Chapter 173
With Christmas approaching, the brightly decorated lobby of Incheon Airport was packed with people.
I checked the time while waiting for a familiar face to appear among the passengers exiting the arrivals hall.
They should be coming out soon. Are immigration procedures taking longer than expected?
Six months earlier, after Chairwoman Han Myunghee approved the sale of Mega Cinema, we immediately got to work.
First, we created a list of global IT companies that might have an interest in entering the Korean market.
Then we focused on preparing our proposal.
Quantum, which owned a search engine and video platform.
Atlas, an e-commerce and cloud giant looking to expand into content.
European tech giant Euronet.
ChinaTech from China.
And several others.
“But this isn’t exactly something we can brute-force.”
Han Taesung frowned as he looked over the list.
“If we just send proposals out of nowhere, are companies like these even going to take them seriously?”
Han Taesung had an impressive global network in film and media.
But IT was a different field.
“Of course not.”
I nodded.
“That’s why I’ve been thinking.”
“There’s someone who could connect us with global IT companies.”
“Really?”
Han Taesung looked surprised.
“There’s someone like that?”
“Who?”
I thought of Ha Sangdo, who worked at the global American investment firm CAI, Inc.
CAI had invested in numerous global IT companies and maintained close relationships with them.
After Cannes, Ha Sangdo and I had grown close enough to call each other hyung and dongsaeng, and we kept in touch regularly.
On top of that, I had recently heard that he had become head of the Asia Investment Team.
I couldn’t think of anyone more suitable.
“You’re trying to sell Mega Cinema, a Korean theater chain?”
Curiosity was clear in Ha Sangdo’s voice over the phone.
Fortunately, he showed strong interest in the Mega Cinema sale.
But when I told him we were targeting global IT companies, his curiosity turned into confusion.
“Director Min, I can introduce you to other companies that might actually be interested in buying theaters.”
“No.”
“If we were only trying to sell the theater chain itself, we could’ve found plenty of buyers domestically.”
“Then you’re saying this isn’t simply a theater sale?”
I explained the package I intended to sell.
“Right.”
“What we’re offering isn’t just a theater chain.”
“We’re selling an infrastructure and content package that can serve as a bridgehead into the Korean market.”
The other end of the phone went silent for a moment.
Then Ha Sangdo asked, sounding genuinely confused.
“Infrastructure and content package?”
I calmly continued.
“Yes.”
“Mega Cinema operates 130 theaters nationwide with around nine hundred screens.”
“But those theaters aren’t simply places where films are shown.”
“They’re a treasure trove of big data.”
“They give access to the preferences and consumption patterns of twenty-three million moviegoers every year.”
“Big data...”
Ha Sangdo muttered quietly.
“Exactly.”
“And on top of that, we offer cooperation with Big Picture’s content-production capability, New Moon’s original web novel IP, and the technology of our VFX Business Division.”
“All bundled into one package.”
A short exclamation came through the receiver.
“Ha...”
“How did you even think of bundling all of that with a theater chain?”
His voice suddenly sounded much brighter.
“If those are the conditions, then global IT companies really could be interested.”
“Especially companies considering expansion into Asia...”
“So, hyung.”
I carefully made my request.
“If there are companies you think might be interested in our proposal, could you connect us?”
Ha Sangdo answered cheerfully.
“Director Min, you know what kind of company CAI is.”
“Of course I’ll help.”
“If one of the companies I introduce ends up acquiring Mega Cinema, CAI will benefit from it too.”
Thanks to Ha Sangdo’s active assistance, we were able to send proposals to the companies on our list.
After several rounds of meetings, we had finally narrowed negotiations down to one company.
While I was briefly lost in those memories, I spotted familiar faces among a group of five or six people emerging from the arrivals hall.
Frank, Quantum’s Head of Asia, whom I had gotten to know through video conferences.
And Ha Sangdo.
When Ha Sangdo spotted me, he broke into a wide smile and waved.
“Director Min!”
I quickly approached the group.
“Welcome.”
“It’s good to finally meet you in person.”
“I’m Min Kibaek, Head of Production at Big Picture.”
Frank extended his hand.
“Director Min, good to meet you.”
“You look much more handsome in person than you did over video calls. Hahaha.”
“Ah, thank you for the compliment.”
“You must be exhausted after such a long trip.”
Frank gestured to the tall, blue-eyed middle-aged man beside him.
“This is Richard, one of Quantum’s vice presidents.”
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
I bowed slightly.
“My name is Min Kibaek.”
“Yes, Frank has told me a lot about you.”
“I look forward to working with you.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
Richard smiled.
“And thank you for coming all the way out here to pick us up personally.”
“You’re honored guests.”
“Of course I had to come myself.”
After greeting the Quantum delegation one by one, I turned to Ha Sangdo and switched to Korean.
“Hyung, the trip wasn’t too exhausting?”
“Not at all.”
He laughed.
“Still, it’s really nice seeing you in person after all those video calls.”
“Oh, and this is Catherine.”
“She works with us at CAI.”
He introduced the blonde middle-aged woman standing next to him.
“Nice to meet you, Catherine.”
“I’m Min Kibaek, Head of Production at Big Picture.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
