Chapter 54: Let’s grind

John was sitting in the office, legs trembling non-stop.

It had been exactly two weeks since the boss had vanished from the office.

And for the past week, an uninvited guest—who was definitely not an employee—had been occupying one of the desks.

“Hey, John.”

“Y-Yes.”

“Your boss still hasn’t contacted you?”

“Well… I can’t really reach him either. Hehe.”

“You laughing?”

“…Sorry.”

The one turning the office atmosphere into absolute garbage was one of Rick Edman’s right-hand men.

The guy kept fiddling with the pistol on his hip, radiating the vibe that he could turn the whole place into a bloodbath at any second.

Thanks to him, John’s team couldn’t even sit still—they were all shaking like leaves.

“John, John. What the hell is going on? Why has that guy been here for a whole week?”

“It’s just…”

John glanced around nervously and shook his head.

If he explained the deal with Rick, everything would be solved quickly.

But the people here weren’t the boss.

The moment he told them that story, they might scream and threaten to quit on the spot.

“…He said he has something to discuss with the boss.”

So the best John could do was give a vague, roundabout answer.

Of course, that wasn’t exactly a proper solution.

“Then where the hell did your boss go?”

“I don’t know!”

Occasionally checking the program did show a location.

But sometimes it was the outskirts of Washington D.C., sometimes outside Detroit, and at worst the far western edge of the country.

Unless the boss was personally touring the entire United States by himself, it could only be a program error.

It can’t be a program error. 

We double- and triple-checked it.

Which meant he really was traveling all over America.

John had no idea why or for what reason.

His head was throbbing, but the only thing he could say to his team staring at him was this:

“Once the boss comes back, everything will be solved. And he said he’d be back soon.”

He had left with a “see you later,” so he wasn’t gone to Korea forever.

Even if he had gone back to Korea, there would be a reason.

In the short time they’d spent together, John had become certain of one thing: this was a man who never gave up, no matter the situation.

“Let’s just wait a little longer. Just a little.”

“Phew, John. Seriously, just a little more. At this rate we can’t even breathe, let alone work.”

“Ugh, same here, so just a little… just a little…”

While they whispered among themselves,

the uninvited guest occupying one seat quietly looked toward the entrance.

His sharp ears picked up footsteps climbing the stairs from far away.

“Hey, John.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Anyone not coming in today?”

“Uh, no, everyone’s here.”

“Then who’s coming up right now?”

“G-Guess?”

It was an office that only did development.

No one except employees ever visited.

So if someone was coming, it had to be an employee.

“Ah, everyone’s here.”

There was only one employee left who could appear in this office.

Kang Jisung, now noticeably tanner and even gaunter after just a few days, smiled at the staff.

“Been a while, huh? Feels good to see you all again. Right, John?”

“B-Boss!”

“Why the long faces? Wait—did we hire a new guy?”

Kang Jisung extended a hand toward the thug seated near the entrance.

The menacing-looking man spat phlegm on the floor and stood up.

“Not an employee here. I’m Howard, work under Big Boss.”

“Ah, one of Rick’s guys?”

“Big Boss sent me to check how things are going. Where the hell have you been?”

Howard placed a hand on the gun at his waist as he spoke.

Kang Jisung didn’t even blink at the threat.

“I went out to earn some business funds. You have to travel around to do sales, don’t you?”

“Business funds?”

“Yeah. Our company basically ran out of spare cash, so I went and earned the money for the initial construction.”

“If it’s bullshit, Big Boss told me to bring your head.”

“It’s not bullshit. I brought back three million dollars.”

At the mention of three million dollars, John and the other employees were even more shocked.

Their program—their program—had earned three million dollars, not pocket change?

For people who had only ever sat in the office, it was astonishing both that they had created something worth that much and that he had actually earned that money with it.

Howard was no different.

“You made three million dollars in just a few days?”

“Want me to show you the transaction history? Or the contracts?”

Kang Jisung showed the bag stuffed full of contracts.

Howard didn’t read them all, but even a glance was enough to tell that Kang Jisung wasn’t lying.

“No need for that.”

“Then could you leave our workplace now? I can see our employees are pretty anxious.”

“…Fine.”

Howard took his hand off the gun and left the office.

It wasn’t until his footsteps had completely faded—and another ten minutes had passed—that the employees finally exhaled.

Only then could John approach Kang Jisung.

“Boss, where on earth have you been?”

“I told you—I went to sell tech.”

“No, I mean… did you really earn three million dollars?”

“I can’t show you the cash. It’s all in the bank.”

Afraid he’d actually get shot carrying that much money around, Kang Jisung had hurriedly opened a bank account and dumped it all in there.

After roughly unpacking, Kang Jisung looked at the employees.

“What are you all doing? Grab your stuff and come to the meeting room.”

“A meeting?”

“Yes.”

He shook the stack of documents he had brought.

“We’ve got a mountain of work.”

***

Planes, cars, and sometimes even horses.

