To enter and exit the CEO’s office of Jungle, you must always pass through the secretary’s office.
The same goes for Kim Yoon-soo.
After adamantly telling Lee Hyun-woo not to come out, Kim Yoon-soo left the CEO’s office and encountered the two secretaries.
“Chief Han, Chief Kang, they say a position makes a person, and both of you have become more reliable. Ha ha ha.”
“No, sir. Ha ha ha.”
“But did the CEO say anything?”
“What would he say? He just said, ‘I have a plan for everything.’”
“As expected…”
“I knew it.”
The two secretaries also quickly adopted the same expression as Kim Yoon-soo.
They believed that Lee Hyun-woo always had a scenario in mind.
“Lee Hyun-woo even told me not to think about turning my back on Macro Soft. As always, he’s my benefactor.”
“The CEO said the opposite. He said you were his benefactor, Mr. Kim.”
“Yes, I heard that too.”
“No way. I’m able to make a living thanks to the CEO, so what are you talking about?”
In reality, One Computer had undergone multiple transformations with Lee Hyun-woo’s advice.
That’s why, out of loyalty, they tried to refuse Macro Soft’s forced inclusion of Internet X Cross.
“This time, I plan to follow the CEO’s advice. He said he has a countermeasure, so I believe in him.”
“Yes…”
“Right…”
“Why do you two seem disappointed?”
“No, not at all. Why would I be?”
“Absolutely not. I fully understand Mr. Kim’s position. Honestly, which PC company in our country can refuse Macro Soft’s demands?”
“I agree. We’re just grateful that you came to us directly.”
“Thank you for saying that. It means a lot to me.”
Being human, it was impossible not to show some regret on their faces.
Kang Dong-ho and Han Se-jin felt the same way.
Even though they knew One Computer couldn’t refuse Macro Soft’s demands, they still felt a bit disappointed when they trusted Lee Hyun-woo and accepted the inclusion of Internet X Cross.
Sensing this, Kim Yoon-soo reluctantly shared a plan.
“Actually, we have a plan that we haven’t told the CEO about.”
“What?”
“We?”
“The 21st Century Venture Business Association, more specifically, the PC Manufacturers Meeting within the association.”
The PC Manufacturers Meeting of the 21st Century Venture Business Association.
The two secretaries perked up their ears, sensing it might provide some support.
“The current discussion is to include Macro Soft’s Internet X Cross but also distribute Jungle’s Forest to PC buyers.”
“What? Really?”
“Wow, that’s fair then.”
“Exactly. According to the interpretation, Macro Soft only said to include Internet X Cross. They didn’t say not to include other web browsers, right?”
“Right.”
“Of course.”
“So, Jungle should produce some CDs and distribute them to us. We can’t include it directly in Windows 97 ourselves.”
“Of course.”
“We’ll proceed with that plan immediately.”
In fact, this plan was already being discussed in the secretary’s office.
The only debate was about how to inform the PC manufacturers, but opening this path so easily blew away the earlier disappointment and brought a sense of gratitude.
“Of course. Our CEO’s seeds of benevolence are bearing fruit here.”
“Indeed. We were a bit stuck figuring out how to inform the small and medium-sized PC manufacturers.”
After Kim Yoon-soo left, Kang Dong-ho and Han Se-jin started talking with relieved expressions.
“Now, what’s left are the large companies and individual business owners.”
“For the large companies, I think Director Kim Tae-hyun will sort things out when he arrives. As for the individual business owners, we need to inform the Sales Department.”
“Okay, I’ll go inform them.”
Han Se-jin got up from his seat immediately.
The individual business owners he referred to were shops selling assembled PCs in Yongsan and Sewoon Market.
From Jungle’s early days, he often visited Yongsan Electronics Market and Sewoon Market with Lee Hyun-woo.
Kim Yoon-soo of One Computer and Hwang Il-ho of Strawberry Computer also came from the market, so they believed that individual business owners could always rise to become entrepreneurs.
This belief was widespread in the Sales Department where Han Se-jin was a team leader, and even his successor and the employees didn’t neglect the individual business owners.
Han Se-jin judged that if Jungle asked for help, it would likely be effective.
However, the cooperation was even better than expected.
When he stopped by the Sales Department and told his successor, Yoo Han-seok, about the Forest CD mentioned by Kim Yoon-soo, Yoo Han-seok replied that they had already started working on it.
“You’ve already started working on it?”
“Yes, I heard about it this morning and informed each team leader. The team members made lunch appointments with the regulars at Yongsan and Sewoon Market. They said they would install and sell the Forest CD on the desktop.”
“Wow, that’s fast.”
“You always told us to act proactively. Who do you think I learned it from? Ha ha ha.”
Of course, Yoo Han-seok learned from Han Se-jin.
And Han Se-jin learned from Lee Hyun-woo.
This is why the CEO’s philosophy is important.
As the company grows and the number of employees increases, the content passed from senior to junior becomes what they ‘learned.’
“It’s fortunate that the merchants are cooperative.”
