A Genius Speaks with Money

Chapter 13

Four years ago.

Kevin Lee dropped out of Stanford University and decided to start a business with two colleagues.

People treated him as if he were a crazy person.

The talk of analyzing emotions and cognition in real-time through brainwave signals and applying this to the medical and education fields sounded like empty words back then.

But Kevin was certain.

"AI that understands human emotions. This is the real technology that will lead the future."

Kevin created Synapse Tech Inc that way.

And after hundreds of experiments, he completed the Neurobridge algorithm that visualizes emotional states into colors and patterns.

Investors who saw the initial prototype could not hide their amazement.

The team that started in a small office in Silicon Valley soon came to attract billions of won in funding.Kevin was full of dreams.

A world where humans and AI can truly communicate based on that information by understanding human brainwaves.

But people were more complicated than technology.

The thoughts of the colleagues who started the business with Kevin were different.

"Kevin, you’re a genius. But that’s all. You have no concept of a team."

Kevin’s words were always harsh, and he couldn'

t be considerate of others while working day and night.

He was always clumsy at emotional control and pushed people with a tired face.

He mistook that as passion, but at some point, no one remained by Kevin’s side.

There were even colleagues who went to other companies with part of the technology and even investor contact information.

At that moment, Kevin’s world crumbled quickly.

Regrettably, his refuge was alcohol.

At first, he soothed his heart by drinking a glass or two.

Later, he couldn'

t fall asleep without drinking.

After that, it became a habit.

Kevin sought alcohol whenever stress accumulated, day or night.

Even in the midst of that, the only thing he didn'

t let go of was work.

The things Kevin was researching continued to move forward.

He knew the true value of the technology he created better than anyone.

But reality was not that easy.

Investors gradually dropped out, and even developers quit and left his side.

Now, even the office rent was falling behind.

And a while ago, an incident happened to Kevin.

A local bar he stopped by while drunk.

There, Kevin was drinking as usual when a fight broke out.

The opponent was the son of a local law firm lawyer.

The incident grew, and the police also arrived.

He helplessly had to pay 200,000 dollars as settlement money.

Kevin had nothing except for the company.

Time passed, and he had to choose one of the two.

Go to jail or sell the company.

Kevin put the company up for sale.

Then, hearing the rumors, offers to acquire came in.

A bio company in Boston, a startup in Texas, and even an investment firm from Hong Kong.

But Kevin knew.

What they wanted was the technology.

It wasn'

t Kevin.

No one tried to buy his time, which he spent researching like a madman while staying up for numerous nights after creating this company.

Kevin looked intently at the Korean who came from a strange foreign land visible before his eyes.

Choi Seo-jun, the CEO of HJ Partners.

A man who looked neat and upright in everything, the exact opposite of Kevin.

He was no different from those who had come to find him and stepped forward to acquire the company in the meantime.

Kevin glanced at the business card and threw it on the desk.

Normally, if one did this kind of action, the opponent would naturally show displeasure.

Choi Seo-jun'

s expression was solid without even a hint of wavering.

Kevin opened his mouth first.

"...How much can you give me?"

Kevin, who spat out those words with the thought of taking even his last lost pride by receiving a lot of money, felt a sense of self-loathing.

A silence flowed for a moment, and Choi Seo-jun put his business card case into his pocket, then slowly raised his head and spoke.

"Mr. Kevin Lee."

His calm tone felt like a strangely firm resonance.

"Please tell me the amount you want first."

"...What?!"

"How much is the value of this company to you? I'

m asking how much you would have to receive to be able to let go of this company."

Kevin closed his mouth.

Those words seemed to see through his inner thoughts.

"If I had come just to buy a piece of technology, I wouldn'

t have even come all the way here."

Choi Seo-jun'

s gaze met Kevin'

s wavering pupils.

Kevin felt a feeling as if something was being swallowed deep inside his chest.

The conviction about the ideal and future he thought of when he first created the company.

And all the things he had given up for that flashed through his head.

Kevin looked at the empty alcohol bottle placed on the desk with his head bowed, then opened his mouth quietly.

"...Two million dollars."

The voice that came out of Kevin’s mouth had no strength.

While saying that, a sense of hollowness lingered.

He felt as if he had thrown away the years he had run from the beginning until now in a single sentence.

Choi Seo-jun, who was looking at such a Kevin, said quietly.

"I will give you three million dollars."

"...What did you say?!"

Kevin asked with a frown as if he didn'

t understand.

"Did I hear wrong? I'

m sure I said two million dollars."

"Two million dollars is the value of the company."

Choi Seo-jun continued his words in a firm yet quiet tone.

"And the remaining one million dollars is the amount for you. It’s not a proposal to hand over the company and end it, but a proposal to go together with you."

Kevin could not continue his words as if flustered.

"...Are you saying you’re going to hire me?"

"Yes, we want to be with you."

Kevin was momentarily at a loss for words.

Many investors had visited until now, but not a single person had spoken including Kevin.

"...Usually, they just buy the technology. I heard they discard the person afterward."

