The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 73

73. A Long Day in LA (2)

LA.

The second-largest city in the United States after New York, and the largest in the West.

Compared to New York, the number one city, or Chicago, the number three city, LA had a significant difference. That was the scale of its skyscrapers, which was much smaller than in the other two cities.

The reason LA has this characteristic is that, unlike New York or Chicago, the city is spread out. To explain in comparison to New York, while Manhattan in New York has a central business district, a commercial district, and luxury residential areas all together, in LA, those three are all separate.

LA’s upscale residential areas, such as Beverly Hills or Verdes Hills, are on the outskirts of the city, the middle-class residential areas, or bedroom communities, are in satellite cities like Glendale, and LA’s central business district is, of course, in downtown LA.

Because of this, people who visit LA go to different places depending on their purpose.

“Where did you say the first appointment was?”

“Beverly Hills.”

“Not downtown?”

“Are you disappointed?”

Jung Hyun-woo turned his gaze out the window and replied.

“Is that something to be disappointed about?”

“You can often spot Hollywood actors in downtown LA.”

“Wouldn’t that be the same in Beverly Hills?”

Sarah turned the steering wheel and replied.

“We’re not walking the streets of Beverly Hills, though.”

This meant that the meeting place was a mansion located in Beverly Hills.

“But who are we meeting in Beverly Hills?”

“Someone from a computer manufacturing company.”

“A computer manufacturing company?”

If it were a meeting with a computer manufacturing company, Silicon Valley or downtown San Francisco would be more appropriate than Beverly Hills.

‘A computer manufacturer. It must be one of the three places Sarah mentioned on the phone.’

Sarah had said on the phone when he was in Korea that she had received proposals from three places.

“Apparently, the company’s CEO is also investing in the film industry.”

“Is that why Beverly Hills?”

“Beverly Hills is close to Hollywood, after all.”

A company that wants to do both content and IT at the same time.

Jung Hyun-woo realized who the other party was.

“Sarah, is this meeting with Commodore?”

Sarah sped up and asked back.

“How did you know?”

“You gave me all the hints.”

Sarah got on the highway and said.

“Should I give you a brief summary of this meeting? Or should I explain everything?”

“If we have a lot of time until the meeting place, please explain everything. I need to know the details to deal with it properly.”

“Okay.”

Sarah nodded and began to talk about what Commodore had proposed to Victoria Corporation. The general idea was that Commodore wanted to make a deal with Victoria Corporation like the one IBM had.

Jung Hyun-woo listened to her story until the end and then narrowed his brow.

“This isn’t good.”

Sarah raised her voice as if surprised.

“Not good? Isn’t collaboration with a computer manufacturer a good opportunity?”

She hadn’t forgotten what Jung Hyun-woo had said during the deal with IBM.

“Unlike IBM, Commodore is difficult.”

Currently, Commodore was in the midst of the Atari shock [a major downturn in the video game and home computer market in the early 1980s]. 8-bit computers that used game cartridges were struggling in the market.

Sarah changed lanes and said.

“But their market share is still significant.”

The Commodore 64 was the dominant player in the home computer market and the most widely distributed home computer in the United States.

Moreover, Commodore and Atari were not the same. Even after the Atari shock, Commodore showed no signs of shrinking, investing in the development of new integrated chipsets. Nevertheless, Jung Hyun-woo viewed Commodore negatively.

‘Commodore didn’t exist in the 21st century.’

Even if it survived the Atari shock, Commodore was bound to make a big mistake in the late 1980s or 1990s.

‘Otherwise, there’s no reason for Commodore to disappear in the 21st century.’

Jung Hyun-woo thought that if he joined hands with Commodore, Victoria Corporation could be dragged into their mistakes.

‘I need to be very careful if I’m going to work with them.’

He said somewhat sarcastically.

“It would be better to partner with or invest in Dell.”

Sarah tilted her head at Jung Hyun-woo’s words.

“Dell?”

Jung Hyun-woo couldn’t help but pause at her question.

‘Oops, I made a mistake.’

January 1984.

Dell Technologies, commonly known as Dell Computer, had not yet been founded.

‘Phew, how could I make such a mistake?’

He had no choice but to make excuses.

“I saw an article in a magazine on the plane about a computer manufacturing company called Dell preparing to start a business.”

Sarah nodded at his explanation.

“Hmm, so you’re saying that partnering with Commodore is not as good as investing in a new company.”

