Chapter 69
15% stake.
While not necessarily large, it was a figure that couldn't be ignored, as an ambiguous stake could threaten a CEO's management rights.
However, I didn't expect Feng Wei to refuse this 15% stake outright.
Unlike ordinary people, Feng Wei clearly managed his shares well, and more importantly, he himself knew the true value of the company he was currently managing.
They traded a 15% stake in a Small and Medium-sized Game Developer that had just started and had fewer than 100 employees for the 3D Modeling Technology they so desperately wanted from a Large Corporation Developer.
Unless he'd been shot in the head, refusing this would clearly disqualify him as a CEO.
However, having a stake fall into someone else's hands inevitably introduced variables into the Company's operation.
Perhaps due to concerns about management rights, Feng Wei seemed to ponder for a moment before opening his mouth to me.
“Director, if the compensation for this support is a stake in our Company, I am willing to transfer it. However...”
“However?”
“Could you promise me just one thing?”
“Tell me what the promise is, and I'll decide.”
“I would like you to promise not to interfere with management rights through the transferred stake.”
“As expected of *xiongdi*, their reactions are the same.”
Wonjung and Feng Wei.
Before Regression, both of them were CEOs who had built top-tier game companies in China, so their sensitivity to management rights was identical.
At Feng Wei's request, I nodded without much thought.
After all, I had no intention of interfering with management rights through the transferred stake and killing the *Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs*.
“Understood. I will add the details regarding management rights to the contract, so let's proceed to Writing/Drafting the contract.”
“Th-thank you.”
After the return to the Conference Room, the meeting with Feng Wei was finished successfully with the writing/drafting of the Support Program contract.
With this contract, I obtained a 15% stake in Huayang Games, which grew into China's largest Mobile Game Developer,
and Feng Wei gained the core technology needed to develop the next crucial Melt Down 3.
Satisfied with this ideal contract, Feng Wei gave us a generous gift and returned to China.
“See you next time, *xiongdi*.”
My becoming his *xiongdi* was a bonus.
It was truly an experience that allowed me to feel, even a little, what China's Guanxi Culture was like.
After the storm caused by Feng Wei passed, time began to flow quickly.
November passed, bustling with G-STAR and Feng Wei, and December arrived.
Perhaps due to the year-end influence, December passed quietly, unlike November.
Indeed, the heavy snowfall in early to mid-December caused by unusual weather was the biggest topic of conversation.
Even the somewhat noisy Christmas season passed, and it truly became the year-end.
December 31st, 8 PM.
The Office was currently empty.
Even so, making employees work overtime until the end of the year would prick my conscience too much.
However, there were exactly two people who hadn't left work yet: Yerin and I.
I hadn't left work because of the Second Half Settlement Report that needed to be uploaded today.
and Yerin seemed unable to leave due to work on revising the Skin Illustration for a New Year's package.
Normally, I would have finished long ago and been lying on my studio apartment bed, enjoying the year-end atmosphere...
However, after the contract with Huayang Games, there was too much content in the report for me to revise, so I couldn't revise it.
After somehow finishing the report and completing the upload, I finally began to feel that the year 2015 had come to an end.
As I was getting ready to go home, wondering if I should buy a can of beer on the way, a Chocolate Talk message arrived.
[Yerin: Senior, are you done with work?]
[Me: I'm about to leave. Why?]
Shortly after sending the message, Yerin called me.
Senior, you haven't left the office yet, have you?
“I'm about to leave. Why?”
I'll be done soon too. Do you want to grab a drink together?
“A drink? What's the occasion?”
I thought maybe we poor souls who can't leave on time, even at year-end, could have a drink.
“Sure, why not. When should we leave?”
If you wait for me at the Lobby Entrance, I'll come out.
“Alright.”
***
It was inside a Beer Pub a little distance from EnsonGT Headquarters.
Perhaps because it was the year-end peak season, all the bars around the Company were full.
After having no choice but to browse around, we eventually ended up in this beer pub, and it was noisy here too, probably because it was more than half full.
Of course, neither Yerin nor I was particularly sensitive to noise, so it wasn't a big problem.
“What should we order first?”
“I'll order the beer first.”
“Okay.”
Yerin called over a passing server and ordered two 500cc beers and chicken.
Perhaps because she had left work, Yerin's expression was quite relaxed.
“Senior, you're really amazing.”
“Me? Why?”
“Even though you couldn't leave on time and worked overtime at year-end, you don't seem as upset as I'd expect.”
“You don't seem upset? How could anyone be happy working overtime at the Company at year-end?”
“Really? From what I see—”
Just as Yerin was about to speak, the server brought two 500cc beers.
“Thanks for waiting! Two 500cc beers, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Enjoy your meal.”
The server, perhaps busy due to the customers, disappeared to another table as soon as he placed the two beer glasses and the bill.
Yerin and I clinked glasses and took a sip.
The tingling carbonation and the unique crispness of the beer in my mouth made me exclaim in admiration.
Yerin also seemed to feel something similar, as she was also exclaiming.
“From what I see, what next?”
“No, it's nothing. It's just... when I look at Senior, it feels like they're not just working, but enjoying it. I'm a little envious.”
