Woosung arrived at work with a frown.
‘I didn’t even drink that much last night, yet…’
30-year-old Ballantine.
Jang Gwangchul had ordered a bottle which had a cost of over 1,000 dollars. It was so strong that Woosung only drank a little, but he still felt awful the next morning.
‘He must be really rich. A hundred thousand dollars must be nothing to him.’
Woosung couldn’t even guess how rich Jang Gwangchul was. He had at least 10 million dollars in cash for stock trading, but Jang Gwangchul must also have other investments.
Woosung sighed. He could still smell the alcohol on his breath. When Yoon Gihwan came by, he could smell it too.
“Newbie, did you drink the Ballantine yesterday?”
“… huh?”
“I am a drink expert. Let me see…”
Yoon Gihwan came even closer and sniffed Woosung.
‘He acts just like Jang Gwangchul. I’ll bet they’ll get along great.’
Yoon Gihwan continued.
“Hmm… My guess would be that it was a 30-year-old bottle. Wow. A single bottle costs about 1,000 dollars. How can you afford something like that already?”
He looked a bit disappointed.
Woosung shook his head and answered.
“I drank it, but I didn’t buy it.”
“Then who bought it for you? It must have been an expensive night. Who could… Wait? Did you…?”
“I need to tell you something. Let’s go somewhere private.”
Woosung told Yoon Gihwan everything that happened at his graduation. He had no intention of working on Jang Gwangchul’s algorithm system by himself. There were so many other things he had to do. He planned to divide the work with Yoon Gihwan, and if he agreed, he wanted Yoon Gihwan to take care of the maintenance too. When he heard Woosung’s plan, Yoon Gihwan kept silent. He took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth without lighting it. When Woosung struck a strange gaze at him, Yoon Gihwan answered.
“I quit smoking.”
“Oh…”
“What do you think? Would it be better than staying at Daesan?”
“It would be better to stay here for now, but when we develop the system, it would depend on how well we do.”
“Will you be completely off this project?”
“I…”
After much thought, Woosung answered.
“It would depend on how Jang Gwanchul does.”
“So I will act as your scout. I will spy on him for you.”
“True, but you will make a lot more money. With your skill, you should be able to go far with the system, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to do it.”
He didn’t think for long. Yoon Gihwan threw away the cigarette.
“I’ll do it.”
“Good choice. It’s a great opportunity for you. I think this Jang Gwangchul character is a good guy.”
“At the very least, he’s very generous.”
“That he is.”
They returned to the office.
***
Woosung checked his email when he returned to his seat. After reading all the work emails, he checked his personal ones. One of the new emails caught his attention.
Sender: Microsoft.
Title: GUI Test Tool Use Request
It was an email asking Woosung to allow Microsoft to add the GUI Test Tool function to the Visual Studio.
Woosung had uploaded GTT on Source Forge for the public to use for free. He also agreed to the MIT License, which allowed others to use it freely for business purposes. This meant Microsoft did not have to ask Woosung’s permission, but as one of the best software development companies in the world, it wanted to maintain an ethical image. Woosung read the rest of the message out loud.
“And while using my program, they plan to name me the MVP (Most Valuable Professional) of the Visual Studio and Development Technologies department?”
MVP.
It was an honor for Microsoft to name someone an MVP. It also came with benefits of free MSDN subscription and invitations to MS-related global summits. There were less than 100 Koreans part of the MS MVP list.
Yoon Gihwan heard Woosung’s murmur and came by to read the email.
“MS MVP? Wow… Newbie, you are so…”
Park Junwoo and Kim Yonggun also turned around.
“MS? Are you referring to Microsoft MVP?”
“Yes. They want to name me the MVP.”
Yoon Gihwan urged Woosung to read on further.
“In addition, we would honor you to be a guest speaker regarding GUI Test Tool at our 2008 Microsoft Development Conference.
The conference would take place in March.”
PDC (Professional Developers Conference).
In 2011, the name of this conference would change to Build. It took place at Seattle, which was where the MS headquarter resided. It was a sought-after event, and it usually sold out within 5 minutes of its release.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t an invitation to the PDC.
“It’s not an invitation to PDC. There will be an MS seminar in Korea regarding the use of Visual Studio and the future of IT, and they want me to be one of the speakers.”
Park Junwoo couldn’t hide his excitement. He read the email himself carefully.
“W… who cares? This is still an MS seminar, and they invited you!”
“I… I guess.”
“Anyone who speak at these seminars were well-known people!”
Yoon Gihwan glanced at Park Junwoo, who seemed thrilled.
“Manager Park, you seem very interested in MS.”
Park Junwoo calmed down a little, but he still had his eyes fixated on the email.
“When I first started out… I dreamt of becoming a famous developer and speak at such events. I would love to work at MS, but I realize now that it’s not possible.”
Kim Yonggun understood, he added, “Well, every developer dreams of working at MS, Google, Oracle…”
Yoon Gihwan put his hand on Woosung’s shoulder and asked.
“Does this mean that among all of us, you are the only one whose dream came true?”
