TOIGC 19

Chapter 19 …

Plant Gold in American Soil! (1)

Choi Deokbae was lying on a bed in a luxury Manhattan hotel room watching TV. He glanced over at Yoongi, who was busy scribbling notes on a map, and spoke up.

“Like what?”

<Look, Bill Gates? I’m I’ve Microsoft Why Wouldn’t a and be curious. direct—and do done everything genuinely ghost, go is it just leaving more much myself, never of profitable—if snatched so supposed the thing things through time-regression to trouble up way whole you yourself?>

Yoongi listened quietly as Choi Deokbae kept going.

<I Facebook, Google… If Instagram, Twitter, Why YouTube, a all all. and aren’t first investing? it just launched like mean, method monopolized of own roundabout such them, them? there those tons use you you’d>

It was a perfectly valid question. Yoongi let out a soft chuckle and shook his head.

“Because I’m just not that competent.”

Choi Deokbae bolted straight up from the bed.

<Not Choi Deokbae, You You’re a aren’t blood carry civil clan—if competent, competent?! descendant direct exams honors! is? man me, of passed service the then top who with you>

Seeing Choi Deokbae’s pride in his lineage taking a bizarre hit, Yoongi gave him a soothing hand gesture.

“Don’t get so worked up. Did every single person in the Choi clan pass with top honors? Was it so common that it was practically ordinary?”

<Well… I no, not. suppose>

“Right. So even with Choi clan blood, someone can still be perfectly ordinary.”

<Except The and aren’t back determination even exceeds grit in into mine my ordinary. prime. put sheer work you your>

What Choi Deokbae said was true, and Yoongi readily admitted it to himself. But reality was reality.

“I think if I’d actually had the chance to study in my past life instead of being stuck in those harsh conditions, I probably could have made department head at a major company, no problem.”

<Making But answer be conditions department does doesn’t enough. head impressive it? my question, really that those under would>

Yoongi nodded.

“It was an indirect answer. The real problem is that before I regressed, I genuinely didn’t know anything technical. Facebook? YouTube? Google? Of course I know what they are. But while I know the brand names, I have zero clue how any of them were actually built.”

<Ah!>

Only then did Choi Deokbae understand why Yoongi was taking this path.

“Look, I’d love to found Facebook or launch YouTube. Hell, even if that’s too far in the future, I’d love to just devour Apple, Sony, or Samsung right now.”

“But I can’t. Because I don’t know how.”

<Ah, easy, execution is isn’t it? practical really>

“You’re just realizing that now?”

<What All Dynasty Group, I Joseon Mind Samwoo a around. assist brilliantly. business can dead do ever for good help hidden history history, if is it know like man maybe me need of operations? or picked practical rumors some study the to up wandering while with would you you,>

Choi Deokbae paused mid-sentence and narrowed his eyes at Yoongi.

<You ‘That’s completely just thinking useless,’ were weren’t you?>

“N-No, I wasn’t!”

Quickly folding up the map, Yoongi pivoted the topic.

“Anyway, what I can do right now is avoid investing too far into the future while also steering clear of shortsighted plays. Since I at least know which products will take off down the road, my strategy is to recruit or invest in the talented people who can actually bring those ideas to life.”

<Is business management? obsessed so studying that why with you’re>

Yoongi nodded.

“Yeah. My goal isn’t just to get rich or become some super genius. Before coming to America, my goal was to lead Korea’s top conglomerate, and now it’s to head the world’s top conglomerate. And for a CEO, isn’t running the business effectively the absolute highest priority?”

As Choi Deokbae nodded approvingly, Yoongi quickly turned toward the mini-bar in the hotel room and performed a deep two-bow ritual.

<Whoa! 30 I Macallan Year! a and badly! blog it on saw so this to try wanted>

“You read blogs too?”

<I I Speaking ability absolute best browse but can can’t do is? know look my myself, of one over people’s phones. run shoulders their they wealthy what which, while you>

“What is it?”

