The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 46

46. Becoming a Villain in a Chaebol Family – Victoria Corporation 04 –

***

“Could you ask Robert to introduce developers other than Activision’s core developers?”

Sarah didn’t immediately say yes.

“Developers other than core developers? Are you talking about bringing in people who are subject to layoffs?”

After the Atari shock [the video game industry crisis of 1983], game companies began to downsize. As a result, developers like John River, who had lost their jobs, flooded the market.

“Our company needs a lot of people.”

“Still, if they’re subject to layoffs, that means they’re not really talented.”

Program development largely depended on the skills of the core developers. Sarah knew that much now.

“Core developers are expensive.”

“It’s capitalism in every field.”

Sarah thought it was better to scout core developers even if it meant paying more.

“I think it’s good to go half and half.”

“Half and half?”

“Do you think the company is like a sports team?”

“What do you mean?”

After taking a sip of cola, Jung Hyun-woo replied.

“Recruiting core developers for a large sum is like signing a free agent, and gathering new or mid-level developers is like the farm system of a minor league.”

“So you’re saying you’re going to develop developers who haven’t become core?”

“You might find someone surprisingly good in there.”

Jung Hyun-woo had seen many developers who were skilled but failed to get promoted because they were on the wrong side of the line when he worked at a game company.

‘Of course, people with genius-level skills will break through somehow.’

But the people he wanted to gather were not developers with genius-level skills.

“Now that I hear it, it’s not entirely unreasonable. Every company has a core and a shell.”

She thought that what Jung Hyun-woo wanted to fill was the working-level staff.

“Okay. I’ll take care of that too.”

“Thank you.”

“What? We’re running the company together.”

Sarah wrote down what Jung Hyun-woo said and looked up again.

“Come to think of it, do you want to go to New York?”

“New York?”

“We need to have a meeting with the JP Morgan staff.”

Building a real-time stock system required the cooperation of JP Morgan.

‘They’re the ones paying for it too.’

Jung Hyun-woo asked her.

“If it’s a meeting, is there something else going on?”

“Laura is coming because of a conference.”

“Laura?”

“We didn’t meet her when we went to Las Vegas last time.”

When Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah went to the West Coast, Laura had already left for Singapore.

So the two couldn’t meet Laura.

“It wouldn’t be bad if we could meet this time.”

Jung Hyun-woo had already bought a gift for her.

‘I don’t know if she’ll like it, though…’

It was hard to impress a chaebol [a South Korean business conglomerate] heiress with ordinary gifts.

“When do we leave?”

“In two days.”

“There’s not much time.”

Jung Hyun-woo scratched his head and suddenly remembered.

“Sarah.”

“What?”

“How’s studying going?”

Sarah was doing more work for Victoria Corporation than studying.

“Do you want me to be honest?”

“Honest is good.”

“I almost failed last semester.”

Sarah’s failure meant academic probation.

In the United States, a GPA [Grade Point Average] below 2.0 out of 4.0 resulted in academic probation. For ordinary American students, the only problem was scholarships, but for international students like Jung Hyun-woo, their F-1 visa could be revoked.

“What about this semester?”

“It’s even more precarious.”

“That’s going to be difficult.”

“I might take a leave of absence if things get tough.”

Jung Hyun-woo’s eyebrows shot up.

“Excuse me?”

At his extreme reaction, Sarah raised her right index finger again.

“Bill Gates did that too.”

She was mentioning Bill Gates at every opportunity now.

‘She must have seen Bill’s interview in some magazine.’

Jung Hyun-woo shrugged.

“Actually, this side is also dangerous.”

He had John River create a jokbo [a cheat sheet or study guide], but that alone didn’t guarantee good grades against the MIT geniuses.

“What about Charlie?”

“We’re both not studying anyway.”

“Hmm, Charlie also has visa issues.”

“So, how long will it take to get a green card?”

Sarah said, putting her hands together.

“It might not take that long.”

“Yes?”

“Charlie has already made a huge investment in an American company.”

The scale of Victoria Corporation, which Jung Hyun-woo founded, had grown to the point where the state government was paying attention.

It was a loss for the state government if the representative of such a company had unclear residency status.

