"Wow, there are four rooms! Dad, can I have this one?"
"Oh my, oh my, look at the spacious kitchen! We could play soccer in the living room!"
After dropping off Park Jong-chan at the airport, it was time to explain everything to my parents.
To prove the success of my business, I invited them to the company over the weekend for a tour. The final stop was a luxurious villa overlooking the Han River that Maru had chosen and purchased.
"Are you sure we're supposed to live here? I'll decline if it's too much of a burden for you."
I waved my hands at my father's words.
"Dad, you saw our company. The reason I didn't tell you sooner was that I wanted to wait until things were settled. I just missed the timing. Your son is a huge success."
"Still, if you had given me a heads-up before your brother's wedding, I wouldn't have been so embarrassed in front of everyone. You little rascal."
The performance I had arranged at the wedding had stunned my relatives, and they bombarded my father with questions about me. But he didn't know the details, so he couldn't answer them.
He had just mumbled, "I don't know, I don't know," and barely managed to get through it. He seemed to be scolding me now, but the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and he looked very pleased.
Seeing my family's happiness melted away any lingering resentment I had about spending 500 million won on a house.
After touring the villa for a while, it was time for dinner, so we headed to a nearby barbecue restaurant.
I took a bite of the perfectly grilled pork belly and said,
"Dad, are you going to keep working at the company?"
"What else would I do? I get bored staying at home."
"I'm not saying you have to stay at home. Is there anything you want to do?"
My mother, who was grilling the meat, said cautiously,
"Are you thinking of opening a store for him?"
"Yes. Wouldn't it be better than him stressing out at work? Your son can afford it."
"No, thank you. You've already given us such a nice house. I don't want to burden you any further."
My father's firm refusal made me smile wryly.
I knew he was stubborn and hated asking for favors, but sometimes it was frustrating.
My mother urged him,
"Honey, our son is successful and wants to show his filial piety. It's not right to refuse him."
"That's right, Dad. Let me do something for you. How can I focus on work knowing that you're struggling at your job?"
After much persuasion, my father finally compromised.
"I can't just quit right now. But if I find something I want to do later, I'll ask you for help. I haven't thought about it before, so I don't know what I want to do."
"Alright, take your time. Oh, and Mom…"
I usually called her "Mum," but I deliberately addressed her formally.
"Yes?"
"The house is under my name. I bought it under my name in case my brother tries to get a loan using it as collateral or demands to live there. You're welcome."
"O-oh, thank you."
My mother flinched and replied. I said again in a serious tone,
"Mom, if my brother needs help, tell him to contact me directly. I can't stand seeing you suffer because of him anymore."
"I-I will."
"I'm serious, Mom. Don't struggle on your own, tell him to come to me directly. And if he doesn't, tell him that his brother won't be lenient. And that goes for anyone, not just him. I'll refuse any requests that come through you."
"Okay."
My mother replied dejectedly, but I didn't think my words would change her overly accommodating nature.
Still, now that my relatives and my parents' friends knew about my wealth, I had to be firm.
I wasn't worried about my father, as he was a stubborn man, but my mother's excessive kindness was a problem.
I hoped my words would make a difference, however small, and raised my glass.
***
"Sigh, what's this now?"
Team Leader Park Jong-bum was reporting a problem with the boards we had recently delivered.
"The smelter tested the 10 tons of remote control boards we delivered, and they said there's no gold, only a small amount of copper. After considering the smelting cost, it's actually a loss. They're asking if we want to take them back, or we can pay an additional smelting fee of 100,000 yen per ton, a total of 1 million yen. They'll pay us for the copper yield if we do that."
We had bought 10 tons of TV remote control boards from a factory, and that was the problem.
Usually, even boards with a small amount of gold plating on the connectors or contact points would show some signs of gold. But the remote control boards had no trace of gold when we bought them, so I was a bit uneasy, but I didn't think it would be a big deal.
"You're saying there's no gold at all?"
"Yes, none at all, they said."
"Sigh."
This was the first time this had happened, and we had made dozens of deliveries.
"Is there any way to dispose of them if we take them back?"
"We'll have to send them to an incineration or landfill company."
"How much did the samples yield that they're asking us to take them back?"
Park Jong-bum read the document and said,
"About 100 grams of copper per kilogram. The total value for 10 tons is 300,000 yen, about 3 million won."
I sighed.
"So we're losing 7 million won. This is why we need our own sampling system. But the smelter wouldn't be lying, would they?"
"We have no choice but to trust them. They even offered to let us take the boards back, so it doesn't seem like a lie."
"Alright, look into the cost of sending them to an incineration company versus leaving them with the smelter and choose the option with the least loss."
"Yes, sir."
"Director Park, please give those instructions, and then call Managing Director Kim. Let's have a meeting."
Park Jong-bum left and returned with Maru, who sat down on the sofa next to me. We began the meeting.