Jung Hyun-woo agreed with her interpretation of Dell.

“Exactly.”

Sarah changed lanes and said.

“It seems like Charlie has a pretty negative view of Commodore.”

“It’s different from Apple or IBM.”

“But it’s more popular than those two brands.”

Apple and IBM had the image of selling high-performance, premium PCs at high prices. On the other hand, Commodore sold PCs with moderate performance at low prices and recorded an overwhelming market share.

“Being popular isn’t always a good thing.”

Sarah felt uneasy about Jung Hyun-woo’s negative opinion.

“Charlie, should we cancel this meeting?”

She thought that since he was so negative about Commodore, nothing good would come out of meeting them.

‘It would be a problem if we got into a fight.’

However, Jung Hyun-woo opposed canceling the meeting.

“Canceling is a bit much. And we’re already on our way.”

“We have other schedules too.”

“Still, let’s meet them first.”

“There might be another opportunity?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and replied.

“If we can connect JP Service [a stock ticker program] to the Commodore 64s already on the market, we might be able to secure hundreds of thousands more customers.”

By 1984, sales of the Commodore 64 had exceeded 10 million units. If expanded to the entire Commodore series, sales would increase even further. Even if only 10% of that astronomical sales volume could be brought over, Victoria Corporation could rise to the same level as Microsoft or Apple.

‘Of course, it won’t be easy.’

First of all, the specs of the Commodore 64 were a problem. Even if the 8-bit CPU was overlooked, the very slow floppy disk drive could not be ignored. If the JP Service, a stock ticker program, were run on this slow disk drive, users might smash their computers with a hammer.

‘Unlike IBM, this side will need a downgrade of the program.’

Unlike Jung Hyun-woo, Sarah didn’t need to consider these technical aspects. She only thought about the number of subscribers.

“Charlie, if we can secure hundreds of thousands of subscribers, shouldn’t we definitely meet them?”

If the number of subscribers increased by only 100,000, Victoria Corporation could generate an additional $18 million in revenue per year.

“It’s not just increasing, though.”

“What do you mean it’s not just increasing?”

“If we go with Commodore, there are many things that need to be fixed systemically.”

“Are you saying it will cost a lot of money?”

Jung Hyun-woo narrowed his brow and replied.

“It will take a lot of time rather than money.”

He thought that time was more important than money.

“Still, if we can attract only 10% of the people who own Commodores as subscribers…”

Jung Hyun-woo cut her off and said.

“It will become a company no less than Ford or General Motors.”

Sarah was slightly surprised and raised her voice.

“Is that really possible?”

“If you consider the total sales of the Commodore series, it’s not impossible.”

“About how many have been sold?”

Jung Hyun-woo replied briefly.

“If you add up all the series, it will be well over 20 million units. There was also an article that said it accounted for more than 40% of the global 8-bit computer market.”

“Wow, if that’s the number, even if only 10% subscribe, it would be well over 2 million people.”

2 million new subscribers.

That meant that the number of Victoria Corporation’s subscribers would triple from what it is now.

“If that happens, even Walmart won’t be able to ignore us.”

Sarah chuckled when Jung Hyun-woo mentioned Walmart.

“Charlie, you’re surprisingly vindictive.”

Jung Hyun-woo was reminded of being rejected by Aria Walton, the heiress of Walmart.

“A certain ancient general said that frustration builds a man.”

“Frustration builds a man? Hmm.”

It was impossible to expect Sarah, the heiress of the Hilton family, to understand the internet meme of 21st century Korea.

“Sarah, please just think of what I said earlier as a possibility.”

Sarah calmly accepted his words.

“Like we talked about earlier, there are many hurdles to overcome in order to provide JP Service on the Commodore series, right?”

“That’s right. There are many problems not only with the system specs but also with the hardware.”

The JP Service developed by Jung Hyun-woo was a program that ran on MS-DOS [Microsoft Disk Operating System] or an operating system that copied it. So it worked well with IBM’s new 16-bit computers.

‘The Commodore series has a disastrously slow disk drive speed, so even if I use MS-DOS, a downgrade is essential.’

A program that can run well even with an 8-bit CPU and a slow floppy disk drive speed.

It was definitely not an easy proposition.

But if this could be solved well, tens of millions of Commodore series buyers around the world could be made potential customers of JP Service.

“Sarah.”

“Yeah?”

Jung Hyun-woo cleared his throat slightly and said.

“If we collaborate with Commodore, there’s one condition.”

