IWSF – Ch 295

With their past investment successes, they had more than enough cash on hand. K Company had enough funds to completely take over the taxi industry.

The key was to maximize the use of the data accumulated by Poolriding. They decided to focus on peak taxi demand times and locations, efficiently dispatching taxis to maximize profits. This was a method that other taxi companies had never tried before.

Furthermore, to address passenger concerns about crime, they added a feature to the app that allowed users to immediately report to the police and transmit their GPS location with a specific touch gesture.

As such, a fast and simple decision-making structure is one of the strengths of a startup. In addition to this, K Mobility quickly responded to consumer demands by adding services or removing services that didn’t get good reactions.

Just in time, Lost Fantasy M launched a major update, and K Mobility secured advertising from OTK Games, attaching Lost Fantasy M billboards to their taxis.

Taekgyu said,

“Since we’re advertising anyway, how about giving out character cards to taxi users? We could release a new card each month and give it to those who ride a certain number of times. Then, wouldn’t they use the taxi more often to get them?”

I was dumbfounded and asked,

“Seriously, are there people who would take a taxi just to get that?”

“Just trust me and try it.”

Taekgyu strongly pushed his idea.

Well, if the vice president wants to do it, we have to.

When K Mobility announced they would be holding an event to give away Lost Fantasy character cards, game sites went wild.

– Whoa! As expected of Otaku Company! Otaku Taxi!

– I don’t go out much because I’m always gaming, so I don’t even take taxis…

– But to collect character cards, I have to ride them. I’ll have to ask to be taken from home and then back home again.

– Starting today, I’m only taking K taxis!

– First, do I need to sign up for K Mobility?

“……”

There really were people in the world who would take a taxi to get a character card.

As the number of subscribers exploded, K Mobility announced that they would continue to acquire small businesses and steadily increase the number of taxis.

In reality, considering the size of the Korean market, it was difficult to generate large profits compared to the investment. Their deficit for this year alone was expected to exceed 50 billion won.

Nevertheless, it was worth investing in. What was more important than immediate profit was platform dominance and securing big data.

The sharing economy and mobility market will grow dozens of times larger in the next 10 years than they are now. However, even if the market grows, not everyone will survive.

Taxi companies still protested, but for some reason, the political world was quiet. After the so-called “Taxi-gate,” where lobbying lists were revealed, both the ruling and opposition parties seemed to be avoiding mentioning taxis as much as possible.

Unless it was illegal or a loophole, how could they possibly stop a company from legally entering the market by acquiring taxi companies?

Consumers liked it, and taxi drivers welcomed it. Only existing taxi companies were against it.

Still, there were movements of change. Taxi companies that were losing drivers and customers were in a panic. Companies with difficult management conditions closed down or were merged and acquired by other companies, and companies with some scale quickly switched to a partial monthly salary system to hold onto drivers who were trying to leave. Local taxi companies banded together to create a call app or worked to improve service quality.

The taxi industry announced that they would make self-regulatory efforts to eliminate fare refusal and reckless driving.

“If they could do it this easily if they put their minds to it, why didn’t they do it all along?”

“Because they were just playing around since they had no competition.”

Things weren’t completely resolved cleanly, and chaos still continued, but it was still fortunate that they had opened the floodgates for ride-sharing services.

***

I went to work and received a report on the overall business situation.

Unlike the meetings a few months ago, one seat was empty. Henry’s absence was quite significant in terms of work. They were looking for a successor, but it wasn’t easy to find the right person.

They couldn’t exactly bring back someone who was dedicated to childcare.

As the meeting was nearing its end, Senior Manager Sangyeop said,

“Recently, the global economy seems to be showing signs of downturn.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. The deteriorating economy was actually evident in various indicators.

“Let’s wrap it up for today.”

As I was about to get up from my seat, I felt a dizzy spell. I grabbed the table with my hand to keep from falling.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, I just felt a bit dizzy for a moment.”

Team Leader Jung Gi-hong said,

“Come to think of it, you’ve been sweating a bit since earlier.”

