Chapter 7: Echoes of the Unseen

When we went down to the first floor, there was a car parked that I hadn't seen earlier.

Beep beep!

A red compact car lit up and greeted us. This car was none other than Taek-gyu's personal ride.

Holding the remote key, Taekgyu opened the car door and said, "Get in!"

A large decal of a smiling girl wielding a sword was plastered on the car door.

Apparently, she was a character from some fantasy game.

This is like a game promotion vehicle or something.

"Can't you just take that off?"

"Nope, can't do. I bought it directly from Japan after a lot of hassle."

"…."

It's not my car, so I can't force him to remove it.

Taek-gyu got into the driver's seat first. I sighed internally, opened the door covered with anime girls, and got in.

Ugh, this is embarrassing.

The red compact car crossed Dongho Bridge heading toward Gangbuk.

"Where are we going?"

"Ceylon Hotel."

Ceylon Hotel is a five-star hotel located on the slopes of Namsan.

In the outdoor parking lot, a line of luxury foreign cars was visible. Among them were several supercars, like Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

Taek-gyu parked the car in front of the hotel's main entrance. The valet staff's eyes widened as they glanced between us and the car.

That wasn't the look of someone belittling us for driving a compact car.

It was the genuine surprise of someone who had never seen such an otaku-themed car before!

There's no way they ever imagined they'd see a car like this while working here.

The stares of people coming and going at the hotel entrance were all fixated on us as well.

"…"

I should've gotten out and walked in on my own.

The valet staff, despite their bewilderment, spoke politely.

"I'll park it for you."

"Yep!"

While Taek-gyu confidently got out of the car, I lowered my head as much as possible, hiding my face as I exited.

Why is all the embarrassment always mine?

______________________________________

After passing through the grand revolving door, we were greeted by a woman in her early 30s wearing a black high-waisted skirt, a white blouse, and black high heels.

She had silver-rimmed glasses and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. Though not flashy, she exuded a charming, attractive vibe.

Taek-gyu raised his hand toward her.

"Hi! Long time no see, sis."

Glancing at her wristwatch, she said, "I told you to be here by 4 o'clock. You're 3 minutes late."

"It's just 3 minutes… Gah!"

Midway through his excuse, Taek-gyu clammed up when she shot him a glare.

She then turned her gaze toward me.

"Jin-hoo, you came too."

Taek-gyu nodded.

"Jin-hoo kept nagging me about wanting to see you, so I had no choice but to bring him along."

"..."

When did I say that?

I bowed and greeted her.

"It's been a while, sis. How have you been?"

Hyunjoo smiled at me.

"Just got out of the army?"

"Yes, not too long ago."

"You've been through a lot. When do you graduate?"

"I finished my first year before joining the army, so I still have a while to go."

"After you graduate, how about joining Golden Gate?"

"If you'll have me, I'd gladly come."

Even at a prestigious school like Korea University, very few people get into a global investment bank (IB). Among them, getting into Golden Gate is especially tough. Maybe one student per year, if that.

Across all of Golden Gate, I bet there are only about 20 Korean University alumni.

We headed to the hotel's second-floor café with Hyunjoo.

The café was mostly empty except for a few tables by the windows. Half the customers were foreigners, all dressed in sharp business attire.

Meanwhile, I was in jeans, a T-shirt, and a puffer jacket. Maybe I should've worn a suit?

Still, I was better off than Taek-gyu's, who was in a shabby tracksuit. No one else would come to a place like this dressed like him.

Of course, he didn't seem to notice any issue.

I glanced back and forth between Taek-gyu's and Hyunjoo. Anyone who didn't know them would never guess they were siblings.

But if you looked closely, they did resemble each other in certain ways.

It's just that Taek-gyu is overweight, with a buzz cut and sloppy clothes, but his features aren't bad. If he lost some weight and dressed better, he'd probably look decent enough.

A waiter approached us and handed over the menu. Taek-gyu opened it and was shocked.

"Whoa! A cup of coffee costs 25,000 won! How is it this expensive? Is this for real?"

"..."

A guy with over 10 billion won in his account, freaking out over a cup of coffee.

Well, it is pretty expensive.

Taek-gyu quickly closed the menu and said to the waiter, "I'll just have water…"

Hyunjoo snatched the menu from his hand.

