Again

Chapter 5 - Let Her Go

Yoon Se-Ri walked out of the office and quietly squealed. "Mr. Hong! Let's go. We have work to do." First agenda, make a web search on angel investors.

Meanwhile, Jeong Hyeok called in his secretary and his most trusted fund manager, Park Gwang Beom, as soon as Yoon Se-Ri left.

His secretary, Ko Ji Ah, "Sir, that was the famous actress, right? Yoon Se-Ri? Omo! She is so beautiful. She's even more beautiful in person. Will she be coming back soon? I wish to ask for her autograph next time."

Jeong Hyeok smiled at the young woman kindly. "I'm not sure but if there is another meeting I shall let you know." A thought then occurred and he added, "You're a fan, you say?"

"YES!" Ko Ji Ah declared. "She's so good. When she cries in her shows, I can't help but cry with her, too. It's too bad her recent projects have put her in bad roles."

"Bad roles?"

"Well, not really bad but her earlier work was a lot better," Ms. Ko said. "I wish she'll get better roles soon. Oh and I depend on her endorsements for my skin care. Whatever she says to use, I use!"

Jeong Hyeok chuckled. After giving her some instructions for his succeeding meetings, he excused her and spoke to Gwang Beom. Handing him the proposal from Yoon Se-Ri and Mr. Hong, Jeong Hyeok said, "I'll be using personal funds for this."

Gwang Beom nodded. "Fine. This is not a huge amount and it is good that she has invested her money in it so we know she's taking this seriously. I need to do due diligence on their company though."

"The company is not yet formally set up. Those are commitments but from what I gather she has set aside the funds for the company."

Gwang Beom's eyes bulged. "You're investing on a concept? You haven't done that in years. I'm not sure about this, Mr. Lee."

Jeong Hyeok understood the fund manager's concerns. Releasing the money to a person they did not know was risky and so was getting into a business they weren't really familiar with. Well, if he were honest, he knew Se-Ri but Gwang Beom did not. He wasn't too concerned but he wanted to balance his gut feel with solid business sense. "Don't release the money until the company is set up. However, please help them speed up their paperwork with the registry office."

"2.5 billion Korean won...," Gwang Beom muttered.

"Could you also get our research team to look into this business? Usual items like liquidity, profitability, capital requirement but I need information on their hiring. How do they find talent? Does it help if they have partners in the production companies? Or broadcast networks would be better?"

"2.5 billion won. Almost 2 million US dollars. Are you sure?" Gwang Beom asked.

"Yes," Jeong Hyeok replied unwaveringly. "These are personal funds, like I said. The pooled funds of this firm will not be affected."

"Alright. But like I said, we still have protocol. I am going to do the due diligence required," Gwang Beom insisted.

"That's fine. However, inform them properly. Ask the team to have it ready when I get back from Japan next week, but start sending me materials through email even before then." It was clear that it was the end of the conversation so Gwang Beom excused himself. Instructing Ms. Ko that he is not to be disturbed for the next hour, Jeong Hyeok opened his safe and took out the velvet box he had kept all these years.

Opening the box revealed a simple engagement ring, compared to all his peers who had gotten married lately. A solitaire stone set on a plain yellow gold band. It would not be anything interesting to jewellers except that the rock was a 2.0 ct GIA certified VVS diamond. He could not have afforded it years back if not for his grandfather chipping in. Taking out the ring, he checked the engraving inside.