Testing the Limits
In the early morning, a gym filled with the grunts of iron being pumped and clanked.
I drove the barbell on the bench press upward with all my strength.
Huff—!
"Hoo, hoo…"
I racked the bar and drew in ragged breaths.
Bench press, 90 kilograms. Up to this point, I’d managed to rise with proper form, but for several days now, I’d been unable to break through the wall at 95.
Feels like I could lift more, but then the strength just cuts out all at once.
As I wiped the sweat from my face and tilted my head, Zero spoke.
「That is how exercise works. Until the intermediate level, growth comes quickly, but stagnation is inevitable at the threshold of becoming advanced. The muscles require time to adapt.」
I draped the towel around my neck, sat on the bench, and took a sip of water.
Time for the muscles to adapt…
Maybe my business, and even my life, were in exactly that kind of phase too.
I’d grown explosively, but now was the time to catch my breath before moving on to the next stage.
Zero. The Seongsam Electronics meeting’s soon, right? The one where Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung called all the executives in.
「Correct. It will begin at 9:00 a.m. Korean time, exactly thirty minutes from now, in the large conference room of the Seocho headquarters.」
Through Zero, I already knew Seongsam Electronics’ internal changes and schedule in detail.
Well… the result of the meeting’s obvious, isn’t it?
「Yes. As soon as it ends, there will be a sweeping round of personnel transfers and organizational restructuring. The Future Innovation Office will be elevated to a direct organization under the Vice Chairman, and their influence will increase accordingly. Also, the moment the meeting ends, a call will go out to Another Technology. However.」
However?
「The Wireless Business Division, the Future Innovation Office’s rival, will not step aside so easily. They are one of Seongsam Electronics’ founding pillars and currently the power brokers responsible for more than half of the group’s revenue.」
Power brokers. In other words, the old guard.
If they won’t step aside easily, then what are they going to do?
「As a means of keeping the Future Innovation Office in check, they will try to 'test' Another Technology, which the Future Innovation Office highly values.」
…Test me?
As I frowned in confusion, Zero began to explain.
「Yes. That test is…」
At the same time, in the large conference room of Building C at Seongsam Town, Seocho, Seoul.
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The air in the conference room was heavy, the silence so dense it was almost suffocating.
Normally there would have been the murmur of executives or the sound of assistants’ footsteps, but today was different.
Security personnel had been stationed in the hallway outside the room, so only executives could enter, and even the journalists who usually followed Seongsam’s every move had been strictly barred.
A full convocation of Seongsam Electronics’ executives.
With the second emergency summons in the company’s history, nobody could afford to relax.
"Hmm…"
"Mm…"
Inside the room, dozens of presidents and senior executives held their breath and stared straight ahead.
At the place their gaze all converged on, in the seat of honor, sat Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung.
One of the executives looked at him and thought,
Something… feels different from usual.
Despite being the vice chairman, Lee Jaeyoung had always seemed somewhat fragile, overshadowed by his father’s shadow.
In fact, his personality had been a little soft as well.
But today, he seemed different.
His eyes flashed behind his glasses. His lips were pressed into a hard line. And there was even a cold aura about him that overwhelmed the entire room.
He looked as though Chairman Lee Geonhu in his prime had possessed him.
It was the same atmosphere as when Chairman Lee Geonhu summoned all executives in Germany back in ’93…
The executive still remembered that meeting, the one where Chairman Lee Geonhu had barked, "Change everything except your wife and your kids!"
That was when it happened.
─ Creak.
Lee Jaeyoung slowly pulled the microphone closer. A thin layer of static rippled through the speakers and spread across the conference room.
[I will begin the meeting. Everyone is busy, so I’ll get straight to the point.]
Lee Jaeyoung opened his mouth.
[Over the last several days, I read the reports submitted by the Wireless Business Division and the Future Innovation Office all through the night. Both reports were written with genuine concern and love for Seongsam Electronics. I assume the other executives here are also well aware that the Wireless Business Division and the Future Innovation Office are currently at odds.]
His gaze swept left to the head of the Wireless Business Division, Senior Executive Choi, and right to Kim Hyeoncheol, the head of the Future Innovation Office.
