4 KiShin Electronics

Several days had passed since Shin had prepared an advertisement for hiring someone with electronic and programming skills. He didn't mind if the person was a novice; as long as they could assist him in his task, he was open to it.

Feeling weary, Shin decided to take a break at McDo for a moment. However, his attention was drawn to a young woman who had just been rejected for something. He found himself strangely interested, perhaps because the young woman appeared beautiful, youthful, yet carried an independent aura about her.

As he observed, he noticed that the young woman was deeply engrossed in studying the advertisement he had prepared. This piqued his curiosity, making him think that she might possess the necessary skills for the job, given her focused scrutiny.

Shin decided to strike up a conversation. For a moment, he couldn't believe that his initial hunch was accurate. It turned out the woman was indeed knowledgeable in electronics and programming, as she introduced herself as a computer engineer student.

...

After Mira had introduced herself, she followed Shin to an apartment. Her heart raced, and she couldn't help but think that Shin's offer sounded too good to be true, especially for a first-year computer engineering student like herself.

"This... Are you really a scammer?" Mira nervously inquired. The building in front of her was clearly an old apartment, not a corporate office.

"Relax. I'm not running a con," Shin assured her, understanding her concerns.

"If you're not a con, then why are you taking me to your apartment?" Mira retorted, preparing herself for the worst. "My mother was right. Tokyo is nothing like the province!"

Shin chuckled, finding Mira's reaction endearing. "Don't worry. I'm in the process of setting up my company, so I don't have an office building yet."

Mira asked in surprise, "You're just starting out? You mean... I'm your first employee?"

Shin chuckled again and nodded, saying, "That's correct."

Mira felt a bit foolish, not because she was pleased to be the first employee, but because it seemed unbelievable that she had even considered joining what could be an unreliable company.

"I..." Mira bit her lower lip, hesitant about joining such a venture.

Seeing her reaction, Shin said, "Don't worry. You won't be tied to the company as a full-time employee."

Mira still hesitated.

Observing her uncertainty, Shin added, "If you're not comfortable with it, I won't force you. I'll find someone else for the job that pays 5,000 yen for five hours." He shook his head as if disappointed.

"No!" Mira quickly shook her head. "Let's go. I'll take it," she firmly decided. She really needed the money, so even if this turned out to be a trap, she had a pair of scissors in her bag. Her thought process may have seemed unreliable, but she didn't have much of a choice. Starvation was a worse alternative.

...

They arrived at the front door of Shin's newly acquired apartment, which had the name 'Kishin Electronic' written on it. Shin felt a sense of pride, while Mira couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.

"This is my company. Let's go," Shin said as he opened the door.

Upon entering, Mira was taken aback to find a mess of electronic parts scattered on the floor. On the desk, there was a small desk lamp and a piece of paper that appeared to be a blueprint. Green circuit boards were strewn across the floor, along with various equipment, and a computer sat on the corner.

Mira stared at this scene, momentarily speechless. What kind of rundown electronic company had she walked into?

Shin smiled; this apartment room was rented for 30,000 yen a month, excluding bills, making it relatively cheap compared to other areas in Tokyo. It was an old-fashioned apartment, and that's why its price was lower to attract tenants.

The computer alone cost 300,000 yen at the time, and Shin had been fortunate enough to already own one at home. He had it delivered to this apartment and acquired the materials, such as circuit boards and essential components like the CPU and PPU, for 8-10,000 yen. He purchased these parts from Tora Electronic, not his family's company, Suzuki Electronic, a subsidiary of the Suzuki Group. Shin knew that his father would disapprove of his venture. After leaving home, he had informed his mother and father of his intention to become independent, and while his mother seemed worried, she didn't try to stop him. Shin was well aware that his mother favored her first daughter.

Mira glanced around the room, still dumbfounded. "This is your company?"

Shin nodded confidently. "Impressive, right?"

Mira had the urge to slap Shin and retorted, "Impressive? It's beyond miserable!"

Shin shrugged, unaffected by her opinion. He simply wanted her assistance to expedite his work.

Mira sighed helplessly. "I should have expected as much. What can you expect from a company located in an old apartment?"

Shin felt a pang of insult and retorted, "Hmph. This won't be my situation forever. Someday, I'll own several buildings under Kishin Company!"

Mira chuckled. "You must be a second-generation entrepreneur. You have quite an optimistic dream."

Shin felt slightly irritated and reprimanded, "Is that how you talk to your boss!?"

"Sorry, boss," Mira said nonchalantly.

"Alright, let's get started," Shin said as he sat in front of his computer.

"Now?" Mira was momentarily bewildered.

"Of course, now!" Shin said firmly as he rapidly typed on his keyboard.

"What can I do?" Mira asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Here. Examine this blueprint and follow the instructions written on it," Shin said, handing her the blueprint of the prototype gaming console.

"Blueprint?" Mira stared at the blueprint with curiosity.

"That's the planned blueprint, essential for my company," Shin explained as he continued typing.

"It looks like a device," Mira observed, reading the labels and the detailed descriptions below them, such as CPU, PPU, or cartridge, each with its respective function.

"Hmm... This device seems similar to those consoles used for playing ping pong or tetris," Mira commented as she read the overall function of the device. "But it's smaller."

Shin nodded, surprised that she had noticed. "Exactly. You're quite sharp. It seems you're competent."

Mira snorted and said, "Of course. My course is Computer Engineering. I may be only a first-year student, but I already know this kind of stuff."

She continued to examine the blueprint and deduced, "You must be planning to open a game company. But I don't think you can create an interesting game other than those like ping pong, which won't really appeal to the average person since it's rather boring."

Shin simply smiled at her comment.

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Word counts : 1118