At this point, Lee Hyun-woo wanted to get a promise from the two people.
“Hey, can you guys make me one promise?”
“What is it?”
“…?”
“Both of you need to return to school. Got it?”
He didn’t intend to interfere deeply in their lives to the extent of having them drop out of college just yet.
There was immediate resistance.
“Huh? Then who will manage the site?”
“Hyung, Jung-woo is scheduled to return in the second semester, but I’m set to return next year. If I mess up, I’ll be a late graduate, so I can’t help it.”
“I know, who said otherwise? What I mean is that both of you should return, whether it’s the second semester or next year.”
“But what will you do if both of us leave?”
“Don’t worry about managing it. You can help out in your spare time while attending school. Of course, we’ll need to hire more people. We’ll soon be putting out an announcement to hire at least one person to answer phone calls.”
Lee Hyun-woo thought it was better to handle inquiries via both phone and messages.
Since it was a simple task, he didn’t think the salary would need to be set at a high amount.
For reference, in 1996, the starting salary for a level 9 civil servant was in the mid-300,000 won range per month.
Of course, large corporations paid much more, but it wasn’t realistic for 【Jungle】, which was just taking its first steps, to offer as much as large companies.
“How about my friends or juniors who are also planning to return to school? We’re making 2 million won a week, so anyone would want to join a place with such prospects.”
“That’s right.”
“What did I just say? We’re recruiting a person to answer phone calls, not high-skilled workers like you guys, but for simple tasks.”
“Oh…”
“Recruitment always depends on the company’s situation, so leave it to me.”
“Of course.”
“Understood.”
“And just having secured you two feels like gaining a thousand troops.”
As expected, compliments made them happy.
Maybe because they were simple, both of them smiled brightly.
But Lee Hyun-woo was telling the truth.
As he experienced, both of them possessed exceptional skills.
‘Should I call them ‘otaku’?‘
They had a style of diving deep into something once they got hooked on it.
Lee Hyun-woo, who had died of overwork in his previous life, was sensitive to overworking, so he was strict about sticking to work hours, but Jang Yoo-chul seemed to do extra work at home.
Otherwise, the speed at which the 【Jungle】 site was revamped wouldn’t be this fast.
Jang Yoo-chul even brought his own computer when they moved the office.
Naturally, Lee Hyun-woo felt deeply sorry for these two, as he couldn’t provide them with much due to the still insufficient capital.
However, as he mentioned that day, he vowed to calculate and give them shares based on success.
For now, he set their monthly salary at 400,000 won.
It was a higher amount than that of a level 9 civil servant and was generous for someone who had not yet graduated from college, but Lee Hyun-woo’s belief that one should be paid according to their ability reflected in the salary, and the two were grateful, smiling.
After handling this, Lee Hyun-woo headed to Kim Yoon-soo’s custom PC factory.
He felt he should visit at least once a day for the time being, as he sensed Kim Yoon-soo wanted to keep him nearby.
A little later, they arrived at the factory.
Everything was already set up, and all tools and equipment were prepared.
Kim Yoon-soo, who was greeting Lee Hyun-woo, looked very relieved, thinking everything was well-prepared.
“I sold the store today.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, maybe it’s good luck after meeting you, but I got 5 million won more than the previous goodwill payment. Hahaha.”
Lee Hyun-woo, outwardly matching his bright laughter, thought to himself.
‘That means the computer market is expanding explosively. If it were me, I would have gotten twice as much.’
He didn’t say it out loud.
There was no need to ruin the good mood.
Instead, he immediately moved to business talk, intending to only discuss forward-looking matters.
“I just talked with my brother, and it seems his friends will be joining from next week.”
“Ten people, right?”
“Yes, and you should hire five more people. The ten will help only until they return to school. The other five need to learn the job during that time.”
“After that, it seems a bit uncertain.”
“No, we can just hire more. People are important, but the system is also crucial.”
His brother’s school was full of engineering students.
Even if they weren’t from the computer science department, there shouldn’t be any issue finding people with experience in assembling computers.
If they continued to increase skilled workers, they could gradually establish a stable foundation.
Moreover, there was one incident that alleviated his worries.
‘From next year, big companies will start collapsing one by one, bringing a cold wave to the job market.’
Although it was painful, the probability of a financial crisis hitting this time was very high.
No, seeing the government celebrating early and companies indulging in debt, it was almost certain.
If so, wouldn’t it become much easier to find talent?
‘I need to establish a system.’
Having experienced a previous life, Lee Hyun-woo felt he could handle subordinates well.
However, he was unsure about Kim Yoon-soo standing before him.
“Oh, and just to be cautious, don’t always speak nicely to the employees.”
“Huh? Well, that’s…”
“The beginning is important. If you’re seen as easy-going, people will take advantage of it.”
“Hey, do I look that soft?”
“Should I be honest?”
Kim Yoon-soo flinched slightly.
He shook his head.
