Coder Lee Yongho

“I keep wanting him more and more the more I see him.”
“……”
“To think that the server overload was actually fixed… Actually I didn’t believe it, but now that the results are out, I can’t not believe it. What do you think?”
“I think he’s a little over evaluated. There are also rumors that the current program is a stolen copy of Jeff Done’s too.”
“Stolen, eh……”
Despite Kenneth’s negative opinion, Steve couldn’t take his eyes off of YongHo.
He felt like he would lose him if he couldn’t grab him now.
YongHo shined like a rocket just before launch. (T/N: Since when did rocket’s shine?)
As he was a person with chief-level skills, Steve looked through YongHo’s skills right away.
Even if he copied Jeff Done’s program, he wanted YongHo on his team.
“Isn’t he famous for not showing his source to anyone at all? But if he referred to that Jeff Done’s source, then doesn’t that mean that he stole it?”
“Hmm… Then how about you……”
The conversation between Kenneth and Steve was eventually buried under the crowd’s whispers.
YongHo’s session had started.

It was as if looking at a lecture hall of a university. A rostrum was placed at the very front, and with that in the middle, fan-shaped stairs spread out.
Those stairs were full without a single s.p.a.ce available.
More people had gathered than what he had thought.
“I applied the module I developed onto the image server that acted as the CDN.”
And YongHo changed the screen.
On the screen was a comparison of before the application and after the application.
Red.
Green.
Two opposite colors.
Anyone seeing the screen would know.
The difference between before and after YongHo’s module was applied.
“As you see here, we could reduce the load on the image server by 30%. And by directing that saved resource another way, we could safely pa.s.s through this Black Friday.”
YongHo’s session seemed like it would end safely like this.

“Thank you, I’ll receive any questions.”
After YongHo’s words, many hands flashed up.
The supporting person walked here and there with the microphone.
Some people finished asking questions and the microphone came over to Kenneth.
“Hmhm…… For me, I don’t want to ask any technological question, but a fundamental one. Is the technology that Mr. YongHo introduced to us truly developed by you?”
“Yes, it is.”
“From what I’ve heard, you’ve taken Jeff Done’s source. Please forgive me, since I’m only asking since it might become a problem when it is actually applied to the company.”
“Of course, it is true that I’ve taken a portion of his source. However……”
Before YongHo even finished speaking, people started whispering here and there.
A person who earns money by developing programs copied a program?
There was no room for excuses.
Sources also had copyrights.
Copying was illegal, and was a crime.
“Please wait for a moment. I definitely received his permission. And I only referred to his source.”
“Jeff Done permitted it? Jeff Done, the Jeff Done that we know?”
Kenneth asked, emphasizing Jeff Done. It seemed that he knew Jeff Done quite well.
The more he did, the stranger the atmosphere of the venue flowed.
“Yes. Is there any problem?”
“Jeff Done, the person that anyone would choose when talking about who the best programmer is. However, he is also a proper noun of pickiness, and is also basically a representative of the closed-source faction. Such a person allowed you to see the source? Do you really want us to believe in your words?”
Kenneth, with the microphone, let out some fiery speech. And the more he continued, the more suspicious the eyes of the people became of YongHo.
As Kenneth had said, Jeff Done didn’t share any of his sources on the internet.
Even so, he was a person that was always talked about when talking about the best programmers in the world.
It wasn’t that he hated open-source, but he never shared his own source.
It was unbelievable that such a person had showed his source to YongHo.
Moreover, he even gave permission to use the source?
Anyone in the audience who knew of Jeff Done wouldn’t believe such things.
Just as when YongHo was about to sort his thoughts out, Steve stepped in.
“It’s simple that the two of you are against each other. Can’t we just ask Jeff Done in person?”
This line was from a chief-level personnel of the company. And the method he talked about could receive approval from anyone.
This was the method that would solve this situation the fastest.
Without even asking YongHo for his opinion, Steve continued speaking.
“I have his phone number so I’ll call him right away.”
Steve called, and the phone ringing sounds came out through the connected speaker.
Ring ring.
Ring ring.
Clack.
(T/N: I think a “h.e.l.lo?” is missing)
“Jeff, it’s been a while.”
It seemed the number had been correct as Jeff’s voice came out.
Most people here had not met Jeff Done in person. If YongHo was the one to call him, then it might have been a little suspicious.
However, it was Steve that was calling him.
There was no room for suspicion.
Unlike the normally soft Steve (T/N: Wut?) Jeff’s voice was picky, just like the rumors.
“I’m busy, so bye.”
Jeff didn’t even talk a lot. He wanted to end the call as soon as he received it. Since Steve knew that Jeff would definitely do so, he hurriedly continued speaking.
“Wait a minute. I’m with a person who says he’s close to you.”
Steve suddenly made YongHo a friend of Jeff. Never did YongHo say that he was close to Jeff.
It was an intentional choice of words.
“I have no such person. Done?”
The difference in age between Steve and Jeff numbered in two digits.
Even so, Jeff didn’t hesitate whatsoever.
Beyond pickiness, he was audacious.
It was fortunate that English had no ‘polite’ form of speech.
“W, wait! Y, YongHo. Do you know him?”
Since he felt like the call would end at any moment, Steve hurriedly called out to Jeff again.
After a moment of silence, Jeff’s voice could be heard through the phone.
“Get him on the phone.”
Jeff’s one phrase made the audience go into whispers again. With this, it was proved that they weren’t complete strangers.
With the phone, Steve himself went to YongHo at the front.
And he handed the phone over to YongHo.
YongHo curtly said on the phone.
“Jay, it’s been a while.”
Jay, it was Jeff’s nickname.
He was calling Jeff with the name that he only allowed his close friends to call him.
YongHo didn’t use that name much normally, but now, he felt like he must do so.
“I’m really busy so don’t talk nonsense. You even have my phone number so why did you call with Steve’s?”
Jeff’s words resounded across the hall.
The game was over the moment the Jeff’s nickname came out.
He sounded as picky as ever, but YongHo was more delighted than anything right now.
The situation was over very quickly.
YongHo explained the situation to Jeff, without leaving any facts out.
“His words aren’t wrong.”
Jeff’s last phrase nailed it.
The phone call ended, and the seminar did as well.
Numerous programmers gathered towards YongHo.

