With the Time Shop, I Too Am the Greatest Conglomerate of All Time

Episode 58. Business trip to USA.(3)

I asked Ethan.

“When will that conclusion come out?”

“One day is enough.”

“okay. When the decision is made, please reply to the e-mail written on the business card.”

After Jaune’s party left, Ethan went straight to the office of CEO Daniel Turner.

“Mr. Turner. This is Ethan.”

Upon entering the office, Daniel greeted him with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Yeah, did you get that peddler back from Korea?”

To Daniel who thought that the spread of MP3 files would set the US record industry back 10 years.

Fortune from Korea was simply a threat to the food supply chain.

Due to the vague hostility that came from it, fortune was devalued as a general merchant.

“..that is. I was going to do that, but they came up with a rather shocking offer.”

“A shocking offer? what is that?”

“..if you sign a contract with him, we will increase our market share.”

Daniel looked at him with ‘what do you mean?’

“In what way? A company that doesn’t seem to be anything special other than pushing a single electronic product into the bestseller list.”

“They say that if we sell our music as MP3 files, the market share will increase. MP3 files are cheap and easy to purchase, so I think they will sell more than existing albums.”

At those words, Daniel’s face changed to a serious expression.

“Ethan, did you say it made sense to you?”

“yes. And there are other things that interest me other than that offer.”

“Even when records were released on CD, illegal copying was possible, but at least you need another CD material and a physical device called CD-ROM. But this MP3 doesn’t have that minimum physical limitation. That means there may come a day when people can freely exchange music.”

“In order to prevent that from happening, our three record companies even temporarily formed an alliance, didn’t they?”

“I just came up with this, but what if we were wrong? What if that doesn’t stop MP3s from spreading in the end? People will take free music for granted and eventually we will go bankrupt.”

“Well. What exactly do you want to say?”

“Until that happens, we’re going to be at the forefront of distributing MP3 files. However, there is still an opportunity to create a culture of purchasing MP3 files for a fee. Of course, while doing so, we also increase our market share.”

“Then, what about alliances with other record labels?”

“When did we keep it like that? There is no coercion anyway. They’re not going to help us sell our records.”

Daniel laughed at that.

“With that said, does it look like something out of a movie villain? haha. It’s an ally, it’s okay to wake up. But everything I’ve said so far is just speculation. If we released a song as an MP3 file, but the market share didn’t go up and the album sales just dropped, wouldn’t the board of directors leave me alone?”

“There is a workaround for that. The general who came today said that if we couldn’t increase our market share and only the sales of albums fell, we would compensate for the damage.”

At that, Daniel asked with a surprised face.

“You mean you made that promise? That’s great. How confident would she be to make such an offer? I don’t know if it came from the future, but if it were me, no matter how confident I was, I wouldn’t be able to make such a promise. From now on, I’ll have to get rid of the junk letters from the junk traders.”

“Then how do I make a contract with the merchant from Korea?”

“…because it doesn’t look like we’re going to lose anything. That contract, let it go.”

“Then I will contact you to make a contract.”

I left Hana Music Group’s headquarters and asked Park Si-woong.

“I think we should stay here until the conclusion is reached. Shall we hang out for a bit?”

Park Si-woong was happy.

“Is that really okay?”

“sure. Come to think of it, Siwoong’s school was also here in New York, right? that is great. I’m a little hungry, so let’s eat rice first. Do you know any restaurants?”

“Of course it is. Just follow me. We will serve you as the best restaurant.”

“okay? Okay. I look forward to it. haha.”

I followed Park Si-woong, wondering what kind of American food he would eat.

The actual destination was ‘Seoul Restaurant’ in New York’s Koreatown.

“Um… I didn’t expect this.”

“Are you disappointed? But once you try it, you won’t think so.”

“What. First of all, I entrusted it to Mr. Let’s go in.”

Upon entering, an aunt in her 60s looked at Park Si-woong and looked happy.

“Ugh. It’s Siwoong How much is this?”

“haha. How you doing? Aunt.”

“I’m doing well and I have nothing to say. You said you’re going back to Korea, what’s going on here?”

“Why? I came here to see my aunt.”

The old woman grinned.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Why are you here?”

“Actually, I was on a business trip to New York, but I came here with the director. I came here because I wanted to show you the taste of Jeyuk-bokkeum made by my aunt. Are you still good at it?”

“Ho Ho. My stir-fry is still killing me! sit down I’ll come right away.”

I sat down and asked Park Si-woong.

“You seem pretty friendly with the restaurant owner, don’t you?”

“I came here two or three times a week when I was in college.”

“So often? No matter how delicious the food is, I think I will get tired of eating that much.”

“I thought so too. The last place I stopped by the day before returning home was here, so I said everything. It makes me wonder if my aunt was on drugs or something. haha.”

Park Si-woong, who was smiling, continued.

“I have an older brother who is 10 years older than me. My brother also came here to study at New York University, and he did well without any problems. So my parents thought I would too, so they almost forced me to study abroad. But it’s been less than a month since it arrived. I was left with a bottle of homesickness.”

