New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12. Overdrive Gear (2)

 

 

 

The day every office worker looks forward to most is undoubtedly payday.

However, our department had two paydays per month, and we actually looked forward to the patent bonus payment day more than our regular salary, since it brought in more money.

 

“How much do you think we’ll get today?”

“Don’t get your hopes up too much. The TV mobile phone patent isn’t that valuable of a patent.”

“That’s what we think, but the private equity fund might evaluate it differently, don’t you think?”

 

The department members rubbed their hands together waiting for the Department Manager’s appearance, and the Department Manager, having received the compensation from the private equity fund, entered the office with a somewhat stern expression.

 

“A total of 4 patents were registered this time, and 4 million won in bonuses per person has been deposited.”

“1 million won per patent? That’s less than I thought.”

“You’ve gotten spoiled. 4 million won is more than most large corporation salaries. If you add salary plus bonuses, there aren’t many people even in the financial sector who make more than us.”

 

I had no complaints at all.

After all, I was receiving equity shares instead of cash.

But the department members’ expressions were gloomy, especially since their accounts were empty from investing in Saera Technology stocks.

 

“Saera Technology’s stock price dropped too, how disappointing.”

“Today as well?”

“It was 2,300 won at the public offering price, but it’s already dropped to 2,000 won. At this rate, it’ll quickly go below 1,900 won.”

 

Everyone covered their ears at Manager Kim’s words.

Even though it was stock they couldn’t sell for 3 months, humanly speaking, they couldn’t help but check the stock price at least once a day.

 

But I remained composed.

I was confident the stock price would rise soon.

Right now was just the process of the gears warming up, and they would soon go into overdrive.

 

“It will go up though, right?”

“The free calling service will officially launch soon. Then the stock price will rise significantly.”

“An era where you can use international calls for free is opening up, of course it should go up!”

“Alright, enough talk about stocks. I have something important to tell you today.”

 

The Department Manager lowered his voice and spoke.

 

“As of today, a support team has been established under our Product Development Department 3.”

 

The Branch Manager who had wanted to expand the organization’s scale.

Once we agreed, personnel were immediately added, and a support team of 20 people was formed in just one month.

 

“Since it’s a team that will support our work, let’s get along well. Let’s go introduce ourselves first.”

 

There were many empty offices in the building we used.

Spaces that other departments of GL Group had used in the past were now vacant, and the support team moved into the room right next to our office.

 

“Please take care of us from now on. I’m Cha Ik-hyeon, Department Manager of Product Development Department 3.”

“We should be the ones asking for your care. I’m Jang Ki-man, Team Leader of the Support Team.”

 

We shook hands with each support team employee one by one.

It was a team that would handle document work, prototype manufacturing, and various miscellaneous tasks.

Since it was literally a team to support us, the department members welcomed them with bright smiles and returned to the office.

 

But I couldn’t just smile.

I would have to hand over many of the routines I had been doing to them.

However, I didn’t insist stubbornly. Instead of miscellaneous task routines, I could increase my patent development routines.

 

“Having 20 people supporting just our work feels quite different.”

“It means Tiger Fund has high expectations for us. Hand over everything that’s not core work to the support team. That way we can catch our breath too.”

“Does this finally mean we can leave work on time!”

“We need to create more patents to match the reduction in miscellaneous tasks.”

 

The appearance of the support team was a kind of pressure.

It meant to devote even the time spent on miscellaneous tasks entirely to patent development.

 

“At 1 million won bonus per patent, we’d need to register 100 to break even.”

“That’s why everyone needs to work hard. Alright, let’s start work!”

 

I quietly entered the Patent Team Office.

Since it was a space I used alone, there was no noise at all, and I could finally enter a time of concentration.

 

“Now that we even have a support team, I need to churn out more patents.”

 

Quantity over quality.

Of course, one core patent could bring much greater rewards than ten ordinary patents, but such things weren’t easy to create.

However, I could churn out ordinary patents as much as I wanted.

Countless blueprints were already filling my mind.

 

“What would be good for churning out as many patents as possible?”

 

First, I needed a subject that could serve as a center.

Mobile phones, PCs, CD players, MP3s… I thought of all the devices around me, but only a few ideas stood out.

 

It wasn’t the ‘pouring out’ patent material I wanted.

Then, the moment I saw one particular device, ideas exploded in my mind like a bomb.

 

“PDA? This will work.”

 

A device distributed to each team for schedule management, but which no one actually used.

A decorative item stuck in a corner of desks like a white elephant.

The moment I saw that PDA, hundreds of patent blueprints swept through my mind.

 

“Let me start with something easy.”

 

Current PDAs only allowed simple and static operations.

But what if pages could be switched just by sliding your finger across the screen?

Usability would improve significantly, and accessibility would increase too.

Moreover, the menu arrangement system was also outdated.

Most were in text listing format, and there were no intuitive icon-based UIs like PCs at all.

 

“This… mass registration might be possible?”

 

Icon arrangement methods, real-time status information display, dragging to change app positions…

All of these were concepts that didn’t exist in existing PDAs, and naturally, there were no patents either.

 

A single massive gear began turning in my head.

Dozens, hundreds of ideas meshed together and revealed themselves in the form of blueprints.

 

I started up CAD and began transferring the blueprints one by one.

