Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.
To celebrate the weekend, Woo Ho-geun and his two friends were partying with slender models at Chairman Woo Yong-gap's villa, built right beside the Bukhan River.
Although it was late March and the weather was still chilly, the large glass greenhouse enclosing the pool was filled with warm water, making it perfect for swimming and relaxation.
A long table was laid out with fine champagne, fresh fruit, and thinly sliced ham, while upbeat pop songs blasted from large speakers, heightening the lively atmosphere.
"Kyaa!"
"Oh, co on, that's too much!"
Laughter rang out as Jeon Geon-woo, who was in the pool with four or five stunning models in skimpy bikinis, playfully splashed water at them.
"Hahaha!"
Geon-woo embraced and touched the soaked models, fully enjoying the mont.
anwhile, Woo Ho-geun reclined on a sunbed at the edge of the pool, wearing sunglasses and basking in the sunlight.
Just then, Yoo Seok-chan, the son of a major financier in Myeong-dong's private loan market, approached and sat on the empty sunbed beside him.
Handing Ho-geun a chilled can of beer, he remarked, "Geon-woo looks like he's having the ti of his life."
Ho-geun slid his sunglasses up onto his head and smirked as he glanced at Geon-woo, who was tangled up with the won in the pool.
"That guy's always like that."
"True."
Seok-chan took a sip from his beer can.
Ho-geun also took a swig, savoring the cool sensation as it slid down his throat, letting out an involuntary "Ahh."
Placing his beer down beside him, Seok-chan looked at Ho-geun and said, "I saw yesterday that the stock price dropped to 12,000 won. How much lower are you planning to push it?"
Unlike Geon-woo, who only cared about won and left his money in others' hands without a second thought, Seok-chan ticulously monitored the stock price of Boseong Telecom, which was currently being manipulated.
"What, are you worried I'll lose your money?"
"Not a chance."
Seok-chan shrugged and gestured toward the pool with his chin.
"Hey!! Aren't you guys coming in?"
At that mont, Geon-woo, who was busy groping a model as she tried to escape, shouted and waved his hand.
"Ow! That hurts when you grab like that!"
"Just stay still. Not like there's anyone here who cares."
As Geon-woo laughed and teased the model, Seok-chan smirked, raising one corner of his lips in amusent.
"If he were as careless and unreliable as that, I wouldn't have entrusted him with a single cent."
Ho-geun felt the sa way. He chuckled and took another sip of beer before replying in a relaxed tone,
"Don't worry. We've shaken off enough of the small investors, so starting next week, we'll begin pushing the stock price back up."
"You said you'd push it up fivefold, right?"
"That's the first target. Depending on the situation, we might take it even higher."
Woo Ho-geun spoke in a low voice, a sly smile playing at his lips.
"This isn't sothing we can do often. We have to take full advantage while we can."
"You're absolutely right."
Yoo Seok-chan chuckled, his eyes narrowing slightly, but his expression soon turned serious as he leaned in and whispered,
"But lately, there's been a rumor circulating in Myeong-dong that soone's manipulating Boseong Telecom's stock."
"What?"
Ho-geun turned his head sharply to look at Seok-chan.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah."
Ho-geun's brow furrowed, his expression hardening.
They were still in the middle of executing their plan—if word had already leaked, it could ruin everything. His reaction was only natural.
"How the hell did the rumor spread?"
"It doesn't seem like the plan was leaked directly. For now, people are just suspicious based on how the stock is moving."
"Are you sure?"
Ho-geun asked again, seeking confirmation.
"Yeah. I checked several tis—it's solid."
Since Seok-chan had invested his own money in this operation, there was no way he would have overlooked such a critical detail.
Ho-geun stroked his chin, organizing his thoughts before speaking again.
"Myeong-dong is crawling with pros. It's not surprising that they'd catch on just by watching the stock movents."
Seok-chan leaned forward, lowering his voice.
"When we start pushing the price up, others might jump in to make a profit. You sure that won't be a problem?"
