The first portal site service in Taiwan and Hong Kong was provided by 【Yaho】.
Therefore, news about 【Jungle】 quickly reached Jamie Wang’s ears.
“A few hours ago, services for 【Jungle Taiwan】 and 【Jungle China】 started. But I heard the server is down.”
Even though he’s always prepared for surprises, his eyes waver when he hears such stories.
Still, after regaining his composure, Jamie Wang smiled and said,
“【Jungle】 always has server issues. It happened in Japan, here in the U.S., and now in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well.”
Instead, Jamie Wang’s voice was filled with envy.
Could Steve Wong, his secretary, not read that?
“The world always has its ups and downs.”
“So, are you saying we are on a downturn?”
“No, in North America, our market share is overwhelming, while in Asia, 【Jungle】 is just riding the wave.”
It’s a pleasant interpretation.
But Jamie Wang neither got confused nor felt down.
He had realized something when he saw Lee Hyun-woo last time.
The moment you stop challenging, you start to fall behind.
“We must not be complacent in North America either. There are many challengers. 【Pineapple】 is soon launching a portal site. And I heard that 【Macro Soft】 is also preparing for a launch.”
“…”
“There’s even a rumor that Billy Kates and Steven Job have teamed up.”
“That seems to be true. Both sides are preparing portal sites, with 【Pineapple】’s launch imminent and 【Macro Soft】 aiming for the end of the year. They’ve teamed up in the search engine domain.”
“The importance of search engines can never be overstressed.”
Jamie Wang had changed.
Until recently, when Lee Hyun-woo came to the U.S. earlier this year, he didn’t recognize the importance of search engines to this extent.
This change in thinking undoubtedly occurred after meeting Lee Hyun-woo in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Now, 【Yaho】 was also preparing to integrate 【Jungle】’s search engine, and he was confident that once they started using the new search engine, they would significantly increase their market dominance with precise search term services.
Of course, this would be a crucial turning point ahead of the warring states era of portal sites.
‘Yes, it was a good decision.’
In addition to this decision, Jamie Wang was preparing another overseas launch.
That’s 【Yaho Korea】 and 【Yaho Japan】.
For this, he was naturally preparing to visit Korea and Japan.
The date would be around the end of October, probably after Billy Kates visits Korea, Jamie Wang would take the baton and fly to Korea.
“This time in Korea, I must meet Lee.”
The secretary’s eyebrows raised.
He was trying to read his boss’s thoughts.
‘When Jamie meets Lee Hyun-woo, he gets energized.’
Realizing this, he nodded without asking why.
“Understood. I will make contact right away.”
This way, Lee Hyun-woo would meet two IT giants in succession: Billy Kates and Jamie Wang.
Immediately, a call came to 【Jungle】’s secretary’s office from Steve Wong.
Receiving this, the staff reported it to Kang Dong-ho, who naturally conveyed Jamie Wang’s intention to Lee Hyun-woo.
There was no way Lee Hyun-woo would refuse this meeting.
“Of course, I should meet him.”
Unlike Steve Wong, Kang Dong-ho asked his boss’s thoughts.
“Why do you think Jamie Wang wants to meet you?”
“For various reasons. There’s business, and there’s also friendship.”
“If it’s business?”
Lee Hyun-woo looked at Kang Dong-ho, who only thought about work, and laughed heartily as if he was helpless.
“Hahaha, Director Kang doesn’t seem interested in the purpose of friendship. I’m more curious about what to do for fun.”
“Oh… When two giants from the portal site industry meet, all I can think of is business talk.”
“That’s what journalists do. Not me. It’s our third meeting, not the first. So, Director Kang, please think of things to enjoy with Jamie Wang.”
A look of distress briefly crossed Kang Dong-ho’s face.
“That’s more difficult.”
“What’s so difficult? We won’t stay long, so there should be plenty of places to visit in Seoul.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Look them up. It’s your homework.”
“Yes, sir…”
While he was confident in thinking about business-related partnerships, such assignments were extremely difficult for Kang Dong-ho.
Thus, his eyes wavered.
Seeing this, Lee Hyun-woo laughed as if amused.
“Why are the initial members of our company so bad at non-work-related things?”
“Indeed.”
“It’s because you only work. Find some leisure.”
Although he said this, the lives of the secretaries were not going to change.
No matter how much he asked them to separate work and personal life, they remained the same.
Recently, they were even looking for a small apartment near Lee Hyun-woo’s residence in Bundang.
Is it really the season of independence?
Starting with Oh Min-woo, his younger brother Lee Jung-woo, and their friend Jang Yoo-chul were preparing to move, and even they were planning to live apart from their parents.
‘Was I like this in the past?’
Recalling his previous life, it seemed he was.
To work more, he even moved to be near 【Deoksung Trading】.
From then on, he rarely saw his parents.
