Chương 100: CH98
Yuri made a few phone calls and luckily managed to make a reservation at one place. I took Yuri in the passenger seat and headed to an Italian restaurant in Cheongdam-dong. It was a small restaurant on the side street.
Since the window seats were all taken, we were seated inside.
Looking around, I said, "It feels like a home."
"If you look at the menu, you wouldn't say that," she replied.
As I unfolded the menu, I understood what she meant. The prices were higher than most hotel restaurants.
Quietly, I closed the menu.
"You can order whatever you like to eat."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Yuri ordered pasta and pizza with appetizers.
"How about some wine?"
"Sounds good."
Yuri ordered wine separately.
While waiting for the food, the wine arrived first. The waiter uncorked the bottle and filled our glasses.
We lightly clinked our glasses.
I asked about the atmosphere at school,
"It was chaotic. Not just the business department, but the humanities and engineering departments, the whole school was buzzing."
"That intense?"
"Absolutely. Whenever they gathered, they only talked about seniors, making it hard to focus in class. Even the professors seemed distracted for a while."
There are quite a few children of conglomerate families at Korean universities. Just with Go Jun-hyung from the GH Group alone. If you count both direct and indirect successors, there would be at least more than a few dozen.
Maybe some among them are hiding their identities?
Still, being the CEO of OTK Company definitely made an impact. That was the situation at the time as well.
"What about Minyoung and Kyeongil?"
"They were so surprised. They felt hurt because you didn't tell me, and they were worried a lot after you were taken by the prosecution.
Since the beginning of the semester, I haven't had many close friends in my major because I've been dating and participating in club activities. Minyoung and Kyeongil are the only ones I can call friends.
I feel sorry, I should buy them alcohol sometime.
"Come to think of it, they are graduating now."
Unlike me, who has already served in the military, both of them are still civilian service exempt. It seems they are preparing for alternative military service in defense industry companies.
Yuri said with a pout.
"If you hadn't told me beforehand, I would have really been hurt."
I gave an awkward smile.
"Sorry."
"Why did you hide it all this time?"
"I told you. At first, it was just a paper company created by a friend."
Somehow, we predicted an L6 explosion at the cell phone store we went to buy phones together, and from then on we hit an investment jackpot.
"How's Seon-ah doing?"
"She's doing well. Sometimes she asks me if why you don't contact her."
"Really?"
Yuri leaned forward and asked.
"Why? Are you worried?"
"No."
There are no lingering feelings. Still, I thought it would be nice to meet someday and talk.
"Oh! There was a rumor that you and Hye-mi were dating. Is it true?"
"…Does she have delusions?"
We hadn't talked since the group project, so how can there be a dating rumor?
Just as we were having these conversations, our ordered dishes arrived.
"You're not going back to school now?"
"It might be difficult for now. There's a lot to do."
I'm disappointed that I couldn't graduate. Aside from the diploma, I wanted to learn more about business administration.
Theory and practice may be different, but theory forms the basis of practice. That's why even those who land jobs at IB or PEF pursue MBA or CFO courses to learn more.
During the first semester, I could manage both studying and working, but now it's realistically impossible.
Maybe after things settle down, I might go back to school if I feel the need to learn more.
Yuri said somewhat regretfully, "In the end, we only spent one semester together with our senior."
"Yeah, if I knew it would be like this, I would have tried harder. Still, it was fun for one semester."
What's the son of the chicken restaurant up to these days, I wonder?
"Next year, you'll be a senior too."
Yuri nodded. "Yes. I want to graduate quickly and join OTK Company."
"Really?" I almost spurted out the wine I was drinking.
"OTK Company is doing the best in the financial sector nowadays. They even gave out huge year-end bonuses."
"How did you find out?"
"Everyone at school knows about it."
The source of the rumor is Gi-hong, I could bet my entire fortune on it.
"You still have a long way to go before graduating."
"If I maintain good grades and graduate early, it's possible. Plus, there are internships. It would be fun to work with seniors."
Yuri looked confident. "It's not easy to find talent as good as me anywhere else."
I chuckled.
"You have to try it to know."
After working under Hyunjoo noona for a few months, you might think, 'Oh, I shouldn't have come here.' If you can endure that, you will grow into an excellent finance professional.
"I actually have something to tell you, senior."
"What is it?"
"Prepare yourself. You'll be surprised when you hear it."
Instead of answering directly, Yuri hesitated.
That makes me curious.
"Do you have a boyfriend, by any chance?"
Yuri was taken aback.
"It's not like that! Senior is really…"
With a puzzled expression, Yuri pursed her lips. Maybe due to the alcohol, her face was slightly flushed.
"…"
Could this be a confession situation?
…I briefly thought.
Yuri seemed determined, downing the remaining wine in her glass before speaking.
"My father's name is Byeong-doo. Shin Byeong-doo."
"Huh? So?"
Why suddenly mention her father's name?
As I asked in confusion, Yuri seemed frustrated as she replied,
"Do you know RCK Bros?"
"Of course, I know. It's a hedge fund run by Chairman Ryu Cheol-gyun."
While unfamiliar to the general public, this name is well-known to anyone with even a slight interest in finance.
Unlike large companies with well-known products and brands, financial companies are often not well-known.
Banks and securities firms have branches everywhere and interact with regular customers, so they have some level of recognition.
But hedge funds and private equity funds are not well-known unless you specifically look into them.
