Chapter 491: They Were Completely Unprepared

Zhang Zidong arrived at Incheon Airport with his staff members.

“So this is Korea.”

Zhang Zidong muttered softly, his face reflecting deep amazement as he looked around Incheon Airport.

Such a well-maintained airport was rare anywhere in the world.

After exiting customs he spotted a sign with his name.

Zhang Zidong walked toward it with his staff.

“Hello, I’m Zhang Zidong.”

“Ah welcome! We’re delighted to have you in Korea. I’m Gong Jinju from HS Ventures and I’ll be your guide Vice President.”

“Your Chinese is excellent. From your accent I’m guessing Hong Kong?”

Gong Jinju nodded covering her mouth as she smiled before answering.

“That’s right. I lived in Hong Kong for quite a while. Shall we head to the office first? Please follow me.”

Zhang Zidong and his staff followed Gong Jinju’s lead.

A car was already waiting in front of the airport.

“Vice President you’ll ride with me while the others can take the van behind us.”

Gong Jinju smiled while pointing to a luxury sedan. She opened the door and looked at Zhang Zidong.

“Please get in Vice President Zhang.”

“Thank you.”

Zhang Zidong got in first followed by the Tencent staff boarding the van.

After confirming everyone was aboard Gong Jinju got in last.

“What do you do at HS Ventures Ms. Gong?”

“I work as a Lead Investment Manager. Before this I worked at HSBC.”

“You left HSBC for a Korean venture capital firm? Why would you do that?”

HSBC, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was among the top five largest banks globally.

Moving from such a place to a Korean venture capital firm was completely baffling.

When Zhang Zidong asked perplexed Gong Jinju answered as if used to the question.

“The terms were better. Plus I liked the idea of living in Korea. Hong Kong isn’t exactly the most livable place you know.”

“But what about your career? Career-wise there’s no comparison.”

“That’s something I can build on my own so it doesn’t really matter. I’m quite satisfied with my current position.”

Though most would regret leaving such credentials behind she dismissed it casually.

Her confident demeanor sparked Zhang Zidong’s curiosity.

He wondered what kind of company HS Ventures must be to satisfy even someone of her caliber.

“What kind of person is the CEO of HS Ventures?”

“Our CEO? He’s quite wonderful. He’s unbiased listens to his employees’ advice and is an excellent boss.”

You switched jobs just for that? Zhang Zidong asked again with a puzzled expression.

“Are there companies that don’t listen to their employees’ advice? Isn’t that the norm? Especially in investment banks and VCs I heard they give their analysts quite a bit of autonomy.”

“That’s not the culture in Korea. Same goes for China as far as I know. Ah though IT companies might have a different atmosphere. Well anyway finding such companies is harder here in Korea.”

Gong Jinju’s brows furrowed slightly as if recalling her previous workplace.

It didn’t last long as her face quickly returned to a smile as she met Zhang Zidong’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

“I see. So CEO Park Hyeonseong is good at listening to people.”

“Indeed. That was the biggest factor in my decision to move from HSBC to here. I’m very satisfied with my current work life.”

There wasn’t a trace of deception in Gong Jinju’s voice or expression. Her face radiated satisfaction.

Zhang Zidong found himself impressed by Gong Jinju’s confidence.

“While you say you’re satisfied with company life if you ever consider changing jobs please add Tencent to your options. We’d welcome talent like you anytime.”

“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”

Though Zhang Zidong was sincere Gong Jinju seemed to take it as mere pleasantry.

Seeing her businesslike response Zhang Zidong spoke again.

“This isn’t a joke I’m serious. Please give it genuine consideration. I promise better terms than what HS Ventures offers.”

“I have no plans to switch jobs yet. But if I ever do I’ll consider your offer first.”

Finally Zhang Zidong replied with a satisfied expression.

“Good very good! This Korea visit is giving me good feelings. Haha!”

His hearty laughter filled the car for quite some time.

The car carrying Zhang Zidong quickly left Incheon Airport heading toward Seoul.

The car headed straight for HS Ventures’ office. Upon entering they saw people already waiting.

“I’m Zhang Zidong Vice President of Tencent. I hope this meeting will be a pivotal one for our future.”

The person who took Zhang Zidong’s extended hand was TJ Soft’s CEO Kim Tae-jeong.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m CEO Kim Tae-jeong. Thank you for coming such a long way.”

After greeting Kim Tae-jeong Zhang Zidong looked at the person beside him.

His build was impressive and his stern expression was almost intimidating.

But that impression vanished when he spoke. Park Hyeonseong greeted him with a gentle voice.

“I’m Park Hyeonseong CEO of HS Ventures. I’ve heard much about you.”

“Ah CEO Park! Delighted to meet you like this.”

Zhang Zidong greeted Park Hyeonseong more warmly than Kim Tae-jeong.

“Let’s sit down and talk.”

Kim Tae-jeong guided everyone to their seats and the real discussion began.

Kim Tae-jeong spoke first.

“We’ve reviewed all the materials Tencent sent. But they show no real preparation. Just rosy future predictions with no detailed plans. How do you intend to service our game in China?”

Kim Tae-jeong started with criticism. This wasn’t a negotiation he’d wanted in the first place.

It showed clearly in his face and voice.