"We don'

t buy technology, but people and value."

Choi Seo-jun quietly opened his briefcase and took out the contract to place it on the desk.

"I'

ll leave the contract here. Contact me after you decide."

Choi Seo-jun placed the business card, which Kevin had thrown carelessly, back on top of the contract.

Then he left the office as if he had no regrets.

Kevin stood still in that spot.

The empty office was quiet as if even time had stopped.

After a long while, Kevin reached out his hand.

The moment his fingertips brushed the paper, a faint light permeated his pupils.

The surrender that made him fold hundreds of times.

The self-reproach he repeated thousands of times.

Nevertheless, the small hope that it wasn'

t the end yet.

Kevin closed his eyes for a moment.

'

To think the words that someone believes in me. Could shake a person this much.'

Kevin’s eyes turned a bit red.

***

The sunlight was strongly permeating through the living room curtains.

I, Lim Hyunjun, was leaning on the sofa drinking coffee and scanning the news on my tablet.

It was a leisure that was possible because it was a peaceful and quiet weekend.

At that moment, my phone rang.

The name "Choi Seo-jun" popped up on the phone screen.

I put down the coffee cup and answered the call.

"Yes, CEO."

-As you said, I offered three million dollars to Kevin Lee. With the condition of two million dollars for the acquisition and one million dollars for hiring him directly.

I spoke with a satisfied expression.

"Soon a contact will come. That person will make a decision faster than you think."

A silence flowed for a moment.

Choi Seo-jun'

s voice was heard low over the receiver.

-I'

m sorry, but honestly, I don'

t understand well. Why you'

re trying to take even Kevin Lee with you. Is there a reason to add a million dollars more to acquire a single company?

I stood up and walked to the window.

The tree branches were swaying in the wind.

'

...I can'

t say I know the future.'

I took a quiet breath in and out, then answered calmly.

"Kevin is the only person who properly understands the real value that technology has."

-But he already has no team, and all the investors have left. Looking at it objectively, he looks like a person with greater risk.

I spoke in a soft yet calm tone.

"Creating technology and completing it are completely different stories. Now, this technology could perhaps grow much larger than we think. And I think Kevin must be at the center of it."

Choi Seo-jun was silent for a moment.

-If that is how you judged it, CEO, I will believe you.

"Thank you."

I hung up the phone and picked up the coffee cup again.

My gaze became even deeper.

It was a look as if peering into the future.

***

After eating lunch, I, Lim Hyunjun, put a fried snack coated with savory peanuts into my mouth.

The snack crumbled crunchily in my mouth.

"This is the taste."

I liked this snack in my past life too, and it was still delicious.

My phone vibrated.

[CEO Choi Seo-jun]

I picked up the phone and pressed the call button.

"Yes, CEO Choi."

-CEO, I just completed the contract with Kevin Lee.

"You’ve worked hard. It’s faster than I expected."

-As you said, CEO, I also included a condition to double the annual salary if he succeeds in alcohol addiction treatment. He appeared flustered at first, but he signed without any particular word.

"That'

s good. After all, motives work better for people than force."

I picked up the snack bag and looked inside.

The last snack was inside the corner.

I lifted the bag to my mouth and shook it out.

The savory taste spread throughout my mouth, making me feel subtly good.

-I will finish the remaining schedule here locally.

I licked my lips and replied to Choi Seo-jun.

"Yes, it seems you’ll have to stay in the US for a while. Don'

t save money while you'

re staying and spend it lavishly."

-Hahaha. I understand. I'

ll contact you again.

"Yes, keep up the good work. CEO."

After ending the call, I quietly stood up.

After cleaning up the traces of the snacks I had scattered, I turned on the laptop screen.

Soon, the "Iraq Karbala Refinery Construction Project" appeared on the screen.

I was scanning the materials I had gathered so far one by one.

From the local construction progress rate to the negotiation records with the Iraqi government to secure operating rights.

And the list of overseas partner companies that participated in the funding was also organized.

On the surface, it was a project led by my uncle, Lim Do-hyun, but several people were involved.

A company called Sahara Investment.

Taeseong Construction was proceeding with the business through this place in the Middle East.

Even looking at the fund flow alone, there seemed to be nothing that would be a problem, but the route was excessively complicated.

A remittance flow passing through several countries.

It was a method commonly used to avoid tracking.

After looking into Sahara Investment, as expected, it was a place with no substance.

The capital was a mere 50,000 dollars.

Two of the registered directors had different nationalities.

Paper company.

I, who grabbed my head, leaned back in the chair and quietly closed my eyes.

Then I began to combine the information I had gathered so far in my head.

The fact that they are proceeding by inserting a paper company into the project being carried out by Taeseong Construction.

"...Just how far are you planning to go!"

Although they say human greed is endless, this has crossed the line.

If something goes wrong, it’s a matter where Taeseong could be shaken.

My uncle is the person who will inherit Taeseong in the future.

There was absolutely no need to proceed with work while carrying this kind of risk.

I quietly opened my closed eyes.

'

There might be something I don'

t know...'