Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 28

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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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28. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from the chairman.

The sound of water being cut through echoed across the quiet indoor swimming pool of the Walkerhill Hotel on a weekday morning.

Splash! Splash!

Each time I alternated my arms in broad strokes, I glided forward with a grace that rivaled any competitive swimmer.
Though it was a cold winter with temperatures dropping below freezing, the pool water was heated to a comfortable warmth, making swimming a pleasure.
After completing six or seven lengths of the 20-meter pool without pause, I gripped the edge with my hand, stopped swimming, and stood in place to catch my breath.

“Phew! My body finally feels loose now.”

I lifted my head with a refreshed expression.
It had been several days since my return to Korea, and as my jet lag gradually subsided, I felt the familiar restlessness that came from taking a break from my daily exercise routine.
That’s when I remembered the Walkerhill Hotel fitness membership I’d held for years and decided to come here immediately.
Being one of the few five-star hotels in the country, the facilities—including this swimming pool—were exceptionally well-equipped, and I was quite satisfied.
I considered doing another set of laps but then remembered I had planned to meet my father at the company in the afternoon, so I resigned myself to stopping.

“It’s a shame, but I’ll stop here for today and come back tomorrow.”

Though it was somewhat far from my family home, having the membership meant I could exercise here during my stay in Korea.
I swam slowly to the side and climbed out of the water using the ladder.
My physique had never been poor to begin with, but thanks to consistent training over time, I had developed broad shoulders, perfectly sculpted abdominal muscles, and a densely muscled inverted-triangle frame.
Combined with my sharp, bold facial features, I naturally drew the attention of both men and women alike.

“That guy’s body is seriously incredible, isn’t it?”

A woman in a bikini sitting on a sun lounger across the way whispered to her friend beside her.

“Right? And his face is incredibly handsome too.”

Her friend with a short bob cut and a sharp expression nodded discreetly while stealing glances at me.

“I haven’t seen him here before. Should we try talking to him?”
“My goodness. If you’re confident, go ahead. But with a guy that handsome, don’t you think his standards would be incredibly high?”

It wasn’t just the two of them whispering and casting glances at Park Seok-won.
Nearly every woman in the swimming pool was secretly stealing glimpses of his face and physique, their interest unmistakable.
Unaware of their attention, Park Seok-won removed the swimming cap from his head and roughly dried the water from his body with a large towel draped over the sun lounger.
As he then picked up a water bottle containing an energy drink and took a long sip, two couples who appeared to be dating entered the indoor swimming pool area with loud, boisterous chatter.

“So when I looked at the license plate of the car I drive, it had a ‘Heo’ character at the beginning.”

At the words of a man with a thuggish appearance, a beautiful woman with a model-like slender figure, who stood beside him with her arms crossed, tilted her head slightly to the side.

“Oppa, what does that matter?”

A man with sharp, piercing eyes beneath thick brows, his arm wrapped around his partner’s waist as they walked together, let out a mocking laugh.

“Heh, you don’t know? Rental car plates start with the character ‘Heo’. It’s common sense, common sense.”

At those words, the woman standing beside the thuggish man wore a look of surprise.

“Oh my! So it’s not his car?”
“Right. He’s just a punk pretending to be some flashy rich guy.”

The man with the slitted eyes smirked as he responded.

“Unbelievable. I actually thought that oppa was incredibly wealthy! Didn’t he say he studied abroad in the United States?”
“I heard that too. So it was all a lie!”
“Absolutely insane!”

The two men appeared to be around the same age, but they seemed to have different tastes in women—one had a slim, fair-skinned beauty, while the other had a voluptuous figure with presence and confidence.
When both women burst into laughter, the man with the slitted eyes snorted dismissively.

“The United States? He probably hasn’t even been on a plane.”
“Ahahaha! Come on, surely not~!”
“Hey, don’t you believe me?”

Their group was so loud it was grating on the ears.
Moreover, being indoors amplified the sound, making it even more noticeable.
This wasn’t a private space but a shared facility for multiple people, yet their complete lack of basic etiquette made me furrow my brow.
I wanted to say something, but I didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble, so I simply held my tongue, gathered my towel and belongings, and headed toward the changing room.

