Chapter 3 : The Only Suitable Candidate (3)
The Only Suitable Candidate (3)
For an office worker, early Saturday morning is usually a time to savor the sweet afterglow of Friday.
But I dragged my tired body out of the house. The place I was headed to by KTX was, of course—
[Chungcheongnam Province Nonsan-si]
The city where the chairman built the theme park "Next Planet".
After arriving in Nonsan, I stepped out of the train station.
The station was small. The population is only about 110,000, and it's not known as a tourist destination, so that's to be expected.
Why on earth did the chairman build a theme park in this small city with inconvenient transportation?
It's the mystery of all mysteries.
I thought about the chairman.
[The Company That Doesn't Know Failure, Next Global]
That was the headline of an analysis article about our company a while back.
None of the games released by Next Global have ever failed. Of course, there were some games whose results were a little disappointing.
But if these games had been released by any company other than Next Global, no one would have called them disappointing. They'd have been deemed a success instead.
There's a reason Next Global became a world-class gaming company.
So why does every game Next Global releases fare so well? Of course, there are several reasons, but all the directors agree on one thing.
[It's the chairman's ability. His judgment of games is uncanny. He knows better than anyone how to combine playability and profitability.]
That's the reputation of the chairman. Maybe he saw a potential in Nonsan I couldn't see.
I got on the shuttle bus that goes from the station to the theme park. In about twenty minutes, I would arrive.
[Let's head to Next Planet. A mysterious adventure awaits.]
As you'd expect from a shuttle, the theme park's commercial song was playing.
Normally, my heart would race at this moment. But today, bizarrely, I felt my blood run cold instead.
[Every year, you get an A grade. And there's one reason for that: you're good—really good—but you use your abilities only moderately. In other words, you're only running at partial combustion. Why? Let's find out.]
The chairman's appraisal of me.
[If you can't find anything out, just draw a period. I'll still pay you ten million won.]
And the task he gave me.
As these two started swirling in my head, new thoughts kept coming up, one after another.
I got off the shuttle bus.
An open space stretched out before me, and I could see the theme park entrance.
The entrance is a border: Outside is the real world, inside is the world of fantasy.
It's clearly divided.
I walked slowly toward the entrance.
I hadn't realized it before, but maybe I was walking the border of my own life.
Would I just put a period? Write another typical A-level report? Or manage to do even more?
This could change the course of my life.
I stared at the theme park entrance.
A huge standee of the main character from "Battle Fire", Next Global's flagship IP, stood right at the entrance. And the size was overwhelming.
Suddenly, an anger I hadn't felt before boiled up.
"Wow... I'm about to start cursing."
I'm usually mild-mannered, a civilized city dweller. But I just couldn't suppress this anger.
The entrance to a theme park is more important than you'd think.
The moment visitors see it, it should make them truly feel, "Now I'm entering a world of fantasy!"
That's what gives them a day they'll remember forever.
But here? All they seem to care about is promoting our game IP.
- Boom!
What was that sound? An explosion effect.
If I were playing a game right now?
I'd have blown up that entrance right away.
It might be a waste of money, it might even put the place in the red, but I'd get rid of it at all costs.
If I ever had the authority to overhaul this park, I'd start by bulldozing that entrance.
I placed my hand over my chest.
Calm down.
Don't overreact—I didn't come here to nitpick every little problem with the theme park.
"Phew..."
I tried to control my emotions and focus on the task at hand.
I entered the theme park. It's really big. I remember being impressed by the sheer size last time I was here, as well.
The more I think about it, the more wasted it seems...
Next Planet's scale and ride quality aren't an issue. In fact, it beats out other theme parks in those areas.
In terms of land area, it's almost identical to "Three Star World" in Dragonborn, the largest theme park in Korea.
Above my head, the "Battle Fire Ship", a swinging boat ride, was in motion.
Nicknamed the Viking, it boasts a capacity of 100—the highest among domestic swing boats. Speed and height rival international standards.
"Waaaah..."
The passengers screamed.
But it wasn't actually that loud. Why? There were only about 10 people on it. It's not the dead of winter, it's March. And it's a Saturday.