Ho-geun's rigid expression eased, replaced by his usual relaxed deanor.
"It doesn't matter."
"Hey, what if that sses up the plan?"
"It won't."
"And how can you be so sure?"
Ho-geun finished the rest of his beer, crushed the can, and tossed it onto the ground before answering.
"Why do you think they'd jump in?"
"For the money, obviously."
"Exactly. That ans they won't do anything to ruin our plan."
Seok-chan's eyes glead as he caught on to Ho-geun's reasoning.
"They need the stock price to go up in order to make a profit, so they won't interfere, huh?"
"That's right."
"But what if they sell off their shares before we cash out?"
Yoo Seok-chan frowned as he voiced his concern.
"That won't happen."
"And what makes you so sure?"
Narrowing his eyes, Seok-chan studied Ho-geun, who responded with unwavering confidence.
"Because we'll keep fueling the fire, steadily driving the stock price up. They won't dare to sell early."
"You're planning to confuse them—make it impossible to tell whether we're at the peak or still climbing, so they stay in?"
As expected, Seok-chan was the sharpest one in their circle.
Ho-geun smirked. "Exactly. If other players join in, we can push the price even higher. That only works in our favor."
Seok-chan gave a small nod, seemingly convinced.
"Not a bad strategy. But rember, Yeouido is crawling with seasoned investors. You'd better tread carefully."
"Don't worry. I'm not dumb enough to set up the perfect play just to get blindsided and lose everything."
At that, Seok-chan let out a sly chuckle.
"True. You're the type to throw a punch, not take one."
Just then, Jeon Geon-woo, still tangled up with the models, shouted toward them.
"Hey! What are you guys doing over there? Can't you see the ladies are waiting?"
"Co join us!"
"Let's play with the beach ball!"
The bikini-clad models, drenched from the pool, called out in unison, waving their hands.
"Have we left you bored? That won't do."
Seok-chan flashed a playful grin and got up from the sunbed.
Ho-geun took off the sunglasses resting on his head and set them down on the nearby table before following him into the pool.
"Kyaa!"
"Hahaha!"
With a loud splash, water sprayed in all directions, and the surrounding models shrieked in delight.
"Pwah!"
"Hey, take this—revenge!"
As soon as Ho-geun resurfaced, the models began splashing him playfully.
Laughing, the three n imrsed themselves in the mont, pressing their bodies against the stunning won as they enjoyed their poolside revelry.
***
Monday Morning.
As usual, Chairman Park Tae-hong woke up early and sat on the living room sofa, reading the morning newspaper delivered at dawn.
"Breakfast is ready."
"Oh, alright."
Madam Jo Deok-rye, dressed in a hodress, spoke as Chairman Park Tae-hong folded his newspaper and got up.
"Be careful, it's hot."
As the two sat at the dining table, Gunsan-daek, wearing an apron, ladled steaming crab soup from a pot into their bowls.
"Ah, crab soup for breakfast today."
"The female crabs were fresh and full of roe, so I made a nice, rich broth."
"Aren't crabs in season in April?"
"This year, they seem to be getting caught a little earlier."
Chairman Park took a spoonful of the broth and tasted it, his face showing satisfaction.
"It's not fishy at all—spicy and flavorful. Very good."
"I also had them prepare so marinated crabs in soy sauce."
"Mixing rice with the sauce from those crabs is a real treat."
Just then, Park Tae-hong felt sothing was missing. Looking up, he asked,
"Has Seok-won not co down yet?"
"He left on a business trip yesterday," Madam Jo replied, giving him a look as if wondering why he was asking sothing so obvious.
"A business trip? That boy never stays at ho for long..."
"Oh, co on. You heard it yourself—why are you acting like this?"
Chairman Park was about to scowl but then suddenly rembered. A few days ago, Seok-won had ntioned he would be in Europe for a while.
"That was yesterday?"
"Yes. You left early in the morning for golf with Chairman Jung, so you didn't get to see him off."
