Golden Spoon Investor

Friday, October 21, 1994.

Amid the thick darkness of dawn, an old taxi with its headlights shining brightly was passing over Seongsu Bridge.

"If they are someone you must forget anyway, don't turn back and cry. Hold back your tears. Tomorrow~~ tomorrow, a new wind will blow again."

A taxi driver, who appeared to be in his mid-40s, was humming along to the trot song on the radio as he drove from Gangnam to Seongdong-gu.

His face was filled with fatigue, but working at night meant he could charge extra fares, making it more profitable than driving during the day.

"Just from singing a little, my throat feels dry."

As he continued driving, the taxi driver reached for a Bacchus energy drink bottle placed on the console box, twisted off the cap, and prepared to take a sip.

The moment he brought the bottle to his lips with one hand on the steering wheel—

Suddenly, the taxi jolted violently, as if it had run over something.

"Ugh!"

Startled, the taxi driver realized too late that he had spilt the entire contents of the Bacchus bottle down the front of his shirt. Annoyance surged through him.

"Damn it, what the hell was that?"

He immediately slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a stop.

Fortunately, it was early morning, and there were hardly any other cars on the road, so stopping in the middle of the bridge wasn't a big issue.

"I hope I didn't just hit a person..."

The thought sent a jolt of fear through the taxi driver. He rolled down the window with a tense expression, stuck his head outside, and looked back.

All he could see was a wide metal plate stretched across the expansion joint of the bridge—no sign of a person, an animal, or any other obstruction.

His eyes darted nervously before he finally breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Phew... That scared the life out of me."

Now certain that he hadn't caused an accident, the taxi driver, as if to shake off his fear, grumbled loudly.

"What kind of bastard left something like that on the bridge? Damn it, I guess that was my bad luck for the day."

Even though no one was around to hear him, he shouted in frustration before pulling his head back inside and driving off.

In the hours that followed, other drivers crossing the bridge also experienced severe jolts as they passed over the expansion joint. This led to multiple complaint calls to the city office.

Unfortunately, the response was dismissive. The authorities explained that the metal plate was a temporary measure to cover the gap and that proper repairs would be carried out once the weather improved.

***

6:40 AM, Hannam-dong, Seoul.

Standing by the window in his room, Seok-won gazed outside at the now fully risen sun, murmuring to himself.

"So, morning has finally arrived."

His voice was rough as if he had been chewing on sand.

Bloodshot eyes and a slightly haggard face suggested he hadn't slept a wink all night.

And for good reason—today was the very day the Seongsu Bridge disaster would unfold.

It was a horrifying tragedy that shook all of South Korea to its core. Seok-won remembered every detail of that day with painful clarity.

Lifting his arm, he checked his wristwatch and let out a quiet sigh.

"Less than an hour left now."

The bridge collapse had occurred during the busy morning rush hour, when people were commuting to work and school, leading to an even greater loss of life.

Seok-won ran his hand over his face, rubbing his tired eyes.

Even if he went around shouting that the bridge was about to collapse, people would only think he was crazy. It was obvious that no one would believe him.

And if the disaster did happen, he might be interrogated about how he had known in advance.

So, instead of revealing himself, he had tried various ways to warn people about the dangerous state of Seongsu Bridge and other Han River bridges—but all in vain.

Yet, knowing that a tragic catastrophe was about to unfold, could he really just stand by and do nothing? He had spent the entire night agonizing over the question.

Now, there was no time left to hesitate.

Seok-won stood motionless for a long moment, his expression firm. Then, clenching his lower lip, he made up his mind.

"I'll worry about the consequences later. First, I have to save as many people as I can."

Resolving himself, he grabbed the car keys from his desk and strode out of the room.

As he hurried down the stairs, his footsteps echoed with sharp, tapping sounds.

From the kitchen, a woman wearing an apron—Gunsan-daek—peeked out and called to him.

