The 20-Person Council
The message arrived from Vice Chairman Ko Yoon-seok during the lunch hour. Jung Jinwoo's expression hardened the moment he read it. Something was wrong — something out of the ordinary.
Vice Chairman Ko Yoon-seok never spoke like that. He would ask if Jinwoo had a moment, or say he'd like to see him briefly — always gently. Even over text, he never imposed his wishes in such a commanding tone.
When Jung Jinwoo went up, the secretary's office was empty, and Ko Yoon-seok himself came out to receive him.
"What's this about? I'm not particularly fond of coming up here that often."
"I know. Let's go to the chairman's office first."
Ko Yoon-seok had picked up two lunch boxes, and Jung Jinwoo took them from him. No matter that Jinwoo outranked him, you didn't let an elder carry the lunch.
Only after they had stepped into the chairman's office and set the boxes on the table did Ko Yoon-seok finally speak.
"I asked you here because I have something of importance to tell you. First, regarding Team Leader Yoon Jong-seok... it's been rather entertaining."
"Excuse me?"
"It appears he filtered roughly two hundred games from Steamer through Pipe and got confirmation from Manager Oh Gong-tae. He's contacted about a hundred and fifty of them and intends to purchase a hundred. Take a look at the list on the pad."
The pad Ko Yoon-seok handed over contained a report written by Yoon Jong-seok. The games listed weren't overly demanding in graphical quality — titles that would translate beautifully into virtual reality, spanning a wide range of genres. FPS games, lower-graphic MMORPGs, casual titles. From fantasy to zombie apocalypses to science fiction, the worlds were just as varied.
"He's also made contact with OneCent, and the response appears to be favorable. Things seem to be taking shape toward an acquisition of Elliott. OneCent has apparently asked for forty-five trillion won, but Team Leader Yoon is trying to negotiate the price down before signing."
"Money isn't the issue, so please don't let him drive the price so low that the deal falls apart."
"It's been amusing, actually. He said he's spending about a hundred million won to commission an asset valuation of Elliott as well. I told him to go ahead. According to Team Leader Yoon, Elliott's unit costs are undeniably high, but there isn't a single game company right now in a position to acquire it."
"He really is a games industry expert."
Oh Gong-tae had said that Team Leader Yoon Jong-seok was a master of Game Magazine — an expert who had every domestic and foreign game company memorized inside and out.
"On top of that, Elliott's owner, OneCent, is completely dried up for capital, and its majority shareholder, Mi Hwating, is under pressure and surveillance from the Chinese government. Team Leader Yoon believes that if he drives a wedge into that gap and handles the deal well, a contract at thirty-eight trillion won is entirely possible."
"Oho..."
To some extent, this was knowledge even a layperson might have. The question was how deeply one knew it — and this was the kind of deal that was only possible if you knew exactly where to press to make the other party flinch.
"So that means everything is proceeding in sequence, just as planned. And the next item?"
He wouldn't have summoned Jung Jinwoo all the way to the chairman's office just to deliver a status report.
"I should mention this as well. Sometime next week, Munpia sites in Arabic, French, and English will go live. The local support teams, launch events, and marketing plans all appear to have been coordinated. The Arab side, in particular, has been extremely proactive. Prince Aziz has agreed to sponsor the entire prize pool for the writing contest."
"Prince Aziz?"
"He's even established an award to be conferred by the Arab royal family for the finest work. They need to show the public that a royal hand is involved in a project that will transform the entire Arab world."
"Nothing wrong with that. In the end, we just need to harvest the fruit."
"Precisely."
They talked business over lunch, but it was a pleasant meal all the same.
"And..."
Jung Jinwoo composed himself and looked at Vice Chairman Ko Yoon-seok.
"The 20-Person Council?"
"The watch. The gathering of those who possess that watch."
The Rolex watches created to honor Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf — twenty pieces of Golden Time. Each one was said to be worth two trillion won now, wasn't it?
"So it's a gathering of the people who move the world from the shadows?"
"That's right. The council convenes once every four years... and unless there are extraordinary circumstances, new members are required to attend."
"Which means I'll be able to see Jerome Musso and Aziz there."
"Yes... however, this time it appears it will be a masked gathering."
"What? Why masks...?"
"Ordinarily they proceed without masks, but on occasion, when a request is made, they hold the gathering masked."
"Then what's the point of wearing masks? Don't they all know each other already?"
