Chapter 224: Shopping 1

Elise was finishing her black bean paste noodles when Zaira spoke up.

[The appraisal is done.]

She wanted to seem impartial, so she remained nonchalant and asked, “What are the measurement values?”

[Bloodstone measurements: two counts of 500BP, ten counts of 200BP, and eighteen counts of 150BP.]

Elise turned to look at him.

“That’s really easy to calculate! It’s $50 million for 500BP, $20 million for 200BP and $15 million for 150BP, so that’s a total of $570 million. You also brought a $100 million bloodstone. So, I’ll give you $670 million.”

Junhyuk tried to hide his surprise and asked, “You can give me that much?”

“Sure. I’ll transfer it to your account right away.”

“Wait.” Junhyuk wanted deposits on separate accounts and said, “Transfer $100 million to a Swiss account and the rest to my original account.”

Elise looked at him and said, “Zaira can’t control money expenditures in Korea. People will talk.”

Junhyuk thought for a moment, and Elise continued, “Do you want my help in opening a Swiss bank account?”

He thought it would be a good idea to have a Swiss account in his actual name.

“Will opening an account take long?”

“Zaira, make him a bank account.”

[Please, wait a moment.]

Elise finished her noodles and took out a napkin to wipe her lips. Then, Junhyuk received a call on his phone, and Zaira explained what it was about.

[It’s a call from the bank.]

He picked it up and answered a few questions, realizing he had just opened an account. He wanted to visit Switzerland sometime.

“I’ll also pay you for the seeds and fruit. Is $770 million enough?”

“Yes.”

“Zaira, transfer the money from my account.”

Elise went to make some coffee.

[Transfer is complete.]

She brought back her cup of coffee and sat with her legs crossed.

“I could tell you about the research results, but to replicate the results takes unimaginable money and equipment. What do you want to do?”

He understood what she meant, “Even if I have the research results, if I want to do something with it, it will take a lot of money and time. That’s what you are telling me, right?”

“Correct. How about taking the results’ products from me?’

“Results’ products?”

“The finished products like R-potions and iron soldiers. I can give them to you.”

Junhyuk wanted an iron soldier. Guardians owned all iron soldiers, but the idea of privately owning one made him waver in his choice. Even with the research results, he wouldn’t make an iron soldier.

Iron soldiers were a product of Robotics’ expertise in mechanical engineering.

“Making an R-potion costs $5 million. We have to extract materials from the bloodstone and mix them with other materials, so that’s the cost of it.”

Elise continued, “Iron soldiers cost about $150 million for each unit. If we were to sell one, we would sell it for more than $500 million. For $150 million, you’ll get an iron soldier without any weapons. With weapons, you’ll have to pay more.”

Junhyuk thought he could afford one.

“OK. The leaf I gave last time, what did you use it for?”

Elise smiled at him.

“You are not easy to deal with. I offered you two things. I thought you’d be satisfied.”

“I’m not satisfied.”

She shrugged and said, “That leaf is displaying two capabilities. First, monsters respond to it. And second, even though it’s only a small amount, it spurts off mana.”

“Mana?”

“That’s right. I asked you for the seed because the leaf spurts off mana when it’s cut. If I have a tree of it, and I’ll be able to make artificial mana stones with it.”

His eyes widened, and Elise smiled.

“If that happens, we won’t have to rely on the Dimensional Battlefield for mana stones.”

“Shocking!”

“I’m planning to plant the seeds you gave me, but I’m also curious about the possibilities the fruit holds.”

He was curious as well.

“You said that monsters respond to it. Can you detect dimensional tears made by them?”

“Correct, but we need more than that leaf to detect dimensional tears. We need a lot more.”

“Sure.”

“If you want a monster detector, you have to bring more leaves and an additional $200 million.”

He realized that even if he had the research results, it wouldn’t be easy for him to take advantage of them.

“So, if I take a finished product, does that means I can’t learn about the research results?”

“That’s right.”

He was worried. The options needed more time to be weighed properly.

“I’ll tell you what I want next time.”

“Sure.”

She wanted to go back to her research, but he asked, “Why do you need so many bloodstones?”

Elise smiled at him.

“That’s a secret.”

He realized again that she was not an easy woman to deal with.

“I will call you later.”

He said goodbye to her and got ready to buy gifts for his parents. His father liked Korean beef, so he bought kilos of it. While he drove, he gathered his thoughts.

