Jang Jae-won was someone who always paid close attention to Nostradamus’ editorials.
The youngest son of the owner of 【Sejong Daily】 heard from a subordinate that the tone of the editorial sent by Lee Hyun-woo had changed, and when he checked it out immediately,
‘Huh? Why is it so optimistic?’
The editorial contained content suggesting that, like the ground hardening after rain, Korea would transform into a country with a heightened sense of crisis through the tough economic times and the collapse of many companies.
Additionally, it predicted that the exchange rate would not rise further, foreign investments would flood in, and new things would take root and sprout on the foundations of the old being naturally discarded, ending with a ‘happy ending.’
In fact, the last statement was ‘I am witnessing the ongoing process of disruptive innovation,’ which seemed to imply the rise of new industries following the collapse of traditional ones.
“This time, Nostradamus doesn’t seem like himself,” Jang Jae-won muttered, tilting his head.
He immediately called in Joo Jung-hyun, one of Nostradamus’ followers within the company.
Joo Jung-hyun, a former Washington correspondent, had been reading and analyzing Nostradamus’ early editorials from the beginning, making him a true ‘Nobba’—a term for a die-hard follower of Nostradamus.
“Did you see the latest editorial?”
“Yes, I did, and I am seriously worried.”
“Worried?”
“The fact that the editorial was written so optimistically…”
“……”
“It feels like an indication of the end.”
Joo Jung-hyun’s concerned words made Jang Jae-won’s pupils shake.
Now that he thought about it, the happy ending did feel off. Was Lee Hyun-woo planning to get rid of the cyber commentator Nostradamus?
“Anyway, what do you think about the content?”
“I agree 100%.”
“Really?”
“Recently, economic experts have been saying that the Korean economy has hit rock bottom.”
This meant it was time for the economy to bounce back.
Since economic experts were saying so, Nostradamus’ editorial made even more sense.
‘As expected, this guy’s perspective is sharp.’
The problem was, if Nostradamus’ tone started to become this optimistic, it felt like he was losing his identity.
Of course, he occasionally talked about future industries, but overall, his pen was marked by gloom, making Nostradamus a pessimist.
“By the way, have you ever met him?”
“Oh, no, I’ve only communicated with him via email.”
“I see…”
Seeing the regret in Joo Jung-hyun’s eyes, expressing a desire to meet Nostradamus, Jang Jae-won smiled bitterly.
‘I’m sorry. This has to remain a secret till the end.’
Jang Jae-won muttered to himself that he would meet Lee Hyun-woo instead and stood up to meet him immediately.
“Nostradamus seems strange.”
Lee Hyun-woo tilted his head at the abrupt statement from Jang Jae-won as soon as he arrived.
“Why?”
“Nostradamus was supposed to be a cyber commentator filled with negative outlooks.”
“Ah…”
Now that he thought about it, that was true.
And since Nostradamus himself talked about the end of the world, it was natural for the character to be specialized in negativity.
That’s why Lee Hyun-woo, using that name as his alter ego, often expressed future anxieties, and now Jang Jae-won was saying it didn’t fit the character.
Lee Hyun-woo laughed and said,
“You’re right. Maybe it’s time to wrap it up.”
Jang Jae-won’s eyes shook.
He had expected it, but hearing the retirement announcement right in front of him was different.
“It seems like it’s time to stop writing Nostradamus’ editorials.”
Jang Jae-won quickly tried to persuade Lee Hyun-woo.
“No… suddenly… why? Did you misunderstand why I came here? I didn’t mean to say you should predict the future negatively. I was just curious because there were a lot of optimistic contents.”
“Yes, I know. But what you said resonated with me. Nostradamus is famous for his negative outlooks as a cyber commentator. I think his era has ended.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything; I made trouble.”
“No, it’s not your fault, Uncle. Even if you hadn’t said anything, I would have noticed and told you I was ending it.”
In fact, while writing this editorial, Lee Hyun-woo felt a disconnect between the character Nostradamus and the content.
So he said,
“Maybe in the future, Nostradamus will make a comeback.”
“Instead, why don’t you create a new cyber commentator?”
Jang Jae-won started to bring out his second plan.
This was the plan he had thought about while coming here.
The first plan was to delay or stop Nostradamus’ retirement.
If that didn’t work, the second plan was to get Lee Hyun-woo to use a new form of cyber commentator.
Lee Hyun-woo looked at Jang Jae-won with a curious expression.
“Oh? I hadn’t thought of that…”
“Yeah, start thinking about it now. Very positively. Got it?”
“Yes, haha, I will. And I’ll let you know once I decide.”
In any case, this meant that Nostradamus’ editorial would be the last this time.
“Yeah, it’s a pity. I enjoyed reading your editorials.”
“It means the era of overcoming crises has come. Now it’s time to talk about opportunities, so I hope the media emphasizes that part a lot. The atmosphere these days is gloomy, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I’ll try.”
Lee Hyun-woo, who had experienced a previous life, could talk about hope immediately.
The market had reached a peak of fear.
Many companies had collapsed, unemployment had risen, and the exchange rate was unstable—situations never experienced before.
