The God of Coding, Becoming an IT Conglomerate

8. lucky man

In 1988, Gimpo Airport was quiet.

This was because there were not many Koreans traveling abroad, and there were not many tourists visiting Korea.

But the departure process was slow.

It was frustrating for Ho-young, who was used to the automatic entry and exit method decades later.

Especially during the departure procedure, there were so many questions that took up a lot of time.

The departure hall was especially unfamiliar.

The airport that Hoyoung remembers was, of course, Incheon Airport.

A lot of people, a duty-free shop where the lights don’t go out.

When I thought that the sight I had seen countless times when I participated in numerous overseas forums and conferences was replaced by a shabby airport, I realized that I had returned to the past.

“Passengers boarding Gate 3 heading to Dallas, please enter through the gate.”

Hoyoung, awakened by the stewardess’ voice, entered the gate.

And once again, he reminded himself of what he was going to do in the US and confirmed his plan.

.

.

.

After a long 14-hour flight and 2-hour check-in, Ho-young left the airport with a stiff neck.

The reason the immigration process took so long was because of Hoyeong’s one-way ticket.

It was because the reason why I bought a one-way ticket instead of a round-trip ticket was that I was suspected of illegal stay.

At that time, the immigration process was particularly difficult for men in their 20s who hadn’t completed the exam and those with one-way tickets. This is because the problem of undocumented workers hiding in farms and chicken factories after entering the United States was serious.

During the long interview, the schedule had not been finalized, so after persuading me that it was so, I was able to finally enter the country.

I spent a lot of money in my pocket to safely receive the first class and the lottery winnings, and as a result I bought a one-way ticket, but I decided to move in consideration of this inconvenience in the future.

Hoyoung’s destination was Austin, Texas.

However, there was no direct flight to Austin from Korea, and I had a very important business in Dallas, so I decided to do a 3-day, 2-night stopover in Dallas.

Two nights and three days was enough time, but Hoyoung hurriedly got out of the airport thinking of saving time.

After leaving the airport, Hoyoung went straight to Gate 12.

I had already made an appointment with someone in Korea to meet at Gate 12.

He told me what kind of flight it was, so he was sure to arrive on time.

Soon after, I was able to face the reason that made Hoyoung spend most of his money.

“Mr. Yoon?”

“Yes, I am.”

As Hoyoung walked around looking around, a large white man approached and pretended to know him.

As soon as Hoyoung saw the person’s face, he could tell that it was the person he decided to see.

“Hello. I’m Brian, and I’ll be entrusted with Hoyoung’s bodyguard while he’s in the US from today. Nice to meet you.”

Brian politely bowed his head.

Based on the information obtained through Gaia, Hoyoung commissioned the most competent security company to protect her.

In addition to air tickets, the 15 million won he earned in Korea was generously invested in hotels and bodyguards.

Hoyoung was still nothing, but as he had been killed once in his previous life, he thought that he should be thorough in safety and security.

After winning the lottery, it could be too late to hire a bodyguard, so he prepared thoroughly.

“Come, then. The vehicle is ready.”

In the movie ‘The Bodyguard’, bodyguards always wear black suits, but Brian was wearing a tight black T-shirt and cargo pants.

Hoyoung convinced himself, thinking that it would be more comfortable to be active in that outfit than in a suit.

When I followed Brian into the parking lot, there was a black SUV standing there with the ignition on.

Brian opened the back door and got into the passenger seat.

Hoyeong, who climbed into the back door, could see another person sitting in the driver’s seat.

He was a rare Asian in America today.

“Huh? Is there one more person?”

“This is Miru. I am currently a trainee.”

“Hello! I’m Miru.”

“Even though Miru looks young, he is a talented person who has already joined the company after completing three years of military service.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Take good care of me.”

Hoyoung stared at Miru.

Like the English pronunciation, the face…

“Are you… are you Korean?”

Miru’s eyes widened to the size of a lantern, and Korean words came out of her mouth.

