Chapter 7

The next day.

Kang Hyun met Jung Sang-woo at the building in Seongsu-dong.

How could someone end up looking like that in just one week?

Only a week had passed.

The Jung Sang-woo standing before him was nothing like the man he had met before.

His face was unshaven, as if he hadn’t shaved in days, and his greasy hair was matted together.

His bloodshot eyes were enough to make anyone frown.

Even from several steps away, Kang Hyun could smell the odor coming from him.

He looks like a beggar draped in luxury brands.

Although he was still wearing expensive designer clothes and accessories, they no longer suited him.

The saying “pearls before swine” fit him perfectly.

I used to see faces like this all the time when I worked at the company.

Among traders, there were those who specialized in high-risk products such as futures and options.

People who constantly faced the possibility of having their positions liquidated often wore exactly that expression.

Especially on events like Triple Witching Day or during the COVID crash, many traders had looked just like him.

“Ahem.”

Jung Sang-woo cleared his throat, snapping everyone’s attention back.

When Kang Hyun looked at him, he spoke.

“If the price is right, I’ll sell you the building.”

Just like during their first meeting, he got straight to the point.

But this time, the situation was completely different.

He’s definitely feeling desperate. There’s no reason for me to take the bait immediately.

Kang Hyun calmly took a sip of his coffee before replying.

“I came because your message sounded rather urgent. However, I’m currently negotiating to purchase another building in Gyeonggi Province as well.”

“Are you saying it’ll be difficult?”

“I’ll have to hear your price first before making a decision.”

The momentum had completely shifted.

Although Jung Sang-woo was the desperate one, he still didn’t want to sell the building cheaply.

You’re desperate too.

Since Kang Hyun had shown up despite the sudden meeting request, Jung Sang-woo assumed he was equally eager to buy the building.

So he named the price he had originally planned.

“Let’s make it a clean 15 billion won. At that price, it’s already cheaper than nearby buildings. As you know, Seongsu is incredibly hot these days. Global companies keep moving in, pop-up stores are everywhere, and the foot traffic is enormous.”

He enthusiastically listed every advantage Seongsu-dong had to offer.

None of what he said was wrong.

But it wasn’t enough to sway Kang Hyun.

“Our expectations are quite far apart.”

Kang Hyun answered firmly.

Jung Sang-woo’s eyebrow twitched.

Unable to hide his displeasure, he asked,

“Then what price do you have in mind?”

“I’ll buy it for 10 billion won.”

“What kind of joke is that? That’s the price from two years ago! That’s exactly what I paid when I bought it! Buildings even smaller than this one were recently sold for 13 billion!”

Jung Sang-woo grew increasingly anxious.

It wasn’t difficult for Kang Hyun to notice.

Compared to their first meeting, the man was talking far more than before.

And besides…

The blue light has become even darker.

Only Kang Hyun could see it.

The mysterious blue aura surrounding Jung Sang-woo told him everything about his current situation.

Putting all the clues together, Kang Hyun concluded that Jung Sang-woo absolutely had to sell the building.

Whatever the reason was, it worked entirely in Kang Hyun’s favor.

It was time to make his move.

“I understand. Since there’s such a large difference between our positions, let’s take some time to think about it.”

The moment Kang Hyun suggested taking more time, Jung Sang-woo’s face turned pale.

That confirmed it.

Time was now on Kang Hyun’s side.

Scrape.

Kang Hyun stood up.

“I’ll be leaving now. If you change your mind, please contact me.”

He turned around.

Step.

One step.

Step.

Two steps.

He walked toward the café entrance.

Without looking back, he could already picture Jung Sang-woo’s expression.

He imagined the man’s face becoming more twisted with every passing second.

Jingle.

Just as Kang Hyun pushed the door open—

“12.5 billion!”

Jung Sang-woo finally gave in.

Jung Sang-woo was furious.

“How about 10.5 billion?”

That brat kept haggling over every price.

He wanted to flip the table and walk away.

But he couldn’t.

Damn it… If only I hadn’t played baccarat…

He had lost 3 billion won playing baccarat.

It hadn’t started that way.

He had deposited only 10 million won and turned it into 450 million.

He should have walked away then.

I just had to get it up to 500 million…

Greed had ruined everything.

From that point onward, every hand went against him until his positive balance became negative.

After completely losing his temper, he even removed the betting limits and kept gambling.

The result?

Three billion won disappeared within a single week.

