Chapter 436 |
ArcIT’s main clients are in Europe.
Even now, excluding the California restoration project and the Saemangeum development, 80 percent of our design clients are European companies and governments. We’ve been trading freely without any issues until now, but if a no-deal Brexit occurs, we will take a direct hit.
Because of this issue, the management's opinions were divided between those who thought we should leave London and those who thought we should stay. Opinions were also divided on where to go if we were to leave.
President Peter Katsuyo said,
“The uncertainty in the UK is too great. There's talk that only warehouse owners are making money now. Companies importing products from the EU are stockpiling to the point where their warehouses are bursting, and it's the same for French and German companies that import products from the UK. In this situation, creating future business strategies is itself meaningless.”
Uncertainty is what the economy hates most.
If the worst-case scenario were to happen, we could at least respond accordingly, but since we don't know what will happen, we're stuck, unable to do anything.
In this environment, countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany offered various incentives to attract British companies.
The EU is the UK's largest trading partner. Although they decided on Brexit, as evidenced by the Northern Ireland issue alone, there is more than one problem to solve.
Naturally, the EU would not stand by and watch this kind of cherry-picking behavior.
The EU pressured the UK, saying it had to pay a price if it wanted to remain in the single market, and Prime Minister May reached an agreement with the EU to meet various demands, including a payment of £39 billion.
However, the British House of Commons rejected the deal as humiliating, and Prime Minister May took responsibility and resigned.
Her successor as Prime Minister was the former Mayor of London, Boris Kane.
A fervent supporter of Brexit, he pushed for a no-deal Brexit, vowing not to make a bad deal for Britain, while the EU firmly stated there would be no further negotiations or extensions.
Everyone thought, ‘Surely a no-deal Brexit won't actually happen,’ but surprisingly, it looked like that was actually going to happen.
As this issue dragged on for over three years, it seemed that both politicians and the public were beyond tired; they were utterly fed up.
Many were now questioning why they had even held that vote in the first place, and whether the UK was really going to leave the EU at all.
President Katsuyo shook his head.
“If they held another vote, the result would be completely different. But there's no turning back the clock now.”
As former Prime Minister May said, Brexit means Brexit. What else could it be?
A no-deal Brexit wasn't just a problem for the UK.
Considering the economic scale of the UK and the EU, if it were to become a reality, it would send a major shock through the global financial markets, just as the referendum did.
While the meeting at ArcIT headquarters continued, reporters followed me everywhere I went.
It seemed they were hoping I would provide the right answer or a solution for Britain's future, just as I had accurately predicted Brexit.
Whatever I said would become a huge issue. If I really wanted to, couldn't I throw the UK into chaos with just a few words?
British politicians, business leaders, and lords from the House of Lords requested meetings. I declined all requests, using the excuse that I had a schedule to keep.
And I did, in fact, have a schedule.
A letter had arrived at the hotel. The envelope was sealed with melted wax, and an insignia was stamped on it. There was no indication of who sent it. When I opened it, it simply read, ‘Welcome to England. G.R.’
Are the British always this fond of the classics?
***
Avoiding the reporters' eyes, I slipped out of the hotel and got into the car. Oliver Taylor, who was inside with the bodyguards, asked,
“Where shall I take you?”
“There won't be any leaks about where I'm going or who I'm meeting, right?”
“Of course. Your movements are guaranteed to be kept strictly confidential.”
I handed him an address.
“Please take me here.”
Taylor was visibly surprised after confirming the address. But without asking any questions, he ordered the driver to depart.
The car headed for Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire.
About an hour later, we arrived at a small village a little distance from the town center. On a hill in the quiet village, a grand mansion was situated.
The mansion was mostly hidden by the surrounding trees.
To find the entrance, we had to follow a wire fence for quite a while. Two men were standing at the gate.
“What is your business?”
I lowered the window and said,
“Please inform them that Kang Jinhoo has arrived.”
After confirming my face, they immediately used a radio to contact someone and then opened the iron gate.
“Please follow the road inside.”
Once through the gate, a vast garden unfolded. There were fountains and sculptures spouting water, and rows of well-maintained trees and flowers. And at the end of it all stood a grand mansion that looked like it was from the Renaissance era.
It was another long drive from the gate to the mansion.
This mansion was built in the late 19th century.
The head of the Rothschild family at the time was said to have purchased a plot of over 200 acres and built it himself. He later donated surrounding properties, including other mansions and castles, to the British nation.
But this grand mansion was still owned by the Rothschilds.
The idea that someone was living in a place like this in this day and age felt somewhat surreal.
There are countless old castles in Europe, and people do in fact live in them. Picasso also lived in a castle in his later years.
If one had the mind to, buying a castle isn't that difficult.
What would it feel like to live in a place like this?
But living in a castle is a highly inefficient affair. There are issues with maintenance, heating and cooling, navigating the interior, and so on.
Moreover, managing a vast garden and a grand mansion costs an enormous amount of money. Spending money on something like this is something only the rich can do.
Most inconvenient of all is the location.
