An email arrived within a week.
The sender was Steven Job.
Dear ‘Hyun-woo Lee,’
Hello. This is Steven Job.
I am writing to inform you of some news that may interest you.
On August 30th, at 6 PM, 【Pineapple】 will showcase an item that will make computers and the internet easily accessible.
I plan to personally present the product at the San Francisco Grand.
I hope you can join us and grace the event with your presence.
Lee Hyun-woo immediately recognized that this was about the a-Mach.
Indeed, when he searched the news, related updates started popping up.
『【Pineapple】 aims for a comeback with the new computer series a-Mach!』
As expected, there were few product descriptions.
It was typical of Steven Job to arouse curiosity, and Lee Hyun-woo was subtly looking forward to his presentation.
The reason he called Kang Dong-ho was because of this.
“An email from Steven Job has arrived. He invited me.”
“What? Really?”
“Yes, it’s on August 30th at 6 PM, so I need to go this weekend.”
“What? This weekend?”
From Kang Dong-ho’s perspective, managing schedules, the sudden news of a business trip to the U.S. was quite a shock.
What made it more complicated were the three directors who wanted to accompany Lee Hyun-woo.
“I’m also going to San Francisco to see the presentation.”
“Me too.”
“Me too. If possible, please arrange seats close to the CEO.”
Whenever Lee Hyun-woo moves, the personnel from the secretary’s office and the security office must accompany him.
Including the three directors, it was exceedingly complicated.
Moreover, Lee Hyun-woo’s movements always served as publicity in themselves,
“By the way, should we inform the journalists about this?”
There was much to discuss with Han Se-jin.
“Of course, we should. However, since 【Jungle USA】’s listing is coming up, if we subtly leak that he’s going because of that…”
“Oh? That’s a good idea. Since we are planning our own listing next year, it’ll be good publicity.”
Now, as soon as one idea is brought up, the secretaries can piece together various strategies on their own.
At the same time, they were curious.
Was the reason for Lee Hyun-woo’s trip to the U.S. simply because of the invitation, or did he have another purpose?
Because up until now, Lee Hyun-woo had never gone abroad for just one task.
Precisely, he gained many side benefits from business trips with a specific purpose.
‘Surely something will happen this time too.’
The expectations of the two secretaries were growing.
Finally, the weekend approached, and Lee Hyun-woo and his party boarded the plane.
As always, as soon as the plane took off, the three directors started chatting.
“a-Mach is really intriguing. What kind of computer could it be?”
“Not just the computer, aren’t you curious about the OS too? If it’s Steven Job, he wouldn’t use MS Windows.”
“But he wouldn’t recycle the failed one from last time either.”
“Then that means a new operating system will appear…”
“What do you think, hyung?”
Since they were outside the company, they called Lee Hyun-woo comfortably.
Lee Hyun-woo also wasn’t sensitive about titles these days.
In fact, he was even considering telling them to call him casually.
【Jungle】’s corporate culture was liberal enough that even he could accept it.
“100% a new operating system will come out. And we should be on our toes too.”
“Why?”
“Because that operating system might later evolve into a mobile operating system.”
“Ah…”
“Wow, if it turns out as you say, hyung, it will be a three-way battle. Us, Windows, and the unknown OS.”
“Why don’t we take this opportunity to dabble in computer operating systems too?”
As expected, Oh Min-woo was a fearless guy.
Thinking of challenging Windows, which had over 90% market share.
However, Lee Hyun-woo nodded in agreement.
“That sounds fun. It’s not impossible.”
“What?”
“Why?”
“It seemed like you were somewhat negative about it before, hyung.”
“Ah… back then, I thought it would be better to tackle the mobile operating system first. Since we’ve started with PDAs and another operating system will come out soon for e-book readers, there’s no reason we can’t do it for computers too.”
More importantly, the situation had changed.
While Windows-based software development tools were mainstream, recently, the tool platform developed by 【Jungle】 was forming a new development market.
This was a scenario even Lee Hyun-woo hadn’t predicted.
Thus, he gained confidence that they could also create a computer operating system.
Whatever happens, it seems like the era of operating system trilogies will begin.
“If that happens, Billy Cates will hate it the most.”
“Probably. Originally, he had no worries about retirement with his computer operating system…”
“Retirement? Are you kidding? He’s made enough money for several generations.”
“It’s just a saying. But looking at Billy Cates, he doesn’t seem like he’d just live well off that money.”
“That’s true. I read in a recent interview that he plans to serve society in the distant future.”
“Serve? Does that mean he’s going into politics?”
“Nah, probably not. Hyung, you’d know better. You said you plan to retire early too, right? What will you do then?”
