Chapter 53: Tech Sales

When I returned to the company, the chaos had mostly been cleaned up.

“John, is the program okay?”

“Yes, yes. It’s stored on the server with double backups, so no worries.”

“Good to hear.”

I’d been afraid those thugs might have destroyed everything we’d built while rampaging.

“Go home and rest for today. It’s been a rough day.”

“What about you, boss? Aren’t you leaving?”

“I have work to do now. I need to draft a business plan, scout construction companies, and find a lawyer to review contracts. Lots to do.”

I should probably pull some fruit from the orchard dimension through the system later.

It’d be nice if Yuha were here, but she isn’t.

This time I have to handle everything myself.

I claimed an empty desk and turned on the computer.

As I was about to check the prepared materials, John strode over.

“Boss, is there anything I can do?”

“John, go rest.”

“How can I rest when the boss is working?”

“…I thought people abroad didn’t care about that stuff.”

“Normally I’d have gone home already.”

John took the seat next to me and booted up his computer.

“But didn’t the boss fly all the way here from Korea? To help us.”

“Uh…”

Technically I was exiled here under the guise of a business trip.

“Leaving the boss who came from the other side of the planet just isn’t right. I’ll pay you back with my life if I have to.”

“There’s no life debt to repay. I was already planning to expand the business in all sorts of directions anyway.”

After devouring Kangseong Foods, opening a new market domestically had become extremely difficult.

Every sector was tightly gripped by the big conglomerates, so catching an opening as a newcomer wasn’t easy.

And then this opportunity appeared.

From my perspective, it was a godsend.

“We were already preparing for the construction side, so you don’t have to feel burdened.”

“Boss…”

“But if you really want to help, I won’t say no.”

There was so much work that I couldn’t exactly insist on doing it all alone.

“Look up law firms, scout nearby construction companies, and bring me their financial statements and IR materials if they have any. Also gather info on buildings they’ve recently constructed.”

“That’s a lot.”

“It’s just the basics.”

This was merely preliminary research.

We still had a long way to go before the real work began.

“Alright, let’s get to it. If we want even a wink of sleep, we have to start now.”

***

The sun set and night deepened as John and I finished researching the companies one by one.

Because we were so thorough, John eventually face-planted on the floor and passed out.

He’s big, but it’s all fat—his stamina is rock-bottom.

I’ll have to implement a company-wide health program later.

“Okay, preparations are done.”

Now all that’s left… is to report to headquarters.

…President?

“Yeah, Yuha.”

What time is it over there right now?

“Here? 2:30 a.m.”

I hadn’t checked the clock in a while; I hadn’t realized it was already this late.

Yuha let out a hollow laugh before speaking.

It’s regular office hours here, you know? Who are you trying to prank by calling now?

“Prank, my ass.”

Then what is it? Don’t tell me… it’s about work?

“You got it.”

For real?

“For real.”

That’s an addiction, an addiction.

Addiction, my foot.

It’s not like I wanted to be like this.

Well… maybe 10% of me did.

“Let me give you a quick briefing on the situation.”

Before Yuha could start nagging, I gave her a brief rundown of the current state.

I left out the part about almost getting shot and only mentioned that I’d agreed to go into construction with a gang boss.

Very light stuff.

Yet even that seemed to be quite a shock.

What the hell are you doing over there!?

“Work?”

What kind of work… haa.

“So, do a secondary check on the companies I just mentioned. Verify the lawyers too. The people here just stare at their computers all day, so things move slowly.”

We’re swamped here too, you know?

“Then why the hell did you send me on this business trip?”

If I’d been there, I would’ve cleared everything in a flash.

If you start a rebellion, you’d better be ready to bear the weight—that’s what I’m saying.

A short, icy curse from Yuha reached my ear.

Crazy bastard. I’ll look into those companies. 

But how are you planning to raise the acquisition funds? 

We just poured a ton into stabilizing Kangseong Foods. 

Spare cash is tied up in securing stakes and franchising.

“Just check the company info for now. I’ll figure out the money somehow.”

How exactly? Planning to sell a kidney?

“Why would I sell that? Health comes first if I want to work.”

Says the guy who’s causing accidents over there…

“Alright, alright. Finish up your work there. I’ll call if I need anything.”

I hung up before the nagging could drag on.

She worries too much.

“Now, the problem is where and how to get the money.”

Two methods immediately came to mind.

One: go to Rick and ask to borrow acquisition funds.

The guy’s loaded, so he’d definitely have that much.

But if I did that, I’d leave with a hole in my head on the way out.

Not letting scammers off the hook is Rick’s creed.

“The other option is a bank loan. That won’t work either.”

A Korean company getting a loan from an American bank?

I have no idea how much paperwork or how long it would take.

If both methods are out, only a frontal assault remains.