“Yes. Koreans… were they?”

Hoyeong was surprised this time when Korean words came out of Miru’s mouth.

Because it was an unexpected case.

“Did you emigrate?”

“Yes, I came about two years ago.

As if he was in a good mood after seeing his compatriots for the first time in a while, his expression got better.

“3 years of military service is military service?”

“Haha. But it was a Marine Corps. It’s a secret from my boss.”

Miru and Hoyeong laughed at Brian.

Brian asked, ‘What are you talking about me?’, but his serious face burst into laughter once more.

However, Mi-ru quickly turned serious and told Ho-yeong.

“From now on, I will speak in English for business purposes.”

“all right.”

“Where can I take you to?”

“You know the Carlton Hotel in downtown Dallas?”

“Sure, you know.”

The car carrying Hoyoung drove toward the city.

After running for about 40 minutes, I was able to enter downtown Dallas.

Then Hoyeong told the bodyguards.

“Oh wait, could you stop me in front of me?”

The place where Hoyeong stopped the car was in front of a convenience store that sells rotary.

Pretending to buy a drink at a convenience store, he bought a lottery ticket, then wrote down the number and turned it in.

Ho-yeong looked at the signboard with the phrase [Challenge your luck!] of Lotto America, and went back to the car.

“Let’s go drink one of these.”

“thank you.”

Even though Ho-young was the bodyguard he hired, he thought he could never be trusted, so he tried not to be seen buying lottery tickets.

The bodyguards never asked what purpose Hoyeong had come for, or who they were supposed to protect Hoyoung from.

As long as money is paid, anyone will protect the client.

That was the reason why Ho-young protected private bodyguards even if he paid expensive commissions.

After a while, Ho-young arrived at the hotel and separated from the bodyguards.

“I won’t come out of the hotel until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Relax around and see you tomorrow morning. We can’t eat together, but I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Hoyoung handed Brian an envelope containing $100.

Brian accepted the envelope with a smile.

“Yes. See you tomorrow.”

I checked in and went to my hotel room.

And I turned on the TV channel that broadcast the lottery announcement and didn’t move a single step in the room.

No matter how much experience you have in the past and come back, it was too dangerous to walk around the United States with a winning lottery ticket worth tens of billions.

All meals were ordered from room service, and we had a glass of wine to relieve tension.

And at 9:00 p.m., the announcement of Lotto America finally began.

“It’s done. It’s done!”

Hoyoung groaned softly.

Even if I knew the result, I was thrilled when I won.

The total winning amount is 71 million dollars.

Ho-yeong suddenly remembered a man who would go bankrupt in the future he had seen in a newspaper article.

It was a kind of guilt for stealing a lottery ticket that someone else was going to win and changing his life.

However, Hoyoung quickly shook off that guilt.

Originally, the amount that would have been won next week was $80 million, so the amount to be raised during the week was $9 million.

$9 million.

It’s less than $80 million, but it’s a huge sum too.

Hoyoung rationalized to himself that if he won a relatively small amount of money, the chances of his life being ruined would decrease.

next day.

Hoyoung woke up early in the morning.

I was able to wake up like dawn without an alarm, perhaps because of the pressure of what I had to do today.

After ordering coffee from room service, Hoyeong drank coffee and organized today’s tasks with Gaia.

Gaia found materials such as the phone number and action method Hoyoung needed and told Hoyoung.

“Give me directions to Gaia Smith & Watsons.”

At Hoyoung’s words, Gaia immediately guided her to the nearest route.

It was the latest map for 2025, but fortunately, the place I was going to was still in operation.

The Smith & Watsons, which Ho-young was going to go to, was a well-known law firm in Dallas.

He was famous for handling the work neatly and well, but the commission was expensive, but Ho-yeong didn’t mind.

