"You! Where have you been?"

No sooner had I returned to the banquet hall than someone greeted me warmly.

When I turned around, it was none other than old man Kissinger.

As always, he approached with a lively face and patted my shoulder casually.

But when I looked beside him, I saw another silver-haired gentleman standing somewhat awkwardly.

"Let me introduce you! This is Grant, the president of the Metropolitan Club."

The old man pointed to the silver-haired gentleman next to him and smiled brightly.

‘President of the Metropolitan Club, huh…’

The Metropolitan Club was a social club that Rachel's father, Raymond, belonged to—an elite group that only individuals on a presidential level could join.

And currently, my membership process for that club was in full swing.

Not that I actively pursued it myself; it was thanks to old man Kissinger's enthusiastic efforts.

‘Well, there’s no need to turn down a good thing.’

I’m the type to accept what’s given.

Above all, the experience of standing shoulder to shoulder with presidential-level figures… not too bad, right?

"The Metropolitan Club was originally founded to bring together the world’s key talents! We’ve never accepted a young member like you before, but this time we’re expecting a positive outcome. Isn’t that right, Grant?"

Under the pressure of Kissinger's gaze, Club President Grant responded with a stiff smile.

"Of course. We believe it's time to embrace a new generation."

‘How ridiculous.’

There was likely no precedent for the Metropolitan Club accepting someone my age as a member.

And certainly not someone with black hair.

When I had visited the club before, I distinctly remembered the looks people gave me, like I was some kind of monkey.

However, given the current situation, the president probably had no choice.

Considering Kissinger’s backing and my recent fame, coming up with a valid reason to reject me would be nearly impossible.

‘Is Raymond not here?’

I suddenly became curious what kind of expression he’d make if he saw this scene.

But finding a middle-aged man in such a large banquet hall wasn’t easy.

While I looked around, old man Kissinger grabbed my arm and pulled me along.

“Come, let’s go this way! I’ve been talking about you so much that there are a lot of people who insist on meeting you!”

He dragged me around the banquet hall, enthusiastically singing my praises.

"A young man like Sean is hard to come by these days! A rare talent with both genius and integrity!"

Of course, I didn’t stop him.

As I said, I’m not one to turn down freebies.

‘Our old man is working hard.’

Why did I go through so much trouble during the Theranos incident?

It was exactly to receive introductions like this through the old man.

"A genius with intelligence, strategy, and insight that shocked the world! And so altruistic and righteous on top of that! Where could you find another young man like him?"

But upon hearing Kissinger's excessive praise, another silver-haired old man made a strange expression.

It was none other than old man Icahn.

He was the Wall Street mogul who had allied with me against Ackman in this incident.

"A righteous young man, huh…"

Old man Icahn chewed on that phrase for a while before adding a short remark.

"Genius—I’ll give you that. There’s no doubt about it."

His attitude was as if he accepted only the "genius" part of Kissinger’s praise and spit the rest out.

But that probably had more to do with Icahn’s naturally blunt personality.

Even though he spoke that way, the look in his eyes wasn’t hostile—it held a subtle familiarity.

"Actually, I highly value his sense of justice and retribution. His moral clarity and precision in accounting were quite impressive."

Well, that was only natural.

Thanks to me, he had successfully taken revenge on his long-time nemesis, Ackman.

All things considered, it was only natural for him to feel favorable toward me.

Then, when Kissinger got briefly distracted by something else, old man Icahn approached, put his arm around my shoulder, and whispered.

“So, what kind of bomb are you planning to drop today?"

“A bomb, sir?"

"You don’t seem like the type to just sit quietly with this many people gathered."

“You make me sound like someone who causes trouble everywhere I go.”

I replied as calmly as I could, but old man Icahn looked at me with a mocking expression.

It was as if he was absolutely convinced I was up to something again.

"I’ve already been deceived by you once."

"Are you referring to me? There must be some misunderstanding."

"Underselling is a form of deception too, you know. You advertised your exposé like it was the main course, but in the end, it was just a weak appetizer, wasn’t it?"

He was referring to our first encounter.

