Lee Hyun-woo, who instantly understood what Joe Murphy was saying.
“So, you mean you want to directly manage Jungle USA?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Lee Hyun-woo blinked for a moment.
‘Oh, come on. Is it happening again?’
He thought once more.
‘This will need some time.’
Although it seemed like a spontaneous decision, Lee Hyun-woo was someone who chose the option with the highest success rate.
“When are you planning to leave?”
“I plan to stay for about a week.”
“That’s longer than I expected.”
“I want to see if Korea’s internet infrastructure is as good as its reputation, and I need time to examine the dot-com companies that were born based on it to assess investment feasibility.”
“Oh, really?”
This was welcome news.
Foreign capital was very important in Lee Hyun-woo’s plan to cover bubbles with bubbles.
With rumors circulating that Misam Group had little time left, the injection of even speculative funds in dollars could stabilize the financial market.
“Then let’s go over things. First, you’ll need a business plan.”
“What?”
“I’ve heard you’re a legend in investing with a lot of experience. But I also need to see your IT sense. Team Corner and I need to know how you plan to run Jungle USA, so please prepare a business plan and show it to me.”
“Haha…”
“I’m not being arrogant by asking to see it. With your company investing 100 million dollars, we can’t just leave it to anyone, can we?”
Hearing Lee Hyun-woo’s earnest words, Joe Murphy nodded.
If he were Korean, he might have thought Lee Hyun-woo was being arrogant and wouldn’t have agreed.
But after hearing Lee Hyun-woo’s rational reasons, Joe Murphy decided to prepare a proper business plan and readily agreed.
“I was short-sighted. You’re right. I can’t be just ‘anyone,’ so I’ll do my best and send it to you via email. If necessary, I’ll send it to Team Corner’s representative as well.”
“Of course, you should.”
Mentioning email showed that he planned to conduct thorough research and establish a perfect plan before heading to the U.S.
“And secondly.”
“……”
“The day after tomorrow, there’s a meeting of Korean IT companies. It’s hosted by the so-called ‘21st Century Venture Business Association,’ and I’m a member as well. Many IT companies will likely attend, so you won’t need to visit each one individually.”
Joe Murphy was repeatedly surprised.
In fact, before coming to Korea, he had inquired about IT companies here.
He received information mainly through correspondents from several newspapers based in Seoul, who said Korea had many venture companies armed with brilliant ideas.
Most of them were imitations of Jungle, but some had web services that would gather people just by hearing about them.
“I assure you, there are many interesting companies. They probably have investment value. By the way, if you’ve heard of Alpha Cast, that company is also a member of this association.”
“Of course, I know it. It’s recently been attracting attention on Wall Street.”
Joe Murphy answered without hesitation at Lee Hyun-woo’s mention.
Through various foreign media and internal reports, he confirmed that the MP3 player was the music player to open a new era.
It was expected to surpass the Walkman by Japan’s Sonic.
If Alpha Cast could realize mass production, its corporate scale could grow significantly at once.
Thus, many on Wall Street had their eyes on that company, and now he had the opportunity to approach it.
‘If Jungle is my last investment, Alpha Cast could be the starting point for the newcomers I’ve brought.’
Originally, Joe Murphy wasn’t aiming to become the CEO of Jungle USA; he was considering retirement.
So he didn’t come alone.
If the company’s chief fund manager left, it could cause instability, so he was nurturing someone to replace him.
This could be an opportunity.
Just as he thought this, he noticed Lee Hyun-woo looking like he wanted to end the meeting.
“Then I’ll see you the day after tomorrow. I have something else to do.”
It seemed he had a date, as he had mentioned pursuing leisure earlier.
Joe Murphy smiled and extended his hand.
“Yes, I’ll see you then.”
Strangely, he felt inspired by Lee Hyun-woo, and the short meeting felt a bit disappointing.
‘Well, if we meet in two days and I write a great business plan to manage Jungle USA, we’ll see each other more often.’
Joe Murphy already thought becoming the CEO of Jungle USA was a done deal.
He was as confident as Lee Hyun-woo.
After parting with Joe Murphy, Lee Hyun-woo.
He didn’t have a date.
Recently, he had been refraining from meeting Kim Ah-young and only frequently talking on the phone.
The reason was simple.
The photos taken last time were apparently bought by Guseong for quite a sum, attracting too many reporters around them.
Thanks to that, Lee Hyun-woo could focus more on his band club.
And today, Hong Yo-han finally brought the complete remix of Macaroni.
“Shall we listen?”
The band had grown to five members.
Drummer Shin Dong-woon, guitarist Jang Yoo-chul, and two additional employees had joined.
One of them was good with the synthesizer, and the other knew how to play the bass.
So they had formed an almost perfect amateur band.
Anyway, along with Lee Hyun-woo, they listened to the song Hong Yo-han brought.
Although the lyrics were in Spanish and incomprehensible, music is the universal language of the world, isn’t it?
