The Call That Changed Everything

"...Do you mean you want the Vice Chairman to speak with him directly?"

Kim Hyeoncheol asked again, flustered, and Lee Jaeyoung shrugged.

"When Vincent’s company came to Korea before, our schedules didn’t line up, so we never even got the chance to meet face-to-face. I’ll call him to apologize for that first, maybe exchange some pleasantries, and then naturally work the app into the conversation."

"But for the Vice Chairman to step in personally, it’s a matter of stature..."

"This isn't the time to worry about stature. The company's about to go under."

The company was about to go under.

Anyone could say those words, but coming from the Vice Chairman, they carried a different weight.

No matter how lightly he said it, Kim Hyeoncheol knew there wasn’t the slightest hint of a joke in it.

"Crazy Bird has already launched on Apple's App Store, so our monopoly is gone, but we can still try asking whether they’d be willing to release it on the Android Market too... something like that. We can talk about other things as well."

"...Understood. I’ll pass along the number."

Kim Hyeoncheol nodded and stood.

As he walked toward the door, Lee Jaeyoung’s voice came from behind him.

"Director Kim."

"Yes, Vice Chairman."

"This time, as always, and in the future too—when you’re working and come to a decision that needs my help, don’t hesitate. Tell me right away."

"..."

"If there’s something ambiguous enough that it’s hard to judge on your own, or a knot too difficult to untie, that’s what I’m here for. That’s why I get paid more than you, Director. To support my subordinates, and to take responsibility."

Kim Hyeoncheol stood still for a moment.

Then he turned back and bowed deeply.

"...I’ll keep that in mind. And Another Tech’s number is..."

He wrote down Another Technology’s secretary office number for Lee Jaeyoung.

Then he bowed once more and left the room.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

When the heaviest atmosphere in Seongsam Electronics’ history hung over the company...

Kim Dohyun, the man who could be called the source of that atmosphere, was enjoying himself at his own pace.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"Student Kim Dohyun, here’s the approval confirmation for the band club."

The department assistant handed me a sheet of paper.

"And Professor Ahn Su-yeon agreed to serve as the club advisor... that was unexpected. Professor Ahn doesn’t usually take on club advisorships."

"I asked her after class, and she kindly said yes."

Kindly... was that the right word?

Actually, when I went to see Professor Ahn Su-yeon after class, she looked utterly startled the moment she saw me.

"Professor?"

"...S-Student Kim Dohyun? What brings you here? If it’s about the report we talked about in the lab before, I’m still working on the research..."

"Huh? No, that’s not it."

"?"

"Could you maybe be the advisor for my band club?"

"...A band?"

"Yes. I’m planning to do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a one-man band, but the rules require a faculty advisor. There won’t be anything difficult for you to do, and the only professor I know well enough to ask is you, Professor Ahn Su-yeon... so I’d really appreciate it."

I said it as politely as I could.

Then the professor said, "Y-Yes, yes! I’ll do it!" and signed the club paperwork immediately without even looking at it.

For some reason, it felt like she was avoiding me.

Well... I got the signature, so whatever.

As long as it works out, that’s what matters.

Ever since I’d seen the upperclassmen perform during freshman orientation, I’d had the thought that I wanted to play an instrument onstage at least once.

After all, wasn’t a band one of the great dreams of college life?

But joining an existing band club would’ve been too much trouble.

I’d have to audition, attend weekly ensemble practices, and then follow them up with drinking parties and dinners...

It’s not that I hated those things, exactly, but I had my own schedule, and trying to keep up with every one of them sounded exhausting.

So I figured it’d be better to make my own.

In principle, a club needed at least four members.

But there was an academic regulation allowing even a one-person club to be founded if it had faculty approval.

While I was thinking about it, the assistant said cautiously,

"Student Kim Dohyun, well... you have a good reputation in the department, so I’m not worried, but I do hope you’ll manage the club well."

"Manage it?"

"Yes. As you know, the Computer Science Department’s band group was disbanded last year because it couldn’t maintain enough members."

That was true.

The Computer Science band, Hello World, had disbanded when its only remaining member graduated last year.

"You’ve basically brought it back to life, but if the club loses members again this time, or if it has no activity record and gets shut down, then the school may never approve a Computer Science band again."

I already knew that.

"You don’t have to recruit only from our department, so try bringing in friends from other majors and growing the club a bit. The club room is pretty spacious, so it’d be a shame for one person to use it alone. I’m a Computer Science alum myself, after all... it’d be a pity for a club to disappear forever."

"Yes, thank you for your concern."

"And don’t forget to submit the activity report once a month. It needs the advisor’s signature, okay?"

"Yes."

I gave a light nod and left the department office.

With the folder tucked under my arm, I headed for the student union building. My steps were light.

Recruiting members, huh. If I go around handing out pamphlets and begging people to join, that’ll look pretty lame... though honestly, I’d kind of like to stay solo for a while. If I want to promote the band that way, maybe the only option is to become famous on my own.

If I played drums, recorded that; played guitar, recorded that; did the keyboards and any other instruments the same way, and then mixed everything into a song...

