CH199

London.

Ralph set out on patrol on Oxford Street again today.

As a way to atone for his sins, he turned over a new leaf and became the sheriff of this street.

Ralph’s routine was simple.

First, he would clean the ground, and if anyone needed help, he would quietly approach and start a conversation.

If he got hungry, he would eat and then repeat the process… and the day would pass in the blink of an eye.

He set out, hoping for another peaceful day.

But then.

A kind-looking man walked up beside him and said, “Hello. Could I have a moment of your time?”

The man was wearing a blue vest.

The left side of the vest bore the emblem of a well-known relief organization.

“Unlike our abundant lives, in Africa, they still don’t even have clean drinking water…”

“Really?”

“Excuse me?”

“If you turn on the tap, water comes out. Are you saying they don’t have drinking water?”

The staff member’s reply was shocking.

He explained that people there still relied on wells for drinking water, and even that wasn’t enough.

In that brief moment, Ralph made a decision.

He would spend the rest of his vacation in Africa.

Not just donating money, but, “They’ll need workers to dig wells too, won’t they?”

With his healthy body, he could add his labor as well.

While Ralph was imagining himself digging at least ten wells,  

“Senior.”

A calm voice came from behind him.

He turned his head.

“Gah!”

It was Tennessee, brushing his blonde hair aside.

Ralph was startled by his striking good looks.

‘S… Senior?’

And he was startled again by Tennessee calling him that.

Regardless.

Tennessee spoke calmly and continued.

“Let’s move somewhere else for a bit, shall we?”

“Huh?”

Tennessee pulled a check from his wallet and handed it to the relief worker.

“This should cover about a thousand wells on behalf of my senior. Is that enough?”

At a nearby café.

“So? Do you think you can join me?”

Ralph was overwhelmed with emotion at Tennessee’s proposal.

How long had he been living a good life, and already, fortune was smiling on him!

“I don’t need any money. I’ll do it no matter what.”

“It won’t be easy.”

Even if he had to jump into a warzone, he was ready to leap in right now.

That kind of challenge would be nothing!

“So, you’re saying we need to find the Tetris developer, right?”

Tennessee continued to explain.

Originally, Professor Jo So-deok was the top authority in the field.

But since he became a department store president, he was no longer able to join them.

As soon as Ralph heard that, he shot up from his seat.

“He’s at the department store now?”

“Yeah, but why?”

“I’ll be right back.”

“…?”

“Such a remarkable figure is just around the corner. Shouldn’t I learn something from him?”

Initiative, approved.

Ralph immediately left the café.

“Hello there!”

In less than 30 minutes, he came face to face with Jo So-deok.

It was in the president’s office of the London department store.

Normally, it was a place where entry was restricted, but dropping the name of CEO Park Ji-hoon granted him immediate access.

Fortunately, Jo So-deok seemed to take a liking to Ralph as well.

Perhaps it was because Ralph frequently referred to his junior Park Ji-hoon as “CEO,” which Jo found pleasing.

More than anything, Jo probably thought Ralph’s headstrong and straightforward nature suited the task at hand.

“I mean, with such an age gap between us, it would be odd for me to speak formally, wouldn’t it?”

“Please speak casually. Otherwise, I’ll have to kneel while you do.”

Sociability, approved.

“So, you’re working under the CEO starting today?”

“Yes, it’s an honor.”

“Then I’ll teach you the essentials in a crash course. Did you bring something to take notes with?”

“I brought it.”

Usually, one might pull out a small notebook for such occasions.

But Ralph, true to his size, pulled out a thick university notebook.

“Memorize this: connections are priority number one in this field.”

“Connections are priority number one…”

“If someone refuses to meet you, don’t waste time sulking—start using your head. Even if I can’t solve the issue, there’s always someone who can.”

“Ah, I see.”

“If you get an estimate, call them right away. The best outcome is getting an introduction. If that fails, go meet them with a smile. Keep doing it.”

A classic Korean-style approach.

Normally, such advice might cause anxiety.

But Ralph was utterly fascinated!

He could hardly wait to dive into practice, shifting restlessly in his seat.

***

Meanwhile.

Dmitri was on his way to California, USA, under CEO Park Ji-hoon’s orders.

The night of the cruise party.

Park Ji-hoon had quietly approached Dmitri with a simple mission.

“Host an extreme sports competition under the name Red Bull.”

He even specified the location: San Diego, California.

He instructed Dmitri to sketch the event and use it for advertising.

The only emotion Dmitri felt at the time was sheer excitement.

“Wow!”

An extreme sports competition!

For Dmitri, it was a lifelong dream.

As a result, Dmitri arrived in the U.S. with his face full of enthusiasm.

The competition announcement had already been made, and the venue contracts were finalized.

Now, all that was left was to confirm that the setup was complete.

At the airport, an employee from the event’s outsourcing company was waiting.

In a country as free-spirited as the United States, California, known for its boundless freedom, took it up a notch.

Perhaps that’s why.

The employee arrived to pick up Dmitri… in a fully modified muscle car.

You know the type—cars with suspension so heavily modified that the front wheels hop up and down.

Not just that.

The car was decorated with flames painted across its doors and hood.

Usually, one would opt for clean wrapping, but perhaps they wanted a wild vibe… so they spray-painted it instead.

A proper Englishman would have frowned immediately.

But for Dmitri?

“Wow!”

As a car enthusiast, Dmitri couldn’t help but feel his blood pumping.

Yes, people like this were the ones to create an extreme sports event.

“Hop in.”

Soon enough.

Vrooooom!

The employee drove toward the competition venue.

Despite the loud noises, the driving style was surprisingly composed.

Well, it was a public road after all.

Just as Dmitri’s heart began to settle a bit, the driver asked him a question.