Back then, I had shared part of my plan to form an alliance with Icahn.

The plan I presented was to expose Valeant’s corruption, and he joined forces with me believing in my promise to tank the stock price with solid proof.

But what followed?

A nationwide boycott, university divestment campaigns, short-selling declarations, a short squeeze war, a retail investor revolt…

The actual exposé of Valeant was nothing more than a light seasoning.

“This New Year’s event won’t end with just ‘opening the fund,’ will it?”

Old man Icahn looked at me with a mischievous grin.

He had already seen through my intentions.

"Capital expansion for the fund" was just bait.

He knew I was truly aiming for something else.

"And what might that be?"

Just as old man Icahn was about to pry further, a voice rang out calling my name.

[We will now hear a few words from Mr. Ha Si-heon, representative of Pareto Innovation.]

I turned back and gave old man Icahn a slight smile.

"I’ll tell you the details after I’m back."

I turned my back on his suspicious gaze and walked toward the podium.

It was time to seize the most important trophy of this war.

#

As Ha Si-heon took the stage, the noise in the banquet hall suddenly died down.

‘It’s finally starting!’

‘Time for the cap raise announcement!’

The highlight of the event.

The moment when the doors of the ultra-high-return hedge fund, Pareto Innovation, would open.

Just how wide would the doors open?

And what conditions would be attached to passing through them?

With anticipation mounting, Ha Si-heon slowly looked around and began to speak.

[Pareto Innovation will begin raising capital over the next two weeks.]

The audience held its breath at the short and concise announcement.

The window would only be open for two weeks.

It meant there was little time to hesitate.

It also suggested fierce competition, where only the fastest would seize the opportunity.

[We expect the capital raise to be around 15 billion dollars.]

Murmurs spread.

As the number was revealed, the banquet hall buzzed.

Fifteen billion dollars?

This was a scale far beyond most expectations.

However, the real bomb was just about to drop.

[Half of that—$7.5 billion—will be used to establish a new private equity division under Pareto.]

“Private equity?”

“Why a private equity fund all of a sudden…?”

Surprised voices broke out across the room.

Even though both are funds, hedge funds and private equity are fundamentally different in nature.

Hedge funds aim for short-term returns by investing in liquid assets.

Stocks, bonds, and derivatives—assets that are easy to convert into cash—are their main targets.

On the other hand, private equity funds invest in illiquid assets like unlisted startups or privately held companies.

Therefore, long-term capital input is needed, and it typically takes 7 to 10 years to recover the investment.

So the expansion of Ha Si-heon’s hedge fund—once a symbol of short-term gains—into private equity was a completely unexpected move.

“Isn’t this a bit hasty?”

“Feels like it’s still too early…”

Of course, it wasn’t unusual for hedge funds to expand into private equity.

But generally, that only happened after monitoring the situation for 3 to 5 years.

For Pareto Innovation, which hadn’t even existed for six months, to make such a decision…

It was fast—too fast.

While everyone was momentarily dazed by the speed of it all, Ha Si-heon’s voice rang out again.

[The private equity division will begin this year and will be operated with the goal of achieving returns over the next ten years.]

In other words, once you put in your money, you won’t be able to take it out for ten years.

This, too, was something that gave investors pause.

‘Can Ha Si-heon still deliver those kinds of returns ten years from now?’

‘Private equity requires a completely different kind of expertise, doesn’t it?’

Ha Si-heon’s skills were already proven, yes—but only in the hedge fund space, where short-term strategy was key.

Private equity demanded an entirely different set of skills.

Things like business improvement, restructuring, and long-term value creation—completely separate capabilities.

But while some were caught in anxiety, a few saw this as an opportunity.

‘Ha Si-heon is different. He’s already proven his skills in activist investing.’

Activist investing was one of the few hedge fund strategies that overlapped with private equity.

After all, both fundamentally involved deep engagement with company operations.

And Ha Si-heon’s first activist campaign?

A massive success.

He had significantly increased Allergan’s brand value and sold it to a global pharmaceutical company for nearly double the price.