[What I understand the Wireless Business Division is arguing is this. Correct me if I’m wrong. We should focus on the hardware we’re already strong in, and although we’re also working with Google on software, we should empower our in-house developers. Also, since we can’t keep using Google’s OS forever, we should continue developing our own 'Bada OS' and install it in the smartphones we’ll release in the future. Is that correct?]
"Yes, that’s correct."
Senior Executive Choi of the Wireless Business Division nodded as he answered.
He was glad that Lee Jaeyoung had brought up the Wireless Business Division first, but at the same time he felt tense.
"Vice Chairman, of course, that will take time. But even if it takes time and costs a lot, building and perfecting our own system is something Chairman Lee has always emphasized."
Senior Executive Choi mentioned the Chairman.
Though he was absent from the room, he was still the only person in the company ranked above Lee Jaeyoung.
[Correct. That is how we have become number one in the world so far. It’s an undeniable fact.]
At the words "number one in the world," Choi’s shoulders straightened a little.
[But.]
Lee Jaeyoung’s voice dropped a shade lower.
[That was the right answer yesterday. It is not necessarily the right answer tomorrow.]
"…?"
[Why is Nokia faltering? Why did Motorola fall? Because they couldn’t build machines? Because they lacked patents? No. They collapsed because they refused to change. Right now, we are walking the same road.]
Lee Jaeyoung lifted the stack of reports.
[The iPhone will be entering Korea soon. As early as June this year, and no later than July. But what have we prepared? Romnia, with good specs but no optimization? Phones that play DMB? Is that the 'innovation' consumers want?]
Thwack—!
Lee Jaeyoung hurled the Wireless Business Division’s report onto the floor.
The executives’ faces froze in shock.
[Seongsam Electronics is a master of hardware. We make the best semiconductors in the world, and we pride ourselves on quality that no one else can match. We caught up to Japan, which had been ahead of us, through blood and sweat, and we trampled China as it came chasing after us. But software? To speak frankly, it is abysmal. On software, we are the ones who have to learn from others.]
"…Vice Chairman, our Seongsam Electronics has outstanding talent—"
[We do have outstanding talent. I acknowledge their skill and passion. But even they have limits. Installing Google’s OS on our new smartphone and optimizing it could take months. By then, the iPhone will already be in Korea. It will seize the market and dominate it.]
"…"
[Time is not on our side. Right now, we should be thinking about reality, not pride. If another company’s or another developer’s technology is better than ours, then we should invest in them and actively receive their help. That is my judgment.]
The executives around the table lowered their heads.
None of them had expected Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung to attack the Wireless Business Division head so openly.
Whatever had happened, Lee Jaeyoung was clearly different now.
[Effective today, the Future Innovation Office will be elevated to a direct organization under the Vice Chairman. And for this 'strategy against Apple,' I am entrusting all authority over next-generation smartphone development to Director Kim Hyeoncheol.]
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It was a startling appointment. Of course everyone knew the Future Innovation Office was part of Lee Jaeyoung’s line, but to assign them so directly to a project with the fate of the entire group on the line…
And in doing so, he was issuing a warning to the entrenched Wireless Business Division and signaling a full-scale change in the company’s culture.
[Senior Executive Choi.]
"…Yes, Vice Chairman."
Senior Executive Choi, head of the Wireless Business Division, answered with a stiff expression.
[Mobilize every person and every resource in the Wireless Business Division to support the Future Innovation Office. I understand it may sting your pride, but this is not a request. It is an order.]
"…"
[If you cannot follow it, leave this conference room right now. My father—Chairman Lee Geonhu—used to say, 'Those who do not change are not merely doomed; they rot the organization from within.' I, too, have no intention of keeping anyone who drags us down at my side for even a second.]
Choi bit his lip. It truly was infuriating.
To think that they, who had devoted their whole lives to building the Seongsam Electronics legend, would have to serve as errand boys for the Future Innovation Office, which was no different from a stone rolling in from nowhere.
But…
He couldn’t refuse Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung’s order.
The man standing before him now was not the gentle vice chairman of the past.
