The next day, Lee Hyun-woo was asked by Lee Jung-woo, who loved work as much as he did, to check something.
It was the game that Lee Jung-woo was developing.
“It passed all internal hurdles, but if you don’t like it, I won’t continue with the project.”
“What? Are you putting all your eggs in one basket?”
“Take it as a sign of my confidence.”
“Alright, got it. But how exactly am I supposed to check it?”
“It’s very simple. We’ll have a trial battle among three races. Just see if it’s fun.”
“How many times?”
“Once among the same race, and once among different races.”
“That’s nine battles in total? That’ll take a lot of time.”
“Each battle takes a maximum of 10 minutes. Including the preparation time, it’ll be a generous two hours.”
“Okay, got it. I’ll keep the afternoon free. By the way, how about I play as a participant?”
“A participant? Oh… you mean you’ll be battling?”
“Yeah.”
“Hyung, you’re not good at games, right?”
“It’s not that I’m bad, I just haven’t played. Just tell me the method. I’ll give it a try.”
“Alright, then I’ll send one of our team members to explain everything to you in detail.”
Lee Hyun-woo thought the best way was to experience it himself.
So he decided to play the game that he hadn’t diligently played even in his previous life.
He roughly knew the methods.
In the early days of his career, he used to go to internet cafes with his immediate superiors and colleagues.
‘Back then, I was busy losing on purpose.’
He thought that if he got too engrossed in winning, he wouldn’t be able to do what he loved more.
This life was different.
It should be said that he now had the opportunity to check what his real skills were.
Coincidentally, as soon as he got to work, he received a call from an expert from his previous life.
(CEO?)
It was Hong Yo-han.
“Oh? Who is this? Isn’t this my master?”
(Are you doing well?)
“I’m working hard to make money. But what about you, master? How’s the album?”
(It’s coming out soon.)
“Really?”
(Yes, I contacted you to let you know.)
“That’s great. Thanks to my master releasing another song, the sales of our 【Jungle Music】 will increase.”
(Hahaha.)
Hong Yo-han laughed cheerfully, thinking it was a joke.
Then he said,
(Anyway, I was planning to visit you this evening to show you the recording tape of our music video and give you the album. Is that okay?)
Since he mentioned the album and the music video, it seemed they were on the verge of debuting.
There was a hint of tension in Hong Yo-han’s voice.
“Are you nervous?”
(A bit?)
“Then come in the afternoon instead.”
(Huh? Is that okay? You have to work, don’t you?)
“We’re doing a demo of the game our company is preparing in the afternoon. Come and show your skills.”
(…….)
“I’m kidding, just come and watch me play. See how good I am.”
(Haha… Okay, I’ll come in the afternoon.)
After hanging up, Lee Hyun-woo imagined for a moment.
‘How would it feel to beat this guy, who was a top player in my previous life, in a game?’
It felt like an exhilarating thrill of becoming the king of Space Craft.
So he decided impulsively.
He would teach Hong Yo-han the game and make him his sparring partner.
‘And then I’ll KO the storm emperor Hong Yo-han from my past life.’
Just imagining that scene made him smile unconsciously.
Hong Yo-han arrived earlier than expected.
So they had lunch together and received instructions from a game project team member simultaneously.
“There are three races. We haven’t decided on the names yet, but one is humans, another is aliens, and the other is a divine race.”
Listening to the explanation, it seemed they had almost accepted the scenario and characters that Lee Hyun-woo had handed over.
“I’ll explain the characteristics of each race as I control the units.”
“No. You learn that while playing the game.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s okay, you don’t need to teach us. What about you, Yo-han?”
“Well, I’m someone who has some expertise in games, so I think I’ll pick it up quickly.”
“Wow, look at that confidence.”
“Oh, it’s not confidence. I just think it would be fun to compete on equal footing, knowing nothing.”
Hearing that, Lee Hyun-woo smiled.
‘Knowing nothing? That’s your situation. I have a rough idea about these characters.’
He had already detailed the information and skills of each character in the material he handed over to Lee Jung-woo.
Since it wouldn’t deviate from that, Lee Hyun-woo was naturally at an advantage.
‘Even if that’s not the case, I have experience with games like this.’
With this, Lee Hyun-woo was confident of victory.
And a little later, when everything was ready and the match started.
“Master Hong! Can you debut if you lose to me like this and lose your morale?”
“Oh, stop it. What’s so great about being good at games?”
“I’m just worried you might start poking around in the gaming industry later.”
“No, I won’t. I’m going to continue on the path of a singer. Don’t worry.”
Lee Hyun-woo completely managed the storm emperor Hong Yo-han from his previous life.
Meanwhile, the project team, including Lee Jung-woo, watched the match between Lee Hyun-woo and Hong Yo-han with interest.
“No way, such a tactic?”
“Attacking with workers is a bit too much, isn’t it? It’s completely broken.”
A little later, the conversation continued like this.
“The balance of the divine race is off. It’s too strong.”
“No, the CEO was using aliens a moment ago. The balance seems to depend on the skill of the person handling it.”
“Is that so?”
“Anyway, it looks like you had fun playing today.”
