Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 395

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

395. It seems a decision has been made, given that you’ve called.

Seoul Dobong-gu.

[This stop is Changdong, Changdong Station. Please exit on the right. This stop is….]

As the temperature plummeted abruptly, people in thicker clothing streamed off the subway train while listening to the station announcement.
Jung Young-tae, a perpetual senior manager at Hyunwoo Construction who had just turned fifty-one, was swept along with the crowd navigating the particularly congested platform on this weekend.
The economic crisis had cast a pall over society, and the faces of pedestrians passing through the streets all bore the weight of gloom and resignation.
Jung Young-tae himself couldn’t find peace of mind, constantly hearing news of corporate bankruptcies large and small, and rumors that layoffs might come as part of cost-cutting measures.

“They say if you’re forty-five, that’s retirement age, and if you stay at the company until fifty-six, you’re a thief—they call it ‘sa-o-jeong’ or ‘o-yuk-do.'”

Recalling this neologism he’d heard somewhere, Jung Young-tae found himself sighing without realizing it.
If that were true, he too should leave the company, but the mere thought of what he’d do to survive at this age left him breathless with anxiety.
Moreover, his only asset was a public housing apartment he’d purchased with money earned during his younger days working in the scorching Middle East, making the road ahead seem utterly bleak.
Though he had a severance package, if he started a small business with it and failed, he and his family could literally end up on the streets, so he couldn’t afford to take such a risk.

“People say casually that if you leave the company, you could open a shop or something, but running a business isn’t something everyone can do.”

A colleague from his cohort came to mind—someone in a similar predicament.
The man had been stuck with the perpetual senior manager label, never advancing in rank, and eventually submitted his resignation last year to open a chicken restaurant.
Drunk one night, he’d poured out his grievances and earnestly warned Jung Young-tae never to resign like he had, but to cling to the company until retirement, no matter how dirty or despicable it became.
After hearing such words, he simply couldn’t muster the courage to leave.
Moreover, his daughter, who was graduating from university this year, had been accepted to Daehung Securities but received notice of her job offer being cancelled just days ago, making it even more impossible for him to leave the company.

“My wife and I went to the department store together and bought formal wear and shoes for her first day of work….”

Thinking of her face, so full of joy and excitement, a bitter taste spread across his lips.
As he descended the stairs and exited the subway station, his eyes caught the sight of food carts lined up in one section of the public parking lot.
Even though it was still daylight with the sun not yet set, people were scattered around various round plastic tables, tilting glasses of soju.
The sight made him crave soju slightly, but he’d heard that his name could appear on the layoff list at any moment, and there was talk that there might not even be a year-end bonus this year, so he decided to abstain.
After walking for about ten minutes, he arrived at the apartment complex, where a security guard in a blue uniform, who recognized him while sweeping the entrance to the building, greeted him.

“You’re off work, I see.”
“Yes, that’s right.”

Jung Young-tae, who had been smiling and nodding slightly, wore a puzzled expression at the Security Guard’s next words.

“Your daughter is quite the filial child.”
“Pardon?”
“I saw a flyer posted on the apartment bulletin board advertising tutoring services. At her age, most kids would rather be playing with friends, but she’s already thinking about earning her own pocket money. Isn’t that admirable? Heh heh.”

The Security Guard praised her with a laugh, but Jung Young-tae felt deeply flustered inside.
He had naturally assumed she was preparing to apply for jobs at other companies, but tutoring out of nowhere?

“Yes, well. Oh right, I forgot to pick something up from the convenience store out front.”

Jung Young-tae hurriedly excused himself without showing his surprise.
He then went to the apartment bulletin board next to the management office to check the flyer his daughter had posted.

[English and Math Tutoring]
Chung-Ang University, School of Business
Available for both middle and high school students
xxx-xxx-xxxx

Seeing the number on the flyer, it was indeed his daughter’s mobile phone.

“This girl!”

Jung Young-tae’s expression hardened as he tore the tutoring flyer from the bulletin board, stuffed it into his pocket, and headed straight home.

Ding dong. Ding dong.

At the sound of the doorbell, Choi Ok-soon, who had been washing dishes, removed her rubber gloves and came to the entrance.