Yeah, that might actually work.

If I make my own songs like that, and later create a rhythm game and put my originals in it, that’d be a great way to promote them too.

Rhythm games weren’t as explosive as Crazy Bird, but they were still a genre that had slammed into the smartphone market like a truck.

Of course, if I was going to handle drums through keyboards all by myself, I’d have to think seriously about which artist I should download.

And if I make a band promo video and spread it around on social media, that might not be bad either.

Social media... hmm.

Before smartphones really take over Korea, I should probably build a social platform too.

Right now, the most famous SNS in the world was Facebook.

In Korea, there was Cyworld, but unfortunately, it was destined to die a natural death because it couldn’t keep up with the tide of the world.

And Facebook, the moment smartphones arrived in Korea, would become hugely popular there too.

But I knew an SNS that could crush Facebook.

Instagram.

If I built and ran Instagram, promoting a band would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.

All I’d have to do was tune the exposure algorithm in my favor.

Some people might call that sneaky or underhanded, but that’s the power of someone who owns the platform.

The band itself was part of my youth, a hobby I could set aside for now, but beyond that, I’d also be able to decide which other celebrities to boost and which to bury.

Not just in Korea, but across the entire global entertainment industry, I’d be able to pull the strings.

The hardest part of entertainment is promotion, and that’s the easiest thing for me.

That didn’t mean I was going to enter the entertainment business.

I wasn’t going to raise stars. I was going to own the stage they performed on.

There was no need to go out of my way to flatter entertainers. In the end, the whole world of entertainment would be dancing in the palm of my hand anyway.

In any case, I decided I’d think about that later.

For now, it was time for class, so I headed toward the lecture hall.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

While Kim Dohyun was calmly entertaining himself with one thought after another...

At the same moment, in Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung’s office at Seongsam Electronics,

after Kim Hyeoncheol left, Lee Jaeyoung rested his chin in his hand and fell into thought for a long while.

There’s no problem with me calling Another Technology.

Pride? That kind of thing only got in the way of business.

The only issue was...

...to be honest, we're not that attractive of a company to Another Technology.

That wasn’t defeatism.

Lee Jaeyoung wasn’t the sort of man to indulge in such weak thoughts.

It was something far colder, far more terrifyingly realistic.

Another Technology has already captured the giant market that is Apple.

By contrast, Seongsam’s push for the Android camp? It was still at the crawling stage.

Google, the supergiant corporation, had allied with Seongsam Electronics, but that was where it ended.

The Android camp was still practically barren, and from Another Technology’s perspective, with its good relationship with Apple, Seongsam was not an attractive partner.

Unfortunately.

There is already a contract with Another Technology... but that’s only temporary.

From Another Technology’s point of view, they could simply choose not to launch Crazy Bird on Android at all and keep it exclusive to Apple instead.

Considering how many times Director Kim Hyeoncheol had called without getting an answer, that seemed entirely possible.

And not just Crazy Bird.

Similar games, other applications—those too could all be released only for Apple.

They might even negotiate with Apple for that. Since they won’t release their apps on Android, they’d ask for compensation in return.

And if he were Steve Jobson, he would welcome a move like that from Another Technology, one that drew a clean line between them and Android.

Jobson hates Android.

Everyone who knew anything knew that Steve Jobson hated Android.

There was even a famous story that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the moment Google created Android, Jobson slammed the table at a board meeting and yelled, "Those goddamn Google bastards stole my Apple! They stole my soul! Spend all forty billion dollars Apple has and develop nukes! Before I die, I’ll start a nuclear war with those nukes for sure! I’ll blow up Google’s headquarters!!!"

Before Google created Android, their relationship had actually been pretty good. Google’s Eric Schmidt had even served on Apple’s board of directors.

Anyway.

So if Another Technology told him they wanted to attack Android... Jobson might genuinely throw every resource he had behind it.

And as Another Technology’s apps were released one by one and those apps became the talk of the town, Apple’s smartphone market share would rise while Seongsam Electronics’ share would fall.

And every time that share slipped away, Seongsam Electronics would suffer the pain of being cut open and carved down to the bone.

So I have to smooth things over with Another Technology. Which means I need to give them something... but what?

And yet, there was nothing he could offer.

Money? They were already bringing in revenue steadily. Maybe even their operating margin would surpass Seongsam’s.

Technical support? Their software technology was above theirs.

Hardware? If they were already in an intimate relationship with Apple, would they really need Seongsam’s hardware?

If he called Vincent, the head of Another Technology, directly, what on earth could he possibly put on the table to win him over?

"Hmm..."

Lee Jaeyoung’s fingers tapped against ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the desk, tap, tap.

The Vice Chairman of Korea’s number one conglomerate was deep in thought, facing a call with a startup company.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"'Today, Mom died. Or maybe it was yesterday; I’m not sure.' This line alone is one you’ve probably heard even if you’ve never read The Stranger..."

While I was attending a liberal arts lecture...

Zero spoke.

Master.

Hm?

I answered absently.

But what Zero said next was surprising even to me.

A call came in from Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung of Seongsam Electronics.

Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung?

Honestly, that was unexpected.

