The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 58

– Era’s Ruler –

If you were to ask people living in the 2020s which company comes to mind when they think of computers, most would mention Intel, Microsoft, or even Nvidia or AMD.

What if you asked the same question to people in the 1980s?

Many would answer like this:

– The companies that represent the computer industry are IBM, Commodore, Dell, and Apple.

And do you see the difference between the companies mentioned above and the companies representing the computer industry in the 2020s?

Yes.

The companies representing the computer industry in the 1980s made complete computers, while the companies representing the computer industry in the 2020s made components that go inside computers, not complete products.

In other words, the 1980s were still the era of companies that made complete computers. And the best among those companies was IBM.

“I didn’t expect to have a meeting in a café instead of a company office.”

The man wearing horn-rimmed glasses was Ellen Maxi, an employee on a business trip from IBM.

‘Does he have a stick up his butt or something?’

From the moment they first met, he was incredibly stiff.

Sarah felt a slight displeasure at his rigid attitude. But she forced a smile and said,

“Mr. Maxi, I thought it would be better to have important conversations in a quiet place, so I chose this place as the meeting location.”

Ellen Maxi frowned immediately.

“Is this place quiet?”

He retorted in a blunt voice, but Sarah exercised extreme patience to prevent the atmosphere of the conversation from deteriorating.

“I think it’s much quieter compared to the company office. Don’t you think so?”

Maxi was still curt.

“This is quiet? Your company must be very noisy.”

Jeong Hyun-woo, who had been listening silently, interjected.

“Isn’t a noisy and busy company a proper company?”

Maxi’s gaze moved to Jeong Hyun-woo. He was doubting whether Jeong Hyun-woo was the real CEO of Victoria Corporation.

“Ms. Hilton, is it true that Mr. Jeong can make decisions on important company matters?”

If the other person’s identity was certain, this was a rude question.

‘Let’s see about this.’

The moment Jeong Hyun-woo raised his eyebrows, Sarah grabbed his wrist. It was a signal not to ruin things. He sighed deeply inside.

‘Hoo, since Sarah is telling me to be patient, I’ll let it go this once.’

Sarah grabbed Jeong Hyun-woo’s wrist and simultaneously turned her gaze to Maxi.

“Mr. Jeong is the representative of Victoria Corporation and embodies Victoria’s technological prowess. I don’t think anyone at Victoria Corporation doubts his skills.”

Maxi cleared his throat lightly at her answer.

“Hmm, hmm. I see.”

He still didn’t think much of Jeong Hyun-woo. But he didn’t raise any more questions.

Jeong Hyun-woo was dumbfounded by his attitude.

‘Hoo… Even Neil Hamilton from JP Morgan wasn’t like this.’

The attitude of the IBM employee, Maxi, was even stiffer than Neil Hamilton, the head of a core affiliate of JP Morgan. He looked down on the world as if he were the chairman of IBM.

‘This reminds me of the old days.’

In the past, he had worked on projects with employees from large corporations several times. At the time, some of the employees from large corporations showed a tendency to equate themselves with the company. However, their behavior was not as extreme as Maxi’s.

‘Tsk, is IBM that great?’

The blue shirt symbolizing IBM caught his eye.

According to an article in an IT magazine, all IBM employees wear blue shirts.

Jeong Hyun-woo thought Maxi’s blue shirt looked like a school uniform.

“So, what does IBM want?”

Maxi placed both hands on the table and answered.

“Our IBM wants to give Victoria Corporation and JP Morgan an opportunity.”

Give an opportunity.

For a moment, Jeong Hyun-woo almost burst into laughter. He forced himself to hold back his laughter and raised his voice slightly at the end.

“An opportunity?”

“That’s right.”

Maxi was like a businessman bestowing charity.

“So, what kind of opportunity is it?”

It was a question asking him to be more specific.

“Our IBM has been impressed with JP Service.”

JP Service was causing a sensation in the American securities world, especially in New York and the eastern region. The number of subscribers had already exceeded 700,000, and some magazines were praising JP Service as having brought about a revolution in the stock market.

It was no exaggeration to say that IBM was impressed with JP Service.

“JP Service is something that our Victoria and JP Morgan developed in collaboration. Therefore, the trademark rights and the rights to the service itself belong to JP Morgan.”