“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”

Hearing her husband’s voice from outside, Choi Ok-soon opened the door.
Jung Young-tae immediately removed his shoes and stepped inside, quickly spotting his daughter.

“Where’s Su-hee?”
“She’s in her room.”

As if hearing the voices, his daughter Jung Su-hee opened her door and poked her head out.

“Dad, you’re home?”

Jung Young-tae pulled a flyer from his pocket with a stern expression and held it up.

“What is this?”
“Ah….”

Jung Su-hee’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of the flyer, then she glanced nervously at her father before asking.

“…You saw it?”
“You brat! Who told you to go out and earn money? When are you going to stop wasting time with tutoring and whatever else and focus on preparing for a job!”

His wife beside him looked bewildered, her eyes darting between her husband and daughter.

“Why are you scolding her like this?”
“Look for yourself.”

Jung Young-tae handed over the flyer in his hand, his voice sharp with anger.
His wife, confused, examined the flyer advertising tutoring jobs and her eyebrows shot up.

“You. Weren’t you supposed to be preparing for the public recruitment exam?”
“That’s….”

Jung Su-hee stammered, her expression defensive.

“You need to get a job before graduation. If you keep dawdling and miss your chance, companies won’t want to hire you either. Don’t you know that?”

Jung Young-tae scolded her sharply.

“I know that.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Even if I want to work somewhere else, there are no companies hiring. Because of the IMF crisis, companies are either shutting down or laying off their existing employees. Who’s going to hire a fresh graduate? There’s nowhere that will even accept my resume!”

Jung Su-hee pouted and muttered as she watched her father fall silent.

“I know you’re struggling too, Dad. I didn’t want to ask you for pocket money, so I was just trying to do some tutoring.”

Jung Young-tae stood frozen, unable to respond to his daughter’s aggrieved tone. He felt unbearable remorse for having lashed out at her without understanding.
He had scolded her without knowing her true intentions, and the guilt was suffocating.

“Ugh. Then you should have just said so.”

His wife gently patted their daughter’s back and took her husband’s hand.

“Honey. Su-hee has her own reasons for this, so please stop being upset.”
“Dad… I’m sorry.”

Jung Young-tae shook his head at his daughter’s meek apology.

“No. It’s all because I’m not good enough.”

As he shuffled toward the master bedroom with slumped shoulders, Jung Su-hee was about to say something when the phone suddenly rang.

“I’ll console your father, so go answer the phone for me.”

Choi Ok-soon said this and quickly followed her husband.
Jung Su-hee nodded weakly and picked up the phone in the living room.

“Hello?”
[Hello. This is the Human Resources team from Daehung Securities. Is Jung Su-hee available?]

Jung Su-hee’s expression grew puzzled at the unexpected call.

“This is Jung Su-hee. What is this about?”

The caller responded with evident enthusiasm.

[Ah, it’s you. You passed our final round for new employee recruitment, didn’t you?]

Unpleasant memories surfaced, and Jung Su-hee answered with a dejected expression.

“…Yes. That’s right.”
[Did you perhaps find employment elsewhere?]

Jung Su-hee asked sharply, her tone suggesting she doubted it.

“Why are you asking that?”
[We’ve decided to proceed with recruitment again. If you’re interested in joining us, please come to our Yeouido Headquarters by 10 AM tomorrow. That’s why I’m calling.]

Jung Su-hee, startled by the sudden news, clutched the phone and asked again.

“Is that really true?”
[Yes.]

Hearing the other person’s cheerful response, I was so overjoyed that my mind went blank.

[Will you be attending the new employee orientation?]
“Yes! I’ll definitely be there.”

Jung Su-hee quickly regained her composure and nodded her head enthusiastically.

[Then I’ll register you. Please come to the Human Resources Team on the 4th floor of the Yeouido Headquarters by 10 a.m. tomorrow.]
“Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much!”

Even after hanging up the phone, I couldn’t hide the surreal feeling—unsure whether this was a dream or reality—when my parents emerged from the bedroom back into the living room.

“Who was that on the phone?”

At that, Jung Su-hee sprang to her feet and rushed into her mother’s arms, her face flushed with excitement.

“Mom! I got it. I got the job!”

Choi Ok-soon’s expression turned bewildered at the sight of her daughter bouncing with joy.

“My goodness, what’s gotten into you? What do you mean you got it?”
“Calm down and tell us what happened.”

