Chapter 177: International Electronics Exhibition
We all arrived at the boarding gate with some breathing room, despite giving up on duty-free shopping and rushing together.
"Why did we all run like this? We could've taken it slow."
It's not like we're catching the plane for the first or second time, but the mix of newcomers threw me off, and I found myself bewildered without realizing.
Uchimura, who came up behind us, grabbing onto the seat's backrest, was already turning pale, retching.
"Are you alright? Take deep breaths, don't breathe shallowly..."
"Yes? Ah, yes... *panting* *panting*"
Taking the plane just twice might end up with someone as a corpse...
Soon after, as the stewardess informed the waiting passengers of boarding, those gathered in the lounge, including our group, began to form a line slowly.
And then... a familiar voice came from behind.
"Gunpei...?"
Turning my head to find the owner of the voice, a person in a neat suit was looking at me...
"Gunpei-san?"
"Hehe~ Well, this is unexpected. I had a feeling, but I didn't expect us to end up on the same flight like this."
Next to Gunpei was Shige, and now Satoshi Kawata, from the HEG Laboratory, Mintendo's second party.
Anticipating Mintendo's new project unveiling at this CES, I thought we might meet at the venue, not here.
"It's a relief to see you well, Gunpei-san."
"I'm doing fine. Thanks to the game you made, I've come back from the brink, but..."
As if recalling Valentine's Day, Gunpei flashed a gentle smile on his face.
"I was unintentionally sorry back then."
"Not at all. It was an experience for me as well."
Their attitude towards me, now holding a significant position in a competing company from being former colleagues, wasn't significantly different from before.
And I was the same.
With games like Super Marigi and The Legend of Karin, among others, Mintendo remains a significant pillar in the gaming industry.
Glancing around them briefly, I asked Gunpei about the absence of President Kamauichi.
"I heard he's leaving everything to Yamashita, head of the U.S. branch, for this conference. Probably because of his age..."
It seems that's the case for Gunpei as well...
Although Gunpei seemed notably older than when we first met, I had such thoughts but didn't voice them naturally.
"Please board the plane, sir."
As the conversation lengthened, the stewardess cautiously intervened, looking towards our direction.
"We can discuss this further inside the plane."
Since the flight from Japan to CES in Las Vegas takes about 13 hours, after consulting with Kawaguchi, I arranged seating with a focus on first-class for the employees' convenience.
"Wow, you can even lie down!!"
Kaori and Miyazaki, experiencing their first flight, couldn't contain their excitement in the capsule-like personal space.
Gunpei, too, seemed to find their granddaughter-like enthusiasm adorable as he smiled brightly.
"They say the welfare at Pentagon Soft is famous. Are all regular employees using first-class?"
"Long flights also consider the employees' condition."
"Impressive."
"Come to think of it, when we went to the U.S. before, both of us used business class, right? I remember the chaos trying to convince President Kamauichi to take economy..."
"Nevertheless, it seems to have improved a lot now."
Gunpei laughed softly, remembering the old days.
As the massive plane slowly moved with a brief announcement from the flight captain, Kaori, looking nervous, opened her mouth.
"We won't crash or anything on my first flight, right?"
To which Hayashi, seated beside her, flipped her eye mask preparedly and murmured.
"Don't say unlucky things especially when I worked until late last night and am dead tired."
"Tsk... I never hear any good words from our team leader."
&
Since there was no direct flight from Narita, Japan, to Las Vegas in the U.S., Pentagon employees had to endure a long flight to Los Angeles Airport first. As the plane took off, they started pulling out their Laons from their bags.
Honestly, on long-distance trips, is there any content as good as games to fill the time?
I, too, pulled out my Laon momentarily to dispel boredom, and Gunpei, seated next to me, stared at me intently.
"Laon's design is always so sleek. It feels like a screen stuck to a gamepad."
"Thank you."
"Come to think of it, Kang, you have a genius sense when it comes to designing portable game consoles. Didn't you share the idea of a game boy with me when we first met on the Shinkansen?"
Taking out the portable game console we made together from his bag, Gunpei smiled happily.
&
"I'm... bored..."
"Then sleep like me."
"Team leader, are you going to sleep for 9 hours now? Can people really sleep that long?"
Awakening from my slumber due to Kaori and Hayashi's conversation behind me, I pushed up the closed slide window by my seat.
Squinting against the dazzling sunlight, I checked the time on my wristwatch.
It was 11:30 PM Japan time.
However, the plane, moving along with the sun, was still flying under bright sunlight.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
As the attentive stewardess asked, I nodded and asked for a glass of water.
