Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 147

Translator: Dreamscribe[The Chinese government has simultaneously locked down 12 cities including Shanghai. Currently, there is a wave of panic buying across all Chinese cities, and due to a lack of inventory, serious........]

It was already known that the Chinese government might take extreme measures.

“But I never imagined they would lock down all the major cities at once.”

The Chinese government had stated it was prepared to take any measure to achieve zero COVID.

“Still, to shut down those huge cities entirely......”

However, forcibly closing functioning cities and preventing people from going outside was unexpected.

Typical of China, perhaps.

Extreme and bold.

“Thanks to that, all the stock markets are currently shaken. Manufacturing industries that were unprepared for the lockdown have taken massive hits as well.”

It wasn’t just the Chinese citizens who were caught off guard.

Manufacturing companies operating factories in China all came to a halt at once.

“What about our side?”

“Fortunately, in the case of semiconductor factories, we didn’t build them in China, so the impact is minimal. If there’s a problem, it would be in shipping. We need to receive goods and transport them by sea, but since the factories that produce those goods have all stopped, we can’t transport anything.”

“But it seems that because China itself lacks the supply it needs, they’re now importing goods through other countries, and ironically, orders have even increased.”

Shipping, after all, wasn’t suffering losses because the incoming order volume was making up for it.

“But CEO-nim, due to the lockdown of Shanghai and other major cities, the stock price of FaceWeb has dropped again. There’s even talk going around that it might really fall to 200 billion dollars.”

FaceWeb had briefly joined the trillion-dollar club before crashing back down.

There had been many incidents.

The biggest, of course, was the Cambridge data leak, followed by the FaceWeb Coin incident.

Alongside those two events, our Kwangwoon’s PicPic recorded an enormous number of users with short-form videos and ended up taking the throne of SNS.

“Of course, FaceWeb still has more registered users than we do. 3.7 billion people are registered on FaceWeb.”

“What about actual users?”

“In terms of traffic, we have a bit more. Kwangwoon has a lot of subsidiaries generating revenue here and there, after all.”

FaceWeb maintains most of its revenue through ads shown on its platform.

It’s known to be trying various ways to break away from that model, but instead, it's being criticized by investors for spending money recklessly.

“And now with the lockdowns in China forcing factories to shut down, companies likely aren’t spending on advertisements. That’s the very reason the stock price is dropping.”

There was a reason why the Department Head was telling me all this.

“CEO-nim, should we... continue buying FaceWeb stocks?”

Previously, my intuition had strongly highlighted FaceWeb as the only standout on the NASDAQ, so I instructed for a large-scale purchase.

We had bought not only the stocks available on the market but also those held by large asset management firms.

“.......”

With prices dropping this much, it would be reasonable to stop buying.

But my intuition was still clearly highlighting FaceWeb.

Could it mean that even though FaceWeb is a past-its-prime SNS, it will eventually make a comeback?

“Please continue purchasing.”

***

After finishing the meeting in the CEO's Office, the employees moved quickly.

It wasn’t a matter of simply clicking a button on a computer to get the desired volume. They had to go directly to the parties holding those stocks and negotiate.

“Oh? Vice President?”

“Are you here to see the CEO?”

“Ah, yes. But is the meeting over?”

“Yes, we just finished and are on our way out.”

“Did the CEO say anything regarding FaceWeb this time?”

At the Vice President’s question, the employees had expressions that showed they understood why he was asking.

“Yes. He instructed us to continue purchasing.”

“Then, as I thought... is it what I’m thinking?”

The Vice President and the employees.

They were all thinking the same thing.

“It really seems like the CEO is trying to acquire FaceWeb.”

There’s no reason to selectively and massively purchase only FaceWeb stock while the entire NASDAQ is crashing, unless there’s something more.

“But would a hostile M&A even work on FaceWeb?”

“It wouldn’t. They have dual-class voting rights. The founder, Marcus, holds only 13% of the shares, but he controls 52% of the voting rights.”

A system somewhat unfamiliar in Korea.

It’s the dual-class voting system.

Even if one only holds 10% of the total shares, if one holds dual-class shares, one can control the company with just that 10% stake.

“Well, in Europe and the U.S., dual-class voting is firmly established. It’s a way to preserve the founder’s philosophy. That’s something we can’t even dream of in our country.”

Europe and the U.S. have already implemented dual-class voting systems for a long time.

But in our country, it can’t be introduced.

“We really can’t help it. Our inheritance culture is too strong.”

Unlike the U.S., our country has a strong culture of passing things down within families.