Looking back, it was a regretful decision.
Perhaps those who are immersed in work will have the same regrets later.
‘But how do I make them understand?’
While Lee Hyun-woo was trying to escape work addiction, they were deeply immersed in it without hesitation.
Already, Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho seemed very busy preparing for the meeting with Billy Kates from 【Macro Soft】.
‘Sigh, when will I ever establish work-life balance for these people?’
The next day, Han Se-jin made a report.
“Billy Kates will be staying at 【Seorabeol Hotel】. We have requested cooperation from the hotel and contacted 【Macro Soft】. It seems he will have some time before lunch. They are very busy.”
Although the work-only attitude felt stifling, the handling was satisfactory.
The young people new to the secretarial office seemed to have learned things from somewhere, taking care of everything quickly without Lee Hyun-woo needing to intervene.
Naturally, one person’s face came to mind.
‘Director Park Min-suk?’
Kim Ah-young had told him that she had worked at 【Guseong】 for a long time and had given advice even before entering the company’s work.
From Lee Hyun-woo’s perspective, she seemed to be the best veteran.
Since she had received advice from such a person, there was no way there could be problems with her work handling.
“Then I just need to meet Billy Kates.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Hearing the words of the representative, Lee Hyun-woo, Han Se-jin wore a proud expression.
Since it had the nuance of trusting the secretarial office, how could one not be satisfied?
However,
‘Now, you just need to meet Billy Kates and plan a new project.’
Neither Kang Dong-ho nor Han Se-jin knew Lee Hyun-woo well.
The most important reason Lee Hyun-woo was meeting Billy Kates.
It was to gauge early retirement.
He started to draft a scenario discussing this matter in the evening with Kim Ah-young.
“You know I’m meeting Billy Kates, right?”
“Yes. Director Han and Director Kang seem busy. They look quite preoccupied with preparations.”
“I don’t know what kind of preparations are necessary. He has such a busy schedule that he didn’t give me much time.”
“Right. Because of that, the two directors seemed upset and complained a lot.”
“They expressed that to Director Park, not me?”
“No, to Director Park.”
“Ah…”
Lee Hyun-woo nodded, took a breath, and continued.
“Well, we intruded on Billy Kates’ original schedule, so we must endure that. Anyway, I don’t think we will talk much about business.”
“Not much business talk? Then why are you meeting him?”
“Why? He’s someone who has stood at the pinnacle of wealth. Don’t you want to peek into his thoughts? How long he plans to work and how he is preparing for retirement.”
Kim Ah-young’s jaw dropped.
Of course, Lee Hyun-woo had casually mentioned peeking into Billy Kates’ early retirement preparations before.
She just realized now that he was serious.
Moreover, he showed a strong intention to actually retire early,
‘Then what about me?’
From her perspective, 【Jungle】’s recent growth was dazzling.
Articles constantly predicted that it would grow as much as 【Macro Soft】 in a few years.
Kim Ah-young believed the same.
‘How long will it take?’
5 years? 10 years? By then, it might be time for Kim Ah-young to retire as well.
‘I haven’t accomplished anything yet.’
Honestly, since she hadn’t achieved much in the hotel industry, she felt there would be a lot of regrets if she left like this.
Although Lee Hyun-woo had mentioned the idea of being a shutterman before, it was absurd.
No matter how much the times had changed, it was natural for men to work and women to take care of the house.
‘I’m going to be forced into retirement as well.’
Kim Ah-young arrived home with complicated thoughts.
But her father and older brother were sitting on the living room sofa, talking quietly.
“Really? At 【Macro Soft】?”
“Yes, they said if we don’t comply with their recommendations, they will prioritize selling Windows 97 to other PC manufacturers.”
“Haha, Billy Kates is a very greedy person.”
What was the issue?
The words 【Macro Soft】 and Billy Kates hit her ears.
It was natural since he was someone Lee Hyun-woo would soon meet.
Of course, her father would also meet Billy Kates.
But did a business issue arise before their meeting?
“Ah-young, come and sit.”
Kim Sung-moo called her with a wry smile.
“Hyun-woo is meeting Billy Kates, right?”
“Yes, that’s right, father.”
“Hmm…”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“A problem… Yes, indeed. A troublesome issue has arisen.”
“What is it, father?”
“Billy Kates, or more precisely, 【Macro Soft】 contacted 【Guseong Electronics】’s PC division. They said…”
“…”
“They said we must forcibly install their web browser, Internet X Cross, to get priority distribution of Windows 97. Since 【Jungle】 also launched a web browser, I couldn’t help but think of Hyun-woo. Your brother probably feels the same.”
“Yes. 【Macro Soft】’s recommendation is practically a threat. We can’t ignore it, but it would be unfair to Hyun-woo if we comply.”
Hearing her father’s words followed by her brother’s, Kim Ah-young’s big eyes wavered.