“What condition?”

“We have to develop the business in the way we want, not the way they want.”

Sarah thought that Jung Hyun-woo had already started collaborating with Commodore in his head.

“It’s the same as with IBM.”

“Huh?”

“You complain about this and that, but in the end, you’re going to work with them anyway.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed deeply at her point.

“Hoo… How can a mouse just pass by cheese?”

Sarah smiled and said.

“Even if there’s a trap underneath?”

“If I want to get the cheese, I have to somehow dismantle the trap.”

Sarah thought that solving technical problems was like dismantling a trap.

‘Charlie will do well.’

Her belief in Jung Hyun-woo was absolute.

* * *

“I’m Luke Bernard, CEO of Commodore.”

The CEO of Commodore that Jung Hyun-woo knew was Jack Tramiel.

‘Luke Bernard, I’ve never heard of him. Has Commodore’s history changed? Or did the CEO change while I was in Korea?’

If history had changed, Commodore might still exist in the 21st century.

‘Let’s assume the latter.’

The latter was much easier for him.

Luke Bernard smiled and extended his right hand.

“Mr. Jung, we’ve been eagerly awaiting your return.”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his hand and looked him up and down.

‘Is that shirt Italian luxury? Is that watch Swiss…?’

Luke Bernard was covered in luxury goods from head to toe.

‘He’s even worse than a Wall Street financier.’

It wasn’t just his clothes that were serious.

His mansion was also unbelievably luxurious.

The entrance, as well as the front gate where cars entered, were decorated with marble, and the interior of the mansion was filled with European furniture and lighting fixtures.

‘He feels like a millionaire in a drama, is this going to be okay?’

Jung Hyun-woo didn’t get the feeling that Luke Bernard knew the practical side of things at all. But he couldn’t say that at first meeting. He politely shook Luke Bernard’s hand.

“If I had known that Mr. Bernard was waiting, I would have hurried back.”

Luke Bernard used exaggerated gestures like a European aristocrat.

“Oh! It sounds like our story hasn’t been conveyed.”

Sarah felt slightly uncomfortable with his gestures, but Jung Hyun-woo treated him naturally as if nothing was wrong.

“The reason the story wasn’t conveyed is probably because Sarah was considerate of my vacation.”

Was it because he was nineteen years old in Korean age?

Luke Bernard didn’t nitpick about his age like the people Jung Hyun-woo had met two years ago. He just thought of Jung Hyun-woo as a young programmer.

“Our Commodore highly values Mr. Jung and Victoria Corporation.”

He wanted to get straight to business.

“It’s an honor to be highly valued by a company like Commodore.”

Sarah had previously said that Commodore wanted to create the same package deal as IBM. Jung Hyun-woo thought that Luke Bernard would bring up that story first.

‘The Commodore 64 has already sold so many units that it wouldn’t make much sense to create a package deal.’

Of course, he was willing to accept it if Commodore emphasized the package deal.

‘To penetrate the market that the Commodore 64 has created, I need to create a program optimized for the Commodore 64.’

It was when he was immersed in the technical aspects.

Luke Bernard asked him.

“Mr. Jung, would you mind moving to another place?”

Jung Hyun-woo woke up from his thoughts and nodded.

“Moving to another place wouldn’t be bad.”

Anywhere would be better than the reception room filled with marble tables and Italian furniture.

“This way, please.”

The place Luke Bernard took Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah to was an office on one side of the mansion. Unlike the other rooms in the mansion, this place was decorated in a modern style. And in the middle of the room, there was a neatly designed computer.

As soon as Jung Hyun-woo saw it, he focused his attention.

“This is…”

Luke Bernard smiled with satisfaction and said.

“This is our Commodore International’s new computer, the Plus/4.”

Jung Hyun-woo quickly approached the Plus/4.

“May I touch it?”

“Please do.”

With 21st century computers, you could guess the functions and performance to some extent just by looking at the control panel. But with 1980s computers, you had to use them directly to know their performance.

Click.

When he pressed the power button, the screen came on.

‘Hmm, Commodore’s new computer. Is this what failed and bankrupted Commodore?’

If today was some day in the late 1980s, that was highly likely.

‘It’s still 1984, so this won’t bankrupt Commodore.’

The start screen was crude, as expected of a Commodore computer.

‘It’s still not a Windows concept.’

The place that extensively used the Windows concept in the PC market was Apple.

‘Come to think of it, it’s about time for Apple’s Macintosh to appear.’