"Just a moment, please."
Rubbing my slightly rough skin, I turned my head and saw Gunpei, who seemed to be watching me intently.
"Eek..!!"
The figure, sleeping with his head bent at a 90-degree angle as if it were a corpse, surprised me. I discreetly reached out and adjusted Gunpei's head to be straight.
"Feels like we've been flying for about 10 hours. Are we still far?"
Even in a first-class cabin, the flight to the United States was incredibly dull. Glancing around, I noticed everyone either sleeping with eye masks or reviewing documents related to next weekend's CES.
At 53 years old, Gunpei, too engrossed in perusing CES materials, had dozed off while clutching papers in his hand.
After a while, I asked a stewardess for some thin blankets to cover Gunpei. She smiled slightly at me and said, "You're kind, sir. Are you traveling together?"
"He was my boss at my previous job."
Recalling the time when I, along with Toy World's family, had ventured to conquer the American market with Gunpei, I chuckled softly while gazing out at the bright sunlight streaming through the window.
"I'm hungry, boss."
"It hasn't been that long since you had the in-flight meal. Are you hungry already?"
"Ah... I want ice cream. Cold green tea ice cream."
Upon hearing Kaori's voice from behind, thoughts of our home refrigerator suddenly crossed my mind.
"Green tea ice cream... Did I stock up enough?"
Later on, an announcement came through: "We will be landing at Las Vegas Airport shortly. Passengers, please remain seated and fasten your seat belts."
"We've finally arrived."
Having made a stopover at LAX Airport, we arrived at Las Vegas Airport after a lengthy 14-hour journey. We stretched our stiffened bodies, and especially Kaori, who seemed utterly exhausted from the long flight, yawned as she opened her mouth.
"Ugh, who knew flights could be such boring means of transportation..."
Upon hearing this, Hayashi, seated next to her, looked at her in disbelief.
"Boring? You've never flown economy on your first flight, but if you had, you'd experience a living hell..."
Miyazaki and Kaori giggled at Hayashi's words, but after the plane landed, they checked the expressions of people coming from the economy section and started nodding at each other.
Having retrieved our respective luggage and passed through the immigration checkpoint, briefly explaining our reasons for visiting the United States, we exited the airport.
"Mr. Kang!"
As we passed through the immigration gate, Wilson's voice echoed as he appeared, having waited for us with Ellis.
"Mr. Wilson."
After exchanging a brief handshake with Yuki since our wedding, we were about to chat when Gunpei and Shige approached, offering their greetings.
"We'll be heading off now. See you at the CES venue."
"Even though we've prepared various things at the Pentagon, our Mintendo's conference this time won't be easy. Be prepared."
With a confident expression, Shige opened his mouth, and I responded with a smile.
"We won't be easy either. Swallow some konbu (Japanese kelp) before you come. You might faint."
"That audacity of yours is still intact."
With a light tap on my shoulder, Shige hurriedly followed Gunpei.
Watching their retreating figures, I turned around at Ellis's prompting voice.
As we boarded the waiting vehicles at the airport, Ellis, sitting in the passenger seat, asked Kawaguchi, "Shall we take you to the hotel first? Or would you like to visit the venue first?"
Kawaguchi glanced at me subtly before saying, "Let's go to the venue first."
Having noticed everyone's unadjusted expressions, seemingly not yet adapted to the time difference, I reluctantly gestured to Kawaguchi with my eyes.
"To the hotel, then."
"Wow, sir, that's great! Thank you!"
"Yes. Let's do that."
"First, let's unpack, and then it might be better for you and the representative to visit the venue first."
"That sounds good. We'll check out the venue scale, so the staff can wait at the hotel."
Following this, Morita and Hayashi, somewhat familiar with the Pentagon, stepped forward.
"We'll go together."
I nodded in agreement with Morita and Hayashi's words.
"Alright. Just the team leaders and above; the rest of you, wait at the hotel."
"Understood."
Feeling tired from jet lag but eager to see the venue's scale firsthand, I decided to push a little.
Leaning against the window, I gazed at the sunset of the city known as the city of pleasure, Las Vegas, and got lost in thought amid the neon lights gradually illuminating.
"Manager Kang."
"Yes, Ellis?"
"Before you arrived at the airport, I received a call from Rob. He said he completed the mission you requested about the cigarette case. What's that about?"
Upon hearing Ellis's words, Kawaguchi, who was sitting next to me, also looked puzzled.
"That's good. Please convey my thanks to Rob."
>
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