After sending Andy Rubin on his way, I continued talking with Lee Taekgi and Hong Seokhyun for a while longer.
Once we wrapped up the business matters, I left Ilseong Electronics.
I got into the car waiting at the front gate and headed to my appointnt with the CEO of JC Entertainnt.
“Are you satisfied?”
Manager Ma turned toward as he saw the pleased smile on my face and asked.
“Of course. Talented developers are the ones who change the world. And we put a leash on people like that for not much money at all.”
For thirty million dollars, I’d effectively bought ten years of their lives. Of course, I’d treat them at the top level of the industry—but still.
I’d landed an unexpected big catch, but right now, the situation in China mattered more than anything else.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and asked Manager Ma,
“Is Seo Hyeongjun coming in person?”
“Yes. That’s what I heard.”
“Hm...... I guess it caught his interest if he’s coming himself.”
Seo Hyeongjun was from a collateral branch of the JC Group, but his abilities were well recognized.
After all, he’d risen from division head to beco the CEO of JC Entertainnt.
Although he was sitting in the CEO’s seat of a JC Group affiliate, I could read his ambition.
He wanted to break away from the JC Group and build an empire of his own.
And for that, he was the type of man who could join hands with anyone.
We’d t once because of Cheon Jiyoung, but after that, we’d never stayed in touch.
While I was lost in thought, we arrived at a restaurant in Chungmuro—the eting place.
When I gave Seo Hyeongjun’s na, the manager guided inside.
The door opened, and Seo Hyeongjun was already there.
As I took off my shoes and stepped into the room, he greeted brightly.
“Welco, President Kim Muhyuk.”
Seo Hyeongjun stood up and offered his hand first.
I shook it and smiled.
“It’s been a while. Sorry I’m late.”
“Not at all. I just arrived myself.”
“Please, have a seat.”
Even as we exchanged brief pleasantries, we were both busy probing each other.
After finishing a light al, I got straight to the point.
“The reason I asked to et today is that I wanted to see whether you’d be interested in running a multiplex business in China.”
“A multiplex? In China?”
When I nodded, Seo Hyeongjun lightly rubbed his chin and replied,
“Hm...... If it’s China, I know that the Wanda Group has been preparing to enter that business. We’ve had several etings with them as well.”
“Is that so? Did the Wanda Group approach you first?”
“Yes. JC is the leader in multiplexes dostically, after all.”
That Wang Jianlin—he really does move fast. Well, he wouldn’t have the luxury to poke around anymore.
“It won’t be the Wanda Group. They probably won’t have the capacity to focus on multiplexes.”
“Ah, I did hear that Chairman Wang Jianlin was arrested. Even so, would they really abandon a business they were already pursuing?”
“Who knows. In China, everything ultimately depends on the will of those in power. Whether a business can be done or not is decided by them. That’s why I brought this project to you. This is a business they want to see happen. It will succeed no matter what. And I believe you’re the right partner for it.”
“Hm. I appreciate the offer, but...... I’m in charge of dia operations. The multiplex business is handled by another affiliate. I think you may have co to the wrong person.”
Of course, I knew that.
The multiplex business and the dia business were clearly separate fields.
But I was offering this man an opportunity—an opportunity to fulfill his ambition.
“You once said you wanted to make JC Entertainnt the very best, didn’t you?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“But no matter how successful you make it, isn’t it still a position where your head could roll at any ti? Is that thought still valid?”
“.......”
He clearly hadn’t expected to say sothing like that to his face. His lips pressed tightly together, his eyes wavering.
“You’re not part of the JC Group’s main line, are you? How long do you think you can hold that position? Right now, they need growth, so they put a capable CEO like you there. But once growth stabilizes? Once the business is firmly on track? It’s obvious what cos next. Shall I keep going?”
Seo Hyeongjun bit his lip.
Even if he was the CEO, the owner of JC Entertainnt was ultimately the JC Group.
Chaebol families weren’t generous enough to entrust an entire company to soone from a collateral branch.
“You’re already facing plenty of pressure, aren’t you?”
“......That’s true. The board is dominated by people sent down from the JC Group, not my own people. It’s no different from when I was a division head. The only thing that’s changed is my title.”
They’d made him CEO, but just as he said, the board was completely controlled by JC Group watchdogs.
They nitpicked everything he did and monitored his every move.
“You know I went to war with the JC Group, right?”
“How could I not? The incident where you shook up control of JC Sugar is famous in business circles.”
“Then this will be easier to understand. Thanks to that, I know their internal situation quite well. They’ll never leave JC Entertainnt in your hands permanently.”
“.......”
To shake Ilseong Group, I’d once targeted JC Sugar, which sat at the top of the JC Group’s circular shareholding structure.
I hadn’t expected that information to be useful like this, but still—
In any case, they would never keep JC Entertainnt under Seo Hyeongjun’s control indefinitely.
Confronted with an uncomfortable truth he wanted to avoid, Seo Hyeongjun let out a quiet sigh.
There was no way he didn’t already know this better than anyone.
After his lips moved silently for a mont, he finally spoke.
“But I have connections in politics......”
“Don’t trust politicians too much. No matter how close you get, they won’t help you. Helping you versus helping the JC Group— you know which option benefits them more.”
“Then what exactly are you telling to do?”
Finally, Seo Hyeongjun spoke with a hint of pent-up frustration.
“China’s entertainnt industry is only going to grow. Why not leave Korea for now and make a fresh start in China?”
“You’re telling to go to China?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
At first, I’d thought about connecting China and JC—but then this man ca to mind.
Capable and ambitious, yet burdened by a fundantal weakness.
