After wrapping up all the agreents, Han Kyungyeong and I left San Francisco together.
It didn’t take long to arrive in nearby Sausalito. It was a place where Han Kyungyeong had bought a villa for vacations.
“Oh, it’s quiet. Nice.”
“Right?”
Unlike the bustling, energetic atmosphere of San Francisco, this place had a completely different vibe.
It was a small seaside town, but it was lined with luxury hos and villas, and the town itself was beautifully kept.
“How did you even find a place like this?”
“I got a recomndation. Bill Gates’s villa is right next door. A lot of Wall Street people and business owners have vacation hos around here.”
I nodded. It wasn’t far from downtown San Francisco, making it a perfect spot to drop by on weekends for so rest.
Han Kyungyeong led toward a private pier connected to the villa.
A sleek yacht was docked there.
“Let’s head out to sea.”
“You even have a yacht?”
“What’s with that reaction. I’m Han Kyungyeong. A yacht is pocket change. Don’t you think?”
Han Kyungyeong puffed out his chest proudly. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Well, you are rich too.”
“I can’t really show off in front of you, but I’m still pretty wealthy. I can afford this level of indulgence.”
We boarded the yacht together.
But I didn’t see anyone who looked like they would be piloting it.
“Who’s driving? Can you do it?”
“Of course.”
“When did you even learn how to pilot a yacht?”
At that mont, Manager Ma, who had been standing nearby, spoke up.
“I’ll take the helm. Please relax and enjoy yourselves.”
“Looks like you can pilot a yacht too, Manager.”
“I learned so ti ago.”
Manager Ma moved naturally into the cockpit.
“I wanted to show off my driving.”
Han Kyungyeong smacked his lips in disappointnt.
Why are you disappointed?
“He’s just being considerate so we can talk comfortably. We can do it next ti.”
Han Kyungyeong went inside the yacht and ca back out carrying wine and so light snacks.
“I bought this to drink with you. It was pretty expensive.”
“Showing off again.”
We sat down together on the deck.
Once Manager Ma confird we were settled, he slowly got the yacht moving.
A cool sea breeze brushed against my face. Han Kyungyeong poured wine into two glasses and handed one to .
After clinking glasses and taking a sip, we got down to business.
“Set up a special-purpose corporation in Korea.”
“You’re planning to put it in charge of the Iraq reconstruction project?”
I nodded.
“To form a consortium, we need a lead corporate entity. We’ll run all the contracts through that corporation, then subcontract the work to three construction companies—Joongwoo Construction, Daehyeon Construction, and Pungjin Construction. Can you set it up cleanly?”
Han Kyungyeong took another sip of wine and asked,
“A limited liability company? Or a joint-stock company?”
“A limited liability company. I hate disclosures and external oversight. And I’ll organize the shareholder list myself and hand it over. I need to distribute shares to certain people.”
This was a reconstruction project guaranteed by the U.S. governnt. There would be no delays or nonpaynt of construction costs, and stable revenue was all but assured.
At the sa ti, forming it as a limited liability company made it perfect for distributing interests.
It freed us from the many obligations imposed on joint-stock companies and allowed managent to be run at the discretion of the majority holder. It also made it easier to stay out of the tax authorities’ line of sight.
That was precisely why many multinational corporations, despite having ample capital, chose to establish dostic entities in forms similar to limited liability companies.
Global luxury brands, in particular, with their frequent cash transactions, almost invariably preferred this structure.
Since share trading was difficult, there was no risk of transferring ownership stakes to outsiders, aning no threat to managent control. Above all, it kept things from becoming complicated.
“Okay. I’ll set it up cleanly without any issues. But you’ll still hold 51%, right?”
“Of course. I’ll take 51%, you’ll take 10%, and the rest will be spread among several people. We won’t take capital contributions, but make sure the paperwork is airtight so there are no problems.”
“Don’t worry.”
If I left it to Han Kyungyeong, it would be established neatly without any legal trouble.
“What about the company na?”
“Hmm······ what should it be?”
I swirled the wine in my glass, thinking.
“How about a four-character idiom?”
At my impulsive suggestion, Han Kyungyeong snorted while pouring himself more wine.
“Hey, this company has to do business with Aricans. If you na it in Chinese characters, do you think they’ll even be able to pronounce it?”
“That’s true. Then what should we call it?”
“How about Soul Company?”
Soul Company. I rolled the na around in my head.
“Sounds good. Everyone who’ll be getting shares in this company is basically a soulmate of mine.”
“Right? Then the na will be Soul Company······. If you give about a month, I can finish everything. Before that, organize the list of people you’ll be distributing shares to and let know.”
I nodded.
I had already organized things roughly, but politicians couldn’t put their own nas down directly.
I needed to ask them personally, decide who their proxies would be, and sort it all out properly. It was best to eliminate anything that could cause trouble later in advance.
“Enough business talk. Enjoy the view. We ca all the way out to sea.”
“Yeah. This place is really nice.”
At so point, the yacht had stopped far from the shore.
