CH42 - Damn, I’m screwed!

A week later, Seoul, Yeouido Financial District.

A sleek black BMW 540i, released just last year, drove into the underground parking lot of Taesan Securities headquarters. The driver's side door opened, and out stepped Seok-won, looking as sharp as ever.

His body, honed by regular exercise, was fit and well-proportioned, exuding youthful vitality. With his distinct features and naturally clear skin, Seok-won was, without a doubt, a strikingly handsome man. His well-groomed hair and tailored suit only served to enhance his already impressive appearance.

"Being a V8, the engine's got plenty of power," Seok-won mused, tapping the sleek car's body lightly with satisfaction.

His previous car was still in great shape, but his father, Chairman Park Tae-hong, had insisted on giving him a new one as a graduation present, reasoning that driving a flashy red sports coupe to work might not give the best impression to the employees.

Of course, he could have taken public transportation, but since everyone knew he was the chairman's son, that would have just seemed disingenuous.

"I'm not going to throw my weight around just because I'm the chairman's son, but there's no need to be overly cautious about how others perceive me either," Seok-won thought confidently as he crossed the parking lot.

Meanwhile, Choi Jin-woo, the president of Daeheung Securities, was sitting at his desk, reviewing some documents. The CEO's office, decorated in a modern style with luxurious walnut veneer furniture to suit his tastes, exuded a subtle woodsy scent.

Knock, knock.

Hearing a knock, President Choi looked up as his secretary entered the room. "Sir, your guest has arrived."

"Send him in."

Moments later, the door opened again, and Seok-won entered, guided by the secretary. President Choi smiled warmly as he stood up to greet him.

"Come in, come in. I've been looking forward to your visit."

"How have you been?"

"Thanks to you, I've been well," President Choi said, shaking hands with Seok-won and gesturing to the sofa in his office. "Have a seat."

As President Choi took the central seat, Seok-won naturally sat on the sofa to his right.

"Since you're an important guest, I should offer you a drink. What would you like?"

"Coffee, please."

"I'll have coffee too," President Choi said, signaling to the secretary with a nod.

"Right away," the secretary replied, leaving the room to get their drinks.

After the secretary had closed the door behind her, President Choi leaned back into the sofa, his gaze softening as he looked at Seok-won.

"Although it's a bit late, congratulations on your graduation."

"Thank you."

"Graduating from Harvard with excellent grades—I'm expecting great things from you."

"I have much to learn, but I'll do my best not to disappoint you."

Though as the chairman's son, he could have easily come off as arrogant, Seok-won's humble attitude was a relief to President Choi.

After all, President Choi, no matter how high his position, was still just an executive who could be dismissed with a word from Chairman Park Tae-hong.

Naturally, having the chairman's direct descendant under his wing was a bit intimidating.

Moreover, if anyone else had requested to form an independent team and run it autonomously, it would have been out of the question.

Just then, the secretary returned with two cups of coffee, placing them on the table before leaving again. The rich aroma of the coffee quickly mixed with the wood scent in the office.

"Please, go ahead," President Choi said, prompting Seok-won to take a sip of the coffee before setting the cup down.

"As you probably know from the chairman, you'll be in charge of the newly formed Investment Team 4."

President Choi continued, watching Seok-won as he listened attentively.

"And as requested, you'll have full discretion over the allocated funds."

"I'm sure there were a lot of opinions, so thank you for accommodating my request."

President Choi shrugged slightly. "To be honest, there was quite a bit of pushback. No matter how capable you are or that you're the chairman's son, you don't have any investment experience."

"Not to mention, you're fresh out of college, so it's understandable if they don't have much confidence in you," Seok-won said, candidly addressing the concerns that had likely been on everyone's mind. President Choi was a bit taken aback by his straightforwardness.

"Well, that's part of it," President Choi admitted, clearing his throat. He was relieved to see that Seok-won wasn't offended but rather seemed to take it in stride.

