Chapter 4

“A company? What kind of company?”

Judging by his voice, Kwang-ho was genuinely surprised.

That was understandable.

Kang Hyun had never shown any signs of wanting to start a business before.

In fact, he had never seriously considered it.

But after everything that had happened recently, the answer seemed obvious.

“I’m going to start an investment company.”

Hearing those words, Kwang-ho brought his cigarette to his lips.

After thinking for a moment, he asked,

“You found the 1,000 Bitcoins, didn’t you?”

This time, Kang Hyun was the one left speechless.

“How did you know?”

“It’s been all over the online communities lately. Not just crypto forums, but stock and futures trading communities too.”

“Huh… Really?”

Normally, Kang Hyun would have been monitoring those communities himself.

But recently, he’d only been paying attention to crypto.

He had no idea it had become such a hot topic elsewhere.

Still…

Could Kwang-ho really figure it out from just that?

“Besides, Bitcoin was a huge part of our lives too, wasn’t it? I bought my house with the profits back then. That’s why I own an apartment in Jamsil now.”

“Right. You even invited us over for the housewarming.”

Kwang-ho really was smart.

Using just a few clues, he had deduced that Kang Hyun was the owner of those 1,000 Bitcoins.

“Then why didn’t you ask me?”

“You would’ve been curious.”

“I pretended not to know. It’s not my money. I figured acting like I knew would only make things awkward.”

The more Kang Hyun listened…

The more he realized what an incredible friend Kwang-ho was.

Even after learning someone close to him had suddenly gained 170 billion won…

He deliberately kept quiet so Kang Hyun wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

‘There’s really no one else like him.’

Kwang-ho asked again,

“So… did you really find all one thousand?”

“Yeah. They were inside that old box where I kept all my random stuff. I even found some old photos.”

He opened his phone and showed him a picture from their college days.

The moment Kwang-ho saw Kang Hyun’s old afro hairstyle…

He frowned.

“Man… I haven’t seen that afro in forever.”

“Right?”

“So you’re planning to start a company with that 170 billion won?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm… With that kind of money, it’d basically be a family office.”

“That’s the plan. I’ll use my own capital as the investment fund.”

There were many types of investment firms.

Venture capital firms that invested in startups.

Private equity firms that acquired companies, restructured them, then sold them for profit.

Among all those options…

The one that best suited both his capital and his ability was a family office.

A private investment company designed to manage the wealth of high-net-worth individuals like himself.

Compared to private equity funds and other investment firms…

A family office also enjoyed far fewer regulatory restrictions.

“How much capital are you starting with? You’re not putting in the entire 170 billion, are you?”

“I’m planning to sell about seventy percent of the Bitcoin. Some of that will go into safer assets, and I’ll allocate around fifty billion won for aggressive investments.”

“That’s actually a solid plan.”

After a brief silence, Kwang-ho looked at him seriously.

“The reason you’re telling me all this… is because you want me to join your company, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. I need at least one quantitative investment specialist. More importantly… I need someone I can trust.”

His words were completely sincere.

If there was one person in the world he trusted more than anyone…

It was Kwang-ho.

Understanding that, Kwang-ho thought quietly before nodding.

“Alright. I’ll talk it over with Ah-yeon first, but I’m leaning toward accepting.”

“Sounds good.”

That answer alone was enough.

“Just make sure my salary’s generous.”

Kwang-ho grinned playfully.

Kang Hyun smiled back.

“Don’t worry.”

“Come on. Ah-yeon’s waiting.”

“Let’s go.”

The two returned to the restaurant.

Then something occurred to Kang Hyun.

“By the way… aren’t you surprisingly calm? I just told you I became worth 170 billion won.”

Kwang-ho shrugged.

“I was surprised. But it’s not my money. Why would I overreact? If I got excited every time I saw someone with money, I couldn’t work in this industry.”

“Fair point.”

Working in finance often distorted people’s sense of money.

Both of them knew that better than anyone.

Still…

He was grateful his friend hadn’t changed.

“Let’s go inside.”

A few days later…

Kwang-ho finally replied.

[Kwang-ho: I’ll join after this project is finished.]

[Me: Okay. I’ll prepare everything before then.]

[Kwang-ho: Got it. Are you planning to sell all your Bitcoin at once? If so, I should probably adjust my positions too.]

[Me: I’ll sell gradually over time. Still, there might be some market impact since it’s such an old wallet.]

