[023] Secretly, More Money 3.
“Well, it’s hard to decide right now. With this amount, you’d obviously need to diversify, consider risk-taking, average returns, exit strategies, and so many other variables…”
This man isn’t seeing me as a kid; he’s seeing me as someone with 14 billion won in assets.
Realizing this belatedly, Oh Se-hyun chuckled and smacked his forehead.
“Ah, I might have gotten carried away. I got a bit too excited.”
“It’s fine.”
“Alright then. How about this? First, let’s discuss with your father…”
I raised my hand to stop him.
“It’s my money, so there’s no need to consult my father. Besides, doesn’t he trust you? That’s why he entrusted me to you, right?”
“You speak so decisively. You’re right.”
Oh Se-hyun thought for a moment before speaking again.
“Let’s do this. First, I’ll need to get your parents’ consent. It’s not about discussing investment issues; it’s because you’re a minor. It’s just permission for our company to manage your money.”
“Okay.”
“And I’ll draft an operational plan at the company. We can discuss it again after you review it. Sound good?”
“Just one more thing.”
“What do you need?”
“Please keep everything between us a secret. No one else should know.”
“Didn’t I already say? I keep things strictly confidential.”
“Including my parents.”
Oh Se-hyun looked at me with a curious gaze before speaking.
“Is it okay if I ask why your parents can’t know? Or is it a secret?”
“I’ll tell you next time.”
“Sigh… I tried to persuade a friend’s son and ended up with a formidable client.”
Oh Se-hyun sighed briefly and stood up.
“I’ll be going now. We’ll be seeing each other often, so just call me uncle. ‘Mister’ sounds too distant, especially since we’ll be sharing secrets.”
“Alright, Uncle.”
“Actually, I’m older than your father. I should be called ‘big uncle,’ but ‘uncle’ feels more endearing, so I’m letting it slide. Haha.”
With a hearty laugh, Oh Se-hyun left my room.
Once again, I felt it.
It’s not luck seven, skill three; it’s luck nine, skill one.
Right now, luck is on my side.
My father choosing his friend’s investment company was clearly with my money in mind, and luckily, he picked a global investment firm.
If it had been a domestic investment or securities firm, things would have been much more complicated.
I sat at my desk, opened a notebook, and picked up a pencil.
Then I began drafting an investment plan.
I wrote a lengthy plan, wishing I had a laptop and Microsoft Office.
“Yoon-gi, can I talk to you?”
“Sure, did the conversation go well?”
Oh Se-hyun called Jin Yoon-gi, who was sitting in the living room with his wife, outside.
In the garden, Oh Se-hyun lit a cigarette.
“What’s up? Why so serious?”
“Why didn’t you tell me? About the 14 billion…”
“Oh, that? I didn’t want you to have any preconceived notions because of the money.”
“Well, never mind. What happened?”
After Jin Yoon-gi briefly explained about his son’s ranch, the new city, and the compensation, Oh Se-hyun smacked his forehead.
“He’s got luck on his side.”
“So? What did you say? Did you tell him not to rush?”
“Yoon-gi, you know Hyun Jung-hwa, right?”
“What? Out of nowhere? Who?”
“You know, the girl who won a gold medal in athletics at the ‘86 Asian Games. The one who only ate ramen.”
“You idiot. That was Im Chun-ae! Hyun Jung-hwa is a table tennis player.”
Jin Yoon-gi looked at him with disdain, but Oh Se-hyun continued nonchalantly.
“Anyway, and remember the genius boxer from last year’s Olympics? Rory Johnson.”
“Roy Jones Jr.”
“Yeah, that guy.”
Watching Oh Se-hyun’s rambling, Jin Yoon-gi couldn’t help but sigh.
He felt foolish for asking this scatterbrained friend for advice for his son.
“Hey! What are you trying to say?”
“Maybe Do-jun is like Roy Jones.”
“What?”
“A genius, man!”
To Jin Yoon-gi, who only thought his son was mature, his friend’s words were incomprehensible.
“It might be a poor choice of words, but he’s definitely not an ordinary kid.”
