The Second Party War (1)
With his departure for Japan scheduled for tomorrow, Yoon-gi let out a long sigh, listening to the faint sound of Choi Deok-bae sniffling in his ear. 'Sigh.' It was hard to watch the old man in such distress, regardless of how much of a nuisance he could be. After all, Choi Deok-bae was, in his own way, a benefactor to Yoon-gi.
'I suppose I have no choice.'
Ultimately, Yoon-gi left Choi Deok-bae behind, rose from his seat, and stepped out of the house. He headed straight for the local bookstore where he had once gone to buy magazines with Merrill. As he pushed open the slightly creaky sliding door, the distinct, musty scent of paper hit him. The owner, who looked a bit older than the last time he visited, recognized him immediately.
"Oh? You’re… from before… right?"
"I believe so, yes."
"The kid who came in with that pretty foreign girlfriend! That’s you, isn't it?"
Yoon-gi offered a wry smile and nodded. The owner glanced behind him, searching for someone else, before speaking up again.
"Where's your girlfriend?"
"She's in the States."
"Aha!" The owner let out a knowing exclamation, then put on a sly, suggestive expression as he looked at Yoon-gi. "You came back because you were thinking about 'that,' didn't you?"
Yoon-gi hesitated for a moment. He considered making up an excuse, but decided to just nod instead.
"That's right. Do you still sell them?"
"Of course! That's my main source of income. Go ahead and pick some out."
The owner pulled a box from under the counter and began rubbing his hands together, watching Yoon-gi with expectant eyes. "If it's hard to choose, should I recommend some? A man knows what a man wants, after all."
"No, that's alright… How much for one?"
"It depends on the thickness. But you can figure it's between ten and fifteen thousand won."
In the 2010s, that would be roughly forty to fifty thousand won. It was quite an expensive price, but middle and high school students of this era would even deliver newspapers just to get their hands on these magazines. They needed somewhere to pour out their burning passions.
"I'll take them all."
"Huh?"
"I'll take them all."
"…Seriously?"
"Yes."
Yoon-gi took out a check to pay, but the owner shook his head quietly. "Sorry, but I don't take checks. It's too risky."
"Is that so? Then, may I use your phone?"
"Of course."
Yoon-gi called home and had Cha Pil-gyu bring the cash. Once the payment was settled, he asked Pil-gyu to load the boxes into the car.
"I find myself envious of your life…"
At the owner's somewhat bitter remark, Yoon-gi gave a faint smile before leaving the bookstore. He returned home immediately, carried the boxes into his room, and set them down.
'Still crying.'
Choi Deok-bae was still shedding tears. Yoon-gi let out a low sigh, opened a box, pulled out a magazine, and spread it wide open.
"Grandfather."
Choi Deok-bae didn't react.
"Grand. Fa. Ther."
Yoon-gi’s temple throbbed, and he shouted with all his might internally.
'GRAND!!! FA!!! THER!!!'
Startled, Choi Deok-bae turned his head toward Yoon-gi with eyes wide like a frightened rabbit, which then transformed into massive, saucer-like eyes.
"Aigoo, you foolish old man…"
Choi Deok-bae had been resurrected in an instant.
Yoon-gi grimaced inwardly at Choi Deok-bae’s words, but he didn't show it on the outside. He was currently walking down the streets of Akihabara with Cha Pil-gyu.
"Pil-gyu hyung."
"Yes, Young Master."
"I never thought I'd be flying this often in my life."
"To be honest, neither did I."
Yoon-gi smiled at Pil-gyu’s innocent, chuckling response and continued, "To some, it might look like I'm being extravagant, but since I'm in a situation where I need to save every second, it's a sort of necessary luxury. If you catch an opportunity to showcase your talent, it’s only right to utilize it."
"Honestly speaking, you haven't really done anything that could be called 'extravagant,' Young Master. Do you know how much your assets are worth?"
"I bought a country house, and I bought a ton of game consoles last time, too."
Cha Pil-gyu laughed and shook his head. "Hey, is that extravagance? Like I just said, that doesn't even count as luxury compared to the assets you hold. Your 'extravagance' is basically related to productivity. I have a guy I know who was born with a gold spoon in his mouth—not even close to your level—but he goes to bars every day with women on his arms, and on good days, he pops five-million-won bottles of liquor. Even if you added up all the money you've spent personally so far, it wouldn't even cover three months of that guy's bar tab."
"I'm grateful you say that. By the way, are you envious of that gold-spoon guy?"
"Of course I am. Not that I envy that kind of lifestyle, but I envy the money he has. But the funny thing is, there are probably people who envy me, too. In the end, it seems people can't help but envy those who have more than them, regardless of what they already possess."
Cha Pil-gyu’s father was a top aide to Yoon-gi’s father, Choi Cheol-ho, and Pil-gyu himself was receiving a substantial salary working by Yoon-gi’s side.
"Your perspective on the world is broader than I thought."
"My father tells me stories from the old days often. You know the stories about the 'Car Kings' of Jongno, right?"
"Ah, I heard about that last time, too."
"My father told me this: it's inevitable to feel envy, but you have to be able to see reality. Still, I don't think I'm unhappy. I just acknowledge that there are people richer than me."
"As time passes, I'll make sure you become much richer than you are now, at least."
"Kuh… isn't that the reason I do this job?"
Cha Pil-gyu, who had added a touch of humor, continued, "By the way, are you here to buy game consoles again today?"
Yoon-gi shook his head. "No. There are a few things I need to verify."
Yoon-gi headed straight to the game shop he had visited before with Pil-gyu.
"Welcome!"
