Lee Hyun-woo laughed while listening to Lee Jung-woo’s logic.
“Haha… Yes, you’re absolutely right.”
Although the situation had escalated, from a positive perspective, if the media started covering it as his brother said, it would become a social issue.
‘That’s exactly what I wanted.’
Without realizing it, he visualized the scenario.
As the media covered it, both 【Dae-Han Power】 and 【Dae-Han Telecom】 would revisit the issue, and the rival to ISDN, ADSL, would be introduced two years earlier than in the previous life.
If, as his brother said, they utilized the towers and power lines, it wouldn’t take long to lay down the network.
A few days after Jungle’s café was organized by category and rankings were applied.
“Hyung, hyung! It’s in the newspaper! It came out as an article!”
Lee Jung-woo entered Lee Hyun-woo’s room with an excited voice.
Coincidentally, Lee Hyun-woo was also logged into Jungle and had already confirmed the news.
“Indeed. It’s here.”
“Do you see the headline?”
“Yes, ‘Only the innocent consumers suffer due to the power struggle between two public enterprises.’”
“Right, that’s exactly the headline I wanted. Now, other newspapers will also cover it, right?”
“Probably?”
“I really hope the internet speeds up because of this.”
“Me too. Oh, by the way, Jung-woo.”
“Yeah?”
“You know that guy Nostradamus, right? Do you think he enjoys all the attention he’s getting?”
“Well…”
“I don’t think so, honestly. Last time, I got calls from here and there asking to reveal Nostradamus’ identity.”
“Oh, I heard about that too. They said 【Sejong Daily】 requested it?”
“To be precise, it was 【Guseong】 that wanted to know. I even met the son of their CEO for that reason. We ended up getting an advertisement, but I feel a bit uneasy. Our side must be quite curious too, right? Is there a way to make sure even we can’t find out?”
“No, if you look into it a bit, you’ll know. We used personal information when signing up.”
When creating an account, you need to provide your home address and other details.
Of course, Lee Hyun-woo used fake information.
What he was worried about was the IP address.
Although he wasn’t perfect in terms of information and communication knowledge, he thought the IP address might reveal his identity.
“Is there a way to encrypt the IP address? If 【Dae-Han Telecom】 wants, they could find out.”
“Hmm… I haven’t thought about it, but I’ll consider it.”
“Oh, and when you right-click on a nickname in our café or blog, the account shows up.”
“Well, that’s natural…”
“To ensure anonymity, we should also hide that information.”
“Okay, got it. That’s not too difficult. But do we really need to go this far?”
“Of course. Nostradamus is becoming more of an ‘issue maker’ than celebrities or sports stars. From 【Jungle】’s perspective, he’s creating positive buzz, drawing attention, and ultimately increasing the exposure of our web page.”
“That’s true.”
“But what if he feels burdened and stops updating the bulletin board to conceal his identity? What if he disappears?”
“Huh?”
“We would lose a valuable asset.”
“Right. According to you, hyung, Nostradamus is a blog star. That could happen. Then protecting personal information is the right way to go.”
Lee Jung-woo paused for a moment, pondered, and then continued speaking.
“The IP address evasion technology isn’t perfect, but we have a skilled person in our department. I’ll get some help.”
“Oh, really? Then introduce him to me.”
“I’ve been tempting him, but he’s not budging, using the excuse of being busy. He’s a rich kid, so money doesn’t lure him. That’s why you don’t know him.”
Lee Jung-woo, who had a wide network of relationships even before the company was established, had deepened them further after the company was founded and his finances improved.
Though he rarely had time for drinks, he often treated people to lunch.
He had attracted many colleagues, seniors, and juniors to regular or part-time positions.
Many of them were growing into the core of 【Jungle】.
Jang Yoo-chul was a prime example.
Some had established themselves as driving forces of 【One Computer】.
But the one person whom Lee Jung-woo acknowledged as a true genius had never shown interest in joining 【Jungle】.
‘I should try to persuade him again this time.’
While thinking this, Lee Hyun-woo casually asked.
“What’s his name? Can I find out?”
“His name? Oh Min-woo, why? Do you want to meet him?”
The moment he heard the name, Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes sparkled.
‘Yes, Oh Min-woo. That guy?’
Once considered a genius sought after by both 【Yahoo】 and 【Single】, Oh Min-woo came to mind.
He was a scout target the moment Lee Hyun-woo joined the planning and coordination office.
Why would 【Deokseong Trading】 need an IT genius?
If you thought that, you were being very simplistic.
At the time, domestic conglomerates were dreaming of entering the IT field.
So they tried to meet any conditions, but Oh Min-woo rejected all offers.
Later, when Lee Hyun-woo found out the reason, he was slightly surprised.
In Korean companies, all you do is work.
This meant that he also valued work-life balance.
In fact, later it was confirmed that he inherently loved to play.
Even after moving from 【Yahoo】 to 【Single】 and switching to remote work, he did everything he was supposed to do.
