Real Man

Chapter 458:

Team leader Choi Min-hee opened her notebook and explained the contents that were densely written on it as she sat down.

“It seems that the new Hansung smartphone is getting a good response. The sales figures are…”

Yoo-hyun picked out the key point from her long speech.

“We need to increase the supply. We have a backup line at the Ulsan factory. It will be operational soon.”

“Right. The problem is the next version panel. They want to upgrade to Retina Premium.”

“We can’t reach Apple level unless it’s an OLED factory.”

“What was the limit of the LCD factory?”

“We can do everything except narrow bezel. We’ve already verified the mass production line.”

Yoo-hyun answered Choi Min-hee’s question immediately.

He was in close communication with the Ulsan factory, so he knew everything without having to look up the data or send a request email.

“Then we’ll have to negotiate that way.”

“Yes. If we set the price relatively low, the smartphone division will have no choice but to agree. You know how expensive the Apple panel is.”

“That’s right. The LCD factory is cheap in terms of cost.”

“Yes.”

Thanks to Yoo-hyun scratching the itch, the complicated matter was settled in a breath.

Team leader Choi Min-hee smiled with satisfaction and said to Yoo-hyun.

“Thanks to you, it was neatly done.”

“I’m glad.”

“Yeah. Don’t overdo it and take it easy. If you stand out too much, you’ll get more work. Just hide somewhere else.”

“That’s a very desirable team leader’s attitude.”

Choi Min-hee laughed heartily at Yoo-hyun’s words.

“Isn’t it?”

“Of course. You’re the best.”

Yoo-hyun gave her a thumbs up as she looked more relaxed than usual.

She returned to her seat with a lighter step.

Choi Min-hee was not the only one who was more relaxed than before.

Although they were still busy, the other people also looked more comfortable now.

It was because things were going so well.

They felt good and efficient as they worked while being praised.

Thanks to that, a positive cycle was firmly established in the innovation product TF.

Yoo-hyun looked around the office once and sat down.

That was when it happened.

Beep.

His phone rang and he got a message from Kang Chang-seok, the next-generation product development team of the smartphone division.

-Kang Chang-seok, colleague: Did you see our Bumblebee that came out this time? I submitted the name for the contest. (Smile)

The brand name of the new Hansung smartphone was unified as Bumblebee.

It had a differentiation point that it offered various colors like the previous color phone, and it approached the users familiarly by inheriting some of the color phone UX.

Thanks to these features and the low price due to the carrier subsidy, it even surpassed Ilsung Electronics’ Mercury 2 in the first week sales.

The name was a bit childish, but it was not something to talk about belatedly.

Yoo-hyun did not react and naturally passed it over.

-I saw it. It seems like the market response is pretty good, right?

-Kang Chang-seok, colleague: Did I tell you that I was the first one to port Android to Bumblebee?

-You did. Several times.

-Kang Chang-seok, colleague: Haha. Do you want to talk for a bit? I have a lot to say. (Wink)

It was just the other day that Kang Chang-seok cried and begged because of the problem of swapping Yoo-hyun’s report.

He felt glad to see him acting cocky again like he did during the new employee training.

Beep.

He wanted to hear that confident voice again, but now was not the time.

-Later.

Yoo-hyun left a message and answered the phone right away.

The voice of Kim Sung-deuk, the product planning team manager of the smartphone division, came over the receiver.

-Yu, deputy, long time no see. How are you?

“I’m fine, sir. What’s up?”

-Do we have to have a purpose to call?

“Well, we’re not close enough to call without one.”

Kim Sung-deuk, who laughed for a moment at Yoo-hyun’s witty words, opened his mouth.

-Haha. Anyway, I wanted to hear your opinion.

“What are you suddenly throwing at me?”

-Actually, we’re going to do the Google reference phone this time, but because of the profitability…

Hansung Electronics beat out other competitors and got the next Google reference phone.

But behind that, there was a problem that they had to concede a lot to Google.

Still, Yoo-hyun thought there was something to gain.

He said to Kim Sung-deuk, who was worried about the product lineup.

“Even if the profitability is low, there will be a lot to get from Google. It’s also a way to catch up with Ilsung’s smartphone technology in a short time.”

-The innovation strategy room’s opinion was also like that. What I’m really worried about here is the positioning of this phone.

“What’s there to worry about? It’s not the main one. You can be more aggressive.”

-You mean go for the budget model? Then the profit will be even lower?

“Can’t you lower the price by using a communication chip from another company? Where was it?”

When Yoo-hyun pretended to ask, Kim Sung-deuk answered right away.

-It’s using a chip from a small company called JK Communication. But how did you know that?

It was a part of the conversation he had with Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, but there was no reason to tell the truth.

Yoo-hyun dodged it appropriately.

“I heard it from Kang Chang-seok. He said he made it compatible with Qualcomm chips, and that you just have to swap them.”

-Right. We’re doing it in parallel, but to be honest, I don’t expect much. You know how hard it is to change the communication chip.

“It’s good if it works, right? I heard that the manufacturing cost is greatly reduced.”

-Yeah. Anyway, it seems better to go for the budget model in many ways. The design team said they have something they want to experiment with, so I’ll have to apply that too.

“That should do it.”

Yoo-hyun didn’t say much, but Kim Sung-deuk found the answer himself.

He just needed someone to communicate with him at his level, not the answer.

Yoo-hyun finished the call with a good mood and sat in front of the computer and brought up the data.