‘You avoid filth not out of fear, but out of disgust.’

At that moment, someone called out his name loudly.

“Hey. You’re Park Seok-won, aren’t you!”
“…?”

When I turned to look, a sharp-eyed man among the noisy group of men and women raised one hand, pointing directly at me.

“Hey, don’t you know me? You don’t remember?”

At the man’s attempt at familiarity, I furrowed my brow slightly, unable to immediately place him, but then recognition dawned.

“Woo Ho-geun?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”

Woo Ho-geun approached and gave me an unpleasant once-over, his gaze raking from head to toe as if assessing my worth.

“I heard you went abroad to study in the United States. When did you come back?”
“I came back for a bit during the break.”

Woo Ho-geun was the eldest son of Chairman Woo Yong-gap of the Donghae Group, which specialized in edible oil and feed businesses.
We were acquainted, but not in a way I’d call friendship.
Moreover, knowing what kind of rivalry would entangle the Donghae and Daeheung Groups in the future, I had no desire to grow closer to him.
Whether he sensed this or not, Woo Ho-geun continued speaking without any tact.

“It’s been how many years since we’ve seen each other like this?”
“The last time was at Jung Yun-kyung’s birthday party, so it’s been about three years.”
“Has it really been that long?”
“Sorry, but I have an appointment, so I should get going.”

Reluctant to continue the conversation, I glanced away as if in a hurry.

“Oh, yeah. Let’s meet up sometime if you have the chance.”
“Sure.”

I gave a perfunctory response, gathered my luggage, and passed by Woo Ho-geun’s group, heading toward the changing room.

“Who was that?”

Jeon Geon-woo, the son of a ruling party four-term congressman with an unmistakably privileged bearing, pointed at Park Seok-won with his chin and asked a question.
Woo Ho-geun, who had been staring daggers at Park Seok-won’s retreating figure, clicked his tongue before answering.

“Park Seok-won. The second son of the Daeheung Group. An absolutely insufferable bastard.”

Unlike Park Seok-won, who had gained admission to Harvard through sheer merit, Woo Ho-geun had caused countless scandals since childhood, abandoned his studies, and only managed to secure a place at a moderately prestigious American university thanks to Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s substantial donation.
But as the saying goes, what leaks from within will leak without—during his time studying abroad in America, he’d indulged in women as a matter of course, then progressed to drinking and drugs, giving Chairman Woo Yong-gap endless headaches.
Each time, he found himself compared to Park Seok-won, the very embodiment of a model student, and his inner resentment and jealousy churned and bubbled beneath the surface.

“Damn it, you’ve ruined my mood.”

As Woo Ho-geun spat out the words with a cold expression, Jeon Geon-woo laughed in a wheedling manner and casually draped an arm across his shoulder.

“Hey, why are you getting so worked up? Let’s just forget about it and go have some fun.”

At that, the woman clinging to Woo Ho-geun’s arm thrust her chest forward and began flirting shamelessly.

“That’s right, oppa.”

Under normal circumstances, his mood would have lifted by now, but Woo Ho-geun kept his face rigid, glaring at the spot where Park Seok-won had vanished before turning away.

* * *

After changing clothes and leaving the Hotel, Park Seok-won drove his red Mitsubishi Eclipse to the Daeheung Group Headquarters in Mapo.
The sleek two-door coupe Eclipse was a birthday gift Chairman Park Tae-hong had given him the year before last.
Arriving at the headquarters without delay, Park Seok-won took the elevator straight up to the twentieth floor where the chairman’s office was located.
Having visited several times before, I had no difficulty finding the chairman’s office, and as I opened the door and stepped inside, the secretarial staff who had been working looked up at the sound of my entrance.

“Young Master! Welcome!”

Among the five secretarial staff members, a man in his early thirties with a receding hairline recognized Park Seok-won and jumped to his feet.

“Manager Choo. It’s been a while.”

I also remembered who the man was and quickly greeted him with a warm expression.
Manager Choo Se-young quickly came around his desk and rushed forward, bowing deeply as he spoke.

“I heard you had returned to Korea. I’m truly relieved to see you looking so healthy again.”