<Well, it’s…>

Choi Deokbae’s hands began kneading the air like he was shaping warm buns, and his face flushed bright red. He made a creepy old-man chuckling sound before suddenly snapping out of it.

<Actually, You’ll mind. never older. understand when you’re>

“I’m plenty old enough, thank you very much. And honestly… actually, never mind.”

Yoongi had a lot he wanted to say, but he held back to avoid sinking to the ghost’s level. Choi Deokbae similarly had plenty to say, but kept quiet so as not to prove his own lack of refinement. Thanks to this unspoken agreement of silence, the quiet room was soon filled only with the scratching of Yoongi’s pen as he hit the books.

Knock, knock, knock!

A quiet tapping broke the silence.

“Who is it?”

“Young Master, it’s Geuntae.”

“Ah, come in!”

Yoongi opened the door, and Ryu Geuntae stepped inside, bowing his head politely.

“The negotiations with Microsoft are completely finalized. Even though it’s unlisted stock, you’ll receive regular dividends fitting your investment size, and after ten years, you’ll be able to exercise voting rights regarding corporate management.”

“You worked hard, Mr. Geuntae.”

“Not at all. I’m just grateful to you, Young Master, for giving me such a valuable experience.”

“You’ll be getting a lot more of those experiences moving forward.”

“Honestly, I wish the Chairman would let me stay by your side permanently, but…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll throw a tantrum if I have to so he lets you stay. I trust you, after all.”

A bond of deep loyalty akin to Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang flared up between the two. Choi Deokbae watched it unfold, but had enough tact not to interrupt.

“If it’s alright, may I offer one piece of advice?”

“What is it?”

Feeling that their relationship had grown close enough, Ryu Geuntae offered advice straight from the heart.

“Young Master, thanks to self-study and our tutoring sessions, your English is quite good. But watching you converse with Bill Gates, it seems there’s still plenty of room to polish your pronunciation. With that in mind, what would you think about living in America during school breaks once elementary school starts—or even starting now?”

“I was actually thinking of doing just that. Thanks for the great suggestion.”

“I’m glad I didn’t derail your thoughts. Aside from that, I don’t think there’s anything else I need to mention.”

“We could start as early as this semester, but we still have work left to do here, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Then let’s go see Grandfather.”

Brigadier General Colson’s room was right next door. Since Yoongi was sharing a room with his mother, Park Yeonji, he headed over to Colson’s suite alongside Ryu Geuntae.

Knock, knock, knock!

“Grandfather!”

“Oh! Come on in!”

The moment the door opened, Yoongi darted inside and threw his arms around his grandfather.

“You little rascal! With charm like this, you would have thrived no matter who raised you.”

‘Definitely not true.’

<Hey definitely kid, not true.>

For once, Yoongi and Choi Deokbae shared the exact same thought, both chuckling silently to themselves.

“Grandfather, where’s Mom?”

“Are you looking for your mother in your grandfather’s room?”

Seeing General Colson’s playful pout, Yoongi gave him another hug.

“No, it’s just that I didn’t see her in our room either. Of course I came here to see you!”

“Your mother went out for a bit to meet some of her American friends.”

“Mom has American friends?”

“Of course. The daughters of my old military buddies.”

“Ah.”

Watching his grandson nod, General Colson asked a question of his own.

“Now that you’re older and visiting America, how do you like it? Glad you came?”

Deep down, General Colson wanted to ask, ‘Wouldn’t you like to settle down here in America with your grandfather?’ but he forced himself to hold back. He knew that living as Choi Gihyeon’s grandson in Korea was far better for the boy—both financially and emotionally—than living solely as his own.

‘Should I forego joining Northrop and just live in Korea instead?’

He quickly dismissed that thought too. Working at Northrop was the only way he could be of real help to Choi Gihyeon and protect his family’s interests.

“America seems like an incredible country. The countryside has so much open land, and even the cities are massive. It’s pretty obvious why America is a superpower.”