"Tsk. I've been so preoccupied these past few days that I completely forgot."
To hide his embarrassnt, Chairman Park clicked his tongue.
"But still, he barely got back from the U.S., and now he's off on another overseas trip?"
"It's good for a young man to be busy," Madam Jo said, defending their second son.
Since she wasn't wrong, Chairman Park couldn't argue back and instead changed the subject.
"So, where exactly did he go?"
"France."
"France? What's he doing there?"
"Obviously, he has business to attend to. Stop grumbling and just eat your breakfast."
At his wife's remark, Chairman Park grudgingly picked up his spoon again.
***
Paris, France.
At a penthouse balcony overlooking the vast greenery of the Tuileries Garden, Seok-won was enjoying a leisurely breakfast, attended by a hotel staff mber.
Just then, Landon entered the suite and stepped out onto the balcony.
"I see you're in the middle of breakfast," he remarked.
"If you haven't eaten yet, why don't you join ?"
"Thank you, but I already had breakfast."
As Landon took a seat across from him, a hotel staff mber approached with a teapot and politely asked in English,
"Would you like so tea?"
"No, coffee, please."
"Understood."
The staff mber carefully retrieved a gold-rimd cup, poured fresh coffee, and set it down in front of Landon.
"I feel like I'm always interrupting your als. My apologies."
"It's fine."
Seok-won casually tore a piece of bread, its soft texture pulling apart effortlessly, and popped it into his mouth before asking,
"The eting is in the afternoon, correct?"
"Yes. We're scheduled to et at Thompson's headquarters on Haussmann Boulevard at 2 PM."
Landon stirred his coffee, adding a single sugar cube.
"The details have all been finalized, I assu?"
"Of course. We've secured all five patents we requested for a total of 9.5 million dollars."
"You made sure to include what I specifically asked for?"
"You an the digital audio compression technology?"
"That's right."
"You emphasized it so many tis—I wouldn't dare forget."
Landon gave a reassuring smile.
"It's definitely included in the acquisition list, so you don't need to worry."
"Good."
Seok-won gave a small nod of approval.
Landon, still slightly puzzled, hesitated before asking,
"I checked, and it seems like that particular technology isn't even fully developed yet. Why are you so interested in it?"
Truthfully, today's patent acquisition from Thompson Multidia wasn't a major deal—certainly not significant enough for Seok-won himself to fly all the way to Paris.
On top of that, among all the patents they were securing, the one with the least value, still in developnt, was the one Seok-won seed most fixated on. It was perplexing.
Glancing at Seok-won again, Landon cautiously asked,
"Is everything else just a distraction, and the real reason you're here is for the digital audio compression technology?"
At that, Seok-won smiled, as if Landon had finally caught on.
"It may not seem like much now, but soon, it's going to be a golden goose that lays eggs year after year."
"If it's such a revolutionary technology, why would Thompson be willing to part with it?"
Landon frowned, still skeptical.
"That's exactly why we're getting it for so cheap."
Seok-won took a sip from his wine glass, swirling it lightly before adding,
"If they truly understood its value, they would never have sold it at this price."
"I know you're wealthy, but a million dollars isn't exactly 'cheap.'"
The price set for the patent acquisition—specifically for digital audio compression technology, soon to be known as MP3—was one million dollars.
"A million dollars is practically a steal. In a few years, Thompson will deeply regret this deal."
"Hmm... is that so?"
Landon still wasn't fully convinced, but Seok-won had never made a bad investnt before. Not even once.
And considering the scale of his wealth, a million dollars was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
With that in mind, Landon decided to let it go.
TL/n -
The first MP3 player was developed by Saehan Information Systems, a South Korean company, in 1997. It was called the MPMan F10 and was later comrcialized in 1998.
###
The Fraunhofer Society of Germany has held the majority of MP3 patents.
The last major MP3 patents expired in 2017, making MP3 technology freely usable without licensing fees.
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