“How is it, Samuel?”
Samuel, the concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, was speechless after watching the videotape.
At first, he thought it was just a school talent show. He couldn’t understand why the maestro was showing him this video.
However, the atmosphere changed dramatically when the young conductor appeared on the screen.
“Unbelievable.”
There’s a saying that an orchestra’s capability can change with the touch of a conductor’s hand.
Just like that, the orchestra in the video was not composed of individually outstanding musicians. Yet, under the young conductor’s touch, the resonance changed as if by magic.
Samuel felt a shiver run through his body as he watched the delicate fingertips playing the orchestra like a giant instrument.
“It seems this child has been learning conducting for a very long time. The way he meticulously guides each note and eerily catches the pitch that deviates due to the musicians’ skills is incredible. Moreover, the bold flow of the melody unfolding from his fingertips is so impressive that it reminds me of the Empress Karas of Austria.”
Samuel couldn’t hide his admiration. Watching the boy’s fingertips made him think of many great maestros.
The climax of joy, rising like a roller coaster, resembled Germany’s Thielemann, and the way he calmed the ensemble with a soft and refined tone reminded Samuel of America’s Bilstine.
Conducting isn’t just about talent. It requires continuous experience and rich expertise. But this…
“Maestro, what piece is the orchestra playing right now? No matter how hard I try, I can’t think of the composer. Ivanov, Nogell, Chabrier, Antonio. Who is it?”
Samuel listed numerous composers. None of them were composers who produced masterpieces at the end of the Romantic era.
The piece the orchestra was playing in the video was as remarkable as the young conductor’s meticulous conducting.
“It’s a composition by that boy.”
“Pardon?”
At that moment, the conductor’s movements came to a halt as if time had stopped.
Samuel couldn’t take his eyes off the boy beyond the screen for a long time.
What is this resonance? The impact imprinted on his mind was as shocking as the first time he saw an orchestra perform.
“Maestro, who is that boy?”
“Hyun-ah, are you some kind of fortune teller?”
Chairman Wang, who had been playing Go, looked puzzled. But when I remained silent, he pointed to the morning newspaper with a nod.
The headline announced in large letters that the IMF negotiation team had arrived in Korea.
“Hasn’t everything happened exactly as you predicted so far? What do you think will happen next?”
“For free?”
“You cheeky brat.”
I had no intention of saying more. Chairman Wang could already guess what would happen in the future without me having to say anything.
He wasn’t called the tycoon of the business world for nothing. There was even a saying that the busiest person in South Korea wasn’t the president but Son Jangwon of the Jeil Group.
“Soon, foreigners will come flooding in.”
It was a policy to attract foreign capital. With the foreign exchange reserves dried up, there was no other choice.
Foreign capital would rush into the stock market and even real estate with eyes wide open.
To stabilize the stock market, it was essential to block the influx of hedge funds with national laws, but there was nothing Korea could do at the moment.
In a word, it was like experiencing a war.
“Anyway, aren’t you going to take the prime cuts, Grandpa?”
Of course, the prime companies wouldn’t be sold off cheaply to foreign capital. If I knew Chairman Wang of the Jeil Group, that would be the case.
Chairman Wang made a curious expression. As if wondering what my true intentions were.
“Talking with you, Hyun, it seems you should be holding a pen instead of a violin. Your boldness and extraordinary brain make your grandfather very curious about what kind of blueprint you will draw. So, why did you come today, even though it’s not a Go day?”
The reason I came to see Chairman Wang was simple. There was something I needed to take care of.
I put down the white stone and started pulling out a pile of documents from my school bag.
Isn’t it ironic? The bag that usually held textbooks now contained documents filled with technical terms. Chairman Wang seemed equally intrigued.
“I’ve adjusted the investment list that Grandpa and others made.”
“Adjusted?”
“You said it was my job to determine whether it was real or fake.”
Chairman Wang chuckled as he received the pile of documents. It wasn’t just a small investment, and it happened too quickly for him to fully grasp.
As he quickly skimmed through the documents, Chairman Wang’s eyes gradually showed curiosity.
“Hyun, I believe a smart kid like you knows that what’s written in these documents isn’t just numbers. This is the only asset left to you by Chairman Yoo. So, can you explain to me why you divided the criteria like this?”
The first thing I did was gather all the scattered investment sources into one place. I especially focused on foreign stocks. Not the ones that would burst like bubbles later, but the giant companies that would gradually grow.
However, it was difficult for even famous investors to judge everything by looking at financial statements for just a few days, so it was understandable that Chairman Wang looked puzzled.
“I should rephrase the question. Why are you showing this to me when your grandpa is also here?”
“Chairman, you were the perfect person to act as an agent. As you know, my grandpa doesn’t have much experience in this area. Ultimately, I had already made a deal with you once.”
“A trustworthy agent?”
Chairman Wang burst into laughter. Certainly, it was a difficult task to leave to my grandpa. Investments involving money become complicated when blood relations are involved. Grandpa wouldn’t just stand by and watch me lose money.
At that moment,
“Grandpa charges a very high fee. Is that okay with you?”
Of course, I had anticipated this when I decided to use Chairman Wang as an agent.
