Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 303

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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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303. It seems I’ve lost this bet.

As Manager Choi Ho-geun and his employees gathered their luggage and stepped off the bus, a statuesque blonde woman greeted them with a warm smile.

“Welcome aboard. We’re delighted to have you.”

The woman in the beige trench coat and leather gloves, her hair pulled back in an elegant updo, was none other than Bella, the private jet’s stewardess.
When the glamorous blonde, with a model-like figure, greeted them in Korean—slightly accented but remarkably fluent—everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.
It was impossible not to be taken aback by such a striking foreign woman speaking Korean.

“This is Bella, our private jet stewardess.”

As Han Ji-sung made the introduction, Manager Choi Ho-geun offered an awkward smile and replied.

“Ah. Yes. Thank you for the warm welcome.”

The other employees behind him gazed at Bella with curiosity and bowed respectfully.
Bella smiled brightly and raised one arm, gesturing toward the lowered stairs beside her.

“Please board this way.”
“Of course.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun and his employees carefully carried their luggage and stepped into the private jet for the first time.
What immediately caught their attention was the luxurious interior, adorned throughout with fine wood and leather.
The refined elegance of the cabin—reminiscent of a five-star hotel penthouse—left them all speechless.
The cream-colored carpet spread across the entire floor was so immaculate and plush that one might wonder if it was acceptable to board with muddy shoes.

“Wow. Can an airplane interior really be this luxurious?”
“This is practically a hotel in the sky.”

Hong Jae-hee and Yu Seok-hyun gazed around in wonder, taking in every detail.

“Seriously. First class feels like economy compared to this. You could lie down and sleep on the floor.”

Jung Hwan-yeop lifted his sunglasses and gazed in wonder, his eyes widening with admiration.
Though Manager Choi Ho-geun tried not to show it, his eyes couldn’t help but dart around the cabin.
Han Ji-sung, who had displayed the same reaction on his first private jet flight, smiled inwardly as he spoke.

“The president is seated up front.”

Snapping back to attention at those words, Manager Choi Ho-geun and his employees set down their luggage and headed forward to greet him.
Following Han Ji-sung’s lead, they spotted Seok-won sitting in a beige leather seat far more spacious than first class, a laptop resting on the table before him.

“President.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun quickly straightened his appearance and approached, and Seok-won turned his head.
Wearing only a crisp white dress shirt without a tie, Seok-won regarded Manager Choi Ho-geun and his employees with a faint smile.

“You’ve arrived? This is your first time on a private jet, I assume.”
“Yes. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I’d be flying in such a magnificent aircraft.”

The employees standing in a line behind him nodded in agreement.

“The flight to New York is quite long, so don’t mind my presence—just relax and enjoy the journey.”
“Yes.”

Though they answered affirmatively, they couldn’t help but remain cautious with Seok-won present.

“If you have any questions, ask Deputy Manager Han. Our dedicated stewardess Bella speaks some Korean as well, so you shouldn’t face any inconvenience.”

Having said that, Seok-won turned his attention back to his laptop, and Han Ji-sung addressed the group on his behalf.

“There are plenty of seats, so please choose whichever is most comfortable.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun and his employees stowed their luggage in the overhead bins and settled into seats diagonally across from Seok-won, sitting in pairs.
Though there were more than enough seats for each person to have their own, since this was everyone’s first international trip, they naturally gravitated toward sitting together.
Hong Jae-hee, seated by the window, ran her hands repeatedly over the leather seat, which was far softer and more plush than the sofa at home, her expression tinged with regret.

“I should have brought a camera if I’d known.”
“Shall we take some commemorative photos?”
“Of course. When else will I ever get to fly on a private jet like this?”

Yu Seok-hyun, seated beside her, chuckled in response.

“Since you mentioned it’s the president’s personal jet, won’t you want to ride it again on the way back?”
“Oh, you’re right! I absolutely have to take a photo then.”

Hong Jae-hee clapped her hands together and spoke with firm determination.
Jung Hwan-yeop, seated in the front row, kept glancing around before whispering to Manager Choi Ho-geun.