Hearing his homeland praised brought a proud smile to Colson’s face. But when Yoongi suddenly dropped to his knees and performed a formal bow, Colson asked with a flustered laugh:

“What’s with the sudden bow?”

“Thank you for bringing me into this world! If it weren’t for you, Grandfather, I wouldn’t be living such a happy life.”

“You sweet boy…”

Feeling as though his entire life’s choices were being validated, General Colson chatted warmly with his grandson for a while. Only after quite some time had passed did Yoongi finally bring up his main point.

“Grandfather, seeing that cornfield earlier gave me an idea.”

“Hmm?”

“Corn farming is basically part of our family’s identity, right? Are you ashamed of that heritage?”

General Colson shook his head vigorously.

“Not at all. I may have run away from home because I hated corn farming at the time, but I respect my father more than anyone. Now that I’m older, all I feel is regret. Imagine how much my parents worried, watching their son roll around on foreign battlefields.”

A hint of moisture gathered in Colson’s eyes, reflecting fond memories of his parents.

“That’s why I wanted to ask—I’d like to farm corn in America too.”

“Huh?”

The utterly unexpected request left Colson looking dumbfounded. No matter how sweet the sentiment sounded, getting into corn farming made no sense.

“Ah, I don’t mean farming it myself! I want to buy land in a few spots across America and set up small corn patches just to preserve our family’s memories.”

“Oh…?”

For some reason, Colson didn’t think that sounded half bad.

“Is that not okay?”

“No, of course it’s okay! If you care about me and our family heritage that much, there’s nothing more I could ask for.”

“So I thought it over, and I’d like to buy land in these six specific locations.”

Yoongi spread an American map out on the bed. Six distinct spots had holes punched through them, each surrounded by a heavy ring of red marker.

“These six locations? What did you base this on?”

Yoongi put on an embarrassed look.

“Well, I talked it over with Mr. Geuntae, but I don’t know anything about American geography. So we pinned the map to the wall and decided to throw darts at it.”

Since that was the story Yoongi had fed him earlier, Ryu Geuntae simply nodded along while facing General Colson.

“Yes, that is correct.”

Of course, Geuntae had only been briefed on this cover story after the fact.

“Wouldn’t it be better to choose the spots properly?”

Yoongi shook his head.

“It’s just a hunch, but I feel like our ancestors guided where those darts landed.”

“Well, put that way, I suppose it makes sense.”

Understanding Korean cultural beliefs, General Colson didn’t press the matter any further.

‘I like that my hometown is included, at least.’

The locations Yoongi pointed out were spread across Indiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Alaska. Indiana was purely a smoke screen to make it easy to convince General Colson. The remaining five locations were massive oil fields destined to dominate future international news cycles.

‘Thanks, Mr. Kim.’

Back in his past life, a day laborer named Mr. Kim used to grab the daily newspaper during lunch breaks and rant about how the Korean government needed to learn from America, spitting furiously whenever good news broke in the States. He would bring the paper over, point frantically, and yell, “Look at this region!” lecturing everyone hundreds of times. Back then, it had been thoroughly annoying, but now, Yoongi felt an entirely different kind of awe toward the man.

‘I wish I remembered even more details, but just these five spots will set me up perfectly for the next twenty to thirty years.’

He had effectively monopolized oil reserves big enough to make global headlines.

‘Now my job is to grow the Samwoo Group so large that the U.S. government can’t just seize these oil fields from me twenty or thirty years down the line. Without real power, this future I’ve prepared will just turn into scrap paper.’

As Yoongi nodded to himself, mapping out his long-term plans, the door opened and Park Yeonji walked into the suite.

“Oh, how did it go?”

At General Colson’s question, Park Yeonji blushed slightly and spoke up softly.

“The doctor confirmed it. I’m pregnant.”

In an instant, Yoongi’s head whipped around like a flag caught in a gale-force wind.

‘Wait, what? Pregnant?!’