The Chairman Who Wants to Play and Eat

Chapter 32. Then I’ll go have some fun.

Meanwhile,

Seonghyeon III, Hyun Tae-yoon, studying in the United States, was struck by a bolt from the blue.

He received a call from the secretary’s office.

“Do not return to Korea. The Chairman has given a strict order for you to work as an intern at the Seonghyeon Trading local corporation on Wall Street during the vacation, young master.”

It was a disaster that occurred just before the vacation.

“Why all of a sudden?!”

“W-We’re not sure either… It’s probably because of the youngest son of the Vice Chairman, Hyun Sang-yoon, who will be crossing over to the U.S. in a few days…”

“What? Hyun Sang-yoon again?”

It was not just talk.

A few days later, it wasn’t a joke; the Hyun Corporation’s New York branch sent him an employee ID.

This is serious.

They were really telling him to come to work.

They explained that if they didn’t assign him proper duties just because he was a young master, everyone from the branch manager down would be held collectively responsible and face consequences.

In the end, his plans to return to Korea were dashed.

His intention to enjoy the wild parties he had been holding back on, without missing a single day, was shattered.

But it was the command of Chairman Hyun.

He couldn’t go against it.

Instead, he had no choice but to grind his teeth at someone else.

‘Because of that b*stard Hyun Sang-yoon again.’

Ding ding, ding ding.

“What!”

– Is this Tae-yoon?

It was a call from Hyun Sang-yoon’s older brother, Hyun Do-yoon, who was in Singapore.

“I was just about to call you, good timing. Hyung, what the hell is your brother doing now? Damn it, he’s the reason I’m stuck in New York. He wants me to work. Is that even reasonable?”

Words poured out.

The response was a sigh.

– Hoo, damn. Am I any different?

“Are you too?”

– Of course. I’ve been looking for an internship at some place called Temasek or whatever, and they told me to go sit there starting tomorrow.

“Wow, haha, you’re not even part of Hyun Corporation anymore?”

– Are you making fun of me?

“Yeah, I’m making fun of you.”

– You’re hilarious. Do you think this is a good time for you? Do you think working at a company with the Hyun name is a blessing? The whole office is filled with surveillance cameras watching you!

For a while, the sound of their chuckles echoed through the receiver.

They both just laughed in silence for a time.

After a long bout of laughter,

– So, are you going to endure it?

Hyun Do-yoon spoke first.

“What if I don’t?”

– Hyun Sang-yoon, my brother, but I dislike him too. Just crash into him.

“How?”

His words traveled across the phone line all the way to America.

– I’m stuck here in faraway Singapore, so I can’t do it, but you’re in America. If that b*stard Hyun Sang-yoon crosses over to the States, find some way to dig up dirt on him. Then it’ll be a piece of cake, right? We can get rid of that eyesore and have fun back in Korea. How great would that be?

Hyun Tae-yoon replied.

“He’s in LA, and I’m in New York.”

– So what?

“What do you mean, so what? New York is on the East Coast, and LA is on the West. It’s over two thousand miles apart.”

He’s my older brother, but he’s really being frustrating.

– Just take a plane.

But Hyun Do-yoon responded with a nonchalant tone, as if it didn’t matter.

“Are you telling me to work, go to LA to check on Hyun Sang-yoon, and do it all by myself? Meanwhile, you’ll just be lounging around?”

– What can I do? I’m in Singapore, and you’re in America.

The situation was different from last time.

The roles had reversed.

“Damn it.”

– Anyway, you handle that. I have to get ready for this damn work, so screw it. I’m hanging up.

Click.

The call ended.

‘Damn.’

A deep crease formed on Hyun Tae-yoon’s forehead. It was a wrinkle that wouldn’t easily fade away.

‘He said LA, right? LA…’

He pulled out his notebook and flipped through it.

There were a few phone numbers of friends he had made while hanging out in Hollywood.

*

Time passed, and the day of departure arrived.

Many people showed up.

“You don’t have to come out, but still, thank you all.”

I said a word.

At that, Seo Jung-gil, the head of KIDC, who was standing in the front row, quickly responded.

“How could we not come out? The hope of the domestic 32-bit ‘personal computer,’ Young-hyun Hyun, is leaving for America.”

“Haha, I’ll go and study even more.”

“Really?”

“Of course. When it comes to computers, it’s America, and within America, it’s Silicon Valley that’s recognized.”