Jung Young-tae, standing beside her, looked on with concern in his eyes.

“I got hired! Daehung Securities told me to come to the company tomorrow!”

Jung Su-hee cried out, her voice trembling with emotion.

“What?”
“What are you talking about?”

The couple couldn’t hide their shock, their eyes widening simultaneously.

“I just got a call from Daehung Securities’ HR department—they’ve decided to restart the public recruitment they’d cancelled!”
“Really? Is that true?”
“Yes! It really is!”

Choi Ok-soon’s face broke into a radiant smile as she spread her arms wide and embraced her daughter.

“Oh, my dear girl. How wonderful. You’ve been through so much worry all this time.”
“Sob….”

Wrapped in her mother’s warm embrace, Jung Su-hee finally let the tears she’d been holding back spill forth.
Though she’d maintained a stoic facade on the surface, it was Jung Su-hee who’d been hurt most deeply when her acceptance was rescinded.
As the two women clung to each other, Jung Young-tae felt tears welling up in his own eyes, which he struggled to suppress.
Seeing his daughter, who’d been so despondent about her unemployment, radiate such joy stirred something profound within him as a father.
Rather than let his tears show, Jung Young-tae smiled broadly and spoke.

“Congratulations, my dear daughter!”

***

At that same moment.
Seok-won, still at the office without having left for the day, gazed down at the stream of vehicles crossing the wide roads beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows of the President’s Office as he spoke with the Japan branch manager of the John Porter Eldorado Fund.

[Just as you predicted, following Sanyo Securities, Hokkaido Takushoku Bank filed for bankruptcy in court today, unable to resolve non-performing loans totaling one trillion yen.]

It was a shocking announcement made suddenly on a weekend afternoon after business hours, one that had sent shockwaves throughout the Japanese archipelago. Yet Seok-won, who had already anticipated this outcome, responded with composure.

“How is the Japanese government responding?”
[Shortly after the bankruptcy news broke, Finance Minister Sato Kazuya held an emergency press conference, stating that the Bank of Japan would implement unsecured special financing to ensure depositors suffer no losses. They’re clearly scrambling to contain the growing panic.]
“The precedent that major securities firms don’t collapse was shattered when Sanyo Securities went under. Now, with Takushoku Bank’s bankruptcy, even the belief in ‘too big to fail’ for the top twenty banks has crumbled to dust. They must be extremely anxious that this will serve as a catalyst for massive bank runs.”
[That’s likely the case. What delivered the fatal blow to Takushoku Bank’s bankruptcy was precisely the bank run that occurred when customers, sensing instability after the failed merger with Hokkaido Bank, a regional bank, withdrew their deposits en masse.]

Beyond the now-bankrupt Takushoku Bank, most Japanese banks were burdened with enormous non-performing loans stemming from the bubble’s collapse.
Therefore, should the situation deteriorate further, there was a genuine risk that Japan’s entire financial market and system could collapse.

“The fact that the Ministry of Finance allowed Takushoku Bank to go bankrupt despite understanding the massive risk involved proves that the non-performing loan problem has become too serious to keep hidden any longer.”
[I share that assessment.]
“Just as new flesh grows after lancing a festering wound, Japan’s economy and stock market will inevitably sink into deep stagnation for a very long time, given the sheer scale of non-performing loans.”

At that, Porter, the branch manager on the other end of the line, let out a low chuckle.

[Japan may have suffered, but thanks to our short bets, we’re looking at substantial profits again this time.]

Seok-won smiled faintly and replied.

“Come to think of it, today is when the Sanyo Securities liquidation closes, isn’t it?”
[Yes. We liquidated our entire position at 2.5 yen per share, netting us a remarkable 98.7% return.]
“That’s a solid profit. Should I expect good results from the remaining three stocks as well?”
[Of course.]

Porter answered with confidence.
After exchanging a few more words and ending the call, my phone rang as if it had been waiting.
Standing before the glass window, I checked the number and answered with a spark of interest in my eyes.

“The fact that you’re calling means a decision has been made.”

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choi Jin-woo responded with a weighty voice.

[We’ll sell the intelligence agency site as you requested.]

At the answer I’d been waiting for, I gazed out at the glass window and let a satisfied smile spread across my face.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————