A Mother's Resolve
The Information Super-Highway.
“Madam, a guest has arrived. Madam?”
Kim Mal-sook, who had been watching the once-empty space fill with furniture and fixtures until it became a proper office, finally turned at Hwang Jae-hong’s repeated calls. She still found it strange to be addressed as “Madam.” After giving birth to Jae-won, people had called her “Jae-won’s mother.” When she first married Yoo Bong-man, she had been “the lady of the Neungseo household.” Further back, there had been a time when she was simply Mal-sook. She had only begun hearing “Madam” last year.
The boy who had only seemed good with computers had started a business with help from the village elders, and before long he was even meeting the president. From that moment, everything about their household changed in an instant. Kim Mal-sook’s own circumstances had undergone a complete transformation. She had quit her job as a door-to-door saleswoman for Daeho Electronics appliances and now spent her days buying land. The new work still felt awkward, but Hwang Jae-hong, who worked for ID Investment—the other company her son had founded—always stepped in to assist. Thanks to him, she had grown confident enough to evaluate properties on her own.
Recently they had purchased a large building on Rodeo Street in Gangnam, Seoul. The first floor was being turned into shops and the second into offices; interior construction was underway, and Kim Mal-sook was overseeing the project. She did not do the physical work herself—she simply watched the contractors, exactly as she was doing now. Still, the presence of the owner made a difference in how diligently everyone worked. Whenever she had questions she could not understand, she asked Hwang Jae-hong, who was always nearby, or phoned Choi Kang-wook, who, though somewhat intimidating, was unfailingly kind. Either way, matters were resolved smoothly.
With her daily life so transformed, the people she met had naturally changed as well. Go Bong-soon, who had just entered the building, was one of the newer acquaintances. She ran a coffee shop across the street.
“Madam, I’m here.”
“Ah, welcome.”
Though Go Bong-soon was two years older, she always addressed Kim Mal-sook respectfully as “Madam.” At first she had not. The change came after she learned that the building had been purchased outright rather than rented, and again when she discovered that Kim Mal-sook was Yoo Jae-won’s mother. Usually it was Go Bong-soon who sought Kim Mal-sook out, always bringing a slice of cake and coffee. Feeling guilty about accepting the gifts, Kim Mal-sook would order coffee for all the workers on site and share it with them. Innocent as she was, she assumed Go Bong-soon was simply being friendly in hopes of selling more coffee.
Today, however, Go Bong-soon’s manner was different.
“Please take a look at this.”
Go Bong-soon pulled something from her small handbag and held it out. “Photographs?”
They were photographs, and every one of them showed a beautifully dressed young woman who looked like the cherished youngest daughter of a wealthy family. The girl wore fine clothes that would never be seen in the countryside, and she was quite pretty. Each picture captured her in a different pose. She appeared two to four years older than Yoo Jae-won.
“What is this?”
“Well, it seems people have heard that I’m close to you, Madam. They’ve been begging me to introduce their daughters. I couldn’t refuse outright, so I brought these along.”
As she spoke, Go Bong-soon pointed to each photograph and recited the girl’s family background in detail. This one was the daughter of the president of Daemyung Construction; that one was the granddaughter of the chairman of Seongyeong Construction. Even someone as guileless as Kim Mal-sook could understand what was happening. These families wanted their daughters to meet her son.
“Goodness, how old is our Jae-won that we’re already talking about matches? He’s only just entering middle school.”
Kim Mal-sook waved her hands and pushed the photographs back toward Go Bong-soon.
“Madam, in chaebol families they arrange matches before the children are even born. Your son may not have reached that level yet, but securing a solid connection through marriage now would make future business dealings far easier.”
Go Bong-soon tried to persuade her with gentle words.
“I was taught to stand on my own two feet. Jae-won grew up the same way. More than anything, I don’t want to force a match without knowing how he feels.”
Kim Mal-sook did not waver. Jae-won had grown up on his own. It saddened her that the boy who once clung to her had suddenly left her embrace, yet she was also proud that he was already running major businesses between Korea and the United States.
“And if you bring anything like this again, I won’t see you anymore.”
Trusting her son completely, Kim Mal-sook spoke with finality. Standing beside her, Hwang Jae-hong silently resolved to keep every matchmaker away from the madam from now on.
