Minus 2000%.
Jung Jinsup paled. He was shaking violently.
Minus 2000%.
He gaped, “H, how…”
He saw it rise to 40 dollars last night before going to bed. He put an order to automatically sell when it reached 50 dollars. He expected it to be sold by this morning at 50 dollars. He went to bed happy and expectant.
2.5 dollars.
A bitcoin was worth 2.5 dollars now. It started at a dollar at the very beginning so whoever bought it at that time would have still made a profit. However, not Jung Jinsup.
“132,001.01”
132,000 dollars. 2.5 million dollars turned into 132,000 dollars.
He continued to shake.
What should he do?
What should he do?
He couldn’t think straight. He couldn’t even think about going to work. Jung Jinsup sat down and stared at the wall.
“Bitcoin prices plummet.”
“Minus 2000% overnight.”
[Bitcoin is not a good investment option.]
Woosung made an announcement regarding the recent bitcoin frenzy. He stated what he meant to do was to introduce the blockchain technology through bitcoin, not to make bitcoins appear to be an investment opportunity.
The news reports on bitcoins continued to be aired, but Jung Jinsup had no time to watch the news.
Knock! Knock!
Some men were banging on his front door.
“Jung Jinsup, I know you’re in there. Come out!”
“Hey, this isn’t funny. Come out right now.”
“Jung Jinsup, open the door!”
The loan shark’s thugs were outside Jung Jinsup’s apartment. He stayed in his bedroom and kept staring at his cellphone.
He murmured like a crazy person, “This can’t be. This can’t be. How could this be?”
His eyes were red.
Suddenly, his phone rang. It was from his loan shark, Kim Jihwan.
Jung Jinsup didn’t answer. Another call came. It was from Choi Gichul. He didn’t answer again. Jung Jinsup didn’t answer anyone.
Someone from work also called. Again, Jung Jinsup didn’t answer. He laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. His consciousness started to drift away.
Click.
Suddenly, the door opened and people ran into the apartment. The first person to enter was Woosung.
Woosung stared at Jung Jinsup on the bed.
‘No way I will let you die this easy.’
Woosung shook Jung Jinsup and yelled in a worried voice, “Hey, get up. Get up!”
Woosung poured cold water on Jung Jinsup’s face.
“Gyaaa!”
Jung Jinsup opened his eyes. Woosung slapped him a few times and asked, “Are you awake? Are you okay?”
Jung Jinsup’s cheeks were turning red. He rubbed his cheeks and murmured, “Hey, hey, stop hitting me. I’m okay. I’m awake now.”
Woosung sighed deeply, “Phew, I thought something happened to you. What’s going on? You didn’t come to work today and I saw a couple of thugs waiting outside your door.”
“Where are they now?”
“I sent them away.”
“They left when you asked?”
Woosung smirked. “Why wouldn’t they?”
Woosung was the richest man in Korea, possibly in the world.
When Woosung replied confidently, Jung Jinsup murmured, “I, I guess.”
“So what happened?”
Woosung noticed Jung Jinsup’s cellphone. On the screen was the Bitmain app.
“Did you buy bitcoins?”
Jung Jinsup closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe his situation.
Choi Gichul 500,000 dollars.
Loan shark 1 million dollars.
He didn’t know how he would pay back 1.5 million dollars. He could sell his house right now and pay back the loan shark, but what about Choi Gichul? Jung Jinsup turned to Woosung slowly.
‘1 million dollars is probably nothing to him.’
Jung Jinsup asked hesitantly.
“C… could I borrow some money? As you can guess… I need…”
Woosung smiled kindly and replied, “I think we should get you some breakfast first.”
Woosung took Jung Jinsup to an expensive traditional Korean restaurant. When the food came, Jung Jinsup ate hurriedly. He was starving.
After the meal, Jung Jinsup sighed deeply. A cup of hot tea was brought to him.
Woosung said to Jung Jinsup, “It’s chamomile tea. It will relax you.”
Jung Jinsup took a sip. His heart started to feel at ease.
“T… thank you.”
“Now, explain yourself. What happened?”
Jung Jinsup told Woosung the whole story except for eavesdropping on Woosung about bitcoins.
Jung Jinsup murmured, “I… I was wrong to do this. I lost my mind.”
“How could you borrow from a loan shark…?”
“Please help me this once, and I will pay back as soon as I can.”
He begged. When Woosung didn’t reply, Jung Jinsup asked again, “Please, just this once. 1 million dollars is nothing to you.”
“I can’t lend you money for free.”
“W… what can I give you? Tell me. I will do anything you ask.”
When Woosung became quiet, Jung Jinsup couldn’t hide his desperation. If Woosung didn’t help, Jung Jinsup would be homeless. If he lost his job because he got involved in bitcoins, he would starve to death.
“Are you really willing to do anything?”
“Of course. Anything!”
Woosung asked slowly, “As you know, I have accomplished a lot in my life. However, there is one thing I don’t have, and I really want it. It’s Daeyang.”
Jung Jinsup swallowed nervously. This was escalating into dangerous levels.
Woosung continued, “There is something you can do for me.”
“M, me?”
Jung Jinsup’s voice trembled. He couldn’t imagine what Woosung wanted him to do.
“You borrowed money from Choi Gichul, right?”
Jung Jinsup nodded.
Woosung continued, “Payback his money and get him to invest in creating a cryptocurrency dealership. Tell him you made a lot of money from bitcoins. I will take care of the rest.”
Jung Jinsup was at a loss. “I don’t understand what you are saying…”
“Tell him you made a lot of money from bitcoins and you plan on making your own dealership using the technology you learned from Bitmain. Get Choi Gichul to invest in this new business. If you do this, I will pay back your debt.”
“…”
“Convince him to invest.”
“That’s all I have to do?”
Woosung nodded.
***
700,000 dollars.
Jung Jinsup paid back the money to Choi Gichul. They met at a bar.
Choi Gichul asked with awe, “I thought it went down to a dollar. Did you sell?”
Jung Jinsup laughed awkwardly and replied, “Ha, haha. I have been collecting bitcoins since it was only 2 dollars.”
“Really? So if you bought at a dollars and sold at 40 dollars, you must have made a huge profit.”
“That’s why I’m buying today.”
“How much did you invest?”
“Enough. I put everything I had.”
“Then you must’ve made about 40 million dollars?”
Jung Jinsup didn’t answer. He emptied his glass and asked, “Do you want to create a company with me?”
“A business?”
“I’m planning on opening my own dealership.”
“Didn’t you say there was something you wanted to learn from President Kang?”
“That was before I made this much money. Now, things are different. I learned all the necessary technologies for cryptocurrency dealership. I just need someone to take care of the marketing and operation.”
Choi Gichul took a sip of his drink. He was interested in bitcoins.
“Are you sure you know all the technologies?”
“Of course. Remember, I’m a Seoul University grad, and I have worked in MOX for years. I ran Bitmain for the last few months. I’m ready. I already have the developers hired. All you need to do is run the operation team.”
Choi Gichul took another sip. He was almost convinced, but he had to be careful. Jung Jinsup added casually.
“I understand that you can’t answer right away. Think about it and let me know. Don’t wait too long though. I will be starting very soon.”
Choi Gichul nodded and grinned mysteriously.