Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 42

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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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42. We’ve met before.

A week later, in the Yeouido Securities District, Seoul.
A black BMW 540i from last year pulled into the underground parking garage of Taesan Securities Headquarters.
Finding an empty spot, the car came to a stop, and as the driver’s side door opened, a young man stepped out—Park Seok-won himself.
His body, honed by consistent exercise, was lean and well-proportioned, radiating youthful vitality.
With sharp, well-defined features and naturally clear skin that required little maintenance, Park Seok-won was, quite literally, a strikingly handsome man.
His hair was neatly groomed, and his perfectly tailored custom suit was impeccably worn, making his already striking appearance all the more prominent.

“The eight-cylinder engine really does have impressive power.”

I ran my palm lightly over the sleek body of the car, my expression satisfied.
I had originally driven a different car, but Park Tae-hong, the chairman, had pointed out that arriving at the company in a red sports coupe would look bad to the employees, so he’d bought me this one as a graduation gift instead.
I could have taken public transportation, but since everyone already knew I was the chairman’s son anyway, doing so would only come across as pretentious.

“Just because I’m the chairman’s son doesn’t mean I’ll abuse my position, but there’s no need to act passively out of self-consciousness either.”

With confidence brimming in my expression, I made my way across the underground parking garage.

Choi Jin-woo, the president of Daeheung Securities, was seated at his desk, reviewing documents while wearing gold-rimmed glasses and his hair neatly combed back.
The executive office, decorated with modern furnishings and walnut veneer in keeping with his taste, was suffused with a subtle woody fragrance.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of the knock, President Choi Jin-woo looked up as the Female Secretary opened the door and entered.

“President, the guest you mentioned has arrived.”
“Show them in.”
“Yes, sir.”

Moments later, the door opened again, and Park Seok-won entered under the Female Secretary’s guidance.
Upon seeing Park Seok-won, President Choi Jin-woo rose from his seat with a welcoming expression.

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”
“I hope you’ve been well.”
“Thanks to you, I have been.”

Smiling, President Choi Jin-woo shook hands with Park Seok-won and gestured toward the sofa in his office.

“Come, sit over here.”
“Yes.”

As Choi Jin-woo took his seat at the center position of honor, I naturally settled onto the nearby sofa to his right.

“Since we have an honored guest, I should offer you something to drink first. What would you prefer?”
“Coffee, please.”
“Then I’ll have coffee as well.”

Choi Jin-woo gave a subtle nod toward the Female Secretary standing to one side.

“Understood.”

After waiting briefly for the Female Secretary to close the door and leave, Choi Jin-woo leaned back against the sofa and regarded me with a gentle gaze.

“Though it’s a bit late, congratulations on your graduation.”
“Thank you.”
“Graduating from Harvard University with excellent grades—I have high expectations for you.”
“I have many shortcomings, but I will do my best not to disappoint you.”

Given that the owner was a direct descendant, I could have been arrogant, but my humble demeanor—unchanged from our first meeting—visibly put Choi Jin-woo at ease.
No matter how powerful Choi Jin-woo was, he remained merely a professional manager who could be dismissed with a single word from Park Tae-hong, the chairman and true owner.
That’s why having Park Seok-won, a direct descendant rather than a collateral one, was frankly burdensome for him.
From the start, the very request to establish a separate team and operate it independently would have been unthinkable coming from anyone else.
Just then, the Female Secretary knocked and entered, setting two cups of coffee on the table before withdrawing once more.
The subtle aroma of wood that had permeated the executive office was soon mingled with the scent of coffee, gently tickling my nostrils.

“Go ahead.”

I picked up the cup before me and took a sip of the richly aromatic coffee, then set it back down.

“The chairman must have mentioned it beforehand, but you’ll be taking charge of the newly formed Investment Team 4.”

Choi Jin-woo continued speaking as I listened quietly.

“And the management of the allocated funds will be entirely at your discretion, as you requested.”
“There must have been various opinions, but thank you for accommodating such a difficult request.”

Choi Jin-woo shrugged in response.

“It’s not just talk—there really was significant pushback. No matter that you’re the chairman’s son, you have zero investment experience.”
“And on top of that, you’re fresh out of university, so it’s only natural they wouldn’t trust you.”

When I stated bluntly what Choi Jin-woo had tried to soften with careful language, the president seemed inwardly caught off guard.

“Hmm, well, there’s some truth to that.”

