The Chairman Who Wants to Play and Eat

Chapter 23. Have you ever heard of the internet?

The festival ended successfully.

For a week, the stage was heated with traditional mask dances and the May Queen event, culminating in a half-day celebration performance on the last day at the open-air theater, which served as the highlight to bring the grand curtain down.

The media also took notice. It was an extremely rare occurrence.

[ Korea University Festival Continues to Make Headlines. ······ ‘Not just studying, we know how to have fun too.’ ]

[ Jo Pil-yong’s ‘passionate singing’ on the cheering stage met with a ‘chorus’ from Korea University students. ······ The youth singer troika made a full appearance. ]

Had the Korea University Festival ever received such attention?

Never before.

Because it had been boring.

But not anymore. It had completely changed.

No one was unaware that this transformation was due to one person, Seonghyeon’s grandson, Hyun Sang-yoon.

Chun Jong-tae, the president of Korea University, was one of those people.

President’s Office,

‘So it really is him.’

As he sipped the black coffee poured by his secretary, it felt like his lips were burning.

Not from the heat.

This too was because of Hyun Sang-yoon.

Despite several requests for a meeting from the president’s side, he remained too busy to even take a step—this ‘hope of the Korean legal community,’ this ‘expensive’ junior, Hyun Sang-yoon.

He felt anxious.

“Why on earth!”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing. I’ve just been so preoccupied with my research that I misspoke.”

He offered a flimsy excuse to the secretary who was wiping the table.

He aimlessly rummaged through some innocent documents.

‘Why on earth does that guy pour so much passion into the festival while completely ignoring the development of our country’s legal community?’

He simmered internally once more.

The truth was this.

Everyone who wants to succeed aims for the bar exam.

No exceptions.

As a public servant, the money earned is small compared to the effort put in, but power and honor are guaranteed beyond that.

In his eyes, Hyun Sang-yoon was a person of great potential.

Burning such a large sum of money on a mere festival at Korea University?

Only someone with money to spare and a desperate craving for honor could do that.

A judge would be just right.

Nothing could be better. That was his conclusion.

But why?

‘Moreover, I, Cheon Jong-tae, the president of Korea University and a senior in academia, am even offering to help—why is he acting so high and mighty?’

He simply couldn’t understand.

“President!”

At that moment, the door burst open.

The cup rattled.

“Ouch.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. But what’s the matter, Dean Oh?”

It was none other than Dean Oh Seong-kwon of the Law School.

“We’re finally ready. A clever scheme to abduct… no, to draw Hyun Sang-yoon into our world of legal professionals.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“It’s nothing much…”

Dean Oh stepped closer and began to whisper something in his ear.

The frown on President Chun’s face, caused by the lips of Dane, gradually brightened.

“That’s a good idea! It’s a perfect plan!”

He shouted, forgetting the pain.

“What do you think?”

“Let’s start immediately.”

“Understood, President. I’ll get right on it.”

A fleeting glimmer of anticipation crossed Dean Oh’s face, as if he had taken another step closer to becoming the next president of Korea University, but it quickly vanished.

*

Meanwhile,

“Alright. This is it.”

I thought so too.

The festival had ended splendidly. A perfect result from a perfect plan.

My heart felt light.

It wasn’t just the joy of having fun; it was even more so because tomorrow was ‘the day.’

The day when Chairman Hyun would return from his month-long business trip to Europe.

Just one day left.

The day when everything would come to a refreshing conclusion.

A lot had happened during this time.

[Seong-hyun holds a ‘High-Level Executive Meeting’ in Frankfurt, Germany. The details are under strict confidentiality.]

Upon arriving in Frankfurt, the chairman suddenly summoned all vice presidents and above from the entire Seong-hyun Group.

The world was astonished.

The media took notice.

No one had grasped the contents of the top-secret meeting, however.

But I know.

“Change your name, everything except your wife.”

“It means that if you just occupy a position without any ability in our Seonghyeon from now on, even if you’re family, I will replace you without mercy.”

I heard it all from Deputy Lee Beom-seok.

“I obtained the meeting tape.”

He couldn’t follow me to Germany because he was busy attending to me, but still, the secretary’s office was indeed the secretary’s office.

It was thorough.

How did he manage to obtain an internal recording without even being asked?

Perhaps it was to familiarize himself with the chairman’s words.

He said he missed a few murmured phrases, but he caught all the important content. The story above was summarized by him.

“Well, since it was just murmuring, it probably isn’t that important.”

Anyway,

It felt like a decade-old blockage was finally clearing.