The sight of all those empty seats made me feel so forlorn, I almost wanted to cry.
It's such a waste. If I were running this place...
I found myself imagining it before I could stop.
To everything I'd observed so far, the problem with this theme park is not the scale or the facilities.
If Next Planet had been built on the outskirts of Seoul, what would have happened?
Thanks to its concept and a slew of other issues, it still wouldn't have beat the number one or two theme parks in Korea.
But it might have at least taken third place.
Again I thought about the chairman.
[Don't scrimp to save a few bucks. What's more important is our time and energy. Think of buying that with money.]
He used to say this all the time.
If he believes in a project, he provides ample support from the start.
Was the company wasteful as a result? If that were the case, Next Global never would have become a top-tier company.
The chairman would manage some projects directly from HQ, and assign others to subsidiary studios—he had a knack for knowing where to draw the line.
Even regular employees recognize his management skills.
Why would someone like that make such an irrational decision?
Was it really just greed on his part?
The data tells a different story.
I looked at rides besides the "Battle Fire Ship".
Every one of them was well maintained.
If the chairman were trying to use this theme park to create a secret slush fund, or as a springboard to enter politics, he wouldn't need to keep up this level of maintenance.
Maintenance costs money.
He's clearly sincere about the theme park. But what is the true purpose of that sincerity?
When I tried to see things differently, something else became clear.
My eyes landed on a staff member about to empty a perfectly clean trash can, and a safety officer sitting idly in a chair with nothing to do.
"I've already finished all my work for the day... Is it even okay to have so little to do?"
A conversation between staff.
There are too many staff members.
It looks like there are more employees than visitors.
The park loses tens of billions of won every year. Normally, you'd start by cutting back on staff.
There must be a reason for keeping them.
I needed to find out what it was.
But how?
This was all so complicated.
I kept taking my phone out of my pocket and putting it back in, over and over.
I thought maybe Min Ji-na could help me. It was Saturday—was it okay to contact her?
Whatever... Let things go how they may.
I agonized for a while, then finally messaged Min Ji-na.
[Me: Can you find out if Nonsan provides subsidies in return for Next Planet retaining its staff?]
It seemed even she might not be able to handle this one.
"Huh?"
But it was Saturday, and she replied right away.
[Min Ji-na: There were subsidies in the beginning, but now there aren't. They do get a tax break, but it's not a large amount.]
How does she find things out so fast? She's amazing. I had another question.
[Me: How does Next Planet cover its losses? The deficits are massive. Did Nonsan invest heavily when the park was built?]
[Min Ji-na: These days, the chairman is funding it with his own money.]
That... Can that be true? Even if the chairman is a billionaire, still...
Ah! That's what it was. Now I get it.
Once I guessed the chairman's intentions, the other strange aspects of the park started to make sense.
Among Next Planet staff, there weren't many young people.
Most were middle-aged, with many seniors, even though parks usually rely on young labor.
I bought cotton candy at a food truck and looked around as I ate it.
Cotton candy—just ordinary cotton candy.
There was nothing marketable about it.
It looked like something you'd find at a country fair.
"It doesn't even taste good..."
These days, theme parks don't sell this kind of cotton candy.
They make it three-tiered in pastel colors, or package it in adorable character boxes to make it stylish.
I checked other snacks as well.
Oily twisted bread sticks. Over-hardened rice puffs. Corn puffs carelessly bagged in plastic.
It felt like time had stopped twenty years ago.
Despite all the well-maintained rides, this area was completely neglected.
After checking out the restaurant district, I left the park.
I went into Nonsan to see what sort of image Next Planet had among the locals.
That completed my investigation. I'd spent more time outside the theme park than in it.
I came home. It was late, but I decided to start on the report.
Placing my fingers on the keyboard, I hesitated.
Wouldn't it be most advantageous for me to just write a report with a single period?
I'd get the ten million won, and I wouldn't get tangled up with the theme park anymore.
The chairman's vision for the park and my personal dream pointed in different directions.
[That's amazing. Oppa, you just got huge recognition from the chairman.]