I traveled every corner of the American continent looking for sales targets, met them, negotiated.

I gave them what they needed, took their money.

The moment a deal was done, I moved on to the next client.

That’s how I spent two weeks.

“So these are the results. Look through them one by one—you’ll see there’s a lot to customize in detail.”

“W-Wait, ‘have to do’ means…?”

“Boss, almost all the companies here look like farms. Is that right?”

“You noticed well.”

I had focused on the fact that our existing program could be used both in the office and in the field.

“Spectrum’s program is optimized only for office use. That’s why field workers have to receive information either printed out or through some other method.”

In other words, choice and focus.

They completely dominated the intranet used by office workers, while field workers ended up using different programs.

They probably have field programs too, but due to compatibility or universality issues, they haven’t spread widely yet.

“On the other hand, we built ours from the start to be applicable to every worksite.”

That’s because Ribbon Corporation is primarily a distribution and processing company.

No matter how much paperwork you do in the office, in the end the product is made in the field.

The two sides have to mesh perfectly.

“I focused on that point and found the businesses where it would be most useful—and those were the farm owners.”

Unlike Korea, American farms are huge.

Not just big—enormously big.

To manage such massive farms, they use automated machinery and employ tons of workers.

“It’s not just the farm owners. The companies that buy and distribute the harvested crops needed this program too.”

“B-But don’t field programs already exist?”

“Yes. But they can’t track in real time. With ours, if you want, the office can monitor the field situation live.”

“Because location tracking is possible.”

“Exactly.”

In a way, it was a program perfect for farm owners and their buyers.

“Of course, it’s not perfectly compatible yet. We’ll have to tweak the options to fit each situation.”

“So it’s optimized for each company.”

“That’s right.”

At Spectrum, the company has to customize the program themselves.

But isn’t that a huge hassle?

“Other companies tell you to do it yourself—we do it for you.”

That’s what you call service spirit.

Of course, from the developers’ perspective, it’s pure torture.

“Uh… Boss.”

“Yes.”

“So… we have to modify the specs slightly differently for every company listed here?”

The developers’ faces were filled with please say it ain’t so.

Sorry, but I have to betray that hope.

“Correct.”

“KYAAAAA!”

“Boss, Boss! This isn’t right!”

“Boss! How can you say that!”

The developers screamed like they were about to bolt out of the company that very second.

Good grief.

They’re so soft-hearted.

The only thing left was to prescribe the strongest medicine possible for these people whose heads were ringing.

“Everyone, if we wrap this up nicely this time—”

The most effective prescription for office workers.

“I promise you all a salary raise. And I’ll sign every single one of you up for full medical insurance.”

That is the financial cure.

At my words, the developers’ wails instantly quieted.

Their eyes darted busily, calculators running in their heads, and once they saw the result, they couldn’t hide their twitching smiles.

As expected—no matter the country or language, money talks.

Especially the insurance part hits hard.

Medical insurance is insanely expensive in the U.S., so the benefit of full coverage was huge.

A downside of privatization, I suppose.

“Alright, everyone, split into your assigned parts and get to work. Deadlines are written there, so meet them. If you really can’t make a deadline, we’ll negotiate, so let me know. For now—let’s at least try to hit them.”

I said deadline adjustments were possible, but honestly, I have no intention of allowing it.

I did pick up a bit about development by watching Yoo Jinsang over his shoulder.

It’s all doable.

“Dismissed. Go work.”

Watching the employees sprint out of the meeting room, I started cleaning up.

I hadn’t slept properly in days while running around, so I was pretty exhausted.

Once today’s work is done, I’ll crash at the accommodation and sleep like the dead.

“Boss.”

“Ah, John.”

“There’s… one thing I really want to confirm.”

“Speak.”

“Did you really earn three million dollars with our program?”

What did this guy think I said?

“Yes. That’s exactly how I earned it.”

“Ahh…”

John let out a strange sob—whether from overwhelming emotion or reminiscing about the past, I couldn’t tell—then grabbed my hand.

“Thank you, thank you. Boss.”

“Why so dramatic?”

“Because of you, boss… I could finally be certain that my way wasn’t wrong.”

“I see.”

I always knew it would succeed, but apparently he didn’t.

I should’ve realized earlier that he severely lacked confidence as a developer.

“John, remember this.”

“What is it?”

“I told you—I never fail at any deal.”

“Yes.”

“That also means I never take a loss.”

I patted John’s shoulder.

“You’re the developer I chose. A winning hand that never fails. So have some confidence.”

“…Thank you.”

“Good. Go on.”

John wiped his eyes and returned to his seat.

Watching his back, I smirked.

“Getting teary over something like this—he’s such a softie.”

I looked at the now-bustling office and reviewed the plan ahead.

I secured the base capital by selling the program. Now I can use it to enter construction.

Laying the groundwork for Ribbon Corporation to break into the construction industry in the future.

Once that’s achieved, this U.S. business trip will be a success.

Just a little more.

The finish line is right in front of me.