I never expected those bastards to send people to Korea so quickly.

The real problem was that the 3 billion wasn’t even his own money.

He had borrowed it from people introduced by his gambling agent.

In other words…

Loan sharks.

The interest rates were outrageous, but by then he had already lost all reason.

As a result, the interest alone had ballooned to 1 billion won.

All within just a few days.

If I ignore them, those guys who came to my house yesterday might do anything.

At first, he intended to ignore the debt.

But after seeing the men who showed up at his home, that idea disappeared immediately.

That was why he had decided to sell the building.

“12 billion! I can’t go any lower. You know that’s already an excellent price.”

Similar buildings nearby had sold for around the same amount.

He expected Kang Hyun to turn around and nod.

Instead…

“The highest offer I can make is 10.5 billion.”

Kang Hyun’s unwavering answer finally broke him.

“…Please make it 11 billion.”

Lowering his head, Jung Sang-woo quietly spoke.

Seeing that, Kang Hyun smiled.

The deal was finalized.

However, they couldn’t sign the contract on the spot.

The two headed to the Gangnam Branch of Hanbit Bank.

Hmm. Since this is my first time buying a building, I had no idea contracts were signed at the bank.

The bank wasn’t the only party involved.

“President Choi, it’s good to see you.”

“Manager Jung, sorry for calling you on such short notice.”

“Haha! Not at all! If it’s your request, President Choi, I’ll gladly make a same-day business trip anywhere!”

Assistant Manager Jung Min-jun from Samil Accounting Corporation had also joined them.

That’s how significant a building purchase was.

“But suddenly buying a building? Which property are you purchasing?”

“A five-story building in Seongsu-dong.”

“Oh… Seongsu is one of the hottest areas these days.”

“Here’s the information.”

After reading the documents Kang Hyun handed over, Jung Min-jun’s eyes widened.

He bought this place at this price?

Real estate in Seongsu-dong was still in high demand.

And where demand existed, prices naturally increased.

Buildings in the prime commercial district often sold for over 15 billion won.

Although this one was slightly farther out, it was still worth between 12 and 13 billion.

Yet the contract stated only 11 billion won.

How incredible were his negotiation skills?

Once again, Jung Min-jun found himself amazed by Kang Hyun.

A short while later, Realtor Kim Mi-joo arrived, and the contract officially began.

In truth, there wasn’t much for the realtor to do.

The accounting firm reviewed the documents, while the bank handled the financial transaction.

Legal consultation was sometimes necessary, but this contract was clean enough not to require it.

“There are no issues with the documents.”

Once Jung Min-jun completed his review, Jung Sang-woo immediately picked up the pen.

“Shall we sign?”

“Let’s do it.”

The moment Kang Hyun gave his approval, Jung Sang-woo practically snatched the documents from in front of the branch manager and hurriedly signed them.

“Here.”

Kang Hyun accepted the documents, added his own signature, and handed them back.

“The contract has now been completed. The escrow funds will be released, and after deducting the remaining loan balance, the rest will be transferred to Mr. Jung Sang-woo’s account.”

The transaction was complete.

Jung Sang-woo nervously stared at his smartphone.

A moment later, his expression finally relaxed.

The money had arrived.

Kang Hyun extended his hand.

“Thank you for the transaction.”

“…Take care.”

Even until the very end, Jung Sang-woo showed no manners as he stormed out of the office.

Kang Hyun simply watched him with an indifferent expression.

Kim Mi-joo approached him.

“Congratulations on becoming a building owner, President Choi.”

“Thanks to you, I was able to find a great property. Thank you.”

“Hehe, I hardly did anything this time. If another good property comes up, may I contact you?”

“Of course. Please let me know if anything interesting becomes available. Also, I’d like to buy an apartment as well, so…”

Before he could even finish speaking, Kim Mi-joo’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh my! Understood! I’ll gather only Grade A… no, Grade S properties for you!”

Building connections one step at a time was important.

You never knew when those relationships would become valuable.

After exchanging a few final greetings, Kim Mi-joo left the room.

Kang Hyun was about to leave as well when the branch manager approached him.

“President Choi, were you satisfied with today’s transaction?”

“Yes. Everything went very smoothly.”

“Haha, I’m glad to hear that. If you have a little time, I’d like to introduce you to our VIP banking services. What do you think?”

Lim Hyun-sung, the branch manager of Hanbit Bank’s Gangnam Branch, had taken a strong interest in the man standing before him.

