InkBound
patreon
CH200
🕑 Added 2025-05-18 06:33:11 +0000 UTCI didn’t know.
After starting the business, I realized I had a greed for people.
I don’t chase money.
I simply keep talented individuals who can make money near me.
That’s why I tried to send my brother’s friends to Harvard.
Frankly speaking.
Wouldn’t it be a hundred times better for them to aim for a global market of 7 billion rather than squeezing a domestic market of 50 million?
That way, they’d probably face less criticism too. Hmm.
“Your portfolio is strong, so getting in shouldn’t be much of a problem.”
“Portfolio?”
“You’ve already made several hit games…”
“Does that help?”
“Of course. Especially in the U.S.”
Hearing that, my brother’s eyes changed.
“My friends have created quite a few things too. Would releasing them help?”
“It’d be a hundred times better than having nothing, I’d say.”
“Then I need to act fast.”
“Huh?”
“There’s not much time left.”
Since Seoul National University admission was a given…
He’d been taking his studies somewhat lightly.
But now that he’s discovered a new goal!
It was a rare expression of burning passion.
“I’ll get going first.”
He grabbed a towel and dashed to the shower.
Hmm.
Seeing him move so busily, I wondered if I should do something too.
But as for me…
‘The staff(?) will take care of it.’
I simply raised the corners of my mouth quietly.
***
Ralph managed to contact the developer of Tetris on his 50th attempt.
Fifty phone calls, taking at most five hours.
Finding a missing Soviet developer in half a day was almost miraculous.
The secret behind this miracle? Of course, it was the connections of the Grosvenor family!
‘Well, it’s not like I did much.’
With humility, Ralph picked up the receiver.
“Is this Mr. Pajitnov?”
(Yes, that’s me. But why is the noble family looking for me…?)
Ralph explained the matter as concisely as possible.
Your game is being recklessly copied and sold.
Moreover, the rights have become so tangled that it’s hard to resolve, so perhaps it’s time for the original creator to step in and sort things out.
(What do you mean by tangled rights? I only sold the license for the PC version, and even then, for a mere thousand dollars…)
The issue lay in the fact that the company that contracted for the PC rights was now claiming the console rights as well.
“The solution is simple. You sign a new contract with us. Based on that contract, we’ll deal with the fraudulent companies…”
Oops!
‘Deal with them? What am I saying!’
Ralph tried to live honestly, but dark(?) phrases kept slipping out.
“Not to intimidate, of course. In modern society, the law is a wonderful tool, isn’t it?”
(I’d really appreciate your help, but…)
He still had more to say.
Hesitating.
Embarrassed, he couldn’t bring himself to continue.
Ralph didn’t miss the hesitation.
“Would a contract fee of one million dollars be acceptable?”
(Wha… what? O-one million dollars?)
“We’re acquiring the entire console license. That much is only fair.”
(It’s such an overwhelming amount that… I can’t even comprehend it over the phone…)
“You trust the Grosvenor family, don’t you?”
(Of course, without question.)
“I’ll send the contract under the name of Tennessee Grosvenor. Please just sign it.”
After the call ended.
“Did it go well?”
Tennessee asked.
“Phew…”
Ralph exhaled a long breath instead of answering.
Throughout the call, he had spoken like someone possessed.
Frankly, he could barely remember what he had said.
But one thing was certain—he had thoroughly enjoyed it to the point of feeling his hair stand on end.
The thrill of slowly drawing out the answers he wanted!
‘Maybe this job… suits me?’
A bright smile had already formed on Ralph’s face.
Now that he had secured the official license, it was time to untangle the messy rights issues.
‘The company with the PC rights… is in Hungary, right?’
Without delay, Ralph headed to Budapest.
Being a communist country, it was a strictly controlled society.
“Here you go.”
To prove it was a Soviet-related business, he had to present a pile of documents.
“Approved.”
Only then was he granted entry.
‘Getting in is no easy feat.’
The company, rumored to have made money off license trickery, had a disappointingly shabby office building.
Tsk.
If they had much to lose, they’d be more cautious.