"Considering the transportation cost and the purchase price, we're looking at a loss of at least 10 million won from the remote control board delivery. It's not a big deal considering how much money we've made, but the problem is that this could happen again. The losses are small now because we're buying for next to nothing, but once the competition intensifies and the prices go up, a similar situation could result in a significant loss. So we need to develop our own sampling system. Any ideas?"
Park Jong-bum and Maru looked at each other blankly, and I said in frustration,
"Let's just brainstorm ideas, keeping in mind that we're all clueless about chemistry and physics."
Maru thought for a moment and said,
"Can't we ask the smelter for help?"
"Let's look into that. Anything else?"
"Hmm… how about asking universities?"
"Universities? How?"
Maru stammered,
"Uh, I don't know."
"Sir, asking universities is actually a good idea."
Park Jong-bum, who had been silent, raised his hand.
"How?"
"We can offer research funding to universities and commission research projects. We could do the same for a sampling method."
"Really?"
"It's not like it's a non-existent technology. It's an existing technology, and analyzing the composition isn't the core of the smelting process. I'm sure professors at Korean universities wouldn't be easily persuaded, so we should be able to get results quickly."
"Hmm, that's a good idea. By the way, Director Park, you seem to know a lot about universities because you went to one."
"Well, it's not just that. I did a lot of research when I was planning a business."
"Planning a business? What kind of business required you to research universities?"
Park Jong-bum hesitated, and I urged him,
"Tell me, what is it? Is it something personal? Then I won't ask."
"It's not personal, but… how should I put it? It's a bit blatantly unethical. It was a business I wanted to pursue once I made a lot of money."
"You're making me even more curious. Tell me."
Park Jong-bum scratched the back of his head and said,
"It's a university business."
"What kind of university business?"
"Literally, establishing a university and running it as a business."
I exchanged glances with Maru and asked in bewilderment,
"What kind of business is that? Is it even profitable?"
"Of course it is. It's very profitable."
Park Jong-bum suddenly became animated and started talking rapidly.
"They eased the regulations for establishing universities this year. And tuition fees have been skyrocketing since the tuition cap was abolished in 1989. That's where I got the idea. The university business is a gold mine. You get huge subsidies from the government, and there are so many ways to profit: tuition fees, dormitory fees, meal plans… Parents are desperate to send their kids to college these days. If you lower the admission standards, it's easy to recruit students."
Seeing my growing interest, Park Jong-bum became even more excited.
"And that's not all. University foundations are protected assets, even if the business goes bankrupt. It's for the sake of the students' education."
"Ooh."
That was interesting. The university's assets were untouchable even in bankruptcy.
"And the title isn't bad either. Chairman of the board of a university. Wow. And if you buy land near the university in advance, where cram schools are likely to open, the rental income would be substantial."
He was planning to profit from young students, the future and driving force of Korea. This was…
"Amazing. It's a brilliant idea. And a very safe business. But it would cost a fortune."
Park Jong-bum clicked his tongue.
"Even with subsidies from the local government and the central government, it would cost at least several hundred billion won. I looked into it and gave up."
I sighed regretfully.
"My assets are barely over 10 billion won… I would have loved to try it if I had enough money."
"Right? We definitely have something in common, sir."
(TL/n - both of them are the Vultures of Capitalism)
While Park Jong-bum and I were excitedly discussing the university business, Maru was staring at us with a deadpan expression, as if we were idiots.
Following the meeting, we first contacted the smelter about the sampling method, but as expected, they refused to share it, citing trade secrets.
We then contacted prestigious universities, starting with Seoul National University, and eventually decided on Hanyang University, which was renowned for its engineering department. We invested 100 million won in research funding and commissioned a research project.
I thought it would take at least a few months, but as December was coming to an end, I received a call from a professor at Hanyang University.
"Yes? You're saying the first phase of the sampling technology is complete?"
"Yes, you said it was urgent, so we developed a method that can recover at least some of the gold."
"This quickly? Was it that easy? It's only been a month."
"Well, it's complicated to explain, but if you focus solely on extracting gold, it's not that difficult."
"Really?"
It was so easy that I couldn't believe it.
"Yes, it's basically a process of removing the other components one by one through chemical reactions. It's not a difficult technology if you can figure out the right order of removal."
"Is that so?"
"This method can recover about 70% of the gold content. If you want to recover other metals as well, the process becomes more complex and time-consuming, but since you said it was urgent, I'm calling to let you know. If you have time, please visit the university. We'd like to show you a demonstration."
That's what I thought. My initial excitement died down.
A 70% recovery rate was nothing compared to the 98% recovery rate boasted by Naoshima Smelter.
I hesitated when the professor invited me to visit, but then I thought the sampling technology could still be useful even with a lower recovery rate.
"Alright, I'll contact you soon and schedule a visit."