New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 16

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

Chapter 16. Breakdown (1)

 

 

 

Saera Technology’s stock price soared day by day.

The word ‘rise’ wasn’t enough—it had nearly doubled in just one month, a true ‘explosion.’

With this unexpected stock price surge, the atmosphere at Tiger Fund Korea Branch also changed.

 

“Branch Manager, Saera Technology’s stock has already doubled. How long do you plan to hold it?”

“We have to wait and watch for three months anyway. At this rate, it looks like breaking 10,000 won within two months is possible.”

“Articles are coming out about various large corporations sending love calls to Saera Technology. There’s plenty of good news, but seeing Wall Street-level growth in the Korean market is also concerning.”

“It’s just additional profit, so don’t worry too much about it. Think of it as money that’s nice to have, but doesn’t matter if we don’t.”

 

Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju had invested 3 billion won.

That money had already grown to 6 billion won, and this kind of return rate was a performance that even Tiger Fund Headquarters could rarely taste.

 

Of course, while the return rate was high, the actual profit amount was low.

They had only invested 3 billion won, which was just a very small-scale investment from Tiger Fund Headquarters’ perspective.

 

“Looking back, I think it would have been good to put in 10 billion instead of 3 billion.”

“There’s no point regretting past choices. There will be bigger opportunities ahead, and we already hold a good card called Product Development Department 3.”

“You mean the portable HDD-related patents created by Product Development Department 3? Various places are showing interest at an incomparable level to before.”

 

The Branch Manager had even greater expectations for Product Development Department 3 than for Saera Technology’s stock.

The Assistant Branch Manager couldn’t understand that feeling at all, but now he was starting to get it.

 

“I heard there was also a proposal from Japan.”

“Yes, Toshiba Headquarters contacted us. They offered 6 billion won to purchase four core small HDD technologies as a bundle.”

“What about the proposals from Korean companies?”

“Samjin Electronics offered 4 billion won, and other Korean semiconductor companies proposed in the 2-3 billion won range.”

 

While it wasn’t huge money,

their willingness to pay that much for technology whose commercialization potential wasn’t even clear yet proved the patents’ value.

 

If commercialization succeeded,

they could receive not just the currently proposed 6 billion won, but two to three times more than that.

And if it converted to a royalty contract, it could be a structure where stable profits of over 1 billion won per year would come in.

 

“Quite a few companies are showing interest in other patents too.”

“Regarding dozens of PDA-related patents, interest is concentrated from the United States. Especially Apple… their reaction is unusually hot.”

“Apple? How much did they propose?”

“Unfortunately, Apple’s financial situation doesn’t seem good, so they only offered about 2 billion won for all dozens of patents bundled together.”

 

Two billion won for dozens of patents.

Though they were created in less than a month,

considering the name Apple, it was an amount that could never be satisfactory.

 

Their showing interest meant

there was ‘something’ contained within these patents that he didn’t yet know about.

 

“Let’s not hand them over yet. Let’s wait until Apple comes on stronger or presents better conditions. And try to induce other companies to show interest too. The stakes won’t go up unless there’s competition, right?”

“I’ll distribute UI and design patent materials mainly to PDA manufacturers and electronics companies. However, we lack notable achievements to promote.”

 

Product Development Department 3 was still just a startup company.

It wasn’t easy to promote a small-medium company that didn’t even have a proper name yet.

 

“Except for the first patent, no profits have been generated yet.”

“The costs for registering patents simultaneously in the United States, Europe, and Japan are quite large. Just the wide-area registration fees so far have exceeded hundreds of millions of won. Of course, it’s still at a manageable level, but we need to create a stable profit structure to definitively raise Product Development Department 3’s value in a short time.”

 

Actually, they could make considerable profit just by selling Product Development Department 3 right now.

Not only Korean companies, but overseas companies were starting to show interest one by one.

The number of places eyeing the vast patent portfolio that kept accumulating was also increasing.

Among them, a European patent specialist company had expressed purchase intentions while presenting quite a high amount.