He bought a building of that size entirely with cash. I’d be a fool to let a client like this slip away.

After thinking for a moment, Kang Hyun looked at Jung Min-jun.

“Manager Jung, if you’re busy, you can head back first. I’ll stay and speak with the branch manager for a bit.”

“Haha, not at all. It’s been a while since we’ve met. I’d like to treat you to a meal afterward. I’ll wait.”

Jung Min-jun chose to stay by Kang Hyun’s side until the very end.

I never received treatment like this before.

Money really does change everything, Kang Hyun thought.

Some time later, Kang Hyun met Kwang-ho again.

“So, how have you been lately?”

“Busy… ridiculously busy…”

It had been a while since they last met.

Kwang-ho looked utterly exhausted.

He reminded Kang Hyun of himself back when he still worked at the company.

“That busy?”

“Since I’ve decided to resign, I have to hand everything over. I also need to finish whatever projects I can before leaving. Work keeps pouring in like a tsunami.”

“I figured… without you, that company’s systems practically stop functioning.”

There were many kinds of quantitative analysts.

Kwang-ho specialized as the core developer responsible for building and maintaining the company’s systems.

Now that he had decided to resign, it was no different from a bolt from the blue for the company.

The overwhelming workload had left him looking like this.

“So why did you want to meet today?”

“Our office has finally been decided.”

“Seriously? Where?”

“Seongsu-dong. Here.”

Kang Hyun showed him a picture on his phone.

“It looks a little old. Still, commuting to Seongsu won’t be bad. How much?”

“I bought it for 11 billion.”

“…Huh?”

“Hm?”

“11 billion? Bought? Don’t tell me… you actually purchased the entire building?”

“Yeah. It belongs to me now.”

Kwang-ho stared at him in disbelief before handing the phone back.

“You idiot. You’re talking about buying a building like you just bought some in-game item.”

“Haha. Was I? Anyway, we’re starting the interior renovation soon. If there’s anything you’d like included, come with me next week when I meet the interior design company.”

“Oh? You’re letting me customize it too?”

“At the very least, your office should match your taste. That way you’ll stick around and work longer.”

They chatted about this and that as time flew by.

Being with an old friend was still the most relaxing thing in the world.

“By the way, are you still trading these days?”

“Of course. It’s the only thing I know how to do.”

“How are you managing now? You don’t have a research department feeding you information anymore.”

“I’m just doing things the hard way. I trade every day and keep detailed records.”

“Come on, what era are we living in? Why don’t you dust off your old programming skills and build something?”

“I haven’t coded seriously in over ten years. You think I’d still be any good?”

“Fair point. Then I’ll send you one of my programs. Use that for now.”

Kang Hyun’s eyes lit up.

“Not one from your company’s system?”

“Do you want me to get sued? I’ve been developing one for your company. It’s still just a prototype, but it’ll do the job for now.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“If you’re grateful, buy me dinner.”

“Deal. Korean beef?”

“No. Tonight I want pork belly and soju.”

“Haha. With rain like this, samgyeopsal and soju really are the perfect combination.”

There were some things that never changed, no matter how much money you had.

Sharing a bottle of soju with a close friend was one of them.

The next morning.

After waking up, curing his hangover, and finishing his usual morning routine, Kang Hyun sat on the sofa and turned on his tablet.

He opened his email and checked the program Kwang-ho had sent him.

[Trading Assistant PROT-003]

Looks like it’s already the third version.

“You little genius. You’re already drowning in company work, yet you’re still putting effort into our business.”

Thinking he should pay Kwang-ho a generous salary, Kang Hyun launched the program.

The interface was so intuitive that he understood how to use it immediately.

“Oh… I just need to import my trading journal.”

After loading his journal into the assistant, it processed for a moment before displaying all of his records.

“Nice visibility. If this is only a prototype, then your obsession with perfection hasn’t changed at all.”

He continued clicking through each menu.

Then he opened the Stock Recommendations section.

“Huh?”

Dozens of stocks appeared, neatly organized like individual files.

Clicking on any stock brought up a detailed explanation along with recent analysis reports.

The level of detail was exactly what he expected from Kwang-ho.

But that wasn’t what caught his attention.

“What is this…”

The stocks were connected by glowing lines, forming something like a massive web.

As if they were all linked together.

“…Black?”

And for the very first time…

The light wasn’t red.

It wasn’t blue.

It was black.

This is the end of Chapter 7