The cold fear that refusal would mean losing his head hung in the air.
"…Understood. We will also do our utmost to follow the Vice Chairman’s vision."
Choi bowed his head.
Even so, he couldn’t back down that easily.
So he opened his mouth, staking the last of his pride on the words.
"Vice Chairman, however, I do have one request."
[Go ahead.]
"I also read the Future Innovation Office’s report. So I already understand how they intend to cooperate. But there is one American company they recommend with unusual force… a place called 'Another Technology.' That company needs to be verified first."
Choi’s eyes flashed sharply.
"From what I hear, it’s just a newly born startup. We can’t possibly include a small outfit like that in Seongsam Electronics’ new smartphone business without proper verification."
"…You say it hasn’t been verified? Right now Another Technology is the only company Apple has opened its API to—"
As Director Kim Hyeoncheol began to protest in disbelief, Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung raised a hand and cut him off.
[Director Kim, Senior Executive Choi is speaking right now.]
"…I apologize."
[Please continue, Senior Executive Choi.]
Choi went on.
[As I mentioned, Another Technology is a small startup that only opened its doors at the end of last year. Cooperating with a company like that is not a matter of my pride; it is a matter of Seongsam’s quality.]
There was some truth to his words.
[And so?]
"I want to test Another Technology."
[Test?]
"Yes. Ask them to prove whether they truly have the right to form a partnership with Seongsam Electronics, and to demonstrate their development and planning capabilities."
Choi took a breath, then looked around the room and spoke clearly.
"We don’t need a mere token application to make the brochure look full. We need a definite 'reason'—the reason consumers should buy Seongsam smartphones instead of Apple’s. Ask them to bring us the software that provides that answer."
Choi turned his eyes to Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung.
"If they show us that, then I will recognize them without a single complaint and support the Future Innovation Office."
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For a moment, silence settled over the conference room. Lee Jaeyoung’s gaze quietly shifted to Director Kim Hyeoncheol.
That look was asking one question: Are you confident?
Kim Hyeoncheol swallowed hard.
Honestly, I’m worried.
Another Technology was already thriving in Apple’s ecosystem, and there was no guarantee they would agree to Seongsam’s so-called test.
They might well feel insulted and blow the whole thing up.
But I can’t back down here.
If I hesitated now, the Wireless Business Division would tear me apart, saying, "Are you avoiding it because you’re not confident?"
It was a dirty move from Senior Executive Choi, but there was no way around it.
Kim Hyeoncheol gave Lee Jaeyoung a short but firm nod.
[Very well.]
Confirming Kim Hyeoncheol’s answer, Lee Jaeyoung immediately spoke.
[Senior Executive Choi’s point is reasonable, so we’ll offer them a test. However, if they prove they possess sufficient technical capability, then you, Choi, will also have to honor your promise.]
"I will keep that in mind."
Thus ended the most important first agenda item of the meeting.
After finishing my workout and returning home.
「Master. The Seongsam Electronics meeting has just ended.」
How did it go?
「As I told you earlier, the test was decided under Senior Executive Choi’s initiative. An official proposal will soon come through the Future Innovation Office.」
Hmm… so what exactly does Seongsam want from me? They called it a test, so they must want something specific.
「Rather than a concrete technical criterion, they are expected to demand an application that can lure consumers into choosing a Seongsam smartphone instead of an Apple one.」
So they wanted me to make a killer app—a reason people would have to buy Seongsam’s smartphone instead of the iPhone.
In the end, they really were trying to test me.
Heh.
I let out a laugh before I even realized it. It was almost absurd.
Steve Jobs was already desperate to have me on his side, and now these people wanted to test me?
Reject it.
I said it flatly, as if there were no reason to even consider it.
What do I have to lose? If it’s not them, I’ll just join forces with Apple instead. Frankly, if I back Apple all the way, Seongsam will be pushed out of the smartphone market forever.
「Understood.」
Of course, I didn’t actually want Seongsam to collapse.
Seongsam would become an excellent source of funding for me going forward, and in many ways a very useful partner in both domestic and overseas business.
But precisely because of that, I needed to teach them their place without leaving any doubt.
