The Chairman Who Wants to Play and Eat

Chapter 26. Would you like to walk that path with me?

A similar incident was occurring at the Korean Institute of Data Communication (KIDC) in the provinces.

On this rare holiday,

Ding ding ding, ding ding ding,

It was early morning when a frantic call came in to Director Seo Jung-gil, who was enjoying a leisurely time at home.

– D-Director! This is a big deal!

It was the duty officer.

“What’s with all the fuss?”

– W-we’ve had a b-bomb drop at our institute.

“What? A bomb?”

The unexpected news momentarily left him speechless.

Upon reflection, it was a strange claim.

While the institute was classified as a national critical facility, it wasn’t in the DMZ, nor was it in Gyeonggi or Gangwon Province.

North Korea hadn’t provoked anything. The front lines weren’t breached.

There was no way something like that could happen.

Above all, if such an event occurred at the institute, there was no way the sound wouldn’t reach his home, which was only a few dozen kilometers away.

He decided to calm the caller first.

“Take it slow and explain. What nonsense is this? Is it really a bomb?”

– I think it would be better for you to come and see for yourself rather than me explaining it.

At that, he quipped,

“Come on now.”

He threw in a joke.

“You’re telling me a bomb has dropped, and I should come see? Is that a joke? If it’s really a bomb, I should be running away.”

Yet, he hurriedly put on his clothes. The duty officer’s voice didn’t sound lighthearted; it seemed there was indeed something shocking happening.

And then,

‘What on earth is going on?’

What was happening at the institute was, as expected, truly astonishing.

A continuous line of 25-ton trucks arriving,

Boxes emblazoned with the Seonghyeon logo were filling the front yard of the institute to the brim, leaving no space to spare.

It was indeed a bomb.

Computer Bomb.

Now that I think about it, I vaguely recall the approval I had given.

[Seonghyeon · Korea University · KIDC Joint Industry-Academia Cooperation Project Support – Computer, Entire System.]

I knew it.

I knew it, but

I never expected it to arrive this quickly.

“No, I just signed off on it a few days ago! How can it possibly be here already?!”

Computers aren’t something you come by easily.

They are cutting-edge devices.

All imported goods.

For this quantity, it would take more than a week—planning and purchasing each item would take over a month.

And that doesn’t even account for the time it takes to ship and transport them.

What about customs and permits?

Wait.

This isn’t the time to be dawdling.

Questions are questions, but this is reality.

“What do we do about this?”

“What do you mean, what do we do? We need to start organizing right now. First, make some calls. I’m sorry, but if anyone can come out of the lab to help with the organization, please do so!”

Director Seo shouted, rolling up his sleeves.

Even as he said that, he couldn’t help but feel his mind getting tangled.

“Do we really need this many types of computers in our lab? It was a problem when Jeong Sang and Geosan didn’t care, but why is Seonghyeon doing this? Are we trying to create a computer museum in our lab or what?”

He thought.

The leisurely comfort of a holiday morning had already vanished.

Days passed like that.

“…Thank you very much for your support. I hope there’s no misunderstanding. But how can you send it so urgently before we’re even prepared?”

Director Seo raised his voice.

In the research lab at Korea University,

It was a gathering of Director Seo, myself, and Professor Eon Nam-jun in the neatly transformed reception room.

“I apologize for the intrusion.”

I offered an unnecessary apology with a smile at his gruff voice.

“What’s the big deal about a little rudeness? If it was meant to happen, then it’s over now.”

Professor Uh interjected without a hint of awareness.

It was his fault.

If it hadn’t been for him from the start, this wouldn’t have happened.

Clearly, Seong-hyeon and Korea University had wrapped up this discussion a month ago.

The problem was Professor Uh.

As the overall coordinator for the industry-academia collaboration project, he was supposed to share the progress of related tasks with KIDC, which was jointly undertaking the assignment, but he hadn’t done that properly.

