Chapter 39: Emergency Board Meeting

Wilson personally opened the door.

VIP Lounge.

“How may I assist you today?”

“I need to open an official company account and transfer all the funds from my personal account.”

“Ah, you mean the account for American Sugar Trading Company.”

Wilson nodded.

“I got a call from George Howard last night. All the documents are prepared.”

As expected, the information network of Wall Street was as intricate as a spider’s web.

The tedious paperwork began.

Opening the company account, transferring funds, signing various confirmation documents…

Two hours drifted by like an eternity.

11 o’clock.

All tasks were finished.

“Here is the confirmation document.”

Wilson handed over the paperwork.

“The entire balance of $26.75 million from your personal account has been safely transferred to the new account under American Sugar Trading Company.”

He left the bank.

The clock pointed to 11:30.

1:30 p.m., 30th floor of the Rockefeller Building.

His palms were sweating as the elevator rose.

‘Calm down, Lee Jun-hyuk.’

The doors opened.

Seated around a massive mahogany table were three titans who moved America.

George Howard, William Vanderbilt III, and Frank Gould.

“Come in.”

George gestured.

His expression was calm, but there was no smile in his eyes.

“Have a seat.”

Lee Jun-hyuk took his place.

A heavy silence filled the room.

Vanderbilt spoke first.

His low voice echoed through the conference room.

“Twenty-six point eight million dollars. Do you know where that money has been for the last nine days?”

“It was in my personal account.”

“Why?”

A blunt question.

“Well… In the rush to handle everything…”

“In a hurry?”

Gould interjected.

His tone was sharp as a razor.

“You arrived in New York on March 5th. Today is the 14th. Nine days have passed—does that sound urgent?”

There was no room for excuses.

“I’m sorry.”

Lee Jun-hyuk stood and bowed deeply.

“There is no excuse. This was entirely my mistake.”

Silence again.

This time, George spoke.

“Lee Jun-hyuk.”

“Yes.”

“We all recognize the excellent results you achieved this time. Pulling out exactly at 24 cents—that was a stroke of genius.”

“But.”

His expression turned grave.

“We are business partners. What do you think is the most important thing between partners?”

“……Trust.”

“Exactly, trust. Then why did you do it?”

Lee Jun-hyuk took a deep breath.

He had to be honest here.

“I… lost my head.”

He spoke slowly, sincerely.

“For the first time in my life, I earned such a vast sum… For a moment, I wasn’t myself.”

“So?”

“I forgot the basics. That this money wasn’t mine alone, and that trust is the greatest asset of all. Once again, I sincerely apologize.”

Did his sincerity get through?

Vanderbilt snorted in surprise.

“Well, a young man might be blinded by success for a moment.”

“But.”

His eyes glinted sharply.

“There can’t be a second time.”

“Of course. I promise with everything I have.”

The tension eased a little.

George took out some documents.

“Well, let’s get to the main point. Time for profit distribution.”

“Total revenue: $26.8 million. Subtracting the initial investment of $1 million, the net profit is $25.8 million.”

George pressed the heavy brass calculator.

The clack, clack, clack of the keys echoed in the silent conference room.

Beyond the windows, the panorama of New York spread out, but no one looked at the scenery.

Everyone’s attention was fixed on George’s fingertips and the numbers he wrote with his fountain pen.

“I heard there’s $50,000 that Lee Jun-hyuk already used.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Lee Jun-hyuk stood and briefly explained the prepared documents.

“I established a separate legal entity, ‘Lee Trading Company’, to start a canned food business. I also acquired a factory in Brooklyn. The expenses arose during that process.”

“So you’ve already started your next venture? Ha ha, you really are something.”

Gould smiled with interest.

“That much is within the CEO’s discretion. We’ll just deduct it from your share.”

“Yes. So I calculated the final net profit as $25.75 million. Please deduct the amount I’ve already used from my share.”

Lee Jun-hyuk stated clearly.

George tapped at the calculator again.

He picked up his fountain pen and began writing numbers on the thick paper.

Only the scratch, scratch of the pen tip filled the room.

“By shares… Lee Jun-hyuk, you receive 30%: $7.725 million.”

Seven million, seven hundred twenty-five thousand dollars.

Lee Jun-hyuk repeated the number in his mind.

In his previous life, he couldn’t have earned that sum even working nonstop for 500 years.

Yet to the giants at this table, it was just a respectable portion of an investment return.

The weight of money was truly relative.

“This is the best we can do.”

Given the circumstances, it was the most lenient treatment they could offer someone who’d kept a fortune in a personal account for nine days.

With this, his previous mistake was completely settled.

“The remaining 70%, $18.025 million, will be split among the three of us…”

“George Howard, since I led this project, I’ll take 30%: $7.725 million.”

“William Vanderbilt, 20%: $5.15 million.”

“Frank Gould, likewise 20%: $5.15 million.”

George pushed the paper to the center of the table.

“Any objections to this distribution?”

“None.”

Lee Jun-hyuk was the first to nod.

“Oh, and there’s one more thing I’d like to report.”

He added.

“I’ve also signed a contract to acquire a radio station in Manhattan.”

“Radio?”

Gould raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“What’s this? You really never rest. How much is the purchase price?”

“Two hundred ten thousand dollars. Only the deposit has been paid so far, the balance is due within a month.”

“Hm.”

Vanderbilt spoke.

“Then, where will that $210,000 come from? Will it also be drawn from our joint capital?”

“No.”

Lee Jun-hyuk said firmly.