I touched my forehead. It did feel a bit hot. Why was this suddenly happening?

Taekgyu grabbed my shoulders and shouted,

“My friend! You can’t die!”

***

“It’s just a mild cold.”

“……Yes.”

Apparently, the number of cold patients had increased a lot because it was the change of seasons.

“It’s not serious, so if you get a shot, take medicine, and rest for a day or so, you’ll get better.”

The place I was currently lying down in was a VIP room at Seosung Hospital. It was mainly for chairmen of conglomerates, so it even had a shower room and a reception room inside.

Dedicated medical staff were on standby nearby, and bodyguards were standing guard outside the room.

Despite it being just a cold, the reason I was hospitalized like this was because I couldn’t refuse the concerns of people around me and my mother’s nagging, and I decided to get a comprehensive medical check-up this time.

[(Breaking News) OTK Company CEO Hospitalized at Seosung Hospital!]

[Previously Collapsed and Hospitalized at a US Airport….]

[(Exclusive) According to testimonies from people around him, he frequently coughs and looks tired]

[Is there a possibility of a brain abnormality?]

[Seosung Hospital Medical Staff Completely Silent About Kang Jin-hoo’s Condition!]

[Number of deaths in 20s due to overwork and stress increases….]

Just the fact that I was hospitalized was enough to create articles like this.

“The class of Korean trash journalists is still going strong.”

Taekgyu nodded.

“Should have given them some ads?”

I was in an adversarial relationship with conservative media and not particularly close with progressive media either. Because I didn’t give ads to either side.

Usually, conglomerates spend enormous advertising fees on media companies. Like a salted bean seeking water, media companies that receive ads tend to write favorable articles.

That’s why Korean media outlets don’t write critical articles about conglomerates unless they cause a significant social issue.

You might think, ‘Then just give them ads,’ but even if I wanted to advertise, there wasn’t really anything to advertise. It’s not like we were short on investment funds and needed to recruit individual investors.

This was the same for RCK Bros, the largest private equity fund in Korea. With institutional investors like Temasek, ABP, and GPFG lining up, there was no need to publicize our name.

For funds, if the returns are good, investors will come flocking with money.

Taekgyu and Senior Manager Sangyeop looked around the hospital room, impressed.

“This hospital room is really nice.”

“Chairman Im Il-Kwon also used to be hospitalized here.”

“How much is the daily room rate?”

I looked at Senior Manager Sangyeop and asked,

“Why are you here?”

“The CEO is hospitalized, of course I should come visit. I even bought juice, have some. It’s pure squeezed juice, made purely from fruit without adding anything else.”

After getting the shot and taking medicine, my head was a bit foggy.

The story I heard from Senior Manager Gi Hong a while ago came to mind.

“I heard you’re dating an Australian model these days?”

Senior Manager Sangyeop waved his hand.

“We’re just getting to know each other.”

I wondered if she thought the same thing.

“How did you meet?”

“I met her by chance when I went to see an advertisement shoot. She said she’s from Melbourne, and you know I lived in Australia when I was young.”

I was dumbfounded and said,

“Senior manager, you were in Sydney.”

For reference, the two cities are about 1,000 kilometers apart.

“What does that matter? What’s important is that we were on the same island.”

“……”

Wasn’t Australia a continent?

“Australian girls all know Kang Jin-hoo. There are so many models asking me to introduce them.”

“I’m good, introduce them to Taekgyu instead.”

“Our Vice President would have models lining up for him. Are you interested in meeting someone?”

Taekgyu shook his head.

“I’m okay.”

I asked Taekgyu,

“Speaking of which, what happened with Min Hayoung?”

“What do you mean, ‘what happened’?”

Hayoung, who was Taekgyu’s high school classmate, had once fallen into the wrong path of multi-level coin marketing. However, thanks to Taekgyu’s help, she escaped safely and is currently drawing a webtoon based on the Lost Fantasy universe.

They still seemed to meet occasionally.

“Do you think it’ll work out?”

“Yeah. She’s good at drawing, so I just need to help with the story a bit.”

