Chapter 61:

The Output: 14050.5910 BTC.

Over 10,000 bitcoins were made in a day. In 10 years, one bitcoin could be sold for up to 20,000 dollars, which meant this was worth about 280 million dollars on the screen.

All in a single day.

In one day, he made almost 300 million dollars. More bitcoins were being made nonstop. Amelia stretched her arms and asked.

“Aaron, how does it look? Is the program working fine?”

“It’s too good.”

The program was running smoothly. It must’ve been Amelia’s good work on GPU. The program was mining about 4000 bitcoins more than he expected.

4000 bitcoins were worth 80 million dollars in the future. Woosung wondered.

‘Should I share it with Amelia?’

No one other than Woosung knew how much these were worth in the future.

‘I feel guilty taking everything.’

Currently, a bitcoin was worth nothing. In May 2010, a US programmer named Laszlo paid 10,000 bitcoins for 2 pizzas and that was the beginning of bitcoin valuation.

As time passed, the value went up and was exchangeable for real money. Amelia smiled angelically.

“Phew, I’m relieved. I was worried that there may be a problem.” Woosung flinched. He felt horrible for being so greedy.

“I don’t think you need to worry.”

“I know how bad the job market is now. I appreciate the great opportunity you gave me.”

Woosung was paying Amelia a yearly salary of 150,000 dollars. It was more than any other tech companies would pay for a new grad. It was better than even Google.

Woosung laughed awkwardly. “Hahaha…You deserve it, Amelia.”

What he was paying Amelia was nothing compared to how much she was making him. Woosung continued to feel guilty. Amelia made him feel even worse when she bowed to him.

“No, I really want to thank you for being so generous. I also appreciate the chance to learn cool things.”

Woosung swallowed and replied. “Haha. Hahahaha…You just keep working hard. Good luck.”

“Of course! I will now begin working on the Android framework.”

“O…ok.”

Amelia went back to work. Woosung continued to monitor the bitcoin production.

The Output:14521.1240 BTC.

Another 500 were mined in a few minutes. It was worth 10 million dollars.

Another news on Pine Tech was released.

“Disclosure of inquiry (Prominent Market Fluctuation)”

It was a system by the Korean Stock Exchange to protect the average investors. Whenever there was a sudden change in a listed company, the shareholders were alerted. The current price of the Pine Tech stock was $16.10. The online discussion consisted of many comments regarding this company.

“The insiders are getting out. Everyone should sell their stocks too.”

“I believe in Pine Tech. Time to go up!”

“I talked to someone from the company. He said it was going up tomorrow.”

“I bought at $21.50…I lost so much. Pine Tech ruined my life.”

The stock price was going down. The shareholders felt trapped.

Woosung sold all his stocks when the price was between 15 – 20 dollars. With 5 million dollars, he made 40 million dollars.

“Perfect. It’s going according to my plan.”

After checking the price again, Woosung headed to the San Francisco international airport. He was ready to go back home.

Incheon international airport.

As soon as Jang Gwangchul saw Woosung, he ran towards him.

“Bro!”

Woosung awkwardly pushed him away.

“W…what’s wrong?”

“What took you so long?”

Jang Gwangchul looked at Woosung accusingly and continued.

“June, July, August, September, October, November, December, and January! It has been 8 months. Tell me the truth!”

He grabbed Woosung’s arm tightly, but Woosung was strong.

“L…let me go first.”

Woosung pulled away easily. Jang Gwangchul looked at Woosung as if he was being betrayed. His eyes started to well up. Hong Soobum, who was standing nearby, looked embarrassed by the situation.

“Let’s go. We need to get out of here. We can talk in the car.”

Hong Soobum had a lot of questions for Woosung too.

In Jang Gwangchul’s van, Woosung looked out the window.

Korea.

He was back.

It was good to be home, but Woosung had no time to feel emotional. Jang Gwangchul and Hong Soobum stared at him.

“It’s a solid company. It would be beneficial for us to have it. I haven’t bought it yet. I’m going to wait until it gets cheaper.”

Jang Gwangchul replied as soon as he finished. “I looked into it, and it seems like all the insiders got out of it. Are you sure it’s a good idea? It may be a small company, but it’s still a company. The purchase price will be steep.”

Hong Soobum seemed curious as well. Woosung answered.

“Don’t you remember the financial crisis? I took advantage of it.”

“Are you saying you made some money?”

Woosung nodded.

“How much? The company is probably worth over 30 million dollars. There is no way you can afford it.”

Woosung opened his hand to show all five fingers.

“You made 50 million dollars?”

Woosung shook his head and answered. “More.”

“…500 million dollars?”

Nod.

Jang Gwangchul and Hong Soobum swallowed hard. It was an unbelievable amount.

‘I shouldn’t tell the actual amount just to be safe.’

He also couldn’t disclose his plan with bitcoins as well.

Woosung would purchase Pine Tech and merge it with his company in Silicone Valley. When it becomes an open hardware company, Pine Tech’s stock price would surely rise.

Jang Gwangchul murmured in disbelief. “Oh my gosh. You are rich now. Super rich.”

“Really? It doesn’t feel like it yet.”

Woosung said with an awkward humility. Jang Gwangchul asked carefully.

“Do you have all of it in cash?”

When Woosung nodded, both Jang Gwangchul and Hong Soobum gawked at him. Most rich people had the majority of their wealth in assets such as buildings and stocks. It was uncommon for a person to have this much cash. Hong Soobum murmured behind his breath.

“He’s beyond super-rich…”

Woosung thought to himself with a lion’s pride.

‘Actually, I have about a billion dollars, and it’s going to be more in the future.’

He didn’t say it out loud though.

“So you want to own more of our company?”

“Yes. I’m the one who came up with the smartphone idea. I can buy you out completely if you want.”

“Huh. Are you saying you don’t need me anymore?”

“Haha, of course, I need you as a person, but I don’t need you for the money.”

Jang Gwangchul blinked his eyes in surprise. Hong Soobum also stared at Woosung in shock. Woosung continued.

“I told you. I have 500 million dollars in cash, but I have more in other forms.”

Bitcoins.

Big-name stocks such as Apple and Amazon.

Even Woosung was starting to have difficulty figuring out how much assets he had.

He finally arrived home.

Ring.

When he rang the doorbell, the door opened quickly.

“Woosung!”

His mom called out to him. Woosung felt emotional. “I’m home, mom!”

“Oh my goodness. What have you been doing all this time? You lost so much weight!”

He actually didn’t lose any weight. After September, he has been staying at an expensive hotel and enjoying fancy food.

“That’s not true. I ate well. I actually gained a little bit of weight.”

“But you didn’t get to eat Korean food. Come in quickly. Dinner’s ready.”

Woosung followed in. His father hugged him tight and they started to enjoy their dinner. Woosung felt content to be finally home.