Life’s Second Round in Epic Mode - Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Step by Step (Part 3)

What a coincidence, meeting the third-generation heir of a wealthy family while handing out proposals. Although, living a second life is a difficult feat in itself.

But why would he attend this school, instead of a prestigious private school in Gangbuk or Gangnam?

Is it because he’s more interested in pursuing his own path than building an academic pedigree?

That does seem to be his nature.

“Then, if you help me, I’ll do my best to fulfill your wishes, senior.”

“Alright, junior, how many of those do you have?”

Perhaps satisfied with the response, the title used to address Yi Geon was raised a notch.

“Yes, senior, we currently have 600 copies.”

“Bring them all. Ah, you might want some face time too, so let’s go together. Hey, fill every seat in Class 1 with these. I won’t force anyone, but anyone who doesn’t take one is an idiot. Got it?”

“Huh? If it’s as Ja-Hoon says, we won’t be at a loss.”

“Really, there’s no loss in listening to Ja-Hoon. Hurry up and give me one too. I need to solve the next page of the math mock exam.”

“I’ll fill all 20 seats too.”

“Well, if you insist.”

Worried that they might fill all the seats with just the third-years, Yi Geon was reassured by a light pat on the shoulder from his senior.

“I have to give some special treatment to my own classmates. And don’t worry about reporting the school venture to the principal and the dean, I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you, senior.”

“Hahaha, let’s work together more often in the future. And if you ever need help, don’t hesitate to come to Class 1.”

“Thank you, senior.”

As Ja-Hoon stepped in, the distribution of proposals sped up from Class 1 to 12 of the third-year students.

It was clear that Ja-Hoon had a significant influence on the entire third-year class.

The cruel nickname “Yeouido Crocodile” suited him as much as his exceptional aptitude since he was young.

“Whew, I’m exhausted.”

Dong-pal, who had come down to the first floor, seemed completely drained, his arms hanging limp.

It was no easy task to go around the third and fourth floors of the neighboring building where the third-year students were located.

“Cheer up, Dong-pal.”

“Wow, I was honestly nervous, but Geon, you’re amazing. I could barely breathe, and the third-year students are so busy preparing for the second round of the college entrance exam and the main exam. But you managed to hand out all the contracts?”

“College entrance exam? Oh, not the CSAT. Well, I didn’t do much; it was Ja-Hoon who helped a lot.”

“That senior seemed eager to join too.”

“Well, he probably isn’t too keen on getting involved in something like this. He must be just curious.”

“Then he’s a good person.”

Dong-pal judged based on prejudice alone. However, Geon had seen too many bitter tastes of prejudice in his first life.

“He may not be a bad person, but you should be more cautious around such people. Deliberately letting down your guard around them can be extremely dangerous.”

Yi Geon sorted out his thoughts on the activities of Gu Ja-Hoon, whom he had seen in his first life.

Uncharacteristically for a third-generation Korean financier, he was highly skilled in aggressive investments and hostile mergers and acquisitions.

As much as he was an enemy, he had been a challenging opponent in Geon’s first life.

As his nickname suggested, he was like a crocodile, a massive carnivorous creature. Underneath the prejudice of appearing kind and gentle, he possessed the ambition to swallow his opponents whole in a single bite.

That was the kind of predatory beast he was.

Even though he could make a lot of money right now, he was a busy person who, at the moment, focused on taking private lessons at home and building his future vision.

On the bright side, one might think that he was simply helping out of pure interest.

It could also be just an impulsive desire for self-realization.

Of course, just like the notorious crocodile, one could never truly know what lay beneath the surface of such a beast, and letting one’s guard down could lead to being devoured.

——

“I’m back, Father.”

In one corner of the spacious living room, reminiscent of a sports field, sat a middle-aged man with a stern expression and gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes fixed on a thick stack of documents.

“Did anything happen at school, Ja-hoon?”

“There was a little something.”

“Really?”

“I saw an interesting fellow at school.”

At these words, the man looked up from the documents and gazed at Ja-hoon.

“What grade is he in high school?”

