The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 23

23. Became a Villain of a Conglomerate Family – Pyeongchang-dong 03 –

Jung Hyun-woo’s voice rose at the end of his sentence.

“Didn’t you hear me? I’m telling you to switch to my line.”

A sixteen-year-old’s line, huh.

Choi Kyung-min sighed deeply inwardly.

‘Haa… This is a bit much.’

When he first joined Daeun Group, he had dreams of traveling the world as a salesman.

Of course, he had long since abandoned that dream.

“I’ll be entering university next year.”

He knew he would be going to university with a recommendation from the Hilton family.

“I know.”

“What will happen after that?”

Choi Kyung-min had never thought about what would happen after that.

‘Could he possibly join Daeun Group?’

The troublemaker of Daeun Group returns to Daeun Group.

It was a nightmare for the Daeun Group’s secretary office.

‘Chief Hong’s wrinkles will deepen.’

He trailed off slightly.

“To Daeun Group…”

“There’s a high possibility of that, right?”

“Yes.”

“When that time comes, I’ll need someone on my side within Daeun Group.”

To Jung Hyun-woo, Choi Kyung-min was someone he was planting in advance. Of course, Choi Kyung-min’s position was slightly different.

‘He has some extraordinary aspects, but can the troublemaker of Daeun Group have a vision?’

The Jung Hyun-woo he had seen up close and the Jung Hyun-woo that Daeun Group thought of could be different.

“Are you saying you want me to become your person, young master?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and said.

“Of course, it’s not free.”

It’s not free.

Choi Kyung-min thought it was an empty promise.

‘I’ll help you out when things go well later.’

Anyone could say that.

‘Besides, isn’t the young master just a boy?’

He thought it would be difficult to find a vision in Jung Hyun-woo.

“If Secretary Choi takes my hand, I will help Secretary Choi as well.”

How, and in what way, would he help?

Jung Hyun-woo was just a boy who had passed the high school equivalency exam. It was when Choi Kyung-min sighed inwardly.

Jung Hyun-woo took out a small box from his pocket.

“It’s 10,000 dollars.”

10,000 dollars.

At the 1982 exchange rate, it was 8 million won [South Korean currency].

You might think it’s not a lot of money, but in 1982, the starting salary at Daehyun Group, famous for its cars, was 2.5 million won.

In other words, it was equivalent to the annual salary of a deputy-level executive at a large company.

If converted to the 21st century, it would be at least 200 million won.

“Y-Young master?”

“It’s a reward for enduring well by my side for a year.”

Choi Kyung-min couldn’t help but blink.

‘I haven’t given him pocket money even once in the past year, so where did he get such a large sum of money?’

It was too much to be hidden pocket money.

“I can’t accept this.”

The amount was large, and he wasn’t ready to accept it yet.

“This is given regardless of whether you take my hand or not.”

“The salary I receive from the company is enough.”

Jung Hyun-woo smiled inwardly when Choi Kyung-min spoke in a firm voice.

‘He’s a surprisingly upright friend.’

If he were a frivolous person, he wouldn’t have been able to refuse the large sum he offered.

“If you heard something from my grandfather during this trip back home, would Secretary Choi’s attitude change?”

His grandfather was Chairman Jung Woo-sun.

‘The chairman?’

If the source of the money was Chairman Jung Woo-sun, it was understandable.

‘But he’s giving this much money to his grandson as pocket money?’

He couldn’t have given him all the money he received as pocket money, so the actual amount he received was likely even larger.

He thought that the chairman of a conglomerate was someone you could never know.

“Did the chairman say something?”

“If you haven’t had a line until now, take my hand. You won’t regret it.”

Choi Kyung-min bowed his head and said.

“Please give me some time to think about it.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded at his words.

“Secretary Choi, you’re not as easy as I thought.”

As he turned around, Choi Kyung-min followed him and said.

“Young master, you shouldn’t take too much money on the plane.”

Jung Hyun-woo took a step and replied.

“Up to 10,000 dollars is fine.”

The limit for taking out foreign currency without declaration was within 10,000 dollars. Of course, Jung Hyun-woo thought it didn’t matter even if it exceeded 10,000 dollars.

‘Who would search a third-generation conglomerate heir using first class in 1982?’

Before the liberalization of overseas travel, airports were the exclusive property of the wealthy and powerful, except for businessmen.

***

“He’s not an easy person.”

Sitting across from Jung Hyun-woo was Sarah.

“Who?”

“Tom.”

