New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 110

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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 110. Gap Strategy (5)

 

Finally, the day of the world’s biggest event had arrived.

 

The United States presidential election voting.

 

Not only the United States but media worldwide broadcast the voting situation live, and I sat in the office with the General Manager and even the Chairman, watching the situation unfold.

 

“As expected, the early situation is turning favorably for Candidate Bush.”

 

“The southern states are regions where the Republican Party is strong.”

 

“I heard that Florida is the most important region in this election.”

 

I also added a word.

 

Though I didn’t know the United States situation as well as the Chairman or General Manager.

 

I could intuitively tell that Florida was the key region in this election.

 

“The Deputy Branch Manager is seeing it right. In this election, whoever wins in Florida has a very high chance of winning.”

 

“If the current momentum continues, won’t Candidate Bush win? The gap has already widened to 54:3.”

 

“Let’s watch a little longer.”

 

As time passed, the situation began to change.

 

When vote counting began in Democratic stronghold regions, the gap gradually narrowed, and the situation became razor-thin at 121 to 119.

 

“The media is predicting Florida as a Gore-leaning region.”

 

“The situation has become difficult. The results will depend on how well they perform in New York.”

 

When New York vote counting began, the situation reversed.

 

Candidate Bush, who had seized the early advantage, gradually declined, while conversely Al Gore widened the gap significantly.

 

“The gap has widened to 190:150.”

 

“Ohio is still remaining.”

 

“Ohio is a region where the Republican Party is strong.”

 

It was a vote counting situation that fluctuated more than stock charts.

 

The gap that had widened significantly closed to single digits again. Even unexpected news broke.

 

“Florida’s results have changed from a leading region to a competitive region!”

 

“Then there’s a possibility!”

 

Florida’s results, where Al Gore had been leading, were overturned.

 

Meanwhile, vote counting results from other regions began to be announced.

 

As expected, candidates received votes from regions favorable to their respective camps.

 

“It’s become 249:246!”

 

“The winner will be determined by the results of Florida’s 25 electoral votes. As initially expected, whoever wins in Florida will win the presidential election.”

 

Everyone held their breath and waited for the final vote counting results.

 

Time had somehow become dawn, and tremendous cheers erupted from surrounding buildings.

 

“Florida has turned to a Bush-leaning region!”

 

“Phew, now I can finally breathe easy. Of course it should turn out this way. With Candidate Bush’s Younger Brother as Florida’s Governor, it wouldn’t make sense for the Republican Party to lose.”

 

“Al Gore has conceded to the election results!”

 

Finally, the period was placed.

 

The Democratic Party candidate issued a concession statement, and various media companies began pouring out articles congratulating President Bush’s election.

 

Since the opposing candidate had even conceded, it was now completely over.

 

But strangely, I felt uneasy, and even felt like something more remained.

 

“Chairman, shouldn’t we also make a congratulatory call?”

 

“They must be busy right now, so we can’t do that too. Let’s call when things quiet down a bit.”

 

Perhaps tired, the Chairman leaned back and lay down on the sofa.

 

The General Manager and I sighed in relief and continued watching the vote counting broadcast to enjoy the afterglow of victory.

 

But the vote counting situation was flowing in a completely different direction than expected.

 

“Why is talk of a recount suddenly coming up?”

 

“…It seems there’s a law in Florida that requires a recount if the gap is 0.05% or less.”

 

“If there’s a recount, could the results be overturned?”

 

“There might be that possibility.”

 

It was the General Manager’s voice, a tone lower than usual.

 

He was worried that the election itself would fall into chaos.

 

And the worry became reality.

 

Al Gore, who had given a concession speech, withdrew his concession, and once again the election results were dragged into darkness.

 

“Are you still watching the vote counting broadcast? What’s the point of continuing to watch when the results are already out?”

 

“Chairman! The situation has changed. There’s talk of a recount.”

 

“You guys still don’t know politics at all. Once the results are out, they will never be overturned. If such a thing happened, the United States could be split in half, so there’s no way the Federal Supreme Court would make such a crazy decision.”

 

I thought the same.

 

If the results were overturned. Not just the United States, but the world would be turned upside down.

 

So we had to conclude and move forward.

 

“We should move assuming Candidate Bush has been elected.”

 

“Everyone will be watching the results, but should we move first alone?”

 

“Moving first allows us to achieve greater merit. In a situation like now, even a few words could become great merit. I think we could even promise to prevent the vote counting non-compliance situation.”

 

“That’s a method with great political burden. If it goes wrong, we could face strong backlash.”

 

What couldn’t be done with words?

 

But because the General Manager knew well how strong the power of a single word was in politics, he couldn’t readily move.

 

Meanwhile, the Chairman moved first.

 

Without anyone having time to stop him, the Chairman picked up the telephone and called the Bush Campaign.

 

“This is Robertson. Congratulations on your election victory.”

 

[The situation hasn’t been sorted out yet, so it’s very complicated.]

 

“The situation is already over. If you don’t intend to destroy the great United States federal system, shouldn’t you accept the results?”

 

[Thank you so much for thinking that way.]

 

It was a call with Advisor Karl Rove, the general manager of the Bush Campaign.

 

The Chairman was conveying exactly the words I had wanted to Karl Rove.

