Lee Hyun-woo also needed to see the face, so he went straight to the police station.
However, he had to give up at the door.
Somehow, the reporters had finally gathered.
Some of them quickly approached him after spotting him.
“Are you the CEO, Mr. Lee?”
“Do you have any information regarding the recent NIS hacking incident?”
He shouted internally.
No comment.
He smiled outwardly and left the scene.
‘I’ll see him later.’
Since he is a minor, he would avoid detention investigation.
Then, wouldn’t it be possible to communicate with Oh Min-woo and visit his home?
Thinking this far, he checked his watch and realized it was already quitting time.
Lee Hyun-woo contacted Yoo Jin-young, who might not be able to leave work because of him, and she too had left.
He didn’t go home but stopped by his father’s company.
Today, his father would have met Jasper Murphy from 【GAPE】.
‘I wonder if the meeting went well.’
No matter how much he needed his father’s skills from now on, he thought he should check, so he stopped by, and as soon as he saw his father’s expression, he sensed a good outcome.
“We got lucky again. Just as it happened, the chairman of 【New World Group】 passed by and started a conversation with Jasper and me.”
“Oh, I see…”
Somehow, it felt like they had received help from Kim Ah-young.
“So, did you sign the contract?”
“They asked us to sign, so I read it thoroughly and did. Anyway, the contents hadn’t changed much from the last time.”
This was surely due to the power of interpretation.
“So 【GAPE Korea】 is finally starting.”
“That’s right. Although we are still discussing the design, designer Lee Hwan assured us, so it might start within this year.”
No matter how well-known the 【GAPE】 brand is, they would have to release new products tailored to the Korean body type.
Since Lee Hwan had been diligently designing for a while, he seems hopeful that they could open a store and start selling products within the year.
‘In this life, nothing seems to be going wrong.’
Everything was progressing smoothly and rapidly, like a roll of toilet paper easily unfurling.
Suddenly, he thought of the story of high-ranking officials in the afterlife who said that good deeds are rewarded.
Since it was hard to find a reason for his success, he decided to attribute it to that.
Meanwhile, after the police investigation, the boy, Lee Jung-hyun, who hacked major public institutions including the NIS, received a final offer.
“Since things have come to this, do you want to work for the country?”
The person, who identified themselves as belonging to the NIS, continued to speak without revealing their name.
“So… you would be working for us. As an NIS affiliate. How does that sound?”
“I don’t want to.”
“You don’t want to?”
“Yes, I’ve already made up my mind.”
The boy, Lee Jung-hyun, continued to speak with a stubborn mouth.
“I plan to work for the company I just met with.”
“The one you just met? You mean 【Jungle】?”
“Yes.”
“You brat… Do you know who kept you from going to jail, and now you’re changing your tune?”
“Changing my tune? When?”
“You said earlier that if you did as told, you’d be forgiven.”
“That wasn’t what I said, it was what you said. I didn’t answer.”
“Huh…?”
The NIS officer, wearing a baffled expression, glared at the boy, Lee Jung-hyun.
“What did that person use to tempt you? Money?”
“No. He suggested we hack and defend together.”
“Wow, that’s conspiring to commit a crime.”
“He meant to work on his own company. Then he talked about installing the world’s best security program. And he said he’d host a hacking competition. He said so many interesting things.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think that guy is the CEO of 【Jungle】 or something? He’s just an employee, with no power. He was just saying anything to lure you.”
“Then are you a big shot in the NIS?”
“You brat… This won’t do. You need to spend some time in jail.”
The boy’s stubborn mouth clamped shut again.
At the same time, he recalled what Oh Min-woo had said earlier.
- If you’ve committed a crime, it’s only natural to be punished. Don’t think of evading it, be prepared to face it. We’ll arrange a lawyer for you. But it’s not to absolve your crimes, just to protect your basic rights.
Every word resonated with him.
Lastly, he even said something that stirred his heart.
- Our CEO’s dream is to change the world. It seems like you have a similar tendency. So, why don’t we change the world together? How about it?
He didn’t know what kind of change it would be.
But one thing was certain.
The boy was already part of the world that the CEO of 【Jungle】 was changing.
He satisfied his curiosity about hacking through the knowledge service created by 【Jungle】 and learned hacking through cafe activities.
Recently, he even confirmed that the Hangul programming language he used for hacking was supported by Lee Hyun-woo, the CEO of 【Jungle】.
He read in the explanation booklet published by Kwak Jin-wook of 【Ghost】, who developed the Hangul programming language, that it was dedicated to ‘Dear CEO Lee Hyun-woo.’
These days, many teenagers are exposed to the Hangul programming language.
It’s more accessible than English, and creating programs in Hangul can make unexpected things a reality.
Lee Jung-hyun was no exception.
