Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Documentary
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“Jae-hyun! Come out here and take a look at this!”
Lying on his bed in his room, reading a comic book, Jae-hyun heard his mom's voice coming from outside.
‘Here we go again.’
He let out a sigh and had no choice but to open the door and head out.
Saturday evening, 9 p.m.
At this hour, his parents would always call Jae-hyun into the living room, making a fuss about how he needed to come see this.
It was because MBS reliably aired documentaries about great historical figures at that time.
‘Look closely! That person studied so hard just to succeed! I cook for you, do your laundry, clean the house... You just have to study, so why won't you do it?!’
Every time he got dragged out to watch one of these documentaries, it inevitably ended with a lecture from his parents. For Jae-hyun, Saturday nights at 9 p.m. had become downright terrifying.
Ding-dong~
Staying holed up in his room pretending to slack off would only lead to a scolding and being hauled out anyway. So, as Jae-hyun stepped into the living room, the documentary's opening music filled the air, and a man's face appeared on the screen.
A booming BGM swelled, and the man's interview scene began.
As the brief rundown of Seon Woo-hyuk's background scrolled by, gasps of astonishment escaped from Jae-hyun and his parents, who were gathered in the living room.
“1.2 trillion won? That can't be a typo!”
“Oh my goodness! At 27, he's only ten years older than our Jae-hyun!”
Jae-hyun was just as shocked.
‘1.2 trillion? Isn't that the richest person in Korea?’
What kind of person could possibly earn that much money? Burning with curiosity, Jae-hyun straightened up and focused intently on the TV.
The documentary began recounting Seon Woo-hyuk's story from his middle school days.
His family was captivated as he calmly described the countless instances of racial discrimination and hardships he faced after moving to a distant land like America at such a young age.
The scene then shifted to his admission into the California Institute of Technology—Caltech—the world's top university, surpassing even America.
“Ahem... Huck—no, Seon Woo-hyuk was an exceptionally gifted student from the moment he enrolled. He wasn't there just to learn; he carried a sense of mission to make his homeland prosperous.”
(1989 Turing Award Winner, Professor Jonathan Roberts)
“The Turing Award is like the Nobel Prize for computers, right?”
“No wonder he succeeded—studying under someone like that.”
Jae-hyun's parents made a huge fuss upon seeing Jonathan Roberts introduced as Seon Woo-hyuk's mentor.
Jae-hyun didn't know much about the Turing Award or what Caltech—California Institute of Technology—was all about.
Listening to the mid-broadcast explanations, he naturally started thinking it must be something incredible.
The screen returned to Seon Woo-hyuk's interview.
The PD conducting the interview followed up on Seon Woo-hyuk's words.
‘Then what do advanced nations like America truly value?’
“Truly amazing. Didn't that documentary air just a week ago?”
“With rebroadcasts by now, it's no exaggeration to say the entire nation has seen it.”
Scarlett was dumbfounded by the flood of letters and sponsorship items pouring into Savior Soft's management support division.
Snacks produced in Korea, jars of kimchi from some fans, health tonics like black goat extract from others.
And that was just the beginning.
The president.
A direct call from the Blue House secretariat proposing a meeting with the president himself.
“Honestly, I thought Huck was exaggerating. I figured it'd help with our image, but I never imagined this kind of reaction.”
“Don't try to understand Korea logically. You just have to feel it.”
I was flustered by the response exceeding my expectations, so Scarlett—who knew even less about Korea—must have been beside herself.
‘The president personally inviting me, no less.’
I'd assumed I'd need to establish some presence in Korea first before a presidential meeting. Things moving faster than expected was a good problem to have.
“Huck, this guy's seriously terrifying.”
“Since when did you love Korea so much? Anyone would think you're some Korean ambassador.”
As Scarlett and I discussed the documentary's ripple effects, Rogers and Jason suddenly appeared to rib me.
“Los Altos Hills, where you and I grew up, didn't have gangs, let alone punks. And you were already known as a genius in middle school—no one bullied you! So what was all that talk about overcoming adversity and trials?”
“If anything, that guy treated me and the others like idiots back at Caltech! Rogers, remember how much he nagged when I asked for help on one assignment?”
A few days earlier, we'd received the edited cut from MBS PD Park Hyung-shik, who had filmed the documentary.
He'd sent it over for review, with the condition that we'd block airing if it deviated from our expectations.
And gathering everyone to watch that edit together had been a mistake.
We'd naively assumed that since no one at Savior Soft spoke Korean, any exaggerations or fabrications in my story wouldn't matter.
We'd forgotten there was another Korean at Savior Soft besides me.
‘Uh... I said I came to America in middle school first year and vowed success amid severe racial discrimination... right, CEO?’
When Jane, watching alongside us, provided real-time translations of my statements, all hell broke loose.
‘Oh... We didn't prepare a script for you, CEO. Did you really go that far?’
I felt a bit wronged when even Scarlett eyed me like I wasn't human.
‘I didn't face it myself, but the original owner of this body, Seon Woo-hyuk, did—so it's not a lie, right?’
In the original story, the discrimination Seon Woo-hyuk faced in America was what turned him into that template stubborn, single-minded genius scientist.
But as a battle-hardened Korean office worker, immature kids' racism didn't faze me. If anything, I was the one putting them in their place.
Still, we couldn't air that as-is, so I just wove in the original Seon Woo-hyuk's experiences instead.
“The most nauseating part was when that guy bought the relic.”
“Oh, I totally agree, Jason.”
The two, now hooked on teasing me, brought up the relic scene.
“This isn't for sale. If it were, it'd go for ten million dollars.”
“I'll pay ten million dollars. This item holds the soul of our nation. No price is too high if it means bringing it home.”
As the scene played of me buying the porcelain emitting a clear white glow from a stubborn-looking white man, Savior Soft's early employees squeezed their eyes shut like they'd witnessed something cringe-worthy.
“You actually bought that for a million dollars.”
“Who was that hired actor?”
While pondering how going to Korea empty-handed would lack impact, I recalled a future project by an overseas game company.
They'd repurchased Korean cultural heritage using game revenue shares and returned it, earning rave reviews from players and the public alike.
‘It's fine. I'm not faking relics to return to Korea—it's real; just the price is inflated a bit.’
If it pricked my conscience, it'd be a lie, but exaggerating the price wasn't evil, so no big deal.
“You guys will thank me later.”
“What?”
Even these two viciously condemning me would soon bow their heads in gratitude once they joined me in Korea.
They'd secured their own screen time in the documentary, guaranteeing stardom in Korea.
But these were all just side effects.
‘The real win is we can enter Korea without any interference now.’
Countless foreign firms that entered Korea during the IMF crisis had to leave—save a few exceptions.
The reason was simple.
They'd been branded as foreign capital exploiting Korea's national disaster, the IMF.
And leading the charge in slapping on that image were Korea's chaebols and media.
Savior Soft wouldn't be immune when entering Korea.
No matter that its Korean CEO was me, as a company listed on the US stock market, they'd nitpick it as American and obstruct every move.
But that path was now completely sealed off.
Touch me—the one broadcast nationwide on TV, now treated like a national hero?
Instant backlash from the public, with politicians—who bow to public opinion—leading the charge to gut them.
‘Hmm... During the upcoming presidential address, I should present the Chosun white porcelain from the documentary as a donation.’
With the presidential dinner soon, it was time to get busy again.
Announcing I'd invest the $2 billion from our IPO into Korea would have them offering liver or gall—time to calmly list my demands.
‘Gotta snag a cultural merit medal too.’
The Order of Cultural Merit was key.
The Gold Crown level granted military exemption, after all.