The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 358



Only Krnovel

358. New building (2)

Despite Trump’s appearance, there was no significant reaction at the venue.

Although he will be treated as a state guest a few years later when he becomes president, the current Trump is nothing more than a successful real estate businessman.

“Thank you so much for coming to Korea.”

“My friend invited me. Shouldn’t I come? And my strong supporter is the president.”

My grandfather and Trump were more than friends.

It was his grandfather who saved him when his real estate business faltered, so it was correct to see him as a benefactor.

“You must be very busy as the U.S. presidential election is just around the corner.”

“I am traveling all over the United States campaigning for the Republican candidate. So I have to show up for a while today and then go straight to the United States.”

The US presidential election will be held a month later in November.

This was the most important time, and it was a very busy time for Trump, who officially became a Republican politician.

Nevertheless, the fact that he came all the way to Korea to celebrate the completion of the new building was proof that he cared for his grandfather and Taewo Group that much.

“Once the presidential election is over, I will visit the United States to formally greet you.”

“You are always welcome to come. But can we talk in private for a moment?”

Trump said in a whisper.

I led him to a quiet conference room next to the event venue.

“What’s wrong?”

“There are a lot of rumors about you in American politics. They say that the person you choose will definitely get elected.”

“You can consider it a rumor. It is a rumor that arose because we support many American politicians, and some of them are elected.”

“I know very well that you support both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Still, don’t you think there must be some that you give more weight to?”

Trump was persistent.

I don’t know if other people would know this, but I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to score points now since he was going to be the President of the United States in the future.

“It is very likely that President Obama will win this presidential election. The Democratic Party’s approval rating is still higher, and the structure itself is very favorable to President Obama.”

“Hmm, that means our candidate is going to lose.”

Trump looks serious.

He seemed displeased to hear that his political party was losing.

However, if you listen to what follows, your expression will change immediately.

“Not a bad situation for President Trump.”

“What do you mean? The Republican Party is losing, so it’s not bad?”

“If the Republican Party loses this election, they will have no choice but to change candidates in the next presidential election.”

“Perhaps so. But what does that have to do with me?”

Trump did not yet think he would be a presidential candidate.

This was something no one could have expected, as it was before his popularity began to burn.

“If you work hard from now until the next presidential election, Chairman Trump can become the next Republican presidential candidate.”

“Are you saying I could be the Republican presidential candidate?”

“Of course, for that to happen, we need to hold on tightly to the hearts of Republican supporters. We need to make stronger statements than we do now and attack the opposing party more strongly.”

“Don’t worry about that. My mouth is always ready to bite.”

Trump playfully pretended to bite it.

A person who had a serious expression just a few minutes ago is now joking?

Hearing that he could become the next presidential candidate meant that the happiness circuit was running.

“This election campaign is especially important. You know how President Obama became famous, right?”

“He also followed the campaign trail and made himself known. You are right. There is no reason why I can’t do what Obama did.”

“Sooner or later, the trend of the times will want Chairman Trump.”

“The times want me. Haha, those are the sweetest words I’ve ever heard. I will trust only you and burn my soul in this election.”

Trump’s energy has changed.

He radiated presence as if he recognized himself as the next presidential candidate.

“Grandpa will be waiting.”

“You took up too much time. I guess I should go back to America.”

“Do you have time left for your flight yet?”

“After listening to you, I can’t sit still. I have to get back to the U.S. as soon as possible, even if it means moving up my flight time.”

I left the conference room with Trump.

After a brief greeting with his grandfather, he went straight to the airport.

Following Trump, customers continued to flock.

There were also cases where representatives from various companies around the world visited us in person.

In the case of Saudi Arabia, Bin Salman, who I am very close with, even visited us in person to congratulate us.

* * *

The evening after the new building completion ceremony.

I returned to the mansion with my grandfather and invited only one guest to the mansion.

Bin Salman was not yet a member of the Saudi royal family.

However, his position will change significantly within 2-3 years, so he persuaded his grandfather to invite him to the mansion.

“Is this the house where your brother lives? He lives more frugally than I thought.”

“Compared to the royal palace in Saudi Arabia, it is of course small.”

“Taewoo Group is the best group in Korea and ranks among the top companies in the world, so I thought I would buy it very luxuriously.”

Looking at our mansion, you can’t believe it’s frugal.

There were only a few people in Seoul who could afford to live in a house this size.

However, to the eyes of members of the Saudi royal family, it appears to be nothing more than a very small villa.

“Wouldn’t it have been better to build a bigger new office building? I spend most of my day at work anyway, so all I need is a house to sleep in.”

“I guess so.”

“Even though it’s a frugal house, you’re the first person I’ve invited to my house.”

“Really? I also wanted to live in a simple place like this.”

The words frugal and simple were added to the end of every word.

I wanted to punch him in the back of the head, but I couldn’t because he was the one who would become the King of Saudi Arabia.

