The Chairman Who Wants to Play and Eat

Chapter 59. I must keep that promise.

The contract was completed.

Since then, preparations for the release of Tetros had been progressing smoothly.

We even conducted tests with the staff.

The reactions were not bad.

“This game is addictive! I meant to play just one game before leaving, but before I knew it, I had stayed up all night.”

“If you could just increase the probability of long lines a bit, that would be great. I almost smashed my keyboard, you know. Haha.”

There was one commonality. It was fun.

It was unexpected.

So, I decided to subtly adjust my strategy in my mind.

“Just because Koreans say it’s fun doesn’t guarantee that North Americans will find it enjoyable too. Besides, I can’t trust the words of the Seonghyeon staff. Everyone knows I created it.”

It’s natural for one to favor their own.

But the market is different. It’s cold.

“Let’s wait and see. The world’s choices will surely be different. I’ll trust and wait.”

Thinking about it, that’s true.

The more people who find it enjoyable now, the better.

The greater the anticipation grows.

As expectations rise, production will increase.

Then, the amount of unsold inventory that will pile up later will also be greater. That means bigger losses.

That’s even better.

I tried to convince myself of that.

“Get into global sales quickly. Hurry up and fail.”

I thought to myself as I awaited the release of Tetros.

Meanwhile,

The first copy of Tetros, now in its final testing phase, was delivered to the Korea Data Communication Institute (KIDC).

‘Is this the game that the young master created? It looks fun!’

Director Seo Jung-gil couldn’t hide his excitement. He took out a diskette and inserted it into the disk drive.

Click, creak,

The sound of reading lasted only a moment,

[T E T R O S],

The title screen appeared before his eyes. He pressed the enter key and immediately dove into the game screen.

The rules were simple.

Blocks appeared one by one, stacking up in front of him.

‘What happens if I fit this L-shaped block in?’

Three lines filled up at once.

A beep echoed. The three lines were cleared. It was intuitive enough for even a child to understand.

It was also fun.

Just like that, one minute turned into ten, and ten minutes turned into an hour.

How much time had passed,

“Director, what exactly is that?”

Researchers gathered behind his monitor, watching the game screen.

He snapped back to reality.

“Oh, this is a game by Hyun-seong Group that Hyun-seong Yoon is distributing this time. Why don’t you all give it a try? Take it and play a round each. There’s a ‘virus’ in it that will crash your computer if you try to replicate it, so don’t even think about leaking it. Got it, everyone?”

Thus, the research lab fell into the trance of Tetros.

“This is really fun!”

“It’s going to be released on game consoles too, right? I definitely want to buy it and try it out.”

True to their nature as researchers who lived in front of computers, everyone chimed in with their thoughts.

*

United States, Apple Headquarters,

‘McCliff is going to be a hit as soon as it’s released.’

The final stages were in full swing.

Stephen Jackson was busy beyond belief, day after day.

He was anxious.

He released that anxiety in this way.

One day, he went to the development room and interfered with the design of the OS windows.

On another day, I found myself at the filming site for the ads that would air during the final game of this year’s World Series and next year’s Super Bowl halftime, nitpicking every detail.

Thanks to that, the Apple employees were on edge.

They whispered among themselves.

‘Be careful if you run into Steven in the elevator. If you say something strange, you might get fired on the spot.’

‘You know James from the design department, right? He got kicked out just for suggesting they should release a variety of McCliff colors. Just that one comment, and he was gone.’

Gradually, he was solidifying his image as a lone wolf.

But that was fine by him.

If McCliff could become the best personal computer, surpassing IBM.

Jackson thought he didn’t care if he became a devil or something else entirely.

It was then that the breaking news arrived.

[Artery Shock, gaming stocks plummeting daily. ······ Is the video game industry in crisis, destined to fall? ‘Waiting for a savior to appear.’]

Artery Shock?

He knew Artery well.

It was the place he had worked at when he first joined with Kowalski in his youth.

It had been a thriving company.

Especially the console ‘Artery 2000,’ developed a few years ago, which still held the highest market share in North America.

Thanks to that, Jackson had even underestimated McCliff’s potential in the gaming sector.

But now, things were different.

McCliff had plenty of potential.

He understood the success factors of Artery well.

‘The killer title, Packmad.’

The existence of a killer title always determined success or failure.

Wasn’t the success of Apple 2, now a distant memory, thanks to the presence of Bizcalc? This time would be no different.

Thus,

The strategy McCliff needed to adopt was clear.

‘But how? With what?’

“The method is simple.”

That answer came first from Kowalski.

“Just bundle a game that surpasses Packmad with McCliff. Just like always.”

“I know. So what is that game?”

