A Lie Has Turned Into Reality

“…How do you intend to determine the acquisition price?”

“No need to stress. I’ll pay you a fair price.”

I tapped my finger on the desk, flashing a sly smile.

“The current market cap is 70 billion won, right? You’ve inflated that quite a bit.”

“Inflated? That valuation is based entirely on LeonPlay’s performance!”

“Performance built on all kinds of manipulative tactics.”

“…”

So, he really thought he could squeeze every last penny out of me. Shameless.

Fine, let’s turn up the pressure.

“500 billion won for 61%. That’s the price after stripping out the bubbles in your bloated market cap.”

“Are you insane? You’re practically cutting the value in half and calling it ‘bubble-free.’”

“Hmm.”

Maybe I pushed too hard—his reaction was sharper than expected.

Time to apply a special remedy.

I tapped the scattered documents on the desk.

“I’m giving you an opportunity here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“A comprehensive audit of LeonPlay’s accounting and taxes is about to begin.”

“…!”

“What do you think will happen then?”

Choi Jaeyoung’s face turned ghostly pale, his clenched fists trembling.

I let out a chilling laugh before continuing.

“Your name will be plastered across the nation as a disgraceful economic criminal, branded as an embezzler. And LeonPlay? It’ll be torn apart and devoured by vultures.”

“…”

“And it won’t just be you. Your family members who’ve engaged in insider trading and embezzlement will face charges under corporate law. I’ll make sure none of them escape.”

“Please, stop…”

“Oh, and all those illicit profits you’ve pocketed? They’ll be seized. But I doubt you have any cash left to return, given how you’ve been fudging your financials.”

“Stop…”

“Every asset under your name will be frozen. And then, what about your daughter? What will happen to her?”

“Shut up!”

Bang!

Choi slammed his hand on the desk, his roar echoing through the room.

It seems I hit a nerve.

Time to ease off the stick and offer a carrot.

“You’re not capable of dealing with this fallout. But I and Taewoong Group are.”

I smirked.

“Dump all this trouble on me.”

Locking eyes with Choi, who glared at me like he wanted to kill me, I delivered the final blow.

“400 billion won will be your seed money for a fresh start.”

The acquisition of LeonPlay proceeded without a hitch.

With Taewoong Group’s legal team handling the contracts, the transfer of authority and payment were completed swiftly.

I also took the opportunity to clean house, rooting out the rats that had been leeching off the company and completely overhauling the operations team.

“Whew, that was exhausting…”

Restoring LeonPlay’s foundation required far more time and resources than I’d anticipated.

The biggest hurdle was the absence of competent leadership.

So, through Chairman Kim Younghoon, I appointed a professional CEO to take the reins.

As expected of Taewoong Group, their talent pool was impressively vast.

In addition, I launched a massive recruitment drive to fill understaffed departments and streamlined overstaffed ones.

Afterward, I convened a meeting with department heads to chart the future direction of Epic of Seven.

My goal was clear: a grand revival of Epic of Seven.

Every strategy was restructured with that singular mission in mind.

Reviving a game with a shattered reputation is no easy feat.

Normally, I wouldn’t even consider such an undertaking, but Epic of Seven is different.

In terms of pure gameplay, no other mobile game comes close to matching it.

I was betting everything on that fact.

First, the game’s reputation had to be salvaged.

And what’s the first step in reputation management?

“Noise marketing.”

Noise marketing refers to creating a stir or controversy to boost recognition and interest.

It was time to start piecing the puzzle together.

Seoha.

That’s my real name and the nickname I use in online communities.

After wrapping up my day, I sat down and turned on my computer, as usual.

“This place has really died out.”

The Epic of Seven gallery.

This community, which felt like home to me, was slowly withering away.

It wasn’t surprising. The game had already collapsed; it was only natural for its community to follow suit.

Out of habit, I kept refreshing the page, waiting for new posts.

“Hot Potato hasn’t shown up here in ages…”

Hot Potato.

