Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 500

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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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500. I didn’t invest just to earn pocket change like this.

Choi Ho-geun, holding an approval stamp in one hand, entered the office and glanced around at his team members before speaking.

“Is the settlement all finished?”

Yu Seok-hyun, seated at a desk with multiple monitors and his white dress shirt sleeves rolled up, lifted his head and replied.

“We’re almost done now.”
“Same here.”

The responses came promptly enough, yet something felt oddly absent.
Choi Ho-geun tilted his head and scanned the office, his eyes narrowing when he spotted one empty desk.

“Where did Jung Deputy Manager disappear to?”

Hong Jae-hee rose from her chair and handed the completed settlement details to Noh Hee-won as she spoke.

“He received a call from the Chairman’s Office a moment ago and went upstairs.”
“The Chairman called for him?”
“It seems that way.”

As if on cue, Jung Hwan-yeop, dressed in a navy suit, walked through the door.

“They say even tigers come when you speak of them—there’s truth in the old saying.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”

Jung Hwan-yeop’s expression turned blank at the questioning gaze directed at him.

“Wait! You weren’t talking behind my back while I was gone, were you?”
“How did you know? You’re like a mind reader.”
“Seriously? That’s going too far.”
“Tsk!”

Choi Ho-geun clicked his tongue and crossed his arms before asking.

“But what did the Chairman call you in for?”
“Oh, that.”

Jung Hwan-yeop pulled out a white envelope from his inner pocket with a proud chuckle, displaying it with obvious delight.

“He suddenly called me in and gave me a wedding gift. Hehe.”
“What?”

Choi Ho-geun’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You didn’t actually give the Chairman an invitation, did you?”
“Come on. I wouldn’t do something like that.”
“You’re capable of worse.”

Choi Ho-geun fixed him with a deeply skeptical gaze.

“Well, that’s true.”
“Hmm. I can’t deny it.”

As always, Yu Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hee nodded in perfect agreement, and even Noh Hee-won, whom he’d trusted, smiled awkwardly and silently confirmed his guilt.

“This is too much. Really too much.”

Jung Hwan-yeop turned to Choi Ho-geun with an aggrieved expression, his face showing mock indignation at his teammates.

“Don’t you have any faith in me?”
“I never did.”

Choi Ho-geun dismissed him with an indifferent tone and urged him to answer quickly.

“But how did the Chairman know you were getting married?”
“Well, who’s my bride?”
“Who else? Bella… ah, she was the Chairman’s personal aircraft stewardess.”

Only then did Choi Ho-geun’s expression show understanding.

“She said the President gave her a wedding gift when she submitted her resignation to prepare for the wedding. It seems he took care of me too.”
“Ah. So that’s how it happened.”

It was something I could have figured out with a moment’s thought, so Manager Choi Ho-geun felt embarrassed for making such a fuss and subtly averted his gaze.
In the meantime, Hong Jae-hee interjected with curiosity brimming in her eyes and asked.

“Have you checked how much is inside?”
“No. But the envelope looks thin, so it seems like a check… hehe.”

Beside Jung Hwan-yeop, who was chuckling with amusement, Hong Jae-hee’s eyes sparkled in response.

“Open it!”
“Hehe. You’re that curious?”
“Yes!”

Yu Seok-hyun and Noh Hee-won, equally curious, had already drawn close to his side.

“Then I suppose I have no choice.”

Jung Hwan-yeop feigned reluctance and opened the envelope, removing its contents.

“It is a check, as expected. Let me see…”

With anticipation written across his face, Jung Hwan-yeop checked the amount, then his eyes widened and he drew a sharp breath.

“Gasp!”
“What is it? How much is it?”

Hong Jae-hee leaned forward quickly to see the amount written on the check, then let out a startled shriek.

“Oh my!”
“What? What is it?”

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Manager Choi Ho-geun peered over and asked.

“Is it a check for ten million won? Why does everyone look so shocked?”
“Gasp. Manager! How did you know?”
“What?”
“It’s ten million won!”

Jung Hwan-yeop waved the check in his hand and shouted.
Manager Choi Ho-geun, who had casually thrown out the remark without much thought and accidentally guessed correctly, widened his eyes in surprise.

“Wait. Really, ten million won?!”

Until now, it had been customary to place thirty thousand won in an envelope for casual acquaintances or coworkers, and fifty thousand won for close friends or relatives.
Even accounting for Seok-won’s generosity, I’d assumed a check would be around one million won—I never anticipated it would be ten times that amount.

