Chapter 127
farewell and meeting
The Fed’s zero interest rate and quantitative easing policy sent New York stocks soaring.
〈The Fed’s Power Overshadowed the Corona Crisis〉
〈New York Stock Exchange Enters Year-end Market. Prospects for rise due to Biden-elect’s active stimulus measures>
〈Santa Rally Begins, Growing Expectations for Pfizer Vaccine Shipments〉
〈Wall Street, banking stocks rise as the Fed allows buybacks of treasury stocks〉
The Fed was controlling capital markets around the world.
A market in which the economic order by the United States is clearly being proved.
“I think the incentives you will receive this time will be the best ever.”
“right. Looks like at least 4 million dollars. ha ha ha.”
“I rented a yacht in the Caribbean for my winter vacation.”
“Isn’t the price quite expensive?”
“Thirty thousand dollars. But maybe I can buy my own yacht next year.”
“If the same chapter continues these days.”
The Langham Hotel in Manhattan.
At the bar, Wall Street fund managers gathered and had a conversation.
A place where low-ranking analysts or associates in investment companies cannot come because it is expensive.
They were fund managers who managed assets entrusted to customers or prop traders who ran company money.
“I was nervous because of Kim Shin’s words. The stock price went down that day.”
“Well. It must have been. The movement of Korean investors was amazing. But it eventually rises.”
“For the Great Fed!”
“For the stimulus that President Biden will bring!”
Listening to the fund managers talk, Ellie drank cognac.
I haven’t gotten drunk no matter how many times I’ve had it.
I’ve been working hard for two years.
He was so crazy about his work that he rarely slept more than 4 hours a day, and as a result, he rose through the ranks with a high rate of return.
In particular, it was thanks to Kim Shin that this year’s negative return turned into a large-scale plus.
Seeing his bold investment and following along with him, he belonged to the top 1% of the company.
Ellie took out her phone and checked the text messages that came from the past.
―Kim Shin: Now go to the airport.
―Elly: Are you leaving New York? Are you going back to San Francisco?
-Kim Shin: No. To spend the end of the year quietly in Los Angeles.
-Elly: Yes. That’s too bad.
-Kim Shin: Yes. See you someday when you get a chance.
Kim Shin left New York.
‘I have achieved a lot this year, but I may have lost the most important thing to the world.’
It was the result of choosing work over love.
* * *
I never expected to meet Joshua in Laguna Beach.
With the feeling of welcome, the fatigue from flying from New York is relieved.
I walked along the beach where Jo Soo-ah used to walk.
Bodyguards were placed a little further away, but they weren’t too uncomfortable because they were used to it.
“How did you get here?”
“I wanted to come to America to see my brother. I told Mr. Jong-yeop that I wanted to come to America. Then he said he was coming to Los Angeles, so he arrived today.”
I could guess why Lee Jong-yeop didn’t tell me beforehand. He was a guy who liked surprises.
“Did you take a vacation from work?”
“I took a sabbatical. If it’s okay, can I stay here for a few days?”
“Sure. The vacation period will be quite long, but you can stay as long as you like.”
While walking on the sandy beach, many thoughts came to mind.
Even at the time of the divorce, I only knew that I would live alone for the rest of my life.
10 years, 20 years in a semi-basement room.
Live until the day of reconstruction comes, and when money is collected, move to a slightly larger house.
The goal was to work diligently and receive a salary while holding out for a long time at Arcor.
If you become uncomfortable with each other while working at the same company as Han Chae-won and can’t stand it, you should consider re-employment at another company.
I lived with just that much thought, but I started a company and became an investor that shakes up the New York stock market.
It was even more difficult to think of meeting Jo Soo-ah in America like this.
Even when we went to Busan together, it seemed like an overnight dream.
When I got divorced, I thought I had given up and abandoned many things, but I didn’t know that my life would be fulfilling like this.
“What do you think?”
“Well… … . It reminded me of Haeundae in Busan.”
“why?”
“You walked on the beach back then.”
It reminded me of the beach I used to walk in Busan.
At that time, I was walking around Haeundae and went to eat sea eels.
“How are your parents?”
“yes. I was worried a lot about going to the US because of the corona.”
“Corona is not severe in the United States. I have to get the vaccine first.”
“The K-vaccine?”
“yes. In America, anyone can be beaten.”
Maybe it was just a trivial story.
Still, talking with Jo Soo-ah made me feel at ease.
Is it because of her pretty voice or because of her beautiful appearance?
More than anything, it was like a heart that made me feel comfortable.
I won’t get annoyed and angry at trivial things like Han Chae-won.
I felt like someone who would listen to me and believe in me no matter what.
“But you’re in your new employee days.”
“yes.”
“I sometimes drove a company car, but it showed that I had no money, right?”
“I didn’t really know.”
When I was a new employee, I was someone who had no money.
I only had two suits, and I couldn’t spend money on accessories like watches and belts.
I used the cheap hair salon I had been to since high school, and I didn’t drink anything at the coffee shop unless it was a corporate card.
If you don’t have money, it’s somehow obvious.
“I’ve been wearing the tie that Sua gave me as a thank you for helping me adapt to the company.”
“Thank you for wearing it often.”
“It was my first blue tie, and I really liked it.”
The tie that Jo Soo-ah gave me as a gift was my most cherished item while working at the company.