 

“It’s still difficult to grasp Product Development Department 3’s exact value. If we move hastily for no reason, we might end up being the only ones at a loss.”

“Still, it’s about time we need to show visible results. We don’t know how long headquarters will wait.”

“I’ll take all responsibility. More importantly, has the company name for Product Development Department 3 been decided?”

 

They couldn’t keep calling it Product Development Department 3 forever.

They had already received the department members’ consent. Now it was time to formalize the name.

 

“There are several candidates. To reflect the identity of a patent specialist company, we’ve narrowed it down to names like IP-On, Patrix, Nexpin, and Pat-On.”

“Nexpin. That’s good. It’s easy to pronounce and memorable too.”

“It contains the meaning of ‘piercing the center of future technology.’ We can imprint the company image sharply and intensely.”

 

Piercing the core of the future.

In other words, it was also an arrogant declaration to preoccupy future technology.

Product Development Department 3 hadn’t definitively created such results yet, but goals should be big, shouldn’t they?

 

“Confirm the new company name as Nexpin and officially communicate it to the department members. Also, pay out the patent bonuses within today.”

“The bonus amount is quite large this time. I’m worried the employees might strain their voices from cheering.”

 

The smiling Assistant Branch Manager immediately contacted Department Manager Cha Ik-hyeon.

He conveyed the bonus amount and new company name, but contrary to his expectations, the Department Manager’s voice was just calm.

 

Was he so surprised he lost his words?

 

***

 

The Department Manager gathered all the department members.

Then he announced an enormous bonus amount.

 

“This time, 100 million won each was paid as bonuses to everyone. It’s the largest amount of bonuses received so far. Now! Applause!”

 

Clap clap clap…

Only weak applause sounds flowed out.

Everyone had no interest in the Department Manager’s voice, and all their attention was on the stock price graph in the monitor.

 

“Hey, everyone snap out of it! How long are you going to keep staring at the stock price window?”

“Department Manager! The stock price exceeded 5,200 won! 100 million became 200 million! But how can you tell us to snap out of it!”

“Really? You’re so happy about making 100 million from stocks, but making 100 million from patents is just natural?”

“Patents are money we earned through blood, sweat, and tears. But stocks… it feels like winning the lottery. And with this upward trend, I think we could reach not just 200 million, but 300 or 400 million!”

 

It wasn’t a bad reaction.

Right now, they were distracted by the stock price window, reducing work efficiency.

But ultimately, the stock profits would act as shackles keeping them tied to the department.

 

And honestly, the person who should be most excited right now was me.

My 1 billion won investment had become 2 billion.

Not only Saera Technology but also Dream Rain’s stock price had more than doubled, bringing enormous profits.

 

But I felt no particular excitement.

The money hadn’t actually entered my bank account yet.

More importantly, Saera Technology’s gears were just beginning to accelerate.

 

“Everyone look at Employee Lee and learn! The youngest is fine, but what are you seniors doing? Stop this embarrassing behavior and get your heads straight!”

“Ahem…”

 

Only then did the department members take their eyes off the monitors.

As the dopamine from the stock price rise subsided,

the 100 million won bonus paid this time seemed to fill that space instead.

 

“But… did we really get 100 million won?”

“Are you going to make me say the same thing twice? Design patents or UI patents are worth at most 500,000 won each, sometimes less than 100,000 won, but the last 4 patents we worked hard on alone were valued at 70 million won.”

“So basically, 4 proper patents are worth 10 times more than 50 small patents. All that palm-rubbing I did going around to service providers was worth it.”

 

Now that everyone had a large sum in hand, their expressions became much softer.

Psychological comfort ultimately comes from bank account balances, and the office atmosphere also became noticeably warmer.

 

“We’ll have to keep working hard and rubbing palms. The draft the youngest made this time isn’t ordinary technology either.”

“More importantly… I have something to say! Are we buying stocks with this bonus too?”

 

At those words, the department members almost simultaneously shook their heads.

