New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 11

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

Chapter 11. Overdrive Gear (1)

 

 

 

The Branch Manager kept his promise.

After finishing lunch and returning to the office, we were provided with contracts and private fund accounts.

 

“So if we just put money in here, we can start trading stocks right away?”

“If what the Tiger Fund employee said is true, then yes. Now! How do you all feel about this? Anyone who’s scared can back out.”

“I’m all in even if I go hungry! I’ll put in exactly 100 million, combining this bonus with the previous one.”

 

Manager Kim showed a determined expression like a general before war.

The Department Manager, Assistant Manager, and other department members also raised their hands one by one, expressing their intention to join the investment.

 

“I’ll put in exactly 100 million too.”

“Oh, if the Assistant Manager is doing it, I can’t back out. I’ll put in 100 million as well.”

“What about Employee Lee?”

 

Everyone except me had agreed to invest.

But I didn’t want to get swept up in the atmosphere, and I read through the research materials on Dream Rain and Saera Technology provided by Tiger Fund.

 

The quality and quantity were definitely different from the materials Manager Kim had printed out.

It contained detailed information from precise analysis not disclosed to the public to market analysis and financial information.

 

‘I can see something more.’

 

The shape of the gears had become clearer than before.

Dozens of cogs were meshing together and spinning rapidly.

The lubrication was perfect, and the angles of the cogs had no errors whatsoever.

 

But the red cracks were also clearly visible.

One shaft was glowing red hot and developing cracks, and the faster the speed, the redder it became.

But looking at the structure of the gears, they had the durability to last at least several months or even a year.

That meant the gears could somehow endure even if they became dozens of times faster than now.

 

“I’ll also invest. Would it be okay to invest 1 billion?”

“The amount is naturally up to Employee Lee. We’re only doing 100 million each because we don’t have money, but since Employee Lee received over 2 billion in bonuses, 1 billion should be fine.”

“Then, I’ll invest 1 billion.”

“Wow, the youngest employee is bold. That’s right, you need decisiveness to make money. So now we just need to deposit it, right?”

 

There was a separate reason for wanting to invest 1 billion.

I needed to invest the largest amount to hold the initiative.

 

Everyone deposited into the private fund account in their own way.

Someone used ARS, and the Department Manager briefly went to the bank counter.

Since my amount was so large, I had to go to the bank with the Department Manager, and thus 2 billion won, a huge sum, was gathered in our stock account.

 

“2 billion has been deposited in one place.”

“Employee Lee, we can’t carry this around.”

“Withdrawal requires approval from the private fund. You don’t need to worry about such issues.”

“Can I buy the stocks?”

 

Manager Kim, who was usually interested in stocks, grabbed the mouse.

He confidently searched for Dream Rain to buy stocks. But something was blocking him, and he couldn’t proceed any further.

 

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you buying?”

“It’s not like buying regular stocks? First, we need to apply for subscription? We need to apply for subscription and receive allocation to get the stocks.”

“Why is it so complicated? You said you knew stocks well! You printed out tons of materials but can’t buy stocks!”

 

Department members who graduated from famous Korean universities.

Many had master’s and doctoral degrees, and there were even employees who passed the difficult patent attorney exam.

But they were all outsiders when it came to financial management, and not one person had properly done stock investment.

 

“What do we do now? Should we buy other stocks?”

“We need to ask the Branch Manager for help.”

 

Feeling frustrated, I stepped forward.

Other stocks had no meaning to me.

I had to invest only in stocks where I could clearly confirm the gear structure.

 

“Call the Branch Manager? How can we do that?”

“I’ll make the call.”

“Huh? Oh.”

 

I directly called the Branch Manager.

To shake off the department members who kept approaching to listen to the conversation, I switched the phone to speaker.

 

[I’m taking your call.]

“This is Employee Lee Jung-hoo from Product Development Department 3. I’m calling because I have something to inquire about.”

[It’s Employee Lee. What’s the matter? Did you have problems with stock investment?]

 

It was the Branch Manager’s tone, immediately guessing the situation.

Thanks to him immediately recognizing that it was about stock investment rather than other problems, I could comfortably bring up the matter.

 

“We want to invest in Saera Technology and Dream Rain. But they haven’t been listed on the stock market yet, and public offering subscription is in progress.”

[You want to enter the subscription? What’s the investment amount?]

“2 billion won.”

[That amount would be difficult for individuals to handle. As individuals, even if you subscribe, it’s hard to receive allocation. Institutions can receive priority allocation if they agree not to sell stocks for a certain period. That’s called a ‘mandatory holding agreement.’ Would that be okay?]

 

At the mention of ‘not being able to sell stocks and having to hold them,’ the air in the conference room stiffened slightly.

Everyone was just staring at me due to the unfamiliar terminology.

 

“How long is the mandatory holding period?”

[3 months. If it had been a couple months earlier, you could have entered at a price lower than the public offering price with a 6-month agreement condition… but it’s too late now.]

 

I recalled the gears of Saera Technology and Dream Rain.

Could they last 3 months? Looking at their durability, they had more than enough to spare.

 

“Please proceed with the 3-month mandatory holding period.”

[Then I’ll arrange for you to be able to purchase 1 billion won each of Saera Technology and Dream Rain stocks.]

 

Some time after hanging up the phone.

All 2 billion won in the account had disappeared, and instead, a single fax had arrived.

 

-Subscription Target: Saera Technology

-Public Offering Price: 2,300 won

-Subscription Amount: 1 billion won

-Mandatory Holding Agreement: 3 months

 

Soon after, documents related to Dream Rain also arrived by fax.

We stared blankly at the two fax sheets for a long time, and worried conversations cautiously burst out.

