“Father, you’re too much.”
Yoo-hyun sighed as he approached his father, who was in a cheerful mood.
He had been obsessed with Andrea Gurski’s German song before, and now he wanted to hear more foreign songs from his friend.
He was a guest from far away, after all.
He should have noticed that he was trying to hide his discomfort, but his father was too drunk and carried away by the atmosphere.
Yoo-hyun thought he had to cut him off at this point and was about to step in, when Choi Cheol-woo, the deputy manager, suddenly stood up.
“Can I pick a song instead?”
What’s wrong with him?
Yoo-hyun had no ti to stop him as he rushed forward and bowed to Albert Whale, showing his determination.
Then he started to sing.
“Oppa, trust once~ I only look at you~”
The Korean staff who had worked with him today danced along to the rhythm.
The psychedelic lights on the rail turned the mood into a nightclub.
The mother’s friends cheered excitedly.
“Wow!”
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
In the midst of the frenzy, Albert Whale ca up to Yoo-hyun.
“Steve, can we talk for a mont?”
“Of course.”
Yoo-hyun was very curious and had been waiting for this.
He quietly left the outdoor party and entered his father’s office.
It was a place that had been remodeled before, and it was quite far from the new factory, so there was hardly any noise.
In the quiet atmosphere, Yoo-hyun offered him so tea.
Albert Whale smiled faintly, his cheeks slightly red.
“Your father is very lively.”
“He must have been happy because it’s my mother’s birthday. I’m sorry if he was rude.”
“Not at all. I had a lot of fun too.”
“Are you okay? You seem to have drunk a lot.”
“It’s nothing. I feel just fine.”
His voice was deep and humble.
Yoo-hyun looked at Albert Whale, who sipped his tea.
He was not sloppy in his actions, and he had a calmness in his strong eyes.
He was a high-ranking person who made the intelligence agents nervous, but he never showed it.
He was willing to help, but he did not ask for anything in return.
He was a generous person.
Who was he?
As if he could read Yoo-hyun’s mind, he opened his mouth.
“Steve Han, I really appreciate you.”
“Appreciate ?”
“For the Huawei network infiltration operation. Thanks to you, we gained several years of ti. As the deputy director of the CIA, I represent our organization and thank you again.”
Huh? CIA deputy director?
He had guessed that he was a high-ranking official of the CIA when he accompanied the intelligence agents, and when he saw him commanding the well-trained staff.
But he never imagined that the second in command of the CIA would co to see him.
Yoo-hyun tried to hide his surprise and answered.
“I just did what I had to do. You don’t have to co all the way here to thank .”
“I didn’t co just to say hello.”
“Then what?”
“Steve, I have sothing to propose to you, and I wanted to see your face when I do.”
A subtle tension filled the air, and he saw his opponent’s face again.
The second-in-command of the world’s largest and best intelligence agency. He was on par with the heads of state of many countries, and he was facing Yoo-hyun.
“What do you have to propose to from the CIA?”
“I’ll be straightforward.”
Yoo-hyun watched the movent of his blue eyes and quickly thought.
Did he want to ask for technical advice? Or formal cooperation with the CIA?
They were all sudden situations, but the impact of the Huawei case was huge.
‘The CIA might want to ask for a favor.’
But the next words were completely out of Yoo-hyun’s expectation.
“We propose that you beco a naturalized citizen of the United States, Steve Han.”
“…”
“Co to Arica. We will provide you with everything you need to realize your dream.”
He was asking him to change his nationality.
He didn’t seem to be joking.
He could feel the sincerity in Albert Whale’s serious eyes.
He thought he should hear him out first, and Yoo-hyun suppressed his shock and asked coldly.
“My dream?”
“From reviews to data federation. I can guess from your journey that you have a grand dream of connecting all the companies in the world through Reverb. Am I wrong?”
It fit well, even though it was a guess.
“Tell more.”
“It’s impossible in Korea, where there are many regulations. If you break out of the fence of the nation, I’m sure you can do much bigger things.”
“I’m not going to give up my country for my dream.”
“It’s not just for your dream. It’s also for the benefit of the people and companies who are with you. That’s why I’m proposing this to you.”
It was hard to say without understanding Reverb to so extent.
It even contained the weakness of Reverb that Yoo-hyun was worried about.
Regulation.
For the Reverb federation to continue, there had to be disruptive innovations and results within the participating companies.
To do this, Yoo-hyun invested a lot of money in infrastructure construction and attracted many companies to join.
But there was one thing he couldn’t break completely.
The frawork of regulation.
This was inevitably sothing that the state had to intervene in, but the Korean governnt’s attitude was lukewarm.
As long as Reverb’s base was in Korea, the conflict would grow.
Yoo-hyun answered calmly.
“It’s possible in Korea. Many people are working hard for it.”
“The heads of the large corporations in Korea move for profit, not for ideals. They have a lot of ties with the political circles, so there is a limit to innovation.”