I could ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ barely make out the shape of the coastline with the naked eye.
“There’s a reason Californians build vacation hos here. Nice, right?”
I nodded, set my wine glass down, and lay flat on the deck.
A deep blue sky filled my vision. With the cool breeze and the open sky above, it felt like all the pent-up frustrations inside were being blown away.
Han Kyungyeong flopped down beside . We lay there in silence, staring at the sky for a long while.
“I could fall asleep like this.”
“Yeah. The weather’s great.”
This kind of quiet wasn’t bad at all.
Ti passed in silence, and the sun began to dip.
Only after the yacht’s lights ca on did I get up. Han Kyungyeong, who had dozed off, also sat up again.
“Are you planning to put Brendon Bechtel to work at the new corporation?”
“Of course. Sending him to so half-baked place like Joongwoo Construction wouldn’t accomplish anything. I’ll have him act as a bridge to the U.S. and keep an eye on him. You felt it too, didn’t you? Sothing strange between Chairman Riley and Brendon Bechtel.”
Even in the eting room, in front of so many people, there had been an inexplicable awkward tension between father and son.
Han Kyungyeong nodded slightly, as if he’d noticed it too.
“Yeah, I did. It felt like Riley Bechtel was oddly wary of his own son. And with heavyweights like Caspar Weinberger and George Shultz clearly favoring Brendon Bechtel, I can see why.”
“Look into it separately. How Bechtel is run, and how they decide their chairman. Riley doesn’t seem like soone who belongs in that position. Do they have so weird firstborn-priority nonsense going on there too?”
“What, are you planning to swallow Bechtel as well? That won’t be easy.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“How would that even be possible? It’s a privately held, family-run company. I just think having the information might be useful to us soday.”
No matter how big Bechtel was as a lobbying powerhouse, as a comprehensive construction firm it held countless patents. Maintaining a good relationship would bring plenty of benefits. If it helped Joongwoo Construction grow, that would be more than enough—there was no downside.
“So, are you done with everything you ca to do in the U.S.?”
I nodded with a smile.
“I think I’ll rest here for a few days. Now I just have to wait for Senator Barack Obama to get in touch.”
I was extrely curious about what kind of answer Barack Obama would bring.
Night fell completely, and darkness enveloped everything around us. Only the yacht’s lights illuminated the dark sea.
“Let’s head back. I’m tired.”
I gestured to Manager Ma to return. The yacht’s engine started up again.
As if reluctant to leave, the yacht moved toward land more slowly than it had on the way out.
* * *
A few days passed.
Han Kyungyeong left the villa early to attend a charity party, and I spent my ti resting at leisure.
Perhaps because it had been a while since I’d relaxed in a comfortable place without thinking about anything, my physical condition improved noticeably.
But the break was about to end. In two days, I planned to return to Korea via Russia.
There was still no word from Barack Obama.
I fiddled with the phone in my hand, lost in thought.
‘When is he going to call. He’s not soone without political ambition, so rejecting this outright doesn’t make sense.’
If I didn’t know the future Barack Obama, I might think he was a man without ambition.
But soone who would go on to beco President of the United States couldn’t possibly lack ambition.
All I’d done was awaken it a little earlier.
There was no better choice than . Maybe later would be different, but even later, Barack Obama would still be the weaker party.
“What’s Obama up to?”
“He’s still handling external engagents.”
“Is that so?”
“He t with Michelle Obama and followed through on his originally scheduled agenda. There’s nothing unusual.”
I nodded at Manager Ma’s calm report.
Michelle Obama was Barack Obama’s wife, but she was also his political partner.
“By now, they probably have information about in their hands.”
“Yes. You told not to stop it, so we left it alone. I heard soone has been asking around Wall Street.”
That was probably Michelle Obama’s brother. I’d told them to leave it be—he needed to know about to accept my proposal.
“But there’s still no contact. Do you think he’s decided to reject my offer?”
“If it’s not you, Boss, no one would bet on that man. He’ll contact you soon. Let’s wait a little longer.”
“I suppose so. If there’s no contact by the ti I leave the U.S., it’s unfortunate, but I’ll have to replace him with soone else.”
In that case, I planned to put forward soone entirely different.
It was true that supporting a Barack Obama with exploitable weaknesses was convenient, but there were plenty of other people with weaknesses too.
It seed there would be no need to look for soone else after all.
Barack Obama contacted , asking to et. He said he wanted a quiet eting, so I gave him the villa’s address.
Two people arrived. Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.
“It’s nice to et you. To finally et the major shareholder of Dream High like this. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Michelle Obama greeted first.
“I’ve heard quite a lot about you as well, Michelle.”
“So you looked into too.”
“Isn’t that only natural, just as you looked into ? Please, co inside. I’ve prepared so good wine.”
I led the two of them into the dining room. I wanted to set a relaxed atmosphere, but while Michelle didn’t show it, Barack Obama looked slightly tense.
“So, did you bring an answer to my proposal? I’ve waited quite a while. Please give your response now.”
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