They also don't often cause social controversies or end up in the news.
If there is an exception, it's Lonstar. Lonstar, a U.S.-based private equity fund, made headlines multiple times in the news for the foreign exchange bank fraud incident, gaining recognition among the entire nation.
"He's the vice-chairman there."
"Vice-chairman?… Oh!"
It sounded familiar, and now I remembered.
I was taken aback.
"Shin Byeong-doo is your father, the vice-chairman?"
"Yes."
"Wait a minute. Didn't you mention investing in funds last time?"
Yuri nodded.
"Yes, a private equity fund."
Ah, that fund was this fund?
I had thought of it as a fund manager doing well in the securities firm, never realizing it was Vice-Chairman RCK Bros.
The funds currently managed by RCK Bros amount to about 40 trillion won.
Of course, it's mostly the investors' money, not his own capital, but this amount easily places him among the top 15 in the business world. In terms of cash mobilization power, it's probably even more.
Since RCK Bros is a private equity fund, it has several differences from general conglomerates.
The major characteristic of conglomerates is running businesses through family lines. Acquiring companies and integrating them as subsidiaries to directly manage them. On the other hand, private equity funds maintain a professional management system to ensure the independence of each company.
While the former becomes a consolidated group, the latter essentially takes the form of individual companies with only investors in common.
OTK Company and K Company also operate in a similar format to private equity funds. The only difference is that we invest with our own capital without fundraising.
If I had modeled after conglomerates, I would have added OTK to my mission and deployed my own family members or connections as executives.
I clicked my tongue.
"Wow, you were really wealthy."
No, calling it a diamond spoon wouldn't be an exaggeration at this point.
I already knew Yuri was rich. Living alone in a multi-billion-won apartment in Cheongdam-dong and being able to buy 50 shares of Samsung Electronics stock with her pocket money.
So I thought she was just a rich girl with assets in the hundreds of billions. There are quite a few rich people like that in Gangnam as well.
But the Vice Chairman of RCK Bros!
Yuri shook her head.
"I didn't struggle much when I was young, but it was far from that. It's still the same now."
RCK Bros was founded about 10 years ago. The recent growth to the level of a chaebol group happened in the past few years.
Anyway, the son of MCK Chicken couldn't even hand out a business card. If Chaemyeongho found out Yuri's true identity, he wouldn't just pester her but probably keep his distance on his own.
If RCK Bros decides to, they could easily ruin MCK Chicken.
Wait. So when you played the money stacking game with Chaemyeongho, it didn't bother you at all? If I can't stack it, you can just call your dad?
Yuri cut in.
"What does my family background have to do with anything? My dad is my dad, and I am me."
"True."
There are so many people bragging about having good parents in the world, but she was good at keeping it a secret.
"Who knows about this at school?"
"Only Professor Kim Myoung-jun."
"Really?"
So the department head knew.
He didn't give any hint that he knew. It's just the professor's nature not to give any special treatment based on students' backgrounds.
"Do your friends know?"
"No one knows about it. I only told senior (you) about it."
"Why?"
"Because my senior (you) was honest with me. Although it was just a day earlier. In fact, I was going to tell you that day too, but you left before I could."
"….."
Did I do that?
Seems like I just blurted out what I had to say in a rush while preparing to enter the prosecution. Come to think of it, it seems like Yuri wanted to say something back then too.
Chairman Ryu Cheol-gyun was active in fundraising and deal sourcing while Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo didn't show himself much externally.
However, he demonstrated great skill in assessing the company's value. Sometimes, what seemed to be overpriced acquisitions actually held even greater value upon closer examination.
If Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo hadn't supported him, RCK Bros would have had a hard time growing to this extent.
"You have an extraordinary father. If it's RCK Bros, it's nothing short of a legend in the Korean financial industry."
Yuri laughed out loud upon hearing my words.
"Both my dad and Cheol-gyun said the same thing. They said you rewrote the history of Korean finance."
"Well…."
I feel awkward for no reason.
"Both of them dreamed of creating a domestic hedge fund in Korea since they were young."
"They've realized their dreams."
Yuri nodded.
"Now, making RCK Bros a global hedge fund is my dream."
Although limited to the Asian market, it can be considered a substantial achievement.
"What about your dream, senior?"
"Well…"
Will earning more money and getting revenge be the end of it all?
It started with nothing much. I just saw something and thought it would be nice to make money off it.
And that's how I ended up here.
Once a certain amount of money accumulates, it becomes powerful on its own. Wealthy individuals, whether they desire it or not, influence society.
That's why governments regulate corporations and conglomerates with laws and taxes.
The local corner store doesn't have any specific regulations, but large supermarkets regulate their openings and operating hours.
CarOS CEO Daryl said his work was about creating a better future.
Some want to feed people tastier pizzas, others strive to improve existing systems through big data and artificial intelligence, and still others want to make it easier for people to find their favorite wines anytime.
Capital plays a role in the growth of industries. If I hadn't invested money on time, some of them might have gone out of business.
Perhaps continuing this role is my responsibility?
Yuri seemed to have a thought.
"Is OTK Company participating in the X Cop bid?"
"How did you… Oh, you must have heard it from Father."
Although the news hadn't been released yet, the situation was known to the participating companies.
"Can you acquire it?"
I gave a wry smile.
"Well, there are so many strong candidates."
At that moment, a hologram appeared before me
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