The owner, who recognized Yoon-gi immediately, rushed out and bowed deeply, and the staff followed suit, shouting their greetings in unison.
[[[[[IRASSHAIMASE-!!!]]]]]
"I'd like one of every game console released from the past until now, and one of every game pack as well."
"Thank you very much!!!"
The owner, bowing without a second thought, began mobilizing his staff to prepare the stock with a joyful expression. Yoon-gi had the goods delivered to his hotel. A few hours later, a 'truly massive' amount of items were delivered to Yoon-gi, who was waiting in his room—so many that the hotel staff cautiously asked if he was transporting hazardous materials. Of course, since the source of the goods was clear, it ended as a simple misunderstanding.
"Pil-gyu hyung, could you help me out a bit?"
"What do you need me to do?"
After hearing Pil-gyu’s response, Yoon-gi thought for a moment and then shifted the topic slightly.
"Hyung."
"Yes?"
"Just speak to me casually when it's just the two of us."
"No, that's a bit…"
"It makes me very uncomfortable. Please."
"Hmm…"
Cha Pil-gyu fell into deep thought. Finally, Yoon-gi played his trump card.
"If you don't speak casually, I'm going to fire you."
"Ugh!"
"Now, try speaking casually."
In the end, Cha Pil-gyu raised the white flag. "A-alright…"
"Good. You see these game consoles? I need you to disassemble all the cases."
"What? A-ah, no, disassemble the cases…?"
"Yes. I didn't buy them to play games; I bought them to see what's inside."
"Oh… I see. That's why you asked me to buy a toolbox earlier."
Cha Pil-gyu, now a bit more accustomed to speaking casually, was shocked by the request, but he opened the toolbox and began disassembling the consoles. Yoon-gi did the same.
"Hmm, so every time we take one of these consoles apart, about 20,000 yen just goes down the drain?"
"That's right."
"Somehow, it feels like I'm committing a crime."
Yoon-gi offered a wry smile at Pil-gyu’s apt description. Soon, all the consoles were disassembled and laid out on their respective boxes.
"Now what do I do?"
"Just a moment."
Yoon-gi pulled out a Polaroid camera and began taking pictures of the internals of each console. Because there were so many types of consoles, the task took longer than expected. It wasn't just the ones officially released in Japan; he had included ones sold in the West that were being distributed in Japan as well.
"Phew, taking pictures is work, too."
"Do you have something you need to do with those photos?"
"Since the consoles are right in front of us now, I can look at them directly, but once I move, I won't be able to. I'm taking them for when that happens."
Yoon-gi wrote down which console was which on the back of the photos, and once the task was finished, he began peering into the consoles again.
"Uh… what do I do now?"
"You can play games, or watch TV. Make yourself comfortable."
Naturally, Cha Pil-gyu did nothing and kept watch by Yoon-gi’s side.
"It's fine, so please rest. You need to rest now so you can protect me at full condition later."
"Uh…"
"Hyung? You know I'm not the type to say one thing and do another when it comes to this, right?"
Finally, Cha Pil-gyu offered a wry smile and nodded. "Alright."
Cha Pil-gyu lay on the bed and turned on the TV. He drifted off to sleep without realizing it, and even when he woke up, Yoon-gi was still lost in thought, peering into the guts of the game consoles.
"Oh my, welcome!"
Yoon-gi offered a wry smile at the warm welcome from Sega’s president, Hayao Nakayama.
"This is quite different from our first meeting, isn't it?"
Nakayama, naturally, gave an awkward laugh. "That can't be helped, can it? Aren't the Yoon-nim of that time and the Yoon-nim of now completely different beings?"
When they first met last September, Yoon-gi was just an arrogant minor who had used his connections to summon him. But now, Yoon-gi was a major shareholder of Sega and a tycoon capable of exerting sufficient influence over many companies. It was no wonder, as he had invested over 20 billion yen in purchasing shares of companies, including Sega. Furthermore, because Yoon-gi had never interfered in Sega’s management beyond the conditions he had set, Nakayama found him very agreeable. After all, there were many shareholders who initially claimed they wouldn't interfere, only to do so later.
"Please, have a seat."
"Shall I?"
Nakayama offered Yoon-gi the seat of honor, and Yoon-gi sat down naturally. Over the past four months, Nakayama had experienced Yoon-gi firsthand and had already realized that he was on a completely different level from an ordinary minor. Especially given Nakayama’s keen insight, it was impossible for him not to grasp Yoon-gi’s future, so Nakayama was subtly lowering himself in front of Yoon-gi. Since his very recruitment to Sega was based on his insight, this behavior from Nakayama was not strange at all.
"How did the recall of the SG-1000 go?"
"Over 95 percent of the units sold have been recovered. We plan to continue accepting recalls for the remaining 5 percent over the next three years. Of course, we won't be running additional advertisements due to the costs."
"That should be enough. And it would be good to keep about 100 units of the SG-1000 in storage."
"100 units?"
"Even though it was a failed product, it might hold historical value later. Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those lying around later? You could brag to people around you, saying, 'This is the game console that failed because I didn't touch it.'"
"Hoho, I suppose one could think of it that way." Nakayama nodded, looking intrigued.
"Let's see. So the recall is complete, and what is the reaction from the development department?"
Yoon-gi urged Nakayama to answer at the sight of his wry smile.
"It's alright, go ahead and tell me."
"Naturally, the state of things is very poor. It's understandable, as the development team had done their absolute best to create it, only to have it labeled as trash and recalled in its entirety. Moreover, because there hasn't been a project for several months, their morale has hit rock bottom."
"That's exactly why I came to see you today. Today, I want you to gather everyone from the development department."