“He’s so unpretentious that he sometimes forgets things, but you can really tell—a chaebol truly operates on a different level of class.”
“Hey. Stop gawking around like some country bumpkin. It’s embarrassing.”
“Tch. Why do you always nag only me?”

Jung Hwan-yeop pouted his lips and glanced at Bella closing the boarding door, then broke into a goofy grin.

“But isn’t that stewardess absolutely gorgeous? She looks just like a magazine model. I guess they really do select based on beauty for private jet stewardesses. And her Korean is excellent too—she’s totally my type.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun rolled his eyes as if Jung Hwan-yeop were spouting nonsense again.

“I’m warning you now—don’t try hitting on her and end up embarrassing yourself. Just behave.”
“Do I look like I’d get rejected?”
“Then why would anyone accept a date request from someone like you?”
“What’s wrong with me?”

At his defensive retort, Manager Choi Ho-geun let out a deep sigh.

“You fool. If you studied Korean, you’d know your place, and if you studied math, you’d understand fractions.”
“There’s no tree that won’t fall after being chopped ten times, right?”
“You’re not even a woodcutter, yet you’re always going on about that damned tree.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun rubbed his head as he spoke.

“Listen. You have to look at the size of the tree before you swing. If you just flail away at anything, you’ll only waste the axe blade. Just don’t do it if I tell you not to.”
“Aren’t you being too harsh on me?”
“What are you talking about? There’s no one who sees through you more accurately than I do.”

Jung Hwan-yeop, feeling even more defiant, snorted and exhaled sharply through his nose.

“The more you try to stop me, the more fired up I get. I’ll get her number no matter what—just you wait and see.”
“Do whatever you want. Just don’t come crying to me for drinks after you get rejected.”
“You don’t know my nickname? I’m Yeouido’s Jung the Heartbreaker. Female employees’ hearts flutter just at the sight of my face.”
“Or maybe my fists are itching because you keep being such a nuisance?”

Manager Choi responded with a disinterested expression.

“A guy like that still hasn’t gotten married?”
“It’s not that I can’t get married—it’s that there would be too many sad women if I did, so I choose not to.”
“You’re insane.”

As they continued bickering, Bella approached from the side with a smile and spoke to them.

“We’ll be taking off shortly, so please fasten your seatbelts.”
“Ah. Yes.”

Caught off guard by her sudden proximity, Jung Hwan-yeop’s face flushed slightly as he answered without quite meeting her eyes.
Seeing this, Manager Choi smirked knowingly, his lips curling upward.

“So much for getting her number.”

Shortly after, the Gulfstream IV private jet carrying the group departed from the parking lot and, guided by air traffic control, slowly taxied toward the runway.
At the holding point, the jet’s engines roared to maximum power for takeoff, and it surged down the long runway at speeds exceeding 300 kilometers per hour before lifting powerfully into the blue sky.

* * *

Seongbuk-dong, Seoul.
Chairman Cheon Seong-deuk, a major player in the Myeongdong loan market, sat in his ondol room wearing traditional Korean dress and magnifying glasses, reading the morning edition of tomorrow’s newspaper fresh from the printing press.
Just then, footsteps sounded from outside, followed by the voice of his butler, Oh Tae-min.

“Chairman, I’m coming in for a moment.”

Oh Tae-min slid open the door and entered, taking a seat on the cushion beyond the lacquered wooden table. Chairman Cheon removed his magnifying glasses and asked.

“What is it?”

The butler met his gaze and spoke calmly.

“Hansei Group is planning to sell off its real estate holdings to resolve the financial difficulties caused by the construction investment in the Dangjin Steel Mill.”

Chairman Cheon, seated upon the thick silk cushion, furrowed his brow slightly.

“They’re selling real estate?”
“Yes, sir.”

Chairman Cheon Seong-deuk asked again, his voice slightly subdued.

