Breaking Up Is Better Than Divorce

knives aiming at each other

Winter has arrived in the northern hemisphere. However, the cold does not come in LA, where Eugene is staying.

Even when Seoul and New York were covered in white snow, it was early autumn in Korea at Eugene’s mansion in Bel Air.

This means that the perfect weather to enjoy the party continued.

Eugene enjoyed the party every day.

Los Angeles was the center of the film industry, and Bel Air and neighboring Beverly Hills were populated by world-famous stars.

Except for filming, Hollywood stars, who are full of leisure time, always looked for interesting things to stimulate, and the party held by the newly moved East Asian denial was quite refreshing.

However, the biggest reason they came to Eugene’s party was that he was somehow rising as a big player in the film industry.

When I was in New York, I had already invested $500 million in more than 20 films, and after coming to LA, I met several producers and continued to sign investment contracts.

So far, we have made an investment of $1 billion in over 50 movies, so of course we tried to make a slap in the eyes of the producers, actors, and Eugene.

Even the big bosses never refused Eugene’s invitation.

Within a few months of coming to LA, Eugene had already become to the point where it would not be awkward to call him a giant in the Hollywood film industry.

“I got a request from Harvey Weinstein to meet him.”

One day, Monica said something terrifying.

“Weinstein? The creator?”

Even though he clearly knew who it was, Eugene asked calmly.

“yes. Founder of The Weinstein Company. I haven’t been able to get any good results lately, so I think I’d like to get an investment from the boss.”

Harvey Weinstein is a film producer who was once considered one of Hollywood’s magnates.

He established Miramax, the largest mini-major distribution company in the United States, and has been producing and distributing high-quality and successful films for decades, then handed it over to the Walt Disney Company, and created his own distributor, The Weinstein Company, to continue making films.

“I have no intention of meeting that person, so tell me.”

Without even thinking about it, Eugene instructed him to send a message of refusal with a single blow.

Weinstein’s reputation is still great, but given the huge upheaval that will unfold as his evil deeds are revealed in the years to come, it’s better not to get entangled with him at all.

Weinstein is not alone. Eugene handed over a list of some dangerous people to Monica while thinking about it.

Kesha or… … Kesha or… … .

There are some really dangerous people in the world.

Monica didn’t ask why she never put them on the invite list. It’s not their job to argue about the boss’s tastes.

In that way, Eugene diligently expanded her network by calling various people every day except for her personal blacklist.

And there were other kinds of people who came to Eugene’s fame.

“Thank you for the invitation. I am Muhammad al-Qasim, the deputy of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nayan.”

At first glance, a handsome Arab dressed in an expensive suit and wearing a $1 million Patek Philippe watch came to Eugene and greeted him.

To be honest, before hearing the name and title, I almost thought he was more of a handsome Latino actor in this neighborhood than an Arab.

“I am the head director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.”

“Nice to meet you. It is an honor to have such a precious guest. Assalamu Alaikum!”

Eugene greeted the guest with a hug in an Arabic style.

The act of cuddling between men is not a familiar greeting in Korea, but it is a very important etiquette for Arabs.

Hugging and sharing each other’s body odor is an act of intimacy far more than a simple handshake.

Because of my experience at Myeongseong Trading Co., and the experience of working in the Arab side several times while working for a construction company in New York, I was somewhat familiar with the manners of dealing with people there.

Moreover, Al-Qasim, who came on this day, knew that he was not merely a representative of Sheikh Mansour, but a relative of the king, so he did not neglect the hospitality.

“It’s a nice mansion. I’m thinking of looking for a mansion here too, but I think it’ll be a reference.”

It was not something a mere private equity executive would say.

“I heard that there was a pretty decent mansion down there, so it would be good to take a look around.”

Eugene took the guests to tour the house and talked for hours on a daily basis.

Arabs love to talk and respect manners. It is not polite to talk about a transaction in the first place just because you met through a business relationship.

In the beginning, it is normal for the story of a transaction to come out only after having a light conversation, such as talking about the weather or the world, sharing tea and having a meal, and deepening each other’s acquaintance.

“Shall we drive? Or do you like coffee?”

After walking around the house, I asked Kasim.

“This is not my home country… … Champagne would be nice if possible.”

Al Qasim grinned and made an honest request.

Like many upper-class Arabs, al-Qasim seems to follow Islamic laws only when absolutely necessary.

