章 92: CH90
I changed my clothes and received my belongings back. All I brought with me here were my wallet and cellphone.
After putting them in my pocket and signing some documents, it was all over.
"Can I leave now?"
"Yes."
As I tried to leave, the staff member who guided me spoke cautiously, "Your car has arrived at the underground parking lot. It's better to avoid the front gate…"
In front of the main entrance, dozens of reporters were pitching their tents, already forming a photo line among themselves. The moment I step out, I'll be caught and bombarded with various questions.
For the prosecution to drop the charges after conducting an arrest and investigation is embarrassing. It's also a mistake to have arrested the wrong person in the first place.
From the prosecution's perspective, they wouldn't want this issue to be immediately exposed in the media.
I, too, do not want my face to be in the spotlight any longer. One press conference should suffice.
Therefore, instead of confidently walking out through the front gate, I headed towards the underground parking lot. There, Senior Sangyeop, Taekgyu, and Ellie were waiting for me.
"It's been a while, everyone."
As soon as Taekgyu saw me, he handed me a black bag.
"Eat this."
"What is it?"
I opened the bag to find fresh white tofu inside.
To an outsider, it might seem like a criminal is being released from prison.
"Don't you need to eat this too?"
Just like me, he was also released after being interrogated.
"I already ate."
"… I see."
Despite that, I took a bite out of respect for the gesture.
Senior Sangyeop patted my shoulder.
"You've been through a lot, Jinhoo."
"You too, Senior."
Senior Sangyeop sighed as he spoke, "It's not easy to do business in Korea for real. Business-friendly is limited to the chaebols. Finally realized it doesn't apply to us new companies."
"Hmm, sigh..."
"Yeah?"
As I turned my head, Ellie seemed to be holding back tears. Despite seeming to try to hold back her tears, they kept flowing down against her will.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah… It's nothing."
Seeming flustered, Ellie quickly wiped her eyes.
Tae-gyu whispered, poking my side, "What are you doing? Comfort her quickly."
"Huh?"
Do I have to comfort her? With no one else stepping in, I reluctantly took the lead.
"Um, there…"
Just as I was about to speak,
"Waaaah!"
Ellie burst into tears and hugged me tightly.
"Gasp!"
"Sob, I was worried about you…"
"Oh, I see."
Even in my confusion, I patted her back.
"I'm fine. I came out of this unharmed."
"Sob."
Her crying gradually subsided, perhaps due to my efforts.
Wiping her tears, Ellie asked, "Sniff, are you physically okay?"
"Yes."
It feels like leaving after eating and resting well.
Looking around, Senior Sangyeop said, "Let's head to the company for now."
We got into the car. Sangyeop senior took the wheel and started the car.
While I was gone, Ellie summarized and explained what had happened.
I asked the important question first.
"How much did you earn?"
Ellie glanced slightly.
"Is money important in this situation?"
"Well…"
Anyway, it was about making money.
Senior Sangyeop said,
"It will be around 2.8 billion dollars."
"With a 9 billion investment earning 2.8 billion dollars, you earned well."
It's a whopping 3 trillion won.
The profit margin is low due to not making aggressive bets, but still, it's a huge amount earned in a short period.
"Why didn't you sell pesos in the same way you sold pounds last time to earn more?"
"I didn't consider that."
The country that suffered the most due to Ronald's election this time is Mexico.
Mexico's biggest advantage and disadvantage is that it shares a border with the United States. If you cross the border, you're in America, but the labor cost is not even half of the United States. While Mexico is strongly associated with drugs, in reality, it is a great manufacturing powerhouse.
Automobile production is on par with South Korea, and various advanced industries including aviation are well-developed.
It's not because of the country's advanced technological capabilities but due to cheap labor costs and proximity to the United States.
The problem is that as a result, foreign companies do not build factories in the US when entering the American market, but they build factories in Mexico instead.
This applies not only to Eunsung Motors but also to Samsung Electronics and CL Electronics. They produce cars, TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. in Mexico and export them to the US via land routes.
Ronald pointed this out and threatened to impose high tariffs on Mexican products (and also a big and beautiful barrier, by the way).
As a result, Mexico hoped more than any other country that Ronald would not be elected. However, despite this hope, when Ronald's election was confirmed, stock prices and the value of the peso plummeted.
"This time is a little different from Brexit."
Brexit was an event where the British people determined their own destiny. Being an economically advanced country with a large economy, they did not hesitate much. Therefore, there was not much resistance to draining the foreign exchange market.
However, Mexico was punished unjustly without any fault. If we had joined in and attacked the foreign exchange market together, it could have had a serious impact on the economy.
"Taking too much risk compared to the profit is not a good idea. It's better to avoid turning a particular country into an enemy if you want to continue doing business."
"Right."
As they conversed, two 38-story buildings caught their eyes.
The building on the right had the sign "Golden Gate," while the one on the left had a sign that read 'OTK Company.'
"When were those signs put up?"
"A few days ago. There's nothing more to hide."
"That's true, but…"
They worried that it might end up being called the Otaku Building.
The car first went underground into the Golden Gate building for parking. As they headed to the office, Hyunjoo and Henry were waiting.
"You went through a lot. How was your visit?"
I shook my head feebly.
"No matter what, sister, don't go there."
"Why?"
"You can't smoke there."
Hyunjoo burst into laughter.
"Haha! Seeing you joke around, you seem fine."
After finishing work and taking a break, my sister's face looked much better than before. I had almost felt like collapsing from exhaustion before, unable to sleep at all.
"Ronald called. He wants to talk to you."
"Is that so?"
