Chapter 417 |
I was dumbfounded by Taekgyu's story.
"You met those three in one place again?"
"Well, shall we call it a friendly get-together for fans of Lost Fantasy?"
All three of them are busy people.
Surely those women wouldn't come out every time just to talk about a game?
"You're quite popular these days."
Taekgyu muttered with a serious expression.
"Come to think of it, I've never been popular with women before."
"...Don't say things like that so seriously."
I patted his shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
"I know how you feel."
Then Taekgyu shouted.
"Liar! How can an insider like you know how I feel? You even got a confession from a high school girl!"
Ellie, who was listening beside us, was startled.
"From a high school girl?"
This is not strange at all. Because…
I shouted at Taekgyu.
"I was a high school student back then too!"
What's wrong with a high school student getting a confession from another high school student?
People might misunderstand if they overhear.
"Besides that, didn't a middle school girl confess that she liked you when you were in college?"
"Ah..."
Something like that did happen.
But why is he bringing that up here?
Ellie was already sending me a cold glare.
"A middle school girl... So that's the kind of person you were, Jinhoo."
I waved my hands in denial.
"N-no, it's not like that."
"How on earth did you meet that middle school girl?"
"I briefly worked as a private tutor during my freshman year."
"So what happened?"
"Of course, I rejected her."
"And you continued tutoring?"
"It was short-term anyway, so I quit after two months."
Ellie smiled at me.
"Hmm, now that I see, you were quite popular, Jinhoo."
"Well..."
To be frank, I wasn't incredibly popular or anything. Wasn't I just about average?
But in times like these, it's best to act as cool as possible, right?
I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.
"Whenever it was exam period, there were girls who wanted to study together. After I got into Hankuk University and my name was posted in front of the school, girls from other classes or underclassmen would come and confess, or something similar."
Ellie's eyes sparkled.
"Really? How many?"
"Well. Maybe a dozen or so?"
In reality, there were three. To be precise, it wasn't a confession, but more like, ‘let's be good friends from now on.’
Feeling guilty about the lie, I changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, Ellie, what were you like during your school days? Were you popular?"
Ellie frowned slightly.
"Ugh, I hate just thinking about it."
"Why?"
"I went to an international school, and the boys talked to me so much that I couldn't even study. It even got to the point where male students from other schools kept coming to the front of our school, leading to a flood of complaint calls from parents, and I got scolded for no reason because of it. Oh! I was even confessed to by girls many times. I had short hair back then too. If I rejected them, they would cry and make a huge scene right there."
"..."
She's pretty, studies well, and is good at sports. It must have been natural for her to be popular. There's no point in bragging about my popularity in front of Ellie.
As I quickly lowered my raised shoulders, Taekgyu, with his arms crossed, muttered with a serious face.
"Could this be the legendary 'moteki'?"
"...I told you not to say things like that so seriously."
Ellie looked at me and asked.
"What's 'moteki'?"
"It means that a period of peak popularity comes about three times in one's life. It's when someone who usually isn't popular suddenly finds themselves surrounded by people of the opposite sex."
"Is that really true?"
"It's just a superstition."
For the most part, popularity is like money; those who have it keep having it, and those who don't, never do.
"I see there's such a word in Korea. I was the only one who didn't know."
"It's not Korean, it's Japanese. It's a word used only in that industry, so most Koreans probably don't know it."
But why on earth do I know something like this?
"So, out of the three, who do you like?"
"I'm seriously thinking about it."
"Can't you just decide?"
"No. Once I choose a route, it'll be a marriage ending right away, won't it?"
"...Huh?"
Is this guy confusing reality with a dating sim?
In most dating sims, if two people decide to date, it leads to a marriage ending, but in reality, dating doesn't necessarily mean getting married. Isn't it more common to break up in between?
I said to the pondering Taekgyu.
"Anyway, do your best. Enjoy the first moteki of your life to the fullest, or whatever."
"But this isn't necessarily a good thing."
"What's bad about it?"
"If things go wrong, it could turn into a 'Nice Boat' ending."
"Ah, you have to be careful about that. You have to be really careful."
Ellie tilted her head.
"Nice Boat? What does that mean?"
"..."
This will take a while to explain...
***
As we lay in bed talking, Ellie asked.
"Jinhoo, have you ever thought about wanting to meet another woman?"
"Never."
"Don't answer right away, think about it seriously."
I thought about it seriously and then answered.
"Not at all."
"There are many women who say they like you, Jinhoo. Rose McDowell did, and so did Angelina Tinter."
I burst out laughing as I recalled that time.
"Those women are not Ellie, are they?"
Ellie stared at me intently.
"What do you like about me?"
"I like everything."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Do you love me?"
"I love you."
I looked into Ellie's eyes and said.
"The best thing I ever did was meeting you, Ellie."
Meeting a good partner is as important as success in work.
Bill Gates, once notorious as a ruthless businessman in Silicon Valley, transformed into the world's greatest philanthropist after marrying Melinda, a programmer at his company.
Jake Byron has always said that he would not have founded AMZ without his wife, Mackenzie Byron. When he quit his successful company to create the online bookstore AMZ, his wife was by his side helping him. (Although they recently announced their divorce).
Facenote CEO Mike Goldenberg married his girlfriend right after the company went public. It is said that their marriage contract even specified the amount of time to be spent with family.
What would have happened if I hadn't met Ellie? I would have continued to make money, but I would not have felt the same happiness I do now.
Ellie smiled and hugged me.
"I love you too, Jinhoo."
***
While the global economy showed a gentle upward trend, the world's attention was focused on Russia.
This was because Professor Petrov's team had begun full-scale operation of the TWR. Not only countries around the world, but also OPEC and shale oil companies watched the situation closely.
