Chapter 182
I did my best to hide my surprise.
Taking a sip of coffee, I pretended I merely needed to wet my throat while calming my racing heart.
Richard smiled at my reaction.
“I imagine this proposal came as quite a surprise.”
“Ah, yes.”
“It is rather sudden.”
Richard smiled again before continuing.
“I believe I already mentioned that Quantum has been slower than other IT companies when it comes to expanding into Asia because we’ve focused so heavily on South America and Europe.”
He explained that one of the reasons Quantum had been so aggressive about acquiring Mega Cinema was because they intended to use it as a bridgehead for entering the Asian market in earnest.
“So we came to one conclusion.”
“This would be a good opportunity to establish Quantum’s Asia branch in Korea.”
“And the more we thought about who should lead it, the more we felt there was no one more suitable than you, Director Min.”
I thought for a moment before slowly speaking.
“First of all, I’m genuinely honored that you think so highly of me and would make me an offer like this.”
“But...”
“I don’t know much about Quantum’s main businesses, such as search engines or video-based social media.”
Richard smiled calmly at my candid answer.
“Of course, in any field, understanding the industry you work in is important.”
“But when it comes to management...”
“I believe the more important ability is seeing the whole board and knowing how to arrange it.”
He looked directly at me.
“And based on everything I’ve experienced and learned about you, Director Min...”
“Your ability to design the board is nothing short of genius.”
Design the board?
Han Taesung had once said something similar to me.
While I was briefly lost in thought, Richard continued.
“When I first heard through Team Leader Ha Sangdo that someone was trying to sell a theater chain called Mega Cinema, I honestly wondered what kind of crazy person would try to sell an offline theater business to a global IT company.”
Ha Sangdo suddenly cut in.
“Huh? Why didn’t you tell me that back then? Hahaha.”
“How could I say that to your face? Hahaha.”
They both laughed.
Richard continued.
“But the moment I saw the cooperation proposal attached to the theater sale, I felt like someone had hit me in the back of the head.”
He smiled.
“I thought, Ah. This man is someone who designs the board.”
“That’s why he could make such a fearless proposal.”
“And more importantly...”
“He knew it could work.”
Richard’s eyes gleamed as he looked at me.
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
“No.”
“I’m not just thinking highly of you.”
“I genuinely liked what I saw.”
“That’s why I’m making this offer.”
Head of the Asia branch of a global IT group whose market capitalization was approaching one trillion dollars.
Before my regression, this would have been beyond anything I could even dream of.
Even now, the offer felt almost unreal.
Richard continued.
“Of course, we’ll offer a salary and stock options at a level you’ll find satisfactory.”
There was sincerity in his eyes.
I slowly spoke.
“Vice President Richard.”
“As I said, this is an incredible honor for me.”
Richard’s expression filled with expectation.
“But...”
I hesitated.
I had already made up my mind.
Still, I was only human.
It would be a lie to say I felt no temptation toward an offer this enormous.
But even so...
This wasn’t it.
“I don’t think I can accept.”
Richard stared blankly at me for a moment, as though doubting what he had just heard.
This was practically a golden road toward wealth, honor, and success.
I was kicking it away with my own foot.
No wonder Richard reacted that way.
After a moment, he slowly asked,
“May I ask why?”
“First, because I believe taking responsibility for a field I’m not confident in would be dishonest.”
“And second...”
I smiled slightly.
“Because I love stories.”
Richard tilted his head.
I continued.
“I want to remain a producer.”
“A person who creates content.”
“Ah...”
Richard finally seemed to understand.
He nodded slowly.
“It’s disappointing from my perspective.”
“But I suppose there’s nothing I can do.”
“If you’d given me almost any other reason, I might not have accepted it.”
He smiled.
“But saying you love stories...”
“That was more convincing than anything else you could have said.”
I bowed politely.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“And as Quantum’s cooperation partner, I’ll continue doing everything I can to help.”
With that, our conversation ended and we stood.
“Then I’ll see you again shortly.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll meet at the company.”
Richard paused before leaving.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“If you ever change your mind about my proposal, contact me anytime.”
“For someone like you, Director Min, the door will always be open.”
With that, Richard got into the car waiting outside.
I watched it disappear into the distance and let out a short sigh.
Ha Sangdo looked at me with obvious regret.
“You really won’t regret it?”
“That was head of Quantum’s Asia branch.”
“I don’t know.”
I smiled faintly.
“Maybe one night I’ll suddenly wake up thinking, Why the hell did I turn that down? and kick my blanket in regret.”
“But for now, I think I made the right choice by not getting greedy.”
Then I looked at him.
“Still, couldn’t you have given me a little warning?”
“Sorry.”