“Go to China, build your strength, and then co back. The Chinese market is that attractive. Korea, with fifty million people, can’t compare to China’s market of over a billion. It’s the perfect stage to build power.”
“......Even so, wouldn’t I still be unable to do anything there? I wouldn’t be the owner there either.”
I answered his words with a smile. At this point, it was ti to throw out a bait he couldn’t refuse.
“If you refuse, I’ll make the sa offer to JC. I ca to you first because of your ability. You’re serious about the entertainnt industry.”
“.......”
“If you firmly control the link between China’s and Korea’s entertainnt industries, there will co a day when Korea will seek you out whether it wants to or not.”
When that ti ca, would Seo Hyeongjun abandon China and return to Korea?
That was uncertain—but right now, my words would sound irresistibly sweet to him.
“China’s massive capital will eventually flow into Korea’s entertainnt industry. No—it’ll spread across the world. Hollywood in the U.S.? Chungmuro in Korea? They’ll all enter an era where they have to watch China’s mood. And if you’re in a position to choose your stance then? Think about it.”
“......Will a ti like that really co?”
At his hesitant question, I nodded firmly.
“It will. Within ten years, without question.”
As ti passed, massive Chinese capital would make even Hollywood tread carefully.
No one else had realized it yet—but I knew.
On top of that, this was a business backed by the money of Hu Jintao’s administration, which would remain in power for the next decade.
It was a deal that couldn’t fail—a guaranteed win.
“Go in first and secure your position. Then, when ti passes, co back. At most, twenty years.”
“Twenty years......”
In twenty years, Seo Hyeongjun would be a man in his fifties.
Leaving his holand in the pri of his life wouldn’t be easy.
“Think it over carefully. Leave for a land of opportunity for a while, or stay in Korea and eventually be pushed out of the company you built with your own hands. The choice is yours.”
I knew it wasn’t sothing he could answer imdiately.
“I’ll give you ti. Think carefully about whether you’ll accept my offer or reject it, and then give your answer.”
Seo Hyeongjun nodded with a heavy expression.
“I’ll excuse myself first.”
I stood up without hesitation.
“Oh—and sothing that might help you decide. This project is backed by funds from the Chinese Communist Party. You can assu there will be no administrative or legal issues.”
At my words, an even darker shadow fell over Seo Hyeongjun’s face.
He didn’t stand up until I left the room.
The next day.
I woke up early in the morning and called Steve Jobs in the United States.
—Charlie!
The call connected after just a few rings.
“Jobs. It’s been a while.”
—It has. Why have you been so out of touch?
“Isn’t it better for you when I don’t call?”
—What? Hah, well... that’s true too.
Jobs burst out laughing at the trivial joke. His laughter echoed through the receiver.
To others, he was known as a ruthless man—but the Jobs I knew was always cheerful.
“Congratulations on the success of the iPod. You can really feel that Jobs-style sensibility in it.”
Released a year earlier than in the original tiline, the iPod dominated the MP3 player market within a year.
The third generation released this year even added video playback, functioning like a PMP.
And alongside that, it introduced touch functionality.
Of course, it wasn’t yet the fully realized touch technology I knew.
Still, technological progress had accelerated considerably compared to the original history. At this pace, the iPhone’s release would likely co earlier too.
—Thanks for the praise. I’ve been hearing about you too, Charlie. I heard you were in Washington recently...... and you didn’t even co see . I’m disappointed.
“My schedule was too tight. When I co to the U.S. next ti, I’ll visit then.”
—I’ll hold you to that. So what’s up?
“Do you happen to know soone nad Andy Rubin?”
—Ah, that drear?
Who was he calling a drear? I almost laughed in disbelief.
—I know of him, but...... he’s not soone I like. Why do you ask?
“I’m planning to acquire the company he built.”
—What? Android? You’re buying it? Why? Those guys want to release their OS as open source.
“You know them well.”
Andy Rubin was the complete opposite of Jobs.
Jobs was obsessed with building and monopolizing his own ecosystem, while Andy Rubin wanted as many people as possible to use his OS.
Just look at Apple’s computers—rather than adopting the mainstream Windows OS, they stubbornly insisted on their own operating system.
That choice slowed Apple down for a while, but ironically, it paid off hugely in the future.
You could say it was all part of Jobs’s grand design. And at the end of that design would surely be a small computer in the palm of your hand—a smartphone.
Even now, early smartphones—barely worthy of the na—were starting to appear.
Nokia, in particular, was aggressively pushing devices equipped with its own OS, Symbian.
—And what do you plan to do with it? Charity work, Charlie?
“Well, if I can employ Andy Rubin and his friends for ten years for not much money, it’s not exactly a big loss for . Who knows? Maybe the OS they build will take over the market.”
—Hm...... What about the revenue model? Planning to charge licensing fees?
As expected of Jobs—he went straight to the revenue model.
That was the difference between Andy Rubin the drear and Jobs the businessman.
“There isn’t even a proper product yet. I’m planning to think about the revenue model slowly.”
—Charlie, you’re not the kind of man who takes losses.
“What’s with you? When NASDAQ crashed, you were buying more Apple stock while everyone else was selling. And now you say that? That stings.”
—So did you lose money?
“Not yet.”
—See? You don’t lose money, do you?
At his shaless question, I finally laughed.
—So you’re calling to tell you’ve secured Andy Rubin?
“No. I’m just curious about what you’re working ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) on.”
—.......
“You’re making sothing, aren’t you?”
—Charlie. Don’t tell you planted a spy in our company?
Jobs’s voice lost all trace of humor as he spoke sternly.
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