New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 174

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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 174. Celebration (4)

I finally did something called leaving work on time.

The Iraq War had completely destroyed my routine for over a month.

To recover my routine, I needed to sleep first.

I needed rest to get to the Nexfin Office by 7:51 AM tomorrow morning.

But my younger brother wouldn’t help.

As if some war had broken out, he came home making a ruckus.

“Ugh, I’m exhausted. Older Brother! Did you watch today’s game? I pitched from the bullpen for the first time today!”

“You’re being loud, so could you turn off the lights and leave?”

“I pitched for 2 whole innings for the first time! It felt like being a mop-up pitcher, but I still held them without giving up a single run!”

Does your voice get louder when your body gets bigger?

My younger brother’s voice pounded my eardrums as if he were shouting right next to me.

“I got it, so speak quietly.”

“…Older Brother, you didn’t watch the game? Please tell me you did.”

“I don’t even have time to go to the bathroom, when would I watch a baseball game?”

“You really didn’t watch? Our team’s performance is amazing these days! It hasn’t been long since the season opened, but we’re running in first place.”

I became slightly interested.

Due to the Iraq War, I couldn’t pay attention to anything else.

So I didn’t even have time to see how effective the scientific training methods I introduced were.

“I heard you changed the training methods, so it must be effective.”

“There are differences between individuals, but overall it’s definitely better than before. I don’t have knee pain anymore since I don’t do squat runs.

“I’m glad it helped.”

“Why are you glad, Older Brother? The club did it.”

My younger brother didn’t know I was above the Team Manager.

I didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble, so I quickly changed the subject.

“I heard you recruited a lot of veteran players this time? Aren’t there factions forming or power struggles? Or maybe they’re rejecting the new training methods.”

“Not at all. You wouldn’t know, Older Brother, but all the veteran players have deep stories. They’re all playing with gratitude since they almost couldn’t play if it weren’t for our club.”

How would I not know?

I was the one who suggested recruiting players who lost their place due to the players’ association incident.

“I heard there’s also a player who was released and came back? Isn’t he causing any trouble?”

“It’s the opposite. He’s practicing until late at night saying he’ll prove himself with his skills. Thanks to that, I also practiced until this time before coming home.”

“The players must be very motivated.”

The concerns I had didn’t materialize.

To quickly strengthen the roster, we recruited players that other clubs wouldn’t take.

I was worried those players might cause trouble or slack off in training, but professionals were professionals.

“They can’t help but be motivated. The victory bonuses are substantial.”

“Victory bonuses? There’s such a thing?”

“Originally only large corporation clubs like Samjin gave them. But starting this year, our club also gives victory bonuses. You’d be shocked if you saw it, Older Brother. When we win games, the Team Manager personally distributes bonuses carrying a 007 bag full of cash bundles.”

This was news to me too.

It seemed like a new system the General Manager created after discussing with the Team Manager.

“How much do you get as victory bonuses?”

“Always 100 million won. Of course, individuals don’t get 100 million, but the players split the 100 million based on contribution.”

“Only 100 million won?”

“What are you saying! It’s a whole 100 million won. Even if 27 people split it equally, it’s over 3.7 million won each.”

“When you put it that way, it’s like getting a regular office worker’s monthly salary every day.”

My sense of numbers was completely broken.

After receiving over 1 trillion won as success fees, 100 million won in victory bonuses felt small.

Rather, hearing the number 3.7 million won brought back my sense of reality, and I felt that an enormous amount was being given as victory bonuses.

“So that’s why you work harder.”

“Since we can get victory bonuses just by loosening our arms, everyone’s competing to get into games.”

“Is that why you’re running in first place?”

“It’s not just because of victory bonuses, but various factors came together well.”

“But you got into first-team games faster than I thought. The training must be effective.”

The scientific analysis system called the Pitching Lab.

My younger brother was designated as the first Pitching Lab analysis player, and I had given those instructions.

“Some seniors say it’s not great, but I think it’s good. Thanks to the Pitching Lab, I could precisely correct my arm angle and balance my body. That’s why I still voluntarily go into the Pitching Lab.”

“Right, the more data you have, the better you can determine the direction for corrections.”

“That’s true, and the coaching staff from Major League are incredible too. Thanks to the coaches, my pitch speed increased by 5 KM.”

My younger brother’s expression was very bright.

Since his skill improvement was visible, he seemed to train with even more enthusiasm.

“But you still have a long way to go to become a starting pitcher, right? I heard someone else has been winning as a starter since their rookie year.”

“It’s because our team’s starting rotation is so solid. If I had gone to a lower-ranked team, I would have been starting long ago.”

“Yes, yes, I understand. Stop bragging now and go to sleep. Don’t you have a game tomorrow too?”

“Is it already this late? I need to wash up and sleep quickly. Sleep well, Older Brother!”

My younger brother rushed into the bathroom.

I got up to turn off the lights.

In the mirror next to the switch, I could see myself smiling.

***

General Manager Kang Dong-ju returned to the United States.

He went to work at Tiger Fund Headquarters looking like a triumphant general.

Chairman Robertson personally came out to the main entrance to greet General Manager Kang Dong-ju.