“I don’t know what it is. Anyway, it just means that it exists.”

He was a comforting guy, after all. Jackson shook his head.

“How bland.”

“Since you say it’s bland, I guess I should start eating saltier from now on.”

Even harsh words were useless. Koz was an old friend of his. Naturally, he was immune to such remarks.

But Jackson couldn’t let it go like this.

That killer title,

He had to find it by any means necessary. So he had to make McLeef, which would be released at the end of this year, the best home computer.

At that moment, Koz casually said, “Why not ask Mr. Hyun? He’ll surely come up with a good idea. He’s the most brilliant person I’ve ever seen. His experience may be short, but given time, he’ll probably become a greater programmer than I am.”

“Great? Don’t exaggerate.”

Jackson scoffed.

His heart flowed in the opposite direction.

Why didn’t I think of that first? Just asking Hyun Sang-yoon would be enough. He was thinking that way.

He left the room immediately.

“Looks like there’s no sharp solution. I’m off.”

“Take care.”

In the now-empty room,

Koz chuckled softly.

He may say that, but he knew all too well that as soon as Jackson stepped out of the development room, he would dive for the phone.

They had been friends for decades. There was no way he wouldn’t know.

At the same time,

Even though it hadn’t been long, he believed that his friend Hyun Sang-yoon would provide the answer to this problem.

‘Maybe.’

Koz thought as he tapped on the keyboard.

‘Perhaps I trust that friend more than Jackson.’

He smiled faintly.

It was a belief so firm that there was no room for doubt.

He couldn’t explain it.

I don’t even know what that game is.

No, I can’t even tell if it exists or not. It’s obvious. After all, we never even had such a conversation in the first place.

And yet,

‘Somehow, it feels like it must exist.’

There’s no reason.

I just know it. That Hyun Sang-yoon is the kind of person who can work such magic.

*

Ronald Durham has recently added another place to his list of destinations.

‘I have to go to Las Vegas for the casino hotel, and I need to go to LA to watch the Danners play. I’m busy.’

In the midst of his busyness, he became even busier.

It was something to celebrate.

The Danners were performing better than he had anticipated.

Not in baseball, but in sales.

Of course, he didn’t dislike baseball. He just liked money more.

In some cases, he was the kind of extremely pragmatic person who valued a few fallen dollars on the ground more than a mere sports game.

The reason he brought up the World Series was that it was all about the money.

Every standard was money.

And there was a clear cause for the Danners’ increase in sales.

It was the fervor that swept through the Korean-American community.

It didn’t discriminate by city.

Not only in LA, but starting from San Francisco in the same state of California, the excitement spread to other states as well.

Isn’t it all about the money?

If Durham hadn’t accepted Hyun Sang-yoon’s proposal, if he hadn’t formed a consortium with Seong-hyeon, this wouldn’t have happened.

‘Could that guy have foreseen this all the way to here?’

Anyway, it’s good.

He must ride this momentum and maintain the upward trend.

He was not someone who would be satisfied with just this. He needed to show something more noticeable.

Durham knew well.

Thinking alone wouldn’t do. Speaking alone wouldn’t do.

Action must come first, no matter what.

That was precisely why he was heading to Danus Stadium now.

‘The only thing left for me to do as the owner is to find a way to draw more Koreans to the stadium.’

He intended to discuss that today.

He was already quite late.

LA Danus’s manager, Charlie Lapida, was a remarkably stubborn man.

“That would be difficult.”

He flatly rejected the owner’s proposal.

“No, what’s the reason?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Major League isn’t a playground for kids. What good does it do to excel in some minor league?”

He wouldn’t bend even in front of the owner.

Of course, it was partly because Durham was still in his 40s, but it was also because he had never been the type to submit easily.

Durham spoke back without backing down.

“Why can’t it be done? These players are all excellent.”

In Durham’s hand, a document fluttered. It was a list of Korean professional baseball players who could immediately make an impact in MLB.

If he could sign even one, or perhaps two, the stadium would be filled with fluttering Taegukgi and Koreans. Being from an immigrant family, Durham was well aware of that fact.

That was why he had come to meet the manager.

Of course, he could force the issue.

He could unilaterally sign players without concern. No matter how much authority the manager had, the owner was above all.

But that kind of solution could wait.

For now, conversation came first.

Besides, even if there were players, it wouldn’t matter if they weren’t used.

Moreover, Manager Lapida was the key figure who led Danus to last year’s World Series victory after six years in charge.

As long as the results were there, public opinion would be on his side.

It wouldn’t be easy to treat him carelessly.

So, he decided to take a different approach.

“Hey, Charlie.”