 

“If an election non-compliance situation occurs, Tiger Fund will officially step forward.”

 

[Your sentiment alone is appreciated.]

 

“We already think of Candidate Bush as President. Not just us, but all American citizens will think the same as me.”

 

[I will definitely convey the Chairman’s intentions to the candidate.]

 

The call ended like that.

 

The Chairman lightly put down the phone handset as if nothing had happened and sat back on the sofa.

 

At that sight, the General Manager just watched while pressing his temples.

 

“What’s so difficult about this that you’re wasting time? What? What are you going to do by staring like that? Pull me down from the chairman position?”

 

“No. I had the same thoughts as you and the Deputy Branch Manager. I was just trying to organize my thoughts a bit more before moving.”

 

“I’ll bear the responsibility for any criticism, so don’t worry. Even if things go wrong, couldn’t we just say I did everything? I can just take responsibility and step down from the chairman position.”

 

The Chairman had thought it all through.

 

If the election results were overturned and the Democratic Party won.

 

It was something he did with the intention of taking all responsibility and stepping down from the chairman position.

 

“Even if the election results are overturned, how would the Democratic Party know about our private call?”

 

“General Manager, you still don’t know politics at all. Do you think there are no Democratic Party spies in the Bush Campaign? And the Bush Campaign could intentionally use our conversation.”

 

“…The election results must not be overturned.”

 

The General Manager continued to worry due to his position.

 

But I had already reached a conclusion.

 

A new structure had already begun rotating around Candidate Bush.

 

***

 

Even the next day, it was still noisy with election results.

 

Various election-related lawsuits were proceeding in the Florida Supreme Court, and even recount-related reviews were underway.

 

But Wall Street was quieter than expected.

 

Wall Street was a place that saw everything in terms of money, and money knew the answer.

 

“The flow of money is completely shifting toward the Republican Party. Defense industry, energy, and financial stocks have all taken an upward trend.”

 

“Does this mean the market already recognizes Candidate Bush as President?”

 

“It appears so.”

 

We moved one step faster than the market.

 

I didn’t know how the results would turn out, but at minimum it didn’t look like we’d suffer any losses.

 

“The situation will be resolved faster than expected.”

 

“The Bush campaign has already begun cleanup operations. And Advisor Karl Rove is scheduled to visit briefly today.”

 

“Is he visiting to express his gratitude?”

 

“That’s most likely the case.”

 

A visit from Candidate Bush’s right-hand man.

 

Since this was no small matter, we waited tensely for his arrival.

 

Advisor Karl Rove arrived somewhat late, perhaps because the post-election storm was still raging.

 

Traces of fatigue were evident around his eyes, wrinkles remained on his dress shirt, and he even greeted us with a hoarse voice.

 

“Sorry I’m late. I was delayed checking on matters related to the recount lawsuit.”

 

“Not at all. We’re honored that you came to visit us personally. And please let us know anytime if there’s anything Tiger Fund can help with.”

 

“Those words alone are more than enough thanks. Tiger Fund was the first to extend a hand to us. Candidate Bush also asked me to convey his sincere gratitude.”

 

This was the reward for moving first.

 

Advisor Karl Rove visited personally, and we even received thanks from the president-elect.

 

The Chairman’s lips curved slightly upward, and his voice tone rose a notch.

 

“I should be the one thanking you. You really worked hard during the election period.”

 

“And I’ll make one more promise. The president-elect has promised to prioritize resolving the Middle East outstanding receivables issue. While it may be difficult to receive cash, you should be able to settle the receivables in goods by early next year.”

 

We had secured a promise worth 900 million dollars.

 

But this was only the beginning.

 

This was a gamble we’d entered aiming for not 900 million dollars, but 10 times or even 100 times more.

 

“I believe President Bush will wisely resolve the Middle East issues.”

 

“Thank you for saying that. I’d like to continue our conversation here, but I have a lot of backed-up work, so I should leave early.”

 

“Next time, have a deeper conversation with Mike General Manager and Deputy Manager Lee Jung-hoo. They’re treasured talents of our Tiger Fund.”

 

Advisor Karl Rove first offered a handshake to the General Manager.

 

Since the two were acquainted, they shared light smiles.

 

My turn was next.

 

He extended his hand to me as well and left a meaningful comment.

 

“I’ve heard a lot about Mister Lee as well. I’ll be cheering you on and watching.”

 

“Congratulations once again on the election victory.”

 

Advisor Karl Rove hurriedly headed outside, exchanging final eye contact.

 

Once he completely disappeared from view, we all let out sighs without anyone going first.

 

“Phew, now the victory feels real. Don’t you think?”

 

“Advisor Karl Rove engaging in external activities means the election results have already been decided, doesn’t it?”

 

“That’s right. Everyone worked hard. Now all that’s left is to reap the fruits of victory.”

 

Now we just had to pick and eat the fruits.

 

But harvesting was by no means an easy task either.

 

Only by preparing well in advance could we harvest the maximum fruits with optimal movement.

 

“I’ll return to Korea and wait while preparing as much as possible.”

 

“General Manager, you go to Korea as well. I’ll handle the American affairs.”

 

President-elect Bush still had 2 months left before taking office.

 

Since we could only prepare and watch during that time, we were able to return to Korea.

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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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