, President Ahn Byung-seok, now clearly understanding the proposal, asked with a bewildered expression, his words even stumbling slightly.

“If not patent rights, then I’d have to receive shares instead….”

Seok-won nodded and surveyed the President’s Office, which was closer to a warehouse-cum-conference room.

“To be honest, it’s difficult to evaluate Digital Wave’s company value as exceeding 2 billion won.”
“….”

At the precise observation, the faces of both President Ahn Byung-seok and Manager Yoon Nam-ho flushed red.
But since it wasn’t incorrect, neither of them could really refute Seok-won’s words.

“That’s why I can’t ask for all the company shares, so instead I’m requesting patent rights to the technology being developed.”

And with that, Seok-won added further explanation.

“If the MP3 player development succeeds, its value will exceed the 2 billion won I’m investing.”

President Ahn Byung-seok, who also believed the MP3 player was a revolutionary product that would change the world, nodded without reservation, his expression showing understanding.
Then Manager Yoon Nam-ho beside him posed a question with a cautious demeanor.

“Then what happens if the development fails?”

At that, President Ahn Byung-seok furrowed his brows and rebuked him.

“We have to make this work. Why are you being so pessimistic before we’ve even started?”

Yoon Nam-ho inwardly sighed, but managed his expression carefully in front of the others before responding.

“Of course we’ll do our best to succeed. Still, there’s always a chance something could go wrong, so we should clarify these matters now before they become problems later.”
“That’s a fair point. It’s better to have clear contracts.”

Then Seok-won spoke without showing any displeasure.

“As long as you’re not deliberately delaying development or failing due to ulterior motives, there won’t be any demands for the return of investment funds.”
“Really? You mean that?”

Ahn Byung-seok, who had been expecting to return at least some of the principal, drew in a sharp breath.
Yoon Nam-ho, too, couldn’t hide his astonishment at such an unbelievably favorable condition—one with absolutely no repayment responsibility for the investment.

“That’s correct. Of course, it will be explicitly stated in the contract, so you can rest assured.”

Not just a verbal promise, but he would actually insert it into the contract himself. Ahn Byung-seok wondered if this was a dream.

“Will you sign a contract with us under these terms?”

Ahn Byung-seok nodded immediately, as if there was nothing more to consider.

“Of course! Absolutely we should.”
“Should I call Kim Attorney right now and ask if he can come over?”

Yoon Nam-ho beside him also fidgeted with excitement.
Unlike his skepticism just moments before about whether MP3 player development was even feasible, he was now far more enthusiastic.
These were truly unprecedented investment terms that could never be offered anywhere else.
Watching the two men barely contain their excitement, Seok-won smiled faintly.

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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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