Because news of the incident would have been unfavorable, the Daeheung Group had intervened to suppress it, and the shooting incident involving Park Seok-won remained largely unknown domestically.
In fact, most employees within the group were completely unaware that such an incident had even occurred.
However, the Chief Secretary’s office, being the place that assisted Chairman Park Tae-hong at his side, possessed detailed knowledge of the incident.
This was especially true for Choo Se-young, who had accompanied Chairman Park Tae-hong and his wife to the United States at the time of the accident alongside Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho.

“Thank you for your concern.”
“The Chairman instructed us to show you in immediately. Please, come inside.”

Park Seok-won nodded and followed Choo Se-young toward the thick wooden door made of solid wood that lay deeper within the office.

“The young master has arrived.”

After Choo Se-young gave a light knock and cracked the door open to speak, a familiar voice responded from within.

“Let him in.”

Park Seok-won gave Choo Se-young, who had stepped aside, a grateful glance before entering the chairman’s office directly.
As Choo Se-young carefully closed the door and turned to leave, Lee Chae-yeon, who had been with the company for only a year, approached with a face full of curiosity.

“Is that the Chairman’s second son?”
“That’s right. Quite the handsome fellow, isn’t he?”
“When he first came in, I thought he was some celebrity!”
“Ha, his older brother, Director Park, has a completely different image, so it’s easy to be mistaken.”
“I heard he’s also incredibly smart.”
“Of course—he’s attending Harvard University, after all. What more needs to be said?”

Choo Se-young answered with pride, as if he himself had gone to Harvard.

“With looks like that, plus money and an impressive educational background, he’s practically a prince.”
“Either way, the Chairman only has two children, so he’ll inherit a substantial portion. He’s definitely a prince.”
“I really wonder who he’ll end up marrying.”

Lee Chae-yeon’s eyes took on a dreamy, wistful gaze as she pressed her hands together as if in prayer.
Beside her, Jung Yun-kyung, who was sitting at the adjacent desk, gave the desktop a light tap with her palm.

“Lee Chae-yeon.”

A sharp glint flashed from behind her black-framed glasses, and Lee Chae-yeon immediately sensed the warning.

“Yes, sir.”
“When I worked in the secretarial office, I always told you to watch your tongue. Especially when it comes to the Chairman and his family—you know you’re supposed to see nothing and hear nothing, right?”

Jung Yun-kyung, a senior colleague and the person who understood Chairman Park Tae-hong’s temperament second only to Gil Seong-ho, was like the matriarch of the secretarial office.
When Jung Yun-kyung delivered her sharp rebuke, Lee Chae-yeon quickly tucked her tail between her legs and responded.

“I apologize.”

Choo Se-young, a colleague of the same cohort, though held back from promotion due to being female, let out an awkward cough at Jung Yun-kyung’s icy demeanor and pretended to focus on his documents.
Though it pained me to see her scolded, it was better to feign ignorance than to clumsily intervene and risk drawing the fire upon myself.

“Be more careful going forward. Of course, that goes for you too, Director Choo.”
“Ah, yes! Of course!”

Choo Se-young, suddenly called out, nodded hurriedly in flustered agreement.
Watching him, Jung Yun-kyung adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses, rose from her seat, and walked toward the Chairman’s office door.

“Excuse me.”

In the rapidly chilled atmosphere of the secretarial office, Jung Yun-kyung composed herself with unflappable poise, gave a light knock, and entered.

* * *

Upon entering the Chairman’s office, I paused slightly when I saw that Chairman Park Tae-hong was not alone on the luxurious solid wood sofa, but seated with a middle-aged man I’d never seen before.

“Come in.”

As Chairman Park Tae-hong, seated in the place of honor, turned his gaze toward me, I approached and spoke.

“I didn’t know you had a guest.”
“I called President Choi to have lunch together so I could introduce you as well. Say hello—this is President Choi Jin-woo, who will be taking charge of the securities firm we recently acquired.”

At that, President Choi Jin-woo, with his hair neatly combed back and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, rose with a smile and extended his hand.

“Pleased to meet you. The Chairman has told me a great deal about you.”
“I’m Park Seok-won.”

As I shook his hand and offered a respectful greeting, my inner thoughts churned turbulently.

‘Why in the world is that person here?’

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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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