“His Majesty Sheikh and I finished our studies here in Los Angeles. I majored in business administration at California State University.”

And Al Qasim’s master, Sheikh, is from Santa Barbara Community College. The global rejection doesn’t seem to have studied very well.

“Then you will know the situation much better than I do.”

“I know a good place to play. If you want, we can meet you sometime. Even now, when I live here, thoughts sometimes come to mind. It’s not as comfortable as it is here in my home country.”

Al Qasim told the story of his school days for a long time. Because it was Gibsim like an Arab, Eugene was able to listen to it happily.

The conversation between the two continued until dinner.

It was only after the meal with alcohol was over that we got to the point.

“Sheikh is very impressed with Eugene Kang’s investment performance. He said that perhaps there has never been, and will never be, a person in history who has achieved such an achievement in such a short period of time as Eugene Kang. Of course, I also have no objection to Sheikh’s words.”

“Haha, thank you.”

“So you said that you wanted me to have a chance to get to know Eugene. I am very happy to be able to work with Eugene like this.”

As always, even when we get to the main point, the conversation goes a long way.

“Sheikh, who is in charge of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, wonders if there is an opportunity to join Eugene’s business.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is a private equity fund that manages the national assets of Abu Dhabi, the head of the United Arab Emirates, and is the world’s third-largest sovereign wealth fund.

Al-Qasim has expressed a request to entrust some of the assets of the sovereign wealth fund to Eugene.

If you were a Westerner, it would have been 10 minutes at the latest after meeting each other.

“In my business, there is an asset management company that is as safe as possible and pursues higher returns.”

If it were the royal family’s personal assets, I would have referred to a more aggressive fund. However, sovereign wealth funds are not usually large.

Eugene intends to entrust it to William’s asset management company.

You don’t have to put it in an investment that will give you a decent return, but there’s nothing wrong with putting it in an asset management company, as you can get a decent amount of extra income and get the favor of the Abu Dhabi royal family.

“It’s safe and high profit… … . If anyone else had said that, they would have thought it was just a joke.”

Casim said with a smile.

“Of course, as with any investment, a certain amount of risk is unavoidable.”

“Even so, if it’s Eugene, haven’t you ever failed?”

Cassim did not hide his anticipation.

“Thank you for believing in me.”

“First of all, I would like to ask you to manage about $5 billion.”

“All right. We set up a time that is convenient for us and proceed with the contract.”

“And one more thing.”

Kasim turned his head left and right for no reason.

“I also asked if you could include Her Majesty’s personal assets in Eugene Khan’s special fund.”

Kasim asked very secretly.

“May I ask where you heard it?”

“Should I be honest? London.”

I thought so. To be honest, I didn’t think it would be completely kept secret. And there’s no reason to keep it a secret.

“Hmm. In fact, it is not easy to give an easy answer.”

He has already made a decision, but Eugene is hesitant.

“Sure. I just expect Eugene to be kind to him as a friend.”

“Give me the end of a few days. Would you like to visit us again in three days?”

When Koreans do business with Arabs, they hate their concept of time.

The situation in which time passed without giving a clear answer as to when and only chatting was a torment for impatient Koreans.

Arabs say:

“What can be done tomorrow, let’s put it off until tomorrow.”

Eugene also experienced such a thing many times in the field.

There is no way I talk a lot with them and just wait for things to ripen on their own.

In fact, it is a very important time for Arabs to contemplate whether to accept outsiders and build trust in each other.

It takes a lot of patience to make a deal with Arabs. Instead, once a transaction is made, it gets easier after that. Once you give up your heart, the relationship doesn’t break down easily.

Eugene was planning to do the opposite this time.

The waiting side will be the other side.

“All right. I would be happy if you could invite me again.”

Eugene’s day was still busy.

Partying wasn’t the only thing during my stay in LA.

When the sun was shining, he gave daily work orders via videoconference with the New York office staff, or if there was an important event, he called his home to discuss it.

Mainly speaking with Eugene was David, who is in charge of investing in startups.

David’s team usually contacted Eugene’s start-ups and made a generous investment in equity investments, but just as importantly, they had a look at private equity funds and other companies in the United States suspected of having something to do with the Daeyang Group. It was an investigation.

“These are the results of an investigation into the private equity firm United Excellence, the owner of NT Somerset, a venture capital firm that invested in Maxwell Griffiths. Founded 20 years ago, United Excellence is known to have initially focused on Asians, especially Koreans. Now, the first generation of startups has almost receded and it is a white-dominated private equity fund. But still, the influence of the first CEO continues.”