Choi Jin-woo cleared his throat and glanced at my expression, but he found no sign of displeasure on my face.
If anything, I seemed composed, as though I’d expected exactly this.

“I am young, and I am a parachute hire from above—that’s a fact. It’s only natural the staff would react this way.”

Choi Jin-woo inwardly marveled at such composure from someone so young.

“I’m glad you see it that way.”

Then, shifting to a more serious tone, Choi Jin-woo looked at me and spoke.

“The capital you’ll be managing is 5 billion won.”

Compared to the fund size back in the United States, it was incomparable.

‘But for a greenhorn with no track record in Korea, especially a parachute hire, it’s quite a substantial sum.’

Considering that Daeheung Securities’ PI—proprietary investment—was only a few hundred billion won in scale, I could tell considerable consideration had been shown.

“The situation is unprecedented in many ways, and since everyone knows you’re from the owning family, there will be many eyes watching.”

In truth, that was putting it kindly. The atmosphere within the company would certainly be harsher.
A sudden parachute hire who’d also received exceptional treatment—they’d all be watching with folded arms, wondering just how impressive I’d have to be to justify this.
It was a situation that would burden most people, but it meant little to me.
I’d prepared for this from the start, and I was confident I could deliver results that would astonish them. So I allowed myself a slight smile.

“I’ll make sure not to be a burden to you, sir.”

Choi Jin-woo regarded me with a look of interest, then spoke.

“It’s good to have ambition, but don’t push yourself too hard from the start. Take your time getting a feel for things and invest with composure. You have plenty of time, after all.”
“Understood, sir.”

Despite what he’d said, Park Seok-won had no intention of wasting time unnecessarily.

‘Besides, the Korean market is my own backyard.’

I was a stagnant pool of experience, worn smooth by decades in the Yeouido Securities District.

‘When it comes to experience in this field, whoever they bring in won’t be better than me.’

Moreover, I already knew how the market would move going forward, so failing to generate profits would be nothing short of strange.

“You’ve met Director Go before, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Since he’s handling PI, work together and do it well.”

Having said that, President Choi Jin-woo turned his body sideways on the sofa and pressed the keyphone button mounted on the side table.
Shortly after, the Female Secretary opened the door and entered, bowing respectfully.

“You called for me, President?”
“Please escort Team Leader Park here to Director Go’s office.”
“Understood.”

Park Seok-won rose from the sofa and gave a light nod toward President Choi Jin-woo.

“If you need anything difficult, come find me anytime.”
“Yes. Thank you for your consideration.”

Park Seok-won, maintaining his confident yet courteous demeanor to the end, followed the Female Secretary out of the president’s office.
As the solid wood door closed and President Choi Jin-woo found himself alone, he gazed absently at the sofa where Park Seok-won had been sitting and murmured to himself.

“His character doesn’t seem bad, but I hope his excessive ambition doesn’t cause any trouble.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong had instructed him to treat Park Seok-won the same as other employees and teach him properly, but from President Choi Jin-woo’s perspective, he couldn’t help but feel concerned.

“Well, it’s already been accepted, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Though a troublesome situation had arisen and felt burdensome, he chose to view it positively, thinking it could become an opportunity to strengthen his relationship with Chairman Park Tae-hong.

* * *

Following the Female Secretary out of the president’s office, Seok-won stepped into the elevator in the hallway and descended to the lower floors.
The elevator slowed as it approached the fifth floor, and the doors slid open to reveal two men in white dress shirts and ties stepping inside.
The two men, catching sight of Seok-won—a strikingly handsome figure that naturally commanded attention—noticed that the fifth floor was already selected and positioned themselves near the doors.

“Manager Choi. Today’s the day, isn’t it?”

The man with thick eyebrows glanced at his round-faced colleague beside him.

“What day?”
“That parachute hire—the chairman’s son.”

Song Jong-geun, his cohort from the same hiring class, nudged Choi Ho-geun’s shoulder and whispered. Though he intended to keep his voice low, they were all in the same elevator, and every word reached Seok-won in the back.
He was trying to speak quietly, but since they were in the same elevator, Seokwon, who was standing behind them, heard everything anyway.

“….”

The Female Secretary beside him wore a flustered expression while the two oblivious men continued their conversation.

“Why do you even care? He’s not even on your team.”
“It’s not just anyone—the chairman’s son is coming. How could I not be curious?”
“Seems like people around here have nothing better to do. I’m already sick of all the poking and prodding from every direction.”
“Why? Isn’t it good news? The chairman’s son is basically a golden rope to climb.”