It was the data of the new chip from JK Communication, which had just come out as a sample, and the test results were also included.

-There are some minor problems, but it doesn’t seem to affect the product performance much. It’s not bad for a test.

Hyun Jin-gun had downplayed the chip in a previous call, but Yoo-hyun thought differently.

It was amazing that he made it at once, and it had a huge advantage considering the price that was less than half.

What if he could put this chip in the Google reference phone?

It was possible to get more investment by using this as a stepping stone.

The advanced talent acquired through the investment would be a trick to speed up Hyun Jin-gun’s next plan.

Maybe this would change the status of Hansung Electronics.

Various possibilities were intertwined in Yoo-hyun’s head.

It was while he was looking far away.

Another good news came from the other side.

He could hear that news through Kim Hyun-min, the head of the department, at the 13th floor conference room the next day.

“Everyone must have heard about the TV panel sales.”

“You mean the Vizio sales that went through the roof? What are the numbers?”

Lee Chan Ho, who had returned from the Nokia business trip, raised his hand.

Yoo-hyun shook his head at him, who was talking about something he didn’t need to ask.

He couldn’t understand why he was making unnecessary remarks while there was pizza in front of him.

“It’s not official yet, but it seems like they made more than twice as much as the home appliance division that lost the supply.”

“Wow. That’s amazing.”

“Yeah. And if you add the premium panel sales that will be supplied to Sony…”

Kim Hyun-min, the head of the department, spilled out everything that came out of today’s business director meeting.

Yoo-hyun couldn’t stand it and raised his hand.

“Sir, the pizza is getting cold. Let’s eat and talk.”

“Huh? Yeah. Let’s eat and talk. Oh, wait a minute.”

“What?”

When Yoo-hyun asked, he said with a serious expression.

“Do you know why we got this?”

“You said the business director bought it because the TV sales were good.”

“Yeah. So let’s have a moment of silence for the team leader and team members who missed out because of the business trip. Everyone, silence.”

“Hahaha.”

Everyone bowed their heads and chuckled at Kim Hyun-min’s absurd suggestion.

As such, the atmosphere of the innovation product TF was very good.

Everyone ate pizza and cola and talked freely.

Serious work talk was mixed with light daily talk.

“Hahahaha.”

Yoo-hyun laughed in the cheerful atmosphere.

Beep.

He picked up his ringing phone and checked the message that arrived via mobile messenger.

It was a message from Park Seung-woo, the senior manager who had changed his phone a while ago.

-Park Seung-woo, mentor: Yoo-hyun, I checked what you asked me to, and it was really there.

-What do you mean?

-Park Seung-woo, mentor: My consulting topic, I mean. There was a big company that was dealing with the same topic.

-Really? That’s surprising. Is the result different?

Yoo-hyun had casually asked him to check if there was any overlapping company when he had a drink with Park Seung-woo in the US.

It was because he could easily find out if there was a company that was researching the same topic in New York, where major consulting firms were gathered.

It was to prepare for a very low probability of possibility.

But even now, as he asked the result, he didn’t think it would be different.

That’s how positive the situation was for Hansung Electronics.

Then a message that completely contradicted Yoo-hyun’s thoughts arrived.

-Park Seung-woo, mentor: Well. McKinsey gave the exact opposite opinion on the same topic. Thanks to that, my project is ruined. (Sadness)

-What do you mean? McKinsey?

-Park Seung-woo, mentor: I don’t know why. Anyway, the professor said I might have to change the topic. He said I would be eaten alive if I went against McKinsey’s opinion. (Anger)

The moment he confirmed Park Seung-woo’s continued message.

Something flashed in Yoo-hyun’s head.

Could it be?

As a faint possibility came to mind, he felt a chill run up his spine.

He was stunned for a moment, and Kim Hyun-min asked him.

“Deputy Han, can’t you hear me?”

“Huh?”

“Look at him. He sometimes loses his mind like that.”

Shaking his head, Kim Hyun-min said to Yoo-hyun.

Now was the time to check the facts accurately.

“Sir, I have a stomach ache, so I’ll be right back.”

“Okay. Go and come back so you can eat more. Hurry up.”

“Hahaha.”

Yoo-hyun left behind the laughter of the people and went outside.

He closed the door and immediately called Park Seung-woo.

As soon as the call was connected, Yoo-hyun said.

“Sir, what do you mean?”

-What are you calling me for?

“It’s important. Please tell me.”

-Hmm. I appreciate that you care about me, but…

“Sir.”

Maybe he felt that Yoo-hyun’s voice was quite serious, Park Seung-woo answered right away.

-Alright. I’ll tell you. The situation is like this…

Yoo-hyun’s expression hardened as he listened.

He said he confirmed it with the professor, which meant that McKinsey’s consulting was a done deal.

McKinsey & Company.

Shortened to McKinsey, it was one of the world’s top consulting firms.

Although they had stumbled on smartphones, their reputation was still great.

That reputation was not built on name value alone, but on vast data and thorough analysis.

That is, the result was already prepared long before.

And that result was surely intended by someone.

There was only one person in Yoo-hyun’s head who could make such a decision.

It was Shin Kyung-soo, who was in Wall Street, New York.

That’s why he was more confused.

It was a decision that he would never make, as far as Yoo-hyun knew.

Why?

Why did he make such a choice?

Yoo-hyun rubbed his numb back of his head and racked his brain quickly.