David was a man who did at least what he was paid for. Somehow, they even found information that was difficult to obtain from outside.

“The fund’s management size is approximately $4 billion, and it mainly invests in companies in San Francisco and real estate in Asia. In Asia, it is mainly Korea.”

Eugene could notice that David had even recruited personnel from United Excellence.

“Hopefully, we can find evidence to prove a connection to the Ocean Group.”

David said a little triumphantly.

“Of course, it will cost quite a bit. We are asking for at least 7 seats.”

“If it’s perfect evidence, that’s enough.”

A million dollars is nothing if only evidence can be found that the Daeyang Group obtained illegal profits through Maxwell Griffiths.

Each of these pieces of evidence will push the Daeyang Group Saju family into the abyss.

“And I found the whereabouts of DL Capital Han Jae-deok.”

David brought up a slightly more important story.

Han Jae-duk of DL Capital, a private equity fund related to the Daeyang Group, who participated in the acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor, disappeared from DL Capital after that day.

Eugene instructed David to find out about Jae-duk Han, but was skeptical as to whether he was still alive.

To be honest, I could not feel relieved when I thought about Ryu Seong-gyu’s hands, even though I thought that I must have done that because it is not that easy.

“He was enjoying his retirement in Georgia. We will approach quietly.”

Georgia, located north of Florida, is the most secluded part of the East.

It would be quite helpful if we could get useful evidence from Han Jae-duk, who was once a henchman of the Daeyang Group chairman. But I know it’s not easy.

“Don’t worry about time and money, just listen to what you want.”

If it was evidence of the Freescale incident, it would be possible to put a knife to the neck of the ocean at once.

Eugene was planning to secure evidence by giving Han Jae-duk any property.

At that time, in the president’s office of Daeyang Motors’ headquarters across the Pacific, the president and his second brother, Ryu Geun-su, were watching the news and frowned.

[It is said that the most expensive mansion in the world was sold to South Korean wealthy Kang Yu-jin. The $150 million mansion is located in Bel Air, adjacent to Hollywood… … .]

[Meanwhile, it is known that Kang Yu-jin purchased the latest 747 from Boeing, a super-large passenger plane, as a private plane. According to officials, the plane is known to cost at least $600 million to build.]

[It means that a large amount of Korean money was used to purchase a house and transportation means of 1 trillion won, but I think that it is truly the world’s best scale down.]

“Damn child. It’s good to sell.”

The president of Daeyang Motors violently threw the glass he was holding and spat out abusive language.

“While breaking the news. Why are you posting this as an article because there is nothing to report anywhere?”

“Did you just let it go? That guy bought it.”

Daeyang Heavy Industries CEO Ryu Geun-soo, who was watching the news that his brother was watching, picked up the remote control on the table and turned off the TV.

“Before the acquisition of Max, Myeongseong formed a consortium with SS Partners and decided to work together.”

The president of Daeyang Motors brought out the business for calling his younger brother.

“I heard the news today too.”

Ryu Geun-soo answered.

“Is this already the second time?”

“That’s right. It is the second after the Samho Card.”

“Does that mean that fame also joined hands with that child? Your father must be very angry.”

“That’s it. Last time I heard that Seoseong Bank cooperated with SS Partners, I couldn’t calm down my anger all day.”

“At that time, they made a fuss about cutting off all transactions with Seosung Bank, and it was very troublesome for a while.”

It is not simply because of anger that Daeyang Group Chairman Ryu gave orders to cut off business with Suseong Bank.

Everyone in the world knows that SS Partners is Kang Yu-jin’s company who is hostile to the Daeyang Group.

To join hands with such SS Partners and become a competitor in the business promoted by the Daeyang Group was nothing less than a declaration of antagonism with the Daeyang Group.

In fact, as a Daeyang Group, it was as if a declaration of war was declared by Seosung Bank.

So I can’t help but respond here.

Those words will soon be the same as giving a signal to other companies that they can’t do anything if they act hostile to Daeyang Group together with Eugene.

The Daeyang Group’s Saju family already had a foreboding that Eugene’s attack would not end there.

They thought that perhaps he would sabotage their business by collaborating with other domestic companies like this time.

So, even to warn other companies, they had to express their intention of retaliation.

The president’s sons also understood and faithfully followed their father’s intentions, but the situation could not be helped.