I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 137

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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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Chapter 137
Outside the Forum Hall.
Jeon Jae-hyung was waiting for Young Secretary Yang inside the car.
Jeon Tae-guk sat beside him, idly flipping through a brochure he’d picked up from the Expo Venue.
“Why is Secretary Yang taking so long….”
Jeon Jae-hyung spoke, suppressing his irritation.
“The FaceNote presentation was the most impressive today. There were so many questions that they even extended the Q&A session, and you missed it.”
“Well, I’ll just hear about it from Secretary Yang.”
“Tae-guk, there’s an enormous difference between seeing something yourself and hearing about it from someone else. Depending on who’s relaying the information, the facts can be distorted however they please. That’s why your grandfather took care of every detail, no matter how small.”
Jeon Jae-hyung offered his son Jeon Tae-guk advice, but Jeon Tae-guk dismissed it all as mere nagging.
“Yes… I understand.”
His response was perfunctory.
Tap. Tap.
The sound of knocking on the car window echoed.
The window on Jeon Jae-hyung’s side rolled down.
Young Secretary Yang quickly bowed his head.
“Sung-guk and his group are flying out tomorrow evening, so they only have time for lunch tomorrow. However, he says he has a prior commitment.”
“A prior commitment? One that can’t be cancelled?”
“Yes, sir. It’s a prior commitment with Charlie Jobs.”
Jeon Jae-hyung clenched his teeth.
“I see. We’ll have to hope for another opportunity.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jeon Jae-hyung rolled the window back up.
“Jeon Sung-guk, putting on airs like that. Just some venture capitalist. No matter how big a venture gets, it’ll never be bigger than Samjeon….”
At Jeon Tae-guk’s sarcasm, Jeon Jae-hyung could no longer contain his anger.
Jeon Jae-hyung snatched the brochure from Jeon Tae-guk’s hands, hurled it away, and erupted in fury.
“Jeon Tae-guk! You’re losing the biggest opportunity because of jealousy! A venture? Do you think American ventures are the same as Korean ventures? Microsoft! Charlie Jobs’ Apple! They all started as ventures and became global companies! You fool!”
“I… I’m sorry, Father.”
Jeon Tae-guk was left speechless.
His father, Jeon Jae-hyung, had always disapproved of him, but this was the first time he’d seen him this angry.
“Jeon Tae-guk, listen carefully. If you take over Samjeon Group and lose to Sung-guk… no matter how much you’re my son, I won’t pass Samjeon on to you! Do you understand?!”
“….”
Terrified, Jeon Tae-guk could only tremble.
“Do you understand me!”
“Yes… Father. I understand….”
Jeon Tae-guk nodded, trembling with fear.
* * *
My choice was naturally Charlie Jobs.
If someone asked me to choose between Samjeon Group and Apple, wouldn’t I obviously choose Apple?
“Charlie, what would you like to have for lunch tomorrow?”
“I’m a vegetarian, you know. There’s a vegan restaurant I frequent in New York. Let’s meet there.”
[Pancreatic cancer requires a balanced diet above all else….]
But Charlie Jobs was a stubborn ideologue who rarely listened to anyone. Not even doctors!
“I’ll go with Mark and Lim Mi-mi, one of our company employees.”
“Good.”
Charlie Jobs exchanged greetings with Peter before slipping out of the Waiting Room.
Peter approached me with flushed cheeks.
“Sung-guk, it feels like destiny flows through you. Charlie is incredibly selective about meeting people, and he doesn’t get involved unless it’s Apple business… but with your projects, he seems almost enchanted to help.”
[Peter, do you have any idea how groundbreaking that touchscreen idea I gave him is? There’s a reason Charlie Jobs treats me so well. Nothing in this world is free.]
I suppressed my true thoughts and smiled faintly. Then I casually flipped through the brochure.
“Mark, what are you planning to see later?”
“I want to check out YouTube, the one we couldn’t see in San Francisco last time. It’s starting soon.”