“Jackpot!”
“I’ve never seen a congratulatory gift this generous.”
“I honestly never expected ten million won to be inside.”

My team members offered their congratulations as if the windfall were their own, each chiming in with delight.
Amid the cascade of well-wishes, Jung Hwan-yeop, who had received this unexpectedly substantial gift, couldn’t suppress his radiant smile.

“Haha! He certainly has a generous spirit.”

Jung Hwan-yeop’s lips curved upward so dramatically they seemed to ascend toward the heavens.

“But didn’t you say Bella also received a congratulatory gift from the Chairman?”
“That’s right. But it would be petty for a man to ask how much was inside the envelope, wouldn’t it?”
“I suppose you’re right.”

Hong Jae-hee exhaled a wistful sigh brimming with envy.

“He probably gave Bella the same amount. You must be thrilled.”
“If you’re that envious, why don’t you and Yu Deputy Manager just get married already?”

Jung Hwan-yeop slipped the check back into the envelope with a mischievous grin.

“Oh my. Even you, sir!”
“Haha.”

Beside the flushed Hong Jae-hee, Yu Seok-hyun let out a pleased chuckle.
The fact that she only blushed without protesting suggested that joyful news might soon be forthcoming.

“All right, that’s enough!”

Choi Ho-geun clapped his hands lightly to shift the atmosphere.

“Enough chitchat. Let’s finish today’s settlement and get everyone out of here on time.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”

The bustling atmosphere quickly subsided, and the team members returned to their desks.
Manager Choi Ho-geun was about to sit down when a sudden thought occurred to him, and he looked at Jung Hwan-yeop and asked.

“You’ve cleared out all the positions we held in TG Semiconductor, right?”
“Yes. I liquidated all remaining shares today.”

Jung Hwan-yeop removed his shirt and draped it over his chair as he answered.
Then Yu Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hee, already seated at their desks, spoke up.

“We’ve sold all the TG subsidiary stocks we had purchased.”
“I sold all my Hyunwoo Electronics shares too.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun, seated at his desk, gave a small nod.

“So we’ve liquidated all our bets in this game. Okay. Good work, everyone.”

Jung Hwan-yeop leaned back in his chair with a soft creak and smacked his lips slightly.

“The market kept climbing right until closing today, so it looks like we could’ve made a bit more. I’m a little disappointed we sold so early.”
“Same here.”

Hong Jae-hee also expressed her regret.
Unlike his team members, Manager Choi Ho-geun showed little sign of disappointment.

“Our Chairman isn’t an ordinary man. He must have had his reasons for telling us to pull out now. Besides, while the market is still holding strong, the momentum from the semiconductor mega-deal is starting to fade.”

Jung Hwan-yeop nodded, acknowledging the validity of the point.

“You’re right. Unlike the initial hype suggesting the deal would close quickly, the two groups are now locked in a prolonged tug-of-war over the sale price, and there’s growing concern it might fall through entirely.”
“Exactly. That’s why you take profits at the right moment instead of getting greedy and trying to squeeze every last drop, only to lose everything you’ve gained. That’s how you survive long-term in this business.”
“Well, that’s true enough.”

Jung Hwan-yeop shrugged in agreement.

“And with a profit margin exceeding 50%, it’s hardly a small gain.”
“Exactly. We managed to secure our position by a hair’s breadth before the semiconductor megadeal announcement, so we’ve made quite a tidy profit this time around.”

Following Yu Seok-hyun, Hong Jae-hee chimed in with evident delight.

“With this, we’ll easily exceed this month’s target.”

Since bonuses were paid out for any amount exceeding the target, everyone’s faces lit up with anticipation.

“We’ve made substantial profits and liquidated all our positions—are we really going out for drinks today?”

Jung Hwan-yeop raised one hand to his mouth and made a drinking gesture. The other team members all turned toward him with eager eyes, and finally Manager Choi Ho-geun let out a chuckle and raised both hands in surrender.
As the other team members all looked at him with eager eyes, Manager Choi Ho-geun finally let out a small laugh and raised both hands.

“Yesss!”
“Let’s go out!”
“Meat! Meat!”
“Meat! Meat!”

Tim and the other team members, led by Jung Hwan-yeop, let out a loud cheer.

* * *

“He/She says to come in.”

