Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 308

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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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308. How much would that be?

Splash.
Scalding water cascaded from the showerhead, streaming down sculpted muscle and sinew.
Broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist, with a six-pack etched in sharp relief across the abdomen.
This wasn’t mere vanity muscle—the physique possessed perfect symmetry, radiating the timeless beauty of a masterwork carved by some legendary sculptor.
Combined with chiseled features and a sharp jawline, the face rivaled even Hollywood’s most celebrated leading men.
With Michelangelo’s David brought to life, Seok-won dominated every company popularity poll without fail.
Thank goodness for the office setting; had this been school, his locker would overflow daily with letters and gifts.
The female employees’ standards had risen so high that the male colleagues suffered considerably—standing beside such an overwhelmingly handsome presence made them look positively pedestrian.
Minutes later, I turned off the water and stepped from the shower, toweling my hair and body dry with a plush towel.
I wrapped another towel around my waist, leaving my lower half covered, then applied skincare products to my face with practiced ease.
Though the Plaza Hotel provided branded amenities, the penthouse on the top floor accepted no other guests—only I, the hotel’s owner, stayed here, so every product had been curated to my preferences.
Leaving the bathroom, I approached the bed, spacious enough to comfortably accommodate several people.
There lay a blonde woman, her pristine back exposed above the sheets, fast asleep—Kinsley, Gucci’s premier model.
Maintaining her rank as the number-one model while navigating her busiest season, Kinsley had contacted me immediately upon learning I’d arrived in New York.
We’d reunited yesterday after so long, enjoyed a date, and spent a wonderful evening together.

“Kinsley.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I placed a gentle kiss on her flawless cheek.
Kinsley stirred awake, opening her eyes as she shifted, and I offered her a charming smile.

“Good morning.”
“….”
“What’s wrong?”

Kinsley stared blankly for a moment, then pouted slightly.

“You know what?”
“What?”
“Your smile is far too sexy. I’m certain any woman would lose her mind completely. So please, don’t smile so carelessly.”

I responded to her childish complaint with a playful widening of my eyes.

“You’re the same way. I’ve never met anyone as beautiful as you, even fresh from sleep in the morning.”

Kinsley smiled softly, and instead of answering, she wrapped her slender arms around Seok-won’s neck and kissed him.

“I wish we could stay like this all day.”
“Then let’s do that.”
“But you know I have to leave for California starting today because of my schedule.”
“What time is your flight?”
“3 o’clock.”

Kinsley pressed her forehead against his and exhaled a wistful sigh.

“Then we still have plenty of time.”
“Huh? What are you planning?”

As I climbed onto the bed and traced her lean waist with my fingers, Kinsley burst into laughter.

“That tickles!”

With her hair cascading across the pillow, she laughed with her chest heaving, then straddled me and wrapped both arms tightly around me as I leaned down for a deep kiss.

* * *

That afternoon.
I emerged onto the Trading Floor of the Fund Office located in lower Manhattan, dressed in a navy pinstriped suit that hugged my frame, accompanied by Han Ji-sung.
The Trading Floor on the 31st floor was as always filled with the constant ringing of phones and the shouts of traders placing orders.
Amid the frenetic activity of the Eldorado Fund traders, I spotted Manager Choi Ho-geun and his team, and I paused.
As I stood observing them for a moment, a dark-haired Caucasian man with angular features approached and greeted me.

“Welcome.”

It was Dan Baradan, who had taken the position of Senior Chief after Andrew’s promotion to CIO.
I stood with both hands in my trouser pockets, turned to look at Dan, and asked.

“How are the employees we brought from Korea adapting?”

Dan glanced toward the Trading Floor.
Andrew was explaining something to those seated at desks lined with monitors, while Manager Choi Ho-geun and his team listened intently, nodding their heads in concentration.
Especially Hong Jae-hee and Yu Seok-hyun, the youngest members, had eyes that sparkled with enthusiasm even from this distance.

“They’re adapting quite quickly. Though they’re not from Wall Street, since they’re actively working in the field, they absorb information rapidly once taught. Moreover, their eye for reading the market doesn’t seem poor at all.”

Dan was known for his cold-blooded temperament and his stinginess with praise, so Seok-won’s expression showed a hint of surprise.

“It’s rather surprising to hear such an evaluation from Dan.”
“To be honest, I didn’t expect them to perform this well either. If I’m being candid, I’d like to extend an offer for them to join our fund as experienced hires.”

Given Dan’s personality, this amounted to nothing short of high praise.
Choi Ho-geun and Jung Hwan-yeop were recognized as aces not only at Daehung Securities but throughout the securities district of Yeouido, so I had privately expected them to hold their own on Wall Street without appearing inferior.
But seeing not only those two, but also Hong Jae-hee and Yu Seok-hyun demonstrate such exceptional performance that even Dan—who rarely showed his emotions—was willing to covet them, I felt a sense of pride as if I myself had received the praise.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t hand them over. They’re friends who need to help me accomplish great things back in Korea.”
“I suspected as much when I saw you brought them all the way to New York. It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped.”
“While they’re here in New York, let’s make sure they learn and experience as much as possible.”
“That’s actually what I wanted to discuss.”

Noticing Dan seemed to have something on his mind, Seok-won looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Starting next week, I was thinking of having them manage about a million dollars each and conduct actual trading. Would that be acceptable?”
“That would be alright?”

Seok-won asked in surprise, and Dan shrugged his shoulders.