“He’s a freshman. But he knows the concept of venture companies well. He even wrote a decent investment proposal.”

Ja-hoon had never shown interest in such things, especially not with a mere high school freshman.

What kind of proposal was it, that caught his attention?

The man grew curious.

“Let me see it.”

“Here it is.”

[Hwagok-dong Venture Company First Round Investment Proposal (1st of 3 rounds)]

Industry: Production and Service (Startup)

Investment Limit: Up to 20 units (5,000 won per unit)

Maturity Date: 1 year from contract date (May be paid early if target net profit is achieved)

Interest Rate: Minimum 20% of investment amount after 1 year + additional linked interest payment based on excess profit

Additional linked interest is based on the company’s internal regulations, linked to the excess profit compared to the company’s net profit target.

Additional benefits: Stock purchase priority for first-round investors when the company goes public (Number of stocks proportional to the invested amount)

Total Investment Target: 10 million won (Investment proposal may end early based on the company’s internal regulations if the target amount is reached)

[Party A agrees to…]

The man furrowed his brow for a moment, then shook his head, slightly bewildered by the situation, which had completely shattered his common sense.

“Hmm… This is a bit hard to believe.”

“Right?”

“Did a high school freshman really write this?”

“Yes, what do you think?”

“Hehehe, well… This is just surprising. This is beyond the level of a high school freshman. Unless this guy is an extraordinary scammer or a top executive-level expert helped him, he wouldn’t have been able to create this short and concise proposal that investors want. This is the first time I’ve ever received such a well-made proposal.”

“I think so too. When I look at the usual 700-800 page proposals for companies, they either have flashy and abundant content that lacks core substance or are filled with enthusiastic yet clumsy content from beginning to end. It’s insufficient to make investors open their wallets.”

As if acknowledging that Ja-hoon had learned well, the man briefly wore a satisfied smile on his face.

Flashy formatting and phrasing, along with seven to eight hundred pages covered in professional jargon, sometimes even over 3,000 pages of technical terms, were the norm for proposals that venture and technology companies would submit when requesting investment from financial firms.

However, that proposal was remarkably simplistic. If it had been submitted to a major corporation or a financial company, it would have had a 99% chance of not being accepted. But if it had been presented to a foreign financial firm or a top-tier angel investor, the reaction would have been entirely different. This was because the proposal had been meticulously crafted to include only the essential information that investors wanted, without any extraneous details.

From the proposal alone, it was clear that the person behind it was no amateur. Major investors naturally gravitated toward such a project.

“Right, most of these venture upstarts are just dim-witted opportunists, trying to drain investor funds,” the man said. “But this proposal is incredibly smart, something I’ve never seen before in Korea. They dangled the bait of priority stock purchase rights and imposed a limit on the number of shares. It’s as if they’re saying, ‘I’m the one in control here, and the investor is the one who needs to be eager.’ This is not your ordinary skill. How could they manage to fit all the essentials like this?”

“Yes, it was so compelling that even I was momentarily captivated. I couldn’t think of anything else but how amazing it was.”

“Moreover, given that they explicitly used the term ‘startup,’ it’s not something they just picked up somewhere. They must also have a proper understanding of venture capital and angel concepts. That term is still not used in Korea. And what should I call it, ‘mosaic funding’? The idea of attracting initial investments from multiple investors with limited rights is quite refreshing.”

Since the concept of crowdfunding didn’t exist in 1993, the man coined the term “mosaic funding” on the spot. In particular, the term “startup” was a rare term, only familiar to those in the financial industry, particularly those in investment, like Ja-hoon’s father. It was a term quietly used among young entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, not a concept covered by the domestic media or professional literature in Korea at the time.

“Yes, that’s why I became interested as well.”

“That’s right, it’s difficult to distinguish between a promising entrepreneur and a scam artist. Judging by the vague mention of the industry and the complete absence of a business overview, this person is almost 100% a scammer. But there’s no way a high school freshman would put forth such an impressive proposal just to scam 10 million won.”

“At first, I was a bit confused as well.”