“Then should we apply?”

Sarah nodded.

“I think it would be good to do that.”

If he obtained a green card, he wouldn’t have to worry about visa extensions.

“Come to think of it, our company could request an employment visa?”

“Of course. Our company has a considerable amount of assets worth thousands of dollars.”

Victoria Corporation was paying a large amount of local taxes to the city of Boston, so it was a valuable customer from the tax authorities’ point of view.

“Should I look into this myself?”

“No, just prepare the documents. I’ll take care of the rest.”

It was the moment when one more task was added to Sarah’s work.

***

Robert from Activision put his hands together and sighed deeply.

“Hoo, are you saying that royalty negotiations are impossible?”

He had flown all the way to Boston to reduce royalty expenses.

“We can’t arbitrarily change the contents specified in the contract.”

A contract is a contract.

Sarah showed no signs of backing down.

‘She must be coming on strong today since she didn’t bring Charlie.’

Robert’s brow furrowed involuntarily. He decided to plead with her a little more.

“Sarah, you know the industry is struggling, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

She knew the difficulties well, but she couldn’t reduce the royalties.

Robert sighed again.

“Sarah…”

“Robert, as I said before, changing the contract is an act that can lose trust.”

“But the company is struggling. If Activision goes bankrupt, Charlie won’t be able to get paid either.”

That wasn’t wrong.

If Activision went bankrupt, Jung Hyun-woo wouldn’t be able to receive the overdue payments.

Sarah slightly raised her voice at his plea.

“Robert, can I make a counter-proposal?”

Sarah’s counter-proposal.

Robert thought there was room for negotiation.

“What is it?”

Sarah conveyed Jung Hyun-woo’s proposal to Robert as it was. Robert stroked his chin with his right hand after listening to her.

“Hmm, so you’re saying you want to receive stock instead of cash.”

“That’s right.”

Robert didn’t think it was a bad offer.

‘We have to go public anyway, and giving stock can prevent cash from going out immediately.’

The problem was the price of the stock.

“How much do you want?”

“The IPO [Initial Public Offering] price is enough.”

Robert expected Sarah to drive down the stock price. But she surprisingly demanded the same price as other investors.

‘Is she saying she’ll accommodate us?’

It seemed that the story of knowing the difficulties of the industry wasn’t just a passing remark.

“Are you really okay with the IPO price?”

“Charlie said that Activision is our biggest helper. And he added that it’s right to help each other in difficult times. It’s difficult if you lightly regard Charlie as a young boy.”

Robert was slightly moved by Jung Hyun-woo’s story.

‘Helping each other in difficult times. That’s right. But putting it into action is never easy.’

Most people pressured to get their money faster as soon as rumors of worsening financial conditions spread.

But Jung Hyun-woo proposed to receive cash in stock instead of pressuring Activision.

“Okay. I will convey Charlie’s intentions to the higher-ups.”

Robert could rest assured with Sarah’s proposal.

“There’s one more story.”

“What story is it?”

“You’re going to lay off people soon, right?”

“Um, that is…”

“If the recession is a dark cloud, then the reduction is like rain.”

Robert had no choice but to nod.

“We expect about a hundred people.”

“Are there any good people among them?”

Robert tilted his head.

“Are you saying you’re going to absorb our staff?”

“It doesn’t matter if they’re not from Activision. Please introduce us to anyone with valuable skills, even if they’re from a partner or affiliate.”

Robert sighed deeply.

“Hoo, I can’t help but admire Charlie’s broad mind. But are you okay? Our area of expertise is games.”

“This side is also games.”

It was Jung Hyun-woo, not Victoria Corporation, who was trading with Activision.

‘Aggressive investment when others are cutting back.’

Robert thought Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah were trying to gamble.

‘It would be dangerous if the capital wasn’t solid.’

He put his hands together and asked.

“Sarah, did you receive an investment from the Hilton Group?”

“That’s not the case.”

“Then…”

“Everything is what Charlie decided.”

What Jung Hyun-woo decided.

Robert nodded.

“Okay. I’ll sort out those who unfortunately made the layoff list.”

He got up from his seat and thought.

