American: Native Empire

“Wow!”

When Solid Horn saw the photo for the first time, he was amazed. 

He had often seen the cityscape, but it was very fascinating to see it recorded in the form of a photo.

His father, Thick Horn smiled warmly at his son’s reaction.

“Hahaha! Do you like it?”

“Yes! Dad, what is this?”

“It’s called a photo.”

“Photo…”

“You seem very curious. Do you want to see more photos?”

“Can I see more?”

“Of course. There are many different kinds of photos in this world. Not just the ones that capture the scenery. Follow me.”

“Okay!”

Solid Horn followed his father to a place called a photo studio.

“Woah!”

There were countless photos on display in the photo studio. 

There were portraits, including Kim Kiwoo’s photo, and landscape photos of various natural scenes.

Solid Horn couldn’t close his mouth as he walked around the photo studio. 

He was especially drawn to the photos that showed beautiful natural landscapes. 

They made his heart beat faster.

“Come over here. Since we’re here, we should take a photo together.”

“We can take our own photo? Like these ones?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Let’s do it right now!”

Then Solid Horn took a portrait with his father. 

It was hung in his living room until the day he died.

That day changed Solid Horn’s life. 

From that day on, he became a photo enthusiast.

He even started to take his own photos when he grew up, producing many stunning photos that rivaled the experts.

Thick Horn was a very influential merchant in the upper district, so Solid Horn’s family had a lot of money. 

Thanks to that, he had no problem pursuing his hobby of photography.

But the more he took photos, the more dissatisfied he felt in his chest.

“It’s too inconvenient.”

The camera was developing day by day. 

He had all kinds of cameras in his house, from the earliest ones to the latest ones, so he knew this better than anyone else.

But still, photography was only for a few professionals like him. 

It took a lot of work to take and develop photos.

“How can I improve this?”

At the young age of fifteen, Solid Horn began to ponder this question. 

And his father noticed his son’s dilemma.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Yes, dad.”

“Haha, kid. Don’t suffer alone and tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Well…”

Thick Horn quietly listened to his son’s problem. And when he finished,

“Hahahaha!”

He burst into laughter.

“Why are you laughing! I’m serious.”

Solid Horn puffed up his cheeks and complained. 

He felt like his father wasn’t taking him seriously.

But it was the opposite. 

Thick Horn was very happy to hear his son’s problem. 

He was very proud that his only child had a desire to achieve something from an early age.

“My adorable son!”

“Ack! Why are you doing this!”

“Haha. Just stay still, Yonseok.”

Thick Horn hugged Solid Horn tightly and rubbed his cheeks. 

Solid Horn hated this kind of skinship, but he couldn’t resist his father’s strength.

‘He’s grown up so fast.’

He felt nostalgic.

Thick Horn always felt sorry for his son. 

His wife died shortly after giving birth to Solid Horn, and as a result, their family consisted of only two people.

He was born as an orphan of the sky, and his only kin in this world was his Solid Horn.

But as the lord of the sky, he was too busy with his duties to pay much attention to his son. 

He had a nanny, but that was not enough to fill the void of a family.

He must have been very lonely.

He wished for nothing but his son’s health and happiness. 

But to his surprise, his son showed a desire to try something new.

He wanted to grant his son’s wish.

“Go ahead and do whatever you want. I’ll support you with anything you need.”

“Really?”

“Ha ha. Have you ever seen me lie?”

“No, of course not. He he.”

“Then tell the nanny what you need.”

“Yes!”

He ordered his staff to provide his son with anything he needed. 

And then he half-forgot about it.

He didn’t have much expectation for his son to achieve anything.

His son was only fifteen years old. 

It was too young to accomplish anything.

His grades were mediocre, so he didn’t think he was a genius.

He also thought that his son wouldn’t spend much money anyway.

***

As soon as he heard that his father would support him, he tried to hire professional photographers and scientists.

“Hmm. The only son of the lord of the sky, huh?”

“He’s famous, alright. But he’s still a kid, right?”

“But he’s also a good photographer, despite being the son of a wealthy lord. He has quite a reputation in the photography world.”

“That’s true, but… do you really want to work under a kid?”

“Why not? Do you know how rare it is to get paid this much for a job?”

“Huh, fine. I don’t know what you’re missing… Well, it’s your decision, so I won’t complain. But don’t drag me into it.”

“Of course not.”

No matter how famous he was as the son of the lord, he was too young for them. 

That’s why there was a lot of noise during the hiring process.

But the pay was good compared to other jobs, so they managed to recruit some people. 

He set up a workshop as soon as he hired them.