Then, a little later.
「Master. I have a call from Director Kim Hyeoncheol of the Seongsam Electronics Future Innovation Office.」
What’s he saying? He’s angry because we said we weren’t doing the test?
「No. He is being extremely polite and asking for reconsideration.」
At Zero’s unexpected answer, I opened my eyes a little wider.
The director himself?
「Yes. He is calling through the executive secretary’s line and making a sincere plea.」
Zero relayed Kim Hyeoncheol’s conversation in real time.
「'Secretary, first of all, I would like to offer a sincere apology for the discourtesy we committed toward Another Technology because of an internal communication error.'」
Kim Hyeoncheol’s voice was calm, but the weight in it was unmistakable.
「'The Wireless Business Division’s use of the word "test" was inappropriate. However, Seongsam Electronics is such a large and conservative organization that, in order to introduce external technology, we need a "procedure" that can convince the executives. I sincerely ask that you understand this point.'」
「…」
「'I will take responsibility and make this happen. This is not merely an evaluation meeting. It will be a place where Another Technology can prove its worth as an equal partner, not as a subcontractor to Seongsam. Please, I beg you to convey my sincerity to the CEO.'」
There was desperation dripping from his voice.
He kept trying to persuade me after that, and after listening for a while, I almost started feeling sorry for him.
Then again, Director Kim Hyeoncheol was someone who already understood the value of Another Technology to a certain extent; his heart probably really was burning up inside.
Losing an opportunity to the Wireless Business Division. He must have felt like his insides were being scorched.
Hmm.
Hearing him lower himself that much, my earlier irritation cooled a little. At the same time, a strange sense of superiority welled up.
The director of one of the biggest corporations in South Korea, pleading with a startup whose face he didn’t even know.
For Director Kim Hyeoncheol’s sake, maybe I should show some restraint.
I sat up in bed and clicked my tongue.
Fine, if you’re going to ask so nicely.
I said it as though granting a favor.
Since they’ve already bent the knee, it might not be a bad time to make the hierarchy clear. Let’s call it not a test, but a lesson.
A strange competitive fire began to burn in me.
The prideful Wireless Business Division of one of South Korea’s top conglomerates, and the picture of me pressing their noses flat into the dirt until they had no choice but to acknowledge me.
Not bad at all.
Let them lower their guard by thinking they’re the ones testing me, then carve myself into them as an absolutely necessary presence.
While I was thinking, Zero said,
「As expected, Master, you truly do have the blood of a businessman flowing through you.」
Do I?
「Yes. A normal developer would have found it troublesome and prideful enough to refuse, but you seem to be enjoying this instead.」
It was true that my pride had been bruised…
「Then shall I summon Vincent to Korea so he can meet Seongsam Electronics as your representative?」
No, let’s make it a little more dramatic.
I got out of bed and sat down at my desk. As I turned on the computer, I said to Zero,
You can buy an iPhone from Hong Kong, right?
「Yes.」
Then buy one right now and have it delivered to my house. I’ll download my new application onto that iPhone and send it to Seongsam Electronics.
「You intend to send them the competitor’s device itself, not just a file?」
Yeah. Once they actually use the app themselves, they’ll understand. They’ll see how huge the impact would be if my new app were on an iPhone instead of one of their own phones. And if they try to pull the app off the iPhone, it’ll delete itself immediately. How about it? Sounds good?
To my question, Zero answered at once.
「That would be the most unmistakable 'show of force' possible. For Seongsam Electronics, which must make the next smartphone a success at all costs, it will be a shock and awe tactic.」
That was exactly what I wanted.
I’ll make them see it with their own eyes and feel it on their skin. The fear that if they cross me, my application will end up in Apple’s hands.
There were going to be plenty of reasons for me to work with Seongsam in the future, so I might as well set the pecking order from the very beginning.
Just imagining it was fun.
The solemn conference room where Seongsam Electronics’ executives were gathered, and right in the center of the table…
When they found an iPhone with my app downloaded onto it sitting there all by itself, what kind of expressions would they make?
And since I’m going out of my way to even accept their test, the bill should get expensive.
Of course it should.