The night was deep, and darkness had completely settled outside the window.
Standing in the kitchen—decorated with the finest European-imported furniture—Seok-won wore a pair of cotton trousers and a thin cashmere sweater.
He placed a few round ice cubes into a crystal glass and tilted a bottle of premium single malt whiskey. The golden liquid filled the glass to the brim.
When he gently swirled the glass in his hand, the faint clinking of ice resonated through the quiet kitchen, and the rich aroma of whiskey brushed past his nose.
"Mmm."
Raising the crystal glass to his lips, Seok-won took a deep sip and closed his eyes for a brief moment.
The smoky oak scent and the smooth warmth down his throat brought a faint smile of satisfaction to his face.
Still holding the glass, Seok-won left the kitchen and walked down a corridor paved with Italian natural marble.
He opened a solid wood door and stepped into a wide room designed to look like a Wall Street trading floor.
At the center stood a large, U-shaped desk, upon which four connected monitors glowed brightly.
Beside them was a Bloomberg terminal constantly streaming the latest global financial news and real-time market data—it looked as though an entire trader's desk had been lifted straight from a trading floor and set here.
"Ahh."
Setting the crystal glass down, Seok-won sank back into a soft leather chair.
Rolling up his left sleeve, he glanced at the Rolex Submariner on his wrist. The hour hand was just about to touch midnight.
"Soon, the stock will go public, and trading will begin."
He lifted his gaze to the NASDAQ trading window displayed on the central monitor, eyes calm and composed, and picked up his glass once more.
"If I remember correctly, Modunet's stock nearly doubled on its first day of listing. We'll soon find out whether it will repeat that performance—or surpass it this time."
Unlike in his previous life, Seok-won himself was now known as the "Midas of Investments," a man whose influence could sway markets. Since he personally held shares in the company, he couldn't help but wonder how much his reputation would affect the stock's movement.
Leaning back comfortably, Seok-won took his time sipping his whiskey, waiting for the market to open.
***
At the same time—
On the circular stage of the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York, the executives and representatives of Modunet, a Korean high-speed internet company, stood with tense expressions.
Behind them, a massive semicircular electronic billboard displayed the Nasdaq logo side by side with Modunet's, which was being listed today.
President Jung Gyu-cheol of Modunet, dressed in a deep navy suit, wore a face that mixed tension and excitement. Standing right beside him, Executive Director Oh Chang-myung could not hide the flush of anticipation on his face.
They were not alone on stage. Alongside them stood several figures who had helped bring Modunet to its Nasdaq debut—representatives from Eldorado Fund, Goldman Sachs, and other involved parties.
Glancing at the cameras and the crowd of more than thirty reporters in front of them, President Jung leaned slightly toward Oh and whispered quietly.
"It's a pity Chairman Park Seok-won couldn't be here for this event. His presence would have made it even better."
"There wasn't much we could do," Oh murmured back, covering his mouth with one hand. "He said he already had a major prior engagement and couldn't make the time."
He continued in a lower voice, reassuringly.
"But Eldorado Fund's CIO, Landon Shaw, is here in his place. And through local media coverage, it's already well known that Chairman Park Seok-won invested heavily in our company and holds a significant stake. Wall Street investors are bound to take notice."
Although Oh spoke in a soothing tone, President Jung still looked disappointed.
Even back in Korea, he had known that Seok-won wielded considerable influence on Wall Street. But now, seeing it firsthand in New York, he realized that Seok-won's stature far surpassed anything he had imagined.
"True, but if Chairman Park Seok-won himself had attended, the event would've drawn far more attention."
As President Jung clicked his tongue in regret, Executive Director Oh was about to respond when, from one side of the stage, the blonde Caucasian host holding a microphone raised his voice.
"Now, let's begin the Opening Bell Ceremony!"
All eyes turned toward the stage. Oh quickly straightened his posture and closed his mouth, while President Jung took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart. Fixing his gaze on the front camera, now glowing with its red recording light, he tried to compose himself.
A promotional video introducing Modunet began to play, followed by a pre-recorded interview with President Jung. When the feed returned to the live studio, the host's energetic voice filled the air.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we now begin the long-awaited Opening Bell Ceremony for Modunet—the very first company to bring high-speed internet service to Korea and now the largest in the industry!"
Raising one arm, the host gestured toward President Jung and the others standing proudly on stage.
"Please press the bell button in time with the countdown!"
A giant display behind them lit up with the Modunet logo and the countdown numbers.
"Five, Four, Three…"
As the crowd shouted the numbers together, President Jung placed his hand over the opening bell button. A flood of emotions surged through him.
Scenes from the past few months flashed across his mind like a film reel—the countless nights spent working to make this direct Nasdaq listing possible.
He'd flown back and forth between Korea and the U.S. so many times he'd lost count.
Now, standing here after overcoming every obstacle, his chest swelled with pride and emotion.
With just one press of the button before him, Modunet would no longer be a small high-speed internet company from Korea—it would make its proud debut on the New York Stock Exchange, where the world's capital converged.
"…Two, One!"
As the number on the giant screen reached zero, the host shouted in an energetic voice,
"Please press the bell!"
At his cue, President Jung Gyu-cheol and the others pressed the button installed on the table with all their strength.
