12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

I picked up the phone in the president’s office and said, “Secretary Seo.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Could you come into the room for a moment?”

“Yes, boss.”

Soon Ji-hoon opened the door and came inside. I asked him, “Secretary Seo, you… No, Ji-hoon, you are… Have you ever put your name in the search box?”

“My name?”

“Yes, have you ever searched for Seo Ji-hoon in the search box?”

“No.”

Ji-hoon was shaking his head, but he suddenly remembered. “Oh, by the way, do you know the archer Seo Ji-hoon, who competed in the team event at the London Olympics six years ago?”

I recalled for a moment. A few people flashed across my mind, but I didn’t know their names. “Well, I don’t remember.”

“You might not know him. He was in the team competition only once at that time. Anyways, he has the same name as me, so I cheered and remembered him. When the Rio Olympics came again four years later, I searched for Seo Ji-hoon again, but he failed to make it to the national team. I think that was the first and last time. That’s the reason I searched under my name.”

I nodded, “Well, yeah, yeah… Yeah, I got it. You can return to your seat.”

“… yes, boss.” Secretary Seo cocked his head curiously and went out the door.

Come to think of it, most people were like that. Except for politicians and celebrities, who would search for news in their own names? I thought for a moment.

‘If I could get my own news… Then that news is far more important than other news. All I do is right now is watch other news.’

[CEO Han Sang-hoon has succeeded. The investment industry believes that Han’s prediction was right again.]

‘And when the good news comes up, I am going to push it as I do.’

[CEO Han Sang-hoon has lost. Investment sources say that CEO Han Sang-hoon’s last decision was a mistake.]

‘If there is news like this, I can correct the future accordingly.’

[… he has recorded an evening surprise.]

[… he has recorded the upper limit price.]

‘The other news, such as above, is a secondary indicator that helps me make my judgment; however, all my news has become accurate news that gives me the same result. That’s right, if that’s the case… My news becomes the main dish, and other news is a side menu that makes my news good, a spice.

‘If there is a problem, it is that my name is a bit common. My last name, Han, is the eleventh largest family name in South Korea. The name Sang-hoon is quite common, too. In order to receive my news in People Search, I have to be the most famous Han Sang-hoon in Korea, but there are already many more famous Han Sang-hoons than me.’

I once again put Han Sang-hoon in the portal site window. As expected, the face that I saw earlier appeared again.

‘Ha, ha, by the way… this guy…’

The person at the top of the portal was the same one: Han Sang-hoon, a 56-year-old and lawmaker re-elected three times.

Now that I thought about him, I had seen him on the news sometimes. I saw his face and name, but he just wasn’t important. He had the same name as me, but I had nothing to do with him. But this man had become a great mountain for me. Most of the news when I searched for Han Sang-hoon now was almost eighty percent for him.

[Han Sang-hoon, a lawmaker, voiced criticism at the Blue House.]

[Han Sang-hoon asked National Tax Service Director a question at a parliamentary hearing.]

[No problem with the funding of the Congressman. Rep. Han Sang-hoon’s rebuttal.]

This man was still active as a lawmaker. According to the special news, the lawmaker seemed to have a bit of a “fighting chicken” spirit.” The news about him was coming out in a day or two.

‘Why is he fighting like that?’

There were decent lawmakers who I did not know in the National Assembly, but he was an activist who fought and struggled with other party members.

‘Where is his district?’

I looked for it and it was far from my hometown. He was re-elected three times from the same area. He was young, with a third term and only fifty-six years of age.

‘It is not always the case, but lawmakers who are generally supported by local politics do not easily lose support on any issues.

‘If he is re-elected four or five times, he may be even more of a big shot: Representative of the House, Party Representative, Presidential candidate, President… President Han Sang-hoon…

‘If that happens, my trying to get my name in People Search is over. The news of 12 Hours After, sends the news if the news comes out in Korea. Sometimes my news will appear, but when there is no Ranking News, it will be similar to receiving Lotto number news.

‘This guy is the biggest mountain.’

The rest were mosly professors. Professor of Medicine Han Sang-hoon, Professor of Chemistry Han Sang-hoon, Professor of the literature department Han Sang-hoon… These people were also getting a spot on the news.

[Professor of Medicine at Sungkong University Han Sang-hoon has discovered Alzheimer’s disease-causing quality.]

[Professor of Chemistry at Woojin University Han Sang-hoon, research results on the production of high-resilience nanotubes.]

[Professor Han Sang-hoon at Chungwon University is appointed a judge of the New Chunchun Literature Review.]

The next people were athlete and tennis player Han Sang-hoon, professional golfer Han Sang-hoon, professional gamer Han Sang-hoon… these guys were also getting news from time to time.

[Han Sang-hoon is eliminated from the preliminary round of the World Tennis Championships.]

[Han Sang-hoon, who catches the eagle on the seventh hole.]

[A come-from-behind shot! Han Sang-hoon’s fantastic finish!]