"As I understand it, the members don't all know one another. There are those who are close, like you, Jerome Musso, and Aziz — but there are also those who are uncomfortable with each other, and those who simply don't wish to reveal their identities."
"Ah..."
Meeting behind masks? This was precisely the sort of gathering that spelled danger. Like those hooded, faceless cabals that populated conspiracy novels and comics.
"This time... besides you, Chairman, there are three additional new members who hold the watch. The circumstances under which two of them acquired theirs are... highly suspicious. It doesn't appear the watches were transferred through ordinary inheritance or sale."
"This watch. Anyone who possesses one can attend the 20-Person Council?"
"Yes, that's how it works. And that's precisely the problem."
"Hmmm... even if some vicious bastard killed the owner and stole the watch?"
"If that were exposed, of course they'd stop it. The watch recovery team would move. But if the illegality can't be proven, then yes — they could attend the 20-Person Council with that watch in hand."
"If my face is revealed in front of dangerous people... that would put me at risk."
That was why Ko Yoon-seok had been so tense, his voice pitched low.
"Jerome contacted us to say we must be extremely careful this time. Of those two suspicious individuals, one is of Russian origin and the other of Chinese origin."
This, more than anything, was the 20-Person Council's fatal blind spot. The founding purpose — to gather and do good for the world — was clear enough. But this was a table of people who held the power to move the world. If someone harbored other designs, or ill intent...
The 20-Person Council could be turned to dangerous ends.
"Please don't worry overly. Most of them are decent people, like Jerome and Aziz. This is an exceptional situation. Your father also..."
Ko Yoon-seok, about to continue, fell silent for a moment.
"Go on. What about my father?"
"Your father also... attended exactly once. At that time... there was a dangerous man present. Joaquín Guzmán... he attended the meeting without even wearing a mask. Because of that, we had to halt the mining operations we'd been running in Mexico. Guzmán could have seized them at any moment. After that, your father never attended the 20-Person Council again. He'd already fulfilled the minimum attendance requirement, after all."
"If they're not even going to show their faces, what's the point of holding a 20-Person Council at all?"
"Indeed. But unless there is a special reason, new members must attend."
Jerome, Aziz — when you really thought about it, weren't those relationships born of the watch as well? Thanks to them, he had gained an enormous fortune and been able to expand his businesses.
"Has Jerome met all the other new members besides me?"
"I couldn't say. I believe Jerome has only met you, Chairman. In any case, Jerome won't be affected. Jerome is untouchable."
"Untouchable?"
"He isn't a public figure, but in the world that remains unseen, Jerome is nothing short of a superstar. Those who need to know, know."
"Ah..."
Even without being a public figure — well over six-foot-three, a handsome, likable face, a model's physique... he drew every woman's eye in the room. By that measure, Aziz was the same. He was named among the world's most handsome men year after year.
"So when is it?"
"We've only been told that it will be held. The precise time and place will be sent separately. If it truly makes you uncomfortable, there is always the option of manufacturing a special circumstance so you don't have to attend, but..."
"I should go. Jerome and Aziz will be there, after all..."
Even in his school days, there had always been the rough ones in class. And even among them, there were always good people to be found. Wasn't Bak Gyeongtae a friend he'd gained that way?
It was when he returned to his desk that he found Yoon Jong-seok packing his things.
Ah, that's right. He'd transferred Yoon Jong-seok to JW Dive In. The rank remained the same — team leader — with a modest salary bump as a condition. Work hard. The salary can be raised dramatically later. Then again, if he just kept working as hard as he was now, that would be enough. Sorting through a hundred and fifty Steamer games and handling the Elliott acquisition on top of that — so far, progress had been excellent.
"Manager."
Ji Jeong-eun called to Jung Jinwoo carefully.
"Yes?"
"Team Leader Yoon has been transferred to JW Dive In. Did you know about this in advance, Manager?"
"Is that so?"
He pretended to be surprised.
"So you didn't know... How can they process something like this without even informing his superior?"
Right... he'd forgotten. They should have at least notified the man's superior before he started packing.
"Ah, Manager Jung, where did you go?"
CEO Choi Tae-min and Director Ki Dong-chan approached Jung Jinwoo.
"Ah, I just stepped out for a meal."
"Ah! He's already packing... I was going to notify you first, Manager Jung, but you'd stepped out. About Team Leader Yoon — the vice chairman has instructed him to work at JW Dive In, so he'll be heading over there."
