An Engine
Green Whale.
What had started as a simple search portal had branched out into an sprawling digital empire, bearing fruit in every corner of daily life: messaging, webtoons, e-commerce, digital payments, and live streaming. At least within the realm glowing behind digital screens, Green Whale held even more sway than Seonghwa Group.
That was precisely why, two days before Jason Jang’s arrival in Korea, Kang-geon had paid a personal visit to their headquarters. He needed a stage for Jason Jang, and he intended to enlist Green Whale’s help to build it.
The visit had been conducted in absolute secrecy. At this sensitive juncture, if word leaked that the chairman of Seonghwa Group had set foot inside Green Whale Headquarters, baseless rumors and wild speculation would inevitably detonate across the business world. Had he not declared at the Imperial Palace that he was looking toward the global stage rather than squabbling over the domestic market? For that very man to suddenly call upon a domestic internet portal was more than enough bait for the media to swarm like sharks.
Even within Green Whale itself, only a select few were privy to Kang-geon’s visit: the chief executive officer, the head of the platform business division, and the chief security officer. Still, they were baffled. Of all the companies in the empire, why them?
Now came the time for answers.
“Thank you for accommodating me on such short notice,” Kang-geon began.
“When the chairman of Seonghwa Group comes in person, it is only natural that we make time,” Han Ji-hyuk replied smoothly. “Ah, and I caught your eye back at the Imperial Palace, but I regretted not being able to properly introduce myself then.”
The atmosphere inside the conference room was impeccably courteous. Yet courtesy was entirely separate from parity. Though Han Ji-hyuk maintained an easy smile, tension stiffened his fingertips. The chairman of Seonghwa Group—the hottest, most scrutinized figure in the entire Korean Empire—had paid an off-the-record visit to his firm. By any metric, this was a monumental opportunity.
“Please, speak freely,” Han Ji-hyuk urged. “We will accommodate you to the best of our ability.”
To Kang-geon’s ears, the subtext rang loud and clear: Whatever Seonghwa wants, we’ll make it happen.
Sensing the subtle deference hanging in the air, Kang-geon took his seat. It still felt bizarre to him. The chief executive officer of a massive conglomerate was walking on eggshells around an eighteen-year-old. But showing any sign of hesitation was out of the question, so Kang-geon merely gave an assuring nod and cut straight to the chase.
“I would like you to arrange an event on Green Whale’s platform… Playble.”
“An event, sir?” Han Ji-hyuk asked, a brief flash of bewilderment flickering across his face. For the chairman of Seonghwa Group to stage a clandestine visit just to request an event on a live-streaming platform seemed utterly out of left field. Yet his confusion vanished in the very next breath. “Do you have a specific vision in mind?”
“Yes. A live broadcast. I want it prepared not only for domestic viewers, but for a global audience as well. Complete with simultaneous interpretation and multilingual subtitles.”
At those words, Han Ji-hyuk’s gaze sharpened. For a simple broadcast, the prerequisites were exceptionally demanding. Naturally, as the premier streaming platform in the empire, Playble possessed the technical infrastructure to pull it off. But if the head of Seonghwa Group had personally traveled here in secret to request their cooperation, there was no way this could be an ordinary stream.
“May I ask who will be appearing on the broadcast?” Han Ji-hyuk inquired cautiously.
Kang-geon gave a calm, matter-of-fact reply. “Jason Jang of Neovision.”
“…!”
In an instant, the look in Han Ji-hyuk’s eyes changed entirely, and the division head sitting beside him stiffened in sheer disbelief. Jason Jang. That single name was explanation enough. This wasn't merely an event—it was a historic sensation in the making. Handled properly, this was a colossal opportunity that could catapult Playble’s name far beyond the borders of the Korean Empire and onto the international news circuit.
Han Ji-hyuk swallowed hard. “Just to confirm… is Jason Jang truly visiting the Korean Empire?”
“Yes.”
“And the timetable…?”
“In exactly two days.”
Two days. It was an absurdly short window for preparation. Yet Han Ji-hyuk did not hesitate for a fraction of a second.
“We can do it! From Green Whale’s perspective, there is zero reason to decline this offer.” Desperation flared in Han Ji-hyuk’s eyes. It was as if he were pleading: We’ll cover every expense, we’ll move heaven and earth to make it work, so please, just leave it to us!
“The news of Jason Jang’s arrival will break tomorrow,” Kang-geon instructed. “Time the announcement of the Playble event to coincide with that report.”
Kang-geon explicitly added that Seonghwa Group’s name should be entirely omitted from the promotion. The formal partnership between Neovision and Seonghwa had not yet been officially concluded, and above all, the true protagonist of this showcase was Jason Jang, not himself. Besides, Kang-geon had another motive.
It’ll be a fun surprise, won’t it?