Why, you ask?

It’s because of what my grandfather said.

He told me to change everything except for my name, my wife, and my children.

I am not a child. I am a grandson.

That means I do not fall into the category of things that do not need to be changed. It means I can be changed.

In other words, this was directed at me.

“Are you spending that much money on a university festival by selling the Seonghyeon name? While your grandfather is away in Europe? This kid isn’t a wife or a child, so he must be changed. Hurry up and kick him out of the company! Quickly!”

This is what he must be thinking.

And rightly so.

My grandfather is a hundred percent right.

It feels like the Gangnam building I thought was far away is coming back. It was very refreshing.

“Young master!”

Deputy Lee Beom-seok’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“······Yes?”

“We’ll be arriving shortly. Please prepare.”

“Has it already come to that?”

The destination is somewhere in Gyeonggi Province,

This was the very site where our Seonghyeon Global Semiconductor Research Institute was being excavated.

Now that the festival was over, I wanted to wrap up as much semiconductor work as I could before hearing my grandfather’s disapproval.

There’s a saying: “One who tied the knot should untie it”

It means that one must resolve what they have set in motion with their own hands.

If I didn’t want to lose the nearly grasped Gangnam building at the last moment, I had to finish what I started neatly before leaving.

As I arrived at the site office,

“Mr. Hyun!”

“Director Jo.”

Just then, Director Jo Young-dae was there to greet me warmly.

He had been coming to the site almost daily, and indeed, his face was more sun-kissed than when we first met.

He looked younger and healthier than his age.

It was nice to see.

“You didn’t have to come all this way.”

He smiled, revealing his relatively white teeth.

“Why would I not? This is my undertaking, after all. I should be concerned.”

“I appreciate your words.”

“Rather, I should be the one thanking you.”

I said, “If it weren’t for our Director Jo coming all the way from the U.S., our company wouldn’t have even started in semiconductors, let alone stand shoulder to shoulder with the giants like Jeong Sang and Geosan.”

While we were talking, Assistant Lee was pulling boxes out of the car trunk. They were the snacks I had prepared.

Seeing that, the site director didn’t miss the chance to flatter.

“Young master, oh my, you’ve brought so much.”

“It’s nothing special.”

I had been attentive all this time.

Even while taking exams and preparing for the festival, I had sent various supplies to the site to ensure that the construction wouldn’t be hindered by the increasingly hot weather.

It was the first time I had personally brought them all the way here, though.

“Thank you, young master.”

“I’ll eat well and make sure to finish the construction successfully!”

So I could understand this reaction.

But inwardly, I thought, there’s no need to be so grateful.

Since today is the final farewell gift,

I can no longer work for the company,

having incurred the wrath of Chairman Hyun.

There was no need to say such things.

“Then, may I take a look around?”

Instead, I said this.

I wanted to leave my final mark on the site,

the place I had touched with my hands.

After all, it’s a place I won’t be able to visit again.

“Oh, of course. You should. Absolutely.”

The site manager replied loudly.

“Manager Kang, prepare the safety helmet we talked about earlier.

As soon as you’re ready, I’ll introduce you to the site.

Welcome, young master.”

The process had already progressed significantly.

“······And this is where the exposure machine will go.”

“Isn’t the exposure machine more necessary in the production factory than in the research lab?”

At my question, the site manager smiled.

“Of course. That side has already ensured that the exposure machine can arrive safely at the factory site in Gimpo,

with the roads all set up for it.

Here, it’s for research, so it’s not to that extent. You know well.”

At that, Manager Jo nodded.

We surveyed the site.

The site manager explained while Manager Jo and I mostly listened.

Both of us were preoccupied with our own thoughts, though.

Eventually,

“I actually wanted to visit you sooner to discuss something.”

As we returned to the manager’s office and shared a cup of coffee, Manager Jo spoke up in a serious tone.

“To me?”

“Yes.”

“What do you mean? Please, go ahead.”

“I have some advice for Mr. Hyun.

I think it’s better to do it before it’s too late…”

There was no need to hear more.

It seemed he was about to bring up that semiconductor engineering study,

which had yielded no returns.

“Weren’t we supposed to avoid that topic?”

I waved my hand dismissively.

It was best to cut it off from the start.

Otherwise, it would become a hassle.

This is an important moment.

The longed-for Gangnam building is right in front of me.

If I carelessly add more to Dr. Jo’s engineering talk, I might cross a line and everything will turn to dust.

But he was persistent.

“That’s not the story. It’s a new story.”

“A different story?”

“Yes.”