At the same moment—
“Doom-doom, doom-doom-doom-doom~! Doom-doom, doom-doom-doom-doom~!”
Yoo Jae-won hummed a tune, unaware that he might soon acquire a fiancée he had never asked for. His meeting with id Software had gone well. With the legendary Doom confirmed as their next title, the game market this winter—or at latest early next year—would once again be dominated by id Software. Doom was more than a hit; it was certain to become an enormous success. The game had been ported not only to PCs but to video game consoles and all manner of computer systems. Moreover, the id Software that would now develop Doom was nothing like the company of his previous life. They enjoyed full support from hardware manufacturers and possessed tremendous capital. Thanks to the success of Wolfenstein, id Software’s reputation had soared, making it far easier to recruit talented developers. John Carmack had nearly tripled the team size, assembling a force of thirty people. Wolfenstein had been made by eight or ten; Doom would be made by three times that number. With Yoo Jae-won himself conducting meticulous reviews, the final quality of Doom would be incomparable to the original.
After finishing his work at id Software, he was on his way to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport for his next destination, and the cheerful mood was only natural.
“Sir, what song is that?”
Kim Dae-seok asked quietly from the seat beside him; apparently Yoo Jae-won’s humming had been rather loud.
“This song… well…”
Yoo Jae-won started to explain enthusiastically, then stopped short. The tune he had been humming was a representative idol song from roughly twenty-five years in the future. Its catchy “doom-doom” chorus had been extremely addictive. The track he had just sung belonged to the idol group Pink Velvet and had been a massive hit. It was so deeply lodged in his memory that “Doom” immediately brought “doom-doom” to mind.
“It’s not an official song. I was just humming it because I like it.”
Explaining an idol song to someone in the present would be impossible, so he simply glossed over it.
“We’ve arrived.”
Fortunately, they reached the airport just then. The brief conversation ended as they moved to board their connecting flight to Manhattan.
Manhattan—the borough with the highest population density in New York. It encompassed the islands in the Hudson River plus several additional blocks to the north. Its most famous feature was Wall Street in southern Manhattan, lined with countless skyscrapers and home to numerous financial firms. The New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and the American Stock Exchange all had their headquarters there.
The flagship store of ID Technology in Manhattan occupied a prime location. Situated near Central Park, one of the most concentrated areas in Manhattan, it had instantly become a neighborhood landmark. Its forward-thinking interior design and the fact that visitors could try the highly sought-after Egg PC on the spot added to its appeal. Most praised of all was the service allowing up to ten free prints of any file created with ID Office—a boon for students on tight budgets and office workers needing quick documents.
“We sincerely welcome your visit, sir.”
Thanks to the store’s success, the Manhattan branch manager and his executives greeted Yoo Jae-won with confident posture.
“Thank you for the warm welcome. From now on, though, there’s no need for everyone to come out like this.”
While far lighter than the full chaebol-style reception common in Korea, even this display struck Yoo Jae-won as excessive formality.
“Ah, understood.”
“Even so, running things smoothly despite the distance from headquarters must have been difficult. I’m relieved to see how well you’ve managed. I look forward to your continued efforts.”
“You’re too kind! It’s only what we should be doing.”
Yoo Jae-won had a gift for putting people at ease. Guided by the manager, he and his party entered the flagship store. The overall atmosphere matched the Silicon Valley location—glass and natural wood combined with the Egg PCs to create a warm yet futuristic feel. The sense of space, however, differed. The Silicon Valley store was square and wide, while this one stretched long and narrow, a result of Manhattan’s typical building layout with narrow entrances and deep interiors.
Several customers inside recognized Yoo Jae-won. The New Year’s event in San Francisco had been broadcast nationwide and around the world, and the security challenge that followed had made his face known globally. In the twenty-first century people would have followed him with smartphone cameras, but this was still an era when film cameras were the norm, so no one trailed after him taking pictures.
“It’s nice.”
Though the two flagship stores stood at opposite ends of the country, their operations and staff attitudes were identical. They shared ID Technology’s open corporate culture. There were no signs of embezzlement or misconduct. Base salaries were higher than at other stores, and employees who worked hard received tangible incentives. Having experienced this firsthand, the staff worked with genuine dedication. The sight was deeply satisfying.