Moreover,

‘If Ha Si-heon picks it, even the impossible might work.’

His name was becoming a brand in itself.

He was no longer just an investor.

He was a market icon, backed by public fame and trust.

If word spread that Ha Si-heon was investing in a particular startup, that alone would draw attention to the company.

The investment itself could serve as a marketing effect.

While opinions remained divided—

[Pareto’s private equity division plans to focus investment on startups combining healthcare and AI.]

“AI?”

Everyone was stunned by the sudden mention of the keyword.

No surprise—AI’s status in 2015 was vastly different from what it would be in 2023.

Sure, AI was a field that promised massive returns.

It was rapidly evolving, with innovations in deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and GPU technology.

Tech giants like Google were already aggressively acquiring AI startups, signaling that the AI race had begun.

However, the market sentiment at the time was far from fully optimistic.

Most companies were still in the ‘research’ or ‘pilot’ stage.

Self-driving cars, deep learning, and voice recognition technology were drawing attention—

But there had yet to be any major commercial success.

‘Could this be a bubble?’

There was significant concern that, like the dot-com boom or the 3D printing craze, AI might be overhyped.

If the AI era truly arrived, the payoff would be massive…

But what if it didn’t?

To investors, AI was still synonymous with uncertainty.

So most remained cautious, waiting until the market matured and success stories became visible.

But Ha Si-heon?

He was going completely against that sentiment.

He was saying not only to invest now, but also to tie up capital for ten years.

That wasn’t all.

His next words went even further off-script.

[We will be at the forefront of innovation at the intersection of healthcare and AI. Because this is an area that will play a critical role in developing personalized medicine and new therapies, we believe it must be seized now.]

So far, so good.

However—

[AI is not just a technological issue. It’s a question of what kind of world we want to build. I believe AI should not just generate profit but also have a positive impact on humanity. That’s why I believe we must prevent reckless competition and unethical use, and ensure that investments are made responsibly. We will take the lead in balancing ethics and profitability.]

Ha Si-heon was emphasizing ethics.

Of course, that wasn’t out of step with the image he had built so far.

He had stood for racial equality at Epicura, exposed fraud at Theranos, and fought for patients with rare diseases at Allergan.

He had even taken the side of retail investors in the Herbalife short squeeze.

With someone like him leading the way, ethical concerns related to AI could certainly be eased.

However…

Most people gathered here didn’t care about ethics.

They had only one concern.

Profit. That was all.

And so they wondered: could a private equity fund focused on ethical AI investment actually be profitable?

‘This is a bit…’

‘Why insist on ethics…?’

Of course, Ha Si-heon understood the mood in the room.

But there was a clear reason he emphasized ethics.

To lead the upcoming AI era, an ethical vision would be the most powerful weapon.

‘Around ten months left, huh?’

By then, a revolutionary company that would shake the AI market would be born.

But it wouldn’t start as a company.

It would begin as a nonprofit organization, founded to research “AI for humanity.”

That was “Next AI.”

The GPT they would develop would upend every market paradigm.

And Ha Si-heon’s goal was simple:

To become a founding member of Next AI.

But that wasn’t something money could buy.

‘If I just show up with money… they’ll reject me outright.’

From the very beginning, Next AI accepted only a strictly curated few as investors.

The most important condition was a shared vision of developing safe and ethical AI.

Opportunistic hedge funds focused solely on profit were excluded early on.

That’s why Ha Si-heon had carefully managed his every move until now.

Framing everything in terms of ethics.

But only he knew the real reason.

Most investors, blind to the future, were still hesitating.

‘Well, of course they are.’

Ha Si-heon had anticipated that resistance.

Which is why he had never planned to give them a choice in the first place.

‘Asking for trust is foolish.’

That’s what rookies do before proving themselves.

But the victor of a war just won could afford to take a more aggressive stance.

[In the upcoming two-week capital raise, new investors will only be accepted if they invest in the private equity fund as well.]

Interpretation:

If you want to invest in my hedge fund, you have to invest in the private equity fund too.

It was, essentially, a forced bundle deal.