Chapter 27
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Double It, No—Triple Double! Let's Go!
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Double It, No—Triple Double! Let's Go!
Kangyul happened to overhear the nanny announcing her resignation.
As soon as he got home, washed his hands, and headed to his room, he caught a snippet of Park Jeong-a's conversation.
"...Still, it's such a shame that the nanny who's been with us like family for 30 years is leaving. The kids are going to be so upset."
"I'm sorry, Madam."
"Sigh. Since it's a family matter, I won't try to stop you anymore. But please come back as soon as your runaway grandson's situation is resolved."
Park Jeong-a grabbed the nanny's hand tightly, her eyes welling up.
The nanny sniffled, unable to hide her sadness.
'The nanny's quitting because of her runaway grandson?'
The nanny had been with them far longer than even his parents, so Kangyul felt a deep sadness too.
With a heavy heart, Kangyul returned to his room.
"Hyung! Look at this! I drew it so well, right?"
Just then, Jiyul came running with a drawing on drawing paper, proudly showing it off.
The paper depicted a family portrait.
Im Myeonghan and Park Jeong-a stood side by side, with the three triplets hugging their legs in front. And on the far right, the nanny stood beaming brightly.
"Is this Jiyul's idea of family?"
"Yeah! Did I do good?"
Kangyul stroked Jiyul's head and nodded.
"Jiyul, your drawing skills are the best. You could be an artist someday."
"What are you talking about? I drew it better!"
Deokyul jumped up and thrust his own drawing right in front of Kangyul's face.
As expected, the nanny was included in his family picture too.
'Sigh. I might manage, but the little ones are going to miss her so much.'
"Yeah, yeah. Deokyul did an amazing job too."
Kangyul praised Deokyul just the same.
Deokyul grinned ear to ear as if he'd never been jealous, spreading out his other drawings to show them off.
'...The nanny's leaving because of her runaway grandson, right? And he's two years older than me? What a punk, running away at that age.'
Kangyul frowned as he pictured the nanny's unknown grandson.
He figured the kid must've thrown a tantrum and stormed out.
'A 10-year-old runaway? How long could he last? A taste of hunger outside should knock some sense into him.'
Kangyul said that, but the nanny's worried face lingered in his mind. Still, there wasn't much he could do to find the runaway kid.
"Young Masters, come eat!"
The nanny cracked open the door and called out gently.
"I'm first!"
"Then I'm second!"
Deokyul and Jiyul bolted to the kitchen like they'd been waiting.
The nanny gazed at the twins with tear-moistened eyes. Kangyul, knowing why, just sighed inwardly.
"Youngest Master, what's wrong?"
"...Nothing."
Kangyul gripped the nanny's hand tightly as they headed to the kitchen.
Her hand was as warm as always.
The next morning, after meeting Jang Deokcheol, Kangyul finally heard the full story. Being colleagues, the nanny must've opened up to him freely.
After dropping the triplets at school and heading to the company, Jang Deokcheol spoke up.
"It's about Jaeyoung. The little guy's hooked on games."
"Games? What do you mean?"
"The grandson said he had no interest in studying, declared he'd become a pro gamer and make big money, then ran off."
Kangyul was dumbfounded, at a loss for words.
It was absurd as a reason for a third-grader to run away.
"He didn't like seeing his only grandma working so hard, so he left. Childish thinking, of course."
"...I see."
'Sudden Attack.'
Sudden Attack was topping the FPS charts in Korea right now, but that was only domestically.
Becoming a pro gamer was incredibly tough, and even then, the pay wasn't great.
'It'll take at least five more years before pro gamers get real recognition. Not yet.'
"So no one knows where the kid went?"
"Yes. But he can't have gone far."
Kangyul sank into deep thought the whole ride to the company.
A little more pondering, and he might figure out a way to help.
'Would that method work?'
As soon as he arrived, Kangyul booted up the computer and started jotting things down.
Explaining verbally might not get through to Jang Deokcheol.
'Tie it to e-sports as Midas Mutual Savings Bank's flagship product.'
Most banks sponsored sports teams or created related financial products already.
There was no rule saying Midas Mutual Savings Bank couldn't.
'We'll go with e-sports.'
In the future, e-sports would even become an Olympic event.
Some might view it negatively, but those high-and-mighty types wouldn't be Kangyul's customers anyway.
'They'll probably just push that pointless shutdown law instead.'
The meaningless shutdown system for games would come around late 2011. Before that, he planned a major e-sports tournament.
Once the portfolio was complete, Kangyul called Jang Deokcheol in and handed it over.
"Sudden Attack Strongest Tournament? There are competitions for games too?"
"Of course. Some even form teams like pro clubs and practice."
"Really?"
The portfolio covered not just the Sudden Attack tournament but also Midas Mutual Savings Bank's push into e-sports financial products.
"From what I checked, the base interest rate for fixed-term deposits maxes at 3.45%. Add 0.5% annually for Sudden Attack registration proof, and another 0.5% for correctly picking the tournament winner."
It wasn't unfamiliar—other banks had similar promotional products.
Just the e-sports angle was novel.
"Hmm. Will there be enough sign-ups?"
"Sign-ups don't matter. Hosting the Sudden Attack tournament under Midas Mutual Savings Bank spreads the word that we're backing e-sports."
Jang Deokcheol looked a bit skeptical.
But nothing Kangyul had chosen or pushed so far had failed.
Not even the lottery ticket he'd made him buy.
"Understood. I'll have the bank implement it immediately. Once reviewed and prepped, I'll compile it again."
"Yes. Make it quick."
As Jang Deokcheol bowed and left the president's office, he paused as if remembering something.
"President. Is this for Jaeyoung?"
Kangyul said nothing.
He just flashed a grin and shrugged.
"Man. If everyone in the world were like you, President."
Jang Deokcheol bowed once more and closed the door.
Kangyul had a charm that commanded respect regardless of age.
Jang Deokcheol spent the whole day rushing around.
First, he went to the bank and ordered the creation of e-sports financial products.
The staff tilted their heads at game-themed products but didn't object.
"Start sales and promotion from tomorrow."
"...From tomorrow?"
Jang Deokcheol nodded.
The bank staff groaned but acknowledged it.
Back at the company, he budgeted the tournament with the secretaries.
He reported the finalized materials to Kangyul.
Midas Cup: Sudden Attack Strongest Tournament!
🏆 Prize Pool
Champion Team: 10 Million Won
Runner-Up Team: 5 Million Won
Consolation: Computer Mouse, Keyboard
'Ugh, what is this? It's not some neighborhood event.'
Kangyul frowned at the prize section while reviewing the materials.
"Why are the prizes so stingy?"
"We referenced other tournaments; it seemed appropriate."
"...We need to be the first and the grandest this time. Think of it not just as prizes, but as boosting our company image."
Kangyul slashed through the prize section with his pen.
"Prizes? Double it—no, triple double! Let's go!"
"Triple double... how much?"
"Like the Olympics. 5v5 team gold: 100 million! Silver: 50 million! Bronze: 20 million! And add individual events! Divide them into elementary, middle, high school, and adult teams: 10 million, 5 million, 2 million each."
Jang Deokcheol's jaw dropped.
That made team prizes alone 170 million, individuals 68 million—over 238 million total.
With production and other costs, it'd hit 300 million easy.
"One more time: company image ad. This is a bargain. Make it as lavish and grand as possible!"
"...Yes. Got it!"
And so, Korea's first—and at the time, biggest-prize—gaming tournament was born. It drove gamers across the nation wild.