Munpia Must Be Acquired

Thanks to Vice Chairman Ko Yoon-seok, Jung Jinwoo had learned that fate itself had bound him to Aziz.

Aziz had pleaded with him several times to visit his country — please, just once — before finally departing Korea. Judging by the way the man talked, he'd looked ready to hand over a few oil fields as a welcome gift.

According to Ko Yoon-seok, Jinwoo's father, Jung In-seok, had once braved a raging storm to deliver malaria medicine — ostensibly to secure oil drilling rights. Whatever the original motive, he had been a savior of lives all the same.

Looking back now, there were a great many things that didn't add up.

Weren't Jews and Arabs born enemies? As far as Jinwoo knew, they were always at each other's throats, itching for a fight they could never quite finish.

And yet Jerome — a living embodiment of Rothschild capital, the most iconic Jewish fortune in the world — was friends with Aziz, an Arab prince.

Could even sworn enemies become friends if they shared the common goal of living well and eating well?

Then why did they keep tearing into each other at every opportunity?

In any case, it felt like he was seeing a whole new world.

Aziz and Jerome had returned to their respective countries, already laying the groundwork for Munpia and Dive In services, when the next problem arrived.

"There's been a complication with the Munpia acquisition."

"I thought Saber, the majority shareholder, was open to selling their stake."

"Saber is. Throw enough money at them and they'll hand it over without a second thought. The problem is Baek Geum."

Baek Geum… wasn't he the founder of Munpia? A novelist, too.

Jinwoo had even read a bit of Baek Geum's wuxia fiction once. It was the kind of orthodox martial-arts novel that belonged to another era, and he'd nearly died of boredom before getting through more than a few pages.

"What's the issue with Author Baek Geum?"

"Baek Geum… says he won't sell Munpia, no matter how much money we offer."

Ko Yoon-seok shook his head as he spoke.

"If one trillion isn't enough, we offer two."

"No. He didn't strike me as a man who wants money."

"Then what does he want?"

"That's where it gets a little confusing. In a way, it seems like he needs a justification. To Baek Geum, Munpia means something far beyond money."

"Ah… I see what you mean."

"Baek Geum wants to meet the person with final authority over the Dive In project. He says he'll decide after speaking with them directly. Shall I go see him myself and try to talk him around?"

Jinwoo fell silent, sorting through the situation in his mind. Ko Yoon-seok watched him without a word.

"In that case… I should meet him myself."

"You, Chairman? If your identity is exposed now… there will be no end of trouble."

"When a man comes at you looking for a real fight, you don't dodge. If he wants sincerity, you meet him with sincerity."

"……"

Ko Yoon-seok's eyes widened as he stared at Jinwoo.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm simply astonished. Is this truly genetic? You have such an exceptional instinct for business. It reminds me of your father. When he was developing a titanium mine in Guatemala, he once walked into a rebel camp alone, carrying a crate of tequila."

"I'm sorry? What does that have to do with this?"

"The rebels would hide in the jungle and come out at random to sabotage the operation. They were just trying to make a living, same as anyone. Do you know what your father did?"

"……"

"He drank himself silly… and became friends with the rebel commander. Then he hired those same rebels as security personnel. After that, they mined titanium without a single incident. The people of that entire region ended up living well because of that mine. That was the result of staking his life and meeting them with genuine sincerity."

"Come on… I'm not staking my life on anything here. That's a bit much."

"Drawing out someone's true heart is exactly that kind of act. It means laying everything you are on the table."

A look of quiet pride and reverence had settled over Ko Yoon-seok's face as he gazed at Jinwoo.

It was a little embarrassing, honestly.

I'm just going to sit down, share a glass of that Magic Green Bottle — soju — and talk the man around. That's all. Same as every salaryman on this earth.

"When is he getting here? Or am I supposed to go to him?"

"Who's coming?"

"I was told the person with final authority would be coming."

"He's already here."

Baek Geum's head tilted at a crooked angle.

"Director Jung Jinwoo… is the one with final authority?"

"That's correct."

"Heh."

Baek Geum snorted, poured soju into his glass, and took a sip by himself.

He was the picture of a middle-aged man — thin limbs, a belly that pushed out over his belt. His hair was thinning, and there was nothing remarkable about his face. But his eyes were another matter entirely. They glittered with a sharpness as chilling as a yaksha assassin from one of his own novels.

"So that's a no, then. I understand perfectly. Let's not waste any more time. We're leaving."

"There's still soju left, and the side dishes are only just starting to cook. Walking out on unfinished drinks and food isn't the way of the jianghu, is it?"

It was a scene straight out of one of Baek Geum's own novels.

The hagfish they'd ordered was twisting on the charcoal grill, its body searing as it cooked through.

Baek Geum, who had been about to stand, froze. He fixed Jinwoo with a hard stare.

"Sending Director Jung Jinwoo… tells me you people have no intention of actually talking."

"You said you wanted to speak with the person who has final authority, didn't you?"

"What I asked for was the project lead, not—"

"Vice Chairman Ko Yoon-seok was originally going to come to this meeting."

Jinwoo looked at Baek Geum with expressionless eyes and continued.

"You said you wanted to talk to the person with final say. That's why I came myself."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty."

"Thirty… how long have you even been in the working world? You do realize it's strange for someone your age to already be a director, right? You're far too young!"

"Don't you know the old wuxia proverb? Beware the old man and the child."

Baek Geum, who had been glaring at Jinwoo, dropped back into his chair with a thud.

"Hahaha… so you've read a web novel or two. Jung Jinwoo is really the final authority of JW Dive In — no, of the entire JW Group?"

"That's right."

"Your business card says Director of the Business Planning Team at Giseong IT."

