New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 20

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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 20. Breakdown (5)

 

 

 

We finally arrived in Las Vegas.

The long flight was hell that I had never experienced in my life.

I couldn’t maintain not only my work routine, but even my daily life routine.

 

For the first hour, I really came close to having a panic attack.

To overcome that situation, I forcibly attempted patent development.

There was the constraint of having to develop using only the information in my head, but rather, that constraint helped me focus even more.

 

As I became absorbed in patent development like that.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the hotel room, and the President and Manager Kim collapsed right onto the sofa.

Unlike them, who were sprawled out without even taking off their dress shirts, I opened my suitcase and started organizing first.

 

“Are you very tired? Then shall I organize your suitcase for you?”

“You should rest too. Wow, I didn’t know flying would be this hard. Now I understand why everyone avoids business trips.”

“The flight time was definitely too long.”

“It’s because there’s no direct flight. 12 hours to San Francisco, 2 hours waiting for transfer, then another 2 hours on a plane from there. A whole day just flew by.”

“You’re talking like spoiled brats. What’s so hard about coming in business class? When I was at GL, I even went on business trips by ship.”

 

The President spat out words mixed with irritation for the first time in a while.

But the President’s words didn’t resonate with me.

Since I had no experience, I couldn’t compare.

Since it was my first time on a plane, I didn’t really know how comfortable business class was either.

 

“Is economy class that hard?”

“Of course. Why would we pay more than three times the money for business class otherwise? At GL, you can’t even dream of it unless you’re an executive. And look at this hotel room too. There are three of us and it’s a suite room.”

 

Manager Kim jumped up and looked around the room.

He was amazed by the suite room filled with luxury materials.

 

“The room is definitely nice. Does it cost about 1 million won per day?”

“1 million won? Not even close. It’s COMDEX season now, so you have to pay at least 5 million. Suite rooms are something you can’t get even if you have money. So hurry up and lie down to enjoy it.”

 

While the President and Manager Kim were lying down.

I finished organizing everything and looked at my watch.

 

“It’s time to go to the event venue.”

“Already? Let’s go see how well the fund prepared everything.”

“Isn’t it just displaying a few prototypes and that’s it?”

“Still, we need to do a preliminary inspection. The main event starts tomorrow, so we’ll be in big trouble if we go out without any preparation.”

“I’m all ready.”

 

I had already finished preparing and was waiting by the door.

I was equally tired, but the anticipation of being able to see new technology up close made my body move.

 

“Learn from Employee Lee. The youngest employee is this diligent, so what are you doing?”

“I’ve never thought of Employee Lee as the youngest employee. Since I’ve learned much more from him, I’ll be the youngest employee.”

 

Thanks to Manager Kim’s characteristic banter, the fatigue lifted a little.

We took the vehicle prepared by the private equity fund to the event venue, and when we arrived at the venue, we couldn’t close our mouths.

 

“This… isn’t a small booth.”

“Haha, I never knew the power of private equity funds would be this much. They threw us a booth the size of a large corporation.”

“They filled it up nicely without any empty space. It’s almost like creating something from nothing, isn’t it?”

The President and Manager Kim couldn’t close their mouths.

I also scanned the booth with a somewhat excited heart.

 

The booth was perfectly prepared.

The prototypes that had been sent to the United States in advance were beautifully displayed under lighting, and technology scraps for each patent were neatly categorized and hung on the walls.

Beyond simple technology introduction, it was decorated like a brand exhibition hall.

 

“Manager Kim, your role is the most important at this expo. When visitors or related personnel ask questions, you have to explain in English.”

“But didn’t the fund say they’d send an interpreter too?”

“Would an interpreter know the technology too? You’re the only person who can explain technology while also speaking English. You’re the key.”

 

Manager Kim was slightly nervous.

But since he had such a talkative personality, there didn’t seem to be much to worry about.

That said, I couldn’t help either. My English skills weren’t even at basic conversation level.

 

“What should I do?”

“Just assist Manager Kim. Think of it as coming here for sightseeing. Looking around the event venue and seeing what new technologies have come out will be helpful to our company.”

