Chaebol

"Right now, I'm at Sonus headquarters."

The moment the word "Sonus" left his lips, it felt like he had been thrown naked into the Arctic.

It was because he could already picture his grandfather's reaction.

Sure enough.

(Do you even know your own grandfather?)

A voice filled with venom came through the receiver.

His grandfather's lifelong mission.

Destroy Sonus!

How could he not know? But Park Yoo-geon forced himself to calm down and opened his mouth.

"…That's why I'm here."

(What?)

"It's just a game made by a bunch of middle schoolers, right? And now they want to hand over shares for it. If your arch-enemy is making a foolish move, why would you try to stop them…?"

(And who says that's a foolish move!)

"…!"

(With sales doing so well! How is buying that a foolish move, I ask!)

The roar made his body shrink for a moment.

But soon, a sense of euphoria started creeping up his spine.

The joy of finally receiving full recognition from his grandfather… It was enough to make his whole body tingle.

But that reaction didn't last long.

'It's not over yet.'

Park Yoo-geon quickly changed his expression and said,

"Ah, Grandpa, I'll call you back in a bit."

(…?)

"It looks like the director who went to report to the higher-ups has just returned…"

(Didn't I say it was 50 billion won? Should I give you that money?)

"I'm sorry, Grandpa. We've had this meeting scheduled for two weeks, so I think I need to at least hear their conditions."

(What did you just say!)

"I'll call you right back."

Park Yoo-geon clenched his teeth and hung up.

"Hah, haaaa…"

He did it.

He really did it.

When he practiced, he was scared.

"..."

But now that he had done it, there was a sense of satisfaction.

Even though his hands were sweaty and soaked…

It would be nice if it ended right here.

'What would Ji-hoon have done?'

Park Yoo-geon calmed his shaking heart and fell into thought.

If Ji-hoon were here, what would he have done?

He would have fought tooth and nail to get even a single penny more.

Even if his opponent was their grandfather!

But then came the next thought…

'That's only possible because it's Ji-hoon.'

Isn't it a good enough effort for him?

Just as he was trying to convince himself, an image from the past flashed through his mind.

'If you really care about your brother…?'

'I have to fully shoulder my own responsibilities too.'

'Instead of hiding behind the guise of "concession" and pushing all the burdens onto my brother.'

'I need to find what I'm good at and take complete responsibility in that area.'

When he thought about it now, those were some reckless promises.

But the chance to fulfill that reckless promise was now right in front of him.

Would he be satisfied with the 50 billion won, a huge sum in itself?

Or would he fight until the end like Ji-hoon?

Park Yoo-geon didn't take long to decide.

He calmly picked up the receiver and said,

"Grandpa, I'm sorry for hanging up so abruptly earlier."

(So, what happened?)

"I'm going to decline."

A brief silence followed.

(Alright, you've worked hard making that game for a year. I'll send 50 billion won, so don't think about anything for a while and just rest. Understand?)

"Grandpa."

(...?)

With calm yet resolute eyes, Park Yoo-geon spoke firmly.

"I'm sorry, but I think you'll need to spend a bit more money."

***

At the same time.

I was sitting in front of my desk in my room.

Even though I tried to read, nothing was sinking in.

"..."

I guess I couldn't get my mind off my brother, knowing he'd have a hard time.

Can he really do it alone?

No, he absolutely has to.

He must prove that he can manage on his own without me in order to fully inherit the throne.

The moment I was most worried about was when he would mention "Sonus headquarters" in front of our grandfather.

Would he lose his composure when the inevitable outburst came?

But I quickly shook my head.

A cat doesn't come out of a tiger's belly.

'He'll do fine.'

I looked up at the clock hanging on the wall.

By now, things should be settling down.

No matter how terrifying our grandfather is, if the offer drops below 50 billion won, I told Yoo-geon to just sell it to Sonus.

'He'll probably get scolded, but…'

After all, it's about transferring the IP.

Sonus will be handling future card development as part of the deal.

It's not like we'll be involved with them long-term anyway.

'Even if he's furious now, in a few months, he'll understand.'

Of course, the best-case scenario would be Hyungang acquiring the IP.

Whatever happens, though, we'll exceed the revenue projections our grandfather suggested by several times over.

"Now the throne belongs to you, Yoo-geon."

That was enough for today.

I shut the book that I couldn't focus on.

***

An hour later.

Park Yong-hak spoke into the receiver.

"Are you there?"

(Yes, Chairman.)

"Send 60 billion won to Yoo-geon's company."

(Sorry? 60 billion won?)

"Why? Do I need to explain where my money is going to you?"

(No, Chairman, of course not.)

As the chief secretary responded in shock, Park Yong-hak hung up the phone.

During dinner, he had clearly seen Ji-hoon's face.

Which meant that Yoo-geon had gone to Japan alone.

"…Ha!"

Of course, that younger brother of his must have coached him.

It was obvious.

Though Yoo-geon had grown a lot, he still didn't have the same guts as his younger brother.