As Song Jong-geun teased him enviously, Choi Ho-geun, who had been suffering from everyone’s curiosity for days, suddenly furrowed his brow.

“If you’re so jealous, why don’t you join our team?”
“Are you insane? I’m already drowning in meeting targets. The last thing I need is babysitting some young master.”
“Then why are you saying all this?”

Song Jong-geun chuckled softly at the frowning Choi Ho-geun, speaking in a soothing tone.

“Still, from what I hear, he’s a Harvard University graduate. He can’t be completely incompetent.”
“Fresh out of college is all he is. Having to teach him everything from scratch gives me a headache. I just hope he doesn’t cause any trouble when he starts. Damn it….”
“Babysitting duty sounds rough, huh?”
“Stop messing with me! What, do you find it funny watching someone suffer?”
“No, just hang in there.”

With his cohort constantly rubbing salt in the wound, Choi Ho-geun let out an involuntary groan.

‘That’s the real issue, isn’t it.’

Meanwhile, the Female Secretary was experiencing a silent eye-widening shock, unaware that Park Seok-won was standing right behind her listening to every word of the gossip continuing around her.
As the Female Secretary kept glancing nervously and tried to interject, Park Seok-won simply gestured for her to stay quiet.
When I glanced at his expression, fortunately he didn’t seem angry, but it was still the kind of situation that would make anyone break out in a cold sweat.

‘Why is the elevator so slow today of all days?’

The Female Secretary cursed the elevator inwardly while glaring at the backs of the two people’s heads who were still gossiping away.
Shortly after, the elevator came to a stop, and Choi Ho-geun and Song Jong-geun exited first.
The Female Secretary, following behind them, quickly bowed and apologized the moment the two men disappeared from view.

“I’m so sorry.”
“People gossip even about the king when he’s not around. Don’t worry about it.”

He smiled reassuringly.
Still uneasy, the Female Secretary kept watching Park Seok-won’s expression as she guided him to Director Go Young-il’s office.

“Manager, here’s your coffee.”

Choi Ho-geun, who had been sitting at his desk examining today’s stock movements on his computer, looked up at the voice of Hong Jae-hee, the only female member of the team.

“Thank you, Jae-hee.”
“You’re welcome.”

Hong Jae-hee distributed paper cups of coffee to the other team members one by one, then took her seat.
While everyone was getting their sugar fix from the sweet instant coffee.
Jung Hwan-yeop, the assistant manager who looked slovenly but was actually quite competent at his work, poked his face out from beside the monitor.

“Manager. Didn’t you say the new team leader was coming today?”

Investment Team 4 consisted of four members under Manager Choi Ho-geun: Hong Jae-hee, the sole woman in the team; the slovenly Jung Hwan-yeop; and Yu Seok-hyun, a former wrestler with a bear-like physique who was temporarily away but would return soon.

“He’ll come when it’s time.”

Choi Ho-geun answered dismissively while sipping his coffee.

“Manager Choi!”

At that moment, someone entered the office and called out to Choi Ho-geun.
Choi Ho-geun turned his head and quickly rose to his feet as he saw a lean, middle-aged man approaching.

“Director.”

The other team members promptly stood as well, and Director Go Young-il gestured toward the young man who had entered with him, speaking in a gentle voice.

“Everyone, say hello. This is Park Seok-won, the team leader who’ll be working with you all starting today.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Park Seok-won.”

Park Seok-won stepped forward from behind Director Go Young-il and bowed in greeting.
Not only the members of Investment Team 4, but employees from other teams sharing the spacious office—separated only by partitions—turned to look at Park Seok-won with curious expressions.

“I’m Choi Ho-geun, senior manager.”

Upon seeing Park Seok-won’s face, Choi Ho-geun paused mid-introduction and tilted his head slightly.
Something about this face felt familiar, as if I’d seen it somewhere before.
What is it? Where have I seen him?

‘There’s no way I’d have seen the chairman’s son anywhere else… Oh!’

Choi Ho-geun’s shoulders flinched as he recalled the face he’d glimpsed briefly in the elevator moments ago.
Noticing his reaction, Park Seok-won smiled and extended his hand toward Choi Ho-geun.

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
“Huh? Oh, no… yes…”

Choi Ho-geun grimaced as he grasped Park Seok-won’s large, firm hand.
Damn it, I’m done for!

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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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