TOIGC 22

Chapter 22 …

Money Breeds Money (1)

“Yes.”

Yoongi answered calmly, without losing his composure.

[I was under the impression I already give you more than enough money. Why do you need more?] “I’m not asking for a free handout.” [Yoongi.]

Choi Gihyeon said his name softly rather than offering a direct answer.

“Yes, Grandfather.” [You realize you’re asking me for a business proposition right now, don’t you?] “I do.” [Well, there are three types of business. Equal business, business conducted from above, and business conducted from below. Which of those three do you think you’re doing with me right now?]

The moment he heard those words, Yoongi realized his mistake.

“I’m sorry, Grandfather. Could I set up an appointment to see you in person?”

Seeing how quickly his grandson caught his own slip-up, Choi Gihyeon’s tone softened slightly.

[You’re my grandson—you don’t need an invitation to visit. That’s family privilege. Just keep in mind that coming here doesn’t guarantee I’ll say yes.] “Of course. I’m confident I can persuade you.” [So, when are you heading over?]

Hardened corporate executive or not, he couldn’t hide how much he missed his grandson.

Choi Gihyeon was bored out of his mind.

Of course, he was still swamped with work. Between employees constantly dropping off files for approval and keeping tabs on the actual state of the companies, he barely had a moment to breathe.

Even so, the grandson who had been by his side for nearly a decade was gone. His eldest daughter-in-law had been in America even longer, and Brigadier General Colson—his brother-in-arms—was out of the country too. When night came, he spent more time tossing and turning than actually sleeping.

‘He said he’d be here tomorrow…’

It wasn’t as if he lacked other grandchildren. His second daughter-in-law, Park Gyeongja, had a son, and his third and fourth daughters-in-law had given him grandchildren as well. His two daughters had children of their own, too.

The trouble was that even if a parent loves all their children, they naturally end up favoring one over the rest. While his other grandchildren were cute enough, none of them held a candle to Yoongi. So, the night before Yoongi’s arrival, Choi Gihyeon stayed up straight through until dawn.

Clack!

At the sound of the main gate opening, Choi Gihyeon’s head whipped around instantly.

‘Ah, false alarm.’

Seeing the housekeeper walk in with groceries, his expression flattened and he turned back around.

Clack!

‘Is he here?!’

Wrong again. It was just the gardener stepping in to tend to the grounds.

‘Gosh, I’m half-tempted to lock the gate so no one else gets through.’

He had sent a staff member to pick Yoongi up, but sitting here waiting made him regret not driving out to get the boy himself.

Clack!

“Whoa!”

Caught off guard while lost in thought, Choi Gihyeon jumped slightly, a bit late to look toward the door.

“Grandfather!”

Yoongi, his absolute favorite, was running through the estate while shouting for him. Choi Gihyeon bolted up from his seat and sprinted right out to the foyer.

“Oh, my little guy!” “Grandfather, I missed you!” “I missed you too! But did you really miss this old man?”

Yoongi tilted his head with a puzzled look at his grandfather’s playfully pouting face.

“Wouldn’t it be better to stay here in Korea with me instead of running off to America? I’ve been bored to death lately.”

Watching his grandfather dramatically play the victim, Yoongi gave an awkward chuckle and shook his head.

“I still have a lot to learn if I want to become someone like you. But I promise I’ll come down the moment break starts.” “You better stick to that promise.” “Of course.” “Alright, let’s head inside and talk details.”

Just as Choi Gihyeon scooped Yoongi up to head indoors, the front door clicked open once more.

Clack!

“Father, you’re outside.”

Choi Cheolmin, Choi Gihyeon’s second son, called out with a somewhat stiff, polite tone.

“Ah, you’re here?”

Even with his second son arriving, Choi Gihyeon carried his original plan through and led Yoongi straight into the study.

“Wouldn’t it be better to talk to Uncle first?” “You got here first, so naturally I talk to you first. If I bypassed you for Cheolmin, wouldn’t that hurt your feelings?” “Not if there was a good reason for it.”

Pleased by the surprisingly insightful response, Choi Gihyeon set Yoongi down and patted his head.

“Either way, you’ve come a long way, and you’ll feel better once we wrap this up. Let’s start with your story.”

Choi Gihyeon sat down in his study chair. In an instant, his whole demeanor shifted—the doting grandfather vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating CEO.

“I’ve already been giving you VIP treatment. Your tip to buy Cheil Textiles was so spot-on that I’ve been giving you a salary equivalent to their CEO as your allowance—and covering the gift tax out of my own pocket, no less.” “Yes, and I’m always grateful for that.” “Then lay it out for me. Considering the salary you’ve drawn from Cheil Textiles and how you’ve grown it, you should have somewhere around 200 million won. Where did all that money go?”

Choi Gihyeon’s sharp analytical skill was dead on.

Through various moves, Yoongi had expanded his net worth to roughly 220 million won. Normally, that money would be sitting safely in a bank, but Yoongi’s actual account held a grand total of 7,820 won.

To make matters worse, when he and Ryu Geuntae flew back to Korea, they didn’t even buy first or business class—they took third class because they were completely broke. After handing Ryu Geuntae a small bonus so he could visit his family while in Korea, Yoongi was practically a pauper.