Min Ji-na's words echoed in my head. Yeah—if you've been recognized, you should live up to it.
I wrote down the reason the chairman built the park in Nonsan.
[For the revival and revitalization of the declining city of Nonsan and its local economy...]
Nonsan is the chairman's hometown.
Many local cities in Korea are facing extinction. The chairman must have wanted to save his hometown, no matter what.
That's why most of the theme park staff were hired from Nonsan.
Even interior restaurants and shops were outsourced to local merchants.
There wasn't a single big corporate franchise in the food court.
That's all the chairman asked for.
My report would be flawless.
If I stopped here, it would be a B-level report—maybe not enough for an A, which is the top 30%.
No matter how good my research and analysis, I'd have only done what was asked.
And honestly, doing exactly what's asked is generally the mark and survival strategy of an office worker.
But I couldn't stop here. I've always been someone who gets A grades.
[Measures to Overcome Regional Disadvantages.]
I started writing ways to resolve the park's problems.
[Retire elderly workers in certain areas.]
No need for my feelings here.
[Provide attractions beyond rides.]
What mattered was intuition, logic, and cold numbers.
[Bring in shop and restaurant brands that suit the park's image.]
Dressed up with various explanations, but ultimately saying: lay off unnecessary staff and bring in major franchises.
That was enough for an A-grade report.
I could just stop here.
That's what "regular" me would have done.
It was now 1 a.m.
I paced my room for a long time.
What did I really want to do?
If I wrote more detail, I'd never be able to get out of this theme park business.
Was this right?
Deep down, I already knew.
The chairman wouldn't be interested in my proposed solutions anyway.
Did I really think he was unaware of these basic solutions?
He knew, but he was deliberately leaving things as they were.
I checked the message Min Ji-na had sent me.
[Min Ji-na: Do what your heart tells you. Sometimes, that's the right answer.]
When I was at the theme park, I'd inadvertently started to imagine how wasted it all was.
Wondered what I'd do if I ran it.
My heart did race at that moment.
Is this truly a turning point in my life?
I'm just a regular office worker.
Could I ever get a chance to run a theme park?
Impossible.
No matter how I saw it, impossible.
But I went back, sat down, and put my hands on the keyboard.
Still, I decided to challenge myself, to seize the chance to realize my dream.
How to get an S grade at the company:
Understand and reflect the needs of those above me.
That's how you get into the top 10%.
And if there's something even beyond an S grade...
Demonstrate the resolve and perspective of someone prepared to take full responsibility for the project as a manager.
***
America, Los Angeles.
Next Global's chairman Jung Kyung-chul was resting at his hotel before an important external meeting.
And then, he read an email.
[Next Planet must not only be beloved by residents; it must become a source of their pride. To achieve that, you must be prepared to be hated by the locals.]
He checked the time.
'Isn't it past 3 a.m. in Korea? And it's Sunday, at that.'
He had to head out for a meeting soon, but the lure of the theme park report was irresistible.
He ended up reading the whole thing.
"Now, look at this guy..."
The business director accompanying him on the trip brought over some water and asked,
"What happened, chairman?"
"The guy who applied for the theme park TF team."
"Ah! You mean Lee Hyunmin."
"I told him to find out why I built the park in Nonsan, of all places."
"Sounds like he did a good job."
"That's not it."
"Oh no. Was he not up to standard after all?"
"He went beyond that."
Chairman Jung Kyung-chul's lips curled into a smile.
"He hid a secret agenda in his report. And in a way only I could recognize."
"No way..."
"He's basically asking me to let him run the theme park one day."
He stood up from the sofa, straightened his clothes, and said,
"Cancel all my evening appointments. Right after this meeting, I'm flying straight to Korea."
"But, chairman... You know that's a three-million-dollar deal. You want me to handle it?"
"It's already as good as done. And you need the experience."
"Still, your presence makes a difference..."
"Seeing that guy quickly could be more important than a three-million-dollar deal."
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Minhyun really is passionate about theme parks, huh?
It's niche, but you can't help it if you love something...
Minhyun, 화이팅!!!
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】