The ghost of the Epic of Seven gallery and someone I’d recently grown close to.

I was truly shocked during that charity auction.

Speaking of which, what happened to the Unilabs shares he bought back then?

They’re probably about to be delisted…

“I wonder what Hot Potato’s up to.”

The last post Hot Potato made before disappearing questioned whether Epic of Seven was nearing its end.

A lot of users shared their thoughts on that post.

And then, he vanished without a trace.

No calls, no gaming, no gallery activity. Had Hot Potato really fallen out of love with the game?

Just as I was repeatedly refreshing the page, hoping for some sign of life, a new post appeared.

[Title] (Author: Hot Potato)
This game is mine now.

“Huh?”

This game is mine now?

The title was jarringly random. Seeing the long-absent username filled me with excitement, and I clicked on the post without hesitation.

[Body]

Hey, everyone. Long time no see.

Been pretty busy lately, so my attendance has been spotty.

I stopped by to share some good news.

You might’ve guessed from the title, but…

(Attached photo)

Yup, I’ve acquired LeonPlay, the developers of Epic of Seven.

I bought it out of spite because the previous management ran the game into the ground.

The attached photos are of the merger agreement and stock certificates.

(Attached photo)

This one is the disclosure report submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service regarding the acquisition of LeonPlay.

The official announcement will go up on the website and café soon, but I wanted to let my dear comrades here know first.

If you’ve stuck around despite the awful management, you already know why—because the game is fun.

I’ve poured my life into this game.

So, I’ve decided to save it, no matter what.

First things first, I’ll be overhauling the monetization structure and revamping the current business model.

Don’t worry; I’ve got plans to take care of our loyal heavy spenders, too.

Oh, and here’s a spoiler:

LeonPlay will soon be hosting a contest themed around Epic of Seven.

The total prize pool? Four hundred million won.

If you want to earn some cash, now’s the time to dive back into Epic of Seven.

That’s all for now. Peace.

“W-WHAT???”

What kind of insane nonsense was this?

Bought the company because he didn’t like how they ran the game?

The contents of the post were so absurd I completely lost my grip on reality.

Ding! Ding!

My phone buzzed incessantly, and the Epic of Seven group chat was exploding.

[Chat]

BerryStar: Guys, emergency!!! Did you see Potato’s post?

BerryStar: This lunatic actually bought LeonPlay. LOL.

BerryStar: (Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)

Taehoon: Stop trolling.

[GodEpic7]: It’s real, though?

BerryStar: (Link) Check for yourself. LOL.

[Seoha]: Whaaaat… What is this?

[ShootingStar=3]: How did he even buy LeonPlay???

BerryStar: @HotPotato Hey!!! Potato!!!!

[HULK]: Is this for real? LOL.

[LoveFury]: LOL what in the world.

Taehoon: WTF, it’s actually true? LOL. Unreal.

[GodEpic7]: How is there a 4 billion won prize pool for a mobile game contest? LOL.

Chaos.

A player bought an entire game company because they didn’t like how it was managed?

This was unprecedented in gaming history.

Given Hot Potato’s influence, this news was bound to spread like wildfire.

The comments on his post were already blowing up in real time.

[Comments] (+86) N

“What????”

“He bought a game company???”

“LeonPlay’s market cap is over 70 billion won, though?”

“…????”

“Is this even real? LOL.”

“Hot Potato did it again. LOL.”

“He didn’t like the game, so he bought the company? Absolute mad lad. LOL.”

“So, that merger announcement wasn’t random—he really did buy it??”

“Imagine being a failing game dev and no one notices your merger announcement. LOL.”

“For real. LOL.”

“Is this a first in gaming history?”

“Yeah, it’s gotta be.”

“A contest for a mobile game? With a 4 billion won prize pool?”

“Time to reinstall Epic of Seven. Bye.”

“This marketing is next-level. LOL.”

“Is Epic of Seven finally going to make a comeback? Is it happening??”