He didn’t have to work as a model anymore. He had earned more than $10 million working as a model, but now, he needed hundreds of millions.

Junhyuk wasn’t taking much money to give to his parents. If he did, his relatives might get suspicious, and it was his job to keep the peace in the family. He was taking just enough to make sure his parents did well. He could give them more later.

When he arrived at his parents’ house, his mother gave him a very warm welcome. His father didn’t speak, but he also liked when his son visited him.

His father patted Junhyuk’s shoulder, and he smiled at his father and showed him the Korean beef.

“Today, we’ll have a beef party.”

“Sure!”

His mother, Haejung Kim, had taken him inside, but when she went to the kitchen, she was surprised by the many kilos of Korean beef.

“I’ll have to show you my cooking skills today.”

She meant to cook all of the dishes that required beef, and Junhyuk wanted to help her out.

“I’ll help you.”

“OK. Can you peel some onions?”

He started doing so. Haejung was with her back toward him, and he peeled the onions so fast that he took a step back, bumping into her. If he hadn’t, he would have cried from the onions.

Haejung smiled and said, “If you don’t want to do it, just tell me.”

“I peeled them and cut them.”

His mother turned around to look and was surprised to see the onions sliced and diced.

“So fast!”

“I’m good with a knife. I’ve been living alone for a while,” he chuckled and said. “Do you need more help?”

“Sure! From now on, you are my cooking assistant.”

“I’ll do my best.”

He helped her mother prepare dinner.

They had a nice family dinner. After it, Junhyuk made coffee, brought it out and started speaking candidly, “Father.”

“What?”

“Please oversee my assets.”

“Your assets?”

“Yes.”

His father, Sukhoon, put on a serious expression and placed his coffee mug down.

“How much do you have to call it assets?”

“About $5 million.”

His mother was very surprised when she heard it, and Junhyuk caressed her back.

“While working as a model, I made $10 million. I spent $2 million on my house. I also bought a new car. I have about $8 million left. Father, mother, you could spent $3 million on yourselves and oversee the remaining $5 million.

“So you want to give us $8 million?”

“No. I’m giving you $3 million. And the $5 million is for you to oversee.”

“So you want me to spend that money?”

Junhyuk smiled.

“You retired from asset management, but you can still do it.”

“Asset managers don’t use their own money.”

“It’s not yours. It’s mine,” Junhyuk continued. “You may keep anything over a 5 percent yield.”

His father looked at him calmly.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Thanks.”

He felt the burden leave his shoulders. His father might lose all of the money, but Junhyuk didn’t care. His father had retired to go fishing with his friends, so he could spend the money on fishing.

That was enough.

Junhyuk smiled and asked, “Can I sleep here tonight?”

His mother noticed that her son was spending $8 million like it was nothing and asked him about it carefully, “Son.”

“Yes.”

“You are my son?”

“Of course!” He took her hands and said, “Get a new house and other things. That’s why I’m giving you the money.”

“No. When your father brings in more income, we’ll spend it then.”

He realized that his parents would manage the entire $8 million and he wanted to say aloud, “If you spend all that money, I won’t care. I’ll just make more money from my TV appearances. I have enough money to spend for a lifetime.”

“Then, I will manage your money,” his father said.

“Please do,” he said. “Then, I will go to sleep.”

“Go ahead.”

Junhyuk went to his old room while his parents started a heated argument and lay on his bed.

“Don’t be surprised.”

He closed his eyes.

On Sunday, Junhyuk put on his mask and went to Seocho. He went to the General Law Firm to meet Choi, who gave him the contract.

The contract had extensive clauses concerning many possible situation. Junhyuk read it over, looked and Choi and said, “I can hold you responsible for this contract?”

“Certainly!”

“OK. If something happens because of this contract, you’ll be responsible. I’ll become one of your clients.”

“I’ll be responsible for it.”

Choi had sought advice from his foreign friends on writing that contract. It had no weak clauses.

Junhyuk took it and got up.

“I’m sorry to bother you on a Sunday.”

“Don’t be. From now on, just depend on us for your legal matters. Call us anytime.”

“Sure.”

Suddenly, Junhyuk turned around and looked at Choi.

“I did not introduce myself. I’m Max, CEO of GST Company,” he said and left.

Choi stared at him as he went out and called the firm’s investigator into his office. With a serious expression on his face, he said, “Get me everything on GST Company and on its CEO, Max.”

“Sure.”

The investigator left, and Choi smiled and said, “We are getting to know each other.”