"You're right. I'm young, and I'm a parachute appointment dropped in from above. I understand why the employees might be skeptical."

President Choi was impressed by the maturity and poise Seok-won displayed.

"I'm glad you see it that way."

President Choi's tone turned more serious as he addressed him. "You'll be managing 5 billion won."

While it wasn't much compared to the funds in the U.S., it was a considerable amount for a novice in the Korean market.

'Considering Daeheung Securities' PI (Principal Investment) capital is only a few hundred billion won, they've given me quite a lot,' Seok-won thought.

"In any case, this is an unusual situation. Given that everyone knows who you are, there will be a lot of eyes on you."

President Choi was trying to put it nicely, but the reality was that the atmosphere at the company would likely be even harsher. The employees would be scrutinizing Seok-won, arms crossed, waiting to see if he was worth the special treatment he was getting.

But this didn't bother Seok-won in the least.

He had anticipated this from the beginning and was confident he would produce results that would leave everyone astonished.

"I'll make sure not to cause any trouble for you," Seok-won assured him with a confident smile.

President Choi, noticing his self-assured demeanor, warned him, "It's good to be ambitious, but don't push yourself too hard right from the start. Take your time, get a feel for the company, and invest wisely. There's no rush."

"Yes, I understand," Seok-won replied. But in truth, he had no intention of wasting time.

'And this market is practically my backyard,' he thought.

With decades of experience in Yeouido's stock market, he was more than familiar with the ins and outs of the business.

'No one they could bring in would have more experience than me.'

On top of that, he already knew the market trends for the foreseeable future, so not making a profit would be more surprising.

"You've met Director Ko before, right?"

"Yes."

"He's in charge of PI, so work well with him."

President Choi turned in his seat and pressed a button on the phone installed on the side table.

Moments later, the secretary returned and bowed slightly as she entered the room.

"Did you call for me, sir?"

"Please take Mr. Park to Director Ko's office."

"Yes, sir."

Rising from his seat, Seok-won nodded respectfully to President Choi.

"If you have any difficulties, don't hesitate to come to me."

"Thank you for your consideration."

Maintaining his confident yet polite demeanor, Seok-won followed the secretary out of the president's office.

Once the wooden door closed behind them, President Choi stared at the sofa where Seok-won had been sitting moments earlier, muttering to himself.

"He seems to have a good character, but I hope his enthusiasm doesn't lead to any mishaps."

Chairman Park had instructed him to treat Seok-won like any other employee and teach him properly, but President Choi couldn't help but be a little more concerned.

"Well, what's done is done," President Choi sighed.

While having the chairman's son under his wing might be a burden, he also saw it as an opportunity to strengthen his relationship with Chairman Park. He decided to view it positively.

Following the secretary, Seok-won exited the president's office and took the elevator down a few floors.

As the elevator descended to the 5th floor, it made a brief stop, the doors sliding open to allow two men in white shirts and ties to enter.

Noticing that the elevator was already set for the 5th floor, they positioned themselves near the doors, occasionally glancing at the strikingly handsome man behind them—Seok-won.

"Manager Choi, today's the day, right?" The man with thick eyebrows asked the round-faced man next to him.

"What day?"

"That parachute guy—the chairman's son."

Song Jong-geun, a peer, nudged Choi Ho-geun's shoulder as he whispered.

Although they were trying to keep their voices down, they were in the same elevator, so Seok-won could hear everything.

"...."

The secretary accompanying Seok-won showed signs of unease as the conversation continued.

"Why are you so interested? He's not even joining your team."

"How could I not be curious? The chairman's son is coming."

"It seems like some people have way too much time on their hands. It's been a pain dealing with everyone poking around about it," Choi Ho-geun grumbled.

"Why? Isn't it a good thing? The chairman's son is basically a golden opportunity," Song Jong-geun teased.

The constant pestering had clearly gotten to Choi Ho-geun, who scowled in response.