Entering the Chairman’s Office, Yun Ki-hun walked toward the spacious desk where Seok-won sat and bowed respectfully.
Yun Ki-hun, the executive director who entered the Chairman’s Office, walked up to the spacious desk where Seok-won was sitting and bowed his head respectfully.

“The Financial Supervisory Commission just released its position on the sale of Minguk Life.”

Seok-won nodded slightly and leaned back as he asked.

“First, they plan to conduct preliminary negotiations with Metropolitan Life, the American firm that signed an investment agreement with Chairman Shim In-yeol who was detained last year, under the premise of no government support. If that’s not accepted, they’ll open it to public bidding among domestic and foreign investors.”
First, they plan to negotiate with the U.S.-based Metropolitan Life, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Chairman Shim In-yeol who was arrested last year, on the premise that government support is not possible, and if that is not accepted, they will conduct a public sale to domestic and foreign investors.

Seok-won replied with a disinterested expression.

“Metropolitan Life, which is preparing for a listing on the U.S. stock market, would never engage in a transaction that could undercut its IPO price right before the offering.”
“I share that assessment.”
“If my memory serves correctly, Metropolitan Life’s exclusive negotiation rights expire in April, don’t they?”
“That’s correct.”
“The government is certainly aware of this, so once those exclusive rights expire, we’ll move directly into competitive bidding.”
“That’s quite likely.”

Seok-won interlaced his fingers and responded lightly.

“Then let’s prepare our bidding strategy accordingly.”
“Understood.”

Yun Ki-hun hesitated for a moment, as if there was more to discuss, then carefully opened his mouth.

“There’s one more thing I need to mention.”
“Go ahead.”
“It’s about Gold Bank—the investment you instructed us to make previously.”
“Is there a problem with Gold Bank?”
“No, nothing like that.”

Yun Ki-hun hastily waved his hand and continued, gauging my reaction carefully.

“Gold Bank’s stock price rose again today, surpassing 4,500 won per share.”
“That’s excellent.”

Seok-won responded casually, as if he already knew this.
But Yun Ki-hun continued with an excited tone.

“It listed on KOSDAQ last October at 500 won per share, and in less than five months, it’s surged a remarkable 800%.”

Despite the extraordinary surge, Seok-won’s lukewarm response only fueled Yun Ki-hun’s enthusiasm further.

“Thanks to the stock price increase, our valuation of the Gold Bank stake has jumped from 1 billion to 13.5 billion won.”

Bluehole Venture Capital, which had invested 1 billion won early on, had secured 200,000 shares of Gold Bank at 5,000 won per share.
During the preparation for the KOSDAQ listing, a free capital increase was implemented, significantly expanding the number of shares held to 3 million.
Consequently, the valuation per share also decreased to 333 won.

“Gold Bank’s business model is receiving considerable attention riding the internet boom, but such a dramatic surge in such a short timeframe is clearly overheated, wouldn’t you say? We’ve already reaped substantial profits, so wouldn’t it be prudent to sell off at least a portion of our stake at this point?”

I wondered why he’d suddenly brought up Gold Bank, and it became clear he was worried the stock price might plummet just as dramatically as it had surged.
Unlike Yun Ki-hun, who fidgeted nervously, Seok-won spoke with unhurried composure.

“It’s risen quite a bit, but we haven’t even reached the peak yet—not even the midpoint. Let’s just leave it as is.”

Yun Ki-hun’s expression shifted to one of surprise.

“It’s surged 800%, and you’re saying the stock price will climb even higher from here?”
“That’s right. We’re still far from the peak.”

Seok-won answered with absolute conviction.
Yun Ki-hun, meanwhile, stared at him with an expression of disbelief.

“Given how much it’s already risen, profit-taking will flood the market from here on, and the stock will likely consolidate for a while. But once all that selling pressure is absorbed, it’ll surge again dramatically.”

Though he worried Seok-won might be overly optimistic, he couldn’t bring himself to object—not when Seok-won was someone called a titan of Wall Street, blessed with innate talent for investment.

“So how high do you expect it to go?”

As Yun Ki-hun asked hesitantly, Seok-won’s lips curved upward in a smirk.

“If my prediction is correct, it’ll easily break past 20,000 won per share.”
“T-twenty thousand won? Are you serious?”
“Of course. Would I really invest just to make pocket change like that?”

Hearing such a matter-of-fact response, Yun Ki-hun realized he was sincere and unconsciously swallowed hard.

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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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