Honestly, it’s the path I least wanted to take.

Because of this, the day Spectrum comes after us will definitely arrive.

Still, if I want to survive, I have to do it.

How Spectrum responds can be worried about later.

“John, John. Wake up.”

“Urrgh… hrrk! B-Boss! I wasn’t sleeping!”

“You were snoring loud enough to shake the floor.”

At my jab, John sheepishly sat back down.

“Is there something else you need me to do?”

“There is. And it might be exactly what you’re best at.”

“Something I’m good at? Uh… I’m just a developer, though?”

“Exactly. That’s why you’re perfect.”

I gestured with my chin toward the computer in front of him.

“Can we deploy the service we’re preparing right now?”

John just stared blankly at me.

His brain wasn’t turning fast enough, but after a moment he understood and nodded vigorously.

“Of course! We can launch the program service right this instant if you want.”

“Perfect. Explain everything this service can do. Every feature, every advantage. You thought about that while building it, right?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“The sun rises in about five hours.”

Five hours from now.

“It’ll be tight if we include testing, but let’s go as fast as possible. You have to explain every single thing about this security service to me. Nothing left out.”

I needed to know everything about the product I was going to sell.

***

Back when I was still at Spectrum, I sold technology even though the company was in distribution now, receiving and selling raw materials.

The very first technology I ever sold was the campus meal-ticket system.

A system where you could buy any meal ticket anywhere and freely exchange them if needed.

I added various services to make inventory management easier.

Selling that service to the school earned me my first business capital.

I tightened the tie around my neck, reminiscing about those days.

“This feeling… it’s been a while.”

Time to return to being the tech-sales expert I once was.

I steeled myself and strode forward.

Today I had meetings with a total of ten companies.

The service we’d built was a B2B company-management system, not B2C.

Meaning, if I closed even one of the ten, the revenue would be massive.

So I just needed to break through one.

Just one.

“Tch.”

But if it were that easy, Spectrum would’ve conquered the planet long ago.

“All rejections.”

Every single one of the ten companies I visited was already using Spectrum’s service.

They had no reason to switch to our clearly inferior product when they already had the superior version.

“Getting blocked from the start is troublesome.”

I sat on a bench in Central Park, opened my laptop, ran our program, and double-checked the technical documentation.

Then I compared it side-by-side with Spectrum’s program on my phone.

“Damn it.”

The deeper I dug, the clearer it became.

Spectrum’s program was undeniably superior.

I hated to admit it, but reality had to be faced.

Yoo Jinsang is a genius.

“The strength of Spectrum’s service is that it can be applied to any task.”

It was convenient to implement and could be customized exactly to taste.

At its extreme, a few clicks could organize any workflow.

You could feel that Yoo Jinsang had poured every ounce of his development prowess into it.

“He must’ve really wanted to swallow our company whole.”

If we hadn’t prepared in advance, Ribbon Corporation would’ve ended up using Spectrum’s management program just like everyone else.

Then all our data would naturally flow straight to them.

“What advantages does our program have compared to theirs?”

Our program was inferior in every way.

While I was racking my brain, John came running from afar, waving.

“Boss!”

“John? How did you know where I was?”

“Haha, it was about time you’d be back, but you weren’t, so I came looking. Doesn’t look like the results were great?”

“There’s a Korean saying: you can’t fill your stomach with the first spoonful.”

Succeeding completely on the first try makes you a genius.

Especially in sales—perfect results in one shot require heavenly luck.

“By the way… how did you know I was here?”

“Haha, I told you about the location-sharing feature, remember?”

John pointed at my laptop.

“With location sharing, you can see exactly where the current worker is.”

“You designed it with off-site work in mind.”

“You told me to make it with expansion into multiple businesses in mind. It’s perfect for collaboration too.”

“That’s right—collaboration.”

From the start, this program was built with collaboration with other companies in mind.

Collaboration, collaboration.

“President?”

“I’ve got somewhere to go. John, go back and reinforce the location-sharing feature.”

“Huh?”

“We’re going to sell the program, so check how we could upgrade it. What new features could be added for a version upgrade, how long it would take.”

I closed the laptop and stood up.

“And I’ll be gone for a bit—work on it for two weeks.”

It’ll probably take some time traveling around.

If Rick comes looking, tell him I went out to sell stuff.

“T-Two weeks?”

“See you later, John.”

“Boss? Boss!”

I waved goodbye to John and immediately set off.

From now on, to deliver this program to places that need it, to raise the funds I need through it—

Time is tight.

Rick won’t give me much leeway.

I have to visibly secure solid funds in a short period and show him.

To do that…

One hundred.

The goal is 100 companies—no, 100 companies distributing this program.

If my plan works,

It’s not just possible.

It’ll be more than enough.