When you win a huge lottery, if you want to receive the winnings alone as a foreign tourist, you will have to pay ridiculous taxes and take more than 60% as taxes, and it will take more than a week to pay. However, if you are accompanied by a lawyer, 2 to 3 days are sufficient. Plus, it can save you huge taxes.

Hiring a lawyer was essential to save money and time.

The law firm took about 10 minutes by car from the hotel.

The biggest reason for choosing this hotel was that it was the closest 5-star hotel to the law firm.

“Yoon Ho-young is here.”

When I went out to the lobby, Brian was waiting for Hoyoung.

“What’s your schedule for today?”

“I’m going to the law firm, I think it’s about four miles away. You know Smith & Watsons?”

“Oh, Smith and Watsons? I know where they are.”

Today, too, it was a black SUV.

Miru was sitting in the driver’s seat today.

“Good morning. Boss.”

“Miru, be serious when working.”

“Yep.”

In less than five minutes amidst a little fuss, Hoyoung was able to arrive at the law firm.

“I don’t know when I’ll be out, so there’s even a cafe nearby.”

“Yep!.”

Hoyoung left the two behind and entered the law firm.

The first floor of the law firm was a large lobby reminiscent of a hotel.

Hoyoung approached a female employee sitting at the information desk.

“What are you here for?”

Although it was an Asian who looked young, wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, the female staff was quite kind.

“I came because I wanted to make a request.”

“What kind of request is it?”

“This is a request for a payment guarantee document.”

Hoyeong deliberately did not mention the lottery ticket.

We’ll see later, but for now, we’ve decided that not a single person should leak information about the lottery.

And since the lottery ticket was also a type of payment guarantee document, he wasn’t saying anything very wrong.

The female employee tilted her head at the mention of a payment guarantee document, but soon wrote ‘payment guarantee’ on the paper.

“Did you bring your ID?”

When asked about his ID, Hoyoung held out his Korean passport.

“Passport… Are you an international student? Or…?”

“I am a tourist.”

At the word “tourist,” another question crossed the face of the female employee.

This is because it is not very common for tourists to come to the law firm.

However, she quickly erased her curiosity and focused on her work.

“Even if you only receive a consultation, the consultation fee will be 80 dollars. Would that be okay? The basic consultation time is 30 minutes.”

“Yes. It’s fine. May I ask Mr. Smith for a consultation?”

Mr. Smith is the representative lawyer of this law firm, and he is the one who put his name on the law firm’s name.

“Our representative’s schedule for today is… I think you’ll be fine for the next hour or so. The representative’s consultation fee is $150 for 30 minutes, will that be okay?”

“I’m fine as long as it’s time.”

After hearing Hoyoung’s answer, the female employee called the representative.

Then, as if the OK sign had fallen, he immediately guided Hoyoung to the second floor.

There were only two offices on the second floor.

A female employee knocked on one of the offices.

When the signal to enter the office came, I opened the door slightly and went down to the first floor.

When Hoyeong entered the open door, an office appeared in a rather large room with only one large desk.

A middle-aged white man greeted Hoyoung at the desk.

“nice to see you.”

“Nice to meet you too. Are you Mr. Smith?”

white man. Smith Stewart was a little surprised to hear Hoyoung’s English pronunciation.

Although he is a customer, he heard that he was an Asian and a tourist over the intercom, so he thought that his English might not be very good, but he was quite fluent.

“Yes, that’s right. Time is money. Shall we get down to business? Do you have a payment guarantee document? Where did it come from?”

“The issuer of the documents I have is the lottery division.”

“The lottery division?”

Hoyoung then took the lottery ticket out of his pocket and put it on the desk.

After checking the lottery ticket, Smith alternately looked at the lottery ticket once and then Hoyeong once with eyes as wide as coins.

“Oh… Oh my gosh!”

Hoyoung almost laughed at Smith’s reaction, but managed to hold it in.

“Are you saying you’re the one who won the $70 million prize yesterday?”

Hoyeong replied with a big smile.

To Smith, it was the most relaxed and confident smile he had ever seen.