Free Web Novel“A computer’s going to fit inside a mobile phone.”
At my words, Steve’s eyes widened.
He stayed silent for a moment, lost in thought, before suddenly bursting into laughter.
“Hahaha, Charlie!”
“What? Can’t believe it?”
“No, I was just imagining it—what kind of world would unfold if a computer really fit inside that tiny phone.”
I smiled and nodded in agreement.
“It might be far off in the future, but I’m certain that world will come. If it does, I’m sure you, Steve, would know better than me what kind of world it’ll be.”
“Of course! Ha... what a pleasant thought.”
His face lit up with joy, as if he were basking in that vision.
With that, we left the restaurant.
“Today was great. Let’s talk more often.”
“I’m investing in Steve Jobs. Don’t forget me.”
* * *
“You just had to let it go this once, didn’t you? Why are you being so damn stubborn?”
As the coach’s voice grew louder, Park Hyunseong stood silent in front of him. Seemingly enraged by his silence, the coach eventually slapped him across the face.
“You little shit, don’t you know how to yield to your seniors? You think you’re hot shit? Too good to throw a match?”
“I’m sorry.”
Hyunseong apologized, but never once said he would throw the match.
“Fine. Then I’ll make sure you don’t compete at all. Hey! Lock the gym doors.”
When the coach barked that order at the students training nearby, one of them ran over and locked the doors.
“Get down.”
The coach grabbed a wooden stick from the side. The air in the gym froze.
Without a word, Park Hyunseong got down on the ground.
“Park Hyunseong, who the hell do you think you are? Ignoring your seniors, ignoring your coach? You son of a bitch, you think I’m a joke? Want me to make sure you’re blacklisted from judo for life?”
Whack!
The coach slammed the stick across Hyunseong’s thigh, spitting curses as he did.
Crack! fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
The stick broke. He tossed it aside, grabbed another, and resumed the beating.
“Coach, please stop! At this rate, you’ll kill him!”
Captain Song Minguk rushed in to intervene, but the coach shoved him away and glared.
“You too? Think I’m a joke now?”
“N-No, sir.”
The coach looked around at the students and shouted,
“Goddamn it, kids these days have no respect. Back in my day, if the coach spoke, all we said was ‘Yes, sir!’ But now? ‘Sorry’? They don’t even say they’ll do it no matter what!”
The students all averted their eyes.
Seeing that, the coach snorted and barked at Minguk.
“Hey! Captain. Tell me—what the hell did I do wrong? I just told the brat to yield once! That punk could make the national team any time he wants! So why the tantrum?”
“But... the skill gap between Chanseong and Hyunseong is too big. Honestly, even if Chanseong made the national team, do you think he’d medal? And you know what the national team means to us...”
“Hah. Song Minguk. You too now?”
“No, sir. I’d never. I just... worry it’ll cause trouble down the line.”
Minguk glanced at Hyunseong, still lying down and not making a sound, then watched the coach’s face closely.
“If he ends up seriously hurt and gets hospitalized... he can’t compete anyway. You should try reasoning with him.”
Eventually, worn down by Minguk’s continued pleas, the coach tossed the stick aside.
“Hoo... Park Hyunseong. You still won’t change your mind?”
“...”
“Stubborn little shit. You might just end up dead with no one the wiser. Do you even know who Chanseong’s father is? You do, don’t you? Then why are you being so stubborn? Just yield this once. It’d be good for you, and for our school. Stand up.”
At the coach’s words, Hyunseong stood immediately and stood at attention.
“Hyunseong, I’m not doing this because I hate you. Just keep that in mind.”
“I’m sorry, Coach.”
The coach shook his head at the same, unchanging answer, then left the gym.
Only then did the others let out a sigh of relief. Minguk walked up to Hyunseong and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
“Man, learn to be flexible, will you? You’re only twenty. Why are you so damn stubborn?”
“Captain, I’m sorry.”
“Hoo... Don’t be sorry to me. Still... I doubt this is over. Are your legs okay?”
Minguk glanced at Hyunseong’s thigh, his eyes full of concern.
“I’m fine.”
“Better go to the hospital, just in case.”
“No, it’s alright.”
“That’s an order. Don’t tell me you’re gonna ignore me now too?”
“No, sir. I’ll go right now.”
Minguk finally relaxed at that.
“Don’t come back to the dorm—go home after the hospital and rest. Come in tomorrow. I’ll explain it to the coach.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Hyunseong bowed deeply and left the gym.
Once he was gone, Minguk muttered to himself with a heavy sigh.
“Fuck, why the hell is that punk Chanseong so obsessed with the national team when he doesn’t even train properly? Judo isn’t some damn game.”
That night, after getting treated at the hospital, Park Hyunseong was on his way to Myungsoo’s place—when he was hit in a hit-and-run accident.
He was rushed to the ER in critical condition, unconscious.
* * *
The next day.
I returned to Pixar to finalize the investment contract.
The staffer who’d treated me like a lunatic yesterday now bowed politely and guided us to the chairman’s office.
“Steve!”
“Oh! Charlie!”
Steve, who’d been talking with his lawyer, stood up and came over to give me a big hug.
“Welcome! This is my lawyer, Harriet.”
We exchanged greetings, introduced our own lawyer, and sat down.
“Fifty million dollars, and I give Charlie half of my shares in NeXT and Pixar. In return, I retain all voting rights and authority. That right?”
“Okey.”
Everything we discussed yesterday was put into a contract and laid out in front of us.