"Second Young Master? Breakfast isn't ready yet. If you want to eat, you'll have to wait a little longer."

"No, it's fine. I'm heading out right now."

Watching Seok-won rush out the front door, Gunsan-daek murmured to herself with a puzzled expression.

"Is something going on at the company?"

Seok-won rushed down to the garage and climbed into his BMW, which was parked in a spacious corner.

He inserted the key into the ignition next to the steering wheel and started the engine.

Vroom!

The rough roar of the engine echoed through the garage as the door slowly lifted open.

Without hesitation, Seok-won released the handbrake, pressed the accelerator, and sped out onto the road.

***

7:25 AM, Apgujeong Station Bus Stop.

During the busy morning rush hour, the bus stop was packed with students in school uniforms and office workers.

The students, at least, looked lively, but the office workers, who had forced themselves out of bed for another workday, stood in line with tired expressions, yawning or simply staring blankly into the distance.

"Ta-da! Look at this!"

Hong Seong-mi, a girl with short bobbed hair wearing a skirted school uniform, pulled something out of her bag and proudly showed it off.

"Oh! Isn't that a Taiji oppa bromide?"

A friend named Jo Soo-ae, as indicated by her name tag, asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah! It came as a supplement with yesterday's magazine!"

"How did you get that?! I ran straight to the bookstore, but they were completely sold out!"

"Hehe, there was exactly one left at the bookstore in my neighbourhood, and I got it! It was fate, like a gift from the heavens!"

Seong-mi smugly wiped the tip of her nose with her finger, looking pleased with herself.

"Isn't my husband just the coolest?"

"Are you crazy? Why is Taiji oppa your husband?"

"Because I'm going to marry him someday!"

Hong Seong-mi lifted her chin confidently as she declared her bold statement.

Jo Soo-ae looked at her friend, who was dreaming an impossible dream, with a mix of pity and amusement. She patted Seong-mi's shoulder in mock sympathy.

"Sure, sure. Even if it's a hopeless dream, they say the bigger the dream, the better, right?"

"Tsk."

Seong-mi pouted as she carefully rolled up the bromide poster and tucked it into her backpack.

"I also got a brand-new photocard of oppa, but I'm not showing it to you now."

"Oh, come on! After all the tteokbokki we've eaten together, you're really sulking just because I teased you a little? Huh?"

"Hmph. Let's see how you act."

"Ugh, are you really going to be like this?"

"Take it or leave it."

"Ugh, fine! I'll buy you banana milk at the snack shop later. Happy now?"

"Okay, deal!"

Grinning at her successful negotiation, Seong-mi suddenly pointed ahead.

"Oh! The bus is here."

Soo-ae turned her head and saw the bus approaching, heading toward their school.

"Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up!"

The petite Seong-mi grabbed Soo-ae's hand, and the two squeezed into the growing line of people jostling for position.

A moment later, the bus pulled up, and the doors swung open.

The crowd surged forward, pushing and shoving to get on board.

But the bus had already been packed with passengers, and within moments, it became so full that there was hardly any space left to squeeze in.

"Driver, open the back door!"

"Move further inside! Push, push!"

"Ugh, stop letting people on! We're going to suffocate in here!"

People, desperate not to be late for school or work, crammed onto the bus like sardines, pushing and pulling at each other.

"Soo-ae, hold on tight to the handle!"

"Okay!"

Seong-mi and Soo-ae barely managed to squeeze onto the bus amidst the chaos.

"Another bus is coming right behind! Stop forcing your way in!"

"Yeah, right! Last time I believed that I ended up late!"

"I swear, it's true this time!"

"Oh, just get moving already!"

The bus driver yelled that no more people could fit in, but the passengers paid no attention, still trying to push their way in.

Eventually, even the steps near the doors were completely packed, and only then did the driver finally manage to close the doors and start driving.

"Ugh, I can't breathe."

At Soo-ae's complaint, Seong-mi scrunched up her face and nodded in agreement.