If he suddenly walked out onto Jason Jang’s stage without the slightest forewarning, people would be blindsided in the best possible way. He had calculated that an unannounced reveal would deliver a far more dramatic impact than revealing the truth beforehand. However…
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Kang-geon! Kang-geon!”
“Chairman Kang! I’m a Seonghwa shareholder!”
Wait… what?
Kang-geon blinked, caught off guard by the deafening frenzy. He hadn’t anticipated a reception quite this hysterical. It was the direct result of underestimating his own public profile—he hadn't fully grasped how the empire's citizens viewed him. To the public, his entire journey so far had read like the epic rise of a heroic figure, and the world had always been powerless against such romantic narratives. And now, that very prodigy was standing shoulder-to-shoulder on stage with a global titan like Jason Jang?
Naturally, the crowd’s collective sanity shattered.
“Long live Seonghwa Group!”
“Let’s go, alliance!”
“Chairman Kang, you are the pride of the Korean Empire!”
The cheers surged to an ear-splitting roar. The live audience below the stage was in an uproar, and the online chat stream was practically combusting in real time. Kang-geon stared out at the sea of faces. This went beyond mere shock; it felt closer to unadulterated worship.
Beside him, Jason Jang let out an amused chuckle, looking thoroughly entertained as if eagerly waiting to hear what opening words the boy would offer. Meeting Jason’s eyes, Kang-geon snapped himself back to reality. He took a broad sweep of the venue. The first detail that caught his eye was the forest of hands holding up smartphones to film the stage. More precisely, the brands stamped on the backs of those devices.
Well, well. Look at these folks.
Kang-geon let a playful smirk grace his lips and brought the microphone to his mouth.
“Thank you all for such a passionate welcome. But tell me… why am I seeing so many Nova phones out there?”
The smartphone market in the Korean Empire was split cleanly into two camps: Seonghwa Electronics’ Universe line, and the imported smartphones manufactured by the foreign titan, Nova.
Seonghwa’s Universe stood as a proud symbol of domestic engineering prowess. Nova, on the other hand, commanded roughly a third of the imperial market thanks to its sleek aesthetic, cohesive software ecosystem, and fierce loyalty among younger generations. While Universe held an overwhelming lead in total market share across the nation, Nova handsets were noticeably prominent among this youthful crowd.
Catching them red-handed, the chairman of Seonghwa Group had called them out with a dry, teasing quip. The boiling tension in the hall instantly eased into a wave of laughter and enthusiastic applause. Jason Jang joined in, clapping his hands in approval at the clever icebreaker.
Amid the applause, Kang-geon raised the microphone once more.
“First and foremost, this gathering was made possible because Chairman Jason Jang graciously accepted my proposal.”
A fresh wave of murmurs rippled through the audience. Kang-geon had made the initial overture, and Jason Jang had accepted. That single revelation cast the entire scene in a brand-new light: the special broadcast on Playble, the historic venue of Yongsan, and Jason Jang standing under the spotlights. It meant that the mastermind behind this grand stage was none other than Kang-geon himself.
Yet Kang-geon had no intention of bragging about his grand designs. He paused, glancing toward Jason Jang. He recalled the sight of the man only moments ago, passionately explaining Neovision’s new masterpiece, Orion. The childlike gleam in his eyes. The way he spoke of intricate performance metrics not as cold numbers, but as a doorway swinging open toward an uncharted world.
For some reason, that image remained vivid in Kang-geon’s mind. Perhaps Kang-geon had simply been genuinely curious. Twenty years ago, there had been a visionary selling an uncertain future right here in Yongsan when no one else dared to believe in it. What kind of vision had he possessed back then? With what unshakable conviction had he spoken to strangers about a world that had not yet arrived?
So Kang-geon had asked him: Show me the future you saw, just as you saw it then. And Jason Jang, for reasons of his own, had answered that plea, demonstrating once more how the world was destined to shift, just as he had done two decades ago.
Now, it was Kang-geon’s turn to answer.
“Orion is a magnificent engine,” Kang-geon said, his voice ringing clear and steady through the hall.
Yet no matter how powerful an engine might be, it could never race forward on its own. It required world-class manufacturing capability to build it without flaws. It demanded ultra-high-performance memory to feed its insatiable processing appetite. And it needed a rock-solid, uninterrupted global supply chain to sustain its momentum.
“And Seonghwa possesses every single one of those elements.”
A low, collective rumble swept across the venue. His words were not born of empty bravado. Kang-geon turned his gaze back to Jason Jang.
“Chairman Jang said it himself earlier today: the era of AI cannot be navigated alone.” Kang-geon’s tone deepened, carrying absolute certainty. “Therefore, standing on this stage today, I would like to be the first to make a proposal. In the new future that Neovision is about to unlock—”
Dead silence fell over the hall. Beneath the stage, the crowd held its breath, while the live chat scrolled by at a manic, unreadable blur. Amid the breathless stillness, Kang-geon delivered his proposition with unwavering conviction.