Chaebol

A few days later.

Ryunosuke produced stories at a terrifying speed.

'At this rate, he might not be sleeping at all.'

He had mentioned how desperate he was to make his debut.

It was as if he was determined to vent all his pent-up frustration, charging forward like a runaway train.

Thanks to this, Togashi was having a tough time.

He had rented a small studio nearby, and by 9 a.m., he would manage to drag himself to work, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it.

Even after washing his face and brushing his teeth, he still couldn't fully wake up.

Nodding off, all morning, he struggled to stay awake.

Regardless of this, Ryunosuke continued to work steadily at his own pace.

Not that he nagged Togashi, either.

He was the kind of partner who would handle twice the workload if the other was taking it easy.

Naturally, this made Togashi feel a bit guilty.

"Ugh."

Out of a sense of duty, he forced himself to stay awake and match the workload, and before he knew it, lunchtime had come and gone.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"…"

Ryunosuke only continued to move his pen without responding.

Togashi got up with his stiff body and went to have a late lunch… but Ryunosuke was still sitting at his desk, his eyes reddened from work.

'Doesn't that guy ever get tired?'

To Togashi, who had lived a life of laziness, everything felt surreal!

Given the situation,

"Haah."

Togashi continued to work begrudgingly.

As the two of them ramped up their pace!

I arranged a separate meeting with Editor Kazuhiro.

After I returned home, he would be the one managing those two.

Quick-witted as always, Kazuhiro immediately guessed the purpose of the meeting.

"You're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"That's a shame."

Is it?

Hasn't it been like walking on eggshells for you this whole time?

To ease the awkward atmosphere, I brought up a topic he was familiar with.

"How are weekly magazine sales these days?"

"Oh, the investor's asking, so… I'm getting a little nervous."

"I heard circulation numbers have increased."

"Yes, 'Dragon Ball' is performing well. The battle with the demon king has wrapped up, and we're looking to expand the scale of the story."

"By expanding the story?"

"We're thinking of expanding into space."

"Was that Tezuka's idea?"

"No. He wanted to end it with the Demon King arc. But with such a positive response, what can we do? We have to continue the story."

"So you outlined the story for the subsequent chapters?"

"That's an exaggeration. I just offered some light ideas. Haha."

He's in a position where he has to ask for the serialization to continue.

Going empty-handed wouldn't work, so he came up with a rough outline for the latter part.

'In other words, he's claiming a stake in the "Outer Space Battle" arc?'

Though he might look cautious in front of me now…

It's undeniable that the editor has made significant contributions to the success of 'Dragon Ball.'

'After all, he is a noteworthy figure.'

Although his high-handed style would eventually cause problems, ahem.

The real reason I called for today's meeting was actually because of that.

"Editor."

"Yes?"

"If you can come up with stories for a master like Tezuka, then handling newcomers like Ryunosuke and Togashi should be no problem, right?"

"…?"

He seemed more interested in understanding the intention behind the question than answering it.

"Ah… I mostly just try to fulfill my role as the first reader… I rarely strongly intervene in the content of a work…"

"It's fine if you do. If they're heading in the wrong direction, it's only right to point it out. That's an editor's job."

What I wanted to say was not to strip away the individuality of each work in pursuit of a hit formula.

While some, like Tezuka, could follow the formula and create blockbusters, there are cases like 'Buzzer Beater' where it eventually backfires.

Regrettably,

'Togashi leans more toward the latter.'

Once he sensed my meaning, Kazuhiro, as always, showed exceptional perceptiveness.

"I think I understand what you mean. I've made comments in passing, and sometimes the creators get swayed by them. Especially if they're new and inexperienced."

Watching my reaction, Kazuhiro seemed to think he was on the right track and continued speaking immediately.

"That's why I established a principle. When working with new creators, I should be especially careful. Instead of leading them, I should focus on supporting them from behind…"

"This principle will apply to these two as well?"

"Of course! I'll just direct the traffic, so to speak, while the steering wheel should be in their hands."

With this firm assurance, he's unlikely to come up with something absurd later.

In that case.

I extended my hand to Kazuhiro.

"I'll be counting on you."

"It's me who should be saying that."

He is, after all, the editor who steered 'Weekly Manga' to its peak glory.

From the perspective of a shareholder like me, he's truly the best asset to rake in profits.

Perhaps that's why,

His grip on my hand was unusually firm.

***

The next afternoon.

When I flew to Japan, nothing was set in stone.

Fortunately, on the way back, many things had changed.

I had signed a third-party contract with Nintendo and established a solid partnership by giving Shigeru a stake.

Additionally, we gained two creators to handle the story and card design.

And on top of that, we invested in 'Weekly Manga'…

'I'll recover the money several times over later anyway.'

Maybe because so much had changed,

While only my brother and I had set out, five of us were returning, including Professor Jo and the two developers.