"Taking the bus every morning is killing me. Seriously. I need to get into college already."

"Are you even confident you'll get accepted?"

"It'll work out somehow."

As expected, Hong Seong-mi's reckless optimism made Jo Soo-ae chuckle.

Outside the square bus window, the bus stop was still crowded with people waiting for the next bus.

Leaving them behind, the bus continued its route, heading toward Seongsu Bridge to cross the Han River.

***

7:30 AM, in front of Seongsu Bridge.

It was rush hour, and the sheer number of vehicles heading toward the bridge created a long, sluggish line of traffic moving forward at a snail's pace.

Despite the heavy traffic between Gangbuk and Gangnam, the bridge only had four lanes in total, making congestion even worse.

The blaring of car horns filled the air, and frustrated drivers leaned out of their windows, peering ahead with irritated expressions.

Inside the tightly packed bus, passengers looked exhausted and bored, simply waiting to cross the bridge as soon as possible.

Among the congested traffic was the BMW sedan driven by Seok-won.

Seated in the driver's seat, he frowned deeply as he looked through the windshield, watching the slow but steady stream of cars entering the bridge and crossing the river.

"You need to shut down the bridge immediately!"

Seok-won shouted into his phone, gripping it tightly in one hand.

[We've already told you, that's not possible.]

"Didn't you hear that the bridge deck is splitting apart? It's dangerous!"

The city hall official on the other end sounded blatantly uninterested.

[If you're referring to the slight gap in the expansion joint, we've already taken temporary measures.]

"You call placing a single steel plate over it a proper measure? What are you going to do when the bridge collapses?"

[Come on now. It's not like the bridge is made of flimsy sticks. There's no way it's going to collapse, so stop worrying. I'm hanging up now.]

The official dismissed his concerns without a second thought and abruptly ended the call.

"Wait! Hello?!"

Seok-won shouted desperately, but all he heard in response was the monotonous beep of a disconnected line.

"Damn it!"

Slamming his phone down angrily, he cursed and pounded the steering wheel in frustration.

He had spent the entire drive to the bridge repeatedly calling Seoul City Hall, trying to warn them of the imminent danger. But all he got in return was mockery and indifference.

Seok-won scowled, about to redial, but then he shook his head.

"They've ignored me this whole time. There's no way they'll listen now."

Even if they did, it was already too late to stop traffic and prevent the disaster.

Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was already past 7:35 AM.

If his memory was correct, in just a few minutes, the bridge deck would collapse, triggering the catastrophic accident.

Lifting his gaze, he stared at the Seongsu Bridge stretching across the Han River in front of him.

Just 50 meters more, and he would be driving onto it.

Glancing at the rearview mirror, he saw a bus packed with passengers following right behind him.

"Damn it."

There was no time left to hesitate.

If he couldn't stop the disaster from happening, then at the very least, he had to save as many lives as possible.

Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Seok-won made up his mind.

"If they won't block traffic, then I'll have to stop it myself."

A white sedan was moving parallel to him in the next lane.

Seok-won swallowed hard, licking his dry lips unconsciously.

Then, without hesitation, he slammed his foot on the accelerator and yanked the steering wheel to the side.

VROOOOM— CRASH!

A violent impact. The deafening sound of metal crunching.

Still clutching the wheel, Seok-won stared ahead. His car had rammed into the front fender of the sedan, forcing both vehicles to a stop.

"Hoo..."

Letting out a shaky breath, he unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed open the door.

Just then, the driver of the car he had deliberately hit—a man in his late 30s—stepped out, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

"Hey! What the hell is wrong with you? Do you even know how to drive?!"

Ignoring the man's angry shouts, Seok-won turned to look behind him.

Because of the sudden accident, the vehicles following them had all come to a complete stop.

Honk! Honk!

"What the hell? An accident?"

"Damn it! As if traffic wasn't bad enough already!"

Hearing the frustrated voices and blaring horns, Seok-won let out a small sigh of relief.