This was not true. Nevertheless, he said this to give credit to JP Morgan.

“I’m coming from talking to JP Morgan first. They told me to inquire here.”

At Maxi’s answer, Jeong Hyun-woo clicked his tongue inwardly. He felt like he knew what JP Morgan’s representative was thinking when they brushed Maxi off.

‘Tsk, JP Morgan dumped their troublemaker from IBM on us.’

While he was clicking his tongue inwardly, Sarah stepped forward.

“So, what exactly does IBM want from us?”

Was it because Sarah was easier to deal with than Jeong Hyun-woo?

Maxi’s voice regained its strength.

“Our IBM wants to collaborate with Victoria to launch a new PC product.”

At his answer, Sarah raised her voice slightly at the end.

“A new PC product?”

Maxi nodded his head greatly and answered.

“I heard that Victoria is having difficulty securing modems. If we release a PC for JP Service that combines a modem with our IBM’s new product, we can easily solve the modem acquisition problem.”

Selling computers to people who want to use JP Service.

From a business perspective, it wasn’t an unreasonable story. No, rather, it could be of considerable help if only looking at the expansion of JP Service. But Jeong Hyun-woo didn’t like IBM, especially Maxi.

‘A typical large corporation trying to get a piece of a startup’s pie.’

He placed his right hand on the table and said.

“I refuse.”

Maxi’s eyes widened as much as 50-cent coins, as if he hadn’t even considered rejection.

“Refuse?”

“Shall I say it again?”

“Why are you refusing?”

Maxi’s eyes were saying this:

– What IT company in the world would refuse the great IBM?

Jeong Hyun-woo answered the bewildered him.

“JP Service is not software that ends with inserting a diskette into the drive and pressing the setup button. It must be accompanied by an installation service from a service technician.”

He was saying that he didn’t want to be treated like MS-DOS [Microsoft Disk Operating System, a widely used operating system in the 1980s].

“Then why not sell the service technician’s service together?”

Maxi was greatly embarrassed by his refusal.

When Jeong Hyun-woo asked him back, he spread both hands out with the palms showing.

“Then what benefit is there for us?”

“Can’t you sell JP Service to IBM users?”

In the case of the latest 16-bit computers, IBM had the number one market share in North America. If they joined hands with the number one company in the computer industry, the sales of JP Service would inevitably accelerate.

As mentioned before, Jeong Hyun-woo was well aware of this.

‘In fact, Microsoft became a mega-corporation by selling MS-DOS in this way. But I don’t like IBM.’

He smiled derisively and said.

“Maxi, most of our customers already have PCs at home. How many of them will buy a new computer to use JP Service?”

Sarah thought that Jeong Hyun-woo’s argument was somewhat persuasive.

‘It can’t be said that IBM’s proposal won’t help expand subscribers. Surely someone will want to use JP Service as a bonus when buying an IBM computer. But if I think about sharing profits with IBM, Maxi’s proposal isn’t very attractive.’

She stepped in to help Jeong Hyun-woo.

“Mr. Maxi, thank you for IBM’s proposal, but I also think the same as Mr. Jeong. Let’s pretend we didn’t hear this story.”

Maxi’s eye muscles trembled severely when both of them opposed the collaboration.

“R, really?”

He had never once thought that he would be treated like this in a café on the outskirts of Boston.

‘How could this happen…’

He thought he would receive a great welcome when he landed at Boston Airport. But the meeting went in the opposite direction of his expectations.

‘You fools! Do you know what kind of company IBM is!’

Jeong Hyun-woo stirred his coffee with a straw and said.

“If IBM really wants to proceed with this business…”

Maxi quickly asked about the words he had swallowed.

“If you want to proceed with this business, what should we do?”

“If the president of IBM comes to Boston in person, I’ll think about it.”

The president of IBM was the head of the computer industry.

‘I can’t have the president come all the way to Boston for something like this.’

In an instant, Maxi’s eyes clouded over.

“T, that’s impossible.”

Jeong Hyun-woo smiled bitterly and got up from his seat.

“Then the story ends here.”

Sarah also got up following him.

“Here’s my business card. If the president of IBM changes his mind, please contact us.”

This proposal wasn’t even something that would go up to the president of IBM. However, the two showed an attitude that they would not listen to the story again unless it was the president of IBM.

