New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 107

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 107. Targeting the Gap (2)

 

My younger brother’s words weren’t just bragging after all.

 

He really caused quite a stir and brought Hwadong High School all the way to the Presidential Cup finals.

 

“Employee Lee’s Younger Brother is the ace, right? I heard he hit the winning hit in the semifinals?”

 

“He was lucky.”

 

“Does making it to the finals happen by luck? He recorded hits from the round of 16 all the way to the semifinals, didn’t he? How many players have both a high ERA and batting average? I heard professional team scouts are paying attention to Employee Lee’s Younger Brother too.”

 

“We haven’t received any contact yet.”

 

To keep my promise with Younger Brother, I came to the baseball stadium with my Nexfin colleagues.

 

But General Manager, whom I hadn’t even invited, was also sitting next to me.

 

“If Employee Lee’s Younger Brother just joins a professional team, I don’t know which team it’ll be, but we’ll immediately sign a partnership contract with them.”

 

“Is there really a need to go that far?”

 

“Of course we should provide that level of support.”

 

While we were having this conversation, the game began.

 

Younger Brother diligently guarded the mound from the 1st inning, but no runs were scored.

 

The tight 0-0 flow continued until the 8th inning, and due to stamina issues, he changed positions to outfielder.

 

“Employee Lee’s Younger Brother has good stuff, doesn’t he? He’s the first player in this tournament to shut out Busan High School’s batting lineup with 0 runs.”

 

“Still, it would only be worthwhile if they win, wouldn’t it?”

 

“The batting order for the top of the 9th is good too. Starting from the 4th batter. If Employee Lee’s Younger Brother hits a home run, he’ll become MVP right away.”

 

Hwadong High School barely managed to get through the bottom of the 8th.

 

Top of the 9th inning, Younger Brother stepped into the batter’s box as the leadoff hitter.

 

With Hwadong High School’s 4th batter’s appearance, Busan High School’s dugout stirred, and the outfielders all stepped back in unison.

 

Only then did the pitcher accept the sign and throw the first pitch.

 

Crack! Younger Brother powerfully pushed the first pitch as if he’d been waiting for it.

 

The ball fell precisely between the outfielders who had stepped back,

 

and Younger Brother, with running speed that didn’t match his build, sprinted all the way to third base in one go.

 

“Employee Lee’s Younger Brother did it! Even just an outfield fly here would bring in 1 run.”

 

“We’ll have to watch.”

 

Without realizing it, cold sweat formed in my hands.

 

I’d watched many sports games, but this was the first time I experienced something called nervousness.

 

But the following batters poured cold water on everything.

 

“They just need to send the ball to the outfield, but they can’t even do that. The leadoff batter hit a triple, but they can’t even score 1 run? Does that make sense?”

 

“Busan High School’s defense was good, so there was nothing we could do.”

 

In the end, they couldn’t break the 0-point balance and it became the bottom of the 9th.

 

This time, conversely, Busan High School’s 4th batter stepped into the batter’s box, and as that batter swung his bat to warm up, one perfect gear structure came to mind.

 

Swing speed incomparable to Younger Brother’s.

 

And his physical balance and concentration were also exceptional.

 

“That player is going to the United States, right?”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“He received MVP even as a sophomore last year. Didn’t he hit almost .400 in every game this year? Major league teams would naturally be interested.”

 

Hwadong High School couldn’t hide their nervousness either.

 

The outfield stepped back one step, two steps, and instructions to adjust defensive positions continued from the bench.

 

But that choice was a painful misjudgment. Instead of trying to contain him, they should have given him an intentional walk.

 

Crack!

 

The ball hit the center of Busan High School’s 4th batter’s bat.

 

The ball easily cleared the outfield and landed directly in the stands.

 

“That’s unfortunate. Employee Lee’s Younger Brother must be very disappointed.”

 

“Thanks to General Manager, Hwadong High School was able to make it to the runner-up position. Thank you for your support all this time.”