From what I heard, he only sent a cooperation letter regarding system support just a few days before the arrival date.

When I asked him why,

“Well, I had to start looking at the kernel source from the beginning, and there were conflicts in the code, so it wasn’t easy to touch all the machine language, and I had to go back to the start and begin coding anew, so…”

He was rambling.

In other words, he simply forgot and didn’t do it.

“How could you do this to me?”

This time, Director Seo glared at Professor Uh with wide eyes.

It turned out they had been close friends since their study abroad days in the U.S.

“Well, it could happen.”

“I’m not just talking about forgetting a lunch appointment, am I? This is an important issue, my friend!”

Professor Uh shrugged his shoulders.

“So, does that mean this issue is more important than routing through the IMP instead of the UNET kernel interface? We now have a new option called a router, you know.”

Another nonsensical remark.

In other words, it meant he had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths.

“…I should just keep my mouth shut.”

In the end, Director Seo slapped his forehead. I interjected.

“It’s quite nice to see you two getting along.”

“What’s nice about it? Anyway, I’m sorry for showing such a disgraceful scene in front of Hyun Sang-yoon, who invested so much effort. It’s all because of that guy…”

“Disgraceful? What the hell are you talking about…”

Professor Uh glanced at me mid-sentence. It seemed I was still somewhat perceptible to him.

A brief silence followed.

After a few minutes, Director Seo, looking a bit calmer, asked me,

“So, I hear you’ve decided to develop a separate 32-bit UNIX computer?”

“Yes, that is the plan.”

“I saw it on the news.”

He continued speaking.

“I also heard that you’ve already jumped into semiconductor development in Seonghyeon. Jeongsang and Geosan are on the same boat, but is Seonghyeon really going to compete with the two of them? If it’s not too rude to ask.”

I organized my thoughts first.

“Of course not. It’s not rude at all.”

The rest was just as I had discussed with Professor Oh.

At the same time,

I also shared our project’s vision that developing a 32-bit computer from the start would yield a more advantageous outcome than jumping in late with a 16-bit UNIX computer.

This wasn’t just idle talk.

The TF had prepared extensively. This matter had also been reported to the chairman.

“Hmm…”

It seemed that Director Seo was deep in thought.

“Then was that the reason for those computers?”

“Pardon?”

“The computers you sent us. Didn’t you send almost all commercially available computers to the lab?”

“That’s right.”

I affirmed.

“Since then, I’ve been thinking. What on earth is all this? It’s not a museum, so you can’t just be collecting computers, can you?”

The reason?

It’s nothing special.

There’s a saying: the more, the better.

Having more is better than having less. Two is better than one, and three is better than two. Since we gave one to Korea University, we should give one to KIDC as well.

That was all there was to it.

In that sense, as the TF staff suggested, we ended up importing every existing computer model.

Of course,

I wouldn’t say I didn’t hope that this story would reach the chairman’s ears.

“What? They bought all that expensive stuff without a second thought? Investment in research and development is good, but who does it like that? If I let that guy run the company, it’ll all go to ruin. Ugh, tsk tsk.”

I hope you think this way.

Anyway,

It’s not like I can just say that.

I was in the midst of pondering a response.

“But hearing you say that, I think I might now vaguely understand the reason.”

Suddenly, Director Seo opened his mouth.

Could it be?

Has he figured it out?

Can he see right through my heart?

‘This is bad. I need to come up with an excuse, anything will do. Think, Hyun Sang-yoon, think.’

It was before I even had the chance to speak.

Suddenly,

“I was short-sighted.”

Huh?

“I didn’t understand why you were sending so many devices, even those that didn’t necessarily need to come to our lab, but now I think I understand the reason. I’ve had a major misunderstanding all this time.”

He began to pour out words like a waterfall.

“At first, I thought Seonghyeon was just that kind of company.”

“······.”

“I thought you were just trying to hitch a ride on our achievements, just like Jeongsang and Geosan intended to do with us.”