[Kwang-ho: Probably won’t affect much. Understood.]

After exchanging a few simple messages…

Kang Hyun returned to studying the charts.

“I still can’t figure out what that light around Kwang-ho meant.”

The mysterious glow he had first seen surrounding CoreWeave…

It indicated whether a stock would close higher or lower.

Then…

That same glow had appeared around Kwang-ho.

Which meant…

There was still much more to this ability than he understood.

“The light surrounding people probably has a different meaning than the one surrounding stocks.”

People weren’t stocks.

They possessed value in entirely different ways.

He continued analyzing every possibility, hoping to uncover more about his strange ability.

One week later…

Kang Hyun visited Samil Accounting Corporation.

“Oh! President Choi! We’ve been expecting you.”

“…President?”

The manager laughed.

“Haha. You’re about to establish a respectable company. Naturally, I should address you as President.”

During a previous phone call…

They had discussed his plans for establishing a company.

Apparently that was why the title had changed.

It still felt unfamiliar.

But he didn’t bother correcting him.

Manager Jung Min-jun led him past the reception room he’d visited before…

Into an even more private office.

Someone was already waiting inside.

“I’m Lim Tae-hyun, CEO of Samil Accounting Corporation. I wanted to personally meet you today.”

“My name is Kang Hyun. I’m still not used to being called ‘President,’ but I look forward to working with you.”

Even the CEO of the accounting firm had come personally.

Over the years…

Lim Tae-hyun had met countless wealthy clients.

Owners of luxury properties in Gangnam.

People worth hundreds of billions of won.

Even chairmen of major corporations.

Every one of them shared something in common.

Their words.

Their actions.

Their confidence.

There was a natural aura that couldn’t be imitated.

An aura possessed only by those who truly had wealth.

And Kang Hyun possessed it too.

‘Now here’s a valuable client.’

Meeting him personally had definitely been the right decision.

After a bit of small talk…

They moved to business.

“We’ve completed our internal review regarding your request. Even if you decide to liquidate everything, we’ll be fully prepared to support you.”

“What taxes would I need to pay?”

“Since the taxation has been deferred, if you sell now, you won’t owe any taxes.”

That meant…

Even if he realized 170 billion won in profit from Bitcoin…

He wouldn’t owe taxes immediately.

That was precisely why he wanted to sell this year.

“May I ask roughly how much you’re planning to liquidate?”

“The amount is still flexible. But in the end, I’ll probably sell around 100 billion won worth. Part of that will become the capital for my company. Should I inject it as paid-in capital?”

“That’s the cleanest approach. The National Tax Service will probably ask you to explain the source of the funds, but that won’t be an issue. Your wallet has remained untouched since receiving those Bitcoins thirteen years ago.”

Despite looking well into middle age…

Lim Tae-hyun answered every question about Bitcoin without hesitation.

Just as expected from someone who handled numerous cryptocurrency clients.

By the end of the meeting…

Almost all of Kang Hyun’s concerns about taxes had disappeared.

“Thank you for answering so many of my questions.”

“That’s our job. If you ever need anything else, Manager Jung will be available anytime. And perhaps we should have dinner together sometime.”

“Haha. I’d like that.”

After exchanging farewells…

Kang Hyun left the office.

Watching him leave…

Manager Jung asked,

“What do you think of him?”

Lim Tae-hyun nodded.

“An impressive young man. Even though he’s only in his thirties, he’s polite, confident, and composed. Most people who suddenly become rich through crypto are consumed by arrogance. He isn’t like that.”

“He mentioned working at an investment company before. He definitely feels different.”

“Working in finance alone doesn’t produce that kind of presence. He’s exceptional. Make sure we maintain a good relationship with him.”

“Understood.”

“And offer him our VIP service plan. Take good care of him. Once his company is officially established, he’ll likely become one of our biggest clients.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Their conversation was brief.

But Lim Tae-hyun had formed an excellent impression of Kang Hyun.

Back home…

Kang Hyun felt much more relaxed.

“Taxes were my biggest concern. Looks like I don’t have to worry.”

Even when he worked at the investment firm…

His coworkers always complained about taxes whenever they earned large bonuses or investment profits.

Back then…

He thought they were exaggerating.

Now that he was in their position…

He finally understood.

“It’ll take some time before the company is ready. Until then… I’ll conduct some real-world testing of this ability.”