“A bottle of perfume? It doesn’t look like that, which is surprising.”

“haha. is that so? I want to go to Korea, but my parents say absolutely no. In the meantime, I found out that there is a Korean town with many Koreans and visited often. That’s when I discovered this house. I took a bite of this house’s Jeyuk-bokkeum, and it felt like my homelessness was gone without telling a lie.”

“..Nonsense. No matter how delicious it is, how can a perfume bottle go away?”

“It tastes good, though. It feels a little different than that. Try it once and you will know.”

At the same time, the Jeyuk-bokkeum that we ordered came out.

The old woman set up the food table and said.

“Eat a lot, Siwoong. Please enjoy your meal too.”

When I was dubious about Park Si-woong’s words and took a bite of the stir-fried pork, I was amazed.

“Wow..”

“How is it? Are you okay?”

It was tasty too.

Most of all, I was surprised to feel the warmth of eating the food that my aunt prepared meticulously.

“I wondered why Siwoong brought me here, and it tastes even better than a Korean restaurant.”

“Also. I thought the director would feel the same way.”

“yes. There is something special about the food here.”

“It has to be. It’s because the aunt of this house is making it while thinking of the first son she sent 15 years ago.”

“..have you lost your son?”

“yes. I didn’t know it at first either, but after I got to know my aunt, she told me about it. He said that he immigrated recklessly and sent his son, who had one son, to an illness when it was a very difficult time. After that, he treated the customers who came to the store as if they were his sons, so rumors spread and he became famous. After all, my son is not coming back alive.”

“..I think so.”

What has already been lost will not come back.

If it is valuable, it should not be lost in the first place.

I realized that too late though.

I got one more chance thanks to the time shop.

I will never lose anything in this life.

As I finished eating and was about to get up, my aunt held out a plastic bag to Si-Woong Park.

“I messed up a bit. It will be good to eat on the go.”

“When you go back to Korea, don’t rot too much inside your mother. do well.”

I left the store and asked Park Si-woong.

“The boat is a little full. There was still some time left before it got dark. I think I can stop by just one place, is there any place you would recommend?”

“There are many places like that. But if I have to choose one, I recommend WTC.”

“If it’s WTC… the World Trade Center?”

“yes. The Empire State Building, which is currently the tallest building in New York and also famous for its height, has an observatory on the 86th floor, but it is on the 107th floor. It is a place many people visit. But why are you so surprised?”

I was just surprised.

The World Trade Center, translated as the World Trade Center.

Two years later, on September 11, 2001, the building collapsed due to a plane terrorist attack, and a tragedy that resulted in the loss of many lives.

Park Si-woong continued.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

“Then let’s go. The view is absolutely stunning!”

It’s a bit disappointing to know that it’s a building that will collapse later.

Before that happens, I thought I’d like to keep it in my eyes.

“..I know. let’s go.”

We took a taxi to WTC.

When I got out of the taxi, I saw twin buildings standing in front of me that gave me a headache just looking up.

Park Si-woong explained as he entered the entrance of the south building.

“The observatory is here at 2WTC, so you enter here. You can go to the outside observatory on the 110th floor through the indoor observatory on the 107th floor. It’s a little annoying to have to go through security after the bombing in the past, but it’s worth the effort.”

“It’s nice to have Siwoong as a guide.”

After climbing the short escalator twice from the 107th floor, the outdoor observatory on the 110th floor with an open view was revealed.

The weather was nice, and I felt like I could see the whole view of New York at a glance.

“It’s really cool. It is also a famous place, so there are a lot of people.”

“haha. Are you happy to come? The tallest building over there is the Empire State Building. The building looks nicer from the front than it is from above.”

I spread my thumb and index finger and put the building between them.

“From here, the Empire State Building, which has over 100 floors, is just one span.”

“Because it is quite a distance from here.”

“I am. Later, you will build a building one finger bigger than that.”

Park Si-woong made a bewildered expression.

“A building taller than that Empire State Building?”

“yes. Do you think I can’t?”

Park Si-woong looked into my eyes and then shook his head.

“..no. You already started a business like this in your early 20s, so it might be possible if you are the director.”

New York viewed from 400 meters above the ground was magnificent and beautiful as if all human civilizations were gathered in one place.

A place that shows such a sight is going to disappear in two years.

It was unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do about it.

You wouldn’t believe me if I told you that there would be a terrorist attack in two years.

If there was a real terrorist attack, I would be the first to be suspicious, so I didn’t say anything like that.

After standing like that for about 20 minutes, I was shivering from the cold.

“Mr Si-Woong. Now that I have seen enough of this, shall we go down?”

Park Si-woong nodded.

“That’s right.”

I got an email from Ethan asking me to sign a contract.

“Is there any good news from Hana Music?”

“yes. Let’s make a contract.”

“Congratulations. Director. You did it in the end.”

“Iknow, right. At the end of the day, I almost went all the way to the United States for sightseeing. haha.”

When we arrived at the Hana Music Group headquarters, we were escorted to the meeting room where the papers were placed.

While serving tea by an employee who appears to be a secretary. The first man came in with Ethan Colin.