However, they soon had no choice but to make way.
The CEO had come.
The CEO of the company had come, so there was no way anyone would block the path.
“Thank you for your presentation today. It was very interesting.”
“Oh, thank you very much.”
YongHo had only heard of this person and this was the first time they had met in person.
He was younger and more handsome than he had expected.
He looked like he had quite the leisurely life.
Chief Executive Officer, a.k.a. CEO of the company.
Unlike the strict figures in Korea, he didn’t give out an aura of power that stifled other people.
“Mr. YongHo’s achievements were so strong, to the point that we are now thinking a lot about you.”
“Sorry? Think? About me?”
“Capability is followed by the treatment befitting it.”
All of the other people were watching the two’s conversation without breathing.
America was somewhere where one could get fired the very next day without any signs.
Like that, one could become a staff executive if one had the capability.
Sometimes in Silicon Valley, there were cases where someone who entered as an intern would become a CEO the next day after being invested in.
There was no limit.
There was no set ‘cast’ either.
There was only treatment befitting of capability.
“……”
“For now, we’ve raised you into a senior level personnel, and changed your salary as well. If you come to work tomorrow, then you will hear about your new salary. Also, we promise you to raise you into a chief level personnel if you make the program you’ve just presented to us in this session, usable in a wider range.”
YongHo swallowed dry saliva.
This was the CEO speaking, so there was no doubt about it.
Not only had he been promoted into a senior level personnel in less than a year, if this project went well, he was ‘promised’ not ‘considered’ to be promoted to the chief level.
Due to the sudden good treatment, he didn’t know what to do.
His friends, who were listening from behind from the beginning, all stepped up.
“Hyung-nim, congratulations.”
“YongHo, congratz. I knew it would become like this. Don’t move houses just because you got promoted, okay?”
“Congratulations.”
“Should I treat you like my superiors now?”
Each of them threw a congratulating line each.
Even until then, YongHo was not prepared to receive their greetings properly.
Only after he received the doc.u.ment for his raise in salary the next morning did he start to feel that it was all real.

Two hundred and seventy thousand US dollars.

This was his new salary.
70,000 dollars of this was Na DaeBang’s share, so his actual salary was about 200,000 dollars.
In Korean won, it was about 200 million won.
It was a completely different treatment from Korea where the maximum increase would be about five million won, and would usually be around two million to three million won.
Of course, stuff like annual salary was private, so people couldn’t speak about it to others.
However, he thought he should at least thank that person.

YongHo’s two hands were full of snacks.
It could be said that the one who contributed the most in him being promoted was Jeff.
Only because there was his source could he solve the server overload and receive such treatment.
He was planning to treat him to dinner since he had a lot of things to thank him from the algorithm tutoring to compression module library.
“I’m here.”
Shouted YongHo while entering Vdec’s office.
Perhaps because he had been here too often, no one found YongHo being here a strange thing.
“Why do you keep coming to another person’s office?”
Jeff was as picky as ever.
Perhaps because the project he was doing was going well after YongHo had solved the problem, he looked very busy.
Today, it seemed that he didn’t even have the time to shave, as a p.r.i.c.kly beard could be seen on his chin.
“Today, I came here to treat you all to dinner, since you’re working so hard.”
“You’re not even one of us, and what treat?”
Jonathan was different from the picky Jeff. He treated YongHo very amiably. Jonathan knew that Jeff speaking at all, even though his tone was like that, was because he had a good impression of YongHo.
If he didn’t like someone, then he wouldn’t even talk to that person.
“Dinner sounds good. So Mr. YongHo’s buying. Let’s eat something expensive today.”
Yu SoHyun also tried to get close to YongHo, but he was already surrounded by many people.
She couldn’t see any gaps to get closer to him. (T/N: Poor SoHyun T^T)