“So I do all the work alone, and the youngest employee just sightseers?”

“When did you say you’d be the youngest employee!”

 

While they were exchanging jokes and relieving tension.

Perhaps because their behavior seemed noisy, there were people sending glances from around us, and among them, a familiar face approached.

 

“Well, who is this! Isn’t that Department Manager Cha? I’m seeing Department Manager Cha here. What a small world.”

“Department Manager Jang Do-hoon? Oh my, seeing you here too. Nice to see you.”

“Private equity funds are nice indeed. How much money did they pour in to get such a booth? Korean companies must be living in misery, right?”

 

It was Department Manager Jang Do-hoon from GL Group Mobile Development Team 1.

He continued his sarcasm while poking at the prototypes.

Every time I saw such behavior, I felt strong displeasure.

 

“Please touch them carefully.”

“They don’t look that important. Shouldn’t you have prepared the prototypes more carefully? If the performance isn’t good, at least the appearance should be decent, right?”

“Thanks for the concern, but we’ll handle it well ourselves.”

“That’s how it’ll sell well later, right? But hide the fact that you’re a Korean company. We can’t have other Korean companies that worked hard here getting hurt for no reason.”

 

Poke.

Department Manager Jang touched the prototype one more time at the end and leisurely disappeared.

I didn’t give his retreating figure a single glance and placed the prototype back in its exact position without even a 0.01mm error.

 

But unlike me, Manager Kim couldn’t contain his emotions.

He raised his voice toward Department Manager Jang’s retreating figure.

 

“Not Department Manager, but President. Please call him President Cha Ik-hyeon.”

“Right, right. Manager Kim, you’re working hard too. If it gets tough, come back to your hometown anytime. I’ll open the door for you.”

 

Without even listening to a response, he disappeared.

Manager Kim was still unable to calm his anger.

 

“Why is Department Manager Jang acting like that? Does he have some personal grudge?”

“I got promoted to section chief before that guy did. He seems to still hold that in his heart.”

“He acts like that over something like that? I didn’t know he was such a narrow-minded person.”

“There are people who think you need to be spotless to become an executive. My existence probably feels like a blemish on his career. Come on, let’s do our work. Let’s familiarize ourselves with the event venue layout and practice explaining the prototype again.”

 

There was no reason to have a war of nerves with GL Group.

We weren’t a manufacturing company, and we weren’t a big enough organization to fight with them.

It was more important to just think about how to explain our patents to the visitors.

 

***

 

America’s largest computer expo, COMDEX, opened grandly.

The places that received the most attention were undoubtedly the US Pavilion, Japan Pavilion, and Europe Pavilion.

Among them, the Korea Pavilion also received attention with the modifier ’emerging digital powerhouse.’

Centered around Samjin Electronics and GL Electronics, mobile phones, MP3s, and various electronics were showcased, drawing visitors’ attention.

 

But our booth was.

Quiet. Even though we were located in the US Pavilion that received the most attention, it was too quiet.

Passing visitors just walked by without interest, and it was hard to find anyone who stopped.

 

“It feels like we’re in a different space from everyone else.”

“It’s nice that it’s quiet, but… this is a bit extreme.”

“I’ll try changing the prototype positions. I’ll rearrange them to be as visible as possible.”

 

I focused on arranging the prototypes.

While moving the arrangement by millimeters and watching for reactions.

Not far away, cheers erupted along with dozens of camera flashes.

 

“Someone must have come.”

“That’s where the Apple Booth is, right? Did Jobs come?”

 

A legendary figure who drew countless crowds.

Steve Jobs, whom the Research Lab Members had made a fuss about getting autographs from, was touring the COMDEX event venue.

 

“But is Jobs really that amazing a person?”

“You call that a question? He normalized Apple in just one year after returning. The iMac released last year was also a huge hit.”

 

I was only interested in technology, not particularly interested in people.

So I tried to lose interest and focus on the arrangement again.

But the crowd that had gathered in an instant was gradually approaching our direction.