I examined the YouTube introduction page.
And I realized I had made a grave miscalculation.
YouTube wasn’t fully owned by Google yet!
“Mark, didn’t you say Google was developing YouTube last time? Looking at the brochure, it doesn’t seem to be owned by Google yet….”
“Oh… you’re right. Google is probably supporting them the way Peter supports our company.”
“Let’s go watch the YouTube presentation right now.”
“Sir, I’ll come with you.”
“Then Lim Mi-mi, hurry along!”
My heart began to race intensely again.
Indeed, a lion’s heart upon spotting prey beats with unmatched vigor.
[No, I’m a tiger. I’m Korean, after all….]
I reclaimed my tiger spirit.
* * *
The YouTube presentation venue was desolate beyond measure.
Empty seats were everywhere, and the audience’s reaction was lackluster.
Everyone sat with their chins resting in their hands, staring at Chad Chun, the developer presenting YouTube, as if wondering what this even was.
Even I could see Chad Chun’s presentation was a disaster. He stammered frequently, whether from nervousness or not.
“Our, our YouTube is… a platform where users can freely create and upload videos… and, and share them. Perhaps we will all become YouTube users in the future. Sigh.”
And ending with a sigh, no less….
Mark whispered beside me.
“Sung-guk, I think I could do better than that.”
“Mark, don’t be so sure….”
Chad Chun wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked out at the cold audience.
“Um, does anyone have questions?”
Then, a voice asking a question emerged from the darkness.
“Uploading even a single video requires enormous traffic these days. Can a site that randomly uploads videos really handle all that traffic?”
“We’re doing our best to resolve that part… that is… we’re working on it.”
“Everyone does their best. The real question is whether you can actually achieve it, isn’t it?”
The questioner’s voice turned accusatory.
“Ah… yes… well…”
Chad Chun couldn’t even answer properly as the criticism poured down on him.
Mark shook his head vigorously beside me.
“Sung-guk, I’m giving up presentations in this lifetime.”
“Leave the presentation to me.”
“Sir, you were absolutely brilliant in the waiting room earlier, weren’t you?”
“Lim Mi-mi, I’m a stage performer. I don’t get nervous under the lights.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
Chad Chun wiped the sweat pouring down his forehead frantically with a handkerchief, then looked back at the audience.
“Are there any more questions?”
I raised my hand immediately.
“I have a question!”
“Yes… please go ahead.”
“When can we expect to see the YouTube service?”
“We’re preparing beta service by the end of this year.”
[Just as I predicted….]
YouTube’s service would definitely launch in 2005. And this timid Chad Chun would sell YouTube to Google, which helped develop it, for 1.65 billion dollars—roughly two trillion won.
Ten years later, YouTube’s value would approach eighty billion dollars.
[Sigh… I really want to buy YouTube… but I don’t have the money….]
I wept tears of blood internally.
To buy YouTube, I ultimately needed money, but I didn’t have enough capital to acquire it right now. Was I really going to lose it to Google like this?
“Sir, why are you groaning like that?”
“My stomach hurts.”
“Does it hurt a lot? Should I get you some medicine?”
[My stomach ache is because I have to watch someone else become rich right before my eyes, Lim Mi-mi!]
Chad Chun quickly finished his presentation and came down from the stage.
I rushed over and greeted Chad Chun.
“Hello, I’m Jeon Sung-guk. I’m the developer of FaceNote.”
“I watched your presentation earlier too. It was very impressive.”
“Would it be possible to visit your company sometime if the opportunity comes up?”
“Of course. Here’s my contact information. But… where is your office? We’re in Silicon Valley.”
“We’re still students, so it’s near school.”
“Which school?”
“Harvard.”
Chad Chun looked at me with an admiring gaze.
[Well, I’m used to this look. Young and good-looking, attending Harvard. Plus, that presentation was art, wasn’t it, Chad?]