“I plan to serve society in the distant future too.”
“Okay, then specifically?”
“Specifically? I’ve mentioned it a few times before, right? I’ll create a foundation.”
As he mingled in their chatter, Lee Hyun-woo felt like he was unintentionally following Billy Cates’ path.
He too had engaged in foundation activities after stepping down from the management frontlines.
‘Good deeds should be followed.’
Is there any need to avoid it?
The only problem was even Lee Hyun-woo didn’t know when that day would come.
‘If this operating system trilogy happens, it’ll be fun…’
It was quite ironic.
Lee Hyun-woo, who dreams of early retirement, was excited about the emergence of strong rivals.
In other words, Billy Cates was a target to catch up to, but Steven Job’s awakening felt like he was being chased.
Moreover, beneath the surface, Ray Burrin and Michael Face also existed.
Seeing Billy Cates awaken, they too might someday create something that shakes the world.
The fact that he was looking forward to it showed that Lee Hyun-woo was indeed a quirky person.
After a while, when they arrived in the U.S., journalists were gathered.
Kang Dong-ho whispered to him.
“Although there is no official interview, I think it would be good to take a few questions.”
It was a request to step forward for publicity.
Lee Hyun-woo nodded and paused in front of the reporters.
“Hello, it’s been a while.”
Standing there and speaking meant he was willing to take questions.
And the reporters, having experienced trial and error a few times, didn’t throw unnecessary questions.
They summarized concisely,
“We heard you came to see 【Pineapple】’s new product at Steven Job’s invitation.”
They directly asked what they were curious about.
“However, isn’t the real purpose of your visit the upcoming listing of 【Jungle USA】? If not, is there another purpose for your visit?”
Lee Hyun-woo laughed inwardly.
‘The questions are evolving.’
However, since the main purpose was to see the new product, he had no choice but to answer this way.
“【Jungle】 in the U.S. and Japan operates independently. They are essentially American and Japanese companies. Therefore, the listing decision and publicity for both places have nothing to do with me. In other words, apart from seeing 【Pineapple】’s new computer a-Mach, there is no other reason for my visit.”
“Then could you tell us the reason for seeing a-Mach? Are you planning to establish another cooperative relationship with 【Pineapple】?”
“Well, I always find changing the world amusing. Steven Job is the same. So, if our minds align, we can always join hands to make the world more interesting. However, we haven’t had any discussions about such cooperation before coming here, so I’m not sure about the cooperative relationship you mentioned.”
The reporters’ faces grew urgent.
Although he was answering quite favorably today, they hadn’t obtained any substantial information.
They were clearly going to leave empty-handed, so they tried hard to draw something out.
“Then can you tell us your outlook on a-Mach? What kind of product will it be, and how well will it sell?”
“I’m curious about its appearance too, which is why I came. However, Steven Job has always emphasized design, so I’m confident it will have a very attractive exterior. Also, he likes simplicity. Considering he emphasized easy access to the computer and the internet… hmm… it might be a very simple structure.”
The reporters were quickly puzzled.
Lee Hyun-woo was usually very eloquent, never stumbling or faltering.
But this time, the ending was ambiguous. It felt like he was about to say something but stopped.
They couldn’t ask what he was going to say, so they were still in a hurry.
They needed to get some newsworthy content today, but so far, they had nothing.
On the other hand, Lee Hyun-woo stopped himself from saying that it might be an all-in-one computer with the monitor and the main unit combined.
He felt like he was putting a damper on things.
But feeling sorry for the reporters leaving empty-handed, he threw them a topic.
“If time permits, I’d like to have a meal with Billy Cates and Steven Job. I want to discuss what the three of us can do together for an interesting and new world.”
Finally, the reporters’ eyes gleamed with ‘I knew it!’
Although he said there was no other reason besides seeing the a-Mach presentation, Lee Hyun-woo was going to arrange a meeting with the three of them!
What would happen if the three of them gathered?
That question was thrown.
What would you talk about? Since you are competitors, the atmosphere won’t be all good, can you mediate? What if Billy Cates and Steven Job refuse the meeting? And so on.
Lee Hyun-woo casually said, if they refuse, then so be it, but the secretaries accompanying him were shocked.
They were already getting headaches thinking about contacting the secretaries of those two big names.
Fortunately, should I say?
(If it’s a request from Hyun-woo Lee, Billy is okay with it.)
Billy Cates sent an okay sign,
(If it’s a request from Hyun-woo Lee, Steven is okay with it.)
Steven Job also gave a positive response.
The two secretaries were astonished at how easily this instant meeting was arranged.
“You can better understand our CEO’s stature when we are abroad.”
“Yes, I agree.”