It wasn’t wrong to say the destination was Silicon Valley.

The place where Director So Byeong-hwa’s team for the local U.S. corporation was staying, as well as where they would establish the corporation, was indeed Silicon Valley.

At my words,

“Thank you so much.”

Director Seo said with a voice full of emotion.

He was replaced by Director Cho Young-dae from the semiconductor research institute.

“Silicon Valley is the hometown of semiconductors. The atmosphere is quite different from New Jersey, where I was. Just the name itself is silicon. California also has universities like Stanford and Caltech. Ah, now that I think about it, both of those universities are famous for their engineering programs.”

Engineering programs—there was a clear intention behind the words.

“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Thank you.”

He seemed satisfied with my response.

Everyone was like this.

There was a lot of talk.

Each person had a word to say, but when it all added up, I had to listen to ten or twenty words.

As the farewell ceremony began to drag on, the secretary general, Joo Yong-hoon, who had been observing, finally stepped in to organize the crowd.

“Alright, there’s no time. Let’s wrap it up here, everyone, and you should head inside quickly before you’re late, Young Master. This assistant will escort you, hurry.”

There was an undeniable authority in his voice.

Everyone complied.

This time, he spoke to me.

“Young Master, then have a good trip. The Chairman specifically instructed me to ensure you observe his departure until the very end.”

That was the real reason he had come.

‘It’s because of those people.’

The ones who came to see me off were dangerous.

But more than that, there was my grandfather’s concern about when the law school people from Korea might come and kidnap me.

Sure enough,

“Th-There they are!”

A sound was heard from afar. It was a familiar voice.

“Hyun Sang-yoon!”

“The hope of the South Korean legal community, Hyun Sang-yoon! Please wait just a moment!”

President Cheon Jong-tae of Korea University and Dean Oh Seong-kwon of the Law School, along with the faculty, were rushing over in a formation.

Calling me by such an embarrassing title as “hope” and whatnot.

“Let’s hurry.”

“Yes!”

I urged my assistant.

“Well then, thank you all! I’ll be off to have some fun in America!”

With one last remark, I began to walk briskly into the departure area with my assistant. The sounds gradually faded into the distance.

“Hyun, wait just a moment! Listen to what I have to say before you go!”

The voice that had been calling out,

“······Are you not letting go? I am Cheon Jong-tae, the president of Korea University! How dare you lay a hand on me! Hyun, Hyun Sang-yoon!”

It grew increasingly desperate.

I shook my head.

“You’re quite persistent.”

“Indeed.”

My assistant chimed in.

“By the way, you’ve had a lot of trouble because of me.”

“Trouble? It’s only natural. I was prepared for this level of commitment from the moment I started serving you, young master.”

My assistant smiled awkwardly.

“Shall we go then?”

I said.

We began to walk again.

*

A week had passed since we arrived in America.

It was an impressive country.

‘Indeed, the phrase “land of opportunity” fits perfectly.’

First of all, the size of the land was immense.

It was on a completely different level from Korea.

As I rode in the car, even on the outskirts, a vast horizon devoid of mountains suddenly appeared before my eyes. It felt like a tidal wave rushing toward me from afar.

But that wasn’t all.

Rich resources, a pleasant climate year-round,

There was nothing surprising about that land where America’s elite were racing toward the future with all their might.

It was, quite literally, a stage.

One prepared for my future.

‘In other words, a stage for the final failure I desire to share.’

Thinking that made me feel good.

Silicon Valley,

The old three-story building in Santa Clara was where our local branch preparation team at Seonghyun Electronics was using as a temporary office.

A handful of Seonghyun employees dispatched to the U.S. and nearly ten local hires were working there.

Among them, I recognized two faces.

First, Manager So Byeong-hwa,

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

He approached me as I sat and asked.

“Just thinking.”

“Well, you haven’t been here long, so you probably need some time to adjust. In the meantime, Deputy Manager Jo Mi-yeon…”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Then…”

I showed him my personal computer monitor.

“I’ve already done everything you asked. There’s nothing left to do. I heard that in America, once the work is done, you can leave whenever, right?”

“No, uh… how did you manage to do all that…?”

“How? I just did it. Didn’t you know it was possible?”

He asked.

“…Are you going to leave work now?”

I said as I stood up.

“Of course.”