With a loud pop overhead, bursts of confetti exploded and fluttered down. On the massive display behind them, Modunet's stock ticker code appeared in bold letters:
[KOREA]
"Waaah!"
Seeing it, President Jung couldn't help clenching his fist and raising one arm high into the air. The other participants joined in, cheering and applauding enthusiastically to celebrate Modunet's official listing.
At the very moment President Jung Gyu-cheol pressed the opening bell button, a five-letter ticker symbol—"KOREA"—appeared on the Nasdaq trading screen.
"Trading has begun!"
Mason, now a senior trader after years of experience, shouted the announcement.
In front of him, Andrew, the CIO, with his neatly combed hair and gold-rimmed glasses, looked calmly at the giant market board and spoke in his usual relaxed tone.
"Let's see what kind of price tag this rookie from Korea fetches on his first appearance."
Right then, Modunet's opening trade price appeared on the screen.
[KOREA : 44.21 (+26.22)]
It opened more than 145% above its IPO price. All around the trading floor, traders from Eldorado Fund whistled or let out low exclamations of amazement.
Andrew, who had been standing with his arms crossed, allowed himself a faint smile at the strong debut price—but only for a moment before quickly erasing it.
"A decent start," he murmured.
Senior Investment Chief Dan Baradan stepped closer and spoke beside him.
"Looks like a solid launch."
Andrew replied with measured caution.
"It's only just begun. We won't really know where the stock is headed until the market closes."
"True enough," Dan agreed, nodding slightly.
As a veteran who had survived many years on Wall Street—the financial jungle—he knew all too well that no matter how strong a stock looked early on, its movements could change without warning.
"Still, judging by how the buy orders keep piling up without slowing down, I doubt the price will drop easily."
"I'd say you're right," Andrew replied.
[KOREA : 46.32 (+28.32)]
As the stock price climbed more than two dollars higher, Andrew spoke.
"If the momentum keeps up like this and the price continues to rise, there'll be no need for us to intervene. That wouldn't be a bad outcome."
"That's the best scenario," Dan replied.
Separate from Bluehole Venture Capital, Eldorado Fund had assisted with Modunet's IPO, earning not only its commission but also a substantial allocation of pre-offering shares.
However, if the stock price were to fall below its IPO price, that would mean a loss. For that reason, institutional investors who had received IPO shares—such as Eldorado Fund and Goldman Sachs—were expected to step in and make large-scale purchases whenever the price weakened, providing a safety floor for the stock.
This was precisely why such institutions were often granted large allocations of IPO shares: it was a form of mutual assurance, ensuring the debut didn't collapse on day one.
Still, considering the sheer scale of funds managed by Eldorado, it was unusual for Andrew, the CIO himself, to come down to the trading floor just to observe the action firsthand.
The reason was simple—Bluehole Venture Capital, owned by Seok-won, held a significant stake in Modunet.
"The stock just passed forty-seven dollars per share!"
At Mason's shout—his voice sharp through the headset mic—Dan, standing beside him with his shirt sleeves rolled up, raised his voice.
"What's the trading volume?"
Mason glanced at his monitor, then swiveled his chair to respond.
"Just crossed three and a half million shares!"
Dan checked the watch on his wrist and turned to Andrew.
"It's been less than thirty minutes since trading began, and we've already hit that level of volume. The turnover rate's incredibly high. Plus, with buy orders still pouring in without slowing down, I'd say fifty dollars is well within reach. Whether it can hold that until the close, though—that's another question."
Andrew's eyes stayed on the massive market board ahead, his expression thoughtful but optimistic.
"It may be a high-speed internet company, but it's not even American—and still, the market's reaction is this strong. The dot-com fever really is sweeping through."
"Couldn't agree more," Dan said with a nod.
***
The next morning.
After getting out of bed and taking a shower, Seok-won heard his phone ringing loudly on the nightstand.
"Hello."
[It's me, boss.]
As soon as he answered, Landon's familiar voice came through.
[Did I wake you up?]
"No. I just got out of the shower."
Seok-won replied casually, holding the phone to his ear.
"How did Modunet close yesterday?"
[It soared to $57 at one point, but profit-taking hit near the end, and it closed at $42.31.]
The higher-than-expected figure made Seok-won's eyes gleam.
"Doubling on the first day — not bad at all."
[Trading volume exceeded 8 million shares, so the turnover rate was quite high.]
"That means, aside from us, most of the Wall Street institutions who got IPO allocations sold off their holdings on day one."
[Most likely. Given how volatile newly listed stocks can be, doubling their money on the first day would be a pretty good outcome.]
"True enough," Seok-won agreed.
[Since it's risen so sharply, perhaps this would be a good time for us to cash out?]
At Landon's cautious suggestion, Seok-won paused for a moment before shaking his head.
"Let's leave it for now. I think it still has a bit more room to rise."
Since their IPO allocation wasn't particularly large—and even if the stock price were to drop by half tomorrow, they'd still be in profit—Landon didn't argue further and simply agreed.
[Understood.]
After ending the brief call and setting his phone down, Seok-won let out a thoughtful hum.
"Looks like my name had some influence—the stock's debut price was even higher than I remember before the regression."
Thanks to that, his stake in Modunet was now worth far more than he'd expected—an outcome he certainly couldn't complain about.