Chapter 55: Arrival in LA

It was decided that Velocity would find the LA development studio for them. Its location was also not very far from Koreatown, just as they had requested.

Velocity also agreed to help with invitation letters for visas and the establishment of a local corporation.

In addition, they calculated that the employee dormitories they would purchase in LA, the new employees they would hire, and the short-term operating funds for the development studio could all be sufficiently covered by the settlement payments coming in from America. Since the funds they had left untouched just in case also exceeded one million dollars, it did not seem necessary to take out a loan using their Korean real estate as collateral.

The other matter that concerned them was managing the real estate they would leave behind in Korea, since the entire family was moving to America.

If the tenants continued staying and nothing went wrong with the buildings, there would be no issue. But if a problem occurred, they could not resolve everything through international calls, and returning to Korea every time also had limits in terms of cost and time.

When they looked into it, however, there were companies that professionally managed such matters.

The reason ordinary individuals usually did not use these services was because the income they received had limits, making it difficult to bear the cost. But Parallel Soft had already gone beyond that scale.

After all, they had already invested several billion won into expensive Gangnam real estate.

“You’ve made the right choice.”

“Yes. I’ll leave it in your hands.”

“Of course. If there are any changes, we will always report them first and handle matters according to your wishes.”

Hyein thought the management fee written in the contract was a waste, but when she considered the alternative of constantly worrying about Korea and traveling back and forth, she judged this option to be more reasonable. In the end, she stamped the contract.

“I think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I’ll have to go to America once after all.”

Even though Velocity was helping quite actively, there were still quite a few matters that could not be resolved by phone alone.

“I’ll go.”

Seongcheol immediately offered to go after hearing Hyein’s words.

“I’ve already quit my company anyway, and now I’m also a director of Parallel Soft.”

Since he had already handed the CEO position over to Hyein, it felt awkward to return as CEO again. So he had rejoined the company as an executive director under his wife.

“Mm. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Even in Hyein’s view, leaving the work to her husband, who already had experience, seemed better than flying all the way to America alone to handle everything herself. Moreover, as Insu’s mother, she was also better suited to look after him.

Afterward, Seongcheol was able to safely handle matters in America, including signing contracts for the condos they would use as employee dormitories and the house where the family would live, then return to Korea.

Now all that remained was waiting for several administrative procedures and disposing of the Korean development studio and their house.

As for the development studio, they decided to dispose of everything, including the computers, except for the data stored on hard disks and diskettes.

It was a shame to sell equipment that had not depreciated much yet for cheap, but considering the cost of transporting the still extremely bulky computers by plane, the different voltage standards, local after-sales service issues, and the need for upgrades due to how quickly computers were advancing, this was the more reasonable choice.

“Now, this development studio will officially close as of today. Everyone has applied for their visas, right?”

Velocity’s invitation letters had already been distributed. Since Velocity was a fairly well-known company even in America, unless they openly caused trouble during the interview, the visas would likely be issued. But if they did not apply at all, there would be no answer, so Insu kept reminding them several times just in case.

“We’ve already secured housing in America, so anyone who wants to go to America first can contact the airline and change the date.”

“Yes.”

“Then, for those going first, we’ll see you in America. For those going together, we’ll see each other on the day.”

With this, Insu completely wrapped up his affairs in Korea.

Three weeks later, Insu’s family and the rest of Parallel Soft’s development team, excluding Lee Suhyeon, who had flown to America first, began their flight to America from Gimpo Airport.

Fourteen hours later, after arriving at LA Airport, the group first called two taxis and headed to the dormitory where the team members would live.

“It’s Korean.”

The team members, who had come to America for the first time, had been quite intimidated, but once they entered Koreatown and saw Korean signs, they looked extremely glad.

“It’s here.”

The team members carefully looked at the condo building, which seemed somewhat like an apartment and somewhat like a villa, then followed Seongcheol inside while dragging their large suitcases.

“This building only has one entrance. And you also need this keycard to enter through the main entrance. If you lose it, it costs thirty dollars to reissue it, so be careful. And if that happens, call the staff through this intercom.”

Seongcheol was also unfamiliar with American condos, but he was simply passing along what he had learned while traveling back and forth to America several times beforehand.

When they entered, a large, strong-looking Latino man sat in the security office with an expressionless face.

“They’re new residents.”

“Understood.”

Watching Seongcheol speak with the security guard, the team members, including Eunha, became thoroughly intimidated. Korea also had security guards in apartment complexes, but most of them were older men. Here, there was a frightening-looking foreigner, so the feeling was completely different.

“These are the keycards and room keys. Go put your luggage away and come back. I’ll show you where the development studio is.”

He handed the keys to Yoonsu and Juyeon in the lobby. In this neighborhood, it was common for condos to have motel-like lobbies on the first floor.

And because Eunha was still a teenager, they decided to take her all the way to her unit.

Originally, Hyein had considered looking after her in the same house, but Eunha said she wanted to live alone, so they had no choice but to give her a separate room.

And when they thought about it, she was only intimidated because this was a foreign country. LA was a major city in a developed nation, and high school students were old enough to go around and live on their own. Moreover, she would not be living far away, and Seongcheol and Hyein’s home was in the same condo complex, in the building right across from hers. There was no need to be overly anxious.