“……”

No, not the webtoon.

Min Hayoung didn’t know that Taekgyu was the Vice President of OTK Company. But she probably sensed that he was in a high position.

Senior Manager Sangyeop went back to the office, and Taekgyu went out to get food.

Not long after, Ellie came to the hospital room.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s just a mild cold.”

Ellie said, as if scolding me,

“If you’re sick, you shouldn’t endure it and should have gone to the hospital sooner.”

“I thought I’d get better if I rested a bit.”

Usually, at my age, you tend to get better if you just tough it out.

Ellie sat down next to me and touched my forehead with her hand.

“You still have a fever.”

“When do you have to go back to work?”

“I took a half-day off to take care of you.”

“You know how to take care of someone?”

Ellie said confidently,

“Hmm, should I try putting on a nurse’s uniform first?”

“Ah!”

That’s a very good idea.

As I nodded enthusiastically, Ellie glared at me.

“I was joking. Remember to rest when you’re sick, and don’t do other things.”

“……Yes.”

She must have come straight from work, dressed in her usual black suit with her hair tied back. Even with just basic makeup, her beauty shone.

“Just holding you for a moment, I feel like I’d get better quickly.”

Ellie shook her head firmly.

“No way.”

“They say you get better quickly when you’re held when you’re sick.”

“Don’t say ridiculous things.”

“It’s true. That’s why mothers hold and soothe their babies when they’re sick. There are also research results that show that human body temperature helps with psychological stability and treatment.”

“Where did they do that research?”

I just said whatever came to mind.

“I think it was Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.”

It sounded somewhat logical, so Ellie made a dubious expression but didn’t easily refute it.

“Okay, just for a moment. And don’t do anything weird.”

Ellie took off her jacket and lay down next to me. She smelled good, even without perfume.

We stayed still for a while, holding each other.

“What are you thinking about?”

“About when I was sick before. You took me all the way to the hotel back then, remember?”

Come to think of it, we had our first kiss that day. So many things had happened since then. We talked about the past and burst into laughter.

When the laughter subsided, Ellie said,

“Do you want to kiss?”

“You might catch a cold.”

“Then you can take care of me.”

“Well, then…”

I’d be grateful.

As we were about to kiss while holding each other, the hospital room door suddenly burst open.

“My friend! I’m back! And I brought guests with me.”

Following him, CEO Hyunjoo, Henry, and Chairman Im Jin-yong and Director Im Soo-mi poured in.

CEO Hyunjoo looked at us and made a dumbfounded expression.

“You were sick, but you’re still doing everything you want to do.”

Ellie was startled and quickly sat up.

“N-no, it’s not like that. Jin-hoo just asked me to hold him for a moment.”

Taekgyu’s eyes widened.

“What did you say? He asked you to hold him?”

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“Okay, everyone, let’s go out. Let’s give them 30 minutes of privacy so they can continue what they were doing.”

Then he winked at us. He had a face that seemed to say, ‘I did a good job, right?’ People went back out, and the hospital room door closed.

Ellie stared at me, trembling slightly, then angrily picked up a pillow.

“W-wait, I’m a patient.”

“You just have a cold!”

***

While I was hospitalized, many people visited, and calls came in from everywhere. Even a call from the White House came.

[You need to maintain your condition well until you get the Nobel Prize. Understand?]

“……Yes.”

That darn Nobel Prize.

[You shouldn’t be careless just because you’re young. The most important thing for health is diet. That’s why I only drink Diet Coke.]

“……”

If you’re thinking about health, isn’t it better to just drink water? Warren Buffett, Ronald… why do Americans like Coke so much?

As a result of the comprehensive medical examination, my body was perfectly healthy.

Of course, I was still a vibrant 20-something. To be in a wheelchair like the chairmen appearing at the prosecutor’s office, I’d have to wait a few more decades.

My cold completely cleared up in two days, and I was discharged from the hospital and headed straight to the office.

The employees welcomed me back with applause. It was like I had returned after being cured of some incurable disease.

[Probably the last update on moonlight novel]