That makes it more likely to be abused, which is why this system hasn't been adopted.

“Anyway, Marcus has over 50% of the voting rights, so no matter how much someone tries to take over the company, if that guy doesn’t agree, FaceWeb can never be theirs.”

There’s no way Jung Jin-ho doesn’t know that.

Yet he was still continuing to buy FaceWeb stock.

“Maybe the CEO has something else in mind?”

“Well, a sparrow wouldn’t be able to understand the thoughts of a phoenix.”

“Right. No matter how hard we try to think it through, we’ll never be able to read the CEO’s blueprint. Just do as we’re told. Like always. So let’s get moving.”

“Yes, sir!”

The employees bustled off once again.

Vice President Kang, who had been about to ask what the real intention was behind collecting FaceWeb stock, gave up on the idea.

One thing he realized while working under Jung Jin-ho was that there’s no need to know every reason.

It’s better to just turn off your brain and follow instructions.

Because if you did understand all the reasons, you wouldn’t be able to handle the terrifying scale of Jung Jin-ho’s plans.

Still, sometimes he wondered.

What on earth does the CEO, who’s shaking the world in the palm of his hand, think about on a daily basis?

***

‘Ah. I want to play games.’

These days, weekends are what I look forward to the most.

Spending time together raiding in the building with everyone, that time felt truly happy.

And during that time, I realized something.

That I, too, was gradually falling into a rut.

“.......”

I still remember when I first joined the securities company.

Back when I was a clueless rookie.

I relied only on intuition, doing short-term trades, and my position kept rising until I became the CEO in the blink of an eye and grew the company into the group it is today.

And I started to think one thing.

‘Haven’t I done enough at this point?’

Intuition is like a superpower that tells you which choice is the right one.

At first, I just made decisions based on a strong feeling.

And each time my intuition was right, every time a stock skyrocketed, the thrill I felt was indescribable.

Now, it even took over my sight, hearing, and smell, showing me clear images.

Revealing which were good stocks and which were bad ones.

As if my intuition had upgraded itself.

That’s how I made countless decisions, and that’s how Kwangwoon became a massive group.

“.......”

But at some point, I started to wonder.

Am I really using my intuition well?

Or am I just blindly being led by it?

That doubt was the beginning.

That maybe this is enough.

That maybe there’s nothing left to achieve now.

“Oppa. Oppa!”

“Huh? Ah, yeah. What?”

“What the heck? I called you and you didn’t even answer. What were you thinking about? Something bothering you? Don’t tell me it’s work? You suggested eating out for the first time in a while, and now you’re thinking about work again?”

“Oh-ho. Let him be. Your oppa is a really busy man. Not to mention, he’s getting praised by the media as, hmm? The CEO who represents our country. Hahaha!”

One of the best things about success was definitely my family’s reaction.

Back then, I was just a useless unemployed guy wasting food and playing games all day. But now, I’m a legendary stockbroker who started as a rookie employee and built up tens of trillions in wealth.

“What were you all talking about?”

“Ah, nothing special. Just that it’s been a while since we went on a family trip. Both you and I have been so busy. So we were thinking, maybe we should set a date and all go together.”

“We’re fine. Mom and Dad are managing well on their own. Still... going together as a family would be nice. Ahem.”

My parents were subtly hinting that they wanted the whole family to go on a trip together.

Come to think of it, when was the last time I really took a break?

I had been running non-stop without rest, so I hadn’t really taken a proper vacation.

“Sure. It’d be nice if we all went together. I’ll try to find a date that works.”

When I said that, my younger sister stared at me intently.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Tsk. It’s just strange.”

“Why?”

“You look like someone who’s hit a wall. Like... how do I put it? You have the kind of expression I see in people who are about to retire. I see that kind of look often at my company. You look just like that.”

I blinked.

I’ve always thought this, but my sister has a sharp eye for reading people.

Or maybe I’m just bad at hiding my expression.

“But oppa, you’re still young. And you love your work. So it doesn’t seem like you’re about to retire. Are you worried about something? Is it because of Hye-rin unnie? Relationship problems?”

“...It’s not that.”

“Well, even if I knew what you were worried about, how could I give you advice? The things you worry about at your level are probably things a regular person like me couldn’t even imagine.”

“It’s not really that either.”

“Yeah? Then perfect.”

“...Huh?”

My sister smiled brightly and began pulling something out of her bag.

“Agh, seriously. Someone at work was handing out books today, and they gave me this weird one. You haven’t been reading books lately, have you?”

