God of Money

Woosung had a feeling Amelia had a lot of questions. He took her into a conference room where they sat and continued their chat.

Amelia explained. "After I got your message, I had a lot to think about. It won't be hard to run the Coconut service on blockchain base, but wouldn't it be too much work long term?"

"So you created a platform?"

"Haha, yup. This way, Coconut won't be dependent on anything and whenever we need security adjustments or improvements, we can provide SDK (Software Development Kit) just like the Android. I thought it would be best."

"I think I need to give you another bonus."

Amelia replied in embarrassment. "Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't asking for a bonus…"

"But you deserve it. Don't feel overwhelmed by it. Incentives and bonuses are performance based. By the way, didn't you say you had some questions for me?"

"Oh! I just had an epiphany; we are creating a block through the process of mining bitcoins, but our goal for Coconut is to have the customers use it as much as possible for chats. I feel like these two concepts don't go together."

"That's exactly right."

Woosung suddenly remembered one of the cryptocurrencies from 2018.

Steem.

This currency was paid whenever a user posted an article online or clicked "Like." Woosung figured Amelia was about to discuss the same concept.

"So I thought why not reward the users with coins whenever they use the Coconut service? The more they use, the more rewards they get. I was thinking about making a platform for this concept."

This was exactly how Steem worked.

"To do that, it might be hard to have Bitcoin that work on PoW (Proof of Work)."

PoW.

It was a way to earn cryptocurrency by working for it online. Bitcoin was a good example of this concept.

On the other hand, PoS (Proof of Stake) was different. The reward depended on how much of a particular cryptocurrency you owned. This concept did not exist at this point yet.

Amelia's eyes widened and asked.

"Proof of Work?"

"Yeah, I just came up with the term for it."

"Wow, you're so good. It's a perfect name for the concept."

"Was that your question? To use PoW or not?"

"Yes. I feel like using the service, but mining is a separate thing. We need to come up with a different method for the platform."

"Then how about PoS?"

"PoS?"

Woosung explained the concept to her. Amelia listened with a thorough careful consideration with a murmur. "Which platform should I choose…What's the right answer? Oh, how about combining the two together?"

Amelia was considering the use of a hybrid method, which was often used in 2018. She continued to think out loud.

"...But operating both would make it too complicated."

Woosung waited for her to finish her thought process, but even after 10 minutes, it seemed like she couldn't come to an answer.

Alas, Woosung gave her an offer. "Even if it's complicated, why not try it? I can help you."

Amelia's eyes shined. She looked at Woosung with adoring leers.

"Boss!" She looked like she wanted to kiss him.

"I'll make up a plan for you so let's work together."

Amelia nodded happily.

Jang Gwangchul was waiting for Woosung outside the conference room. When Amelia returned to her chair, Woosung took him inside. Jang Gwangchul glared at him with an obvious hint of rage.

"I guess it's your money, so I can't say anything about it, but if you continue to spend money like this, there is no future for this company."

"I'll be honest. I agree with you. 20 million dollars would have been over-the-top, but I still believe 10 million dollars was reasonable."

"Because?"

Woosung retained a firm hold of his calm demeanor as he explained. "How much do you think Coconut service will be worth in the future?"

Jang Gwangchul seemed surprised as he murmured. "Maybe same as Cyworld? If things work out great, it could even become worth as much as Nexter, the portal site?"

"Haven't you thought about it becoming bigger than Daeyang System?"

Jang Gwangchul didn't reply. In the future, companies based on software services such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon become large corporations.

"I am expecting it to be worth up to trillion dollars. To make it to that level, we need to invest."

"But 10 million dollars is way too much."

Woosung realized he couldn't convince him, but he also couldn't tell Jang Gwangchul the truth, including about Jung Jinsup.

"I suspected the financial crisis was coming, but I bought put options on Dow Jones. That is how I made my money. I gambled all my money on it."

Jang Gwangchul stared at Woosung with interest. "R…really?"

"If you knew about it, you probably would've stopped me. Most people lose money when they dabble in options."

"Are you telling me there will be more decisions you make that I will find too risky?"

"Yes. I will do things you might find crazy. I may use a lot more money on things, and you might not understand why."

"And you want me to just accept it?"

"No, it's not like that."

Jang Gwangchul sighed deeply. "Woosung, I trust you, but what you did, and what you are going to do will be very hard for anyone to accept."

"I will listen to your opinions, but if I don't back down, then please just trust me and follow my lead."

"...And how would I know you're making the right decision?"

"I will prove it."

"How?"

Woosung frowned for a second before giving a reply. "Soon, one of the previous Presidents of Korea will pass away. He won't die of a natural cause, but he also won't be murdered."

Jang Gwangchul slapped the table and raised himself up in a maddened frenzy. "You're crazy! How can you predict something like that?"

Woosung lowered his voice. "Calm down."

"How can I calm down?"

"It's the person who is being investigated right now. Just wait and see."

When Woosung said confidently, Jang Gwangchul started to worry. "Do you know what you're saying?"

"Yes. I sometimes surprise myself too. You said before that I smell like money. I think what you smell is actually ghosts."

"W…what?"

"I dream every night. In my dreams, I see the future. My dreams have never been wrong so far."

Jang Gwangchul couldn't believe Woosung. He kept glaring with suspicion.

Woosung then proclaimed to Jang Gwangchul. "It will happen before the end of May. If I'm wrong, I won't do anything you don't approve of ever again."

Jang Gwangchul had no choice but to agree on this deal.

A few days later.

In the KYLO regular meeting.

Shin Semi sipped on a glass of champagne and glanced at Woosung, who was chatting familiarly with Jung Jinsup.

There was no room for Shin Semi to join in their chat. They laughed and talked. She couldn't hear their conversation.

Lee Sunghyun approached Woosung and asked to talk with him in private. It was shocking to see such an important man showing interest in Woosung. They conversed with serious expressions. Lee Sunghyun asked with a frown.

"It can't be…"

"I can see anger, pain, and desperation. It's solid information based on tens of thousands of photos."

"…"

"It will happen within a few days. It could even be today."

Lee Sunghyun asked in shock. "Today?"

"Yes."

Lee Sunghyun paused. He remembered the North Korean missile test. He had his doubts on Woosung's prediction this time, but he also couldn't ignore it.

Shin Semi joined in with a question. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Haha, it's nothing."

Shin Semi frowned at them. "It looked like you are talking about something really interesting."

Suddenly, Lee Sunghyun's phone vibrated. He looked at Woosung as soon as he saw the caller's number. Woosung nodded in response. Lee Sunghyun answered the phone and nodded with a grim look, his skin getting paler. After hanging up, he announced.

"I just received an important news."

Other members seemed to have already heard the news too. They looked at each other with rigid gazes.