“What exactly is he putting up for sale?”
“Nothing’s been finalized yet, but there’s talk of the Hansei Construction building in Seosomun, Seoul, a 40,000-pyeong apartment site in Jangji-dong, Songpa-gu, and an 11,000-pyeong site in Gaepo-dong.”
“All prime properties with substantial value. For Chairman Park, who treasures real estate like his own life, to be willing to sell them suggests the rumors circulating about his financial troubles might have some truth to them.”

Hansei Group, which had grown into the 18th-largest conglomerate through construction, was ambitiously pursuing a mega-project: building the world’s fifth-largest steel mill with an annual capacity of 8 million tons by reclaiming over a million pyeong of seabed in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province.
However, contrary to initial plans, the construction costs for the steel mill had more than doubled from 2.7 trillion won to 5.7 trillion won, and with the construction business—their mainstay—falling into recession, they were facing severe financial strain.

“In addition to the real estate sales, they’re planning to issue corporate bonds worth 70 billion won next month, I’m told.”
“That would be to cover the construction costs for the Dangjin Steel Mill, then.”
“That’s correct.”

Chairman Cheon Seong-deuk tapped the desk with his fingers, pondering briefly before speaking again.

“Hansei Steel’s debt has grown significantly from last year and exceeded 4 trillion won, didn’t it?”

Oh Tae-min, his butler, answered immediately to the quietly murmured question.

“As of last month, it’s exceeded 4.5 trillion won.”
“So their debt has grown by over 100 billion won in just that time.”
“The second-phase construction currently underway is nearly double the scale of the first phase that ended in June this year, so the borrowed funds are bound to increase.”

Chairman Cheon Seong-deuk clicked his tongue briefly.

“Tsk. It’s like pouring water into a bottomless jar, as they say.”
“Still, once both phases are completed by next March and the steel mill is finished, won’t the situation improve somewhat?”
“Do you really believe that?”

Chairman Cheon Seong-deuk snorted dismissively.

“They say the Dangjin mill will produce 8 million tons of steel annually. In good times, perhaps, but in difficult times like these, where would they possibly sell all that steel?”
“….”
“And unlike other factories, they can’t shut down the blast furnaces just because inventory piles up, making it all the more troublesome. On top of that, they’ve accumulated massive debt from overextending themselves to build the mill, so they’ll have only one option.”
“You mean they’ll resort to dumping to clear their inventory?”
“After spending all that money to complete the steel mill, if they can’t operate it properly from the start and leave the equipment idle, the creditors won’t sit still.”
“That’s true enough.”

Oh Tae-min nodded, thinking that even he would likely press for repayment if he feared not recovering such a substantial debt properly.

“Before that happens, the massive debt we’ve accumulated might become unmanageable, and the group could face bankruptcy.”

Just half a year ago, I would have dismissed the notion that the 18th-largest conglomerate in the business world could ever go under.
But with the construction industry mired in recession and Hansei Group’s finances deteriorating rapidly as a result, such denial was no longer possible.
Chairman Cheon Seong-deuk recalled Seokwon, who had visited him months earlier with a reckless proposal—to hand over his Midopa Department Store shares in exchange for a wager between them.

“Perhaps Chairman Park’s second son was right. Hansei Group might indeed collapse.”

As I muttered the words in a heavy tone, Oh Tae-min’s expression grew grave as well.

“To be honest, when I first heard Chairman Park’s assessment and saw you liquidate all those corporate bonds, I thought perhaps you’d acted too hastily. But looking at it now, it seems like a truly wise decision.”
“Exactly. If I’d ignored that fellow’s warning and held onto those bonds, I’d be in quite a predicament right now.”

Indeed, as rumors spread about Hansei Group’s deteriorating finances, corporate bonds from their steel division and other subsidiaries were being traded at discounts exceeding 10%.

“I sensed from our first meeting that something was extraordinary about him, and my instincts proved correct. It seems I’ve lost this wager after all.”

A pleased expression crossed Chairman Cheon Seong-deuk’s face as he gracefully acknowledged his defeat, showing no trace of displeasure.

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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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