The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 6

6. Becoming a Villain in a Chaebol Family – The Blood of a Chaebol 02 –

“What? You’re going on a trip?”

Chief Hong Won-ik’s voice involuntarily rose at Choi Kyung-min’s report.

“It’s a field trip with a private tutor.”

Choi Kyung-min already knew permission wouldn’t be granted.

‘Even if Ms. Hilton is going, there’s no way they’ll allow a trip to the West.’

He had only made the call because Sarah Hilton had insisted.

“No way!”

The angry outburst came immediately.

Normally, he would have given up here. But Choi Kyung-min decided to hold out a little longer.

“Chief.”

A short word.

However, that one word was drowned out by Chief Hong Won-ik’s shout.

“How much more trouble is he going to cause! Absolutely not!”

That was it for Choi Kyung-min. He had to give up and bow his head.

“Understood.”

He felt he had done enough.

‘A salaryman’s life is as fragile as a fly’s.’

If something went wrong, it wouldn’t end with just a written apology.

‘I’d be fired immediately.’

Being fired from Daeun Group, where he had worked his way up from elementary school to university for 16 years, was something he didn’t even want to think about.

Soon, Chief Hong Won-ik’s scolding poured out.

“Secretary Choi, get your act together. If you don’t, who will protect Hyun-woo? Right?”

“I’m sorry.”

Click.

Chief Hong Won-ik hung up the phone and loosened his tie, still unable to calm his anger.

“Hoo······.”

“Why are you so angry?”

The man who asked in a soft voice was Jung Min-seok, Managing Director and the second son of the Daeun Group.

“Choi Secretary was saying strange things.”

“Choi Secretary?”

“He was asking for permission for Hyun-woo’s field trip.”

Chief Hong Won-ik sat down in his chair and replied.

“Isn’t he on a school leave?”

“He has a private tutor.”

“A private tutor?”

“A trustworthy person.”

Chief Hong Won-ik had heard about the private tutor’s identity.

‘No matter how much of an heiress she is, she can’t handle Hyun-woo.’

The Jung Hyun-woo he knew was a born troublemaker.

Jung Min-seok’s voice was still gentle.

“If a trustworthy person is going with him, wouldn’t it be okay?”

Chief Hong Won-ik raised his thick eyebrows.

“Director Jung, what are you saying?”

“I heard Hyun-woo is confined at home. If he continues to be confined, he might get worse.”

“Heh, you.”

Chief Hong Won-ik knew that Managing Director Jung Min-seok’s good-natured face wasn’t genuine.

‘I wonder what he’s up to this time.’

He slowly shook his head.

“No.”

“You won’t allow it?”

“What would the Chairman say if he knew?”

“Father isn’t that inflexible.”

Chief Hong Won-ik hardened his face.

“Have you forgotten the scolding you received last time?”

“That was because it was warranted.”

“I don’t understand you.”

“Please, allow it this time for my sake.”

Chief Hong Won-ik frowned.

“I’m the one who has to take responsibility, not you.”

He held a key position as the head of the group’s secretariat, but he was just a salaried employee like Choi Kyung-min.

With one word from Chairman Jung Woo-sun, he would have to pack his bags and leave.

“Please say it’s a trip I recommended, Senior.”

“You?”

“Is it not possible?”

Chief Hong Won-ik clasped his hands together.

“Tell me honestly, what are you thinking?”

“I just want to give my nephew some freedom.”

Chief Hong Won-ik knew this wasn’t his true intention. But as he continued to ask, he felt he couldn’t refuse.

‘It wouldn’t be good to be on bad terms with Director Jung.’

Sooner or later, within ten to twenty years at the latest, Managing Director Jung Min-seok would become the chairman of Daeun Group.

‘I need to maintain a good relationship for that time.’

He nodded and said.

“If you insist that much… I understand. I will allow the trip.”

Chief Hong Won-ik picked up the phone again.

***

A blue Mustang sped down the wide highways of the West, its exhaust emitting a cheerful sound.

“Your taste is unexpected.”

Sarah was behind the wheel.

“The Mustang?”

“No. The music.”

The song playing inside the Mustang was a country song that Southern old folks would enjoy.

“My grandfather used to like this song.”

“Ah, Chairman Hilton?”

“I’ll say it again, my grandfather wasn’t a CEO.”

Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah.

The two were heading towards Silicon Valley.

“By the way, how did you manage to shake off Tom? He wanted to come along.”

Tom was Choi Kyung-min’s American name.

“I left a note and slipped out.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows for a moment.

“Really?”

“I’m kidding. I told him to take a vacation for once. He hasn’t had a day off since I was discharged from the hospital.”

“Being a secretary is a tough job.”

Driving through America in a sports car with a blonde beauty. It was something he had never even dreamed of in his past life.

‘It’s not exactly the picture I wanted, but….’

The two were not spending a leisurely time but driving down the highway to work.