After about an hour of discussion between the lawyers, we signed the papers and shook hands.
“We’re in the same boat now. Let’s stay in touch.”
“If I ever come to the U.S., I’ll come straight to you. You’re my most important partner.”
“Hahaha. You’ve got a sharp tongue for someone so young.”
After a long laugh, Steve suddenly stopped smiling and spoke seriously.
“You’ll probably have to reinvest most of the money you gave me back into the company.”
“Do whatever you want. I’m not concerned.”
“I like that.”
When I returned to New York, it was already late at night.
I had just taken a shower and was about to enjoy a cold beer when someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Ma Seokdae, Young Master.”
I opened the door. Ma Seokdae gave me a slight bow and came in.
As I let him in, I tilted the beer in my hand.
“What is it?”
“A call came in from Seoul.”
But my moment of peace was shattered in an instant.
“Someone named Park Hyunseong—one of your friends—was in a hit-and-run accident. He’s currently in critical condition, unconscious.”
I dropped the beer can I was holding.
“...What?”
“He’s in Korea National University Hospital. That’s all we know so far. A man named Lee Myungsoo contacted Mr. Ha.”
“...Book me a flight to Korea. The fastest one you can find.”
At my order, Ma Seokdae went out immediately.
My hands trembled slightly.
‘Fuck... what the hell is this?’
My brain refused to function.
I sat in a daze for a while before calling Han Kyungyeong.
He showed up in my room not long after, looking surprised.
“What happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I need to go back to Korea immediately. Can you handle things here? Scout the people I asked you to find, reach out when their info checks out, and invest the 50 million however you want. Just leave the [N O V E L I G H T] rest of the funds where they are.”
“You’re going back to Korea? Why?”
“My friend’s in a coma. I need to get there.”
“Got it. Just call me if you need anything.”
After sending Han away, I lay in bed—but I couldn’t sleep. I was too worried about Hyunseong.
‘He’ll be fine, right? He’s a tough guy. He’ll bounce back fast. He has to...’
Thankfully, Ma got us a flight.
I boarded a morning plane to Seoul.
Exhausted from lack of sleep, I passed out on the flight. By the time I arrived at Gimpo Airport via Hong Kong, it was already night.
Without resting, I went straight to the hospital where Hyunseong had been admitted.
His parents had already arrived from Busan and were sitting outside the ICU.
When his mother saw me, she suddenly burst into tears.
“Muhyuk-ah... what’s happened to our Hyunseong? What do we do...”
“Please calm down, Ma’am.”
“What were we thinking, sending our boy all the way to America for this...”
His father’s face was drawn and full of anguish.
I gently comforted his mother and looked toward the ICU. I could see Hyunseong surrounded by strange machines.
I helped his mother into a seat, then stepped outside with his father.
“Did you find anything out?”
His father sighed and lit a cigarette.
In the darkness, only the cigarette’s ember glowed faintly.
“Hah... The witness didn’t get the license plate. Doesn’t even know the car model... Just said it was a white sedan. And hell, there are a million white cars in Seoul. How are we supposed to find it?”
He bit the cigarette filter out of frustration.
“What’d the doctors say?”
“They said the broken limbs are healing fine, but they don’t know why he’s still unconscious. Told us to just wait a few days.”
He went back into the hospital. I sat outside alone, thinking, until Myungsoo arrived.
“Man, Muhyuk! What the hell happened?”
“On his way home, right?”
Myungsoo nodded with a heavy sigh.
“He called me, said he was coming back and we should grab drinks. I went out shopping for it and everything. Then boom—this. I didn’t know until my dad called. I kept blowing up his pager like crazy, wondering why he wasn’t showing up.”
“Did he say anything else?”
Myungsoo looked around, then lowered his voice.
“Don’t tell his dad. But... apparently the coach beat him. He was on his way home from the hospital.”
“What, it’s not like getting beat up by the coach was unusual back in high school. That’s hardly special.”
“Still, for Hyunseong to actually go to the hospital? Must’ve been bad. I don’t know anything else.”
Back then, corporal punishment in sports was taken for granted. It was so normal, it still happened decades later—so it must’ve been worse back then.
I let out a deep sigh.
“Alright. I’ll go home, change, and come back tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. I’ll stay here with his parents. Go quickly.”
Leaving Myungsoo in charge, I returned to the house in Pyeongchang-dong.
“It’s time for your answer, isn’t it?”
Though I’d been too overwhelmed by Hyunseong’s accident to think about it earlier, now I had to hear his decision.
Ma Seokdae, just about to leave the room, turned to me at my words.
“I’ll follow you.”
I wanted to cheer, but instead I kept a serious face and asked,
“What made you decide, Chief Ma? My leadership style?”
“I did like how you handled things in the States, but...”
He paused a moment, then gave an unusually long answer.
“When I saw you drop everything and come back to Korea the moment your friend was hurt, I thought... this man would never abandon me first.”
“I never abandon my people. That’s a promise.”
“Thank you, Boss.”
He’d switched from calling me ‘Young Master’ to ‘Boss.’
I gave him a faint smile.
“How’s the investigation going?”
“I’ll report tomorrow.”
“Got it. You’ve worked hard, all the way from America to here. Get some rest.”
He bowed and left.
Maybe because all the fatigue had built up since yesterday, I fell asleep without realizing it.
The next morning, Chief Ma reported what happened at the Korea National Sports University Judo team.
“Jo Chanseong, huh...”
< What the Hell Is This Now? > End