“T, this doesn’t make sense.”

Sarah turned her body slightly and asked.

“What doesn’t make sense?”

“How can you reject IBM’s…”

“Are you saying we can’t reject the proposal?”

“…”

“Listen carefully. We can reject proposals from not only IBM but also companies like Bank of America, Citibank, and Morgan Stanley.”

No large corporation can make Victoria Corporation kneel. She left this one word and left the café.

Thud.

As soon as he heard the sound of the door closing, Maxi muttered like a person who had lost his soul.

“You fools. Those guys are fools.”

What IT company would reject IBM’s proposal?

***

As soon as Jeong Hyun-woo entered the parking lot, he kicked an empty can hard.

Bang!

The empty can collided with the parking lot fence.

Sarah quickly followed and asked.

“Charlie, are you angry at Maxi?”

At her question, Jeong Hyun-woo nodded.

“He looks down on people.”

Maxi’s attitude was so rude that even Sarah felt unpleasant.

“Didn’t you feel better after giving him a blow earlier?”

Sarah vividly remembered Maxi’s last expression.

‘He looked like he was out of his mind.’

Jeong Hyun-woo turned his body and smiled.

“Actually, I’m not just angry at Maxi.”

“You’re not just angry at Maxi?”

“I’m also being foolish.”

Sarah tilted her head at his answer.

“Why, Charlie?”

“I kicked away the luck that rolled in.”

“The luck that rolled in?”

Jeong Hyun-woo sighed deeply and grabbed his waist with both hands, then raised his head to look at the sky.

“Ha… Sarah, do you know Gary Kildall?”

Since establishing Victoria Corporation, Sarah had been meticulously checking the trends and events in the IT industry. Thanks to that, she also knew what kind of person Gary Kildall was.

“I know him. Isn’t he the developer of CP/M [Control Program/Monitor, an early operating system for microcomputers]?”

CP/M was the operating system that became the basis of MS-DOS, and MS-DOS couldn’t dare to compare in terms of program completeness. However, his name became famous not because of CP/M but because of Bill Gates.

– The man who could have been Bill Gates.

This was Gary Kildall’s nickname.

“I made the same choice as Gary Kildall a little while ago.”

“The same choice as Gary Kildall?”

Jeong Hyun-woo grabbed his waist with both hands and raised his head to look at the sky.

“Gary Kildall was angry at IBM’s terrible attitude and broke the deal with IBM. And that deal went to Bill Gates.”

Bill Gates bought Q-DOS, which was created based on CP/M developed by Gary Kildall, and then modified it to release the famous MS-DOS. And Microsoft became a global conglomerate. Of course, directly comparing his JP Service with Gary Kildall’s CP/M may not be appropriate.

Nevertheless, he thought he had made the same choice as Gary Kildall.

“If what Charlie says is true, can we say that we missed a good opportunity?”

“Wouldn’t at least millions of dollars have flown away?”

Sarah poked Jeong Hyun-woo’s waist. Jeong Hyun-woo couldn’t help but be surprised by her actions.

“Oh, Sarah?”

Sarah smiled and said.

“Don’t worry. I’m next to Charlie.”

“Yes?”

“I can find the millions of dollars I lost.”

Jeong Hyun-woo narrowed his brows.

“Sarah, the deal is already broken.”

He didn’t think he could go back and talk about the deal again. Of course, Sarah’s thoughts were different from his.

“Just because the first deal is broken doesn’t mean all deals are broken. There’s a next deal.”

Jeong Hyun-woo opened his eyes wide at her words.

“A next deal?”

“Unlike Charlie, I can just say that I’m in favor of collaborating with IBM.”

“No, Sarah, you opposed it together.”

It wasn’t just about opposing together. Sarah shattered Maxi’s mentality with the performance of throwing the business card.

Nevertheless, she smiled brightly and said.

“I was just 맞춰 줬을 뿐이라고 [matching] to Charlie’s tune.”

Jeong Hyun-woo looked at her with an unbelievable face.

“Will that work?”

“Won’t it work? A woman’s 변덕 [whim] is 무죄 [innocent].”

Sarah’s refreshing smile was 오랜만이었다 [after a long time].

“Ha… Sarah.”

Jeong Hyun-woo thought she was taking this too lightly.