“It’s fun.”
“Indeed, it’s much better.”
“Shall we try playing it?”
“Let’s do it.”
When Jang Yoo-chul strummed his guitar and spoke, four instruments began to harmonize.
Naturally, Lee Hyun-woo took the microphone.
Soon, his unique deep voice filled the basement.
The appreciation was left to Hong Yo-han, and after a while, Lee Jung-woo and Oh Min-woo joined, increasing the audience to three.
Except for Hong Yo-han, it was the first time the other two heard the song, and they were impressed.
After the song ended, they clapped loudly and exclaimed.
“Wow… It’s amazing!”
“Really fun, this could be released as a track right away.”
“I was planning to do that.”
“What?”
“What?”
“What?”
Endless exclamations of surprise followed Lee Hyun-woo’s words.
Seeing their reactions, Lee Hyun-woo smirked.
“Of course, I’m not releasing it; our master here should.”
“Me?”
Hong Yo-han looked at Lee Hyun-woo with a puzzled expression.
“Why? You don’t want to?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“You don’t need to push it as the title track. Just include it as the last track when you debut.”
“Can I really do that?”
“Of course.”
“Then one song with Korean lyrics and one in Spanish would be good.”
He seemed to have already thought about it.
Not about releasing it themselves, but imagining how to include it in an album if they did.
“Actually, I’ve talked a lot with the band members. We wondered if we could include this song in an album. I was planning to mention it today.”
“I have a knack for reading people. But there’s one downside.”
“What’s that?”
“This song has such a distinct flavor that it could change your band’s identity. You’d need choreography too.”
“Choreography?”
“Yes.”
It would be great to show it, but in this era, without We Tube, it was hard to find videos.
“Later, ask CEO Hyun to get a videotape. You might be able to get one by contacting Spanish broadcasters.”
“Haha…”
At that moment, Jang Yoo-chul chimed in.
“It’s a shame. If we could search for videos as easily as we do for tracks, it would be great.”
“Nothing’s impossible. We just need to turn the current MP3 concept into a video format, right?”
“That’s true. Oh? Since we’re on the topic, should we start thinking about it now?”
“Sure, let’s call it MP4 and plan it as a long-term project.”
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
Somehow, they naturally began discussing the concept of MP4, a video platform.
‘That’s why our Jungle always succeeds.’
Later that day, after sending Shin Dong-woon, Hong Yo-han, and the two other employees off, while having a light beer, another idea came up.
“A game?”
“Yes, a PC game. I want to create one.”
Hearing his younger brother Lee Jung-woo talk about a game at the drinking table, Lee Hyun-woo had a strange premonition.
‘As expected from someone who used to be a PC bang owner in his past life.’
In his previous life, his brother had loved games.
Looking back now, it seemed he had inherent development skills but got deeply involved in games due to life’s twists and turns.
While Lee Hyun-woo was momentarily lost in thought, the voices of the other two could be heard.
“No, you already have a lot on your plate with work and school. Developing a game too? That’s too much. You’re a complete workaholic.”
“Exactly. Is the genius’s brother also a genius? Can you create anything you touch?”
“What’s genius about him? He’s no match for me. I’m the real genius.”
Oh Min-woo reacted to Jang Yoo-chul’s comment about being a genius and asked again.
“What kind of game is it? Tell us.”
“Well… There are three races.”
“Three races? Not ethnicities or nations? Is it a fantasy game?”
“Fantasy is good, so is sci-fi. The setting doesn’t matter. But the base is three races. It seems more interesting that way.”
“Assuming that, the three races fight each other, right?”
“Of course. But it involves a strategy concept. So there should be workers gathering resources and characters for ground and air battles.”
“That sounds very complex.”
“You don’t play many games, so you wouldn’t know, but such games are usually like that. There was a game mixing fantasy and strategy that became quite popular in Korea.”
Is he talking about Battle Craft?
Although Lee Hyun-woo didn’t play many games, the trading company he worked for in his past life exposed him to a variety of things.
Battle Craft was a game developed by the company that created Space Craft, already quite successful in Korea.
So, it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to Lee Hyun-woo.
Perhaps that’s why?
At this point, Lee Hyun-woo began to join the conversation.
“Developing a strategy simulation game takes too long. Aren’t you already struggling with school and work? You even missed classes to go to the U.S.”
“……?”
Does my brother know about strategy simulation games?
Lee Jung-woo looked at Lee Hyun-woo with a surprised expression and quickly responded.
“I only missed about two days of classes since I went over the foundation day and the weekend. As you know, I’ve packed my classes into this semester.”
He seemed determined.
‘By the way, the game Jung-woo is talking about sounds similar to the basic concept of Space Craft.’
Since the game doesn’t exist yet, should I casually tell him?
‘I just got a better idea.’
Thinking this, Lee Hyun-woo made a decision.
He decided to write down the scenario and characters of ‘Space Craft’ and show it to his brother.