But even so…

'Sorry, but I think you'll need to spend a bit more money.'

He couldn't help but be surprised when he heard those words.

The resolve packed into that short sentence was crystal clear.

If he had tried a half-hearted negotiation?

'He would have hung up and actually signed the deal with Sonus.'

The intensity behind his words came through loud and clear.

"..."

Even thinking about it again, it was truly astonishing.

But why is that?

The more impressed he felt by Yoo-geon's growth, the more a deep sense of regret grew toward the youngest.

The younger brother who had completely transformed his timid older sibling.

But to just let that younger brother go?

Just because of some promise?

'That doesn't make any sense.'

But what could he do?

Ji-hoon's strategy of propping up his brother while stepping back himself…

It was as if their grandfather had personally stamped approval on the 60 billion won deal.

And as his thoughts reached that point…

At that moment, a sudden possibility flashed through his mind.

'Could it be that all of this…'

Was it all planned for this moment?

Accepting the ridiculous goal of 100 billion won in revenue.

Nodding silently to a mere 5% royalty.

Were all of these just stepping stones leading to this scene?

Even though he knew it made no sense.

'If it's Ji-hoon…'

If it were his brilliant grandson, then maybe…

The more his thoughts spiraled, the tighter his chest felt.

Could this be what it feels like to have a phoenix land on your shoulder, only to let it fly away again?

Tch.

What could he do?

For now, all he could do was watch.

As the night darkened, Park Yong-hak slowly picked up the receiver.

"Have the car waiting at the airport."

(If this is about the eldest grandson…)

"…?"

(The second grandson is already on his way to pick him up.)

'That kid. I can't keep up with how fast he moves.'

Park Yong-hak couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

***

At the airport.

"When did you prepare all this?"

At my words, Professor Jo's chest puffed out with pride.

Then, as if showing off, he unfurled the banner.

"Congratulations on the achievement of 60 billion won in IP sale revenue. Welcome back, Park Yoo-geon!"

"How did you even know how much it sold for…?"

"This wasn't printed in advance."

"Then?"

"I heard the amount from you and, well, hand-wrote it myself… heh heh."

Oh.

Now that I look closely, the numbers really are handwritten.

As expected from an art professor—such precise craftsmanship!

I appreciate it, but…

"Isn't this a bit of a waste of talent?"

"Waste? This is the day my Boss's dream came true! If I could, I'd gift you a car right now, but…"

"Why not just go for it then?"

"Well, you don't have a driver's license yet…"

"But it's just for keeping. What's the big deal?"

"No matter what, gifting a car to someone who's about to enter eighth grade is a bit…"

Heh.

Why's he reacting so seriously to a joke?

I was about to thank him when—

"Ji-hoon!"

A voice came from the gate.

Oh, it was my brother.

Running quickly toward us, he spotted the banner and…

"Pfft!"

His face turned red with embarrassment.

"What is this, Professor?"

"You accomplished something great, and this is the least I could do to celebrate."

"No, no. If you'd done any more, I would've been really embarrassed."

After bowing his head in thanks, my brother turned to me.

"Ji-hoon, it's all over, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I can finally smile, right?"

My brother had achieved an extraordinary feat.

For a sixteen-year-old, he had done everything he possibly could.

But.

He hadn't allowed himself to fully enjoy a single moment.

The 100 billion won in revenue…

The standard set by our grandfather had been stuck in his mind like a thorn.

But today, at last, he had far surpassed that standard.

Maybe that's why.

The joy he had pushed aside all this time started rushing in at once.

The dam quickly broke.

"We did it!"

Even though my brother was usually bad at showing emotions.

"We really did it!"

In this moment, he was letting all his joy spill out.

With this kind of overwhelming emotion, you'd expect a tear or two, but my brother just kept bursting into laughter, going "Heh, heh, heh."

And I liked that.

Because today wasn't the end.

No, far from it—his journey was just beginning…

'So, what about me?'

As of today, I'm retired, retired!

We soon got into the car.

On the way back, I gladly listened to my brother's tales of triumph.

"Every time I was at a loss for words, I thought: What would Ji-hoon do in this situation? And then I acted like you. I might've even been channeling you to the point of possession."

"What about Sonus?"

"Hm? Oh… How did I shake them off, you mean?"

I nodded.

"I just threw out a ridiculous price. But then…"

"…?"

"They started considering it. It really threw me off."

"Seriously?"

"I had already sorted things out with Grandpa, but when they started seriously debating it, I was shocked."

"How much did you ask for?"

"700 billion."

An outrageous amount.

But well done, honestly.

"But what if they had agreed to that price?"

"Then I'd just have to think on my feet again. I'd ask myself: What would Ji-hoon do?"

What would I have done?

The moment Sonus started considering 700 billion, I would have played both Hyungang and Sonus against each other.

'Maybe I could have gotten signatures from both sides?'

Heh.

A useless thought.

'What does it matter anyway?'

I'm retired as of today.

Smiling to myself, I continued listening to my brother's stories of victory for a long time.