“You worked hard. You really worked hard.”

“You worked hard too, Chairman.”

“Let’s go in. The executives are waiting for the New Year meeting.”

The two men walked side by side.

When they reached the meeting hall, Chairman Robertson opened the door first and entered, followed slowly by General Manager Kang Dong-ju.

“Well! The main character has finally arrived. Let’s welcome him with applause.”

The Chairman clapped first, and the executives followed with thunderous applause.

Amid that sound, General Manager Kang Dong-ju quietly walked to his seat.

“Thank you for welcoming me like this. This achievement is not mine alone, but a victory for all of Tiger Fund.”

“Let’s stop the congratulations here. As you all know, this investment led by Mike General Manager and Branch Manager Lee recorded 70 billion dollars in profit.”

This was content everyone already knew.

The entire process of this investment was shared in detail with all departments of Tiger Fund.

Even external investors received reports in the same format.

“I want to give credit to the Chairman who trusted Branch Manager Lee and me and entrusted us with massive funds.”

“What did I do? It’s all thanks to you doing well. And there’s one more piece of good news. After this investment success, investors wanting to join the fund are overflowing.”

Tiger Fund had already succeeded in several large investments.

They made their name during the IT bubble period, and with this Iraq War recording massive returns again, funds had no choice but to flow in.

“I will continue to produce steady results so that all investors can be satisfied.”

“You should. The investors coming in this time aren’t ordinary people. Global pension funds contacted us first, and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and wealthy family offices from various countries also came wanting to entrust their funds.”

“What’s the expected scale?”

“New investment requests alone reach 30 billion dollars, and including funds waiting for review, we expect it to exceed 60 billion dollars.”

This was why returns were important.

When you record high returns consecutively, those with money naturally show interest.

The new inflowing funds could potentially be more than the profits earned from the Iraq War.

“We’re finally starting to get recognition.”

“That’s right! It’s thanks to you. They’re competing to entrust their funds to us.”

“It’s still not enough. If they truly trusted us, not just 60 billion dollars but over 100 billion dollars in new funds would have flowed in. We’ve barely taken our first step.”

“Haha, as expected, you’re not satisfied with just this. Very good!”

If new funds continue to flow in at this rate.

It was entirely possible for the managed funds to exceed $200 billion.

If that happened, they could establish themselves as the world’s number one fund, surpassing even Wall Street’s top fund in both name and reality.

There was no need to limit themselves to just funds.

It was a scale that would never fall behind even when compared to global asset management firms that handled massive amounts of capital.

However, General Manager Kang Dong-ju was not satisfied.

Having the powerful weapon called Lee Jung-hoo in his grasp, he wanted to grow Tiger Fund even further.

“Savor the victory, but do not be satisfied. Only by moving as one body can we achieve even greater results in the future.”

“Keep the General Manager’s words in mind. The moment you’re satisfied, you become obsolete. Like sharks that suffocate and die if they stop swimming, we must think that the moment we stop is the end.”

Congratulations and pressure followed simultaneously.

In the somewhat heavy atmosphere, Chairman Robertson brought up a new agenda item.

“Hmm, the greatest contributors to this investment are undoubtedly General Manager Mike and Branch Manager Lee. Especially Branch Manager Lee, who commanded the entire operation from the center of this investment. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s correct. That’s why I personally went to Korea to be by Branch Manager Lee’s side.”

“If someone has achieved merit, it’s the principle of this industry to give corresponding rewards. Performance bonuses and equity shares alone are insufficient. So I’m thinking of promoting Branch Manager Lee.”

The executives began murmuring.

While everyone acknowledged his abilities, debates continued over whether it was appropriate for him to rise beyond being the youngest branch manager to an even higher position.

The meeting hall suddenly became noisy.

However, with one clearing of Chairman Robertson’s throat, all sounds ceased simultaneously.

“Ahem! I’d like to bring him to headquarters as an executive if I had my way, but Branch Manager Lee would probably oppose it. So while maintaining his position as Korea Branch Manager, I’m thinking of appointing him as Global Strategy Director. Does anyone object?”

“Is the position of Strategy Director being newly created?”

“That’s right. While General Manager Mike establishes medium to long-term plans on a yearly basis, Branch Manager Lee will take on the role of designing and commanding strategies in special situations like this Iraq War.”

No opposing opinions emerged from the headquarters executives.

It wasn’t a personnel move that would take away their positions, but rather creating a new position.

Moreover, since Branch Manager Lee would continue to remain in Korea and handle both branch manager and director duties concurrently, there was absolutely no reason to oppose it.

“Does this include decision-making authority at headquarters?”

“Of course. He’ll have the same decision-making authority as other directors. And for special investments, he’ll rise to become the third decision-maker, right after the General Manager.”

Conditional No. 3

Lee Jung-hoo had risen to a position that surpassed all executives at once.

Of course, since he wouldn’t be working at headquarters, his authority was limited, but now there was no one within Tiger Fund who could look down on him except the Chairman and General Manager.

Now the stage was set.

A structure was completed where Tiger Fund had no choice but to move according to the blueprint that Lee Jung-hoo had created.

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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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