Chapter 69: The Meeting of Terms

The phone rang in the early evening.

The name that popped up on the screen was Go Dae-sik.

─ Seunghyun! We did it, it's out! It's really out, our comic book!

The moment I picked up, his voice burst out—completely different from usual.

It was brimming with excitement, energy overflowing.

It blended harmoniously with the sound of rain beyond the phone.

─ Right now, I’m going around bookstores and rental shops, checking out the reactions?! Everyone recognizes Lord of the Smartphone. This reaction is insane. I think it’s definitely going to be a hit!

“At this rate, you might as well set up camp at the bookstore. Haha. Congratulations, Dae-sik. You’ve really worked hard.”

I’d already been notified by Pantheon Publishing that it would be displayed sequentially at bookstores and rental shops starting today. Still, I hadn’t told Dae-sik—because I wanted him to discover it himself, to savor the joy and then call me.

Hearing Dae-sik’s happy voice filled me with satisfaction, too.

I’d always hoped for my friends to succeed alongside me, rather than succeeding alone.

I’m truly relieved.

─ Ha, this is crazy... I’m so nervous I can’t speak. So this is what it feels like. I’ve only ever seen finished books, but knowing other people are looking at something I made—it’s incredibly fulfilling, and feels strange and exhilarating.

Today, Dae-sik’s mouth was running non-stop.

How could I not understand that feeling?

I know it all too well.

Back when I released my first work in my previous life, I’d wanted to share the news with everyone around me.

But I had no one to boast to.

That’s when Da-hye recognized my work and always supported me.

Even during the toughest times when I wanted to give up, thinking of Da-hye helped me get through.

For Dae-sik, perhaps I’m like Da-hye was to me.

“Congratulations, Dae-sik. Sincerely.”

No other words were needed.

Just cheering for him and offering congratulations was enough.

And quietly listening until Dae-sik had said all he wanted to say.

That was enough.

─ Who would’ve thought I’d find my path at my age? Thank you, Seunghyun. It’s all thanks to you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.

“Don’t say that. Even without me, you would have found your path and more than succeeded.”

─ I’m really going to give it my all.

“Yeah, let’s both work hard. It’d be a shame to let today just slip by. How about some barbecue tonight?”

─ Sounds great! It’s my treat today.

“Treat me when you get paid. Until then, it’s on me.”

─ Hey, how could you? It’s my day today.

“It’s also the day my novel was made into a comic for the first time, so it’s my day too.”

─ Oh? Now that you mention it??

“Right? There’s a new Gochujang Pork Belly place next to our studio building. Let’s meet there.”

─ Okay, got it!

I put on my hat just as I was at home and headed to the Gochujang Pork Belly restaurant.

Lord of the Smartphone, under my pen name, gained immense popularity among teens and people in their twenties. It was so popular that rental shops stocked several copies.

For a high school student’s first work, it was a remarkable achievement.

Maybe thanks to that? Lord of the Smartphone’s novel started reprints, and my bank account became even more reassuring.

Pantheon Publishing, once barely scraping by with a handful of works, rapidly grew in scale by signing many new authors in a short period. During that process, I invested five hundred million won in Pantheon and acquired a 40% stake.

Thanks to that, my relationship with Pantheon became much closer, and we prospered together.

A few days passed.

─ This is Director Song. I’d like to meet you—how’s this weekend afternoon?

I received a call from Director Song of Yookseong Group, asking to meet.

“Hmm. I’m fine with it. Yes, see you at 2 o’clock.”

At Director Song’s request, we scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

“He’ll probably ask me about my terms that day. I’m sure he’s been delegated some authority from his higher-ups.”

I speculated that the time between our last contact and now had been needed to check me out and report to those above him.

“My guess might be off, but it’s possible. A high schooler with considerable capital, and seemingly ordinary parents with substantial assets. Anyone who checked the stock market records could find that out.”

I was glad I’d prepared for the unexpected, tidying up sensitive issues like taxes. Otherwise, they’d surely have found weaknesses in me or my parents and negotiated for more favorable terms.

Just look at politicians—so many have weaknesses, they get tripped up and abandon their businesses halfway through.

If they were clean politicians with no weaknesses, they could push ahead confidently.

Of course, this applies to everyone.

“I wonder how they’ll approach this. I hope he’s been given enough authority to make decisions.”

I don’t want to drag this out. With so much to do, it’s in my best interest to wrap up secondary matters quickly.

I sincerely hoped he’d come with the necessary authority this week.

Mid-June, 2002, Sunday afternoon.

I parked my car at a fairly sizable Korean set-menu restaurant on the outskirts of Hwajeong-dong and got out. Walking along the rain-soaked wooden deck inside, a Yookseong staff member came out to greet me and led me to an annex.

Director Song had already arrived and taken his seat.

“You’re early.”

