Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 471

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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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471. Did you just say what I think you said?

Deep darkness had settled beyond the windows as the magnificent strains of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” poured from premium vacuum tube amplifiers and speakers, filling the spacious living room.
Seok-won reclined against the plush leather sofa, eyes closed, savoring the powerful performance.
At home, he wore comfortable cotton pants and a thin sweater.
He swirled a glass of red wine slowly in one hand, moving it in time with the melody, completely absorbed in the music.
As the performance built toward its climax, the vibration of a mobile phone suddenly erupted from the table.

Buzz. Buzz.

Seok-won slowly opened his eyes to the uninvited interruption, picked up the phone, and checked the name displayed on the screen.
He set the wine glass on the table, rose to his feet, and pressed the answer button.

“Did you arrive safely in New York?”
[Yes. It’s good to be back home.]

Seok-won chuckled softly and approached the audio system in the living room, turning down the volume.
The grand performance that had been resonating through the room faded into gentle background music.

“You’ve been through so much in Russia—why call before taking a few days to rest?”
[I was planning to, but the profit settlement just finished, so I thought I’d report it right away.]

Seok-won’s eyes widened at Landon Shore’s cheerful tone.

“How much came in?”
[Excluding the yen currency bets placed separately by the Japan branch, we achieved a remarkable 31.5% profit.]
“So that’s over 30 billion dollars, then.”
[Precisely 34.714 billion dollars. Of course, after deducting various expenses, it comes down to 34.02 billion dollars, but even so, it’s a staggering sum.]

Just as Landon Shore’s voice brimmed with excitement, the corners of Seok-won’s mouth naturally curved upward.
Yet he deliberately maintained composure, speaking with studied nonchalance.

“Well, that’s not a bad result.”

Landon Shore let out an exclamation from the other end of the line.

[The highest profit since the fund’s establishment, and you remain so composed. You truly are remarkable.]

Had I been alone, I would have let out a triumphant shout that could have shaken the house, but Seok-won suppressed the laughter threatening to burst forth and answered with composure.

“I’ve bet over a hundred billion dollars. I should at least earn that much, shouldn’t I?”
[Haha, that’s absolutely right.]

Landon Shore chimed in agreement.

[If I’d known it would turn out like this, I could have used leverage more aggressively. It’s a shame, really.]

But Seok-won showed no signs of regret whatsoever.

“Since I placed multiple bets simultaneously, if even one had gone wrong midway, the entire position would have collapsed. This level was exactly appropriate. If I’d been greedier, I might have faced a margin call right before hitting the jackpot and collapsed first.”

Then, as memories of those difficult times surfaced, Landon Shore winced and spoke.

[It was certainly grueling to maintain a position with a bet exceeding a hundred billion dollars. Before Russia declared its moratorium, the Dow and NASDAQ kept rising, so every time I had to add collateral—sometimes thousands, sometimes hundreds of millions—two or three times a week just to maintain the position, I felt like my blood was draining away.]

Unlike Seok-won, who had conviction, Landon Shore had only thought the moratorium was likely, so his nerves must have been frayed.
Seok-won walked back to the sofa, picked up his wine glass, and leaned against the bar table by the window with its excellent view.

“And we haven’t finished betting yet, so there’s no need to feel regretful.”
[Hehe. That’s true. Thanks to liquidating the position at the exact bottom and switching to long positions, as of today, the Dow is up 19.1%, and NASDAQ is up a remarkable 31.3%.]

Listening to Landon Shore’s delighted voice, Seok-won took a sip of wine and spoke.

“As I mentioned last time, when the Federal Reserve successively cuts its benchmark rate and releases massive liquidity, combined with the still-burning dot-com fever, it will create tremendous synergy and push the entire stock market significantly higher.”
[I believe so too.]
“We’re only at the beginning of this major uptrend now, so don’t liquidate the position. Keep it as is.”
[Yes.]

After finishing the remaining wine and setting down the glass, he held his mobile phone to his ear and asked.

“And you’re continuing to accumulate the stocks from the list I gave you last time, right?”
[We’re sweeping up the volume as instructed. However, since we’re making large purchases, those stocks have risen considerably from their initial prices. Would it be better to pause here and resume buying if the price drops?]

It was natural to be concerned about buying stocks at inflated prices when pushing hundreds of billions of dollars in concentrated purchases was causing those stocks to skyrocket.
But knowing how much the stock prices of companies like Microsoft, Dell Computer, Oracle, and Intel would soar over the next few years riding the dot-com wave, Seok-won spoke as if unconcerned.

“Even if the stock price has risen, this is still the cheapest it will be. Don’t worry about the price—focus on sweeping up the volume as quickly as possible.”

Landon Shore tilted his head in confusion, unable to understand why Seok-won kept insisting the stocks were still cheap despite having risen 20-30% since they first began accumulating positions.
However, since all the stocks Seok-won had selected were beneficiaries of the dot-com boom, and more importantly, seeing such urgency made him suspect there was something he hadn’t yet grasped, so he obediently followed the instructions.

“Yes, I understand.”
“And transfer 14 billion dollars from the profits we’ve made this time to my account in the Cayman Islands.”
“That’s quite a substantial sum. What do you intend to use it for?”

At that, Seok-won’s lips curved into a deep smile as he spoke.

“Korea is experiencing a tremendous fire sale right now, so I’m planning to do some shopping.”

* * *

Daejeon Defense Science Research Institute.
Director Son Sang-bong, wearing horn-rimmed glasses with streaks of white threading through his hair, sat on the sofa alongside Dr. Kwak Yun-shin, the missile division chief, engaged in a serious conversation.

“So engine development isn’t easy, is what you’re saying.”

