I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 140

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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 140
Why is it that an uneasy premonition is never wrong?
It clung to me so desperately in that dream—was it a premonition after all?
I exhaled a short sigh and answered Mother.
“Mother, I might be moving to Silicon Valley soon.”
– Silicon Valley? You’re not… dropping out of school, are you?
[Min-guk’s gotten me exposed.]
How do I explain this?
My parents back in Korea naturally took pride in their son attending Harvard. One corner of Father’s restaurant was completely filled with my materials.
“Mother, I’m with people right now. I’ll call you back. But don’t worry—I’m not dropping out of school. And I’ll think about Min-guk’s language study abroad program too. I’m with Grace right now.”
– Oh, all right. Sorry for interrupting when you’re busy.
[How does Mother know I’m busy? And what’s she apologizing for!]
I swallowed hard, pushing down the emotion rising in my chest.
“No, Mother. I’ll call you tomorrow, adjusting for Korea time.”
– Yes, Sung-guk. Make sure you eat on time. Understood?
“Yes, Mother.”
Then I heard Min-guk’s voice from behind.
– Hyung! Remember the contract? I said I wanted to go to America to study better! Hyung, are you listening?
[I’m listening, you brat.]
I hung up and shook my head in exasperation.
Grace, who was standing nearby, approached after hearing my conversation with Mother.
“Sung-guk, is something wrong?”
“Grace, you know my younger brother Min-guk, right?”
“Of course I do. Our Min-guk.”
“It seems Min-guk wants to come for a language study program during break.”
“Really? That’s my specialty. I’ll look into it. Don’t worry.”
“Grace, I think I’ll need to look after Min-guk. Could you look into programs in Silicon Valley instead of New York?”
At that moment, Lim Mi-mi, sensing the situation, chimed in.
“Your brother’s coming from Korea?”
“Nothing’s been decided yet.”
“Boss, I’ve taught English to kids who just came from Korea and couldn’t speak it. If you pay me extra, I can teach him in a very Kim Il-sung University style.”
“Lim Mi-mi, is your salary insufficient?”
“I heard housing costs in Silicon Valley are incredibly expensive, so I’ve been a bit worried anyway.”
“Hmm… I’ll think about various things. Grace, could you also look into language study institutions?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll check it out.”
[Sigh, Jeon Tae-guk and Jeon Min-guk both…]
I had a feeling this summer wouldn’t be simple.
* * *
I opened my eyes in my dormitory bed after a long time.
Dennis was rustling around doing something beside me.
“Dennis, what are you doing?”
“Going to class today. You’re not going, right, Sung-guk?”
“Dennis, don’t we have the exact same classes?”
“Probably.”
I lacked the confidence to attend second semester classes diligently, so I’d simply arranged my schedule to match Dennis’s exactly.
I barely managed to drag myself out of bed.
I had only a short time left to spend at Harvard.
“Dennis, let’s go together.”
“Then I need to be ready in five minutes—is that okay?”
“I’ll just brush my teeth, that’s all.”
I did exactly that—brushed my teeth, threw on the Harvard hoodie Father had given me at my entrance ceremony, slung my bag over my shoulder, and headed to the lecture hall with Dennis.
“Dennis, how’s the screenplay coming along these days?”
“Sung-guk, it feels like I’m drifting in the middle of the Pacific. I’m scribbling away at The Whip, and that idea you gave me about young people seeking their dreams in Los Angeles—I’m sketching that out too. When we talk in the dormitory at night, ideas just flow endlessly, but lately I feel like such an idiot.”
[Dennis, that’s only possible because I already know the answers to the math problems beforehand.]
“Sung-guk, I really have no talent… Maybe I should just study hard and become some Wall Street broker like everyone else.”
Dennis had grown noticeably more dejected while I’d been consumed with FaceNote work alongside Mark.
“Dennis, starting today, want to work on the screenplay together after class?”
“Sung-guk, will you have time for that?”
[The actual work is fine since Mark and Lim Mi-mi handle the programming.]
I smiled faintly.
“Come to the office and we’ll work on it together. Oh, and Dennis—I’m thinking I’ll only attend school this semester, then move the office to Silicon Valley starting summer break.”
“Sung-guk, what about school?”
Dennis stared at me with considerable surprise.
“School… well…”
Honestly, I couldn’t make any promises.
I patted the bewildered Dennis on the shoulder.
“Dennis, let’s go to class first and talk about it in detail later. By the way, Dennis—there’s no homework or anything like that, right?”
“Sung-guk, if you go in, you’re going to get absolutely grilled. This class is taught by Michael Sandel.”
“No way!”
Michael Sandel’s classes were an endless barrage of questions—question after question after question.
* * *
Michael Sandel recognized me immediately.
Harvard had plenty of Asian students, but there wasn’t another young, handsome Asian like me.
[I’m certain of that!]
Michael Sandel flashed a meaningful smile.
“Sung-guk, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, Michael.”
“I didn’t even know you’d registered for my class this semester. What’s going on?”
Of course he was asking rhetorically.
“Michael, I’m sorry. This is my first time attending class today.”
“Is it because of that ‘FaceNote’ you mentioned developing last time?”
“Yes….”
“Hmm… I attended a fascinating forum not long ago… and it turns out the Harvard student who gave a presentation there is right here. Students.”
Michael Sandel had come to watch?
He must have quietly listened to my presentation and left.
The students began murmuring softly among themselves.
“Sung-guk, do you remember the discussion we had last semester?”
“Yes. We talked about the dangers of personal information exposure through ‘FaceNote’ and the reasons why people need to use ‘FaceNote’ despite those risks.”
“Back then, you said that while location exposure could lead to stalking, it could also help catch criminals and rescue people in danger, right?”