“No… I know myself well. I’ll try.”
“It’s not about trying; you need to have a firm resolve. I’ll teach you when you visit our company later. Actually, I need to straighten things out before our number of employees increases.”
“I was planning to visit soon anyway. Alright, I’ll go tomorrow. Today, I need to check the final touches here.”
Since there was a high probability of being swayed, Lee Hyun-woo invited Kim Yoon-soo to the company the next day.
As he said earlier, it was good timing as he needed to establish a system for 【Jungle】 as well.
“We have a meeting tomorrow morning. Come then.”
There was a scene Lee Hyun-woo wanted to show Kim Yoon-soo for sure.
Additionally, the company needed to be more organized than before…
‘The kids will probably get a scolding from me tomorrow.’
The next day.
“There will be an interview for a female employee this afternoon.”
“She’s coming already?”
“That was quick.”
“But as the number of employees increases, we need to have some rules.”
“What is it?”
“Just tell us.”
“It’s about differentiating between public and private matters. I’m the boss. You guys are employees, right?”
“Ah… Right, got it, hyung.”
“Not hyung, but CEO. And use formal language.”
“Ah, yes, CEO.”
No exceptions were made just because they were his brothers.
In fact, the more casual they were, the stricter Lee Hyun-woo intended to be in the future.
However, he knew from his past life experience that being authoritarian without explanation wouldn’t last long, so he continued.
“The reason I’m being strict about this is because of an incident in the military. A second lieutenant came, and he was very close with our senior. They knew each other from before. Because of that, the senior disregarded ranks and acted casually with the second lieutenant, even not listening to him properly. What do you think happened? Both of you served in the military.”
“It must have been a mess… Right, CEO?”
“Yes, I think the same.”
“Don’t call each other by nicknames. Use Mr. Lee Jung-woo and Mr. Jang Yoo-chul until you get official titles.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“I’ll respect you two as well. Although I may use informal speech, I’ll make sure to add ‘Mr.’ to it.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Anyway, the result was terrible. Not just a mess; there was a horrific incident at the shooting range. I won’t go into details, but you get my point, right?”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Good, there will be mistakes, but let’s work on this.”
Once again, both responded with “Yes, CEO.”
It seemed good to keep repeating this phrase early on, as it was something they’d have to say often in the future.
After handling this, I headed outside, and Kim Yoon-soo followed, looking like he understood something.
“From next week, I’ll talk to your brother’s friends like that. Be careful with titles, follow proper work hours, and… Anyway, I’ll go back and organize things to inform the incoming people.”
“Don’t make the list too long. They do better with simple instructions than complex ones. Leave the rest to trial and error.”
“You seem more experienced than me, CEO Lee.”
I was glad I showed that earlier.
Kim Yoon-soo had already started calling me ‘CEO Lee’ instead of ‘you.’
“But what was that horrific incident at the shooting range? Can’t you tell just me?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Sorry.”
It was a lie.
I made it up.
However, in his past life, Lee Hyun-woo had indeed struggled with managing subordinates.
One time, he tried to bond with a promising person and praised them even when they didn’t do well.
Although they didn’t take him lightly, it eventually led to negligence in their work.
Especially when the feedback wasn’t good, he painfully realized it when that person later caused trouble.
At that time, Lee Hyun-woo naturally took responsibility.
With that in mind, he offered one more piece of advice.
“In case you didn’t know, don’t give false praise. Praise when it’s deserved and criticize when it’s not. No CEO in the world is immune to criticism.”
Who knows how effective this advice will be, but if he hears it repeatedly, there might be some improvement later on.
Not knowing about the future, time flew by quickly.
A week passed, and finally, One Computer’s factory began operating.
As expected, from that point on, Lee Hyun-woo became extremely busy.
The reason was simple.
The two ‘otaku’, Lee Jung-woo and Jang Yoo-chul, had finally completed the website revamp.
“CEO, we’re all set.”
“Yes, we’ve announced the site revamp, so we can open it right away.”
“What about the simulation?”
“So far, there don’t seem to be any issues.”
“But there’s always at least one problem.”
“Okay, got it.”
Now, when reporting official matters, his brother exuded confidence without showing off.
Satisfied with that, Lee Hyun-woo nodded.
Looking at them, Lee Hyun-woo gave one more instruction.
“Check how much One Computer can produce daily, then open the event pop-up window.”
“Event pop-up window?”
“Yes, make it appear separately when accessing the site. Is that possible?”
Their eyes widened at the unexpected idea.
Seeing that, Lee Hyun-woo laughed.
“Didn’t you two tell me to intervene anytime I had an idea? Now’s the time.”
“Oh, right. It was just so innovative.”
“We’ll prepare it right away!”
In his past life, event pop-up windows were common.
Now, it was considered an ingenious idea, making Lee Hyun-woo smile more.
Watching the two immediately prepare on their computers, his smile deepened.
‘Shall we boost online shopping?’