“It’s here.”

“Ah. Yes!”

The room was quite spacious. It was about five hundred square feet, roughly fifteen pyeong. It seemed too large for someone living alone, but this kind of size was normal for a single-person residence in this area.

It was not that smaller places did not exist, but since they were buying rather than renting, such unusually sized units would have difficulty retaining value and would be troublesome to resell later.

“Then rest for now and come down to the lobby at the right time. We also need to go put our luggage away.”

“Yes!”

Perhaps Eunha had already shaken off all her nervousness, because she was looking around her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠room with an intrigued expression and answered in a lively voice.

Then again, unlike adults who became more cautious after learning various things in life, teenagers around Eunha’s age usually did not fear much. Of course, this varied from person to person.

“She’s spirited.”

As soon as they left Eunha’s unit and stepped into the hallway, Seongcheol said this with a smile. To be honest, he had been worried, but seeing her act that way reassured him.

“She is.”

And in Hyein’s case, Eunha was the daughter of an older woman she was close to, so she had been even more concerned. Her relief was probably no less than Seongcheol’s, and perhaps even greater.

After that, Insu’s family was finally able to head to the house where they would live. Though in the end, it was only a condo in the building right across.

“What do you think?”

Seongcheol, who had come ahead and signed the contract, introduced the house, while Hyein and Insu carefully looked around.

It seemed to be about twenty-five pyeong, similar to or slightly larger than the house they had lived in back in Korea.

“It’s nice.”

Hyein felt relieved and almost reflexively began thinking about how to fill the still-empty house.

“Mr. Suhyeon? We’re here. We’re thinking of going to the development studio at two. Do you want to come with us? Ah. Then we’ll see you then.”

Lee Suhyeon was at home and answered the phone, but he said he had already checked where the development studio was and visited it. His voice sounded happy to receive the call, but also relaxed, as if he liked the place quite a lot. That was a relief.

A little later, when they went to the team members’ condo lobby, they found the team members sitting on the sofa and whispering to each other with uneasy expressions. Seeing how their faces immediately brightened when they saw Seongcheol, Insu momentarily worried whether these people would really be able to adapt properly.

But this was not some extremely dangerous country with terrible public security, and when he thought about Lee Suhyeon, whom his father had spoken to earlier, he also felt he might be worrying too much about fully grown adults.

When they came out on time, the taxi had arrived and was honking.

“Fortunately, the development studio isn’t very far from here, so you should be able to walk. But if you live in America, a car is essential. I recommend getting a driver’s license if possible. Well, you’ll naturally feel that as you live here.”

As Seongcheol got into the taxi and said a few words, he realized he was nagging too much at grown adults and cut himself off there. Strictly speaking, there was not even that much of an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠age gap between them. Even Yoonsu, the youngest among the men, was only about eight years younger than him.

“We’ve arrived.”

The development studio was located on Wilshire Boulevard, one of the central streets of Koreatown.

“It’s here.”

It was a two-story building that looked to sit on about one hundred pyeong of land.

“Dad. Which floor is it?”

“Hm? This whole building is the development studio. See the sign over there?”

At first, Insu had felt slightly disappointed because the building seemed smaller than the commercial building where their Korean development studio had been located. But when he looked just above the entrance that Seongcheol pointed to, he saw a large English sign reading Parallel Soft.

The team ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠members stared at the sign for a moment.

It was originally one of Velocity’s real estate properties in LA. They had once planned to make it a directly operated store, but judged the location to be awkward and had left it unused for a while.

“Now, let’s go inside.”

The group entered the main development room on the first floor.

“Director, are these ours?”

Yoonsu asked while examining the hub on one side, as if the desks, computers, and even the network had already been fully set up. Insu also looked at his father.

“Yes. I think so. Velocity said they would prepare everything…”

When Seongcheol had come before, it had been an empty space, so he had not expected them to set it up this well.

In any case, for Insu, who disliked wasting time, this was satisfying. It seemed they could take only about three days to adapt and then immediately begin development.

“You all remember how to get here, right?”

“Yes…”

“Make sure you remember properly when we go back. And if you happen to get lost, don’t panic too much. Call a taxi from a nearby phone booth.”

When the team members’ responses sounded weak, Seongcheol became unnecessarily worried again and ended up nagging them.

Afterward, on the way back, the team members stopped by a Korean mart together, bought various things they needed, and returned home, bringing their first day in America to an end.

Three days later, the team members safely came to work.

“Did everyone do well? Does anyone have any problems with their computers? Then does anyone have any problems with the data? Then let’s get back to development!”

Some of them looked hollow-eyed, whether because of the unfamiliar environment or because they had still not adjusted to the time difference, but Insu had already shown as much consideration as he could. Fighting fatigue was something each person needed to handle on their own.

Perhaps understanding that, the team members answered without showing any particular dissatisfaction and began focusing on development.

The studio was far more spacious than the previous development room, the separated desks felt stylish, and most importantly, all the computers had been upgraded to 486s. The development environment itself was better than before.

And the change in environment could also be considered encouraging, since they had come to the center of the world and the center of computers and games.

In fact, Park Yoonsu was quite moved.