Judging by the look of things… they might be people with nothing left to lose.
What could he do?
He had no choice but to confront them head-on.
At the end of a dingy hallway, a glass door came into view.
‘Why is it locked, of course?’
Still, just in case, he pulled the handle, and the paper hanging from the door swayed pitifully.
“Is anyone there?”
At this point, most people would turn back and try again later.
However.
‘Professor Jo So-deok would have stayed put for hours at least.’
Ralph continued tugging at the door.
Jingle, jingle. Jingle, jingle.
After about 20 minutes of this.
“Ugh, who the hell is it!”
A frustrated voice rang out from beyond the glass door.
Well, look at that.
From a spot out of sight from the hallway, hidden by a partition, a man suddenly appeared.
He strode toward the door with an irritated expression.
“If no one answers, take a hint and leave… who the hell keeps…”
The man stopped mid-sentence.
“……!”
He paused as he caught sight of Ralph’s imposing frame reflected in the glass.
A physique rivaling that of Mr. Devon’s.
The curses he was about to utter dissolved instantly.
Trying to avoid confrontation, the man glanced away awkwardly.
“W-what brings you here?”
“I’m here about the Tetris rights.”
“Oh, are you looking to buy a license?”
His face lit up noticeably.
Ralph remained silent until the man unlocked the door.
Instead.
Click!
The moment the man opened the door—
“I’m not here to buy.”
“……?”
“I’m here to reclaim illegal licenses.”
Ralph tugged at the door as if he were about to rip it off its hinges.
“Lawsuit? Go ahead, file it. I’ve got nothing to lose.”
He had explained the situation politely, yet this was the response he received.
“Dead this way or dead that way, it’s all the same. Just gut me if you want.”
“……”
“You think glaring at me will scare me? Why bother? I’m someone who’s more familiar with correctional facilities than society itself!”
‘Oh, so we’re playing the shameless card now? Well, I guess you’d need this level of audacity to mess with someone else’s rights like this.’
“International law? Ha, save that soft talk for your capitalist countries. This is a People’s Republic. Who do you think will side with you here?”
Regardless of his bluster, Ralph calmly rose from his seat and picked up the phone on the desk.
“Let me make a quick call.”
“To who? Are you gonna report me?”
“May I?”
“Sure, knock yourself out.”
Ralph dialed the number written on a piece of paper.
Moments later.
In a firm voice, Ralph began to speak.
“I’m calling to report that a citizen of your country is infringing on our rights.”
“Pfft!”
The man let out a derisive snort, clearly unimpressed.
“The rights holder is Alexey Pajitnov, a software developer under the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yes. He is a devoted individual who continues to serve his nation and its people. Despite us clearly notifying the infringer of their violation, they’ve persistently ignored the matter…”
“W-wait a minute!”
If the victim were from the free world, even the government might turn a blind eye to some extent.
But if the victim was from the Soviet Union, and especially from a state institution?
The man panicked and ran over, grabbing onto Ralph’s arm desperately.
“Don’t you have any humanity? I told you to gut me, but do you really have to bring out the knife?”
***
Hannam-dong.
(It’s resolved.)
Tennessee tried to sound nonchalant.
But his voice betrayed his excitement—it was obvious.
It had been about 30 minutes since he’d also gotten a call from Satoshi, the developer at Mega.
Satoshi had decided to withdraw from the console business, betting on his in-development game to hit big instead.
‘Then, as promised, half of the North American rights will go to me…’
(Of course.)
After securing the top IP for Sega Drive and feeling good about it, landing Tetris on top of that?
What a double jackpot!
“How’s Ralph doing?”
(It’s his first time—what’s there to assess?)
Still, he seems to be doing pretty well. Heh heh.
(I’ve been busy dealing with this and that, so I’m planning to take a break for a while.)
“No.”
(…?)
“How about working through the vacation and taking it easy during the semester?”
(What kind of student works during vacation and rests when school starts?)
“Are we students?”
Come to think of it… maybe we are. Ahem.
But then.
(…?)
Perhaps because I spoke with too much confidence, Tennessee seemed to lose the chance to argue.