 

“There’s a saying that money can buy performance, but it can’t buy championships. Maybe if we invested for a few more years, but for now, this seems to be the limit.”

 

It was disappointing not to win the championship.

 

But I confirmed that Younger Brother has talent in baseball.

 

With this level of skill, it seemed like he could succeed whether he went to college or turned professional, so I wasn’t too worried.

 

***

 

Chairman Robertson really moved without rest.

 

He was on pace to purchase all the buildings for sale in Silicon Valley.

 

“He’s already purchased over 10 Silicon Valley buildings, and bought 7 Manhattan buildings as well.”

 

“We should move up the co-working space business schedule. We’ve already created a dedicated co-working space website and linked it with Rollbook.”

 

“So Rollbook will have a real estate category too.”

 

“Right now it’s only used for co-working spaces, but we’ve designed it so it can expand into a real estate website later.”

 

It was time to begin the co-working space business in earnest.

 

Since there were already buildings that had completed remodeling, there was no reason to delay.

 

“Are we opening Store #1 now?”

 

“I think we can start accepting tenant companies in the San Jose Building. And we’ll recruit individual users as well.”

 

“The San Jose Building had a 40% vacancy rate, right?”

 

“Since it’s Store #1, our goal is to reduce the vacancy rate to under 5%.”

 

Since this was also a business that Chairman personally took on,

 

considering Chairman’s reputation, it absolutely had to succeed.

 

“Employee Lee prepared so much, so naturally there should be that level of results. Besides us, where else is there a building where you can use everything from conference rooms to meditation rooms for free just by moving in?”

 

“We even provide desks and chairs, so you can really just bring your computer and body and start working immediately. We plan to actively promote this aspect.”

 

“Promotion is good, but shouldn’t we decide on the co-working space business name first?”

 

We had completed all preparations,

 

but we still hadn’t decided on the business name.

 

“Since it’s a space where people work together, how about calling it Together Office?”

 

“Since it’s a working space, shouldn’t ‘work’ be included? Names like WeWork or Together Work would be good.”

 

“Then how about naming it ToWork?”

 

“Not bad. Let’s decide on ToWork as the name and start the business.”

 

I didn’t think deeply about it.

 

It wasn’t a business I planned to run long-term anyway.

 

Since the co-working space was a business created to cover real estate maintenance costs, it was also a business I’d sell off when it came time to sell the real estate.

 

“And there’s something else I need to tell you. While purchasing Korean real estate as well, I learned about construction company situations. Daehyun Construction’s situation seems worse than expected.”

 

“So it wasn’t just the Middle East receivables that were the problem. If they’re struggling even after receiving 600 million dollars in capital injection, we have to assume the inside was already completely rotten.”

 

Daehyun Construction was shaking severely.

 

The 600 million dollars we had already supported had all disappeared, and they were suffering from extreme financial difficulties again.

 

“Still, I didn’t expect them to shake this badly starting this year.”

 

“You could also say they’re shaking more severely because of us.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Since we put 600 million dollars in Daehyun Construction’s hands, the creditors probably thought it was their last chance to recover and pressured Daehyun Construction.”

 

What’s the point of trying to squeeze someone with no money in their pocket?

 

But since Daehyun Construction had the huge sum of 600 million dollars in their pocket, the creditors who had only been watching until then came rushing in.

 

“I heard several financial companies refused debt extensions.”

 

“Especially for overseas funds, that’s even more the case. Still, as long as Chairman Wang is there, Daehyun Construction won’t collapse. He’s someone who finds a way somehow.”

 

“If Chairman Wang steps in, he could at least calm the domestic creditors.”

 

Chairman Wang’s reputation was still strong.

 

It was also the reason Daehyun Construction survived despite suffering from extreme financial difficulties.

 

“More than that, we’re the bigger problem. There’s not much time left to determine whether we can recover the 900 million dollars in Middle East receivables we bought from Daehyun Construction.”

 

“You mean the US presidential election?”

 

“If Candidate Bush doesn’t win, we’ll lose the entire 900 million dollars.”

