Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Guten and Berlin -1
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Originally, humans should do what they do best.
If Hong-min was best at scoring goals, then I was best at celebrations.
So, me doing the celebration was perfectly natural, by the Socratic method.
I naturally dodged Son Hong-min and sprinted to the corner flag.
At the corner flag, I unleashed a fiery celebration and successfully completed the mission.
- They won't accept that one.
- Our manager has no romance in him.
When I returned to the bench, the players shot me sharp glares of criticism.
But as always, I acted like nothing had happened.
Sometimes in life, you need the courage to be hated.
‘The important thing is an unbreakable spirit.’
Anyway.
The match against Hertha Berlin ended with Son Hong-min’s hat-trick as the turning point.
[M.O.M. Son Hong-min selected, reveals fascinating anecdote with Park Chan-hyuk…. “When I was wandering, the manager came up to me and said to do what I do best. I made a face like I didn’t get it, and he said he’d show me in the next match. And that result is today’s hat-trick. Now I think I know what I’m best at. To me, Manager Park Chan-hyuk is always the best manager.”]
Right after the match ended, Son Hong-min received Man of the Match.
[Park Chan-hyuk leads team to victory with unconventional deployment using Son Hong-min up top….]
[Legendary soccer player watching Park Chan-hyuk’s player usage…. “He has the qualities of a master tactician…” statement becomes hot topic!]
[Park Chan-hyuk comments on news article…. “I’m already a master tactician.”]
I showcased the legendary ‘nail-biting’ gesture and drew rave reviews from soccer experts.
[What is the Celeb Verification System that led people to find Park Chan-hyuk’s comment…?]
[Guten, “It’s a system we introduced to protect against scammers claiming to be celebrities.”]
Park Jung-ah used me as a promotional model without my permission, but I decided to let it slide this once.
She’d steadily invested in Union Berlin’s growth all this time, after all.
‘And above all, she introduced me to Charlotte.’
Well. Anyway.
[Title: Son Hong-min Hat-Trick, Overseas Reactions .gif]
└ Ah lol, foreigners calling him Son Sensational is so satisfying.
└ Ah…. If Park Chan-hyuk had hugged him at the end, it would’ve been truly touching, but he dodges it.
└ I actually like that—it’s so Park Chan-hyuk.
└ Fr lol, a normal hug would’ve been disappointing.
└ Wow…. But when Son Hong-min shoots, the space just opens up—what’s that about?
└ The players dragged the defenders in.
└ Tactics?
└ Of course that’s tactics too;;
└ Is Park Chan-hyuk a god? Is Park Chan-hyuk a god? Is Park Chan-hyuk a god?
└ But seriously, shouldn’t the national team consider Son Hong-min up top?
└ Fr, copying Park Chan-hyuk’s tactics as-is doesn’t sound bad.
└ Why not just make Park Chan-hyuk the national team manager?
└ Nah, that won’t work. Don’t bring midnight snacks every weekend.
└ Dude, eat like that and you’ll die soon.
It was only natural that Korea went wild over the news of Son Hong-min scoring a hat-trick in the Bundesliga.
***
I headed to the training ground for work and looked around the Union Berlin stadium area.
This place, unusually quiet even within Berlin, had been under constant construction for a few years now.
Because Guten, the company owned by our family, had come to this area (Treptow-Köpenick). It had been a while since headquarters moved, but construction was still ongoing.
For reference, this was because Guten kept growing nonstop. And at an accelerating pace, no less.
[Guten, Connecting the World as One.]
Ever since Apple released the Apple Phone, the world had changed rapidly.
And naturally, among the companies changing the world, Guten led the pack.
[Guten’s OTT subscribers explode! Stock hits new all-time high!]
└ But fr, there’s quietly a ton to watch.
└ Ugh. Can’t cancel because of Union Berlin, damn lol.
For reference, Guten had faced a crisis due to pressure from some Wall Street factions that had become our enemies, but Guten overcame it, breaking through previous highs. Suspicion toward our family flipped to praise in an instant.
Investment firms that dumped Guten stock during the crisis asked if they could buy it back, but our gal-crush Park Jung-ah flipped them the bird with a smile at the negotiation table.
‘This big bro is impressed by little sis’s fire.’
Anyway, Guten didn’t rest on its laurels and launched various new services.
After I started dating Charlotte, Guten swiftly introduced an online easy-payment system. This was thanks to less need to watch out for politics from the political dynasty marriage.
Thanks to that, Guten succeeded in building its own ecosystem via the online easy-payment system. It was like SNS, Onflix, WhatsApp, and TikTok all in one.