Yet Zhang Zidong responded with a friendly smile.

“All technical preparations are complete. We’re just waiting to open the site. That can happen as soon as we secure the games to service. By linking with our QQ service we can secure over 100 million users.”

“I know about QQ. It’s China’s dominant messenger service. I know about QQ Show too. But messaging and gaming are completely different businesses. Even with 100 million users not all of them will be gamers right? We don’t need 100 million we need even just one person who’ll actually play our game.”

Kim Tae-jeong retorted coldly. Zhang Zidong confidently answered his point.

“Don’t worry about that. The moment we launch in China we’ll create events linking QQ and QQ Show to naturally introduce users to the game. If you succeeded in Taiwan you can succeed even bigger in China. And partnering with us means an even bigger slice of the pie.”

Seemingly displeased with Zhang Zidong’s confidence Kim Tae-jeong raised an eyebrow.

“You’re quite confident. Our game hasn’t even launched in China yet.”

“I heard you started TJ Soft from nothing CEO Kim. We too started Tencent from scratch. Now we’ve grown into a major Chinese corporation. We’ve chosen gaming as our future focus. This means Tencent and TJ Soft will have many opportunities to work together long-term. Let’s take the long view CEO Kim.”

“The future… What kind of future do you see Vice President Zhang?”

“A world where gaming isn’t just gaming but becomes part of people’s daily lives.”

Zhang Zidong answered Kim Tae-jeong’s question firmly.

His eyes shone with passion and anticipation.

“The world changes daily. And China is changing faster than any other nation. Our billions in population are our greatest weapon. Even if you secure 10 million users in Korea you can secure ten times that in China. China will become the world’s gaming center.”

“You have big plans for the Chinese market. But isn’t it politically and socially restrictive? It’s a country where government regulations could come at any time. Even now we can’t service our games without contracting with Chinese companies.”

For the first time since entering the conference room Zhang Zidong’s smile disappeared.

It was a sharp observation but also a sensitive topic.

Having been burned before Zhang Zidong responded pointedly.

“I don’t understand why politics need to enter our business discussion. Tencent came to Korea to service TJ Soft’s games in China. There’s no room for government involvement in this conversation.”

“The stories from game companies already in China are quite different. They say both the Chinese government and public security greatly impact their business.”

“Tencent is different. You don’t need to worry about that. Let’s stick to business CEO Kim.”

As Zhang Zidong showed his displeasure Kim Tae-jeong raised both hands and smiled.

“How can we not worry? I didn’t mean to offend. Let’s discuss terms then. Though CEO Park said we must contract with you we won’t if the terms aren’t good. That’s what CEO Park promised.”

Zhang Zidong’s face hardened at the attempt to gloss things over.

Park Hyeonseong heaved a deep sigh.

After testing each other from the start they were now showing their teeth. Given how the atmosphere had already soured this looked to be a long battle.

“Let’s hear the terms first. This pointless power play…”

Just then the conference room door opened.

“Hello everyone. Pleasure to meet you all.”

Kim Mu-hyeok entered with a smile. Zhang Zidong jumped up first to greet him.

“CEO Kim Mu-hyeok!”

Kim Mu-hyeok extended his hand to Zhang Zidong first.

“Vice President Zhang. It’s even better meeting you in Korea. How about some sightseeing along with business?”

Zhang Zidong took Kim Mu-hyeok’s hand and laughed heartily.

“Haha! I noticed Korea was different from what I knew right from Incheon Airport. I should extend my stay to look around. Could you recommend some good places?”

“Of course. We’ll discuss that later…”

Kim Mu-hyeok turned to Park Hyeonseong and said.

“I didn’t come at a bad time did I?”

“No you came at just the right time. I thought you said you couldn’t make it?”

“I rescheduled everything for tomorrow. We have precious guests from China I should at least spare a day.”

Thanks to Kim Mu-hyeok the chilly atmosphere thawed somewhat.

Park Hyeonseong let out a relieved sigh and introduced Kim Mu-hyeok to Kim Tae-jeong who stood still like a borrowed rice sack.

“This is CEO Kim Mu-hyeok. He’s not only my friend but also our company’s largest investor. And…”

Kim Mu-hyeok cut off Park Hyeonseong. There was no point in a lengthy introduction.

“CEO Kim Tae-jeong. Pleasure to meet you. I’m Kim Mu-hyeok.”

Kim Tae-jeong shook Kim Mu-hyeok’s hand with a bewildered expression.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Kim Tae-jeong.”

“I asked Hyeonseong about this contract but it seems you’re not too pleased.”

Kim Tae-jeong nodded.

“How could I be pleased? You’re asking us to contract with a company just entering the market while ignoring larger companies.”

At the blunt response Kim Mu-hyeok tilted his head.

“Are the terms not satisfactory?”

“It’s not about the terms it’s about weight class don’t you think?”

Kim Tae-jeong’s attitude clearly showed his displeasure. Looking at him Kim Mu-hyeok’s lips curled upward.

His face wore not the warm smile he’d shown Zhang Zidong and Park Hyeonseong but a cold sneer.

“Weight class… Since when did TJ Soft care about weight class? Weren’t you going around PC rooms delivering CDs not too long ago CEO Kim?”