Apple’s new computer, the Macintosh, caused a great stir in the PC market by introducing innovative graphics and user convenience.

Jung Hyun-woo knew that the Macintosh would appear around this time.

‘If I had known exactly, I would have bought some Apple stock.’

The only event he knew the exact date and time of was the 88 Olympics.

Luke Bernard stood behind him and said.

“The Plus/4 will replace the existing Commodore 64.”

Jung Hyun-woo raised his eyebrows at his explanation.

“This computer will replace the Commodore 64?”

The Commodore 64 was a groundbreaking hit product that created Commodore International as it is now. To replace it, it had to have either overwhelming performance or popularity, or both.

“That’s right. The Plus/4 uses an integrated chipset called TED. We have used TED to dramatically increase the efficiency of the Plus/4.”

Jung Hyun-woo checked the basic software and performance of the Plus/4 and then took his hands off the keyboard.

“This is difficult.”

Luke Bernard’s eyes widened at Jung Hyun-woo’s harsh evaluation.

“Mr. Jung, what do you mean? Is there a problem with the Plus/4?”

The Plus/4 was the first new product he had released since pushing out Jack Tramiel. If there was a problem with the Plus/4, the Commodore board of directors would surely denounce his incompetence.

‘The Plus/4 must succeed.’

Jung Hyun-woo turned his head and asked him back.

“Is this computer really the successor to the Commodore 64?”

Jung Hyun-woo didn’t think that this computer could replace the Commodore 64 at all.

‘Because it’s a failure.’

Luke Bernard narrowed his brow slightly and replied.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? That the Plus/4 will replace the Commodore 64.”

Jung Hyun-woo was firm.

“It can’t be done!”

Luke Bernard raised his eyebrows at Jung Hyun-woo’s exclamation.

“It can’t be done?”

“This cannot replace the Commodore 64.”

Luke Bernard could not agree with Jung Hyun-woo’s cold evaluation.

“Mr. Jung, the Plus/4 is the latest computer born from Commodore’s new technology. We are planning to announce the Plus/4 at CES [Consumer Electronics Show].”

What he wanted from Victoria Corporation was to bundle JP Service with the new computer, the Plus/4, and create a package.

Jung Hyun-woo asked like shooting an arrow.

“Mr. Bernard, what is the price of the Plus/4?”

Luke Bernard answered the question in a firm voice.

“The price of the Plus/4 is top secret.”

It was a time when price was competitiveness. Telling an outsider the price of a new product was tantamount to leaking secrets.

When Jung Hyun-woo didn’t answer, he shared his opinion.

“If the price of the Plus/4 exceeds $100, it will be a big failure.”

Instantly, a shadow fell over Luke Bernard’s face.

Sarah could easily tell that the price he had set was over $100.

‘It’s well over $100.’

She thought it was time for her to step in.

“Charlie, it’s natural that the price of the Plus/4 is top secret. This is not a problem for us to get involved in.”

Jung Hyun-woo turned his head at Sarah’s words.

“Sarah, this is…”

He thought that they should never release such a product on the market.

‘This is why Commodore went bankrupt.’

Sarah grabbed his wrist and said.

“Charlie, the reason we came here is not to evaluate the new product, but to discuss JP Service.”

Jung Hyun-woo knew that she was grabbing his wrist to calm him down.

‘Tsk, I forgot what was really important because of the performance of the Plus/4.’

Soon, Sarah turned her head to Luke Bernard.

“Mr. Bernard, isn’t that right?”

Luke Bernard’s face was still dark. He said in a slow tone.

“Ms. Hilton, we want to combine JP Service with the Plus/4.”

The combination of Plus/4 and JP Service.

That meant that the evaluation of the Plus/4 could not be done separately.

Even Sarah was speechless at this answer.

‘Ha… Is this a dead end?’

It was when she was sighing inwardly.

Jung Hyun-woo said in a calm voice.

“Mr. Bernard, I was a bit too harsh. Please think of my previous evaluation of the Plus/4 as the evaluation of Charlie Jung, an engineering student. Charlie Jung, the CEO of Victoria Corporation, wants to work with Commodore regardless of that evaluation.”

Victoria Corporation would work together even if the price or performance of the Plus/4 was lacking.

Luke Bernard unfolded his narrowed brow at his words.

“If you say so, I will erase the story I heard earlier from my mind.”

While Sarah was sighing inwardly, Jung Hyun-woo had made a decision.