“Ah, Tom.”

Sarah thought the relationship between Jung Hyun-woo and Choi Kyung-min was subtle.

‘It’s like a butler and young master, but there’s something different about it.’

Jung Hyun-woo continued to talk about Choi Kyung-min.

“Tom doesn’t seem to want to become my person.”

“Everyone has dreams.”

“Are you saying his dreams are different from mine?”

“Just like your parents’ dreams are different from your dreams.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded at her words.

“That could be true.”

He thought Choi Kyung-min would give him an answer in a few days.

But Choi Kyung-min had not yet responded to his offer.

‘He’s not rejecting it outright, so what is he so worried about?’

Could it be that he lacks confidence in the future?

It had already been three days since he returned to the United States.

“Here are the sales figures for Zero Space 2.”

“It sold more than last month.”

“Because the new semester has started.”

Zero Space 2 was slightly disappointing compared to Zero Space, but it was receiving favorable reviews among game enthusiasts for its transformation system.

“Is your hand okay?”

“Of course.”

Now that he was back in the United States, he was planning to look into development again.

‘If I rest for too long, I’ll lose my touch.’

Even though the coding was simpler compared to the 21st century, he couldn’t keep up with the trends if he let go.

‘Looking at the industry as a whole, there are a lot of low-quality games being produced, but there are still innovative games being released in some areas.’

Even during the Atari shock [a major recession in the video game industry in 1983], masterpieces continued to be released.

‘Besides, the PC market is also growing.’

Thanks to the rapid spread of home PCs, the PC market was growing to the point where it could not be ignored.

Jung Hyun-woo thought he was standing at a crossroads.

‘After the Atari shock, games become more sophisticated and detailed.’

The fact that games become more sophisticated and detailed meant that development required more manpower.

If you want to delve into games properly, it was difficult to do it with one-person development.

‘Should I start a game studio?’

Sarah seemed to read his concerns and remained silent for a moment. She thought that giving him time to think like this was not a bad thing.

‘The answer comes from within the *gomin* [Korean word for deep contemplation or worry].’

The questions in life were mostly not simple formulas like 1+1.

They were problems that required deep thought, *gomin*, and time.

“Sarah.”

When Jung Hyun-woo opened his mouth, Sarah’s gaze turned to him.

“Is there something you’re curious about?”

“If Sarah had ten talents, what would you do?”

Ten talents.

That was Jung Hyun-woo’s situation now.

‘In 1982, I can develop in any field.’

Servers, security, finance, and even platforms were possible. But if a little more time passed, it would be difficult to develop with his power alone.

“Ten talents. Just thinking about it is a joyful thing.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly.

“Please answer seriously.”

Sarah asked him.

“What kind of answer does Charlie want?”

“Huh?”

“Is it about choosing one of the ten talents? Or is it about using the ten talents to accomplish something?”

Jung Hyun-woo paused at Sarah’s question.

‘Using ten talents to accomplish something. Yes, that’s it!’

He stood up from his seat in an instant.

“Sarah, I’ve decided.”

Sarah smiled gently instead of being surprised.

‘Charlie, you’ve grown.’

A teenager’s body and mind changed every day. She had also had such times.

“What decision did you make?”

“I’m going to change the name of Victoria Fund.”

Sarah tilted her head.

‘That’s not what I expected.’

She thought Jung Hyun-woo had decided on a new career path.

“You still don’t like the name Victoria?”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head.

“No.”

“Then?”

“I’m going to change it to Victoria Corporation instead of Victoria Fund.”

“Corporation?”

Was he saying he would develop and distribute games directly?

‘Haa, shorting the game industry and jumping into games directly? This doesn’t make sense.’

It was when she sighed briefly inwardly.

“Victoria Corporation will be a company that leads the future.”

Sarah couldn’t help but tilt her head.

“A company that leads the future? What does that mean?”

“Sarah, the future will be dominated by computers, programs, and systems linked to them.”

American universities were in an IT craze.

She had also been influenced to some extent.

“Are you going to develop all those systems?”

“It’s possible now.”

Jung Hyun-woo’s gaze was directed towards the 21st century. Her words had awakened his potential.

“It’s possible now?”

“Sarah, it’ll be difficult if it’s any later.”

Sarah put her hands together and thought.

‘I might have to drop out of college.’

To run a real company, not just an investment firm like now, one of them had to dedicate everything to that company.

She thought it was right for her to take on that role rather than Jung Hyun-woo, who was only sixteen years old.

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