Family Gathering: Chairman's Pro Go Debut and 2077's Dawn
Family gathering or whatever... Sure, the chairman's moves are important if they're important, but announcing he's debuting as a pro Go player? It's a bit...
Just how much does this old man love Go?
The more I learn, the more absurd it gets. At this point, he should've just aimed to be a pro Go player from the start instead of running a conglomerate.
Nah, he's probably got that ghost proxy playing Go king for him right now. His real skills wouldn't cut it.
Sheesh. I never saw it coming to this.
Anyway, it's not bad for me... probably.
I clapped hard. Even if I couldn't quite wrap my head around it or buy into it, if it's something the chairman enjoys, giving the biggest applause is only natural.
Everyone else seemed to think the same, clapping like their lives depended on it. Hell, it felt like all of Pyongyang was shaking—with a bit of exaggeration. Tens of thousands of people going at it? My ears were ringing for real.
How long do we have to keep this up?
You know how in musicals or whatever, you get articles like '17-minute standing ovation'? Yeah, the applause just kept echoing endlessly. No one dared stop first or sit down. So we had to keep clapping.
"Everyone's congratulations feel great. Ha ha ha ha!"
Grandpa grinned ear to ear, clapping along, then after about five minutes, raised both hands above his head in a gesture to sit. Even then, few actually stopped and sat. My aunts rubbed their wrists as they sat, then my sisters and I followed, and only then did the applause truly start to die down.
So even the Goryeo Group chairman gets infinite applause.
Good thing he signaled to stop, or we'd have been clapping for 10 or 15 minutes straight.
—Amid your busy schedules, thank you all for taking the time to visit. Allow me to express my gratitude on this occasion. Today—
The intro video ended, and a woman stepped up to the podium, grabbing the mic. She had a sleek, killer figure and a pretty face—thought she was an announcer at first, but nope, turns out she was one of the presidents from our countless subsidiaries. They probably sent up the hottest one among them.
Finally, the real presentations begin.
That hologram intro was just the opener. The main event starts now.
She expanded on the intro video, projecting holograms in the air and adding detailed annotations as she spoke. Unlike the fiery applause from the earlier video, the hall was dead silent now.
A bit boring.
Well, it wasn't exactly a dopamine rush to begin with, so unavoidable. Still, just sitting and listening was tough.
At least the world affairs section was worth it—breaking down Asia's current state, Europe's situation, what America's up to, and tying it all to Goryeo Group's future direction.
Japan reconstruction, huh...
One highlight: plans for Japan's rebuild. Japan was technically a WW3 victor, so their treatment was way better than the Twenty Chinese States. The issue was the economy—they got hit with the Nankai Trough megaquake, Mt. Fuji eruption, Tokyo straight quake in sequence, plus massive missile barrages from China. The country collapsed once.
They scraped together strength to rebuild the capital and push national recovery, but even 50 years later, it's not fully back.
The lady prez emphasized the need to accelerate Japan's reconstruction. But don't get it twisted—it's not charity. High-interest loans, straight up. Bluntly, it's exploiting them like Shanghai, paying 15-20% of annual GDP to Goryeo Group and Korea as "reparations." Just rebranded as loan interest. Or siphoned through other concessions.
2077's gonna be eventful.
December 31, 2076, 11:59 PM. Everything halted. A massive countdown appeared overhead. Started at 59, ticking down into the 40s.
New Year's countdown had begun.
Finally... 2077...! The main storyline kicks off now!
I'm excited. Wonder what wild shit awaits. My old route's light-years away already, so most of what's coming is brand new.
But no worries. I'm Ko Mu-yeol, after all. Goryeo Group's eldest grandson, Ko Mu-yeol.
Worries and fears? Not my problem. Someone else's. I just look forward to it.
How delicious the fruit before me will be.
+++
"Huuu..."
"Good work."
"Ah, Min... I mean, Aunt."
Go Min-young handed me a drink with a sly smile. Probably no one else makes this woman smile like that.
"Calling me by name even with others around? I don't mind."
"No way... That wouldn't do."
"Hee hee."
She laughed happily, patting my back. It was the kind of aunt-to-nephew gesture, but with a naughty edge. Her hand slid down subtly, brushing my ass.
"You did great on the presentation. My nephew needs that kind of guts. Next year... no, this year, I'm looking forward to it?"
"Ha ha... Presentation..."
She says I did well, but I'm still deflated. The scale difference was insane.
Take Go Min-ji, whom I'd been pounding like crazy earlier—her presentation alone started at the 'trillion' unit, total easily surpassing quadrillions. And that's just one of her businesses. Add 'em up, and it's nation-sized.
No wonder she crashed an aircraft carrier for pirate shit. Even after that, money's left over.
Everyone else was similar. Some even crossed ten quadrillion. Like Go Ha-young handling finance...
Me? Total 16 trillion. Pathetic.
Thought I'd done pretty good prepping, but presenting it...
Frog in a well. Sure, from hundreds of billions to trillions in four months is a story, but still too puny. I'm owner family too.
I felt the side-eyes mid-presentation, heads tilting like Did we hear that right? How do you keep talking?
Managed to finish somehow... but it was dizzying.
Without family cheers and Grandpa's support, I'd have been shaking from shame. Tens of thousands staring blankly, thinking That's owner family? Head-spinning.
Luckily, family still saw me as impressive. While execs looked bored or skeptical, family listened intently. Grandpa stood and clapped first when I finished.
Chairman does that—who stays seated? Everyone stood, clapping. One of the most dramatic moments of my life. Like Chuseok unveiling to branches, or today.
Grandpa always backed me hard. If original Ko Mu-yeol hadn't been a drugged-up fuckup, I'd be doing way more in Goryeo Group now.
"Mu-yeol, scale doesn't matter."
"..."
Aunts like Go Min-young supported me. Still comforting me now, sorta.
"Who you are is what counts."
"Aunt..."
"You're family, sharing our blood, right?"
She smiled warmly, glanced around—no eyes—then kissed me. Feeling those soft lips overlap, I instinctively tried to slip my tongue in, but she pulled away. Regret hit.
"And my husband too."
"...Already husband?"
"Of course."
Checked around again, kissed me once more. Then walked off quick. My heart raced for the first time in ages.
Is this... family?
*Ding.*
Text from Go Min-ji, way ahead. She turned, waved at me.
Huh.
Go Min-ji comforting me too? Family's family, after all.
Well, with all the dick she's taken.
We've fucked countless times. Today alone, who knows how many loads.
"Anyway, that prick who acts all tsun-tsun but inside is even mo—"
ekekekeke
"..."
Go Min-ji, you're in for it.