“Off-road bikes and stunt bicycles make sense. But why are we holding a skateboarding competition?”

“Oh, that’s because…”

Bikes and bicycles were sports Dmitri loved dearly.

While those two events were being held simply because he liked them, the skateboarding competition… was specifically requested by CEO Park Ji-hoon, leaving Dmitri with no rebuttal to offer.

‘Honestly, I’m curious about it myself.’

His guess was that since ‘Ultimate’ was a streetwear brand, they might be planning to launch a line of skateboarding shoes or something.

But only CEO Park Ji-hoon would know for sure.

Just as Dmitri was lost in these thoughts,  

“Still, there seem to be quite a few participants in the skateboarding division.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There’s even someone who comes to the venue every day, asking if they can try it out beforehand.”

He hadn’t expected much, but if there were a decent number of participants, that was good news.

It hadn’t been long since Dmitri shifted his gaze to the scenery outside the window.  

“We’ve arrived.”

The employee parked the car in an open area.  

“What would you like to check first?”

Naturally, Dmitri wanted to see the bike track he loved most.

But then, an unexpected sight greeted him.

“What the—?”

The employee suddenly ran off in a panic.

Curious about what was happening, Dmitri followed him.

Swish!  

The sound of rubber wheels rolling reached his ears from afar.  

Where the employee was headed stood a U-shaped course.  

Almost as if to welcome their arrival,  

Swish!

Again, the sound of wheels echoed, and then—whoosh!

Someone soared high above the U-shaped course.  

‘A skateboard?’

The employee turned to Dmitri with a troubled expression.

It was clear someone had snuck onto the track before the competition even started.

The employee looked worried, fearing accusations of negligence.

As if trying to excuse himself, the employee hastily spoke.

“I-I told you in the car, didn’t I?”

“…?”

“That someone comes here every day! Damn it. I told him no so many times!”

Even as the employee ran toward the skater to stop him,  

Swish! Whoosh!

The young man on the skateboard soared into the air again.  

“Get down here now!”

The employee’s scolding fell on deaf ears.

Swish!  

The young man raced smoothly across the U-shaped course,  

Whoosh!

and soared once more.

Then, spinning mid-air— one, two, three full rotations.

“Hey, you punk! Get down here now!”

The employee half-yelled, half-pleaded.

“Leave him be,” Dmitri said, stopping the employee in his tracks.

Skateboarding?

He had wondered what kind of impressive tricks it could possibly offer to warrant an entire competition.

But he hadn’t imagined it would be this… dynamic.

He wanted to watch more, but,  

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Perhaps the skater had lost interest now that he was being indulged.  

The young man stopped his board at the center of the U-shaped course.  

Dmitri quickly approached him.

“Are you… participating in the competition?”

The young man nodded.

Dmitri wanted to ask his name, but there was no need.  

Tommy Hawk.  

Pro skater.  

Sponsors needed ASAP.

His black T-shirt had his name, a phrase he wanted to share, and even his phone number printed boldly on it.

***

The next day.

I headed to Yoo-geon’s room early.

I wanted to check on how he was doing.  

But more than that, a certain business-related idea had come to mind.  

Knock knock.  

The face peeking out through the crack in the door looked fine, thankfully.  

Well, he only had three drinks.  

If he were suffering from a bad hangover, that would be stranger.  

“What happened to me last night?”

“Nothing much.”  

“I don’t remember anything.”  

“Really?”  

“Yeah, seriously.”  

He looked genuinely surprised.  

“I shouldn’t drink anymore, right?”  

“If you drink occasionally, you’ll probably get used to it.”  

“Ugh.”  

Even his sulking face was adorable.  

“What about you? How’d you manage?”  

“I came back drunk too.”  

“See? I wasn’t the only one, right?”  

“Of course not.”  

Ahem.

“Can I come in for a bit?”  

“Oh, right, my bad.”  

He opened the door wide for me.  

I hadn’t noticed yesterday because I was out of it, but it had been a while since I’d last been in his room.  

It used to be filled with posters of singers, but now there were more pictures of developers.  

“Are you still aiming to become a game developer?”  

“Yeah. As long as Grandpa gives his approval.”  

“And for college… Seoul National University, right?”  

“Probably.”  

Judging by the relaxed look on his face, his scores must be more than sufficient.  

“Have you ever thought about studying abroad?”  

“Me? Studying abroad?”  

His expression screamed that, as the eldest son, studying abroad was an unattainable dream he’d never even considered.  

“Oh, come on. What does studying abroad have to do with inheriting the family business?”  

“No matter how you spin it, I don’t think they’d allow it…”  

“Harvard might be an exception.”  

“Harvard?”  

“Dual majoring in business and computer science? Harvard’s perfect for that. Don’t you think Grandpa might approve of something like that?”  

He paused to think.  

If it were Harvard, Grandpa might actually agree.  

The problem was figuring out how to get into one of the most prestigious universities in the world.  

“America has a second-semester intake, right? If you start preparing now, it’s not too late.”  

“Do you think I could do it?”  

At this point, I decided to reveal my true intentions.  

“What if you worked with those friends of yours we saw that time?”  

“My friends?”  

“Yeah. Don’t they all have grades high enough for Seoul National University?”  

“Well, more or less.”  

“Then just focus on getting into Seoul National first. After that, you can use your free time to prepare for Harvard.”  

“But studying abroad costs a lot of money. Even if I have the means…”  

“If your friends get accepted, I’ll cover all their tuition and living expenses.”  

Of course, there’s a condition.  

They’d need to work at JH for at least a year after graduating.  

Naturally, once they start working, one year could turn into five, and five into ten… who knows, really.  

‘A NexSoft team with global experience, huh.’  

The thought alone was so exciting that I couldn’t help but let a small smile creep onto my face.