“What are you doing these days? Helping the governor with his work?”

“I help my father with his work, and sometimes I also make investments on Wall Street.”

I released a lot of information for Bin Salman.

Investment information that is difficult to find even on Wall Street and information on companies with high growth potential were generously provided.

“Now let’s stop talking about work. Have you looked into any European soccer clubs?”

“I’m just waiting for the right time. When you start a football club, I’ll start with you.”

“I have to settle down quickly to become the club owner. I think it will take some more time.”

“It won’t take that much.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

My words came out in vain.

I almost said that in a few years, he would become the crown prince.

“I’m just saying that’s how I feel. It’s late now, so stop sleeping and see you tomorrow morning.”

“Yes! Good night to you too, brother.”

After putting bin Salman to sleep in my room, I came down to the living room.

But my grandfather wasn’t asleep yet and was looking at the window.

“Are you already missing Vietnam and just looking at the sky?”

“Looking at the sky, it looks like the guest you brought is so precious that bodyguards will be there all night long.”

I followed my grandfather’s hand and looked towards the window.

There were more than a dozen bodyguards and vehicles surrounding our mansion.

Although Bin Salman had not yet ascended to the position of crown prince, he was under extreme protection because he was a member of the Saudi royal family.

“Please be patient for one day. They say they will return to Saudi Arabia early tomorrow morning.”

“When I looked at the list of attendees at today’s completion ceremony, it was even more spectacular than the presidential inauguration ceremony. World-famous IT companies, financial companies, and congratulatory groups from all over the world. Hehe, thanks to you, we were able to hold a very splendid completion ceremony.”

“I somehow managed to build connections with many people.”

“Are we still far away? I’ve never asked you before, but now I have to ask you how far you’re going. This is the moment when Taewoo Group starts anew.”

Until now, I have never once told my grandfather about my goal.

They just talked about the direction in which Taewoo Group will move forward and future food sources.

“We want to make Taewoo Group the No. 1 group in the world.”

“Wouldn’t it still be possible if you were number one in the world in terms of quantity? There’s no way someone as clever as you would have opened everything, and aren’t there quite a few businesses that even I don’t know about?”

After all, you can’t fool blood.

My grandfather knew me very well and did not give me a chance to make excuses.

“If we combine Taewoo Group and all the businesses I personally run, we could immediately rise to the top 10 companies in the world.”

“Huh, it’s much bigger than I expected. But is it still not enough?”

“It’s very lacking. Even if we make Taewoo Group the world’s No. 1 group, will that last forever?”

“I guess you want to make sure that the Taewoo Group will forever be number one in the world even without you.”

I have less than 8 years left.

Eight years later, I had no idea what would happen next.

Because 8 years from now, I have returned to the past.

Therefore, we had to make Taewoo Group stronger within 8 years.

We had to make it a group that no one could dare to surpass, but the name of Taewo Group could last forever.

“I just hope that the Taewo Group will still be around even after 100 or 1,000 years. To achieve that, simply becoming the world’s best group is not enough.”

“What more do you need?”

“I want to be free from politics, I want to be free from the global economic crisis, competitors, and natural disasters. To be free, you need overwhelming power, and I’m working to make that happen.”

My grandfather hates the government very much.

During the military regime, I was harassed by the government, and even after the military regime ended, I was always dragged around by the government.

This was due to lack of power. However, the Taewoo Group has become so strong that even the Korean government cannot touch it.

“Hehe, it sounds like you want to conquer the world.”

“What would you do by conquering the world? I am satisfied as long as I can manage the Taewoong Group. To do that, I have to erase the things that are harmful to the Taewu Group one by one or turn them into allies.”

“How is this different from wanting to control the world economy as you please?”

“I don’t care who controls the world economy. I just need that person to be on Taewo Group’s side.”

Grandfather put his hand on my shoulder.

He was a grandfather who patted his grandson on the shoulder for all his hard work.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“It’s still okay.”

“If you want to do too much, do it with the future generations in mind. If something goes wrong, who will you entrust to Taewoo Group? I can’t go to a new home at this age!”

The grandfather’s words were a mixture of jokes and seriousness.

Thanks to this, we were able to end the conversation with laughter.

* * *

A few days later.

Minjeong Cheon came to my office.

“Chairman, this is a report related to the employee anonymous site ‘BlahBlah’.”

“Speak comfortably. I heard that all employees of the Taewo Group, from the manager level down, have joined BlahBlah.”

“When I was creating Blabla, there was a lot of talk about working from home. So I created a function that allows for online meetings. In addition to remote meetings, I also created a calendar that allows for online lectures and classes and schedule coordination.”

I just told them to create an employee website that guarantees anonymity.

However, Cheon Min-jeong went one step further and created a remote meeting site.

Even before the regression, remote meeting sites were popular.

The market capitalization of that site at the time was probably over $10 billion, right?

It was Cheon Min-jeong who single-handedly created a site worth $10 billion.