“Is that so? While it's enjoyable to create the games I wanted to make, I've never actually enjoyed the work itself.”
“Really? Did I see it wrong?”
Yerin tilted her head and drank her beer.
“Speaking of which, Senior, there's something I've been curious about for a while.”
“What is it?”
“Why did Senior choose to change jobs?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“Usually, the dream of directors like Senior isn't to be a salaryman director at a large corporation, but to start their own game company, like Mr. Wonjung or Mr. Feng Wei.”
“That's usually true.”
“But Senior has the ability, and starting a company isn't impossible for you, so I'm honestly curious why you chose to change jobs.”
Yerin's question was certainly sharp.
It was an issue I had thought about quite a lot myself.
Just as I was about to answer Yerin's question, a server at Good Timing approached our table with chicken.
“Your Half Fried, Half Seasoned Chicken has arrived. Is this what you ordered?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then, enjoy your meal!”
Again, the server, perhaps busy with customers, disappeared into the kitchen as soon as he or she placed the plate down.
Turning away from the server, I picked up a chicken leg with a fork and offered it to Yerin.
“Eat.”
“Senior, you eat.”
“No, I'm not particularly hungry right now.”
At my words, Yerin nodded and carefully brought the chicken leg to her mouth.
“I'll eat well.”
“Right. What was I going to talk about?”
“You were going to tell me why you chose to change jobs.”
“Ah, right. The reason I chose to change jobs is simple. At that time, the desire to create the game I wanted was greater than the romantic ideal of starting a company.”
“Ah...”
“Now, the Subculture genre has somewhat settled, and I have more leeway, so I feel a bit of regret, but back then, I was under a lot of pressure.”
The pressure is that things shouldn't proceed as they did Before Regression, especially right after the regression.
Realistic problems in a situation where the market hadn't even formed yet.
In a situation where I was struggling with various other secondary issues, Suyeon reached out to me at a good time,
and I had no choice but to choose reality, between the choices of romance and reality.
“Of course, looking back now, I do feel a slight regret about not choosing to start a company, but I don't regret the decision.”
“Is that so...
After those words, a brief silence fell upon our table.
I was silent, taking a moment to organize my thoughts.
and Yerin was also poking at the chicken breast with her fork, as if she had something to think about.
“All right, now tell me about yourself.”
“Me?”
“Has anything special happened in the Art Team this year?”
“Well... there wasn't really anything big enough to talk about—”
Despite saying nothing special happened, Yerin began to chatter, unraveling various stories.
“You're saying a Clique seems to be forming in the Art Team?”
“It's not certain yet. They don't openly show it, but there's a woman's intuition, you know. I got the same feeling I used to get in college.”
She said it wasn't certain yet, but...
Given Yerin's personality, she wouldn't talk about something unless it was certain, so it seemed a clique had definitely formed.
“But there haven't been any problems because of the Clique yet, right?”
“Of course. If it were affecting Work, I would have told you directly, but it hasn't reached that point yet.”
“Alright, then keep an eye on the suspicious team members, and if anything happens, contact me immediately. Understood?”
“I will.”
Perhaps due to the alcohol, Yerin nodded with a slightly languid expression.
A group passing by saw us and stopped dead in its tracks as we continued our conversation after clinking glasses with her.
“Oh, Director Ji Hojin...?”
Suddenly hearing my name, I turned to see three men in suits looking down at me.
Their faces seemed familiar, so they were probably from the PC Game Development Team.
“Judging by their expressions, they don”t seem to have good feelings towards me.'
“You're Team Leader Lee Seungjin from PC Game Development Team 3, the person in front, right?”
“It's an honor that a successful Director like you remembers the name of a Perpetual Team Leader who only develops PC Games that these days don't make money.”
A clearly sarcastic voice.
Seungjin's companions tried to stop him with flustered expressions at his sudden outburst, but he seemed quite drunk, and his remarks didn't stop.
“No, why are you stopping me? Isn't it true? You are making gambling games with mere picture scraps that suck money from users—”
“Excuse me!”
Yerin, who had been listening beside me, couldn't hold back and was about to say something, but I stopped her and looked at Seungjin.
“So, Mr. Lee Seungjin, coming here suddenly, what exactly do you want to say?”
Despite my being openly provoked, my calm voice seemed to surprise Seungjin.
“Ah, no, I mean, because of people like you, the Game Company's image...”
“If it's about the Company, sober up and discuss it at the Company. What kind of disgraceful behavior is this outside of work? It's embarrassing.”
At my words, Seungjin's expression twisted, as if he finally noticed the gazes around him.
“Let's see if you can be so confident next year.”
He clicked his tongue, muttered that one last thing, and then left the bar with his colleagues.
“What kind of jerk is that? How absurd.”
“It's fine, let's just consider it stepping in dog poop.”
“Senior, don't you get angry hearing things like that?”
Instead of answering Yerin's words, I merely shrugged.
How could I not be angry after being openly accused right to my face of making gambling games?
However, I already knew from my Before Regression experience what the future held for Seungjin, who had picked a fight, so I simply didn't say anything more.
Before Regression, he was the starting point and the biggest victim of the Gender Conflict Controversy that brought a bloodbath to the Game Industry.