Seeing me rise, he tried to stand as well, but I stopped him. He still had work left to do.

“From now on, it’s my time. Don’t interrupt me. I’ll be off to have some fun.”

Just then, Deputy Manager Jo Mi-yeon happened to walk in and crossed paths with me.

“Young master······, no, where are you going, Mr. Hyun?”

“I’m going out to have some fun.”

“Where to?”

“Hollywood.”

With that final answer, he closed the door.

Having come to California, where Hollywood is, wouldn’t it be a shame to leave without seeing it at least once?

‘Moreover, if the chairman hears rumors of me having fun, that would be even better.’

That’s the point.

That’s what he was hoping for.

Assistant Manager Jo shrugged his shoulders.

“You just said you’re going out to have fun, right?”

“Seems like it.”

Manager So and Assistant Manager Jo chimed in.

“That can’t be true.”

Assistant Manager Lee interjected.

“The Hyun Sang-yoon I know would say something like that and then end up working on something… He’ll come back with something else. You can bet on it.”

*

It takes a full five hours to drive from Santa Clara to LA.

‘What a relief.’

Sometimes the roads get congested.

But not today.

Maybe it was because he left early? Thanks to that, he was able to enter the city before sunset.

It was a freedom he had never felt in Korea.

‘If I succeed in all of this and own a building in Gangnam, living a peaceful life as a young master, I could come here whenever I want to see this sunset.’

Just thinking about it made him feel good.

He had come this far for that goal.

With that thought, he parked the car by the roadside and was about to walk around to enjoy the street scenery a bit more.

But then,

“¿Lo acabas de ver?”

“¡Guau Dios! Es Dlyan, Dylan. Ese Dylan que apareció en la película de outsiders.”

What is this?

What language am I hearing right now?

It can’t be Spanish, can it?

But I heard it.

“Did you just see that?”

“Wow! Oh my God, it’s Dylan. Dylan. The very same Dylan from the Outsiders movie.”

Just like that.

“Isn’t America a country that speaks English? How can people speaking Spanish be walking the streets of Hollywood? Could they be tourists?”

I need to find out more.

I headed towards a restaurant.

I had struggled to get here, and I was hungry too.

But then,

“If you’re going to eat a sandwich, you should pay in advance! This guy thinks I’m a fool!”

As I entered a shop that caught my eye, someone else was chattering away in Spanish.

It was the shop owner.

And in front of him, a man was floundering.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

It was in English.

There was some more conversation, but it seemed they weren’t understanding each other.

But it felt strange.

“If you’ve come to California, you should speak California’s language! Don’t use English, you pale-faced b*stard!”

“Haha, did you come from another country? Can’t you speak our language?”

“Shall we turn the tables and see if you can pay for your meal?”

A few large Hispanic men gathered around the English-speaking man. The atmosphere turned tense.

It seemed that the issue of the meal or the language was just an excuse.

It was the kind of mugging I had only heard about.

In that moment,

“¡Ya párate! (Stop it!)”

I found myself interjecting.

“What’s this? This yellow monkey?”

“Are you this guy’s boyfriend or something? You look pretty enough to be playing the girl’s role, haha.”

Insults were hurled at me.

“You should probably stop.”

After all, it was someone I couldn’t communicate with.

No, we could communicate.

Anyway, I didn’t want to talk to them anymore. Instead, I pulled out the most excellent means of communication from America.

Click,

“Ah! Shit.”

“Sorry, sorry. Just messing around.”

A weapon that even an 80-year-old grandmother could use to overpower a strapping young man.

It was a gun.

While they scrambled away, I kept it aimed at them. It felt like I could hear the words of Director Joo echoing in my ears from the day I left Korea.

“In America, safety is the top priority. I’ve taken all possible measures for that safety, so you don’t need to worry at all, young master.”

Thank you, Director Joo.

“Thank you. For saving me.”

The man who almost got lynched reached out his hand to me.

“Don’t mention it.”

“We’ve met by chance, so let’s at least introduce ourselves.”

“Sure. My name is Hyun Sang-yoon. You can call me Sang-yoon. I work in Silicon Valley.”

I shook his hand.

“Hi, Cameron Smith?”

“Just call me ‘Yoon’ comfortably. And you?”

“Cameron Smith.”

He smiled.

“Nice to meet you. I used to be a trucker, but now I’m writing movie scripts. I love sci-fi films with heroes like you.”