“I bought up all the land in Cheonggyecheon I was aiming for, and now I’m prepping to acquire land in Yongsan. I’ve already secured a few small plots there and made verbal agreements for the rest.” “I know about that. But even so, you should have cash left over. What were you doing over in America?” “I signed a deal to invest $700,000 in Microsoft.” “W-What?!”

Choi Gihyeon snapped upright out of his seat.

A $700,000 investment was way beyond the capital he calculated Yoongi had. On top of that, if you signed a deal and failed to deliver the promised funds, there were bound to be heavy legal penalties.

‘Investing in a company no one’s ever heard of… Did I misjudge this boy?’

Staring at his eldest grandson, who seemed to have gone off the deep end in America, Choi Gihyeon felt a sudden wave of dizziness. Still, his eyes and ears stayed locked on the boy’s next words.

“It’s a $200,000 upfront investment, followed by $100,000 every year after.” “Yoongi, you little…”

Hearing the sheer exhaustion in his grandfather’s voice, Yoongi pulled a brown envelope out of his bag and handed it over.

“What’s this?” “I wanted to show you what kind of company Microsoft is.”

Inside were two sets of documents: one in English, and one translated by Yoongi’s own hand. Choi Gihyeon picked up the Korean version first.

“Capital of $1,500 with $100,000 in revenue…?”

Yoongi nodded.

“Yes. Considering their labor costs, they’re generating massive revenue with a tiny footprint. And that’s not all—turn the page.”

Choi Gihyeon narrowed his eyes as he looked over Bill Gates’s family background.

“Hmm…” “The founder’s parents and grandfather are top-tier high society in America.” “So you think those family members will bail Microsoft out if it fails?” “No. It means the CEO has access to a elite network. And if Microsoft thrives—not fails—his family will be the ones driving investment into it.” “Huh…?” “Right now revenue is $100,000, but imagine when it hits 1 million or 10 million. How much will my dividends be then? To stop my payout share from getting too massive, they’ll make defensive investments, and new investors will pile in. The moment Microsoft catches the right wave, it’s guaranteed to turn into a massive corporate giant.” “So there was actual logic behind it.”

Choi Gihyeon let out a sigh without even realizing it.

“I’m really sorry for making you worry.”

It was only because he trusted his grandson so deeply that he let him finish the story. If a subordinate or one of his other kids had pulled a stunt like this, a slap across the face would have come first. None of them carried the same track record of trust that Yoongi did.

“So, did you dump all the remaining cash into Microsoft?” “No.” “You still had money left after that?” “A small amount. I invested it in graduate students at Harvard.” “Graduate students…? Wouldn’t it make more sense to hire talent from Seoul National, Korea University, or Yonsei? What use do we have for foreigners who can’t even speak Korean?”

Choi Gihyeon knew Harvard was the top university in the world, but Samwoo Group was fundamentally a Korean enterprise. He couldn’t wrap his head around why Yoongi had made such a choice.

“Before I went to America, my goal was to build Samwoo Group into the top conglomerate in Korea.”

Even while maintaining his stern CEO posture, a faint smile tugged at Choi Gihyeon’s lips.

“Yes, that kind of ambition is what drove me, too.” “But going to America changed my mind.” “Why…?”

Choi Gihyeon looked slightly disappointed, his emotions swinging more in this one study session than they ever had before.

“Because I realized I want to build it into the top corporate group in the world. To do that, we can’t just rely on Korean-speaking elites—we need to lock down the elite who speak the world’s global language early. I don’t have the leverage to pull in top American grads right now, but I do have the resources to sponsor graduate students.” “Oh…!”

Choi Gihyeon gripped the armrests of his chair with both hands.

The sheer magnitude of his grandson’s ambition was staggering. Even if the odds of success were close to zero today, the rational logic backing that vision hit Choi Gihyeon right in the heart.

“So, how did you structure the deal?” “I agreed to cover their tuition and living expenses through grad school. In exchange, before they apply anywhere else, they’re required to submit a job application to ‘a company run by me.'” “Not an employment contract, just an application?”

Yoongi nodded.

“Yes. I plan to make them an offer they can’t refuse. Investing in key talent when it counts isn’t a waste of money, is it? The moment we secure even one Harvard mind, bringing in talent from Princeton or Yale won’t be hard at all.”

Listening to Yoongi’s answer, Choi Gihyeon could only whisper ‘Good grief’ to himself.

He was blown away by the incredible foresight shown by a boy who was only ten years old.

‘If this boy had been born back in the Joseon Dynasty, he easily would have passed the civil exams nine times over.’

He was thinking of Yi I, the legendary Joseon scholar who swept the national exams nine times. In Choi Gihyeon’s eyes, his eldest grandson possessed that exact brand of genius. Still, forcing his excitement down, he asked a sharp, cold question from a businessman’s perspective.

“Everything you’ve said makes sense. But even so, none of it gives me a concrete reason to lend you money.” “You’re right. This is all future speculation that hasn’t materialized yet.” “Exactly. So how do you plan to secure an investment out of me?”

At his grandfather’s question, Yoongi gave a single nod and offered a short, simple answer.

“Collateral.”