Although he planned to establish a family office…

Preparing everything would still take time.

Based on his estimates…

There would be roughly a two-month gap before operations could begin.

After thinking about how to spend that time…

He reached a decision.

“I’ll test this ability in actual trading.”

For now…

Signing with a prime broker wasn’t practical.

Neither the infrastructure nor the required systems were ready.

“So I’ll use a retail broker first.”

There were several ways to trade U.S. stocks and futures.

Retail brokers like Kiwi Securities or Spike Securities were the easiest for ordinary investors.

Convenient…

But with clear limitations.

Professional traders usually preferred prime brokers or global futures brokers.

Once his company was established…

He planned to do the same.

But those firms required certain qualifications and setup procedures.

For now…

He opened an account with Kiwi Securities.

“Before that…”

“I should transfer some more Bitcoin.”

He logged back into his crypto wallet.

[BTC: 999]

Seeing the number…

He couldn’t help smiling.

“My financial therapy really cures everything.”

Chuckling to himself…

He transferred sixty Bitcoins.

The sleeping whale had moved again.

The news spread across crypto communities almost instantly.

• The Korean whale moved again.
• Who? The guy with the 1,000-Bitcoin wallet?

ㄴ Yeah. First movement in almost a month.

• Transferred sixty this time.
• How much is sixty Bitcoins worth?
• Around 10 billion won at current prices.
• Damn… What a life.
• Why transfer little by little? He’s just paying more transaction fees.

ㄴ Even transferring sixty only costs around 300,000 won in fees. Better to move them when needed.

ㄴ Still, he’d earn interest if he left them on an exchange.

ㄴ Early Bitcoin investors know keeping coins on exchanges is the real risk.

ㄴ What risk?

ㄴ Getting hacked.

Just moving sixty Bitcoins was enough to flood Coin Korea with discussions about him.

Reading the posts…

Kang Hyun finally understood how Kwang-ho had figured out his identity.

“If it’s all over the internet like this… it’d be stranger not to figure it out.”

A few clues were all an intelligent person needed.

Kwang-ho was exactly that kind of person.

“I’d rather have security than interest.”

He had considered leaving all his Bitcoin on an exchange.

Some exchanges paid daily interest.

At around 2.1% annually…

Holding 170 billion won there would generate about 9.78 million won every day.

Or roughly 3.57 billion won per year.

An incredible amount.

Yet…

He didn’t care.

“Plenty of exchanges that everyone thought were safe ended up getting hacked.”

Mt. Gox.

FTX.

There were countless examples.

Korean exchanges might be safer…

But he preferred keeping his assets in his own wallet.

[Bitcoin deposit completed.]

Right on cue…

His phone buzzed.

He opened the exchange.

All sixty Bitcoins had arrived.

[Holdings: 60 BTC]

[Estimated Value: ₩10,411,432,980]

Seeing assets worth over 10.4 billion won…

He couldn’t help smiling.

He immediately withdrew 3 billion won.

Then deposited it into his Kiwi Securities account.

[Available Cash: ₩3,000,000,000]

After confirming the deposit…

He took a deep breath.

“Now…”

“The real test begins.”

It was finally time to discover whether his new ability truly worked in live trading…

And whether there were any hidden variables.

His eyes sharpened like those of a hunting hawk.

One by one…

He examined each stock.

“Hm?”

Soon…

He found his prey.

[Neurodyne Technology]

The stock glowed with a bright red light.

A signal that it would rise.

Without the slightest hesitation…

He moved his hand.

A confirmation window appeared.

[Would you like to buy?]

[YES / NO]

Kang Hyun reached out…

And tapped the screen.

[Order Submitted.]

The purchase order was placed.

Moments later…

Another notification appeared.

[Order Filled.]

Purchase Amount: ₩187,538,540

[Order Filled.]

Purchase Amount: ₩342,823,540

Order after order…

His position filled rapidly.

At the same time…

His available cash disappeared just as quickly.

‘In the past… placing trades this large would’ve made my heart race.’

But not anymore.

Three billion won no longer felt like a significant amount.

‘If I panic over this… I’ll never be able to run an investment company.’

More importantly…

He believed in his ability.

‘By tomorrow… my account balance will have increased.’

Without the slightest trace of doubt…

He kept his eyes fixed on the chart.

His very first real-world test…

Had quietly begun.

This is the end of Chapter 4.