“It was sensitive information. Hahaha.”
He gestured toward the car.
“Come on.”
“Let’s head out too.”
After returning to the hotel, I rested for a while.
Then, at the scheduled time, I headed with the others toward Silicon Valley, where Quantum’s headquarters was located.
Quantum headquarters stood in the heart of Silicon Valley.
It was a modern, open building.
Made of glass and steel, it looked almost like a symbol of the future itself.
When we entered the lobby, Richard, Frank, Ha Sangdo, and Catherine from CAI, whom we had met in Korea, were already waiting.
“Welcome, CEO Han.”
“Thank you for inviting us.”
Richard explained that Quantum’s CEO, Pachui, had originally planned to attend today but had been forced to leave suddenly on a business trip to Europe.
After exchanging greetings with Han Taesung, Richard turned toward me.
“Director Min, you must have had a long trip as well.”
Even though we had met only a few hours earlier, Richard treated me as though he were seeing me for the first time today.
I played along.
“It wasn’t difficult at all.”
“I was so excited that it almost felt like I was coming here on vacation.”
Richard then introduced everyone one by one and guided us into the conference room.
Quantum executives and staff were already waiting inside.
Also present were representatives from the advisory groups directly involved in the sale, including financial advisers, accounting firms, law firms, and institutional investors.
At the center of the table lay two thick folders.
Through Richard’s introductions, Han Taesung and the rest of us greeted each participant in turn.
“We would have liked to have everyone involved attend today.”
“Unfortunately, because of the distance and conflicting schedules, not all of them could be here.”
After the introductions, Frank led a brief round of opening remarks from both sides.
Han Taesung ended his remarks by saying that he hoped the partnership between the two companies would continue for many years following this transaction.
Then, with both legal teams present, Quantum’s attorney spoke.
“First, please conduct one final review of the agreement.”
For roughly thirty minutes, we went through the clauses one by one.
The sale price of seven hundred billion won.
An eight-year cooperation agreement between Quantum and Big Picture.
The performance-based earn-out clause.
And on top of that, the outsourced management agreement.
Once every detail had been confirmed, the lawyer turned toward Richard and Han Taesung.
“Then please sign the agreements.”
At his words, Richard and Han Taesung each picked up a fountain pen.
Slowly, but with certainty, they signed the contracts in front of them.
Then they exchanged the documents and signed again.
The moment the last signature was completed, applause filled the conference room.
Then,
Pop!
Frank, who had been quietly watching from a short distance away, opened the bottle of champagne he had been holding.
With every procedure complete, we moved to the reception area Quantum had prepared.
Holding a glass of champagne, I looked out through the floor-to-ceiling windows at Silicon Valley.
This was where companies that had changed the world were born.
And now...
I was standing right in the middle of it.
So much had happened over the year and a half we spent preparing the Mega Cinema sale.
But in the end...
We had done it.
We sold Mega Cinema for seven hundred billion won.
And at the same time, we secured an eight-year technological partnership with Quantum.
In the future I had lived through before my regression, Korea’s OTT market became a battlefield for global streaming platforms.
Back then, those companies used enormous capital to dominate the Korean market.
Domestic companies could do little more than scramble to react after the fact.
But this time was different.
Through our partnership with Quantum, we now had access to its CDN technology and cloud infrastructure.
And with the seven hundred billion won secured from the Mega Cinema sale...
All of those pieces were finally coming together.
This was no longer about building another Korean OTT platform that would remain trapped inside the domestic market like a frog in a well.
We now had the foundation to create a platform capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with global OTT companies.
“Director Min.”
“What are you thinking about so seriously?”
Baek Seonghan approached carrying a plate of simple snacks.
“Ah...”
“I was just thinking about what comes next.”
“You really are impossible.”
Baek Seonghan grumbled dramatically.
“Thinking about work even somewhere like this?”
“Can’t you slow down a little?”
“Do you have any idea how hard it is for the rest of us to keep up with you?”
I chuckled.
“I’d like to.”
“But this really isn’t the time to slow down.”
Only a few years remained before the OTT era truly exploded.
There wasn’t a moment to waste.
Then,
“Director Min!”
“There you are.”
“I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Ha Sangdo hurried toward me.
“What is it?”
“Did something happen?”
“Come with me for a second.”
Ha Sangdo gave Baek Seonghan an awkward apologetic smile, then quickly pulled me out of the reception hall toward the emergency stairwell.
“Just a little while ago...”
“Reid Hayes, CEO of Network Flex, called me.”
“CEO Reid Hayes?”
The unexpected name immediately made my entire body tense.
“Yeah.”
“He said he tried calling you, but couldn’t reach you, so he called me instead.”
Reid Hayes is looking for me?