“Instead of books, I read hundreds of pages of reports every day.”

“Those aren’t books! You need to feed your soul too, you know!”

“......”

With a grin, my sister handed me a nicely wrapped book.

She was shamelessly dumping off an unwanted book on her oppa.

***

–Should we go on a trip?

–Hm? Suddenly?

–I was thinking... I’ve never really done anything romantic for you. We’ve never even gone on a proper overseas trip together because of work.

–It’s fine. I’ve never felt hurt about that. Do you know how amazing my boyfriend is?

Calling her "Hye-rin ssi"... would feel strange now, wouldn’t it?

Come to think of it, officially becoming a couple with Lee Hye-rin happened quite naturally.

Just like any other day, we were eating at a udon place, then drinking, and one thing led to another... Rather than someone confessing and us starting to date like most couples these days, it just naturally developed into a serious relationship.

But becoming a couple didn’t really change much.

Aside from the occasional sneaky moments of dating at the office, both of us were buried in work.

Well, mostly because I was completely consumed by it.

–Still, if you really want to, I’d love to go overseas too~

Even if she said it was fine, Hye-rin probably wanted to hang out with me like a normal couple.

She was always an active person, after all.

–I’ll look up some places.

–Okay! I will too!

After finishing that conversation, I went to take a shower first.

“.......”

Taking a shower always made my head feel a bit clearer, even if just for a while.

Sitting in front of the computer in that dazed state and playing a bit of a game helped fill the emptiness.

Ding~.

Just then, a message came in.

Was it from Hye-rin?

–Oppa. Did you read the book I gave you?

It was my sister.

“Ah.”

I frowned as I looked at the book on my desk.

“What the heck did she dump on me this time.”

She said something about the importance of nourishing the soul, but the book she gave me wasn’t something meant to be seriously read.

[The Answer to Life]

Each page had one or two lines of text, some pages had just a single word. A so-called random page book.

If you had something you were struggling with, you were supposed to open to a random page and find advice in the words written there.

That’s how you’d find the answer to life.

I wasn’t making that up, it's literally how the book was described.

“I thought she gave me some kind of philosophy book.”

I thought about just sticking it on some dusty bookshelf somewhere, but since I got it anyway, I figured I’d at least open it once for fun.

“Hm.”

Not that I was expecting much.

“Do you have any advice for me right now?”

What kind of advice would I need?

There were many possibilities.

Whether I should quit this company, now mired in stagnation.

Or whether I should keep forcing myself to stay.

And how exactly I should be using this intuition.

Where the limits of this ability lie, and so on.

Honestly, it was the kind of advice no one in the world could give me.

Let alone some random book.

“Ugh.”

Just then.

As I was about to flip open the thick book at random, a sudden jolt of electricity ran through my fingertips.

“......?”

I froze in place and slowly opened the book at that spot.

[Now is the time for change.]

“!?”

I got goosebumps all over.

Could it be that my intuition was showing me this phrase?

I quickly closed the book.

“Are you... talking to me right now?”

I ran my hand across it again.

And once again, a sharp tingle hit my fingertips at a certain point.

I opened the book again.

[Pointless questions are not good.]

“......!?”

Was it really answering me?

Even if it was, the response felt vague.

Was it saying I was right? Or seriously telling me not to ask useless questions?

“.......”

I frowned.

A dull pain suddenly throbbed in my temples.

“What’s going on...”

I knew this pain well.

It happened when I overused my intuition.

If it got worse, it would feel like an overheated engine burning up, with a stinging smell and pain so intense I couldn’t even stay upright.

“Ah... Could it be that ‘don’t ask pointless questions’ meant this...?”

Was that the reason?

“In that case.......”

I thought for a moment about what to ask.

But really, there was no need to think long.

“Should I just quit and retire now? These days, when I invest based on my intuition, it doesn’t feel like I’m choosing to use it, it feels like I’m being dragged by it. That’s why I’m starting to feel unsure about company work. I used to really enjoy it. And now that I’ve grown the company this far, I feel like I’ve done enough for hyung-nim. Maybe I should just live like a loafer now? I’ve made enough money. Go back to playing games in my room all day like I used to, forgetting everything else. What do you think? Wouldn’t that be more fun?”

Right after I said that, I suddenly felt a bit hollow.

On top of that, the question had been way too long.

I was about to summarize it from the start...

“!”

But the moment I closed the book, a powerful sensation struck me.

As if something was grabbing my hand forcefully.

I hastily opened the book again.

[Don’t talk bullshit.]

“.......”

It was a much harsher book than I expected.