Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: A Purposeful Spendthrift
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Lately, there had been a small change in my mindset.
I was still spending money lavishly, but now I was giving it purpose instead of just throwing it around carelessly.
"Good morning, President."
A single employee passed by with a greeting.
Glancing at the ID badge around his neck, what was his name again?
Ah, right—Oh Kwang-soo.
"Oh Kwang-soo."
"Yes? Yes, sir?"
The sound of his chair creaking.
His blank stare was like a mannequin's, laced with worry that he might be in trouble and about to get fired.
"Hahaha, nothing like that, so don't worry. Just... didn't you come in yesterday?"
"Well, actually..."
Oh Kwang-soo glanced down at his own clothes and seemed to finally realize why I'd called him over.
As everyone knew, right after I took over as president of Starlight,
there had been several changes.
Most notably, wage improvements.
If people worked, they deserved proper compensation for it.
That bastard Ma Chun-dong had squeezed his employees dry without paying them what they were worth. What was a president, if not the face of the company?
Clean water at the top meant clean water below.
Employees had to trust their president for the company to run smoothly.
Setting everything else aside, I planned to ensure that anyone who worked hard never had to worry about money.
"It's just... sigh."
He seemed to have some kind of concern.
Letting out a deep sigh, he confessed.
"I'm taking care of my widowed mother, and she said her health is really bad..."
"What?"
What was this now?
To do company work properly, one's family life had to be stable first.
Wait a second!
Wasn't it just three months ago that the whole nation had their health checkups?
"What about the health screening?"
"I didn't get one."
"You didn't?"
"N-not just me, but the other employees too..."
"......"
If the labor department found out about this, they might slap cuffs on someone. Even a rundown small business in the countryside would arrange a mobile screening van for its employees' welfare—basic physicals, blood tests, X-rays, the works.
Providing basic rights that any human deserved was a fundamental duty.
'This... this goddamn...!'
Rage boiled up inside me.
I took the elevator straight to the office floor where the employees worked. Starlight was in a critical phase right now. Raising Witches from Another World was gradually earning players' trust through blood, sweat, and tears.
And that wasn't all.
I'd already approached Lightpia, expressing hope to turn Kang So-yeon's novel into a game.
If some scandal broke out while they were considering it positively, all our efforts so far would go down the drain.
"Everyone, freeze!"
My booming voice halted all movement in the room.
"Raise your hand if you haven't had your health screening."
And every single one of them did.
Wow, this was too much.
From regular employees to department heads,
not a single one left their hand down.
"We're splitting into two shifts starting now. No one gets left out—not you, not your families. Everyone gets screened."
"B-but, President, if even one person is out for a day during this critical time, it'll delay the schedule."
"I don't care about that, and I have no interest in making money that way. Han, divide them into two groups and take them to the nearest Ilseong Severance Hospital."
I handed over the company card.
Full coverage, including CT scans, MRIs, X-rays—everything.
I loosened my suffocating tie.
Ah, now I could breathe.
Suits just didn't suit a loser like me, after all.
Days spent holed up in my room like a shut-in—eating, sleeping, shitting—were starting to feel nostalgic already.
"I know you all want to help the company. But blindly working harder and longer doesn't actually help."
Of course not.
I planned to show them firsthand what the welfare they'd been denied actually meant.
Now that Starlight was under my watch,
I intended to turn it into a company everyone envied.
"So quit thinking anyone needs to sacrifice!"
Employees who met my eyes bowed their heads like turtles retreating into their shells.
"From this moment on, forget everything in your heads."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It was shocking.
Or rather,
appalling.
This wasn't the 1980s—it was 2024.
The era where "power trips" had vanished from society, and even superiors spoke politely to subordinates.
Haven't we all heard stories like this?
A company chairman power-tripping on a lowly employee, only to get publicly thrashed by the whole nation and apologize on an official stage.
"Wh-what the hell is this?"
"President, please calm your blood pressure first..."
Im Yun-ah, standing beside me, let out a heavy sigh and soothed me as I ranted like a horny toad in heat.
The employees' health stats were just that bad.
"Okay, severe obesity? Fine, developers sit all day anyway. But high blood pressure, diabetes—total wreckage?"
Ha, this was it.
No way we could keep going like this.
Ma Chun-dong, you fucking bastard.
Like grinding a daily quest in a game, that cursed name kept spilling from my lips every other day.
Daily mission complete!
Chewed up Ma Chun-dong good today too.
Ahh, the texture is exquisite...
I immediately summoned the executives.
The meeting room was thick with silence.
Ashamed, they all just stared at the papers on the table.
"This isn't your fault—it's mine, as president."