He proved his skills this time using the hacking program he created with the Hangul programming language.
He just regretted not stopping when he could have.
That’s as far as his thoughts went.
“When can I go home?”
He boldly asked the NIS officer, who kept half-threatening him.
“I’ll serve my punishment later, so please let me go home.”
The officer looked at Lee Jung-hyun with a bewildered expression.
After having dinner with his father and about to head home, Lee Hyun-woo had to change his plans.
Oh Min-woo contacted him again.
(Hyung, can you buy me a drink?)
He’s someone who contributed greatly to this matter.
How could he refuse?
When he asked where he was, he said he was in front of the company, so Lee Hyun-woo parked his car and headed to the bar.
The drinking party had already started.
Oh Min-woo and Ahn Soon-hyung were there.
“I told you to rest.”
“Hyung, drinking is also resting. Ah, can I call you hyung? Since it’s not working hours now.”
“Sure.”
“What about him? Soon-hyung is only eight years younger than you.”
Looking at Oh Min-woo, who always breaks the hierarchy, Lee Hyun-woo gave him a bewildered look.
“Do as you like.”
But Ahn Soon-hyung, waving his hands, seemed to have no intention of doing so.
“How could I dare call the CEO hyung? I’ll be satisfied calling Director Oh Min-woo hyung.”
It seemed the two had already promised to call each other brothers.
Lee Hyun-woo, smiling, raised his glass.
“Anyway, good job, you two. Let’s take a shot.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
The soju sliding down his throat burned.
Feeling that, Lee Hyun-woo listened to Oh Min-woo’s voice.
“Hyung, I couldn’t explain it well over the phone earlier, but that kid… his name is Lee Jung-hyun, he didn’t hack for any commercial gain.”
“You said that earlier.”
“Oh, did I? I guess I’m a bit drunk. What about the lawyer?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“We decided to provide him with a lawyer. He has to be punished, but we still need to protect his basic rights.”
“Alright, you handle it. Bill me for the lawyer’s fee.”
“See, this is what our hyung is like. Soon-hyung, this is our hyung.”
They oddly matched well together.
Oh Min-woo was known as a typical outsider, and Ahn Soon-hyung seemed similar.
Later, when he heard Ahn Soon-hyung’s words, drunk, he thought ‘as expected.’
“CEO, you see. Hic. I couldn’t adjust well after joining the company. Hic. I graduated from a vocational high school. Of course, people didn’t particularly discriminate against me, but, how should I say… there was a sense of distance that you wouldn’t know. But this hyung just accepted me as I am.”
【Jungle】 was rapidly changing.
So, they always had to use the word transition period.
Because today was different from yesterday.
But still, everyone seemed to be doing their part well.
Even without Lee Hyun-woo’s intervention.
Oh Min-woo was like that now.
Maybe he was seeing those who couldn’t adapt to the company as they were and taking care of them well.
‘So, this time, the hacker too?’
Somehow, it felt like it.
“Alright, alright. In that spirit, drink up!”
The clinking sound of Lee Hyun-woo’s raised glass rang clear again.
Today’s drink was sweet.
As if his reborn life was sweet.
At that moment, in Kim Sung-moo’s office.
“So, this is an MP3 mobile phone?”
“Yes, father.”
Kim Tae-hyun answered with confident eyes, looking at the mobile phone in his father’s hand.
The launch of the MP3 phone was imminent.
【Guseong Electronics】 wanted to dominate the mobile phone market with this product, both domestically and globally.
“I am confident it will sell record numbers in Korea.”
“So, you’re not sure about overseas yet.”
“It depends on how quickly MP3s take hold in the US and Japan.”
“Sounds like you’re saying we should support 【Jungle Music】…”
“Not necessarily. If any other company offers an MP3 music service, we should support them too.”
To that answer, Kim Sung-moo spoke with a distant look in his eyes.
“No need to deny it. Ultimately, 【Jungle Music】 settling in the US and Japan will help our mobile phones sell better.”
“……”
“And I think the era of MP3s worldwide will surely come soon. Don’t you think?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“The world is changing faster than I thought. It was amazing when devices that could download and play music instead of using tapes or CDs came out, and now a phone can do that.”
“But, father, Hyun-woo even mentioned something more astonishing.”
“Hmm?”
“He said mobile phones could replace computers.”
“How can a mobile phone replace a computer?”
“At first, it sounded so absurd that I couldn’t respond, but thinking about it, it’s not impossible.”
“……”
“If we add phone functions to the PDA we are developing, it could work.”
“……?”
The pace of change was so fast that even Kim Sung-moo, who read the future well, was bewildered.
But his strength was this.
“Alright, give it a try.”
Why not?
Just recently, they couldn’t even dream of combining a mobile phone with a music player.