“Yes….”
Michael Sandel paced back and forth across the podium.
Pacing while organizing his thoughts and formulating the next question was Michael’s habit.
Michael suddenly stopped and looked at me.
“Sung-guk, I heard something quite interesting at this New Era Technology Forum. You said at the end that ‘FaceNote’ would connect people wherever there’s internet, and the world would become friends. You even said that if Kim Jong-il of North Korea used ‘FaceNote’, he would become a friend too, didn’t you?”
“Yes, Michael.”
Dennis burst out laughing at the mention of Kim Jong-il.
Brief laughter echoed throughout the lecture hall.
“Hmm… so if I wanted to, I could become friends with criminal organizations or terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, couldn’t I?”
“If ‘FaceNote’ were to be used worldwide, yes.”
“Then, if I wanted to join Al-Qaeda and communicate with them, they could also recruit me with honeyed words to win me over, right?”
“Unfortunately, that would be possible.”
I nodded.
And such things actually happen in reality.
Through ‘FaceNote’, terrorist and criminal organizations use it as a channel to recruit members and maintain contact.
Michael Sandel let out a low hum.
“Hmm… yes, it’s a difficult problem indeed. I’d like to ask this not just to you, Sung-guk, but to all the students gathered in this lecture hall. If ‘FaceNote’ becomes used by people worldwide, you’ll be able to build numerous connections and learn how people in different countries live. If you wanted to, you could exchange messages, make friends, and collect various information.”
All the students listened intently.
“You could make friends from other countries without even traveling. But here’s the thing… there’s a student here who harbors tremendous dissatisfaction with society. He posts such grievances on ‘FaceNote’. Then one day, a terrorist organization like Al-Qaeda contacts him, saying they know how to resolve your frustrations….”
This is exactly what will actually happen in the future.
[Michael, you truly are a genius. I have to admit it.]
I refocused on Michael’s lecture.
“The terrorist organization tells him to plant a bomb in some supermarket’s storage locker on their behalf. They promise him good money, saying that once he plants the bomb and leaves, he can live like a king in some Middle Eastern country where their organization operates. If a ‘FaceNote’ user who receives such a proposal accepts it, Al-Qaeda can bypass the hassle of boarding planes and going through immigration checks, instead recruiting dissatisfied forces from around the world and carrying out terrorist attacks.”
The auditorium stirred again.
Michael posed his question as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
“Do you think it’s right for SNS platforms like ‘FaceNote’ to be developed and spread worldwide when something you’re merely using to make friends could one day become a gateway for terrorism? What do you students think?”
Answers from the students began pouring out.
I quickly opened my laptop and began taking notes of the questions and answers.
Dennis whispered beside me.
“Sung-guk, in this class, you’ll get higher scores for participating in the discussion rather than just taking notes.”
“Dennis, I’m already failing anyway. But Michael Sandel’s questions are exactly the points ‘FaceNote’ needs to grapple with.”
“Sung-guk, you really are an unstoppable businessman, aren’t you?”
“Of course. Dennis, you should jump in and answer too. Otherwise, you’ll fail the class.”
The moment those words left my lips, Dennis eagerly participated in the discussion.
The students’ reactions varied widely.
The debate unfolded in a manner similar to the location exposure issue with FaceNote.
“Couldn’t we actually track down Al-Qaeda members and operatives ourselves?”
At one student’s question, Michael Sandel began pacing across the podium again.
“That’s a very interesting question. As the number of subscribers grows, FaceNote will likely possess information about countless people. We’d even know the locations of actual Al-Qaeda operatives. If you students were FaceNote’s operators, would you hand over this information to the FBI?”
In response to Michael Sandel’s question, the majority said they should disclose the Al-Qaeda operatives’ information.
Then, Michael suddenly stopped and looked back at me.
“But here’s the thing. Suppose Al-Qaeda operatives hacked into an ordinary person’s account to conduct their operations. And suppose that account is actually a ghost account you registered but never used. Yet the FBI believes you’re the account’s user and an Al-Qaeda operative, and they investigate you accordingly. Even in such circumstances, should personal information be unconditionally exposed to catch terrorist organizations?”
The auditorium fell silent.
It was a future that hadn’t yet arrived, and in 2004, no one fully grasped how crucial personal information would become.
Michael Sandel stared intently at me.
“Sung-guk, do you know the answer?”
“Honestly, I don’t, Michael. These are events that haven’t happened yet.”
“Just because you don’t know the future doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare for it, does it, Sung-guk?”
“Michael, of course our FaceNote will be fully prepared. Naturally, we’ll face many trial-and-error moments. But isn’t it better to move forward despite the possibility of negative outcomes than to never start at all?”
Michael Sandel smiled gently.
“Let’s end here for today.”
Dennis whistled in amazement.
“That was the most heated discussion we’ve had in this class recently, Sung-guk.”
In any case, FaceNote would go on to transform people’s futures.
Michael Sandel approached me.
“Sung-guk, from what I saw at the Forum, it seems it’ll be harder for you to attend class now. Am I right?”
“Michael, would it be alright if I audit whenever I have time?”
“If the reason is justified.”
“FaceNote needs philosophy too. I’d like to discuss that philosophy in this class.”
“That’s a wonderful reason. Then come listen whenever you can.”
“Thank you.”
Michael Sandel extended his hand. I quickly grasped it.
“Sung-guk, I’ve watched many Harvard students pursue their dreams through entrepreneurship. Of course, many of them have achieved tremendous success. But many have also failed. Whatever outcome you face, don’t lose your own philosophy. Then, you’ll never lose your entire life.”
“Michael, I’ll keep those words close to heart.”
“I wish you luck, Sung-guk.”
Michael left those final words and exited the lecture hall.

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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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