"Giseong IT is mine as well."

"And you expect me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to believe that?"

"Didn't you come here looking for a real fight? Or did you come to play word games? You called for a genuine contest, so I showed up."

Baek Geum looked Jinwoo up and down.

It was an absurd claim. This young man, the one who held final authority over a company that tossed around trillions — tens of trillions — of won as if they were pocket change?

"One request… the fact that I am the final authority of JW Group is known to exactly three people in Korea. Vice Chairman Ko Yoon-seok, my bodyguard, and myself. Now it's four. You are the fourth, Baek Geum."

"……"

"And I'd ask that you keep the fact that I hold final authority a secret. Forever."

Baek Geum stared at the young man in front of him, unsure how to respond. The way he spoke, he was clearly in his right mind. His words were sharp and decisive. And yet the content of those words was so outrageous that believing them felt almost insulting.

"Fine. If Jung Jinwoo is the one with final authority… then let me ask you this. What exactly do you intend to do once you acquire Munpia?"

"A long explanation would be less useful than showing you. Follow me."

"Good grief… there's still soju left, and the side dishes are only just starting to cook. You said walking out on unfinished food isn't the way of the jianghu."

At that, Jinwoo drained his water glass, filled it to the brim with soju, and knocked the whole thing back. Then he spread two perilla leaves across his palm, swept every last piece of grilled hagfish onto them, and stuffed the lot into his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mouth.

Baek Geum stared at him, eyes wide with shock.

"Buuurp. Shall we go?"

Eating Jerome-style really does keep things tidy.

Baek Geum sat there with his mouth hanging open, watching Jinwoo rise from his seat, looking as though he couldn't quite believe what he'd just witnessed.

"We're going to take Korea's K-content — web novels in particular — and serve it to the entire world. Naturally, it'll be translated by artificial intelligence. At the same time, we'll use AI to turn those novels into webtoons and animation."

"They're already doing that in Korea. Do you have any idea how badly the rights of original creators are being trampled by people mass-producing content with AI?"

"We'll put a label on every piece of content that involves AI. One hundred percent human-made. Human-AI collaboration. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And one hundred percent AI-generated. That's how we'll classify them."

"That still means the rights of pure creators get violated."

"You're not wrong. But even you would acknowledge that works made with AI are only going to multiply. Web novels should, of course, be written by people. Then, based on those web novels, human creators will be able to step in and upgrade the quality of the webtoons and videos we produce from them. Naturally, that would only happen with the original author's permission."

Baek Geum gathered every nerve he had, forcing himself to concentrate.

Just a short while ago, he had experienced Star Wars at the JW Dive In research lab.

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been several times more moving than the version he'd seen as a child, all those years ago.

He had felt it in his bones: content was no longer something you watched. It was something you lived through. Something you experienced.

It was terrifying.

The change was accelerating faster than humanity could even prepare a response.

"On top of that, the Munpia web novel platform will be launched in those countries and cultural spheres as well. Munpia will become a web novel service with the entire world as its foundation. The Arabic-speaking world, the North American English-speaking world, and the French-speaking world are already in place."

"So you're saying you'll use Munpia as the base to serve web novels worldwide, then turn those into webtoons and video, then serve all of it through Dive In? All the way to dramas and films?"

"That's right."

"The money that would take is beyond imagination."

This was a business of an utterly insane scale. Even a rough estimate put the required investment at a hundred trillion won at the absolute minimum.

This wasn't Samsung or some mega-conglomerate. How was a single company like JW Group supposed to put up that kind of capital?

"The money is already prepared."

"How much have you set aside?"

"We've prepared about two hundred trillion won for now. If we need more, we have more to put in."

He had swallowed without even realizing it.

The last time his heart had pounded like this was a very long time ago.

Back when he had first founded Munpia?

Back in those days when he had dreamed the grand dream of establishing web novels as a genre in Korea.

"Aldous Huxley Syndrome!"

"Pardon?"

"It's a problem the writer Aldous Huxley pointed out. If content pours out at random in an endless flood, users end up unable to find the genuine, high-quality work they actually want to read. If we only adapt novels into webtoons and video once a work has gathered at least a hundred thousand reader recommendations, that problem gets solved. The exact number can be adjusted later, of course."

"Ah…"

Baek Geum had put his finger on something Jinwoo hadn't even considered.

"How much of the equity are you looking to acquire?"

"If you'd transfer just ten percent of the twenty-five percent you hold in Munpia… combined with Saber's stake and the other shares, we're looking to put together fifty-two percent."

"No. That won't do."

Anyone could see this was a structure destined to be a massive success, so of course the man would get greedy. Munpia was worth four hundred billion won now, but at this scale it would soon be worth forty trillion — four hundred trillion.

Jinwoo assumed Baek Geum was being greedy, trying to protect his own stake.

"If the picture you've painted is accurate, you'll need to raise additional capital several more times down the road… which means you'll need to hold a comfortable seventy percent or more. I'll transfer twenty of my twenty-five percent."

"Y-you will?"

"And I'll speak to Saber. I'll tell them to transfer everything except five percent."

"Is that even possible?"

"And if they don't? What are they going to do about it? I'll make it happen, so don't you worry."

That phosphorescent gleam had returned to Baek Geum's eyes.

"I will do exactly as you've said."

"Good. You must. Heh."

There was a sense of mission in those words. Was this the mindset of the man who had founded the web novel genre itself? A wave of genuine emotion washed over Jinwoo.

In that moment, a very small sound reached him — Baek Geum, who had turned his back, muttering under his breath.

So that had been his dream.

The thing was… maybe later, but they had no plans to launch in China at the start.

Should he tell him?

No — he'd already said it earlier!

China hadn't been on the list of service regions.