[Jungle] is always at the center of attention.
Even at this year’s year-end concert, quite a few reporters showed up, and even if they didn’t, the secretarial team distributed press releases.
Any article that even mentioned them served as promotion.
Already, on the day itself, [E-Daily] posted a picture of Lee Hyun-woo and introduced [Jungle]’s internal club.
In line with the secretarial team’s hopes, they also covered the recently launched Go and Othello games.
There was no way Lee Jung-woo wouldn’t be pleased.
Having come home after a long time, he said to his older brother, Lee Hyun-woo,
“Hyung, after your article came out, the number of users increased.”
“Did you secure enough servers?”
“More than enough, which is the problem. At first, I wondered if we had allocated too much to the mainframe unnecessarily. Now it’s barely justifiable. Speaking of servers, I’ve heard that our server operating costs are too high. Do you know about this?”
“I did receive a report. But I think it’s inevitable.”
“Still, I think we need to adjust things more efficiently. I talked with Min-woo, and we’ve been running on a 1-tier structure out of necessity, right? I’m suggesting we switch everything to a 2-tier structure.”
Lee Hyun-woo blinked.
He didn’t even fully understand the 1-tier structure, let alone the 2-tier.
Despite having experienced a past life and thinking he had a good grasp of IT, patching these gaping holes wasn’t easy.
Fortunately, his younger brother noticed and began explaining the 1-tier and 2-tier structures.
“To put it simply, a 1-tier structure means a host and terminal configuration. Here, the terminal only handles input and output, while the host takes care of processing and storage. But in a 2-tier structure, the PC handles the screen and program processing, and only fetches data from the server. In the US, they call this a client-server structure.”
Even after hearing the explanation, he didn’t quite get it.
‘I guess I need to study more.’
Although he had an excellent private tutor in his younger brother and other computer experts around him, their explanations were more about satisfying immediate curiosity rather than systematic education.
Being the head of an IT company, he realized he needed to get serious about learning. The next day, he called Han Se-jin and said,
“Starting early next year, we might need to schedule some night sessions twice a week.”
“Night sessions? What kind…”
“You know the IT retraining programs run by the 21st Century Venture Business Association?”
“Oh, yes…”
“I plan to take the basic hardware course.”
“……?”
“To be honest, I don’t know much. It feels awkward to admit this as the head of an IT company, but I need to learn and fill in the gaps.”
Talking with Lee Hyun-woo often left Han Se-jin puzzled by his seemingly out-of-place ideas.
However, he couldn’t oppose the idea since it was a valid point.
But.
“Wouldn’t it be better to have private tutoring?”
Worried about how this might be perceived externally and potential security issues, he suggested a different approach, but Lee Hyun-woo shook his head.
“The 21st Century Venture Business Association brings in top experts for free. Why spend money unnecessarily?”
“That… that’s true, but…”
“Of course, if I start learning from the basics, there might be comments from others and security concerns. But I’ll work harder than anyone to learn quickly. So don’t worry.”
“Oh, yes… yes…”
Even though he was told not to worry, it wasn’t something he could control, and Han Se-jin was already thinking about various concerns.
Naturally, he had to discuss this with Kang Dong-ho shortly after.
Kang Dong-ho’s reaction was no different from Han Se-jin’s.
“What? He’s planning to take the retraining program run by the 21st Century Venture Business Association?”
“Yes, that’s what he said. I suggested private tutoring, but he refused. I think it will be hard to change his mind.”
“Could it be because he started the program himself?”
“I thought the same, but he vehemently denied it.”
Originally, this retraining program was proposed by Lee Hyun-woo after seeing the massive unemployment this year.
While there were unemployed people in their 20s and 30s, most of the job losses were among those in their 40s and 50s, and many of them were almost computer illiterate.
The government should have done something for their reemployment, but bureaucracy isn’t known for its speed in creating new programs. So Lee Hyun-woo suggested the retraining program to Jung Sung-woo, the president of the 21st Century Venture Business Association.
The idea was to transform people educated in manufacturing into IT workers, but despite coverage by portal sites and the media, it hadn’t made a significant impact yet.
To be more precise, it needed time.
Many middle-aged people found it hard to give up what they were used to, so there weren’t many willing to relearn information technology.
Therefore, even though the 21st Century Venture Business Association had top-notch instructors and offered free education in a rented building, the classrooms weren’t full.
“Whenever the CEO starts a project, he always succeeds somehow. But this project is lukewarm, so I think he hasn’t given up yet. He might be thinking of creating buzz by attending himself.”
“Increasing enrollment by creating buzz?”
“Yes, that’s what I think.”
“Then since he’s determined to go through with it, how about promoting it again through media coverage?”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
While he initially intended to learn the basics, Lee Hyun-woo’s intention quickly changed.
Naturally, the news headline on the last day of the year caused a stir.
“Lee Hyun-woo says we must relearn the basics to prepare for the 21st century.”
“Lee Hyun-woo, the secret to his success is a solid foundation.”
“The retraining program by the 21st Century Venture Business Association is not low-level!”