Dr. Kwak Yun-shin, receiving his gaze, answered with a face etched with fatigue.

“Yes. To launch a warhead twice as heavy as the existing Hyunmoo missile much farther, we need to develop an entirely new solid-fuel rocket engine with significantly greater thrust. There are many difficulties.”

Director Son Sang-bong nodded heavily.

“Of course, since we’ll have to redo everything from the design phase.”
“We have no choice but to proceed with development by tackling each challenge head-on from scratch, like heading a ball on bare ground. For that, we need more development funds and research personnel than we currently have.”

Upon hearing this, Director Son Sang-bong let out a heavy sound and expressed his reluctance.

“I understand it’s difficult, but right now the entire nation is struggling due to the IMF crisis, so it’s not easy to increase support. Or to be more honest, we’re in a situation where we can barely prevent the research budget from being cut, let alone secure an increase.”

At that, Dr. Kwak Yun-shin let out a small sigh.

“Sigh. I understand. I was just venting my frustration.”

Watching Dr. Kwak Yun-shin wipe his weathered face with his palm, Director Son Sang-bong’s expression filled with apology.

“I’ll speak directly with the Minister and do whatever it takes to secure additional funding.”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“I have to try one way or another.”

Dr. Kwak Yun-shin, who had been sitting with slumped shoulders, brightened visibly.

“Thank you, Director.”
“This isn’t for your personal gain—it’s for the nation. And that’s precisely why I sit in this position in the first place.”

Dr. Kwak Yun-shin gazed at Director Son Sang-bong with eyes full of gratitude.
He couldn’t fathom how reassuring it was to have someone willing to step forward despite the difficulty ahead.
The fact that he remained at the institute despite the meager salary owed much to Son Sang-bong’s position as director.
After discussing the Hyunmoo-2 missile development project—being conducted covertly under a black budget operation—for some time longer, Dr. Kwak Yun-shin rose from his seat.
As the door closed, Director Son Sang-bong collapsed into the sofa like a water-logged sponge, his body utterly drained.
A heavy silence hung in the room as he exhaled a long sigh and gazed up at the ceiling.
Then he recalled the image of the research institute building he’d seen last night as he left work.
Despite the late hour, most of the windows had been brightly lit.
Beneath those lights, Dr. Kwak Yun-shin and countless other Defense Science Research Institute researchers were burning with passion, dedicating themselves to their work day and night—a vision so vivid I could see it without looking.
These were people who, despite harsh conditions, burned with fervent dedication fueled solely by patriotism.
It pained me deeply that I couldn’t adequately support the sacrifices and efforts of such researchers.
Outdated equipment, insufficient budgets, and inadequate compensation—there was so little I could do.

Knock, knock.

At the knock, Director Son Sang-bong cleared his thoughts as the Female Secretary entered.

“Director, a visitor from Daheung Venture Capital has arrived.”
“Ah, yes.”

Director Son Sang-bong pressed the bridge of his nose with his finger, his voice slightly subdued.

“Please show them in.”
“Yes, sir.”

The Female Secretary silently cleared away the cold coffee cups from the table and left.
Moments later, the door opened again, and Seok-won, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit that complemented his tall frame, entered with his Attendant Secretary Han Ji-sung.
Knowing he was the second son of the Daeheung Group chairman, Director Son Sang-bong rose to his feet, thinking at first glance that the young man clearly bore the unmistakable air of wealth.

“Welcome.”

When Son Sang-bong greeted him, Seok-won extended his hand first with a warm smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for making time despite your busy schedule.”

Contrary to his initial preconceptions, Son Sang-bong found himself impressed by Seok-won’s remarkably courteous and respectful demeanor, and they exchanged a light handshake.

“Please, have a seat.”

At Son Sang-bong’s invitation, Seok-won settled onto the leather sofa alongside Han Ji-sung.

“What would you like to drink?”
“Coffee… I just had some, so that won’t do. Green tea, please.”

When Son Sang-bong glanced over, Seok-won nodded in agreement and spoke.

“Green tea works for us as well.”
“Of course. I’ll have it brought right away.”

As the Female Secretary left, the conversation faltered and an awkward silence settled over the room. Son Sang-bong cleared his throat softly and spoke first.
Son Sang-bong let out a small, dry cough and spoke first.

“I was a bit puzzled when I heard through the minister that Chairman Park wanted to meet with me.”

It was only natural, since there wasn’t a defense industry subsidiary, and the Daeheung Group was focused on textiles and distribution.

“That must have been the case. The Daeheung Group and the National Defense Research Institute have no connection whatsoever.”

Seok-won’s eyes, which had been relaxed moments before, suddenly grew serious as he met his gaze directly.
Seok-won, who had been sitting with a relaxed demeanor, soon grew serious, his gaze sharpening as he faced his opponent head-on.

“…?”
“…?”

He was slightly irritated, wondering if this man had come to spout nonsense, but given that An Yong-guk, the Minister of National Defense, had introduced him, and especially considering the rumors of his special relationship with the President, he suppressed his annoyance and responded.
I was slightly annoyed, wondering if he had come to spout nonsense, but since he had been introduced by An Yong-guk, the Minister of National Defense, and moreover I had heard that he had a special relationship with the President, I made an effort to suppress my anger and answered.

“The shipment coming from Russia is a Proton rocket.”
“Ah. Yes. I see.”
“Ah. Yes. I see.”

Son Sang-bong, who had been half-listening to the conversation with perfunctory responses, suddenly recalled what a Proton rocket was and his eyes widened dramatically.
He then hastily straightened his upper body and asked urgently.

“What did you just say?”

Watching Son Sang-bong lean forward with undisguised shock, Seok-won’s lips curved into a deep smile.

“I said a Proton rocket.”

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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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