‘It’s the first time I’ve been impressed by a boy who’s not even twenty years old.’

***

New York, Wall Street.

Laura sat in a cafe decorated in the Baroque style, elegantly turning the pages of a book.

Jung Hyun-woo, who was watching the scene from afar, thought.

‘It’s like a scene from a movie.’

Although the hair color was different, she was like Monica Bellucci, who played Malena [a character in the movie “Malèna”].

‘I feel like I’ve become that little boy.’

The boy who admired Malena.

I’m sorry, but I couldn’t remember the boy’s name.

“Laura.”

When Sarah raised her voice, the woman who was moving in the movie returned to reality.

“Sarah? Charlie’s here too.”

Jung Hyun-woo bowed his head and greeted.

“Laura, it’s nice to see you. How have you been?”

“I’m always doing well. How about Charlie?”

“I’m doing well, thanks to you.”

Laura put down the book and offered them a seat.

“I heard you have a meeting in New York?”

Jung Hyun-woo sat down and replied.

“Yes, I have some work to discuss with JP Morgan.”

Laura whistled at the mention of JP Morgan.

“Wow, our sister has made it.”

Sarah felt that her compliment sounded empty.

“Unlike someone who couldn’t become a professor.”

“Our sister always gets angry when she sees her sister.”

“Because there’s someone who provokes me.”

Jung Hyun-woo was now used to seeing the two of them like this.

“Laura, is it a conference?”

“I don’t know why they’re holding a physics conference in New York.”

Sarah added as if to add fuel to the fire.

“And the professors should also enjoy the hotel service.”

If there was one thing that Laura and Sarah had in common, it was that they didn’t really like staying in hotels.

“I hate hotels.”

“Then where do you stay?”

“At a friend’s house.”

Sarah’s voice was sharp.

“Is it another man?”

Laura shrugged at her rebuke.

“Do you think my friends are only men?”

“Then?”

“I’m staying at Aria’s house.”

“Aria is living in New York now?”

A woman named Aria seemed to be someone the two knew together.

“It’s been two years, didn’t you know?”

“If I had known, I would have met you last time. It’s a pity.”

Jung Hyun-woo slipped in between the two.

“Are you perhaps alumni of the same school?”

“Who? Aria?”

“Yes.”

Laura said with a mischievous face.

“She was Sarah’s teacher.”

“Yes?”

“She’s a teacher who was disappointed that Sarah didn’t go to a prestigious university.”

Sarah’s face hardened at her words.

“Take that back! Our school isn’t bad either.”

Boston University was not a famous prestigious school, but it was a university that was recognized for its skills, ranking within the top 100 in the national university rankings every year.

“It’s true that Aria was disappointed.”

Laura didn’t back down at all.

Jung Hyun-woo sighed inwardly as he watched the two’s power struggle.

‘Ha, so who is Aria?’

Neither of them tried to answer his question properly.

“Ladies, your voices are too loud in an elegant cafe.”

At the cold words, Sarah and Laura’s eyes turned at the same time.

“Aria?”

“Aria!”

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

The woman named Aria looked older than Laura, around thirty.

“Sarah, Laura, your voices are too loud.”

The two lowered their heads at Aria’s criticism.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sarah is provoking me again.”

Aria turned her gaze to the Korean boy sitting next to her.

“Who is this gentleman?”

The moment Sarah was about to open her mouth, Laura answered first.

“He’s Sarah’s boyfriend.”

Sarah blushed and got very angry.

“Laura!”

Aria reached out as if to calm the two.

“Ladies. Elegantly.”

Sarah lowered her voice at her words.

“I’ll formally introduce you. This is Charlie Jung, a genius boy from MIT and my business partner.”

Jung Hyun-woo got up and greeted politely.

“I’m Charlie Jung.”

Aria wasn’t a great beauty, but she was more elegant than the Hilton sisters.

She reached out very gently.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Aria Walton, a friend of the two sisters.”

Aria Walton.

Jung Hyun-woo flinched.

‘Walton, could it be…’

Laura, who saw him flinch, said.

“It’s the Walton that Charlie knows.”

That’s right.

Aria’s father, James Walton, was a legendary figure who founded the famous Walmart with his brother.

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