“What is it, Ronald?”

A gruff voice responded.

“I didn’t want to go this far. But now, there’s no choice.”

At his solemn tone, Manager Lapida tensed for a moment.

‘What on earth is that lunatic trying to say this time?’

It was a look like this.

Amidst this, Durham’s words continued.

“I will, in any case, see a Korean major leaguer playing at our Daners Stadium by the end of this year, or at the latest, from next season. So choose. You have two options.”

His eyes sparkled.

“One is to select from the players here.”

“I already heard that earlier. What’s the other option?”

“That would be.”

Seonghyeon’s Hyun Sang-yoon,

The heir of the Seonghyeon Group, which holds a 40% stake. Durham’s eyes glimmered with mischief as he spoke.

“Hyun Sang-yoon?”

Who is that?

Rapida asked, his face puzzled.

And he was taken aback by the fact that this person had never played as an athlete even once, merely an ordinary person.

“What kind of nonsense is that? Are you insulting me right now?”

“I don’t care whether it’s an insult or not. So choose. One of the two will be enforced by any means necessary. This is not a bluff.”

Durham said.

The two pairs of eyes clashed.

This time, Rapida felt the pressure.

“Fine. I’ll choose.”

What if he refused until the end, and that lunatic held a grudge and registered that ordinary person as a player?

That man came in for the money. If it comes to it, he can just sell him off.

But the director himself is different.

At that point, it would be uncontrollable.

No matter how stubborn Director Rapida was, he wasn’t someone without calculation.

Even a child could tell which option was better.

In the end,

‘Son of a b*tch.’

He cursed inwardly.

“Show me that list. I’ll discuss it with the scouting team.”

The Trump smiled with victory.

But there was one thing Director Lapida didn’t know.

He had thrown away the chance to recruit a player with great potential, who might one day be inducted into the Hall of Fame, into the trash.

Perhaps it was a truth that would never be revealed.

*

Korea was still peaceful.

One day,

An international call came in. This time it was Cameron Smith.

– You come all the way to America and spend months here without seeing me even once? That’s really disappointing.

He said as soon as I picked up the phone.

There was a deep sense of regret in his voice. I replied,

“It’s not just my issue. You’ve been busy.”

– Is that so?

“What do you mean, ‘is that so’?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“But what’s up? You wouldn’t have called just to say something like that.”

A chuckle came through, as if he had been caught.

– I told you, you can’t fool our Yoon. I called to tell you that I’ve started working on a new movie.

“A new project?”

If he went so far as to call me, what kind of movie could it be this time?

My curiosity was piqued.

“What’s the movie about?”

– A monster movie.

I liked the sound of that.

“Is there a chance I could invest again?”

He chuckled as if he expected that question.

– Sorry, but I won’t be taking any investments. This is a major project where I’m putting in all the money I earned this time. I didn’t accept investments from anyone else either.

I felt disappointed.

– They said it’s a film that hasn’t attracted any investments at all. Maybe the director wasn’t great, so no one was interested. They even went all the way to Korea, but did the script not come to you, Yoon?

“Korea?”

It was unexpected.

– I heard something about a department store, but I didn’t ask for details.

“Is that so? If it’s a department store, it might be a place I know.”

There is a department store in Seonghyeon too. Surely, he can’t be talking about that one.

– That’s not important. I’m going to completely rewrite the script and make it with my own money.

He said this confidently.

I felt a pang of envy.

If only I were a film director, I could choose a movie to ruin just like he could, I thought suddenly.

But soon, I changed my mind.

‘If I work hard in my own position, a moment like that will come for me too.’

It absolutely must.

– Wait a second, Yoon.

Cameron held me back just as I was about to hang up.

“Why?”

– You just said you wanted to invest in a movie, right?

“Of course.”

– I actually wanted to tell you about this.

He lowered his voice as if he was about to share a secret.

– There’s something I really want to make. For now, I think I’ll have to hold off because I lack the technology and securing funding won’t be easy…

He whispered that he was conceiving a project about a large passenger ship called the “Giant,” which sank in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean decades ago.

As expected,

There was a reason he called.

He wasn’t very skilled at hiding his true feelings.

It was a project I found even more appealing than a monster movie.

A survival film,

It’s a genre that’s not easy to succeed in. The level of genres he introduces me to is indeed different. He is truly my friend.

“Make sure you keep that promise.”

I asked him to promise me several times. I was genuinely excited.

– It’ll probably cost hundreds of millions to produce. Are you still in? It’s a future concern, but I’m serious.

“Of course. I’m serious too.”

So, it’s going to be more.

Even after hanging up the phone, my heart raced. As expected, Cameron never disappoints me.