“Learning by watching over someone’s shoulder or hearing explanations is far less valuable than actually getting your hands dirty and experiencing it firsthand, wouldn’t you agree?”

In truth, that was obvious.
After a moment of consideration, Seok-won nodded his head and gave his approval.

“You’re right. If Dan judges they’re ready, let’s proceed that way.”
“Understood.”

Just then, I heard Landon Shore’s voice calling from behind.

“There you are.”

I turned around, and Landon Shore approached and spoke.

“The people from Nvidia have just arrived.”
“Is that so?”

Seok-won’s eyes lit up with interest as he asked.

“Where are you right now?”
“They should be waiting in the conference room.”

Seok-won, his expression tinged with anticipation, moved forward first.

“It would be impolite to keep our guests waiting. Let’s head there immediately.”
“Of course.”

Seok-won and Landon Shore made their way to the conference room located on the upper floor.

* * *

As I opened the conference room door—its glass walls fitted with blinds—and stepped inside, a young East Asian man with a round face wearing gold-rimmed glasses and two Caucasian men rose from their seats at the table.
It was Travers Huang, a Taiwanese-American who had graduated from Stanford University, worked on microprocessor design at AMD, and three years ago had founded Nvidia with two colleagues.
Even before my regression, he had been one of the world’s wealthiest individuals and a renowned leader driving the IT industry forward, so I recognized him instantly.

“My apologies for keeping you waiting. You’re from Nvidia, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Landon Shore, managing the Eldorado Fund.”

True to his background as a lawyer, Landon extended his hand first with an affable smile.

“Travers Huang.”

Travers Huang shook hands, his face visibly tense, then introduced the two other men beside him.

“These two are executives working with me.”
“Roy Bist.”
“Michael Golner, handling our finances.”

The tall man on the left, followed by the man in the purple tie, introduced themselves in turn.
After shaking hands with each of them, Landon turned and gestured toward Seok-won standing beside him.

“This is Park Seok-won, our fund’s CEO.”

Travers Huang, who had been subtly stealing glances because of my striking appearance, brightened visibly.

“I was deeply impressed by your CNBC interview where you accurately predicted the market crash last time. I’m delighted to meet you in person.”
“You’re too kind. I was fortunate that day.”

I grasped the hand Seok-won extended and replied with a smile.
Ever since the CNBC interview, more people had begun to recognize Seok-won, and thanks to that, revealing myself as the representative of Eldorado Fund no longer drew surprised or curious glances—which was convenient.
After exchanging light greetings, both sides took their seats across from each other with the long conference table between them.
I regarded Travers Huang, dressed in a neat suit, with a moment of curiosity.
Just as Steve Nolan, the founder of Apple, evokes images of a black turtleneck and Levi’s jeans, Travers Huang’s trademark was the black t-shirt and leather jacket he always wore at official events—so today’s formal attire was somewhat surprising.

‘Perhaps he hasn’t settled on his style yet.’

Then again, he probably wasn’t born wearing a leather jacket, so it made sense.
And coming dressed formally to a meeting where one was requesting investment was only natural.

“Thank you for coming all the way from California to New York.”

As I spoke, Travers Huang waved his hand honestly, without any pretense.

“Not at all. If you’re willing to invest, I’d go anywhere.”

His response caught me off guard.

“You’re quite forthright.”
“If you look into it even a little, you’ll quickly understand our company’s situation. There’s no point in putting on airs that won’t convince anyone.”

Travers Huang answered with a bitter expression.
He wasn’t wrong.
Everyone who mattered already knew that the second graphics card they’d been developing with all their effort had failed to launch and the company was on the brink of bankruptcy—so if he’d pretended otherwise, he would have only earned ridicule.

‘Of course, knowing the future of Nvidia and Travers Huang as I do, I wouldn’t have done that.’

Regardless, his lack of artifice felt refreshing and trustworthy.

‘This is probably why the TSMC founder promised to manufacture Nvidia’s third graphics card when the company had nothing and was on the verge of bankruptcy.’

They’d taken the gamble of completely overhauling the existing architecture and, after tremendous effort, succeeded in developing the third graphics card in just one year—but no one was willing to mass-produce the product.
It was inevitable, given that they lacked funds to design and test the chip through simulation alone, then gambled on starting production without even a prototype.
If they’d had money to give upfront, things might have been different, but without funds even to create a prototype, there was no way they could offer an advance payment.

‘And that’s when TSMC appeared as the savior.’

If TSMC hadn’t manufactured the graphics cards that Nvidia newly developed, there would be no Nvidia to eventually dethrone the semiconductor titans Intel and AMD and claim the throne.
Dismissing the brief reverie, I regarded Travers Huang sitting across from me with a composed demeanor, his face taut with tension.

“Since you’ve spoken frankly without unnecessary posturing, I’ll dispense with pleasantries and get straight to the point as well.”

I met Travers Huang’s gaze directly as I posed my question.

“How much will it take?”
“…What?”

Travers Huang’s expression shifted to bewilderment at my blunt inquiry.

“What do you mean by that?”

As Travers Huang adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and asked, I withdrew a checkbook from my inner jacket pocket, unfolded it, and tore out a single check, placing it on the table.
Then, leaning back in my chair, I gestured with my chin toward the blank check while observing Travers Huang’s continued expression of bewilderment.

“Fill in the amount you need there, and I’ll invest accordingly.”
“…!”

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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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