Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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35. Even dog dung has its uses, they say!

The sky had been overcast since morning, and as I left Professor Frank’s Research Office and headed back to the Dormitory, snow began falling gently from above.

“It’s been snowing for days now.”

I walked carefully back to the Dormitory, avoiding my bicycle since the ground was treacherous with ice, and shook my head as the snowfall grew heavier.
At first it had been pleasant, but after days of gloomy skies and relentless snow, I was thoroughly tired of it.
Upon arriving at the Dormitory building, I brushed the accumulated snow from my shoulders and grumbled at the entrance.

“No wonder soldiers call snow falling from the sky garbage.”

Grimacing, I hurried into the warmth of the building.
Several other students had returned early like me, but since the semester hadn’t officially begun yet, the atmosphere felt somewhat sparse.
As I climbed the stairs to my dormitory room and reached for the key in my coat pocket, I heard movement from inside and tilted my head in confusion.

“Huh? Did Roy get back already?”

I simply turned the handle, and sure enough, it opened easily.
Stepping inside, I spotted a familiar back hunched over the computer and spoke without preamble.

“Hey. When did you get here?”

Roy swiveled around in his chair and waved his hand in a gesture of greeting.

“About an hour ago.”

I removed my coat and hung it on the rack while asking.

“You made it through all that snow?”
“Don’t even mention it. My connecting flight got cancelled because of the snow, so I ended up sleeping rough at Chicago Airport for an entire day.”

Roy replied with exhaustion etched across his face.

“At least a plane took off the next day. That’s something.”
“I don’t care anymore. If it hadn’t flown today, I would’ve just gone home.”
“You should’ve checked the weather forecast more carefully.”

Roy scratched his head irritably at Park Seok-won’s disapproving click of his tongue.
He hadn’t visited a salon during the break, and his bangs had grown so long they nearly poked his eyes.

“I booked a month ago to get it done cheap, but how was I supposed to know a blizzard would hit right now?”
“Anyway, you’ve been through enough. You must be exhausted, yet here you are at the computer the moment you got back instead of resting.”
“A friend from my hometown created a web browser, so I was testing it out.”
“A web browser?”
“Yeah.”

Roy nodded and spoke.

“It’s better than I expected.”

Looking over Roy’s shoulder at the monitor, Park Seok-won’s eyes widened at the title screen with the large letters “Mosaic” displayed prominently.

“…!”

Mosaic was nothing short of a revolutionary web browser—the very catalyst of the internet revolution that would spark the dot-com bubble.

“How do you have that on your computer!”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Roy replied with a look that suggested Park Seok-won hadn’t heard a word he’d said.

“Wait, hold on.”

Stay calm. Stay calm.
My heart raced with the thrill of discovering something extraordinary, but I forced myself to compose my thoughts.

“Your friend really made this?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
“What’s his name?”
“What’s with you? You never cared about what I did or who I hung out with before.”

Roy looked at me with suspicion.

“Why do you want to know his name?”
“I’m just curious who created something like this.”

Park Seok-won made an effort not to appear anxious, speaking in a deliberately casual tone.
As he waited, swallowing hard, Roy revealed the name.

“Tom Harper.”

The moment I heard the name, I clenched one fist discreetly.
I’d suspected as much, but it was indeed the Tom Harper—the one who created Mosaic, the first graphical web browser capable of displaying images, and subsequently founded Netscape, igniting the spark that would democratize the internet.

‘Insane. How could such a coincidence even exist?’

The shock was all the greater because I’d been actively exploring ways to position myself as an early investor when Netscape was founded.
My body trembled with joy internally, but I deliberately concealed any hint of excitement and spoke lightly.

“Hmm. It seems quite different from other web browsers.”

The moment the conversation turned to his area of interest, Roy completely forgot his earlier suspicions and immediately turned his attention back to the monitor.

“It’s not just different—it’s revolutionary. Look here. Unlike the text-only interfaces we had before, you can now use graphics like background images, and most importantly, through hyperlinks, you can navigate to different pages with just a mouse click. This is a revolution, a genuine revolution.”

Roy clicked the mouse earnestly, passionately expounding on the superiority of the Mosaic web browser.
Even without listening to his explanation, I could see that all the features that would characterize every web browser created in the future were already implemented here, and I swallowed my amazement.
I could now understand why Mosaic was called the origin and foundation, despite the existence of web browsers created before it.

“It’s impressive that your friend created something like this.”
“Strictly speaking, he didn’t develop it alone.”
“Then?”

Roy leaned back in his chair, cradling his head in his hands as he spoke.

“He attends University of Illinois and works at the affiliated NCSA research institute. It was developed by the research team there.”
“That explains why the quality is too high to have been created as a solo cottage industry project.”

NCSA—the National Center for Supercomputing Application—was a public research institute established by the U.S. National Science Foundation in collaboration with various universities to develop programs for public benefit.

“But a significant portion of the ideas apparently came from his mind. Then again, he’s an even bigger computer enthusiast than I am, so it’s more than plausible.”

I glanced sideways at Roy, who was spinning a pen between his fingers like a toy.

“You two must be quite close.”
“He moved in next door when we were kids and we went to high school together, so I’d say we’re pretty close. We had similar interests too, so we got along well.”

So geeks really do recognize each other!
He spread both arms wide and pulled Roy into an embrace.

“You bastard! So you’re actually useful for something.”
“What are you talking about? Hey! Let go of me!”

Roy, startled, scowled and thrashed about, but he couldn’t escape from Park Seok-won’s muscular, hardened arms honed through athletic training.

“Even dog shit has its uses, they say!”
“Hey, that’s a curse! Is that Korean? Ugh, get away from me!”
“There, there. You’re adorable.”
“Argh!”