“But will it be okay?”

Sarah asked, watching the road ahead.

“What do you mean?”

“You only asked for 10% as a commission.”

“I didn’t create the game.”

“But Sarah is the one who declared she would sell it.”

Sarah shrugged.

“My grandfather used to say, if you’re too greedy, you’ll get hurt as much as what’s not yours.”

It wasn’t a great saying, but it contained the experience of an old man.

“So, that’s why 10%?”

“Ten thousand dollars is a thousand dollars. A thousand dollars is a hundred dollars.”

“A hundred dollars won’t even cover the plane ticket.”

“Yeah, I need at least a ten thousand dollar contract to break even.”

Two hours later.

Jung Hyun-woo arrived in front of a building in Silicon Valley. He took a deep breath as soon as he saw the company sign.

“Hoo.”

“Nervous?”

At Sarah’s question, Jung Hyun-woo covered his face with both hands.

“I’m tense.”

“Is it because it’s your first deal?”

It wasn’t because it was his first deal that he was nervous.

The reason Jung Hyun-woo was nervous was because of the name on the sign.

– Activision

A legendary developer that created numerous masterpieces, including Call of Duty, Wolfenstein, MechWarrior, and Spider-Man.

‘I can’t believe I’m going to be doing business with Activision.’

He had known that the company he had to deal with was Activision before he left.

But seeing the sign in person like this felt completely different from seeing it on paper.

‘My first opponent is a legend.’

Standing in front of Activision with a member of the Hilton family, even Daeun Group, one of Korea’s leading conglomerates, seemed insignificant.

‘Don’t get me wrong. I’m not Activision.’

As he stood there blankly, Sarah asked.

“Are you okay?”

Jung Hyun-woo lowered his hands at her question.

“I’m okay.”

“Shall we go in?”

“Let’s go.”

The two headed to Activision together.

***

“We have confirmed the sample.”

The person from Activision treated Sarah politely. Her name seemed to have influence here as well.

‘In the current situation, there’s a huge gap between Activision and the Hilton Group.’

It wasn’t yet the giant corporation Activision that he knew.

“Were there any problems?”

“There was a minor bug, but our team fixed it.”

Jung Hyun-woo narrowed his brow slightly at the mention of a minor bug.

‘They found a bug in that short amount of time?’

Activision developers seemed more capable than he thought.

‘Or maybe it’s just a bluff.’

Finding flaws in a product to lower the price was a technique that had been around since ancient times.

It wouldn’t be strange if Activision used such a technique.

‘Everyone was careless before the Atari shock [the video game industry crash of 1983].’

When he was in the game industry, the phrase Atari shock was something he heard endlessly.

“So, you’re saying there are no problems.”

Sarah lightly dismissed Activision’s words.

“To give you the conclusion, yes.”

“That’s good.”

The name of the person in charge at Activision was Robert. He didn’t show much interest in Jung Hyun-woo. He only focused on Sarah.

Jung Hyun-woo didn’t like that very much.

‘They’re completely treating me like a child.’

Maybe if he were an elementary school student?

He was a fairly mature high school student.

“Are you willing to sign a contract with us?”

Robert paused at Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“A contract?”

“You wouldn’t have asked us to come here for nothing.”

At Jung Hyun-woo’s firm words, Robert looked at Sarah.

“Whether we sign a contract or not is all up to Charlie [referring to Sarah].”

Robert groaned softly at her words.

“Uhm, I see.”

A bold kid and a chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] heiress.

It was a surprisingly difficult combination to deal with.

“So, are you going to sign a contract?”

Robert answered Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“We are willing to sign a contract.”

“That’s good.”

Robert glanced at Sarah. She didn’t show any reaction to the words that they could sign a contract.

‘Does that mean she’s not very interested in game contracts?’

He turned his gaze back to Jung Hyun-woo.

‘I don’t know what the relationship between this Asian boy and the Hilton family is.’

He didn’t seem like just a simple student.

“How many copies do you plan to print for the first edition?”

“The first edition?”

“The size of the contract will depend on the first edition.”

Robert gave an awkward smile.

“We’ll have to review that later.”

“We can’t sign a contract without a confirmation.”

Jung Hyun-woo was a man who had worked in the industry for over ten years.

‘I can’t let them get away with being vague.’

Sarah also stepped in to support him.

“Robert, the production size of the first edition is an important factor in determining the overall contract size. I don’t think this is something we can just gloss over.”

Robert wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand and said.

“According to our practices, we usually produce about 50,000 copies for the first edition.”

“Let’s make it 100,000 copies.”

At Jung Hyun-woo’s words, Robert raised his hand as if he was in trouble.

“Do you know how much the contract amount is if we make 100,000 copies?”

Jung Hyun-woo stared at him and said.

“I think it’s a game worth that much.”

Robert swallowed hard.

As expected, the two were not easy opponents.

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