“It’s been a while, Mei...”
In the time I hadn’t seen her, Meilin had become remarkably spirited.
So happy to see me, she threw herself into my arms, hugging me around the waist, and began asking about everything that had happened, so many questions I didn’t know where to start answering.
“How have you been? Why didn’t you contact me even once all this time? Do you know how surprised I was when you suddenly reached out? My goodness, a business-class ticket! I’ve never received a ticket like this from a man other than my father!”
“I-is that so? I did say I’d show you around Seoul...”
“My goodness! You remembered that promise?”
“Of course... And you said you wanted to go to an Exiz concert, didn’t you? It just so happens they’re holding one in Jamsil next week. For your sake, I went through a lot of trouble to get the tickets...”
“Ah, that’s all right. I don’t have to go.”
“...Pardon?”
“Instead, please show me Cheonggyecheon. You said NPS is in Jeonju, right? Then I want to see the Hanok Village too!”
“Haha... Understood. I’ll show you everything there is to see in Korea.”
“Kyaaah!”
Meilin let out a dolphin-like shriek.
I’d heard that as Hallyu swept the world recently, more and more young Chinese people had begun admiring Korean culture, and it seemed she was one of them.
I naturally took her suitcase from her and headed to the car with her.
The two of us left the airport and passed by the blue waters off Yeongjongdo.
I’d heard that after COVID, China’s economy was in a slump and its factories weren’t running like they used to... and looking at the clear Incheon sky, I could roughly guess just how serious their economic situation was.
“Suup— ha. Even the air is different in Korea. How can the sky be that blue?”
“Haha...”
“How far is Jeonju from Seoul?”
“Pretty far. About three hours by car?”
“Oh my, three hours by car is practically right next door. In China, people even commute to school that far.”
“I-is that so?”
“Yes. Then this won’t do. I should cancel my hotel reservation. You said your workplace is in Jeonju, right? Since it’ll be better to be nearby if we’re going on tours, I’ll book a place around there again.”
I hurriedly stopped her hand as she reached for her phone.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll be in Seoul for about a week. I’m meeting some guests.”
“...Guests? You have other guests besides me?”
“Business guests. I have short meetings scheduled for two days in a row.”
“Aha. I suppose it would be rude to ask what kind of business guests they are?”
“Not at all. I was going to tell you anyway. The reason I invited you, Meilin, is because I really hope you’ll help me with this business.”
Meilin’s face flushed red.
“Th-then I suppose I’ll have to keep seeing you, Sejun. Goodness, look at me... If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve come on a business visa instead of a tourist visa. Anyway, what kind of help?”
“Meilin. Have you heard of Changcheng Fund?”
“Changcheng... You mean Changcheng (长城), as in the Great Wall?”
“Yes. That’s right. This time, our NPS selected an external manager, and we’re going to sign a contract with that Changcheng Fund.”
“Ah... I see... yes... But what kind of help do you need from me?”
“Meilin, would you like to work there?”
Meilin nearly jumped out of her seat.
“W-what are you talking about? I don’t know the first thing about investment. How could I possibly work at a fund company like that...”
“It’s fine. What I need right now is someone eloquent and trustworthy.”
“E-even so, would those people really hire me?”
“That’s why I deliberately chose people who are desperate. It’s not exactly unusual in this industry, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
I studied her face, which had gone deathly pale.
As expected, was this too much...? It was an offer I’d made trusting in her confidence and boldness. But unless she was a fool, there was no way she wouldn’t realize this was suspicious.
“...That sounds fun.”
“...Pardon?”
“As expected, whenever I’m with you, Sejun, something exciting always happens!”
“...Are you sure?”
“Of course! When my father took on government projects, he’d hire one person and treat them very well. He handled all the government relations through that person. So that’s what my position will be, right?”
“...That’s right. Put nicely, you’d be an outside director. They’ll give you a director position on their side as well.”
“My goodness, I haven’t even joined the Communist Party yet, and I’m already receiving treatment like this!”
Even a dog at a village school will recite poetry after three years.
After hesitating for a moment, she actually seemed excited. Since she had seen and learned things like this from a very young age, I probably didn’t need to explain what role she would have to play.
I soothed her, already unable to contain her excitement, and said,
“Let’s go to Cheonggyecheon first. The night view of Gwanghwamun is no less beautiful than the Forbidden City. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.”
*
“They asked us to place someone?”
“...Yes, that was one of their conditions.”
“What were the other conditions?”
“They said they would discuss those in person today. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like those matters would be things that couldn’t be included in the contract either.”
Seoul Brizen Hotel.
The representative of Changcheng Fund, Mingwei (明偉), waited for a man with a displeased expression.
“At any rate, I’ve never seen an official who actually works for the country. Korea or China, it’s all the same. Tsk, tsk.”
“What should we do? If we hear him out and it seems too much, should we refuse?”
“Don’t... We’re not in a position to be picky right now.”
The rise and fall of investors is almost tritely identical.
Mingwei, too, had once been a promising investor making waves on Wall Street.