 

The US presidential election wasn’t far off.

 

A neck-and-neck approval rating battle was still ongoing, and it was such a close race that the results couldn’t be known until vote counting began.

 

“Still, I think Candidate Bush is still in a favorable position.”

 

“I was thinking the same way, but as the election approaches, I’m getting worried.”

 

“If Candidate Bush fails to get elected, I’ll find investment opportunities where I can recover the 900 million dollars by any means necessary.”

 

Since this was something I planned, I should take responsibility for it too.

 

If the worst-case scenario occurred, I was prepared to scour IT companies worldwide to make up for the losses.

 

“Let’s not worry too much from now on. After all, a 50% probability is quite high.”

 

“It’s a 1/2 probability, but the dividends aren’t 50% – it’s a gamble worth dozens of times more.”

 

“Conversely, it’s also a gamble where the risk is dozens of times greater.”

 

The biggest gambling table in the world was the US presidential election.

 

Many financial companies and corporations had placed their bets on this gambling table, and there wasn’t much time left until the results came out.

 

***

 

The US version of Rollbook literally experienced explosive growth.

 

Especially after linking with Google, the number of users broke new records every month, and that influence transferred directly to ‘Toowork’ as well.

 

“Deputy Branch Manager, we’re being flooded with inquiries about moving into Toowork’s shared offices.”

 

“How many are there?”

 

“Over 150 companies have inquired, and individual applicants have surpassed 2,000.”

 

It was an incredible number.

 

The San Jose Building, which was Store #1 for shared offices.

 

While it was a Grade A office building recognized even in Silicon Valley,

 

its capacity was only about 2,000 people, with space for roughly 100 startups.

 

“The promotion must have gone very well.”

 

“Not only office space but various welfare facilities are provided, so it seems to be getting a lot of attention. And the biggest advantage appears to be that you can work alongside people of similar backgrounds.”

 

Just because it was a shared office didn’t mean it was a space where people were randomly mixed together.

 

The San Jose Building was completely remodeled as an IT-specialized space, naturally attracting IT professionals.

 

“It’s natural that they want to move in since the price is cheap and they can build networks too.”

 

“Above all, there are high expectations for investment since it’s a space operated by Tiger Fund.”

 

“That aspect can’t be ignored either.”

 

In the end, everything came down to reputation.

 

If an unknown startup had created a shared office, there wouldn’t have been this kind of response.

 

But since Tiger Fund, currently the hottest name on Wall Street, had directly started the shared office business, it could attract even more attention.

 

“Could I see the list of companies hoping to move in?”

 

“I’ll organize the materials and get them to you right away.”

 

“I’d like to check everything from the list to their employees and accounting records.”

 

“I’ll find them for you immediately.”

 

This was something I had started.

 

I wanted to fill it with promising companies, not mediocre ones.

 

Of course, I couldn’t predict the future of every company, but I could at least examine their gear structures.

 

“Here are the materials for 20 companies first. I’ll deliver the rest as soon as they’re ready.”

 

“You can take your time with them.”

 

I received the list of companies.

 

I skimmed through the CEO names and reviewed the accounting data and product information for each company.

 

The gear structures of several companies naturally began to emerge.

 

“Definitely let this one move in.”

 

“You mean Shazam? It says here it’s technology that tells you song titles when you play music.”

 

“The revenue model is still uncertain, but their technology is very excellent. Above all, it’s a team that can inspire other companies.”

 

Shazam’s gears were precise.

 

Though not yet complete, the possibility of success looked very high.

 

“And this team called ‘Yelp’ also catches my eye.”

 

“It’s a restaurant review-based service.”

 

“The idea of creating content through reviews is very fresh. Accept them too.”

 

This way, I filled Store #1 with promising startups.

 

Store #1 is the most important for any business.

 

As long as Store #1 succeeds, everything after that follows naturally.

 

So I personally checked the entire list of companies and individual applicants wanting to move in, and screened them one by one.

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