“It’s not polite to keep guests waiting. I ordered duck stew—hope it’s to your taste.”

Director Song was about thirty years older than me, by my guess.

Still, he spoke to me respectfully, even though I was young enough to be his child.

Perhaps it was because of my assets—or because I was the owner of land in Seocho-dong.

He treated me with noticeable caution.

“That’s great, I like duck stew. I’ll enjoy it.”

Since Director Song had invited me, the meal would be on Yookseong’s corporate card.

The thought of duck stew after so long made my mouth water.

“Heh heh, I’m glad. I’ll have it brought right away.”

Director Song signaled the staff to serve the prepared food, then turned his gaze to me.

I sensed hesitation in his eyes.

He wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring himself to do it right away.

He was even more cautious than I’d expected.

“To be honest, before arranging this meeting, I looked into you a bit, Author Yoo.”

Director Song finally spoke, about ten seconds after the meal was set on the table.

As expected, he’d investigated me.

“You’re the author of the novel You Are the Star in My Heart, which is quite the talk these days.”

Conglomerates really are impressive.

“Truly fascinating. How on earth do you even get that kind of information?”

I’d often written about such things in my novels, but I’d never done it myself—so I was genuinely curious about how they managed to dig up details about complete strangers.

“Haha, let’s just say there are various ways.”

“Well, all right. That’s not the important part.”

I set aside my curiosity and moved on to the main topic.

“I was curious what kind of writing it would be, so I read some of your work. Now I see why people call your writing the best. I have memories with my own younger sister, but as I got older, we grew apart. Reading your novel made me recall those times when we were close.”

Director Song took my novel out of his bag, placed it on the table, and, mentioning parts of You Are the Star in My Heart, reminisced about the past.

Why do people lose the innocence of childhood and grow distant from their siblings?

Of course, there are families where brothers and sisters get along well, but from what I’ve seen and on the internet, most posts are about people criticizing their families.

Siblings getting along? Impossible.

My younger sister is a demon.

Like my brother? The worst.

And so on.

There are even siblings who sever ties completely.

It’s a truly bitter reality.

For me, I’m mentally in my forties, and thanks to what I learned in my previous life, I have a good relationship with my sister.

I wonder how much happier everyone would be if other siblings cared for each other the way I do.

“Growing apart must be because of someone’s greed. If I share my greed with my sibling, there’s no reason to drift apart, no reason to fight.”

“Authors really do think differently.”

“One reason adults grow apart is inheritance. Money only shines when earned through one’s own abilities. A parent’s money is not your own, even if it becomes ownerless. If you covet money unrelated to your own ability, you’ll end up making things hard for everyone. If you put aside greed and join forces, you’d earn much more. But because people cling to a small sum, nothing works out.”

I delivered a pointed truth to Director Song.

He wasn’t the only one who had investigated me.

I, too, had looked into Director Song.

Or rather, I’d found out by accident.

That he was in a legal dispute with his younger sister over their parents’ assets.

“......”

Director Song fell silent at my words.

If only adults would realize such things.

“I’m digressing. Director Song, you wanted to meet me to hear my terms, correct? Let me get straight to the point.”

I’d waited for Director Song to bring it up first, but he was hesitating too much and the atmosphere was getting heavy, so I decided to state my terms myself.

“First, for the Seocho-dong property, I want a price 30% higher than the market rate. Second, of the payment, 30% should be in cash. For the rest, I’d like a share of the Yookseong Town commercial district. I won’t be involved in operations—just clarify the profit-sharing structure. That’s all I ask.”

“......That’s not a condition I’d ever have thought of.”

“It wouldn’t make sense to let go of such a valuable property otherwise. For the proportions, I’ll follow Yookseong’s terms. I’ll invest accordingly. And finally, please allocate me Yookseong Electronics shares at a 20% discount to market price.”

I already held a considerable amount of Electronics shares, but the more, the better.

And if I could get them at a discount, there would never be a better deal.

“All but one of those exceed my authority. I’ll report to the chairman as you’ve requested. However, may I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“The terms you just proposed—even my own child couldn’t suggest something like that. Where did you learn this?”

“I didn’t learn it—I studied it. You can see all sorts of transaction methods just by reading the newspaper. I picked the most reasonable ones and presented them to you.”

“Incredible.”

“There’s nothing incredible about it. It’s just a matter of interest. I don’t think my conditions will put much strain on Yookseong.”

Other small building owners demand hundreds of millions from Yookseong for a single property, but my terms are fair and realistic.

I’m being more than reasonable.

“I have the authority to negotiate the sale price, but for the other conditions, I have to report to my superiors, so I can’t give an immediate answer.”

“I’ve got nothing but time. When you get approval, contact me. The food’s getting cold—let’s eat.”

I’m a man with nothing but time and nothing to lose.

With that, we began our meal, looking forward to the next meeting.