Starting his career at JP, he made manager in just three years, and during the subprime crisis, he carried out aggressive short selling, receiving expectations that he would become the first Asian director.
But as was usually the case with this type, he was not a man content with life as a salaried employee. He didn’t want to be something as trivial as an internal director. He wanted to become someone like George Soros, someone who could sway the fate of an entire nation.
Then, while America was wheezing from pneumonia, his eyes turned to his homeland, growing by 10 percent a year. Returning to China at once, he was able to grow Changcheng Fund from 10 billion won in capital into hundreds of billions in just ten years.
But his luck was bad.
Far too bad.
COVID, which struck without warning, reduced the company’s assets to a quarter of what they had been, and the subsequent Pengda bankruptcy even took away what seed money remained.
As a result, the staff that had once numbered in the dozens was now down to only ten, and if today’s contract with NPS went awry, he would have to send the remaining nine on their way as well.
“Damn it...”
That bastard probably knows all this too, doesn’t he?
The way he was openly demanding kickbacks somehow felt like he was grabbing Mingwei’s livelihood and shaking it.
“By the way, is this really right? NPS is one of the top three among sovereign wealth funds. Are those guys really going to give us an external management contract?”
“...Strictly speaking, they’re not third. Their average returns over the past ten years have fallen behind, so they’re currently around twenty-fifth.”
“Same difference. They’re still not in a weight class that would entrust assets to us. Was their reaction really positive?”
“Y-yes. It was definitely positive. This Team Leader Lee Sejun is currently overseeing our external management contract, and he was clearly favorable toward us.”
Mingwei clenched his fist tightly.
If that was true, then he could do more than simply place one person for them. Having hit rock bottom with even his last seed money wiped out by the Pengda bankruptcy, today he had prepared the ultimate portfolio.
No matter how he looked at it, the Pengda bankruptcy had been caused not by a lack of skill, but by a lack of connections.
If he had had a high-ranking Party official who could give him information back then, he would not have collapsed so miserably.
So he had prepared.
He mobilized every bit of guanxi he could muster to find out the internal circumstances of the Chinese authorities, and he clearly discovered what next-generation business they were preparing and what sort of planned economy they were plotting this time.
He could say with certainty that if they bought exactly according to this, he could guarantee at least 30 percent.
“Hello, Representative Ming.”
Just as he was grinding his teeth, a young man who looked insolent at a glance came into view.
“Yes, hello, Team Leader Lee! It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’m Mingwei.”
He endured the humiliation and bowed his head.
For now, necessity forced his hand, but once he secured seed money, he wouldn’t have to do this reckless nonsense anymore.
“First, I would like to express my deep gratitude for granting us this meeting. Although the scale of our Changcheng Fund has shrunk recently due to an economic crisis caused by unexpected events, that was by no means a matter of lacking ability. I sincerely thank you for recognizing our potential first, and I promise that we will repay those expectations with excellent returns.”
“You certainly inspire trust.”
“In that case, may I first give you the materials we prepared?”
Representative Ming hurriedly took out the documents.
“If NPS entrusts assets to us, we will approach them with this portfolio. We have also written out each individual item and the reasoning behind it in detail. Team Leader, rather than the current scale of our company, please look at this vision of ours.”
“You’re remarkably well prepared. Then, one moment.”
Saying that, the young man lowered his eyes to the papers for a while.
Representative Ming’s palms grew slick with nervous sweat. This was his trump card. He had truly done his best. If one understood China’s unique planned economic structure, one would know just how certain this was. He desperately hoped this young man would recognize that.
“Hahaha.”
But the portfolio review, which he had expected to take at least thirty minutes, ended in three.
“Representative Ming, you really are impressive.”
“...Pardon?”
“It’s a good portfolio. I agree that the Chinese economy will recover faster than expected. If we include the exact items you’ve conceived, they’ll probably rise by at least 40 percent.”
“Ah, yes. Th-thank you.”
What a strange bastard.
To simply call him insolent felt... insufficient. This guy was grading his portfolio as if he were a teacher checking a dictation test.
How was such confidence possible? No, whatever the case, should he be happy that he had received a positive answer?
“But you see. I’m not in a relaxed enough position to be satisfied with just this.”
“Yes, yes?”
“We will construct the portfolio on our side and send it down to you. Representative, please follow that plan in general.”
“Ah... yes... But... then why are you entrusting it to us?”
“You’ll understand once you see the portfolio. And before that, I believe I had already made a request of you. What will you do about that?”
Representative Ming gulped.
“Of course we should accommodate the client’s convenience. However, I’m curious what kind of position you want for the person you recommend... and whether this matter has also been agreed upon with NPS headquarters...”
Damn it, maybe he shouldn’t have brought that up.
The insolent young man, who had been smiling from beginning to end, changed in an instant. With a hardened face, the young man said to Representative Ming,
“Representative. Is this something new to you?”
“...Pardon?”
“Does it need to be explained in China that the person in charge at the client company wants a little consideration from the contractor?”