 

“Employee Lee! Jobs is coming toward our booth?”

 

Jobs went around various booths greeting company officials.

Then he entered our booth without hesitation and naturally spoke to the president.

 

[Is this NexPin? I haven’t received a response to the contract inquiry I sent before.]

 

An interpreter immediately translated Jobs’ words.

Even though I heard it translated, I couldn’t understand what Jobs meant.

At that moment, the Branch Manager appeared and responded skillfully.

 

[Our fund is handling that. Everyone here are core engineers who developed the relevant technology.]

[The patent applicant’s name was ‘Mr. Lee,’ right? Who is that?]

[The youngest employee.]

 

The Branch Manager pointed toward me with his hand.

I understood the content a beat late through interpretation and only then realized that Jobs was approaching me.

 

[So you created everything from the design to the UI Patents.]

“I developed various patents based on PDA technology. There are still many in preparation for application.”

 

I politely handed him the pamphlet I had prepared.

Jobs took it and read through it page by page carefully.

 

[Did you also do the small HDD patent?]

“Portability will become even more important in the future. Small HDDs are essential to improve the performance of all devices like MP3s, PDAs, and mobile phones.”

[Good. There was someone in Korea who thinks like me. I thought there were only idiots who think flash memory is sufficient.]

 

Jobs’ interest was genuine.

He leaned toward me from where he sat and bombarded me with questions about the detailed contents of the patents.

 

Each time, I felt a strange thrill.

This was the first person who recognized the technology I developed and knew its exact value.

Although there was a language barrier, every time I conversed with him, I heard harmonies I had never heard before.

 

[The auto lock function is interesting. Is it software-based control?]

“It’s a physical lock structure that can be implemented with just a simple algorithm. Test results showed it reduced HDD damage rates by more than 3 times.”

[The heat and vibration control method is also impressive. I particularly like the approach of trying to solve problems without complex methods.]

 

Jobs didn’t leave his seat.

Rather, he stayed at our booth for a while, constantly asking questions about technology, and finally pinpointed one core technology.

 

[The integrated USB port design also stands out.]

“I designed it to handle both charging and data transfer with a single built-in USB. It’s a structure that can achieve both convenience and expandability.”

[I’d like to license this technology too. When can I expect an answer?]

 

Jobs’ last words were directed at the Branch Manager, not me.

The Branch Manager wore a satisfied smile and whispered quietly but firmly.

 

[Let’s proceed with the contract as soon as the event ends. However, we’ve had many inquiries from other companies, so we need to readjust the conditions.]

[Of course you would. But please consider that Apple has shown consistent interest from before. Shouldn’t we receive better conditions than latecomers?]

[We’ll definitely reflect that point.]

 

Thanks to the interpreter faithfully conveying every word of the conversation between Jobs and the Branch Manager.

I was able to confirm that Steve Jobs was showing tremendous interest in my patent.

 

Just as I was feeling a sense of satisfaction from that alone.

Steve Jobs turned his head toward me again and showed interest.

 

[What exactly is your name?]

“Lee Jung-hoo.”

[Then would it be alright if I call you ‘Mister Lee’?]

“Please call me whatever is comfortable for you.”

[If you ever think about working in the United States, contact me anytime. I can arrange a position for you.]

 

At that moment, the Branch Manager beside me hurriedly stepped forward to intervene.

 

[This is troubling. He’s an important core talent for us. Taking away talent like this is unfair.]

 

But Jobs’s business card was already in my hand.

The Branch Manager’s flustered look, the President’s complicated expression.

Were they perhaps worried that I might transfer to Apple?

 

I had no intention of changing jobs at all.

Right now, I was filled with only one thought.

 

“By any chance, could I get a few autographs?”

[Autographs? Of course. I can do as many as you’d like.]

“Thank you. Could you also write my close friends’ names along with them?”

[Of course. What are your friends’ names?]

“Kim Sang-sik.”

 

The promise I made with the Research Lab Members.

Who knows when Steve Jobs might appear before me again, so I should keep my promise, shouldn’t I?

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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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