“That will come entirely from my share of today’s profit—$7.725 million. It’s a personal investment, completely unrelated to American Sugar Trading Company’s funds.”

Only then did the three men’s expressions finally relax.

“Good. Thanks for clarifying that.”

George nodded with satisfaction.

“I trust your judgment. Your prediction that radio will soon become popular—it’ll be proven right, I’m sure.”

“But…”

Lee Jun-hyuk spoke carefully.

The three who had interrogated him just moments ago now focused their gazes on him once more.

“I have one proposal regarding our relationship moving forward.”

“Proposal?”

Vanderbilt propped his chin in his hand.

“What is it?”

“I’d like American Sugar Trading Company to focus exclusively on the sugar business in Cuba from now on.”

Lee Jun-hyuk spoke calmly.

“The sugar price will soon stabilize, and our production infrastructure in Cuba is second to none. That alone can yield steady profit.”

“That goes without saying.”

Gould folded his arms.

“And I…”

Lee Jun-hyuk paused to steady his breath, then continued.

“Within America, I will not engage in any business that overlaps with your established lines.”

“Oh?”

Interest flickered in Gould’s eyes.

“In return, I’d like your permission to pursue my own exclusive business rights in Asia. This is a matter of mutual trust and respect.”

Vanderbilt narrowed his eyes.

“Asia… That’s a vast, vague territory.”

“Yes, but in the end, it will bring great benefit to all of you as well.”

Lee Jun-hyuk leaned forward.

“How so?”

“Let’s take railroads as an example.”

He looked at Gould.

“Sooner or later, the Eurasian Transcontinental Railroad will be constructed in earnest. A route connecting the Korean Empire through Siberia all the way to Europe.”

“An interesting vision.”

“When that time comes, I can serve as your bridgehead in Asia, helping Mr. Gould expand his railroad business.”

Gould’s eyes sparkled.

“Go on.”

“Mr. Vanderbilt.”

He turned to Vanderbilt this time.

“In the future, the center of the shipping industry will gradually shift from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And in Asia—especially in the Korean Empire—the shipbuilding industry will explode in growth.”

“Shipbuilding?”

“Yes. I can introduce you to shipyards in that region. For your Shipping Empire, you’ll need larger, faster cargo ships and oil tankers.”

Vanderbilt showed interest as well.

“Hm… Asian shipyards…”

“And…”

Finally, Lee Jun-hyuk looked at George.

“For you, George, whenever I come across the most reliable and promising investment information, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Oh ho.”

George smiled with satisfaction.

“That’s quite a good proposal.”

“Wait, wait.”

Vanderbilt coughed and cut in.

“So what about us? Why does George get all the good info?”

Gould chimed in.

“Yeah. That doesn’t seem fair.”

Lee Jun-hyuk smiled faintly.

“The release of that information… will be entirely at George’s discretion.”

At that, George burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day!”

Vanderbilt shot George a look.

“George, you planning to keep all the honey for yourself?”

“No, no. Why so petty?”

George waved his hand.

“Of course, good information should be shared. However…”

His eyes glinted mischievously.

“I’ll taste it first, and if it really is sweet honey, I’ll pass it along.”

“What a sly old fox.”

Gould shook his head.

“So George becomes the gatekeeper for all the information, huh.”

“Well, think of it as an information fee.”

George shrugged.

“I was the first to discover and introduce this talented young man, so I deserve a little priority.”

Lee Jun-hyuk added,

“Of course, if there’s a truly world-shaking deal, I’ll inform all three of you directly and at the same time.”

“What counts as world-shaking?”

“Hmm… Net profit of over $10 million per deal?”

At those words, all three burst out laughing at once.

“Ten million dollars! Hahaha!”

“You’ve got quite the ambition for a young man!”

“If such a deal comes, we’ll rope you in and keep the whole thing for ourselves!”

The atmosphere lightened.

Lee Jun-hyuk smiled back at them.

“To me, $7.725 million is already an astronomical sum… But for these people, $10 million is just a joke.”

He once again realized the scale of America’s richest.

George stood up.

“Well, everything’s settled. Lee Jun-hyuk takes Asia, we stay in America. Cuba is jointly managed.”

“And all good information goes through George.”

Vanderbilt grumbled as he added,

“He’ll make a fortune in brokerage fees.”

“Haha, naturally.”

The four men shook hands in turn.

Lee Jun-hyuk was satisfied.

He’d turned a crisis into an opportunity.

Instead of making enemies, he’d gained even more powerful supporters.

George glanced at the gold watch on his wrist.

“Oh my, it’s past four already.”

At those words, Lee Jun-hyuk’s heart sank all the way to the floor.

“Four o’clock?”

He’d completely forgotten.

Today was Friday.

His appointment with Catherine. Five o’clock, in front of the Columbia University Library.

“Um… May I excuse myself?”

Lee Jun-hyuk asked hurriedly.

“I have a very important engagement…”

“Is that so? Go on, then.”

George waved his hand, then suddenly winked.

“A very urgent appointment on a Friday afternoon… Could it be, perhaps, with a beautiful lady?”

“Ah… That’s, well…”

Vanderbilt snickered.

“Judging by how red your face is, I’d say that’s exactly right.”

“Ha ha, youth is a wonderful thing.”

Gould joined in.

“Go on, young man. Making a lady wait is not the Gentleman’s Code.”

Lee Jun-hyuk’s face turned bright red as he scrambled to his feet.

“Thank you! I’ll see you next time!”

He practically dashed out of the conference room.

The short wait for the elevator felt like an eternity.

“Please… Please let me not be late!”