The future of the TWR could change the landscape of the global energy market.
The results were not much different from everyone's expectations.
[(Breaking News) Commercialization of Traveling Wave Reactor Successful!]
[Professor Petrov's Team Confirms No Issues with Performance and Safety]
[Rosatom CEO Trusova States Future Nuclear Market will be Reorganized around TWR]
[President Vysotsky Sends Personal Congratulations to Officials]
- Wow! A new type of nuclear reactor. Was the Russian bears' technology this good?
- The skills they've honed since the Soviet Union era in handling nuclear materials haven't gone anywhere.
- Nuclear development was the easiest thing in the world~
- Kang Jinhoo, who invested in it, is even more amazing. He invested after Warren Buffett but got results sooner.
- Is TWR the new trend for new nuclear power plants now?
G Professor Petrov is going to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.
- Professor Kim Homin, Professor Mohan, and now Professor Petrov? What's with everyone winning a Nobel Prize after receiving an investment from Kang Jinhoo?
- But what is KEPCO doing? Shouldn't they be rushing over there?
- We have to phase out nuclear power.
At the point where the experiment succeeded, commercialization was only a matter of time. However, the path to commercialization opened up so quickly thanks to the participation of nuclear power companies from various countries.
At the news of the new reactor development, oil prices fell by more than 4 percent, and the stock prices of related companies expected to benefit rose sharply.
CEO Trusova announced plans to build three TWRs in Kaliningrad.
Kaliningrad is a region bordering the Baltic Sea. It was originally connected to the Russian mainland but became an exclave when the three Baltic states gained independence.
It is in the heart of Western and Eastern Europe, and just across the Baltic Sea lies Northern Europe. Building a factory here offers geographical advantages and lower labor costs compared to Western Europe, so it has long been favored as a production base for car companies. Karos had also earmarked this place as its European production base.
The fact that Rosatom was building a TWR near its own country's industrial complex was a sign of its confidence.
On expectations of economic recovery, the ruble was on the rise, and President Vysotsky's approval ratings also soared.
Russia is currently under economic sanctions from the West. In the past, he raised his approval ratings through territorial disputes, but with the economy recovering, there is no need for that.
President Vysotsky held a series of talks with European leaders, emphasizing economic cooperation, and in line with this, announced his intention to implement the Minsk Agreement.
For now, the armed conflict in Ukraine has ceased. Although Russia still exerts substantial influence in eastern Ukraine and troops are deployed at the border, the worst-case scenario has been avoided.
As the Ukraine situation entered a lull, there was a sense of relief among NATO allies.
Prominent European media outlets poured out articles saying, 'Kang Jinhoo did what NATO couldn't.'
Rosatom even considered building a large number of TWRs on the border and selling electricity to neighboring countries.
Europe already relies on Russian pipelines for a significant portion of its natural gas imports. But if this happens, Europe will become dependent on Russia for its electricity itself.
As moves to ease economic sanctions on Russia emerged in Europe, France, unlike Germany, took a cautious stance. The reason, of course, is that France has EDF, Europe's largest nuclear power company.
Experts predicted that Rosatom would surpass EDF to become the world's largest nuclear power company.
I spoke with President Vysotsky on the phone.
"Congratulations."
He laughed heartily.
[Your prediction was correct. Thanks to the TWR, Russia's nuclear industry is gaining global attention. The leaders of various countries are also showing great interest.]
His voice was full of excitement. Well, with his approval ratings, the ruble, and the stock market all rising lately, he had every reason to be excited.
That's how much energy is a top national priority.
Russia, as everyone knows, has a resource-dependent economy. Apart from the arms industry, it has not shown particular prominence in manufacturing.
This TWR commercialization was a new opportunity for Russian manufacturing. Pumping natural gas from the ground and selling it has little effect on job creation.
However, nuclear power plants create a lot of employment, not only in construction but also in maintenance. The parts industries below will also grow together.
Also, if they can supply industrial electricity at a low price, they can attract other manufacturing plants as well.
The immediate benefits we can get from TWR are not many. The equity value has already risen more than fivefold compared to when we invested, but according to the contract, we cannot sell it elsewhere. Only…
In any case, the money Rosatom earns from TWR will continue to be used for the construction of new nuclear power plants. The significance lies more in having a foothold in the Russian market and the future energy industry rather than immediate profits.
As the number of TWRs increases, OTK Company's influence in the energy market will also grow.
[How is Saemangeum going? Shouldn't we build a TWR there as well?]
"Yes. Saemangeum will be a good opportunity for economic cooperation between Korea and Russia."
A research complex and related facilities for the aerospace industry are scheduled to be built in Saemangeum.
Russia lagged behind Korea in most industries. But there are definitely areas where Russia has strengths. One of them is the aerospace industry.
Needless to say about aviation, and while space development is not immediately profitable, it is clearly an important industry for the future.
If we talk about the top 3 in this field, it would naturally be the United States, China, and Russia.
In terms of technology, the United States is, as expected, the best, and China has poured a huge amount of money nationally over the past 10 years and succeeded in launching a manned spacecraft. Russia, although its recent investment has slowed, is a traditional powerhouse in space development.
Developed countries are already eyeing space development, and Korea, having reached a certain level of economic development, was also showing great interest.
[By the way, I heard that Chairman Im Jin-yong was arrested. Are you okay?]
"Of course."
I haven't done anything wrong.
[If any problems arise, let me know. I'll help in any way I can.]
"Thank you for just saying so."
Does this mean I have another backer after the United States, this time Russia?
From my perspective, there's nothing bad about it.
[A summit with the South Korean president is scheduled soon, so let's have a shot of vodka then. It's on me.]
"Understood."