“The East Coast is quite far. If I may offer some advice….”
[What’s this reaction? He just stumbled through his presentation and now he wants to give me advice?]
Chad Chun wiped the sweat flowing down his face once more.
“If you want to grow your company, it would be best to move to Silicon Valley. There are many benefits, and the networking is far more active. We have plenty of talented developers concentrated here, so the talent pool is exceptional.”
[Chad, I don’t think now is the time for you to worry about me….]
“I’ll take your advice to heart.”
“If I have business in the East Coast, I’ll stop by. And if you ever come out here, please reach out. If you need to find an office, we have plenty of places we can introduce you to.”
“I will.”
I clasped Chad Chun’s sweat-drenched hand.
Silicon Valley….
“Chad!”
I stopped Chad as he turned to leave.
“Yes?”
“By any chance, are there any vacant office spaces in the same building?”
“Of course! There are tons. Come visit sometime. I’ll introduce you to some great options!”
“Yes, I’ll be in touch.”
Chad waved and disappeared into the Waiting Room.
I smiled faintly.
I don’t have a single penny to buy YouTube right now. But if I get close to Chad Chun, the YouTube developer, couldn’t I change the future somehow?
The thought alone made me smile involuntarily.
“Sung-guk, what are you doing? Peter and Grace are waiting for you to have dinner together.”
“Right, I should go….”
“Sung-guk, why do you have such an amused look on your face?”
Mark stared at me curiously.
“Just… something fun seems like it’s about to happen.”
* * *
Peter led us to an old restaurant in New York.
“You’ve all worked hard today. Grace and I come here often, and today, don’t worry about the cost—order whatever you want!”
“Thank you, Peter.”
“Sung-guk, you’ve really worked hard. You too, Mark.”
Then Peter looked at Lim Mi-mi.
“Ms. Lim Mi-mi, have these two been manageable to work with? They’re both extraordinary people.”
“When the Restaurant Owner kept feeding me and Mark hamburgers like it was part of our salary and told us to create notifications, I really thought I was back in North Korea.”
“Oh my… haha, I’m sorry.”
Grace burst into laughter at that.
“Sung-guk, isn’t that labor exploitation?”
“Ms. Lim Mi-mi’s story is missing the beginning and the end. I clearly told Ms. Lim Mi-mi to go home and work at a leisurely pace. Same with Mark. Right, Mark?”
I subtly jabbed Mark in the ribs.
“Well… I mean, that’s what you said. Def. Inite. Ly.”
Peter asked as if he’d found an interesting toy to play with.
“So you said that, but in reality, it wasn’t like that. Is that it, Mark?”
“It’s not quite that extreme. Sung-guk needs to show impressive results, but are you guys even tired? I’m fourteen in Korean age, twelve in American age, and I’m staying up all night worrying about FaceNote! How could we possibly go home in that situation?”
“Honestly, except when the Restaurant Owner went out to buy us food, we never left our desks.”
Lim Mi-mi continued with her testimony.
Peter and Grace burst into laughter.
“But seriously, how come none of you ever leave Sung-guk?”
Grace’s question prompted Lim Mi-mi to scratch around her pierced eyebrow.
“After living under a dictator for twenty years, I can’t bring myself to go against what the Restaurant Owner says. He frames everything as a proposal, but it doesn’t sound like a proposal—it sounds like an order. If you don’t do it, you’re done for! That kind of conditioning runs so deep from childhood that it just operates automatically.”
“Mi-mi, you look completely American on the outside, but it seems your mindset hasn’t fully adapted yet?”
“I changed my appearance to try to shift my mindset, but… when I’m working, I just fall back into the old patterns.”
Lim Mi-mi laughed sheepishly.
In moments like these, she seemed like any ordinary woman in her twenties.
And Mark continued to gaze at her with syrupy, lovesick eyes.
[When will this unrequited love finally end….]
Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Young Secretary Yang’s number flashed on the screen.
What could be happening at this hour…?

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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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