Starting with the names of sports stars and concluding with calling him extraordinary, it all sounded like gibberish.
“Hey! Are you just spouting nonsense?”
Jin Yoon-gi shouted, but Oh Se-hyun continued.
“Hyun Jung… I mean, Im Chun-ae is a hard worker, but Roy Jones is naturally gifted. Honestly, I don’t know exactly what Do-jun is gifted at, but he was born with something in his hands.”
Finally, Jin Yoon-gi’s frown eased.
Do-jun has a special talent. The nature of that talent is still unknown. That’s what Oh Se-hyun was trying to say.
“So, all you did was confirm some unknown talent in Do-jun’s room?”
“Let’s keep an eye on him and think about it later. I’m heading out.”
“Hey!”
Ignoring Jin Yoon-gi’s call, Oh Se-hyun quickly disappeared. Left alone in the garden, Jin Yoon-gi was bewildered, but one word kept echoing in his mind.
Talent.
What exactly is that talent?
“Sign this.”
“What is it this time?”
A week later, Oh Se-hyun reappeared and handed Jin Yoon-gi a document.
“It’s a consent form for you, as Do-jun’s parent, to agree to our company managing his money.”
“What?”
“Why are you so surprised? Afraid I’ll embezzle Do-jun’s money?”
“It’s not that. I just thought maybe he could just put it in a savings account.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll only invest in places with better returns than a 10% annual interest rate. We’ll avoid high-risk products to prevent any loss of principal.”
Still looking dissatisfied, Jin Yoon-gi couldn’t take his eyes off the consent form.
“Yoon-gi, I understand how you feel.”
Oh Se-hyun began speaking in a gentle, reassuring voice.
“But there are quite a few kids like Do-jun. Kids who don’t spend their allowance from their parents and save it up. Kids who look at their full piggy banks with satisfaction.”
These are kids who know the joy of saving. Not all of them will become rich, but at least they’ll live comfortably without going hungry.
The preference for saving over spending shows from a young age.
“Of course, Do-jun is a bit more special. That’s why it’s better for me to handle it. Otherwise, he might become more obsessed with money.”
“Alright. You manage the money well and keep an eye on him.”
“Hey! Am I Do-jun’s father? What do you mean, keep an eye on him?”
“You idiot. You said it yourself. Unique talent. Keep an eye on that.”
Jin Yoon-gi shouted with a laugh and firmly stamped the consent form.
“This is the parental consent form. And this is the confidentiality agreement.”
I picked up the agreement before the consent form.
A simple promise to keep things confidential would have sufficed, but he even brought a document. Thorough and meticulous.
Not only does the person managing my money need to keep secrets, but so do I.
He’s the Korean representative of PowerShares. To invest my money, he’ll have to show me the profitable investment opportunities PowerShares has analyzed, and I can’t go blabbing about it anywhere.
It’s amusing to ask an elementary school kid to keep secrets when they might not even understand the content, but it shows how thorough they are.
“But Do-jun, do you even know what you’re looking at?”
Oops. Was I too focused?
When I looked up from the document, I saw Oh Se-hyun’s smiling face. He looked at me like I was an adorable, curious pet.
“Just looking, hehe.”
I scratched my head and put the document down, and Oh Se-hyun pulled out another stack of papers.
“This is the asset management plan, but you probably won’t understand it. What should we do?”
“Just explain it to me in a way I can understand.”
“So, 60% will be in bank deposits. We’ll place it under conditions guaranteeing over 10% interest. Since the amount is large, the bank will offer more benefits. The rest will be in stocks, bonds, and project financing…”
With the real estate construction boom, the returns can’t be compared to bank interest. It’s a decent choice.
But he seemed a bit troubled. He was unsure how to explain PF.
I should help him out.
“It’s okay. You don’t need to explain.”
“Alright. I’ll handle it well.”
“More importantly, take a look at this.”
“What’s this?”
I handed him the notebook I had meticulously worked on for a week, and he began to skim through it hastily.
I felt a bit nervous. How would he react?
As he turned each page, his expression grew more serious.
After closing the notebook on the last page, he spoke.
“You… have a lot of secrets.”