“Well, they certainly know how to pique one’s interest. The direct value of this proposal alone, depending on how it’s used, could easily be worth over a billion won. Depending on who uses it, it’s an attractive proposal that could easily raise a billion won.”

“Seeing you taking an interest in it, it seems my hunch was right. They must be quite a promising figure.”

Ja-hoon was happy to see that his feelings and thoughts were in line with his father’s. His father continued the conversation while holding the proposal in his hand.

“Right. Whether he’s a swindler with nothing special to show for, or he has the potential to become a great chaebol entrepreneur. Either way, he’s a guy who piques my interest. Keep a close eye on him and raise him well. If you can swallow him up later, do so.”

“Ha ha ha, yes Father.”

“Remember, always be the one who swallows, not the one who gets swallowed, my son.”

“Yes, Father.”

The two exchanged sharp glances before sinking into their thoughts.

Two days later.

When the collected funds far exceeded expectations, Yi Geon decided to close fundraising early. Right now, it was more important to save time than to gather money.

“Min-seok, how much have we collected so far?”

“29,555,000 won has been collected.”

“You must have had a hard time calculating it. We gathered about three times more than expected. Min-seok, you have been keeping records separately in two books; one for accounting audits and the other as the main ledger. From now on, we’ll have to handle things like processing receipts for our operating expenses. If that’s too difficult, we’ll hire an accountant.”

“No, I can still handle it.”

Looking at his face, his eyes were slightly bloodshot and he appeared sleepy.

Yi Geon patted Min-seok’s back.

“Don’t push yourself too hard, kid. If you feel like you can’t do it, tell me now. It’s better to have two people working on it than one. And I’ll help with the bookkeeping whenever I have time. We must be thorough in managing money.”

“Got it.”

“Alright, we’ll have a staff member handle things like processing receipts. And as for Sang-du.”

Thwack~

“Ugh~ Stop hitting the back of my head!”

Originally tasked with serving as the shuttle driver, Sang-du became a personal punching bag for minor offenses.

Yi Geon quite enjoyed the satisfying impact on the back of Sang-du’s head.

“Anyway, call those Fire Extinguisher circle kids during the next break. We’re going to skip class, no, leave early, to recruit employees. Oh, and we need to check out the business space we discussed with the fortune-telling room’s… no, the real estate agent’s office.”

“Ooh, does that mean we’re officially starting now?”

“Correct. We’re going to be incredibly busy for the next three days.”

“Busy is good.”

“Oh, and a person recommended by Senior Ja-hoon will be joining us as well.”

“If Senior Ja-hoon helps us out, it’ll be great for us. I heard from Sang-il that he’s one of the most influential people among the second and third-year students at our school.”

“That’s right, so be especially careful in your actions, If you unnecessarily harass the kids or cause trouble, and word gets to Senior Ja-hoon, you’ll be the first to pay.”

“I got it. Do you think I’m a child?”

Thwack~

“Ah, sh**! Stop hitting the back of my head!”

Yi Geon suppressed a giggle, turning his head away.

The back of the head was indeed a sweet spot.

At the school gate,

A man was checking his wristwatch in front of a black Grandeur.

As Yi Geon and his group emerged, the man scanned their faces and asked,

“Which one of you is Representative Yi Geon?”

“I am Yi Geon.”

“Hello. I am Han Min-ho, the manager who came at the request of Senior Ja-hoon. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The man in the well-fitted suit greeted them with a blunt expression.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yi Geon, who’s starting a startup. I look forward to your help in the future.”

“Ha ha, yes, of course.”

Manager Han responded with a laugh, but his forced smile on an expressionless face made him look like a typical cold-hearted businessman.

It seemed that dealing with him would actually be easier.

‘I’ve experienced too many of this type of person in my first life.’

“Where would you like to go first?”

“I’ll tell you once we’re in the car. Guys, get in quickly.”

“Got it.”

“Wow, this is my first time in a Grandeur. Wow.”

Dong-pal opened the car door carefully, his eyes wide with excitement.

Truth be told, it was also Yi Geon’s first time riding in a mint-condition Grandeur.