"If you're so jealous, why don't you join our team?"

"Are you crazy? I've got my hands full trying to meet targets. I don't need to babysit some rich kid."

"Then why say anything at all?"

As Choi Ho-geun's expression soured, Song Jong-geun tried to placate him with a laugh.

"Hey, I heard he graduated from Harvard. He can't be completely useless."

"Still, he's just a rookie fresh out of college. It's going to be a headache teaching him everything from scratch. I just hope he doesn't mess things up."

"Looks like you're going to have your hands full," Song Jong-geun chuckled.

"You think this is funny? Do you know how stressful this is?" Choi Ho-geun grumbled.

Realizing they were safe from this burden, both men failed to notice that the subject of their conversation was standing right behind them. Meanwhile, the secretary, who had been struggling to maintain her composure, was now internally panicking.

She glanced nervously at Seok-won, who didn't seem particularly upset but still, the situation was causing her to sweat bullets.

'Why is the elevator so slow today?' She cursed silently as she glared at the back of the two men's heads, wishing for the elevator ride to end.

When the elevator finally stopped, Choi Ho-geun and Song Jong-geun stepped out first. The secretary, relieved, quickly apologized to Seok-won as soon as the two men were out of sight.

"I'm terribly sorry."

"Don't worry about it. People talk behind the backs of even kings when they're not around," Seok-won said with a reassuring smile.

Still concerned, the secretary continued to check Seok-won's expression as she led him to Director Ko Young-il's office.

"Manager, here's your coffee."

Manager Choi Ho-geun, who was reviewing stock movements on his computer, looked up at the sound of the only woman on his team, Hong Jae-hee, calling out to him.

"Thanks, Jae-hee."

"Don't mention it."

Jae-hee handed out paper cups filled with coffee to the rest of the team before returning to her seat. As they all sipped on the sweet instant coffee for a quick sugar boost, a sleek-looking man, Deputy Manager Jung Hwan-yeop, poked his head out from behind his monitor.

"Manager, isn't the new team leader supposed to start today?"

Investment Team 4 was composed of Manager Choi Ho-geun, the only female team member Hong Jae-hee, the smooth-talking but competent Deputy Manager Jung Hwan-yeop, and the burly former wrestler Yoo Seok-hyun, who was currently away from his desk. The team had a total of four members.

"He'll show up when he shows up," Choi Ho-geun replied, casually sipping his coffee.

"Manager Choi!"

Just then, someone entered the office and called out to him.

Turning around, Choi Ho-geun saw a slim middle-aged man approaching and quickly stood up.

"Director Ko."

The other team members also rose to their feet as Director Ko spoke in a gentle voice, gesturing to the young man who had accompanied him.

"Let me introduce you. This is Park Seok-won, your new team leader."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Seok-won," Seok-won said, stepping forward to greet them.

Not only Team 4 but the employees of the other teams in the large open-plan office, separated only by partitions, also looked on with curiosity as Seok-won introduced himself.

"I'm Manager Choi Ho-geun."

As Choi Ho-geun looked at Seok-won's face, he paused, tilting his head slightly in confusion. There was something familiar about him.

Where have I seen him before? 'I wouldn't have seen the chairman's son elsewhere… Ah!'

"We've met before, haven't we?" Seok-won said, smiling.

"Oh? I… Uh… Yes…," stammered Choi Ho-geun, suddenly remembering their brief encounter in the elevator and feeling his shoulders tense.

Seeing his reaction, Seok-won extended his hand with a smile. Choi Ho-geun, now feeling the weight of his earlier words, hesitantly took Seok-won's firm handshake, inwardly cursing his luck.

Damn, I'm screwed!

TL/n - 

Yeouido is a prominent area in Seoul, South Korea, known for its financial district and green spaces. It's often referred to as the "Wall Street of Korea" due to the presence of major banks, financial institutions, and the Korea Stock Exchange.