* * *

A few days later, in Chicago, United States.
In a building located downtown, the Chicago Community Trust Office, a public foundation, was situated.
The Chicago Community Trust, established in 1915, was renowned as America’s first community foundation.
It had consistently carried out diverse public welfare projects for a long time, including scholarship grants, educational improvements, and housing and medical support for low-income populations.
Amar Cuff, who had graduated from Harvard Law School and returned to Chicago, was working as an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School and had recently been actively practicing as a lawyer at a law firm.
Despite this, Cuff, who harbored grand political ambitions, was raising his profile by participating in various public interest organizations.
Cuff, dressed in a neat suit with a blue necktie, pushed open the glass door and entered the Chicago Community Trust Office.

“Everyone, have a cup of coffee.”

Cuff held up the coffee carriers in both hands and smiled brightly.
At that, five or six male and female staff members sitting at their desks working let out cheerful exclamations.

“Only Cuff would do something like this!”
“Thank you, we’ll enjoy it.”

Always cheerful and smiling, and occasionally bringing coffee or snacks like this to share, Cuff was naturally popular with the foundation staff.
The staff members who rose from their seats and approached him thanked him and each took a cup of the coffee Cuff had brought.

“Cuff, we appreciate it, but aren’t you going to go bankrupt buying us coffee like this every day?”

Irina, a mid-level office manager in her mid-thirties, threw out a joke with a smile.

“Ha, don’t worry—lawyer salaries aren’t quite that meager.”
“Good personality, a great sense of humor, and excellent earning potential. That’s why the women around here are so fond of you, Cuff.”
“That’s a shame. I’m already a married man.”

Amar Cuff proudly held up the ring on one of his fingers.
He was the sort of man who had married Catherine, a fellow lawyer at the same Law Firm, just last year and built a home with her.
Irina, who had attended the wedding, nodded while holding her coffee.

“That’s precisely why it’s such a shame. If we had just a few more men like you in our office, it would be wonderful.”
“Oh my. Can I tell your husband Craig what you just said?”
“Of course not!”

Irina pressed a finger to her lips and let out a playful shush.

“Ha ha ha!”

At that sight, not only Amar Cuff but everyone around them burst into laughter.
After exchanging pleasantries in that warm atmosphere for a while, as the staff gradually returned to their desks, Amar Cuff also took his seat at his desk positioned to one side.
Coming to the office about once a week, Amar Cuff handled work that drew on his expertise—taking on cases that required legal counsel.
As he took a sip of coffee, Irina came over carrying an armful of file folders and set them down on his desk.

“There’s quite a bit of work for you today.”
“So it appears.”

When Amar Cuff asked what the matter was, Irina let out a small sigh.

“The Rocky Mountain bankruptcy has been nothing but a headache.”

Rocky Mountain was a mid-to-large-sized real estate company based in Chicago.
As part of a low-income housing stabilization support program, four apartment buildings in the slum areas owned by Rocky Mountain had been leased out, but when the company went bankrupt not long ago, problems arose.
Amar Cuff, who was already familiar with the related matter, looked at Irina standing before him with a serious expression.

“You mentioned the bank sent a foreclosure notice.”
“Yes, unfortunately.”

Irina nodded her head.

“At this rate, over forty households living in rental units will have no choice but to lose their homes and be evicted.”
“We can’t let that happen.”

Amar Cuff spoke gravely, his gaze fixed on the file folders spread across the desk.
Irina, who had been deeply worried about this matter, felt some comfort in his words and her expression softened.

“It won’t be easy, but please see if you can find a way.”
“I’ll do my best.”

Amar Cuff pulled out the topmost file folder and opened it.
Though the situation was urgent, Irina held back the urge to press him further—it would be rude to burden someone who was volunteering without compensation. She closed her lips and remained silent.
As she turned to step aside so he could focus on the work, something suddenly occurred to her and she spoke.

“Oh, and there’s one more thing I wanted to tell you.”

When Amar Cuff looked up, Irina’s brow furrowed slightly.

“What was his name again? It was quite unusual… Oh, that’s right! Do you happen to know someone named Park Seok-won?”

For a moment, Amar Cuff’s expression grew puzzled, but then he recalled the face of Seok-won, whom he had met by chance a few months ago when he visited Harvard University after a long time.
The first impression had been favorable, and since they had exchanged contact information, they had stayed in touch fairly regularly, so he remembered him well.

“I do know him. Why do you ask?”
“This Park Seok-won said he was recommended by you and sent a donation to the foundation.”
“Really?”

Amar Cuff’s expression showed surprise—he had never heard anything about this from Seok-won.

“You certainly have impressive connections. You’re quite close with such a wealthy man.”

As Amar Cuff blinked with a confused expression, Irina spoke again.

“My goodness, you didn’t know? The donation he sent was one hundred thousand dollars.”
“What?”

Amar Cuff’s eyes widened in shock.
It was only natural, as one hundred thousand dollars was a substantial sum—large enough to place a donor’s name near the top of the Chicago Community Trust’s major donor list.

“My apologies, I’ve been so scattered. I feel like I’ve been bothering you when you’re so busy. Please, I’ll leave you to it!”

Watching Irina hurry back to her seat, Amar Cuff muttered with a bewildered expression.

“He donated a hundred thousand dollars?”

In Amar Cuff’s mind, Park Seok-won was simply a talented Harvard junior who excelled at games.
He had a strikingly handsome face and possessed a magnetic charm that made Amar Cuff hope they would remain close friends in the future—so learning that he had suddenly donated such a substantial sum left him utterly perplexed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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