“Yes, they are inclined to help us. Honestly, Jungle is the only one who cares about them.”
Even if Yoo Han-seok was exaggerating, it was good to know that they still maintained good relationships with the merchants.
‘With this, at least in Korea, we might be able to stand up to Macro Soft.’
Now, if only Director Kim Tae-hyun from Guseong Group would help, they could potentially escape Macro Soft’s all-out pressure.
Meanwhile, Kang Dong-ho took a more proactive approach.
When Kim Tae-hyun visited Lee Hyun-woo, Kang Dong-ho discreetly handed him a Forest CD.
“What’s this?”
Kim Tae-hyun looked puzzled at the CD he received before entering the CEO’s office.
The bold and straightforward Kang Dong-ho quickly explained.
“It’s the Forest installation file. I put it on a blank CD for you to check out later.”
“What? I thought it was only available for download?”
“Internet X Cross is included in Windows 97, so we thought we couldn’t fall behind and decided to produce CDs to distribute to PC manufacturers.”
“Ah…”
Without further comment, Kim Tae-hyun nodded and entered the CEO’s office.
Lee Hyun-woo welcomed him as if he had been waiting.
“Welcome.”
“Oh, hey. How have you been?”
“Why are you acting like we haven’t seen each other in a while? We just met during the Chuseok holiday.”
“We’re like family, so if we don’t see each other every day, it feels like a long time.”
“Ha ha ha.”
Lee Hyun-woo laughed, and Kim Tae-hyun also smiled as he sat down.
When Yoo Jin-young brought in the coffee, Kim Tae-hyun took a sip and started talking business.
“Your company is distributing CDs.”
“CDs?”
“Don’t play dumb. I just received this. You’re planning to target the market by producing them since Internet X Cross is included in Windows 97, right?”
“Ah… yes… ha ha ha. That’s how it turned out.”
Initially, he hadn’t thought of that.
He believed it would be a good contest even without doing so.
‘Wow, things are running smoothly even without me saying anything.’
Whether it was Woo Sang-won’s doing, the secretary’s office acting on its own, or a specific team starting it, Lee Hyun-woo felt proud that things were functioning like clockwork without his direct orders.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come.”
“Why? Did you come because of Internet X Cross too?”
“Yes, I came to ask how you’re going to handle Macro Soft’s pressure. I’m worried.”
“Thank you for worrying about us. I’m sorry for causing you concern.”
“Hey, you don’t have to say that among family.”
Kim Tae-hyun kept emphasizing family.
It seemed like he would keep mentioning it, just in case Lee Hyun-woo had second thoughts later on.
Lee Hyun-woo chuckled and, since family was brought up, asked Kim Tae-hyun a question.
“When are you getting married, hyung?”
“Sigh, it’s annoying. Thanks to you, it’s almost set for the first half of next year.”
“With whom?”
“With whom? Didn’t I tell you? The eldest daughter of the Miseong Group.”
“Oh… I think I heard that…”
Lee Hyun-woo was momentarily confused.
The eldest daughter of the Miseong Group was the one who married Kim Tae-hyun in his past life as well.
‘It seems like this guy’s marriage is going to be a replay.’
Unlike his own life, it was certain that Kim Tae-hyun’s wife would not change.
“Let’s stop talking about marriage; it makes my chest feel heavy. Instead, take a look at this.”
Today, Kim Tae-hyun seemed to have a lot to say about business.
After wrapping up the web browser discussion, he took out a PDA phone.
Lee Hyun-woo immediately recognized what it was.
“What? You’ve already made a PDA phone?”
“Wow, you recognized it right away. Others asked me what it was.”
“It looks exactly like a PDA phone. And we’re co-developing it.”
“That’s true, but this is the first time I’m showing you a PDA phone from Jungle. Anyway, the only function it has besides making calls is…”
“What? The PDA operating system isn’t ready yet?”
“No, we can’t keep up with it. To run that OS, we need to significantly upgrade the core components inside this PDA phone. It will take more time. Although the target release is the first half of next year.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, how do you find the design? Isn’t it a bit bulky?”
“Yes, a bit.”
“Oh, you’re blunt.”
“I have to be honest for it to sell well. It would be better if the corners were a bit rounder.”
“You make it sound so easy. Just toss the PDA phone and leave it be.”
“I didn’t neglect it. Otherwise, the OS wouldn’t be ready.”
Kim Tae-hyun chuckled.
Even though Lee Hyun-woo’s past experience was no joke and he treated Kim Tae-hyun like a child, Kim Tae-hyun, having been trained like a prince, could read Lee Hyun-woo’s thoughts.
Especially, a hunch he had yesterday and today was confirmed after meeting Lee Hyun-woo today.
“Be honest. You’re not afraid of Macro Soft’s OS, right?”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. Our domains are different.”
“That’s not it. You’re confident because the future won’t be dominated by PC operating systems but by a different kind of OS, right? Am I correct?”
“……!”
Hearing this question, Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes wavered slightly.
‘This guy is no fool.’
