12 Hours After

Chapter 178: Grandmaster Class

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

November, 2022...

It was almost a month and a half after I heard of the pregnancy. It would be quick, but it was rather late considering that it was originally planned at the time I had decided to live together. The wedding ceremony was held modestly in the company building, with only relatives and close acquaintances, because I didn’t want my family exposed to outsiders.

“Congratulations, Mr. CEO!”

“Congratulations, son!”

“Congratulations, brother!”

“Congratulations, boss!”

Ah-young and I finished the wedding ceremony safely after receiving congratulations from those present. The honeymoon was scheduled to travel to Australia and New Zealand over fifteen days. I wanted to go there for three to four months, but this time, things got in my way again. There was the acquisition of Suyeon Construction and the rebranding of Suyeon Group to deal with.

“Vice President Jang, please take good care of the company while I’m away.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll arrange for you to proceed as soon as you get back.”

——

The acquisition of Suyeon Construction went very smoothly. The negotiations did not last long, as the Tak sisters tried to prepare for the upcoming second round, a dispute over management control of another company, by disposing of the shares quickly. Suyeon Construction was going to become my company in December, just in time for the end of the honeymoon. The real problem after the acquisition of Suyeon Construction was rebranding.

There were big problems in managing the Suyeon Group companies that had come under my wing. The first problem was that the name Suyeon had become a byword of corruption (though I had bought it cheaply due to that), and the second problem was that I had to differentiate my companies from the companies of the Tak family, half of the severed Suyeon Group.

Like the brand view box of movie theater, where a company did not have the name Suyeon, even though it was a subsidiary of Suyeon Group, was fine, but there was a need to change its name elsewhere. With a completely new name, I thought for a bit about using our company name of Invictus, but the arrogant, absolute, and competitive nature was only appropriate for the name of the investment company. “Invictus Electronics” and “Invictus Construction” didn’t really fit.

“I’ll think about the name of the new company in Australia.”

“Sure. You might come up with something when you are walking through Mother Nature.’

With so few things left, I left for Australia with Ah-young. To be exact, three of us left, as I didn’t know whether my child was a son or a daughter. On the plane to Australia, on my first class seat, I listened to Ah-young’s belly for a moment.

“How about? Can you hear something?”

“No. Not yet.

Ah-young’s slim belly was slightly rounder than usual. It made me feel more and more like a father.

“My doctor said I will be able to hear it in a month or two.”

“Really? I’m a little sad.”

“Don’t be sad. It’ll be out in a few months anyway.”

I listened to Ah-young’s belly and thought to myself as I looked out of the window at the sky.

‘My baby, please come out healthy. Then I’ll bring all the world for you.’

—————

December 2022...

After the honeymoon, Vice President Jang finished the acquisition process so that I could sign off, just as I had instructed.

“So did you think of a name?”

“Ah... To be honest, some came up during my trip, but there was absolutely nothing I wanted to use. So I could not decide. ”

“I see. Well, let us think about a little more time. If it is difficult for the boss to decide, we can organize a team of expert advisers and set a new name. ”

“... okay. Let’s finish the acquisition at once. ”

“Yes, boss...”

I signed a contract to buy Tak Mun-su’s sisters’ and relatives’ shares. As a result of that, Invictus Investment had ten listed companies worth sixty-three billion dollars in total, including companies in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ.

The evening when the contract was concluded and the announcement was made, I got an email, ‘Grandmaster Class Guide’, which I had waited for a very long time.

—————

I was sitting in my seat with my arms folded, after telling Secretary Park not to let anyone in.

‘Hoo... come to think of it... It took me a really long time to get up to Grandmaster Class.’

I seemed to have easily reached to Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Master, but it took a lot of time to attain the Grandmaster Class. It was probably because there were so many people who I had to deal with in the process of growing. On the political side, there was Rep. Han Sang-hoon and President Joo Sung-won. On the economic front, there was the Tak family.

‘But... wouldn’t it be easier to do so next time? I still have over thirty billion dollars left. With that money, I can take over a global company. It will be easier if it goes through a little light ironing process, like Suyeon Electronics and Suyeon Construction.’

At 8:50 a.m., I got the email, ‘Grandmaster Class Skill Guidance.’ I clicked on it right away and the old familiar phrase welcomed me. [Congratulations, Han Sang-hoon, for being promoted to the Grandmaster Class. The Grandmaster Class can be used and enhanced by investing points in each skill.]

I scrolled down. [There are currently five skills available in the Grandmaster Class. There are twenty-one skill points not currently allocated.]

The score given this time was twenty-one. ‘Twenty-one points... It’s a blackjack number. If there are five skills, by the way, I think there’s one more point added.’

I looked further down the scroll, remembering the number.

[People Search Lv2 (Active skill – four points required)

One more slot for searching for people. It will be available with other passive skills applied.