And Park Jung-ah didn’t stop there—she induced users to handle government policies, taxes, and various administrative systems through Guten to prevent churn.
‘……Sigh. Why do I keep seeing a future where it gets split by antitrust laws?’
Well, Park Jung-ah was hustling like her feet were on fire to prevent that.
She’d moved headquarters to the Treptow-Köpenick area where Union Berlin’s home stadium was, creating data centers and quality jobs.
‘This area’s foot traffic has definitely increased.’
Treptow-Köpenick.
Home to Union Berlin’s stadium, this was the largest and least densely populated district in Berlin.
After Guten moved its HQ, it started developing rapidly.
This allowed Guten to quickly expand its influence in Berlin. Even Berlin politicians had to pay some heed to Guten now.
Well, politicians are shameless scum whose words change dozens of times a day, so they’re not trustworthy.
But during election season, they at least pretend to care about voters, making it possible.
‘And having more supporters itself becomes pressure.’
Anyway, after Guten’s HQ move, the area kept developing.
Maybe someday, property prices here could surpass central Berlin.
Some people already commuted from Berlin to here.
[How Did Guten Become the Hottest Company in the World?]
└ Ugh, stock keeps rising.
└ Shouldn’t have sold when it crashed, fuck.
└ I went all-in back then lol.
└ No cap, beast heart right here.
└ TBH gf cheated, life sucked, blew all my savings planning to die, bought crashing Guten, snapped out of it and it’s mooning.
└ Fuck. Lucky bastards!
Most of Guten’s businesses were on track, but that didn’t mean the pressure stopped.
Even if political pressure eased from me and Charlotte’s relationship.
Other global giants started checking Guten.
It’s human nature to trip up the guy who’s doing well.
[Apple entering SNS business? “True emotion is ours.”]
For reference, even Apple, which had a good relationship with Guten, was the same.
Apple tried to check Guten seeing its growth speed.
[Guten declares smartphone market entry partnering with Korean conglomerate?]
But Guten caught on and hit back at Apple, escalating things.
[Guten-Apple conflict: No more Guten on Apple Phones going forward?]
Rumor had it Apple threatened to end Guten services on Apple Phones from next year, but I didn’t know the details.
‘Well, even if true, who wins is anyone’s guess.’
It’d be Apple Phone users’ loyalty vs. Guten users’ loyalty.
Apple Phone fans probably had stronger loyalty. But Guten had futuristic, advanced UI/UX convenience.
[Guten and Apple conflict resolved? Some say not peace, but temporary truce….]
[‘Latecomers’ GL and Ohsung express regret over Guten-Apple reconciliation.]
Fortunately, the Guten-Apple clash fizzled out without much fuss.
They realized sharpening claws further would just hurt both sides.
Plus, our family, owning Guten, was still one of Apple’s major shareholders.
Jobs, Apple’s founder, had been ousted by shareholders before, so he couldn’t push too far….
‘No wait, maybe he checked us because we’re major shareholders?’
Considering his personality, maybe he targeted us precisely because we were big shareholders.
Anyway.
After that, Apple kept trying to nurture Guten rivals. That ‘character’ of stealing Ohsung’s display tech for Chinese firms hadn’t changed.
But no matter how much money they threw, they couldn’t match a regressor’s trend foresight—naturally slower.
Guten solidified its position with its massive user base and unique ecosystem.
And when it reached that point, rivals had only one play.
Well, even non-rivals—latecomers catching leaders always boils down to stealing internal secrets.
Apple tried bribing employees to steal update details.
No hard evidence Apple ordered it, but circumstantial evidence exists for a reason.
‘Believing Apple wouldn’t do it without material proof is idiotic.’
Guten (Park Jung-ah) didn’t sit idle like suckers.
That day, Guten declared OS (Operating System) entry.
The second Guten-Apple war erupted.
For reference, the second war dragged in idle Google, turning it into a great war.
“What? You prepared for this in advance?”
“Nope.”
“…? Then you’re making it now?”
“Oppa, this stuff you announce first and figure out later. That’s how stocks rise.”
As Park Jung-ah said, Guten’s OS declaration sent stocks soaring past all-time highs again.
[Guten declares OS entry: “No App Store fees from us.”]
And Park Jung-ah, properly pissed this time, dropped follow-up articles.
[Google, Apple, Guten: Mobile OS three-way battle for next big thing?]
[Zero-fee era opens in a flash? App developers welcome Guten’s OS push.]
Hmm.
Bluffing hard without even building anything yet.
Koreans really are the descendants of Kim Sun-dal, the king of bluffs.