In Korea, it was naturally Professor Jo who spoke first.

"No matter how much I complain, our homeland is always the best."

"What's the first thing you'll do when you get home?"

"Eat, of course. Kimchi stew with a glass of soju, perfect!"

So that's why he's so excited.

I'm jealous. Really jealous.

"I've told Team Leader Jung Jin-wook to come and pick us up at the airport. He'll probably bring two vehicles."

Two vehicles?

Is he preparing a separate car for the developers?

"Shall we take the Japanese staff to the residence in Hannam-dong?"

We've secured a villa for Team Leader Jung Jin-wook to stay in.

If they each use a floor, that should suffice.

"Please do so."

"And for work… they'll head to the publishing company building, right?"

"Yes. The third floor is empty. We'll just set up the computers and Nintendo's development kits there."

"It's already starting to feel like the real deal."

He said that, but he seemed a bit reluctant as if he regretted his role was coming to an end.

"It's time for you to get back to your real job."

"Ugh."

"Isn't school starting tomorrow?"

"Now that you mention it, tomorrow is the day you become a middle school student, Boss."

Middle schooler, huh.

I don't mind anything else, but the thought of wearing a school uniform again after 20 years feels strange. Ahem.

Then,

"Ji-hoon."

I heard my brother's voice from behind.

"I'll head straight to the publishing company with the developers."

"Why?"

"I think we need to set things up before work starts tomorrow."

"What about greeting Grandpa?"

"I'll do it tonight. Given the situation, he'll understand."

In other words,

Even if he doesn't understand, there's nothing we can do!

My brother must have made up his mind to be tough.

That determination seemed to resonate with Professor Jo as well.

"It's definitely serious business."

"In other words?"

"Blood is thicker than water…"

Heh.

Yeah, you can't escape blood.

I said to my brother.

"I'll explain things to Grandpa."

***

"Where's Yoo-geon? Why are you here alone?"

"Hyung is organizing the office."

"How rude! If you come home, you should greet your elders first!"

Grandpa.

But why is there a smile on your face?

However, I didn't dare say what I was thinking.

Even when I hadn't contacted him at all while I was in the U.S., Grandpa never scolded me harshly.

Probably because he knows better than anyone the thrill of being obsessed with work.

Sure enough, Grandpa quickly changed his expression.

"Well then, why didn't you go to the publishing company instead of coming here?"

"At least one of us should report to you."

"Report? You mean a greeting?"

Aren't they the same thing? Ahem.

"Grandpa, I think it's going to cost more than expected."

"Why say that if it's your own money you're spending? Are you worried I'll give you a hard time later?"

I nodded.

"Better to make things clear now."

"Hah!"

"I don't think the development costs will be high, but we might need to spend more on promotion."

"…Where?"

"We're planning to produce comic books and animations to release in the North American market."

"Isn't that cheating? How can those who say they're making a game… pour money into something else…?"

"All the expenses combined will probably be less than 0.1% of a new car development cost."

"A car and a game aren't the same!"

"They're different, of course. A finished product like a car is influenced by the country's image, but content is relatively less affected. Plus, the return on investment is completely different…"

His expression seemed to say that arguing with me would be pointless.

But maybe the idea of using comics for promotion appealed to him.

Grandpa didn't raise further issues about the costs.

By the way.

"What did the Japanese say?"

"They suggested creating a new genre?"

"A new genre?"

I briefly explained what had happened with Shigeru.

But interestingly,

"What are the rules like?"

Grandpa kept asking about the game's internal details.

Does he want to know more just because it's a game his grandson is making?

'Even if I explain, I doubt he'll understand.'

But I was completely mistaken.

"It's about strategizing with cards and then engaging in battles, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, shouldn't card collection be front and center?"

"…That's right."

"If someone goes through the trouble of gathering cards, they'd want to show them off to others. How will you manage that?"

Impossible without the Internet.

"The strategy is also an issue."

"…?"

"No matter how brilliant my tactics are, if I'm just fighting the computer, where's the fun in that? It's only satisfying if you can show off to others, don't you think?"

That's another aspect that only online battles would solve.

I already knew that, having lived through the future.

Grandpa!

'How do you know all this after hearing about it just once?'

Just as I was shaking my head in disbelief,

Huh?

A sight completely out of place in the old-fashioned study caught my eye.

A Nintendo game console and cartridges are neatly arranged on one side of the bookshelf.

And not just that.

There were even volumes of the 'Dragon Ball' comics in Japanese.

There's no way Grandpa actually… enjoys those…

As a big question mark appeared in my mind,

"So, do you think you can hit 100 billion in sales?"

Grandpa's words snapped me back to reality.

"No matter how much you promote it."

"…"

"If you don't fix what I just pointed out, you'll never hit 100 billion in sales."

The words of a titan who had seen and experienced it all sounded almost like a prophecy.

"Has your grandpa ever been wrong about money matters?"