At my changed demeanor, Dr. Jo’s eyes sparkled as if he had finally seized an opportunity.

“How could I bring up the semiconductor engineering story that you’ve already concluded you wouldn’t want to hear? I’m not that kind of person. I just had something I wanted to share. Something that carries my heartfelt gratitude for all this time.”

When the chairman isn’t around, of course.

I didn’t say it, but it felt like we understood each other. Just a glance was enough.

“A new story is always right.”

I felt intrigued.

“Studying something new is a good thing. I want to hear that new story.”

“Haha, I knew Mr. Hyun would say that.”

His expression brightened.

“So, Mr. Hyun, have you ever heard of something called the internet?”

On the way back to Seoul,

“By the way, young master.”

This assistant, who had seemed eager to ask something for a while, finally spoke up.

“What is it?”

“Can I ask about what Dr. Jo said earlier? The inter… what was it?”

“The internet,” I replied.

He tilted his head.

“That inter-net? Internet? Is that really so revolutionary? You mentioned it’s a tool for two-way communication with someone very far away, like between Seoul and New York, but don’t we already have things like that?”

Like fax or telex, the assistant added.

I had a similar thought.

If I were to relay exactly what Dr. Jo said, it would go like this.

“I originally didn’t want to say anything at all.”

It was a sincere face.

“But I’ve felt uneasy for a while. Didn’t Seong-hyun spend a lot of money because of me? I thought I should repay that. In that sense, I wanted to give you some good information.”

That story was the Internet.

According to his explanation, it goes like this.

The Internet is based on ARPANET, a packet-switching remote communication system developed for military use.

Currently, it is only being used in a limited capacity by federal government agencies and a few universities, but the crux of his story was that it wouldn’t be long before this technology would be available for civilian use.

He mentioned that he had used it at an American university.

“We need to start before it’s too late.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

When I asked,

“Mr. Hyun, you’re a student at a Korean university, aren’t you? I recently met a friend from the computer engineering department among my junior professors. He seemed to be hinting that he would like to receive investment while preparing to develop a research and development network.”

The Internet, huh.

Right now, this assistant’s words ring true.

With cutting-edge technologies like fax and telex already in place, an Internet that isn’t even developed yet? Investing in something like this?

It’s absurd.

Absurd enough to be appealing.

“Let’s go the Korean way.”

In that moment, the assistant flinched. It was clear he was surprised.

“At this time?”

“Yes.”

“It’s already late. It’s evening. There’s nothing you can do even if you go.”

No. The sooner, the better.

I need to take out an insurance policy against an uncertain future.

“No, we must go right away. Oh, and you mentioned that the president has been trying to contact you recently? Now is the time. Call him on the car phone. Right now.”

*

President Chun felt like a dream.

It seemed that the plan Dean Oh had explained a while ago had succeeded.

The phone rang.

“I would like to meet you. If it’s alright, I’ll come directly to your office.”

So,

“When are you coming?”

I had been asking my secretary repeatedly for the past minute, eagerly awaiting the answer.

“Just arrived. Should I let them in?”

“Of course!”

A moment later,

“President.”

Hyun Sang-yoon entered.

“Hyun Sang-yoon, what brings you here? Is it about the law…?”

“Excuse me, but I have a favor to ask.”

“Excuse me? How could you say something so disheartening? Please, have a seat. If it’s a request from you, our Hyun, I would go to any lengths, even bending the rules…”

With his words, it felt as if he could reach for the stars, or even the heavens themselves.

His true feelings seeped out with every word.

“Eo Nam-jun.”

But an entirely unexpected name emerged.

“Pardon? What?”

“I heard there’s a Professor Eo Nam-jun in the Department of Electronic Engineering. I want to collaborate with him. Regarding the internet, right away.”

Meanwhile,

Dean Oh, resting at home, was engulfed in a feeling that was hard to put into words.

‘What is this?’

He felt as if he hadn’t done anything at all, truly nothing.

Of course.

Because he really hadn’t done anything.

His ears tingled slightly.

‘To show the President a good side, I absolutely must introduce that friend Hyun Sang-yoon to the joys of law.’

He thought.

Preparations were going smoothly. For this project, he had already gathered everyone from the bar exam prep class to the top students of each year in the law school.

They were unusually cooperative.

‘I will make sure that friend comes in first place during the final exams.’

‘I won’t let him drop below first place even once until graduation.’

Everyone was burning with enthusiasm.

The reason was unknown.

But he shrugged it off. Isn’t good just good?

I was supposed to report to the president tomorrow and start right away.