‘If I reattach the broken deal, I’ll have to 숙이고 들어가다 [bow down] on this side.’

Sarah also knew what he was worried about. But she raised her right hand up and raised her voice.

“Ahem! Just trust me.”

Jeong Hyun-woo stuck out his tongue slightly.

“Sarah, it’s not something that can be done with 기합 [spirit] alone.”

“Charlie, I have a plan. Don’t worry too much.”

“Sarah.”

Sarah turned her body and raised her voice.

“Are you still worried?”

“No. You seem to be in a particularly good mood today.”

Sarah didn’t deny his words.

“I only have a chance to play an active role when Charlie shows a 부족한 모습 [lacking side] like today.”

She was in a good mood thinking that she could fill Jeong Hyun-woo’s 부족함 [deficiency].

“Still, don’t overdo it.”

“Charlie, don’t worry. This deal, I’ll make it a 멋지게 [splendidly] success.”

Sarah turned the hand she had raised high and headed to the café.

***

In Maxi’s eyes, it looked like an angel had come down from the sky on a beam of light.

“Miss…”

“It’s Hilton. Maxi, you didn’t check the 담당자 [person in charge] name properly.”

Maxi hurriedly lowered his gaze to check the business card she handed him. Her 성 [family name] and name were clearly written on the business card.

‘Sarah Hilton?’

When they heard her name, nine out of ten people thought of a 가문 [family].

“That’s right. My grandfather used to run a 숙박업 [lodging business] in the past.”

In the United States, the status of the Hilton Hotel Group was 절대 [absolutely] below IBM. Maxi was greatly surprised by her words.

‘Was I acting 잘난 척 [know-it-all] to the 영애 [young lady] of the Hilton Group?’

In an instant, his voice became smaller.

“I’m sorry. I was late in 확인 [confirming].”

Sarah 팍 꺾은 [completely subdued] his 기 [spirit] and sat down.

“Now, shall we start the story again?”

“The story?”

“Charlie is not interested, but I am interested in this deal.”

Maxi raised his eyebrows and asked.

“Didn’t you say you would 거절 [reject] earlier?”

Sarah smiled 방긋이 [brightly] and answered.

“That’s because Charlie was next to me. Because of his 탁월한 [outstanding] technology, I also watch his 눈치 [mood].”

Maxi was confused as to which was Sarah’s 본 모습 [true self].

“I, is that so?”

Sarah 툭툭 [tapped] the table and asked.

“Mr. Maxi, do you want to proceed with this 거래 [deal]?”

Maxi’s face 생기가 돌아왔다 [came back to life].

“Of course.”

“Then we need to 정해야겠네요 [decide] each other’s 할 일 [role].”

Maxi tilted his head at her words.

“If each other’s 할 일 [role]?”

“I 설득 [persuade] Charlie, and you 끌어내는 것이죠 [draw out] better conditions from IBM. Can you do it?”

Maxi had no choice but to answer that he could do it at her question.

“But what kind of 더 나은 [better] conditions are we talking about?”

In an instant, Sarah’s voice 차가워졌다 [became cold].

“Do I have to think about that까지 [even that]?”

In front of the 재벌가 아가씨 [chaebol family’s young lady], Maxi couldn’t 펼 수 없었다 [couldn’t unfold] his 기 [spirit].

“Ah, I understand. I’ll think about it on this side.”

Sarah said 명령하듯 [as if ordering].

“명심하세요 [Keep in mind]. This deal is 둘의 일 [a matter between the two of us] between me and Mr. Maxi.”

Maxi was a 사내 [guy] who easily 복종 [obeys] and 기대 [relies] to 권위 [authority]. There was no way he could 저항 [resist] to the 재벌가 아가씨 [chaebol family’s young lady].

He 쩔쩔매며 [fumbled] and 숙였다 [lowered] his head at her 차가운 태도 [cold attitude].

“I’ll 명심하겠습니다 [keep in mind].”

“Good. Then go back to 본사 [headquarters] and 만들어 오세요 [make] a deal that I can 기대할 수 있는 [look forward to].”

“Ah, I understand.”

Sarah 휘둘렀다 [swung around] Maxi 마구 [recklessly]. The current 모습 [appearance] was another face of her that Jeong Hyun-woo didn’t know.

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