This was becoming uncomfortable.
“It… It’s not like that.”
Park Junwoo felt different. He smiled bitterly and left the office. Kim Yonggun followed after him. When Woosung tried to follow them, Yoon Gihwan stopped him.
“If you follow them now, they’ll feel even worse. I’ll go talk to them.”
Woosung had to stay put.
Park Junwoo sat on a bench outside. Kim Yonggun bought a can of warm honey water and offered it to him.
“Assistant manager Kim, what have I accomplished with my life so far?”
“Don’t think like that. You worked hard. Woosung is an unusual case.”
“Phew. I recently realized what a fool I am. Envy, doubt, and jealousy. These feelings have overwhelmed me so.”
“Everyone feels like that sometimes. Me too.”
“Whenever I see the newbie, I feel like I’ve wasted my life.”
“It’s not too late. You can still do whatever you want to.”
Kim Yonggun tried to encourage him, but it didn’t work.
“Really? I don’t know… I have been a failure so far.”
“Don’t think like that. It’s possible. It really is. But…”
After a quick pause, Kim Yonggun continued.
“There is one condition.”
Park Junwoo looked at Kim Yonggun curiously.
“You need to be willing to work under Woosung.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you hear the conversation between General manager Yoon and Woosung?”
Park Junwoo shook his head.
“Woosung said he drank the 30-year-old Ballentine. Who do you think bought him such an expensive drink?”
“W… who?”
“I eavesdropped on them. It was the Fire Ant Jang Gwangchul. Jang Gwangchul asked Woosung to make something for him. Woosung then asked the general manager to do it instead.”
“And you think we should ask him to include us?”
Kim Yonggun nodded.
“You know how talented Woosung is. If we learn from him and be around him, good things will happen to us.”
Kim Yonggun was determined.
“It’s not the time to save your pride. I have decided to have Woosung as my boss. I’m sure he’ll accept me.”
“Boss? Are you suggesting that he’ll leave this place and make his own company?”
“Eventually. His talent doesn’t stop at developing.”
Kim Yonggun continued instantaneously.
“Most people fail at daytime trading because they are gambling.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This is something the newbie said.”
“…”
“Woosung joined the website by Jang Gwangchul and uploaded a post. This is what he said in it. I’m sure it’s Woosung.”
Kim Yonggun followed his statement quick with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Do you know how many views he had on his post? Over 30,000. He is no ordinary man.”
Park Junwoo felt bitter. He could never compare to Woosung.
“I have decided. I will follow him wherever he goes. He will be somebody.”
Suddenly, someone yelled at them from behind.
“And how do you know he’ll take you?”
Kim Yonggun looked around in shock. Yoon Gihwan was standing there. He looked angry.
“G… General manager.”
“I was wondering what you guys are doing. You’ve been having a meeting of your own.”
“N… no. It’s not like that…”
After a pause, Kim Yonggun went on.
“How much did you hear?”
Yoon Gihwan raised his hand but paused. He then sighed and dropped his hand.
“Who cares? Just continue your story about what Woosung wrote on his post.”
Frightened, Kim Yonggun told him everything he knew.
***
Woosung felt awkward when Park Junwoo and Kim Yonggun returned. 10 years ago, they helped and encouraged him. If he hadn’t met them then, he wouldn’t have made it in this industry.
“So you both want to be a part of Jang Gwangchul’s project?”
Kim Yonggun gave an empathic nod. Park Junwoo fell silent, but he extended his agreement too.
“I need to warn you it will be a hard road. You won’t have weekends off and you may have to work up to 20 hours a day.”
Kim Yonggun swallowed hard. Park Junwoo replied slowly.
“MS recognized you. If we can become like you, then…”
Woosung stopped Park Junwoo and added.
“Um… I think you guys misunderstood me. What I’m doing is not charity work.”
Park Junwoo flinched to Woosung’s cold voice.
“If it doesn’t benefit me, I won’t do it.”
Park Junwoo understood what he did wrong.
“I know well that you two are great people, but that’s it. I know you can do your jobs at Daesan, but anything outside, I can’t be sure if you have the skills.”
Park Junwoo’s face reddened in embarrassment. Kim Yonggun realized the situation and objected.
“Then what should we do?”
“Just the fact you’re asking me is a problem. You are being too dependent on me. General manager Yoon may not be the nicest person, but he knows what he’s doing. He rarely asks for my guidance.”
Kim Yonggun closed his eyes. Park Junwoo looked away and asked.
“So you’re saying…. no?”
Woosung didn’t want to them a flat-out rejection. They gave him a chance 10 years ago, and Woosung wanted to do the same for them.
“Let’s do it this way. You two should lead our current development process change consultation. If you can complete it successfully, I’ll take you.”
Kim Yonggun replied.
“B… but…”
Park Junwoo looked at Woosung with determination.
“That’s a good idea. I don’t want to be a burden to you, anyway.”
“You two will also get bonuses based on the result of this project, so it should be a win-win situation for you.”
Woosung went back to his seat. He could see how determined Park Junwoo was. He knew he could trust him.