I had figured Seongsam Electronics would contact us soon after seeing the success of Crazy Bird, but I naturally assumed it would be Director Kim Hyeoncheol handling the business side.

What did he call directly for?

The official pretext is "sending regards." He says that when Vincent’s representative came to Korea before, he couldn’t meet him in person due to scheduling conflicts, and he wanted to apologize for that and convey his greetings.

That’s not the real reason, though.

There was no way a vice chairman of a corporation would call just to apologize for not having met someone face-to-face.

Especially when he must already be busy preparing for the launch of Galleon.

Correct. Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung is probably going to ask that Crazy Bird, or some other application of Master’s, be released on the Android camp as well.

Release it on Android too...

Is he trying to make peace with me?

That is the most likely interpretation.

I let out a small laugh.

But if I thought from Seongsam Electronics’ perspective rather than my own, I could understand why they’d be desperate.

They were worried that, after kicking Crazy Bird away with their own feet this time, Another Technology might bear a grudge and declare, "From now on, every app is Apple-exclusive."

I also intentionally didn’t answer their calls.

I’d given them a little scare to keep them in line.

At least that’s what I thought of it, but judging by the fact that Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung himself had called, he may have felt it differently.

Maybe it’s time for me to give them some carrot now.

If I only released the future hit apps I planned to make on Apple, Android smartphones like Galleon might never manage to secure the market and could die off before long.

They’d be crushed senseless in a content war against Apple.

But I already have a contract to make one app a year together with Seongsam Electronics.

Correct. But that’s a matter of making what Seongsam Electronics "requests," so the perspective is different.

Perspective... yeah, I guess it is.

I nodded.

Seongsam Electronics still lacked the creativity to plan apps on its own.

They had no real instinct for what would sell in the smartphone application market.

In reality, Seongsam had honed that instinct by constantly testing and experimenting in the domestic market while blocking Apple’s entry into Korea.

But thanks to me... or rather, because of me, Apple’s global sales had risen, which in turn sped up their entry into Korea and set Seongsam’s hair on fire.

Exactly as Master thinks. At best, Seongsam Electronics can come up with applications like "work calendars" or "security software"—important, of course, but not the kind of thing that resonates strongly with customers at present.

And even if Seongsam Electronics said, "Let’s make a game together!" I could just say, "What kind of game? If you don’t have a plan, let’s make Minesweeper for smartphones."

Not that Seongsam Electronics would ever ask me to make a game with them in the first place.

What kind of card is Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung going to offer me if he wants to make peace...? Honestly, there isn’t anything I really want.

Some people might say I should just ask for more money, but honestly, I already had more money than I could ever reasonably spend.

In fact, my real problem was what to do with all that money in the future.

And maybe it was arrogant to think this way, but at some point it stopped feeling like I was doing business to make money.

It’s the thrill of seeing my work succeed, that dopamine hit.

When people went wild for my apps.

When giant corporations sweated in front of me—that electric rush, that feeling of achievement.

That was what I was enjoying now.

While I was thinking it over, Zero asked,

Master, shall I connect you to Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung? Or I can handle the response appropriately myself, or instruct Vincent to do it.

I thought for a moment, then spoke.

No. I’ll take it myself. If the vice chairman called directly, then the representative should answer.

And honestly, I was a little curious too.

The Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung I’d only ever seen on TV news or in the papers was always smiling warmly in public, and sometimes even looked cheerful.

I wanted to know what kind of man he really was.

If he was the head of a conglomerate, he probably wasn’t as lighthearted as he looked.

Connect me.

Yes, understood.

I stood and stepped out of the lecture hall.

As I left, the professor and the students—especially the female students—followed me with their eyes, but I ignored them.

Once outside, I moved to a corner of the hallway.

As I opened my phone, the screen changed, and Zero routed the line around the network and connected the signal to my handset.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Seongsam Electronics’ Seocho headquarters, Vice Chairman’s office.

Ring... ring...

Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung held the receiver and waited. More than ten seconds had passed since the secretary’s office at Another Technology said they would connect him to the representative.

The ring tone kept going.

Vincent, the representative of Another Technology...

What kind of man was he?

According to the employees who had met him before, he was surprisingly polite and quite dapper for an American.

Mid-forties.

That was when it happened.

Ring... click.

The ringing stopped, and the call connected.

Lee Jaeyoung reflexively opened his mouth, ready to offer an English greeting.

Having studied at Harvard, he was as fluent in English as he was in Korean.

"Hello."

But the voice that came through the receiver was completely outside his expectations.

"...?"

Lee Jaeyoung’s eyes went wide.

It wasn’t English.

What came through the receiver was flawless Korean, pronounced with uncanny precision.

For a second, Lee Jaeyoung was too stunned to speak, staring blankly into the air.

The person he’d assumed was a foreigner was speaking Korean.

And it was the voice of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠very young man.

...Why am I hearing Korean?

Vice Chairman Lee Jaeyoung had prepared thoroughly for what he would say, what he would offer, and how he would negotiate with Vincent, the American representative.

But the Korean voice coming through the receiver had left him completely dazed.