‘He’s the closest to the ideal life I’m trying to achieve now.’
Naturally, he wanted to bring him in.
“It would be great to meet him. But you said he didn’t bite even when tempted? What’s keeping him so busy?”
“You won’t like it when you hear it, hyung.”
“Huh?”
“He’s a night owl at clubs. He’s too busy partying. He’s far from being diligent. His academic performance isn’t great either. He skips classes and doesn’t submit reports. But he does well on exams.”
At that time, in Korean universities, good exam scores alone couldn’t get you high grades.
Listening carefully, it seemed like the type professors dislike.
“Why would I dislike that? I like to play these days too.”
“Hey, how can you compare? You’re a genius with both brains and effort. You work hard during startup and rest well when it’s time to rest. But that guy isn’t like that.”
“Even if he isn’t, I have ways to handle it. Whenever the opportunity arises, bring him in. Got it?”
“Hyung, you’re not the person I used to know.”
“Huh?”
“You used to treat me like trash for not studying much and just liking to play. I felt a bit wronged. Compared to my friends, I was still doing something. But now you’re trying to meet someone worse than me.”
“That’s why I recognize you these days.”
“Really?”
“Of course. How could our company run without you? You are the true co-founder of our 【Jungle】.”
Hearing Lee Hyun-woo’s praise, Lee Jung-woo grinned.
‘He’s so simple.’
He hoped Oh Min-woo would be as simple as Lee Hyun-woo.
With this thought, he threw a bait just in case.
“Did I mention that our company sometimes goes to nightclubs?”
“No. We’ve only gone once.”
“We were planning to go again. And we tried a few more times, but there wasn’t much response.”
“Well… I heard from Yoo-chul that they couldn’t adapt well.”
As with everything, those who are familiar with club culture play well in that setting.
For the record, Lee Hyun-woo also couldn’t play properly back then.
He recalled awkwardly returning to the drinking table after dancing awkwardly during the blues time.
‘Since everyone is from a studious background, no one knows how to play properly.’
If Oh Min-woo joined, they might be able to hang out together after work hours.
“Anyway, tell him about our company’s situation accurately. Got it?”
“Okay, I’ll mention it. First, I’ll ask for help with the IP address evasion technology.”
Lee Jung-woo answered and then left the room.
A little later, back in his own room, Lee Jung-woo first sent an email to the team members.
Based on the conversation with his brother, he instructed them to further strengthen the protection of personal information.
He specifically mentioned methods like preventing account IDs from being visible when right-clicking.
As someone who could only come to the company irregularly, he enjoyed communicating through emails like this.
After finishing his work, he pondered.
‘Come to think of it, our company isn’t made up of regular working people.’
Already, his commuting hours were irregular.
Starting next year, Jang Yoo-chul would also have to return to school, living a life similar to Lee Jung-woo’s.
Yet, he didn’t think the company would run poorly.
‘Hyung controls the work hours to a maximum of eight hours a day, and employees try to finish their work within that time.’
Of course, there were those who worked secretly.
Lee Jung-woo, who often came to work in the evening, occasionally discovered this but showed flexibility and didn’t report it to his brother, as he had requested to finish their tasks by the next day.
Sometimes, when work ended too quickly, they would declare the task finished and have a company dinner at a bar.
He would inform his brother about this.
His brother always readily approved.
Once the work was done, he questioned why they should stay.
Such a completion-oriented approach rather than just spending time seemed more efficient.
‘Later, it might be a good idea to give teams projects and deadlines, and if they finish everything, send them on vacation.’
This was a radical idea that completely reversed the existing work process and was feasible in 【Jungle】.
It could also be the corporate culture his brother was pursuing in the near future.
‘If that happens, I might be able to talk to Oh Min-woo about it tomorrow.’
Until now, he asked those he brought into the company to be at least diligent.
He thought his brother liked that.
However, after talking with his brother today, it seemed unrelated to diligence.
It didn’t mean to bring in only undiligent people, but to look at abilities regardless of that trait.
Still, Lee Jung-woo believed that one thing should not be compromised: character.
‘At least, I don’t think Oh Min-woo is a bad person.’
Liking to play and being undiligent in university shouldn’t be grounds to consider someone a trash person.
Putting that aside, his skills couldn’t be underestimated.
Lee Jung-woo’s talent for building the framework of search engines, browsers, and portal sites was all honed through competition with that guy.
Sometimes, when he feigned ignorance and asked about the parts he was stuck on, that guy would answer smoothly, making him realize that there’s always someone better.
‘He would be an asset to our company, but if he comes, my position might be pushed back.’
Lee Jung-woo is considered the core of development at 【Jungle】 by everyone.
However, if Oh Min-woo joined, with his superior skills, he might have to pass on the title of development core.
Would he dislike that?
‘So what? The company will grow bigger.’
No, recently, Lee Jung-woo had been identifying himself with the company.
Therefore, when he met Oh Min-woo the next day, he said frankly.
“Min-woo, can you spare some time?”