To be honest, they were not top-class athletes that all Koreans knew, but they were also much more famous than I was. Fortunately, there were no famous celebrities. It was celebrities who appeared in the news the most.

‘Internet news usually competitively picks up celebrity news, because the number of clicks is good.’

[Actor Han Sang-hoon is cast in a new drama.]

[Korean Idol Han Sang-hoon, has a romance with a female idol of the same age.]

[Singer Han Sang-hoon Announces new album in September.]

Of course, there were a few big cases.

[Han Sang-hoon, a real-time shot while traveling abroad. A pictorial of everyday life.]

[Han Sang-hoon’s chicken eating show at home.]

[Han Sang-hoon’s Fine Airport Fashion.]

These simple routines were all reported. So, if there was a famous celebrity, he might be even more powerful than Han Sang-hoon, a lawmaker.

‘That’s a relief. By the way, how many businessmen are on the news?’

Come to think of it, few of the nation’s businessmen were as famous as celebrities and politicians. I didn’t know if it was because they were not interested in being public in the first place, but like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett in the United States, there were not many famous entrepreneurs, and there was no news about them. It was usually a negative case when a businessman or investor was on the media.

[The chairman of… has appeared before the prosecution today. … suspected of collusion between politics and business… The chairman stood in front of the prosecutor’s photo line in a wheelchair, citing deteriorating health.]

[….. the former director has become controversial because of in-house grooming… The managing director assaulted the employee, saying it was not the basis for accepting customers. He used a lot of abusive language.]

[Mr… has been charged with fraud. Known as the stock rich in Cheongdam-dong… He is known in the investment industry as a genius for stocks, and he has recently attracted tens of billions of dollars from investors.]

Such negative articles were the most common. It seemed that capitalists and entrepreneurs in our country had a negative image of themselves.

‘That’s unfortunate… Is it because there are not many respectable businessmen in our country?’

When I become famous later, I would be treated like that; it made me feel a little sad to think that. I typed ‘a great businessman’ in the search window. A lot of news came up.

[The only person who was considered a great entrepreneur is the chairman of Yuhan Pharmaceutical Company, who was an independent activist during the Japanese colonial rule. He thought of the lack of medicines in our country and set up the Yuhan.]

I read more.

[Yuhan is famous for its company’s ethical management from its founding until now. There is a legendary anecdote that the company was subject to a tax investigation during the military dictatorship, and they didn’t have any fraud or fault. When the chairman passed away in 1971, he returned $40,700,000 to society, except for his granddaughter’s tuition. $40,700,000 in 1971, as of now, is a huge amount. It was not just the words that politicians use to give back to society, but it the real return. He is the man who actually returned something to society.]

He was a great man. I read another article.

[The founder of Shin Yong-ho Kyobo Group, famous for his words, “People make books and books make people,” is the person who set up Kyobo Books in the basement of Kyobo Life Building in Gwanghwamun. The Kyobo Life building is located in avery expensive area, right next to the statue of Yi Sun-shin, where everyone thought a large-scale shopping mall would come in. However, though everyone tried to dissuade him, Shin Yong-ho made a bookstore, thinking, “In the middle of Seoul, there should be one bookstore representing Korea.” Instead of receiving hundreds of thousand dollars in rent, he opened a bookstore that was almost unprofitable. As an independent and prestigious family, he also ranked first in paying inheritance tax in Korea. It is a dignified record, considering other Chaebols are somehow pulling strings to pay fewer inheritance taxes. He was also a person who used the Kyobo Bookstore a lot.]

‘Yes, if I think about it, I could be a great entrepreneur. The reason why Korea has such an image is that most businessmen have made such a choice.

‘If they ask me to choose between the two sides: the one who appears in a wheelchair in collusion with between politics and business, and the other who is praised even after his death, I will, of course, choose the latter. If I become famous anyway, I want to be famous in a good way.’

I was going to start with $300,000,000, but…

In the past, I asked customer service, “Why are you giving me such good luck?”

They replied, “Think about it.”

I recalled the answer. I didn’t think I had all the answers myself, but when I thought about it myself, this luck was too much for me to enjoy alone.

——

Around five p.m., the market was closed, and the announcement came out.

[CKD Entertainment’s major shareholder has changed, and the stock acquisition agreement has been made.]

[CKD Entertainment announced that it has signed a contract to buy shares that involves changing its largest shareholder. The transferor is the CEO, Do Chan-ki. The transferee is Invictus Investment. The total amount for the takeover is $17,000,000.]

After the announcement, other news also reported follow-up stories.

[CKD Entertainment CEO Do Chan-ki, steps down.]

[CKD Entertainment to welcome a new owner.]

[CKD Entertainment welcomes a new era.]

I clicked on them one by one. Sometimes I had news that came up with my name.

[Invictus Investment is an investment company led by CEO Han Sang-hoon.]

About two out of six had written my name. To know my name was now the beginning.

A week after the announcement of the contract, as soon as CKD Entertainment became mine, an email came to me.

[Diamond Class Guide]