I immediately flipped through the pages of the documents. There were lists of properties in Korea that would later be absorbed by foreign capital.
On another page, there were lists of different foreign companies.
Of course, Chairman Wang wouldn’t be interested in something like this. But he would definitely be curious about what a young boy like me would do.
Put options, leverage? No way. I already knew how to rake in money. But I didn’t want to do that.
In this life, I just needed enough wealth to protect Dongju.
“Grandpa, invest with me here.”
Securing the prime cuts first was important.
“Director Kim, bring him in.”
At Chairman Wang’s call, Kim Sang-guk, the director of the Jeil Group’s Strategic Planning Office, entered the reception room. He was a man with a sharp jaw and piercing eyes. However, even he had to be extremely cautious in front of Chairman Wang.
“You called for me, Chairman.”
Without a word, Chairman Wang handed the pile of documents to Kim Sang-guk. As always, Kim Sang-guk carefully received the documents and began to look through them immediately.
The reason Chairman Wang called him to Pyeongchang-dong was simple.
“Most of these are companies with investment value. But I don’t think it’s right to focus only on these places after excluding all the previous companies. As you know, the market situation can change rapidly. While I need to analyze accurate data, some of these places carry significant risks.”
“It’s more like gambling than investing?”
“Yes, Chairman. With my limited vision, that’s how it seems. Unless you know in advance about the rise and fall of these companies.”
Chairman Wang nodded. Kim Sang-guk was a top talent within the Jeil Group.
Despite having his immediate superior in front of him, he honestly shared his thoughts. That’s why he was appointed as the head of the Strategic Planning Office.
“Knowing the rise and fall in advance, huh.”
Chairman Wang recalled the look in Kang Hyun’s eyes when he pulled out the documents from his school bag.
Wasn’t he just a young boy who had just entered high school? Yet, seeing his eyes, Chairman Wang had to hold back his admiration.
His resolve seemed so firm. Despite dealing with vast sums of money, he didn’t flinch. Could Chairman Wang himself have been so composed at that age?
Surely, he had even appointed Chairman Wang as his agent. He had a natural boldness.
“Director Kim, how likely do you think it is? Comparing the previous list with the newly reorganized list.”
“If I were to invest, I would have chosen the former without hesitation, Chairman.”
Kim Sang-guk didn’t understand. The former list seemed like a perfect investment plan. But the latter, while appearing focused and selective, clearly had risks. Without predicting the future, such a list couldn’t have been made.
“Director Kim, could you have known that a foreign exchange crisis was coming to our country? And that the government was hiding the bailout?”
“If the foreign exchange crisis was imminent, I might have anticipated it. But I wouldn’t have been certain. As I said, the economy is unpredictable, Chairman.”
Chairman Wang recalled Kang Hyun’s voice when he made the deal. The confident voice.
Chairman Wang picked up the second investment list with a curious expression.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what future I’ve invested in.”
“My hands are aching.”
I was drawing notes on the staff continuously, even skipping lunch.
At some point, it became a routine to come to the studio every morning and work on the score. New musical ideas kept coming, and I couldn’t just sit idle.
At that moment,
“Do you want me to play it?”
It might have been my imagination, but it felt like the Guarneri “Fiore” was gleaming, asking to be played.
I hadn’t played it properly since returning from the movie set. I put down the score and stood up.
Zing—!
A sharp high note resonated through the bow, reaching the ceiling. My long fingers moved freely on the shimmering strings like a spider.
From trills and middle bowing techniques to bowing techniques reminiscent of Paganini’s Caprices. It was a piece that pushed the violinist to the extreme with its high level of difficulty.
“Huff, huff.”
Only when the sharp end of the bow pointed to the floor did I let out the breath that had reached my throat.
I lost track of how many hours I had been practicing. But “Fiore” still wanted to cry out more, making the strings shine even brighter.
I was about to lift the bow again with a smile when I heard a knock.
“A solo concert?”
Indeed, I had to acknowledge Director Im Hyera’s determination.
“I’m not thinking about it yet.”
“Hyun-ah, why don’t you reconsider? Do you know how many fans are waiting for you? Since they found out you acquired the Guarneri, reporters have been pestering Mi-hyun every day.”
It seemed the news of my acquisition of the Guarneri in Italy had spread.
Anyone who loves violins would know about the Guarneri, one of the three holy grails of violins. Besides, I also had a Stradivarius, so it wasn’t hard to find out.
Come to think of it, I’ve already collected two of the three holy grails.
“You must have many fans waiting overseas too.”
“Pardon?”
I couldn’t understand. Although I had won the Queen Elisabeth Competition, it was already three years ago. During that time, I hadn’t been active as a violinist at all.
“Take a look at this.”
At that moment, Director Im Hyera handed me a magazine.
It was the Gramophone, famous for its music reviews, with the eternal maestro Gustav prominently featured on the cover.
“The eternal maestro Gustav’s most anticipated performance.”
Whose performance could it be? The Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic. Or perhaps the performances of violinists who had already passed away. Even with money, it was a performance that could never be seen again.
However, Gustav’s answer was surprising.
“The solo concert of the violinist Hyun.”