I organized not only functional patents but also design patents without missing any.

Patents that could be registered with just a few pictures and a few lines of explanation.

There was no bonanza like this bonanza. Couldn’t I literally mass-produce patents?

 

***

 

I didn’t take a single step out of the company for two days.

The countless patent ideas pouring out from the PDA captivated my mind.

Every time I created a patent blueprint, I felt a strong thrill, and I couldn’t stop my hands.

And now, finally, I had a moment to catch my breath.

 

“Department Manager, the first patent draft is complete.”

“What on earth were you making that kept you like a shut-in for two days?”

“PDA-related patents. To be precise… I’m not even sure if this should be called a PDA. For now it’s ‘PDA-based,’ but it’s a bit different from existing concepts.”

“But there’s too much volume. Does this much material go into one patent?”

 

A bundle of materials thicker than most books.

The Department Manager was surprised, thinking this was material for a single patent.

 

“No. There are 10 UI-related patents, 6 design patents, 4 technical patents, totaling 20 patents worth.”

“Twenty patents?”

“It’s not finished yet. We need cooperation from the Practical Affairs Team and Support Team to complete it.”

“Don’t worry about that. The Support Team was just complaining about having no work to do. It’s been a while since we’ve had to prepare for department-wide overtime.”

 

The Department Manager handed the materials over to the Practical Affairs Team.

Simultaneously, screams poured out.

I felt satisfaction at that sight.

 

“You look absolutely thrilled. You worked hard, so go home early today. No, don’t even come in tomorrow and get some good rest.”

“This is only the first round. There are second and third rounds of patents remaining. There’s much more to extract from PDAs.”

“So what else are you going to make patents from?”

“I’ll organize more finger gesture-related patents, and icon composition methods, real-time information display systems, schedule notification functions are also possible. I have several ideas for touch input methods too.”

 

That wasn’t everything.

There were still hundreds of patent ideas left in my head, and I wasn’t even confident I could process them all within this year.

 

“Ha ha, no matter how well you make drafts, there’s a limit to how much the Practical Affairs Team can handle. Twenty cases per week is the maximum. Don’t overdo it.”

“Still, I’ll finish up to the second round before resting.”

“Oh my, Professor Park called. He was angry asking why you haven’t been coming to school. Just finish today and go cool your head.”

 

Should I stop here for now?

Appreciating the harmony coming from the gears was nice too.

My back was stiff from sitting in the chair for so long, and I even felt sharp pain in my wrists.

 

My body couldn’t endure this.

And my current behavior went against my routine, so I decided to follow the Department Manager’s advice.

 

“I’ll leave work for today then.”

“Good thinking. If you’re not planning to quit company life after 1-2 years, you need to take care of your body from when you’re young. Don’t end up going to physical therapy like me. And by the way… thanks to you, our department is running. It might sound irresponsible, but right now you’re feeding all of us.”

 

I wasn’t feeding the department members.

The department members were just working for me.

For my routine and for the pleasure I could feel through patent development, I was using the department members.

 

“It’s because the department members are here that I can do this much. I’m always grateful.”

“Too much modesty. Rather, try bragging like Manager Kim. That way our hearts would be a bit more comfortable.”

“When I make a really amazing patent, I’ll try being like Manager Kim then.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Now go home and get some good rest. Or go to school for a change of mood.”

“Then, I’ll head out first.”

 

I dragged my stiff body and headed to the bathhouse first.

After soaking my body in hot water and sweating it out in the sauna, when I looked in the mirror, I finally looked human again.

 

‘It would be a waste to just go home like this. Should I stop by school?’

 

I had skipped class yesterday because I was absorbed in patent draft work.

To make up for what I missed, I headed to Korea University, and when I finally arrived, Professor Park greeted me as warmly as if we were separated family members reuniting.

 

“Why didn’t you come yesterday either? Is company work that busy? That Department Manager Cha fellow, I need to meet him and give him a stern talking-to!”

“No. I had something urgent to handle so I worked overtime for a few days. I won’t miss classes from now on.”

“What class should we have today? We’ve covered C Language enough now, so I was thinking of moving on to computer networks this time, would that be okay?”

“I’ve actually been very interested in networks.”

 

When making mobile phone and PDA-related patents, there were times when network-related knowledge was absolutely necessary.

If I could fill in my lacking understanding, I could come up with more patents, so there was no reason to skip class at all.

 

“Good, let’s start class right away.”

 

Is this what it takes to be a professor?

To be able to be this happy about teaching others what you know.

Professor Park continued his passionate lecture for over three hours without resting for even a second, and I also focused intently on the class so as not to miss a single word.

 

“Let’s stop here for today. I’ll give you some related books, so study them in your spare time. Come find me anytime if you have questions.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“Won’t you quit company life even now and come under me? I’ll somehow get you admitted to Korea University.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just study a bit in the research lab before leaving.”

 

If I weren’t working at the company, I would have accepted the Professor’s proposal.

Because research lab life was close to the optimal environment I had imagined.

But now I had already adapted to company life, and I had also realized that the school was a structure I couldn’t perfectly control.

 

I quickly got up from my seat before the Professor could grab me again.

I hurried to the research lab. But in the research lab, a new variable was waiting for me.

 

“Lee Jung-hoo! We’re in big trouble!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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