Indeed, after enjoying the game to the fullest, Lee Hyun-woo stood up and gave a thumbs-up to Lee Jung-woo.
“This is good. If the maps, units, and resource distribution are balanced, it could change the landscape of strategy simulation games.”
“Hearing the CEO’s praise boosts our team’s morale. But that friend’s face is crumbling, so please go and comfort him.”
“Okay.”
Smiling at his brother’s words, he approached Hong Yo-han and put his arm around his shoulder.
“Then shall we go up and watch the music video?”
“Yes…”
Probably because he lost all the matches, Hong Yo-han’s voice was weak.
As soon as they went upstairs, the music video they played made Lee Hyun-woo open his eyes wide.
“Hey, isn’t that Yoon-seon?”
“Yes, thankfully, noona appeared in it. And also Young-hye noona.”
Lee Hyun-woo nodded and kept his eyes fixed on the music video.
On the screen, two expressionless women were dancing the Macaroni dance, and one of them was Kim Yoon-seon, whom he knew well.
She probably appeared because they were in the same agency.
The other was Hwang Young-hye from the group ‘Two and Two.’
Both of them were famous for their expressionless faces in the music industry, and their blank charm flowed out in the music video.
Actually, this wasn’t what Lee Hyun-woo had imagined.
But the blank charm-filled dance of the two was strangely matching the song, creating a new Macaroni.
“Our CEO had a hard time getting the original broadcast from Spain. But when we tried to follow the dance exactly, it looked like it would be the same, so we discussed and added our own twist.”
“It’s really unique. This will be no joke.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, when’s the debut?”
“The release is in a week. We’ll be on music programs simultaneously.”
“Oh… that’s a shame. I’ll be in the US then.”
“Huh? Are you going to the US?”
“Yeah, for work.”
Lee Hyun-woo, who wanted to see the initial reactions himself, smacked his lips.
Then,
“Wait a minute… Can I take this music video with me when I go to the US?”
“If we make another copy, sure. But why?”
“To show it there.”
“Show it? To whom?”
“Who else? To promote your group.”
Looking at Hong Yo-han with a smile that indicated he had a good idea, Lee Hyun-woo said,
“If you have time this evening, tell your CEO I’d like to meet him. Okay?”
“Haha… Okay.”
Listening to Hong Yo-han’s answer, Lee Hyun-woo said to himself,
‘This isn’t work, it’s a good deed. Since Yo-han chose music instead of games, I should make sure he succeeds, right?’
Come to think of it, even the game he played this afternoon wasn’t work.
‘Great. I didn’t work at all today.’
Lee Hyun-woo was now even self-hypnotizing himself.
To Hyun Chang-soo, Lee Hyun-woo was like a benefactor.
In fact, the help he provided was crucial for the growth of 【Hyun Entertainment】, which was now Kim Yoon-seon’s one-person agency.
Recently, he had advised remaking a song called ‘Macaroni’ for the group Hong Yo-han was part of, and with Hyun Chang-soo’s intuition, it seemed like this song would definitely be a hit.
But was that help not enough?
“I saw the music video of Yo-han’s group, and it has a peculiar addictiveness.”
Lee Hyun-woo seemed eager to help and continued talking.
“So I’m planning to take the music video tape or CD to the US.”
“To the US?”
“Yes, the head of 【Jungle USA】 has connections with the top three record companies in the US.”
“Oh my…”
Hyun Chang-soo couldn’t help but let out an exclamation of joy.
“If you do that, I’d be very grateful. Yo-han will be really thankful too. And so will ‘Absolute Pitch’.”
“Was ‘Absolute Pitch’ the group’s name?”
“Yes, originally it was ‘Absolute Band.’ They were going to debut with a band concept because each member played an instrument. But since the music industry keeps changing, the success rate of a band seemed low, so we changed it.”
“Oh, I see… Anyway, is it okay for me to go and grease the wheels?”
Who would refuse free global promotion? Not Hyun Chang-soo.
“I’m very grateful. I’m always thinking about how to repay this favor.”
“But don’t get your hopes up too much. There’s a chance it won’t work out.”
“Of course. I’ll keep my expectations very low.”
Hyun Chang-soo didn’t say he wouldn’t expect anything.
‘Who knows? Maybe the Korean community in the US will invite them once.’
Actually, his expectation was just about that.
From what he heard, if the Korean community in various US cities invited them and they performed, the earnings would be quite good.
Since ‘Absolute Pitch’ was a rookie group, if they returned from a US tour, even the events in Korea would come with a ‘premium.’
On the other hand, Lee Hyun-woo was envisioning a much bigger picture than Hyun Chang-soo.
‘Currently, the Korean wave is booming in Chinese cultural circles, but that doesn’t bring in big money.’
For an artist doing music to make real big money, they need to break into the US and Japan.
What he said earlier was intended to lower Hyun Chang-soo’s expectations.
In reality, he planned to promote it on a level similar to the previous hit song ‘Apgujeong Style’ by ‘Psycho.’
Of course, he intended to try it lightly.
‘If it doesn’t work, forget it.’
But would Lee Hyun-woo really jump in with just a ‘forget it if it doesn’t work’ attitude?