“While working at Earth Resources, I often wore that tie when interviewing or meeting people.”
“Didn’t you throw it away?”
“Of course I don’t give up. I wore it in Washington too.”
“At a meeting with Biden-elect?”
“right.”
“It really was that tie. I saw it on TV, but I thought he would have worn a more expensive and better tie.”
I felt like I was making a lot of money.
Just because he had a lot of money, he wasn’t the type to carelessly use the things he used to use.
The things he had since his days of poverty were meaningful if they did not rust or mold.
Especially in the case of humans, it is more valuable.
The people I had known since I was poor were much more precious to me.
“If you’re not tired, would you like a beer?”
“like.”
“Before that, I need to eat a hamburger. There are some really good places.”
Good places to visit in Laguna Beach.
It was nice to be able to go to my favorite places with Jo Soo-ah.
* * *
“I knew we were going to meet today, but I didn’t expect to recognize you so clearly at the beach.”
Rolls Royce Cullinan.
Lee Jong-yeop, who was still riding in a large SUV driven by bodyguards, grinned.
I deliberately did not follow Kim Shin down so that the two could meet and have a comfortable conversation.
said Ralph, who was in the driver’s seat.
“Isn’t that the woman I saw in Korea?”
“Right. They are a really good couple.”
Lee Jong-yeop thought that two people walking on the beach were quite romantic.
Jo Soo-ah is passive, and Kim Shin, watching from the side, absolutely lacks dating experience.
A style that you don’t know you like even if you like it.
said Ralph.
“The close security team says they are walking to the burger joint.”
“Hmm. Then we should contact the hamburger shop.”
It is her job to help Kim Shin spend his time comfortably.
“Yes. president. Representative Kim Shin is scheduled to visit.”
-Five. Really? You have to make the best burger ever.
The owner of the hamburger shop was a fan of Shin Kim.
I can’t tell you how happy I was to learn that Kim Shin enjoyed a vacation at Laguna Beach.
“Take good care of me. I will go with an important guest.”
-yes. Do not worry. We will make a place for you to eat comfortably.
Instead, we reserved a table seat outside where we could watch the sun go down.
* * *
Eating hamburgers and beer with Jo Soo-ah.
It was the most perfect relaxation to experience after coming to Laguna Beach.
After filling my stomach, I got into the car and moved to the mansion.
“It’s a really nice house.”
“yes. I’ll show you around the room.”
He introduced the mansion himself and brought his luggage to the room.
When I first came after getting a house in Laguna Beach, I thought it was a little overspending.
It’s a place I don’t come often, but I feel like I’m spending unnecessary money.
When I came with Jo Soo-ah, the luxurious mansions of Beverly Hills passed by in my head.
‘It’d be better if I showed you an insanely expensive house.’
It was hard to let go of the snobbishness of wanting to brag about my house.
* * *
That night.
Since Jo Soo-ah was staying at home, I couldn’t sleep easily.
Several times I stayed blankly and walked around the room several times.
While looking at the garden landscape from the window, searching the Internet on my cell phone.
I even searched my name for the first time in a while.
―What is Kim Shin-hyung doing at the end of the year?
―You say you are in New York, but you seem to be partying with beauties.
-under. I’m a baseball fan who eats fried chicken, but I’m jealous of Kim Shin-hyung. Doing business, taking over sports clubs, and having tons of money.
―I also want to live my life like that.
Looking at the comments, it was oddly funny.
I have more experience and a lot of money than when I was in my 20s, but my stupid instincts are still there.
‘I want to eat Korean chicken too.’
I don’t miss Seoul, but I remembered the taste of chicken. And the fact that Jo Soo-ah is here makes my heart flutter and I can’t sleep.
I will stay at home for at least the next few days, but a series of memories from the time I got to know her to the present came back to me.
“hi… … do it. article… … My name is Sua.”
First meeting with Jo Soo-ah as a team at first.
She, who was blushing and shy, toured hospitals in Gangnam together and introduced delicious restaurants.
We had never quarreled while traveling together to the provinces for nearly three months.
“Aren’t you okay, Jo Soo-ah? Heck, this older brother is trying to escape his boring solo life as Jo Soo-ah.”
It reminds me of something Na Sang-guk said on the roof of the company that I forgot about.
We went through a lot of things, and as time passed, we met in America.
-Kim Shin: What?
It was a text message from the room next door.
―Josua: I can’t sleep so I’m awake.
―Kim Shin: Is it because of jet lag?
―Joshua: Just… … I have a lot of thoughts.
-Kim Shin: That’s right.
No words for a while.
It was when I was thinking about not bothering her when she was tired.
KakaoTalk!
―Lee Jong-yeop: Brother.
-Kim Shin: Yes.
―Lee Jong-yeop: You weren’t sleeping as expected. Do you know who the baddest guy in the world is?
-Kim Shin: Well?
―Lee Jong-yeop: He is a man who cares about women when he shouldn’t.
I didn’t know what you were talking about.
So, I mustered up the courage to text Jo Soo-ah.
―Kim Shin: Can I go to my room for a while?
―Kim Shin: I also want to talk.
―Kim Shin: You can refuse if you don’t like it. I know it’s not polite, but I want to see it.
A moment passed.
It was around the time when the anxiety that I had made a mistake was growing.
―Josua: Do you know that I’ve been waiting for you?
-Kim Shin: Huh?
―Joshua: Come.