"No, sir. How could it be yours? That fat pig Ma, Ma, Ma Chun-dong, that son of a..."
"Ahem, what kind of language is that in front of the president, Executive Director Jeong?"
"Ahem!"
That damn name made everyone uncomfortable.
'Sigh, we've got a long way to go...'
I'd thought throwing money at them would fix everything.
It didn't take long to realize that was a huge mistake. No wonder I'd felt our company lagged in efficiency despite everyone working the same hours.
Now I knew why.
"Director Han."
"Yes, President."
"High blood pressure and diabetes?"
"......"
"What the hell happened here?"
The next 30 minutes were a parade of harsh reality.
From the highest-ranking executive director down to the lowest director,
their stories made me nod grimly.
No wonder their health was trashed.
Starlight's internal issues boiled down to three things.
First, poor meals. No decent eateries nearby, so they subsisted on convenience store junk or nearby dives loaded with MSG. No surprise their health tanked.
Second, lack of exercise.
The more desk-bound the job, the more you needed simple walks at least.
That's why big corporations built gyms onsite.
If it were manufacturing, at least physical labor would keep them moving.
But a game company? Hardly.
And the biggest one, third.
"You're saying you don't sleep? No—you can't sleep?"
"To catch up on backlog..."
"I told you all to leave by 7 PM at the latest."
"But delays push back projects..."
"Sigh..."
What good was money if their ingrained slave mentality didn't change?
I pressed a hand to my forehead and closed my eyes tightly.
A headache hit suddenly.
Now I understood why young CEOs went gray early.
'At this rate, I might drop dead young.'
Even after nagging them to go home, checking the entry/exit logs showed most left after 10 PM.
"I say leave at 7 because grinding after that is inefficient. More hours don't guarantee better results."
"......"
"Ma Chun-dong, that fuck..."
Whoops!
Almost lost it in front of the employees.
"Ahem, I don't know what rules former president Ma Chun-dong enforced, but I'm Kim Do-jun now. Tell every employee to forget everything he drilled into them, effective immediately."
"Understood."
Finally, some sense was getting through.
To really improve welfare, we needed a new nest. Even in the capital area, this place was too remote.
Time to move somewhere busier, with better amenities.
"And we're relocating."
"Pardon?"
"President, wh-what do you mean... relocate?"
I slammed the table at their stunned faces.
Didn't the second-gen chairman of Ilseong Group once say to change everything but your wife when starting fresh?
"We'll buy a building so everyone can work without worry."
"!"
Keep your mouths shut.
Or flies will get in.
Now I'd show them what real money-burning looked like.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The most important thing when buying a good building?
The goals for choosing it.
Location—good traffic and accessibility.
Durability against disasters like earthquakes or floods.
And profitability analysis to squeeze max value from the investment.
One building passed all four criteria, right in front of me.
Heavy foot traffic.
One crosswalk away: gyms, saunas, all sorts of conveniences in sight.
'Heh heh heh...'
Not bad anywhere.
"How much?"
Im Yun-ah read off the market data she'd already checked.
"43 billion won."
A bit pricey.
Well, Starlight was prepared to invest around 70 billion anyway. Bought the company for a mere 500 million, so net gain of 69.5 billion. Simple math.
"Buy it."
"Yes, sir. Um..."
"What?"
"Once we buy the building, there are janitors and security. What about them...?"
Hire them all, obviously.
"Hire everyone. Oh, and ask how they've managed the building so far."
"Got it."
That about wrapped it up.
The building was 10 stories tall.
Clean exterior, and inside—even the bathrooms were hygienic compared to others. Don't people say that?
Clean bathrooms mean a good place.
The dirtier, the worse.
'Elevators are modern, emergency exits pristine. Best of all, lots of windows for great natural light.'
I grinned to myself in satisfaction when,
an unexpected call came in.
From her, of all people...
"Do-joon, sorry, got a minute?"
My first love, Kang So-yeon, whom I'd seen just recently.
"Uh, y-yeah. Wh-where?"
Damn, my loser instincts kicked right back in the second I heard her voice.
Luckily, she was nearby.
I met her at a cafe packed with couples.
"Do-joon, over here!"
"Uh, yeah..."
God,
why put me through this trial?
Kang So-yeon was an angel descended from heaven.
A smile bright as sunlight, eyes sparkling like starlight.
Flawless jade skin without a single blemish.
Her ample chest straining against her shirt, and as I drew closer, her scent muddled my mind.
She'd gotten even prettier since last time.
Was she aging backward alone?
Time's indifference hit hard.
I sat across from her and ordered an Americano I barely even liked.
As I tried to steady my nerves, an unexpected question came.
"Do-joon, are you the president of Starlight by any chance?"