That’s why Lee Hyun-woo specifically requested it.
Because the atmosphere was gloomy these days, he asked for articles full of the message of hope.
There was already one reserved message of hope.
It was the headquarters project of 【Jungle】 starting from Jeju Island.
The words Lee Hyun-woo had spoken in the form of a meeting in Jeju Island a while ago had finally been released as an article.
『Lee Hyun-woo, Building the Future of 【Jungle】 in Jeju Island!』
Given the high interest from the media, many related articles and reports adorned the news and newspapers.
Especially in 【Sejong Daily】, there was an article stating that Chairman Kim Sung-moo himself was moving.
In other words, it summarized that Kim Sung-moo met with the Governor of Jeju Island, the local assembly members, and showed his intention to carry out a massive project in collaboration with 【Guseong Group】 and 【Jungle】.
‘If this happens, it’s a complete boon.’
Although somewhat anticipated, the fact that Kim Sung-moo stepped in directly aroused even more interest.
Chairman Park Jin-yong of 【Samjin Computer】 contacted immediately.
(Are you busy these days?)
“No, I’m not busy.”
(Really? If you weren’t busy, I should have gone. Hahaha.)
“Yes, please come.”
(Well… I don’t think I can right now. I’m at the airport.)
Lee Hyun-woo chuckled.
He was busy himself, yet he made an excuse by blaming Lee Hyun-woo.
“Where are you going? A trip? A business trip?”
(A business trip. To Jeju Island.)
“Jeju Island?”
(Yes, I made an appointment with a cable broadcaster based in Jeju Island. Hahaha.)
Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes widened slightly.
He had a feeling. The meaning behind Park Jin-yong’s words was likely to build the internet infrastructure in Jeju Island.
“Does this mean Jeju Island will have seamless high-speed internet?”
(It was something that had to be done eventually. The time has come. My younger brother created the right timing, didn’t he?)
“I did?”
(Aren’t you building your headquarters in Jeju Island? Isn’t that right?)
“Of course, I have to.”
Lee Hyun-woo answered with a smile.
‘He’s trying to probe me constantly.’
There was no need to probe in such a way when he could just proceed with it. Why did he call?
He probably wanted to confirm the Jeju Island project with Lee Hyun-woo.
“But what do you mean by younger brother?”
(What else? When we first met, we became sworn brothers. I’m the older brother, and you’re the younger brother.)
“You said that, but I didn’t agree.”
(Huh? That’s disappointing. Oh, I have to go now, I’ll contact you again… or I’ll come to 【Jungle】. Let’s talk about various things then. Got it?)
“Yes, travel safely.”
After hanging up, Lee Hyun-woo recalled his first meeting with Chairman Park Jin-yong.
He knew, but he was more eccentric than he thought, deciding everything on the spot as if it were an impromptu decision.
It was the same afterward.
Since then, Lee Hyun-woo had often made several decisions at once.
Also, he corrected mistakes he had made in his previous life, notably the project for a call-only device that couldn’t receive calls.
‘If nothing else, stopping that project was a really good move.’
He felt a sense of pride.
Thanks to his intervention, Chairman Park Jin-yong was providing stable high-speed internet services.
But he didn’t have the leisure to reminisce about the past.
His phone started ringing again.
“Hello?”
(Oh, it’s me, CEO Lee!)
This time it was the CEO of an outsourcing company.
He too contacted to confirm 【Jungle】’s project.
After a while, secretaries came in, saying other outsourcing companies of 【Jungle】 were also bombarding them with inquiries.
Although they thought they weren’t restricted by distance being an IT company, it seemed they didn’t think so.
Some partnering companies were already considering following them.
In the evening, even Kim Yoon-soo came to see him.
“CEO Lee, are you really going to Jeju Island?”
“Yes, I am, but it’s not something that can be done immediately. It’ll take at least two years, maybe five at most, so you don’t have to look at me like I’m moving to another country.”
“It’s not that, I want to follow you too.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t you remember what I said before? To be precise, what my father said. He told me not to do business far away from a benefactor who is by my side. So I have to start preparing now.”
“Haha…”
Lee Hyun-woo laughed awkwardly.
No matter how you looked at it, how could you compare running a company haphazardly back then to now?
Though unnecessary, Kim Yoon-soo’s determination to stay close to him touched Lee Hyun-woo’s heart.
However, he thought it would be difficult for his decision to become a reality.
No matter how much they were both in the information and communication business, manufacturing PCs and modems at 【One Computer】 and running an online-based business at 【Jungle】 were different.
Despite that, Kim Yoon-soo insisted on following him to the end.
“We will also set up one headquarters in Seoul and one in Jeju Island. I’ll make sure of it, just wait and see.”
“Huh…”
Could that really happen?
Maybe it’s possible if they handle manufacturing from their current location and do the rest of the work in Jeju Island.
‘Instead of this, should I draw a bigger picture?’
Initially, he only thought about 【Jungle World】, but suddenly he imagined turning Jeju Island into a Korean Silicon Valley.
It didn’t seem like a bad idea.
A word inspired by Silicon Valley also popped into his mind.
‘Silicon Beach…’
Does it sound like a knockoff?