"Jin-hoo, you drink coffee, right?"

"Yes."

"Two lungos and one lemonade, please."

After ordering, I asked Hyunjoo, "When did you arrive in Korea?"

"Just now."

She didn't look too happy. Her face seemed full of worry and concern.

Hyunjoo turned to Taekgyu and said, "I heard MountainHill filed for bankruptcy. Are you okay?"

Taek-gyu grinned.

"Luckily, I sold everything right before it happened."

"Huh, really?"

Hyunjoo was visibly surprised by his unexpected answer.

"You sold everything?"

"Yep. I put all of it in the OTK Company account. Around 11.9 million dollars.".

"..."

Hyunjoo was speechless at the amount. While Taek-gyu didn't seem fazed, anyone hearing such a sum would find it hard to believe.

After confirming a few more times, Hyunjoo's expression finally brightened a bit.

"That's a relief."

It seemed this had been worrying her the whole time.

"You must have been really worried about Taek-gyu," I said.

Hyunjoo noticeably flinched at my comment. "Wh-what are you talking about? Why would I worry about this otaku?"

"…."

Because he's your brother.

Isn't it natural for a sister to worry about her brother?

At that moment, the drinks we ordered arrived.

"A-anyway!" Hyunjoo quickly adjusted her expression, then scribbled something on a notepad and handed it to us.

"What's this?"

The note had a name and a phone number on it.

"It's the contact info for the branch manager of Golden Gate Gangnam. If you need to transfer a large amount of money into a Korean account, contact him. He's an alumnus from our school, so just tell him you're Oh Hyunjoo's brother, and he'll know."

Transferring money from a foreign account to a Korean one requires tax declarations and other formalities. Maybe I could also handle the 500 million won I received through him.

Taek-gyu pocketed the note.

"But you said you'd sell off your assets gradually. Why did you sell everything all at once?"

"I… just suddenly felt like it," he mumbled evasively. I quickly changed the subject.

"Did you come to Korea because of Taek-gyu?"

Hyunjoo, as if wanting to avoid any misunderstanding, shook her head firmly. "No, absolutely not. I only came because of work."

Golden Gate, being a global investment bank (IB), has branches all over the world. While Korea has a large economy, it's not big enough for global IBs to go all-in on it.

Golden Gate only has a few branches in Korea handling securities and banking.

"So, how long are you staying in Korea?" I asked.

"I'm here for about ten days, conducting due diligence on an acquisition target."

Taek-gyu looked shocked. "Whoa! Ten days?"

"Don't tell me you don't want me around?"

At that, Taek-gyu quickly corrected his expression and shook his head. "N-no, I'm happy! Really happy! So, where are you staying?"

Hyunjoo pointed upward. "Right here. The entire due diligence team is staying at this hotel."

I glanced around the hotel and asked, "Isn't this place expensive?

It's a five-star hotel on the slopes of Namsan. Even the cheapest room must be over 500,000 won per night.

Hyunjoo shrugged it off as if it were no big deal. "The company's covering it anyway."

That's the difference a global IB makes, I guess.

Buzz!

Her phone vibrated on the table.

"Excuse me for a moment," Hyunjoo said, picking up her phone and stepping away. It was quite a while before she returned.

Did something happen?

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Nothing serious. Just something about the OPEC meeting schedule."

"OPEC, huh..." Taek-gyu quickly jumped in, trying to act like he knew something. "Isn't that short for Oil Factory?"

"…."

At least he knows that "factory" starts with an F.

"It's a group of oil-producing countries," I said.

Hyunjoo nodded. "It's officially called the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. They're about to announce the results of their meeting in two days."

Just then, something strange happened.

Before my eyes, something appeared, almost like a hologram.

What the heck is this?

Why am I seeing this again?

"Hey, what's wrong?"

I snapped back to reality at Taek-gyu's voice. The hologram that had been in front of me vanished as if it had never been there.

Hyunjoo looked at me with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Ah, I was just lost in thought for a moment," I said, brushing it off. But Taek-gyu gave me a knowing look, as if he'd noticed something.

Ignoring his gaze, I turned to Hyunjoo and asked, "What's OPEC discussing?"

"They're currently meeting in Kuwait to talk about reducing oil production."

"Reducing production?" I asked, startled.

I just saw this!