 

“Come on, my stomach was burning when the stocks fell. You want us to do it again? Once is enough.”

“Right. I’m just going to put this bonus in my bank account. Manager Kim, you should save it for wedding funds too.”

“But what about you, youngest?”

 

Manager Kim looked at me with eyes filled with subtle expectation.

But I had no intention of increasing the investment.

The money already in the employee accounts was enough to prevent department members from leaving.

 

“I’m against increasing the investment.”

“Even the youngest is stopping. Manager Kim, if you want to do it alone, go ahead. Just put money in the account and buy stocks.”

“Hey~ we’re one body. How can I do it alone when everyone’s stopping? I’ll stop here too!”

 

Actually, recommending additional investment might have been the right choice.

But if we increased the investment amount like this?

People already distracted by the stock price window would obviously spend all day staring at stocks.

 

Nothing should interfere with patent development.

Creating patents had become the greatest joy and center of my life right now, and I didn’t want to lose that flow.

 

“Ah! And one more thing. Our department has finally become officially independent and been promoted to a ‘company.’ And the name has been decided too.”

“Ooh! What’s the name? I hope it’s a cool name.”

“Nexpin. From now on, our Product Development Department 3 will be reborn with the name ‘Nexpin’! It means ‘piercing the core of future technology.’ It shows how much Tiger Fund expects from us. Come on, let’s get our heads straight and work. And business cards are ready, so take one each.”

 

I received a new business card.

It was the moment we became an independent company, not a department of GL Group.

Since this would be the company I’d spend my life with, I carefully accepted the business card.

 

The Department Manager pulled out something heavy from under his desk.

It was a long, black mother-of-pearl nameplate. Large Chinese characters reading ‘President Cha Ik-hyeon’ gleamed on it.

 

“Haha, they told me to be the president. And Assistant Manager Oh Jung-tae became department manager, taking my place.”

“Everyone applaud!”

“We should have a company dinner on a day like this! Let’s have a promotion celebration party!”

“What promotion celebration party! The youngest brought a new patent draft, so we should hear about that first.”

 

I couldn’t dampen the mood on such a good day.

I said what everyone wanted to hear.

 

“Today, I’d like to just briefly explain what the new patent is and then have a company dinner.”

“If the youngest says so, fine. Let’s just hear the explanation and gather at the beef restaurant in front! I’m treating today!”

“Yeaaah!”

 

My colleagues cheered and rushed toward me.

I quickly explained the two new patent drafts I had prepared today.

 

“The first is an ‘Automatic Lock/Block System.’ When you turn off the device or press a button, it automatically secures the internal disk using magnets and springs inside to ‘click’ and lock the disk in place.”

“Oh! Perfect for shock protection. Even if you drop the device, it can prevent data damage.”

“It’s simple to manufacture, so the practical affairs team can definitely make it.”

“Okay. What’s the second one?”

 

I immediately pulled out the second draft.

 

“The second is a built-in USB port design. Without separate cables, the USB port is built directly into the main body, so you can just plug it in for both data transfer and charging.”

“Oh! Why didn’t we think of that? Finishing both data transfer and charging with one USB. This is really practical, isn’t it?”

“It maximizes user convenience through all-in-one format and plug-and-play.”

“People these days hate complicated things. Since this structure does everything just by plugging in, it would be perfect for product commercialization.”

 

A world where one USB port solves everything.

It was sufficiently feasible technology, and now, when no one had tried it yet, was exactly when we needed to secure it first.

 

“Phew, it won’t be easy. So today, let’s enjoy ourselves passionately for the last time, and from tomorrow, we’ll really run like we’re dead.”

“Tomorrow’s work will be done by tomorrow’s me! Come on, everyone, let’s go!”

 

The colleagues leaving the office were smiling brightly.

But their steps weren’t light, as if the two patent drafts I had presented were already filling their heads.

 

That alone was enough to satisfy me.

Thinking about my colleagues who would enjoy their last supper and then be trapped in the office again to dive into patent work filled me with a strange sense of exhilaration.

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