The next day, on Teheran-ro in Gangnam.
From early morning, a palpable tension filled the offices of Cyber World, a social networking service company located in a 13-story building along the main boulevard.
The reason was simple—Seok-won, who had acquired 100% of the shares and fully taken over the company, was visiting the office that day.
As a result, the previous afternoon had been absolute chaos. All employees had set aside their regular duties and spent hours frantically cleaning the office.
Desks that had once looked like miniature junkyards—stacked with empty paper cups stained brown with dried coffee rings, half-eaten chocolate and snack wrappers, and fluorescent sticky notes plastered so densely across monitors that there was barely any screen visible—were now spotless.
"Phew."
Team Leader Son Hyun-deok, slender in build, scanned the room once more with a tense expression.
On the screen lowered at the front of the conference room was the opening slide of a presentation hastily prepared for today. Though he had checked the materials countless times, he still felt uneasy and couldn't keep his hands still.
"There's nothing wrong with the connection on Assistant Manager Yoo's end, right? If we make even a small mistake in front of the Chairman, we're in serious trouble."
At that, Assistant Manager Yoo Jong-il—wearing thick-rimmed glasses and sporting a shaggy haircut—looked up from the laptop connected to the projector and replied,
"I've checked it more than ten times already, so don't worry."
"Even so, you never know. Go over it one last time."
Although it was a hassle, this wasn't just anyone attending the meeting—it was Seok-won. So Assistant Manager Yoo Jong-il nodded without protest.
"Yes, understood."
He clicked the mouse and began reviewing the presentation materials once more when, at that very moment, Hong Seo-won—dressed in jeans and a light summer jacket—hurried into the conference room and urgently announced,
"The Chairman is here!"
At once, the gathered employees hurried back to their seats and straightened their clothes.
Moments later, the sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor beyond the open conference room door. Soon, guided by President Choi Do-seon, Seok-won appeared.
Behind him followed his executive secretary, Manager Han Ji-seong.
Dressed in a navy double-breasted suit, Seok-won looked so refined and striking that one might have believed he was a model rather than the chairman of a conglomerate.
Combined with his tall frame and handsome features, he was, quite literally, impossible to ignore.
Standing near the entrance, Assistant Manager Hong Seo-won found her cheeks flushing slightly as she stole a glance at Seok-won while he passed by.
"Welcome, Chairman."
The gathered senior staff bowed their heads in greeting.
Seeing how stiff and tense everyone looked, Seok-won smiled and addressed them.
"It's been a while since I've seen you all. But why does everyone look so rigid? I'm not going to eat you, so relax a little."
At his lighthearted joke, a ripple of subdued laughter spread among the employees.
He stepped toward Team Leader Park Jung-hoon, a slightly plump man, and extended his hand first.
"You're the one who came up with the idea for the acorn cyber currency used in the mini-homepage, Team Leader Park, right? The user response has been great, and after trying it myself, I found it far more convenient than making a card payment every single time."
The virtual currency used to decorate avatars or purchase background music was called "acorn."
It served as the unit of currency within Cyber World's platform, and its cute, rounded name had been especially well received by female users.
Caught off guard as he shook hands, Team Leader Park Jung-hoon's face turned bright red at Seok-won's praise.
"Th-Thank you."
"I can look forward to more good ideas from you in the future, right?"
"Yes. I'll work hard."
As if to show his trust, Seok-won gave a light pat to one shoulder before moving on to shake hands with every other employee gathered in the conference room.
His friendly and unpretentious manner eased the tension in the room, and the staff, who had been stiff with nerves, gradually relaxed and wore more comfortable expressions.
Soon, Seok-won took his seat at the head of the conference table that had been left empty for him. Director Woo Gwang-cheol stepped forward to begin the presentation.
"Then I will now report on the current operational status of the company."
Standing beside the white screen, Director Woo gave a subtle signal with his eyes. Assistant Manager Hong Seo-won quickly flipped the light switch, dimming the room.
Director Woo cleared his throat softly, then pointed his laser at the projected PPT screen and began his presentation.
"First, during the second quarter, our daily visitor count reached 950,000—an increase of 95% compared to the same period last year. Quarterly revenue also rose significantly to 4.1 billion won, and we recorded a net profit of 150 million won."
Compared to the amount Seok-won had poured into Cyber World, it was no more than a speck of dust.
However, after continuously operating at a loss since its founding, this was the company's first time turning a profit. Director Woo Gwang-cheol's face was filled with deep emotion.
The other employees seated around the long conference table felt the same way.
"The sharp rise in revenue and our move into profitability were largely driven by the personalized character-building content you suggested, Chairman—such as avatars, outfits, and pets. Additionally, our partnership with the music streaming company Music Star to launch background music services has contributed significantly to the revenue growth."
To secure an early lead in the digital music market, Seok-won acquired Music Star, the number-one music platform in Korea, following his takeover of Cyber World.
Immediately after the acquisition, Music Star signed successive music licensing agreements—not only with the former Sony Music, which had rebranded as Blue Music, but also with the Recording Industry Association of Korea and major domestic record labels.
As a result, Music Star was able to completely eliminate the legal risks surrounding music copyright disputes. At the same time, Cyber World gained the freedom to offer users the songs they wanted as background music without restriction.
'Of course, the process of securing those music licensing agreements wasn't exactly smooth.'
Fearing that their primary source of revenue—album sales—would decline and that illegal MP3 files might spread more widely, the Recording Industry Association and major record labels had initially refused to enter into licensing agreements.
However, with the rapid rise of MP3 players, the digital music market was clearly becoming the dominant trend. Ignoring that shift would have meant going against the tide of the times.