Reading the series of reports and articles, Lee Hyun-woo could only smack his lips.
‘It’ll be hard to attend classes leisurely.’
The New Year has arrived.
Lee Hyun-woo’s family celebrates Seollal, but Kim Ah-young treats January 1st as Seollal.
So this year, Lee Hyun-woo decided to visit Kim Ah-young’s house on January 1st, and later, during Seollal, Kim Ah-young would visit Lee Hyun-woo’s house.
With numerous reporters still following Lee Hyun-woo, two chief secretaries and bodyguards inevitably accompanied him.
Seeing this, Lee Hyun-woo couldn’t help but think about marriage.
‘People are getting inconvenienced because of me. I need to get married soon to resolve this.’
Anyway, in this family, after Kim Tae-hyun’s marriage, it would be Kim Ah-young’s turn.
Kim Tae-hyun’s wedding was scheduled for March, so things might naturally progress after that.
With these thoughts in mind, he sat at the breakfast table in his future in-laws’ house, and related topics started to float around.
“If things go well, there might be two celebrations this year, right?”
It started from the mouth of Kim Na-yoon, who always said what she thought,
“But if oppa and unnie get married, could you wait a bit longer for my turn?”
In this moment, Kim Ah-jin shared her thoughts.
Then Kim Tae-hyun, smiling, started to gauge Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young.
“When do you two want to get married?”
But.
“Oppa hasn’t even gotten married yet, so how can we talk about marriage already?”
“The sooner, the better.”
Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young spoke simultaneously, revealing different thoughts.
“What? Didn’t you two discuss this?”
“Tae-hyun, that’s enough.”
Finally, their mother, Jang Hee-jin, intervened.
Interestingly, her voice carried a tone of ‘not angry’ mixed in.
Her expression also showed a bright smile as if she had received good news.
There was a reason.
Jang Hee-jin had known about Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young’s relationship even before it was officially announced. Through various channels, she had heard that Kim Ah-young was much more proactive than Lee Hyun-woo.
Honestly, as a parent with a daughter, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
Especially since Kim Ah-young was the eldest daughter, cherished and raised with great care by her and her husband.
Sometimes, she seemed more reliable than Kim Tae-hyun.
But today, hearing Lee Hyun-woo express his desire to hasten the marriage himself, she felt psychologically rewarded.
Traditionally, a mother-in-law’s love toward her son-in-law was known to be deep.
“How’s the tteokguk? Does it suit your taste?”
She asked Lee Hyun-woo in a warmer voice than ever, and his reply was,
“Can I have another bowl after finishing this?”
Watching from the side, Kim Sung-moo thought,
‘This kid has an incredible sense. How is he so skilled in social maneuvering despite his young age, better than someone who’s been in an organization for decades?’
No wonder he was always at the center of attention.
The problem was that Kim Sung-moo didn’t particularly like that part.
He always avoided having the [Guseong] family’s private life too exposed.
When too many people know too much, you always had to show something.
As the leading corporation that had driven South Korea forward, maintaining secrecy and security was not only essential but also a given. Public good couldn’t always be the top priority in every decision.
Otherwise, you’d have to trade profitability for public praise, reducing the range of action.
Unaware of these thoughts, lately, his eldest son, eldest daughter, and even his youngest daughter kept appearing in the media.
Even if it wasn’t the media, they drew attention by posting directly on blogs, so it was time to have a conversation. After the meal, he called Lee Hyun-woo aside.
‘He’s quick-witted, so I can hint at it, right?’
Thinking this, Kim Sung-moo asked Lee Hyun-woo,
“These days, there’s a lot of news and articles about you and [Jungle].”
Indeed, Lee Hyun-woo was very quick-witted.
Unless it was about relationships, he could gauge the intent from the atmosphere and nuances.
Moreover, he had experienced a past life and spent a long time in organizational life.
‘Looks like he’s concerned about the frequent media exposure.’
Thus, when he was at a disadvantage, he would sometimes pretend not to notice or understand.
‘How can I weigh pros and cons in front of my future father-in-law?’
Traditionally, a son-in-law and daughter-in-law should always be weaker in front of their parents-in-law.
That was another truth to maintaining family peace.
“I will try to minimize media exposure going forward. And I will be cautious with my words and actions unless necessary.”
“Hahaha”
Kim Sung-moo was satisfied with how quickly Lee Hyun-woo understood.
At the same time, Lee Hyun-woo continued to say pleasant things,
“I wish there was a school for corporate leaders. Since there isn’t, I always feel inexperienced and clumsy. I’d like to visit you frequently and learn even small things.”
Kim Sung-moo laughed again.
Even Kim Tae-hyun sometimes showed signs of not wanting to hear nagging.
Whether Lee Hyun-woo’s expression was sincere or not, he genuinely seemed eager to learn.
So, nodding, he said,
“Stop calling me Chairman from now on.”
“What? Oh, yes, father-in-law.”
“Alright, come by anytime if you have any questions. Got it?”
“Yes, I will, father-in-law.”
