Chapter 178: <Two sides of the same coin>

The group left the BNP Paribas office.

Julia grumbled, “You used me just now, didn’t you? You wanted me to make a scene to get people interested!”

Woosung grinned. “How could you say that? We are a team!”

“Dammit! You should have told me about your plan before we went in.”

Jang Gwangchul asked, “Were you serious back there? You want to make Coconut Coin into the common currency of the world?”

“That’s right.”

Julia and Jang Gwangchul swallowed.

Julia asked, “Do you really believe it’s possible?”

“The US dollar became the world’s currency because America is the strongest country in the world, right?”

Julia nodded.

Woosung continued, “That means if Korea becomes strong, the same thing will happen for whichever currency is being used the most in Korea, right?”

“But the dollar system is well established. Do you really think it will be possible to replace it with a brand new system?”

“Listen, we already have the semiconductors. We will soon take over the oil and agricultural markets too. Once we have all these and involve Coconut Coins in them… It will happen. Coconut Coin transactions are more convenient and safer. There are no reasons why people won’t use it.”

Julia murmured in frustration, “You are dreaming. Do you think US will let it happen?”

“What could they do? Will they come and kill me? Destroy Korea? Money is the strongest weapon nowadays and I have the most of it.”

“100 billion dollars isn’t enough.”

Woosung laughed and replied mysteriously, “Julia, why do you think my wealth is only 100 billion dollars?”

Only?

Julia stared.

Woosung continued, “100 billion dollars is only a part of it. If you add all the companies I own, it will obviously be much more.”

Julia stammered, “B, but…”

“I am going for it. If you are afraid to try, you can give up now.”

Jang Gwangchul shook his head and Julia gaped.

Woosung asked again, “Are you in? Or out?”

Jang Gwangchul answered quickly, “I’m in!”

Julia answered as well, “Me too!”

“Then let’s get going. We still have more to do today.”

***

They visited Italy and finally ended up in Germany.

They purchased three companies during this trip.

Four companies asked to cooperate with KND.

The last meeting of this trip was with BMW in Germany.

Jang Gwangchul looked up at the BMW building and said to Woosung, “Whenever I think of BMW, all I want is buy a BMW.”

Woosung laughed, “What are you talking about? You can afford to buy all the BMWs you want.”

“Haha, I’m just reminiscing my 20’s when I started with nothing.”

“Were you not always rich?”

Jang Gwangchul nodded and replied, “I never imagined I would be in a company that buys BMW. Time went by so fast.”

“BMW will be ours soon.”

Jang Gwangchul said to Woosung, “You mean it will be yours.”

“Haha, I guess.”

***

Nuri Finances headquarter.

Shin Semi, Chairman Shin Yongwon, and now Vice president Shin Gungu sat down together.

Shin Semi said to the men, “Coconut Bank and BNP Paribas’ transfer test was a success. It only took one minute. It’s remarkable.”

“What did they say in Paris?”

“They seemed impressed, but Kang Woosung was still not satisfied.”

Shin Gungu asked, “There is a rumor he is purchasing BMW. Is this true?”

“Nothing’s confirmed. KND is very tight-lipped about it. We couldn’t find any information on it.”

“Well, I understand why they would want to keep it a secret. I’m just shocked at how he managed to come up with the funds for it. As far as I know, he hasn’t borrowed any money from the banks.”

Shin Gungu suggested, “Perhaps he borrowed from a foreign bank?”

“Maybe BNP Paribas.”

Shin Semi added, “But 50 billion dollars? If you include ARM, it would be 60 billion dollars. Would a single bank loan that much money?”

Shin Gungu replied, “There are plenty of companies that want to be on President Kang’s side, including us. I’m sure he would have had no problem borrowing any amount.”

Shin Semi bit her lips.

Shin Yongwon said to her, “He is an incredible businessman. We must accept that he is now greater than us. There is no shame in requesting to offer our cooperation.”

Shin Semi replied slowly, “I’m not worried about that. I just… I can’t stop thinking about how we may not survive this.”

Shin Yongwon said to her patiently, “Finance is the foundation of every business. We are safe.”

Shin Semi murmured, “Did you see the Coconut Bank’s official goal?”

No one answered.

Shin Semi continued, “Don’t be evil. It’s the same moto as Google’s. Coconut’s motto is ‘Connect.'”

“So what?”

“Coconut Bank is currently acting as a connection between different banks. What if their goal is to connect people with Coconut Coin, make Coconut Coin into an everyday currency?”

Both Shin Yongwon and Shin Gungu’s eyes widened.

Shin Semi continued, “Kang Woosung’s mention of bitcoin made cryptocurrency into the hottest topic in the world. Currently, we use credit cards more than cash. At this point, money is just a number.”

“That’s impossible…”

“But Kang Woosung has made many impossible things happen. He will try, and when he does, what do you think will happen?”

The room became quiet. If anyone could do it, it would be Kang Woosung.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Shin Gungu answered. After hanging up, he murmured quietly, “He bought BMW.”

***

“President Kang Woosung now forms a tripod of auto, smartphone, and Coconut.:

“Electric and self-driving cars to be produced.”

“Korea could be the place where the best cars in the world are created.”

Korean auto companies were in a panic.

Ahyun Auto CEO Jung Manho called for an emergency meeting.

“How did this happen? Sungyong Autos, and now BMW too? Are we going to let him take over the entire auto market in Korea?”

The head of the marketing department replied, “Ahyun Auto still owns 70% of the Korean automobile market. This news shouldn’t affect us much. What we can do is lower our price and spend more money on marketing.”

“Did you not see Blue S destroy The One? The recent poll suggests that people will buy BMW if there isn’t much price difference.”

The head of the marketing department cringed at Jung Manho’s anger.

Another member suggested, “Why don’t we start focusing on the cheaper versions like India’s Tata? There is a rumor that Daeyang electronics is showing interest in cheaper versions of smartphones.”

Someone from the corner murmured sarcastically, “Are you suggesting we just give up on our current model like a coward?”

“No, I don’t mean that. What I mean is we should become flexible to overcome this situation! The other option would be just to sit still and fail!”

Jung Manho sighed deeply.

Was this the end?

Jung Manho was right. Many Koreans were excited about BMW and planned to switch their cars. The existing auto companies could not find a solution to this problem.

Suddenly, Jung Manho’s cellphone rang. It was from Daeyang’s Choi Taemin.

“Hello, sir. It has been a while.”

“Ha… haha yes. What’s new?”

“What do you think will happen to Ahyun Auto?”

“W, what?”

“I will be frank. Daeyang Electronics isn’t doing very well nowadays, and I think Ahyun will experience the same difficulties.”

Choi Taemin continued quickly, “We need to combine forces.”

Jung Manho sighed.