It seems that even after being elected, they haven't forgotten about me.
Ronald, who was both a real estate tycoon and a political newcomer, quickly transitioned from a presidential candidate to a president-elect. He started receiving appropriate security and treatment.
Just as the British felt the biggest shock during Brexit, Ronald's election this time was also the biggest shock to Americans.
There were reactions claiming disbelief, suggesting a re-vote, or even arguing that Ronald's electors should vote for Diane instead.
Unlike our country, which implements direct presidential elections, the U.S. first elects electors who then vote for the president through an electoral college system.
This means that if the currently elected electors vote for a different candidate, the results could change. However, this is theoretically possible.
Ignoring election results in a democratic country is unthinkable. Besides, the difference in votes is so significant that changing the outcome by just one or two votes is impossible.
Considering the time zone difference, it isn't too late.
I made the call. The call went through after a few procedures.
"Congratulations, Mr. President."
Ronald's strong voice came through.
[Long time no see, Mr. Kang. How have you been?]
"The fresh air outside is indeed refreshing."
Ronald burst into a hearty laughter.
[Haha! You've been through a lot. Let me buy you a drink.]
"I'll come to the U.S. soon."
[You're always welcome.]
There were time constraints, so we couldn't talk for long. But who has only one or two people to meet, right?
The Republicans who had given up supporting Ronald due to his blunt remarks (actually, they thought he had no chance of winning) suddenly started praising him as if he would be an outstanding president.
It seems that clinging to those in power is the same whether in Korea or the U.S.
No wonder everyone is striving to win the election, right?
"Was there anything else?"
In response to my question, Hyunjoo noona spoke with a cigarette in her mouth, "While you were away, the opposition party and civic groups were actively looking for you."
Despite escaping various scandals, President Park Si-hyeong faced the biggest crisis of his term. The opposition party took advantage of the situation and launched a political offensive against the Blue House and the ruling party, putting me in the spotlight like a sacrificial lamb of the administration.
Suddenly, I recall a civic group representative who came when Athena was arrested and said, 'If you commit suicide here, we can topple the government. Please help.'
Through experiencing politics in the United States and South Korea, I realized that politicians view everything from a political perspective. Apart from the issues with the president, I am not inclined to be dragged around by the opposition's political offensive.
Hyunjoo noona asked me, "What do you think Park Si-hyeong will do?"
"What would be the best course of action?"
Although I learned about accounting and finance in school, I still don't know much about political calculations.
Senior Sangyeop said, "Illegal surveillance, raids, arrests, investigations, and even connections with PAS and Eunsung-cha. If even one or two of these are confirmed as true, won't it lead to impeachment sentiment?"
Hyunjoo noona nodded.
"I am still digging for more information."
"Have you found anything else?"
"Too much to handle. Starting from the funding received during his time as governor of Gyeonggi Province, I'm debating where to start digging."
"..."
How deep does this go?
After hearing Sangyeop's interpretation, Henry, looking puzzled, asked, "How did such a person become President?"
"It's like when Ronald became president of the United States."
"Ah, I see."
Henry immediately agreed with Taekgyu's words.
Because the ruling party holds close to half of the seats in the parliament and many people support Park Si-hyeong, impeachment is realistically impossible.
"Still, it's best to minimize the damage this time. Let's make sure they never pull a stunt like this again."
It seemed like Hyunjoo also shared the same sentiment as she nodded her head.
"I'll talk to the opposition party about this. At the very least, the National Intelligence Service and the prosecution should take responsibility."
"…"
She seems quite angry about his younger sibling being taken away. These fools unnecessarily provoked Taekgyu, making Hyunjoo furious.
"Is our mother doing well?"
Taekgyu asked.
"I went to see her myself to reassure her. I gave her some comforting words," I sighed with relief.
"Thank you."
Ellie said.
"Still, since you must have been worried, be sure to keep in touch."
"I will."
I purposely didn't mention the possibility of being caught by the prosecution when I visited before. If they knew, they would have definitely stopped me.
Thinking about the shock they'd feel when they find out the truth later, makes me feel like a disappointment.
Sangyeop senior asked,
"What are you going to do next? It'll be difficult to return to school."
I forced a bitter smile.
"That's probably true, right?"
Everyone in the department, including Minyoung and Kyeongil, must have been greatly shocked by the news. Probably Seon-ah as well.
"If possible, I wanted to hide my identity, but I ended up holding a press conference myself. However, the public's interest will soon wane.
Things will probably get better as time goes on.
"I'll have to work for the time being."
I have been thinking about something while being alone.
Through various experiences, including investments in the automotive industry, I keenly felt the issue of manpower shortage. Is it even reasonable for a company worth tens of trillions to be run by only three shareholders? We need to start recruiting talent right away.
"Let's use this opportunity to turn OTK Company into a company with a systematic organization. It's strange that there is no employee other than the CEO and COO."
Taekgyu said.
"We do have one employee."
"Oh, right."
Henry cautiously raised his hand.
"Come to think of it… I've been working for quite a while now. Haven't I not received my salary until now?"
TL/n -
Everything about Athena is fictional.
***
The peso is the name of the currency used in several countries, primarily in Latin America. Here are some of the most notable:
Philippine Peso (PHP): The official currency of the Philippines.
Mexican Peso (MXN): The official currency of Mexico and one of the most traded currencies in the world.
Argentine Peso (ARS): The official currency of Argentina.
Chilean Peso (CLP): The currency used in Chile.
Colombian Peso (COP): The official currency of Colombia.
Each peso has its own exchange rate and economic context, influenced by the respective country's economic conditions.
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