He wanted to argue, but Yoo-hyun didn’t bother.
Instead, he asked to find out his intention more clearly.
“Do I have to beco a naturalized citizen of the United States? You can just help .”
“To help you, we inevitably have to restrain the giant corporations in our country. For that, we need at least so security asures. That’s what the higher-ups think.”
“Higher-ups?”
“The White House. There are people who have been watching your moves for a long ti.”
“…”
Albert Whale looked at the silent Yoo-hyun and thought to himself.
‘Please make a good choice.’
He didn’t say it out loud, but the White House’s opinion was not favorable at all.
As the River, which aid for a global alliance of corporations, grew bigger, the US’s influence would inevitably weaken.
It was a matter of whether to crush it or spare it.
The card he pulled out of the two options was naturalization.
He ca here himself to protect Yoo-hyun, who had been a great help to the CIA, and to provide him with a better environnt.
The extraordinary man sitting across from him must have understood this background.
But Albert Whale knew.
‘Maybe the answer is…’
“Thank you for the good offer. I decline.”
“I see. I understand.”
“You don’t ask why.”
Yoo-hyun was montarily flustered by the too quick acceptance.
A faint smile appeared on Albert Whale’s lips.
“I sowhat expected your answer. You are the kind of person who would risk flying to China to solve Huawei’s problem.”
“Ah…”
He seed to believe the words that George Cornell of the CIA had wrapped around him.
He went to Huawei to prevent future problems from happening, not because of his sense of justice.
‘I also have sothing to pay back personally.’
Albert Whale, who had no idea of his inner thoughts, added more.
“No matter how good the conditions are, they won’t move your heart. Especially since you don’t forget to volunteer even when you are busy without a mont to spare.”
“Hmm.”
He volunteered because of an accident caused by the side dish shop staff.
He was clearly mistaken about sothing, but it was awkward to explain it in detail.
Yoo-hyun hid his embarrassnt and brought the teacup to his mouth.
The tea had cooled down before he knew it.
Albert Whale, who had been looking at Yoo-hyun with affectionate eyes, spoke with a relaxed expression.
“Anyway, I delivered my opinion and received a legitimate rejection. I will report it as it is.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“I’m rooting for you, but the mountains you have to cross are not easy. Please be aware that many places are watching you.”
Yoo-hyun knew well that their eyes were not positive.
Maybe there were much bigger opponents than he expected.
But Yoo-hyun’s mind was the sa.
“I will definitely overco them.”
“I knew you would say that. You have a great spirit of challenge.”
“Ah, yes, well.”
Yoo-hyun drank the rest of the tea awkwardly.
As he was about to tidy up his seat, Albert Whale stopped him.
“Ah, can I ask you sothing?”
“Yes. Anything.”
“I want to consult you about the Huawei communication equipnt that is already installed. It’s a problem that we can’t solve. What it is…”
Albert Whale’s words went on for quite a while.
Clang.
After finishing the conversation and coming out, Yoo-hyun took a mont to sort out his thoughts.
A smile kept leaking from his lips.
“Things are working out again.”
It wasn’t because of the naturalization request.
It was Albert Whale’s consultation request that ca out at the end of the conversation that tickled Yoo-hyun’s ears.
-If you don’t remove the existing Huawei equipnt, there will be potential problems again. It’s a problem that can’t be solved easily even if the US and the UN strongly recomnd replacent.
He had blocked the risk of data leakage using a hot key, but it was not a permanent solution, so he needed a solution.
The best way was to replace the equipnt altogether.
But it would cost a lot of money to replace the equipnt that accounted for 25 percent of the world’s network.
‘They said they would support the money.’
He had enough money to change it even if he only received so support.
The bigger problem was the ti it took to remove the equipnt, set up the new equipnt, and test it.
He couldn’t easily change it because of the huge damage to the users during the replacent period.
Albert Whale said that he couldn’t solve this problem unless he replaced it with the sa equipnt.
He also added that he couldn’t find the answer right away.
It was natural.
Unless Huawei stepped in, there was no way the sa equipnt would fall from the sky.
That’s when it happened.
Yoo-hyun’s head flashed! and he ca up with a brilliant idea.
-Does the Huawei copy chip work? It’s compatible. I’ve verified it enough. That’s why I was able to find the internal backdoor.
Hyun Jin Gun had a copy chip that he made by analyzing the Huawei communication chip.
If he used it to make the sa equipnt, he could use it right after the replacent.
If it goes as expected?
JK Communication’s chips would be installed in the communication equipnt around the world.
It was a huge opportunity to achieve a huge business that involved not only the chips but also the related equipnt and infrastructure, with the support of the US and the UN.
At this point, the imdiate profit was not a problem.
“Jin Gun, you’re going to be busy.”
Thanks to him, Yoo-hyun’s pace also accelerated.
Yoo-hyun smiled brightly as he thought of the big change that was coming soon.
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