Ranking News Lv2 (Active Skill – two points required)

In a specific category out of the news in 12 Hours After, you can receive first and second place news with the highest cumulative view counts in an hour. It’s available twice. It will be available with other passive skills applied.

Future News Lv5 (Passive skill – five points required)

You are going to receive another news item 12 Years After, along with the existing news. Its format is the same as the existing news, and active skills are also available the same way. This passive skill is overlaid with other passive skills.

Infiltration Report Lv2 (Active Skill – ten points required)

We will send a reporter to a specific target. The reporter will conduct a 15-day intensive

investigation into the target and bring in one article that will not be reported to the established

press after fifteen days. When you are sending a reporter, you can specify what to

Investigate.]

So far, this was exactly what they had distributed before. But, there was one more section.

[Global News Lv1 (Active Skill – ten points required)

We send the version of the news in another country than your home country of ‘Korea.’ The setting can be changed within twelve hours, and after making the change, the country’s news will be available starting with the next email. The news format is the same, and the content is translated automatically. Skills can be used in the same way. However, if you use People Search, you have to write it in the language of that country for accuracy.]

‘Oho... Global News...’ Just in time, it was the skill I needed most. In order to enter the global markets, news from the ‘World’ category was not enough. I read it in detail. ‘It’s turning the news into the news of other countries... If I switch to America, the next news will be completely about American politics, economy, world, culture... and People Search will be changed like that, too. Then, can I search for Donald Trump or something?

‘Every time my rating goes up, the new skill is very good. Now with this, I can search for people like the U.S. President and the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, who is often called the president of the world economy. These are people who can rattle the world economy with a single word, or a choice of words. If I keep watching these people’s news, global investment and company management will be easy.

‘... wait a minute, then...’ But now that I thought about it, I had a sudden idea. ‘In the global news... I need to search for my name.’

The benefits of making my name appear on the news had been verified. Just by searching my name, I could gain a lot of foresight, but it was currently still limited to the Korean press.

‘Let’s make the foreign press think of me when they hear Han Sang-hoon. That would be easier than working abroad. On the other hand, how can I let spread my name? What is the best way to make my name known in foreign countries?’

Come to think of it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to name a company after myself at all.

‘When the company grows up, it will naturally remind them of my name, too. That’s right. It wouldn’t be bad if I used my name Han Sang-hoon as it was... Sang-hoon Han in English... SHH Group.’

I decided my company name, SHH, that simply.

‘There aren’t many companies in Korea that use their own names, but it happens often overseas. HP, one of the dinosaurs in the IT industry, is a company created after the last names of its founders William Hewlett and David Packard, while Nestle, which is famous for chocolate milk in Korea, is also named after its Swiss founder. Cargill, the world’s largest grain company, is also named after the founding family. Let’s do SHH Company then. Then, as the company grows, my name will be recognized by people around the world.’

I decided to name my company more simply than I thought. Now, the Suyeon Group under Invictus Investment would be changed to SHH.

‘Then I’ll have to allocate the points.’ I thought about how to allocate twenty-one points. For now, five points for the fifth stage of future news and ten points for global news must be used unconditionally. These two should be the meaning of this level-up. What was left was six points. The six points were perfect for People Search and Ranking News.

‘Then all twenty-one points will be completely used.

‘Reducing Crow’s time may also mean something, but not right now. And in my experience, I felt sorry for a month when Crow was in full use, but when I was not using him, I had nowhere to send him. If I raise it up during the next level-up, I can use him intensively when I need him in full use, but I think it’s right to hold off right now, because there are other better skills.

‘Then let’s go like this.’

I checked four sections and pressed the ‘OK’ button. A familiar congratulatory message appeared.

[Congratulations! You have been promoted to the Grandmaster Class. Upgrade your news to an Exxxxx Class! What is needed to be promoted to the Exxxxx Class is a ten million dollar subscription fee and, in qualifying terms, control of more than twenty listed companies in your country with a combined market capital of more than four hundred billion dollars.]

I read it with great care. What first stood out was that the class names, such as “xxx,” has been changed to the one letter, “E.”

‘What is it? E? E.T.? Alien? Are they saying that aliens are moving in, or what?’

But that alone was not enough to know. I concentrated on the next condition.

‘Twenty listed companies... Total market capital of four hundred billion dollars. Currently, our nation’s largest conglomerate, Susung Group, is about to reach a market capital of four hundred billion dollars. So, in order to become that “E” class, I have to raise our company to the largest conglomerate in the country. Hmm... Okay, it’s not a bad goal.’

——

I finished my promotion to the Grandmaster Class with that thought. It was 8:35 when I finished the promotion. Now, in fifteen minutes, the upgraded “Grandmaster Class” news would come. I waited for it with my hands folded together.

‘I wonder what a global newspaper is like, but for the news 12 Years After I am more curious about what will happen after twelve years...’

I was very curious, both as an investor and as an individual. I waited for the email to come at 8:50 like a child waiting for a sci-fi movie.