Castles are mostly in the outskirts or the countryside, where transportation is inconvenient. That's why the wealthy these days prefer penthouses in the heart of the city.
Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if you never have to go outside?
While I was lost in thought, the car came to a stop.
I got out. In front of the main entrance, a young woman stood with a Caucasian man who appeared to be a butler.
The blonde woman, wearing a pure white indoor dress, held the edges of her skirt with both hands and gave a slight curtsy.
“Welcome. We welcome you to the Rothschild estate.”
***
The interior was just as formidable as its medieval-style exterior.
A chandelier hung from the high ceiling, a thick carpet covered the floor, and paintings that looked familiar were lined up on the walls.
I followed Grace Rothschild down a long corridor. The mansion was a long structure, stretching from east to west. It would probably take forever just to get from one end to the other.
Just how many people live in this vast house?
She finally stopped at the end of the east wing. A vein recognition scanner was installed next to the door, and a CCTV camera was mounted above it.
Despite its antique appearance, it used state-of-the-art equipment. Then again, as people have continuously lived here, it must have been updated one by one with the progress of civilization.
I took out my smartphone and saw that I had good data and Wi-Fi reception.
When she placed her hand on the scanner to be recognized, the lock disengaged. As the door opened, the unique smell of old paper greeted me.
It was a study. No, it was less a study and more a library.
Old, faded books filled the bookshelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. The shelves were dust-free, indicating someone cleaned them regularly.
The desk and chair at the far end were antique furniture that looked like they belonged in a museum rather than in practical use.
“Not many outsiders have come this far in.”
“Should I feel honored?”
She smiled.
“The honor is all mine.”
I saw a faded book displayed open inside a glass case. I couldn’t read the meticulously written script. Was it Latin?
“What is this book?”
Grace Rothschild said,
“It's the Gutenberg Bible.”
“Ah…”
I thought I had seen it somewhere before; could it have been in a textbook?
“Is it an original?”
“Does it look like a replica?”
It was a stupid question.
The history of the Rothschild family spans over 250 years.
During that time, they acquired numerous paintings, sculptures, and cultural artifacts from all over Europe. While some were sold again or donated to various governments, it is known that they still possess a significant number of them.
“Do you know about Johannes Gutenberg?”
I nodded.
“There’s probably no one who doesn’t.”
In Korea, he is famous for inventing the metal movable type. Although our ancestors were the first in the world to create it, that fact doesn't hold much significance.
What matters more for a technology is not who invented it first, but how it changed the world.
Korea's metal movable type has little to its history other than being the first. Its impact on the world was small. But Gutenberg is the father of modern printing.
He not only created the metal movable type but also found or invented the printing press, paper suitable for printing, and ink suitable for printing.
The printing press he created changed the entire course of human history.
Before the printing press, book production relied on transcription by a skilled literate class, and the price of books was so high that only nobles or the wealthy could afford them. But thanks to the printing press, the era of mass production began, and everyone could have access to books.
The first book he printed with his press was the famous Gutenberg Bible.
Naturally, its value is beyond imagination. It could easily fetch over $10 million at auction today.
There are only about 50 copies remaining. Was one of them here?
“He wanted to build a printing press but had no money. Fortunately, a rich man named Johann Fust lent him the money, but he couldn't repay it in time. After losing in court, Gutenberg had his printing press and technology confiscated, and he died a miserable death in bankruptcy.”
The printing press was undoubtedly a revolutionary technology.
However, a new technology does not immediately translate into money. Many are hurt when a competitor copies and releases it, or see success only later after going through trial and error in the commercialization process.
This would have been even more true in the past when the speed of technological diffusion was slower.
“There are many brilliant inventors in the world. Some succeeded and became wealthy, but most declined and disappeared. In the end, the ultimate winner is the investor who provides the capital. J.P. Morgan's investment in Edison and Carnegie is a famous anecdote, and you are no different.”
Daryl Segan, who created the electric car; Tobey Strong and Gerard Bacon, who created Faceit; and Professor Kim Ho-min, who created the OTK Battery.
They all achieved great things, but the one who made the most money was me, the one who invested in them.
“And what about the Rothschilds?”
She smiled.
“We are no different.”
As we were speaking, a handsome young Caucasian man entered, pushing a wheelchair. But what caught my eye more than him was the old man sitting in the wheelchair.
Only a few strands of his stark white hair remained, and his wrinkled face was dotted with age spots.
His frame was as small as a child's, and his legs, disproportionately small for his body, were twisted at a strange angle. It seemed he had been born that way rather than injured.
An oxygen tube was connected to his nose. It seemed he even struggled to breathe on his own without such assistance.
Despite all this, he was dressed in a suit, complete with shoes. What was astonishing was his gaze. Unlike his decaying body, his eyes shone with a clear light, like a boy's.
I even felt a sense of awe from his appearance.
He spoke with difficulty, in a voice that sounded like scraping metal.
“A pleasure. We finally meet. My name is Grant Darrel Rothschild.”
I felt the same strong sense of dissonance I had when I first met Grace. Was this man the head of the giant financial family, the Rothschilds?
I greeted him politely.
“It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Kang Jinhoo.”