"Whaaat?"
He pretended to be surprised again.
"Sorry about that. I should have asked your opinion first, but there was the vice chairman's instruction, and Team Leader Yoon himself was quite eager... so that's how it turned out."
"No, no... as long as you've told me now, that's fine."
He was the one who'd ordered it in the first place. Staying hidden was good ninety-nine percent of the time. The unfortunate one percent was moments like this — having to lie and put on an act he never intended.
"Manager Jung! You weren't at your desk, so I couldn't tell you. I'm heading to Dive In on the twenty-fourth floor now. Haha..."
Only then did Yoon Jong-seok look at Jung Jinwoo and offer his farewell. And what was with that triumphant look on his face?
"Ah, is that so? Work hard over there."
"Working hard is a given. I'll go over there, earn the title of manager, then director. Thank you, sir, Director... I won't forget how you've looked after me."
"Yes, yes... go and work hard! We're all one company anyway. If it gets tough, you can always come back..."
He really was excessively kind to his employees. A returning staff member was packing up and leaving for somewhere else entirely, and he was still sending him off with encouragement.
"Well then, I'll be going."
Laptop in hand, Yoon Jong-seok bowed his head to CEO Choi Tae-min and Director Ki Dong-chan, then walked over to Jung Jinwoo and held out his hand.
"Work hard, Manager Jung. If you don't want me overtaking you... once I make director... I can drop the formalities then, yeah?"
Well now. Look at this guy. His speech is already getting short with me. A wolf in sheep's clothing, after all. But so what. He was still just Sun Wukong turning somersaults in the palm of Jung Jinwoo's hand — he simply didn't know it yet.
"Work hard."
"You too, Manager Jung. Team Leader Ji! Deputy Manager Lee! Hang in there!"
He shook hands, grinned wide enough to flash his molars, said his goodbyes to Ji Jeong-eun and Lee Ki-seok, and strode off like a general returning in triumph.
Yoon Jong-seok, a director?
That's never going to happen. Heh.
Even if he died and came back to life, he'd have a hard time getting promoted to deputy director or above — not as long as Jung Jinwoo remained a manager. Unless, of course, he revealed that he was the chairman.
"All right, all right... stay focused and work hard! He's leaving because he's doing well, and we'll still be in the same building, so we'll see him often."
CEO Choi Tae-min offered that encouragement, then headed back with Director Ki Dong-chan.
"U-um, but..."
Deputy Manager Lee Ki-seok opened his mouth.
"What about me? Now that Team Leader Yoon Jong-seok is gone, who do I report to?"
Ah. There was that issue.
"Then Business Planning Team 2 is gone. What should we do, Manager?"
Ji Jeong-eun looked at Jung Jinwoo and asked.
"What do you mean, what should we do? Team 2 is gone, so Deputy Manager Lee Ki-seok will report to Team Leader Ji Jeong-eun now."
"Whaaat?"
Lee Ki-seok answered as if stunned.
"Wait, you're telling me to report to Assistant Ji Jeong-eun — I mean, Team Leader Ji?"
Before Jung Jinwoo had joined the company, Deputy Manager Lee Ki-seok had been the senior, and Assistant Ji Jeong-eun the junior, hadn't he?
"Puhahaha! So you'll be reporting to me, then. Let's work well together, Deputy Manager Lee Ki-seok... ohohohoho!"
Ji Jeong-eun cackled with delight.
"This is ridiculous. This doesn't make any sense..."
Deputy Manager Lee Ki-seok's face had gone red as he looked at Jung Jinwoo. Jung Jinwoo jerked his chin toward Ji Jeong-eun and winked.
You idiot. I'm handing you an opportunity and you don't even see it.
"Ah... of course I should report. I'll report to Team Leader Ji Jeong-eun. Hahaha."
That's right. See each other often and let some affection take root.
"Puhahaha! What are you going to do, Deputy Manager Lee? Now you have to report to me, hmm? Puhahahaha!"
Ji Jeong-eun, who knew nothing of the unspoken code between men, burst into a delighted, full-faced laugh. Jung Jinwoo quietly raised a thumb where Ji Jeong-eun couldn't see. Deputy Manager Lee Ki-seok understood Jung Jinwoo's meaning, raised his own thumb, and nodded.
Not a complete idiot, then.