 

“All 2 billion won was really invested, right?”

“The private equity fund wouldn’t lie.”

“We can’t touch it for 3 months.”

“Actually, that’s good! Let’s just forget about it and live normally for 3 months. It’s better than not being able to work because we’re staring at stock charts every day. Good job, Employee Lee!”

 

The picture I had envisioned was perfectly completed.

An environment where I could focus solely on work, and motivation enhancement through the anxiety of investment failure.

 

“The Department Manager is right. Let’s just work.”

“Right! If we make 10 patents in 3 months, we’ll at least break even, won’t we?”

“I’ll think of myself as dead for 3 months.”

 

All department members threw themselves into work.

Now I could finally focus on patent development with peace of mind.

Already, countless gears were moving in my head, making various sounds.

 

***

 

Private fund managers all bore clear responsibility for their operating funds.

Korea Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju was no exception.

If he made one wrong judgment, fund usage details would be reported directly to headquarters, and measures beyond warnings could be taken.

 

“Branch Manager, you used too much funding to fulfill Product Development Department 3’s request.”

“We needed to put in at least 2.5 billion won to receive public offering allocations, right?”

“That’s correct. An additional 3 billion won of our funds went in. If the investment results aren’t good, it could affect your reputation, Branch Manager.”

 

The Deputy Branch Manager couldn’t understand the Branch Manager’s actions.

Opening a private fund account for them was somewhat understandable.

But investing as much as 3 billion won to help them was absolutely unacceptable.

 

“To create patents, one needs considerably high technical insight. Product Development Department 3 is churning out patents more easily than large corporation R&D. That means they have that much insight into technology.”

“So you’re saying their investment decisions are trustworthy? Of course, Wall Street is also continuously increasing IT-related holdings these days. But there’s no particular reason to invest in Korean IT stocks. The US side is much more stable and has proven profitability, doesn’t it?”

 

The Deputy Branch Manager raised his voice slightly in frustration.

But the Branch Manager responded with a smile instead, citing another reason.

 

“Actually, the 3 billion won is also an amount to put shackles on Product Development Department 3’s feet. If we make everyone invest together through one account, they can’t act individually, right?”

“Is there a particular reason for that?”

“Several companies are targeting the core personnel of Product Development Department 3. If we leave things as they are, they might leave one by one. We needed a device to keep them firmly tied down.”

 

What comes into my hands will never be taken away.

How dare they try to steal from Wall Street’s hyenas.

 

“Are you saying you spent 3 billion won as a retention cost?”

“It’s much cheaper than giving 3 billion as performance bonuses. Even if the investment fails, it’ll probably be cut in half at most. If we’re lucky, we can gain profits and retain talent.”

“I didn’t know you evaluated Product Development Department 3 so highly.”

“These days I’m considering whether to change our investment approach itself. Whether to continue maintaining our finance-centered strategy through bank acquisitions, or to focus on technology investment with Product Development Department 3 as the axis.”

 

Tiger Korea Branch’s purpose was clear.

A strategy to cheaply acquire and resell several Korean banks shaken by the IMF crisis.

Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju was also the one who established this strategy.

 

“Are you thinking of abandoning the bank acquisition plan?”

“I haven’t given up yet. But to acquire banks, we might have to endure not only irregular methods but even illegal ones. However, if we can achieve similar results through technology investment, there’s no reason to break the law.”

“Whether Product Development Department 3 has value comparable to banks is still questionable.”

“I feel the same way. We still have time, so let’s watch a little longer.”

 

Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju didn’t have much time left.

He had to show results within a year at the latest to be recognized by headquarters.

If Product Development Department 3’s growth momentum stopped, he was ready to change direction at any time.

 

***

 

I practically lived at the company, absorbed in developing TV-enabled mobile phones.

Thanks to finishing the blueprint creation and handing over prototype production to the practical affairs team, I could finally make time to visit school.

 

“Lee Jung-hoo, it’s been so long! What happened, coming so infrequently?”

“I had some urgent matters. Today I barely made time to finish an assignment.”

“Assignment? What assignment are you talking about?”

“The attendance-based site. I have to submit it to the Professor by today.”

“Ah! Rollbook! We’re still using it well. The Professor praised it so much.”

 

Using it well?

I did tell them to use it if they needed it, but I didn’t expect them to actually use it.

 

“Since it’s the first site I made, there must be many lacking parts, but I’m a bit embarrassed that you’re actually using it.”

“Lacking? There are so many features that everyone was surprised. When we said it was made in one day, nobody believed it. Making a site used by all Korea University students in one day is hard to believe.”

“All students?”

 

All students are using the site I made.

The gear structure of the Rollbook site was indeed massive.

It poured out beautiful harmonies and had a structure that could build even more diverse harmonies.

 

“I was definitely going to ask you when you came.”

“Are there any errors in the site?”

“Not at all! Even the Computer Science Department seniors were amazed. How could you make it so cleanly without a single error?”

 

That’s natural.

The moment even the tiniest error occurs.

Hives break out on my body along with the sound of discord.

 

“Then what’s the matter?”

“Other schools are asking if they can use this website too. An external lecturer who teaches mathematics said so. The time management is good, and communicating with students is easy.”

 

Using it didn’t matter.

The problem was that I couldn’t manage it directly myself.

I didn’t want to see my creation left neglected carelessly.

 

“How will the website management be handled?”

“Several undergraduate students agreed to help, and the department representatives decided to take on administrator roles.”

“Then feel free to use it. I’m going to attend class.”

“Have a good time!”

 

If the research lab members were managing it, I could trust them.

And even though other schools say they’ll use it, how long would it actually be used?

No matter how much effort I put into creating this work, there were still many lacking parts.

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