‘He’s really young.’

‘What does he know? He’s just a kid. We just have to kill time and indulge his hobby.’

That’s what they felt when they visited his workshop and met him face to face.

He was small for his age of fifteen. 

And his clothes made him look like a spoiled kid.

But he didn’t care about their negative looks. 

He only had his passion in his mind.

“Nice to meet you all!”

So he greeted them with a bright smile. 

And then he revealed his true intention.

“Photography is too inconvenient right now!”

“What?”

They were puzzled by his sudden remark.

But he didn’t care and continued.

“Look at this. To take a good picture, you need experts in this field, right?”

“Um. That’s true.”

The eight people who became his employees nodded their heads. 

Especially the four of them who were professional photographers agreed more.

He sparkled his eyes.

“You don’t know how hard it was for me to take a decent picture when I was young.”

“Pfft… Oh, sorry.”

One of them laughed involuntarily at his words. 

It sounded like he was imitating an adult, even though he was still a kid.

But he didn’t mind.

“I wish that everyone could take pictures, even if they are not experts. A world where everyone has a small camera and can take pictures whenever they want.”

“Hmm.”

It was a huge ambition that did not get any response. 

The employees looked quite puzzled by it.

But the Solid Horn’ eyes were very firm.

***

At that time, the cameras used the wet plate method. 

It required skilled techniques and a lot of equipment. 

It was not for nothing that photography was called the domain of experts.

The Solid Horn were young, but they had a lot of knowledge about photography. 

That’s why they knew the chronic problems of the current cameras very well.

“The wet plate method must be eliminated!”

They insisted from the beginning.

“Hmm. But that’s technically…”

“Nothing is impossible. There must be a much better way than the wet plate method.”

The employees were just hired workers. 

They had to follow the words of their employer who paid them.

“Well, let’s try it.”

Eventually, they started to look for a new method.

But developing a dry plate that was sensitive enough was quite difficult.

“Ha ha. How is the research going?”

“It’s hard… But I will definitely succeed!”

“That’s right. That’s how you can be called the son of this thick lump. Don’t give up and try it.”

“Don’t be surprised later.”

They experienced countless failures, but the Solid Horn never gave up. 

They absorbed a lot of knowledge and led the research.

‘Wow, he’s really amazing for his young age.’

‘Maybe a great photographic technique will really be born…’

The employees were impressed by their passion and effort.

‘I can’t just sit still when the young employer is working so hard.’

As a result, they also focused on the research.

Was it because the heavens were moved by their efforts?

After many trials and errors, they finally developed a dry plate with gelatin emulsion.

This emulsion, obtained by processing cow bones and leather, was able to support the photosensitive silver salt sufficiently.

“Wow! The sensitivity is maintained even when it’s dry?”

“Now we don’t need this damn glass plate.”

If there was no glass plate that was easy to break and inconvenient to carry, the camera would surely be simplified.

The employees were encouraged by this achievement. 

But the Solid Horn had no intention of stopping here.

‘It’s not enough.’

They had not reached their goal of making everyone a photographer.

To do that, they had to be able to take many pictures at once. 

The Solid Horn kept urging their employees to continue their research.

As a result, roll film also appeared in the world.

Of course, roll film was a printable negative, or a negative image. 

For this, they had to separate the emulsion from the opaque paper.

‘Printing can be done separately by professionals, right? The important thing is, anyone can take pictures easily.’

But the Solid Horn didn’t worry too much about it.

“Great job, everyone!”

They just shared their joy with their employees,

“Dad!”

And ran to their thick lump father and showed him their results.

At first, the thick lump checked his son’s research results with a light heart.

A lot of money had been invested in the research, but he didn’t expect much until then. 

But after checking all the new cameras.

“How is it?”

“…”

He couldn’t say anything to his son’s question.

‘This is… too amazing, isn’t it?’

The new camera was nothing but innovation itself.

The camera with roll film could take as many as a hundred pictures. 

It was an unbelievable amount for a camera that could be held in two hands.

He was running a large-scale business, so he knew better than anyone else the potential of this camera.

“Ha, ha ha… Ha ha ha ha!”

He soon burst into laughter.

“You cute thing!”

“Ack! Stop it!”

He hugged his son again and rubbed his cheeks.

“This is not the time for this. Let’s register the patent right away!”

The thick lump quickly finished all the procedures and started to plan the production and sales strategy of roll film cameras.

And at the end of that year,

The simple and innovative cameras began to be sold in earnest.

-Press the button and you are a photographer.

The camera with this slogan sold like hotcakes in no time.