Because that’s how big corporations are, I could see anger flickering on his face.

It seemed there had been quite a bit of buildup with Jeongsang and Geosan.

“I didn’t realize you were aiming for complete and flawless universality, capable of running the internet without interruption, regardless of the environment or the model connected to the node. If that weren’t the case, there would be no need to prepare every single computer that exists in the world. The same reason must apply to your attempt to create the first domestically produced 32-bit computer. Am I wrong in my thinking?”

His words continued.

“I thought all big corporations were the same, not realizing that. I almost made a huge mistake. I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t that I had been found out.

Thank goodness.

However, the chasm of misunderstanding had only deepened beyond that.

But,

I simply couldn’t bring myself to speak.

At this point, I,

‘That’s not the case at all. In fact, I had my own thoughts as well. Isn’t that how things go in this world?’

I couldn’t say it like that.

I decided to protect.

His heart.

“It’s alright.”

I said this.

“People misunderstand sometimes as they live their lives. Let’s leave the past in the past. From now on, we must move towards the future. That path stretching into the future, would you walk it with me? Director Seo Jung-gil?”

“Of course! I will walk with you!”

Before I knew it, his eyes were shining (with a greater misunderstanding) as he answered in a loud voice.

He looked relieved and at ease.

That was enough.

‘I’m sorry, Director Seo.’

I only thought it in my mind.

Once I become the owner of a building in Gangnam, I’ll share a drink of soju with him at a street stall and clear up the misunderstandings.

Though it might be a bit difficult for now.

*

News spread quickly.

‘What now? A computer communication task force?’

‘They say it’s the latest technology that can connect computers from afar, and it’s already being used in a limited way in the U.S.’

People whispered.

There were also rumors that one of Chairman Hyun Byeong-geon’s grandsons was deeply involved in all of this.

There are more than one or two grandsons.

Even if it’s hard to guess, public opinion consistently focused on the third son of the eldest son, Vice Chairman Hyun Deok-jae, Hyun Sang-yoon.

······So, that’s me.

‘Why on earth!’

I can understand the interest in chaebols.

It’s something I’ve experienced since I was young. I’m not uncomfortable with it anymore.

But still, why is it that every time something happens, it’s only directed at me?

I shouted this in my mind.

There were also rumors like this.

“Computer? Electronic communication? The sensitivity is all gone. Semiconductors are absurd enough, but we already have faxes and telexes, so what’s the point of creating separate electronic communication?”

This needs to be addressed.

At least, it’s not a foolish endeavor. I, for one, have no intention of doing so.

Why?

Because if you challenge something absurd from the start, that failure holds no meaning.

That’s just foolishness.

Then, if I, the one who dared to take that challenge, lose my qualification to be a member of the Seonghyeon from Chairman Hyun, my grandfather.

Failure is good.

But you must challenge something that isn’t absurd.

That’s a statement made without understanding.

“There’s a saying, ‘A sharp object in the pocket will eventually pierce through the clothing.’”

Perhaps sensing the burden in my expression, Deputy Lee Beom-seok spoke without being asked.

“It means that the sharp object in your pocket will inevitably poke through. You are that sharp object, so there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Right. Thank you for the encouragement.”

“That’s just common sense. You can’t go down, can you? You must rise up.”

······Anyway, he’s really not skilled at uplifting others.

I already knew that.

Instead,

“Is the Federation of Korean Industries building far?”

I asked.

“I’ll get there soon. Unless the traffic suddenly jams, we should arrive within 12 minutes, sir.”

“Even from Geosan and Gosan?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Deputy Lee replied.

“As you may already know, Chairman Park Beom-sik’s eldest grandson, Park Jae-il, has also joined as a project manager for the 16-bit computer project with Geosan this time. Jin Jeong-hoon, the son of President Jin of Geosan Electronics, is coming too. The three competitors will meet.”

Preparations are in place.