“We need to expand our distribution network. JH can handle the U.S., but we’re lacking coverage in Europe.”
(Don’t tell me you’re expecting me to…)
Of course!
(Hmm, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately… and I feel like I’m more suited to being an investor than a manager.)
Nope, wrong.
I’ve been grinding on the frontlines of management every single day.
No way you’re getting to enjoy the easy life by yourself.
“To be a good investor, you need to at least understand the basics of management.”
(This feels way beyond basic…)
“Standards vary from person to person.”
(…)
“You’re not doing this alone. You’ve got the family name, and now we’ve got new partners too.”
(Partner… you mean Ralph?)
“Yeah. The professor says he’s got a knack for handling things.”
(So the two of us are supposed to secure the European distribution line?)
“If you need more people, hire them.”
At this point, Tennessee had no choice but to surrender.
(Th-this is the last thing, right?)
“What is?”
(The last task to handle during vacation… this is the last one, right?)
“Oh, whoops. Mom’s calling me.”
(…?)
“Sorry, we’ll talk later.”
(W-wait, at least answer me…)
Beep beep beep.
Sorry, buddy, but we’re far from done here.
As always, I planned to thoroughly toughen up Tennessee too.
***
An hour later.
I headed to the office in Hannam-dong.
My brother had gone out early in the morning, so by now, he must have brought up the topic of studying abroad with his friends.
I climbed the stairs briskly, curious about their reactions.
Sure enough, my brother and his friends were gathered in the meeting room.
Judging by the eager looks they shot me, the conversation must have gone well.
As expected, Yoo-geon spoke with a grin.
“We’ve all decided to give Harvard a shot.”
TJ, the most outgoing of the group, chimed in.
“Honestly, we’ve got nothing to lose. It doesn’t even overlap with domestic college entrance exams, so why not?”
Fortunately, the others wore similar expressions.
But… wait.
There was someone unfamiliar here.
Noticing my gaze, TJ explained.
“Shinil High, Song Joon-kyung. He couldn’t come last time because of the flu.”
Then he added, “He’s the only planning genius Yoo-geon acknowledges.”
“What’s that supposed to mean…”
Embarrassed, Song Joon-kyung waved his hand dismissively.
With his oversized glasses and closely cropped hair, he looked unfamiliar at first.
But hearing my brother’s acknowledgment, I quickly caught on.
The creator of ‘The Land of the Sun’ and ‘Blood Pact’, the father of Korean-style MMO RPGs—Song Joon-kyung.
No wonder I’d been wanting to meet him.
‘TJ and Song Joon-kyung in the same room?’
Heh heh.
Apparently, they were in the middle of a planning meeting.
They wanted to release a game to bolster their Harvard applications and were brainstorming ideas.
‘Well, this is getting interesting.’
Thanks to this, I quietly stepped back and asked,
“Mind if I watch?”
“Of course not.”
As expected, TJ answered immediately.
Thus began the planning meeting!
“Does it have to include combat? I just want to create something calm.”
They were so focused on their discussion that they seemed to have completely forgotten my presence.
Among them, Song Joon-kyung stood out the most.
“It starts on a small island. Maybe you’re stranded, or maybe you just live there. Either way works.”
“What do you do on the island?”
“Fishing, gathering resources, chopping trees to build houses.”
“And then what? What happens next?”
“That’s it.”
“No fighting?”
“Nope.”
“Is this a camping trip?”
“Something like that. It’s got that camping vibe.”
“Why not play guitar and sing songs while you’re at it?”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Does that even make sense?”
Maybe not now.
But eventually, it will.
The concept is strikingly similar to ‘Forest Friends’, a game to be released by Nintendo later.
I didn’t expect it—Song Joon-kyung, who mostly created RPGs, to have such a character.
“If camping’s no good… how about a pet-raising game?”
“And after raising them?”
“There’s no ‘after.’ You just feed them on time and play with them. It’d work well as a portable game.”
“And combat? Still none?”
“Why would you make a dog fight…”
At TJ’s question, Song Joon-kyung just scratched his head awkwardly.