Seok-won persuaded them that by signing official licensing agreements and distributing digital music legally, they could both curb illegal downloads and secure additional revenue from music sales. In the end, he succeeded in convincing them.
Although a few record labels remained reluctant until the very last moment, they too were ultimately swayed—pressed by Seok-won's stature and formidable financial power—and signed the contracts.
Director Woo Gwang-cheol pointed his laser at a bar graph on the next slide, which illustrated changes in background music revenue, and began to speak.
"As you can see, individual users are purchasing multiple background tracks, which is driving a sharp increase in revenue. We expect this to play a key role in improving profitability going forward."
Seok-won, who had been listening with his arms folded, gave a small nod.
"People usually don't buy just one mini-homepage background track and leave it playing forever. When a new song they like is released—or depending on their mood—they tend to switch frequently. Along with avatar item sales, this can serve as a steady cash cow."
"That's correct. In fact, many users are switching over to our platform from competitors, specifically because of the avatar and background music services. We plan to actively leverage this by significantly expanding the variety of customization items available for purchase."
Seok-won briefly stroked his chin with one hand, then spoke as a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"What do you think about adding a luxury line to the fashion item category?"
"Are you referring to luxury brands?"
Director Woo Gwang-cheol blinked and asked in return.
"Yes."
As murmurs spread among the meeting attendees at the unexpected proposal, Seok-won continued.
"Isn't the reason people spend money on their avatars because they want to create a stylish look that sets them apart from others?"
"That's true."
"And what could satisfy that desire better than clothing and items featuring well-known luxury brand logos that anyone would recognize?"
At that moment, President Choi Do-seon, seated to the right, showed a hint of hesitation.
"As you said, it would certainly stimulate users' desire to purchase. But I'm not sure whether those proud luxury brands would agree to let us use their logos and designs."
Director Woo Gwang-cheol and the other attendees also appeared sceptical.
Seok-won, however, simply shrugged as if it were nothing.
"There's no need to worry about that."
"…?"
Facing their puzzled looks, Seok-won flashed a bright smile and said,
"Among the companies I own are Gucci and Lamborghini. We'll start by creating collaboration editions using those two."
The attendees, who had no idea that Seok-won owned both brands, all looked visibly shocked.
"Both companies belong to you, Chairman?"
President Choi Do-seon asked, his mouth slightly agape.
"That's right. So there's no need to worry about securing a collaboration."
Even those with little interest in fashion or automobiles were well aware of the two companies. For a moment, they wore stunned expressions before slowly nodding in understanding.
Given Seok-won's immense wealth, it was entirely plausible.
The realization that someone with such vast financial power and influence was the owner of their company filled them all with a reassuring sense of confidence.
"Separate from collaborating with famous brands, we need to reinforce the team responsible for creating avatar items and hold design contests to continuously expand fresh designs and characters. Even if competitors try to copy us, what matters most is building a solid moat so users don't drift away."
"Yes, we'll proceed accordingly."
Seok-won gestured to Director Woo Gwang-cheol to continue the presentation.
"Next are server-related matters. Due to the increase in daily users, traffic has risen significantly. However, thanks to our proactive expansion of server capacity, we've maintained stable access without any downtime. That said, given the rapid pace of user growth, we plan to double the current server capacity by the end of the year."
Seok-won responded with an approving tone.
"That was a wise move."
"It's better to expand server capacity in advance than to wait until traffic surges cause a crash and we're flooded with user complaints."
"Well… however, the investment required for the server expansion isn't small. It looks like we may return to operating at a loss in the third and fourth quarters."
Director Woo Gwang-cheol spoke cautiously, watching Seok-won's reaction.
Having just recorded their first profit, the prospect of slipping back into an even larger deficit made him assume Seok-won would be displeased. Without realizing it, he slightly hunched his shoulders.
Contrary to his worries, however, Seok-won remained completely unfazed.
"For a company that's creating a market and growing, investment is only natural. As I said before, right now, profitability matters less than winning the competition and dominating the market. Don't worry about how much money we burn—invest aggressively."
Rather than criticizing the heavy spending, Seok-won's words—empowering them instead—filled President Choi Do-seon and the Cyber World employees with renewed motivation.
After Director Woo Gwang-cheol's lengthy presentation finally came to an end, Seok-won gave a light round of applause, expressing his satisfaction with the achievements so far.
Click.
As the lights in the conference room came back on, Seok-won looked around at everyone and spoke.
"The company's condition has clearly improved compared to when I first acquired Cyber World. I can see just how much effort all of you have put in."
President Choi and the employees' eyes shone with encouragement.
"But the moment we become satisfied and complacent, we'll quickly fall behind. So don't let your guard down—push even harder to stay ahead of the competition."
After a brief pause, Seok-won spoke again, his voice firm and resolute.
"So I'd like to present a new goal."
"And what would that be?"
"To expand beyond Korea—into Japan and the United States."
The moment they heard this, President Choi Do-seon and the employees widened their eyes, unable to hide their shock.
TL/n -
Cyber World => Cyworld
+++
Cyworld was one of South Korea's pioneering social networking platforms, launched in 1999. It became a cultural phenomenon in the 2000s, often compared to MySpace in the West.
Key Features
Minihompy (미니홈피): Personal homepages where users decorated their profiles with music, photos, and diary entries.
Avatars & Mini-rooms: Users could design Sims-like virtual rooms and avatars, creating a playful, personalized online identity.
Ilchon (일촌): A unique "friendship" system, where connections were formalized as close bonds.
Acorns (도토리): A virtual currency used to buy digital items, music, and decorations — an early example of microtransactions.