I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 199

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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 199
The night I returned to Silicon Valley, I immediately sent an email to Park Sung-hee.
– I will arrive in Korea on August 14th. I plan to stay for a week, so please arrange a meeting with VIP.
Park Sung-hee’s response came quickly.
– August 16th. VIP would like to have dinner with you. I will come pick you up at your home directly.
While I was writing the email, three people in their adolescence and early twenties were reciting their life stories like madmen in the living room.
Min-guk was telling the story about how our home was poor from childhood.
Jung-woo was telling the story about the day he came home and found an eviction notice on the door.
Jeon Tae-guk was telling the story about how his family was a conglomerate, but he had no freedom from childhood.
I shook my head and shouted toward the living room.
“Please, just be quiet and get some sleep before the neighbors report us for noise.”
“Hyung, just ten more minutes!”
Min-guk had shed his adolescent angst and was transforming into an enthusiast.
[Fine, whatever.]
I closed the door and did my best to fall asleep with earplugs in.
But sleep wouldn’t come easily.
And that night, they were ultimately reported by the neighbors, and the Samjeon Protocol Team rushed over to handle the entire situation.
* * *
Exhausted from not sleeping properly last night, I checked the stock market.
We were passing through the summer of 2007.
Next year, Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy would hit, driving the United States to the brink of ruin.
It was already rotting internally, but judging from the stock market alone, it was clearly a boom period economically.
Knock. Knock.
I heard the sound of a notification, and Mark walked into the office with freshly delivered pizza.
“Sung-guk, what was all that commotion in the early morning?”
“Three guys with hip-hop fever causing a ruckus, what else.”
“Mi-mi and I were so startled we came out, and there were police, Samjeon people everywhere—just how loud were you guys?”
“It was right next door. You didn’t hear it?”
“Mi-mi and I were so tired we drank beer and completely passed out.”
[I won’t ask for details, Mark.]
I barely suppressed an oncoming yawn.
“Ugh—I specifically said the neighbors would report us, but I guess the lingering excitement from meeting Eminem hasn’t worn off.”
“You met Eminem? The Eminem I know?”
Mark looked at me in surprise.
“Didn’t I tell you? When I uploaded that trainee video back then, one of the girls who called herself a fan was Eminem’s daughter. At the time, Eminem was worried about his daughter, so I said a few words to her. After that, we’ve kept in touch occasionally.”
“And here I am, co-founding FaceNote with you, and yet…”
Mark sighed.
[Mark, life was always unfair. Shouldn’t you know that by now?]
“Mark, you have Lim Mi-mi. Having even one person who knows you is more fortunate than being everyone’s ideal man.”
“Sung-guk, you’re still a minor, so you’re not dating anyway!”
“Sorry, I’m not great at comforting people.”
“Let’s not talk about it.”
Mark set down his pizza.
“What about Lim Mi-mi?”
“My one and only partner is having lunch with the Protocol Team, so she wants us to eat together.”
[So that’s why she was upset.]
“Come on, dig in. It’s that Hawaiian pizza you love.”
I took a bite of pizza while watching the stock ticker on my screen.
“Sung-guk, what are you staring at?”
“The stock market’s looking good… Mark, I’m thinking about buying some YouTube shares personally. What do you think?”
“What?”
Mark froze with the pizza slice halfway to his mouth, staring at me.
“You want to buy YouTube? What are you talking about?”
“Google bought YouTube last year.”
“Yeah.”
But YouTube’s performance was still lackluster.
The uploaded videos constantly lagged when they were large files, and even existing users were abandoning the platform.
Within Google, which was crushing Yahoo and dominating the search engine market, the consensus was that acquiring YouTube had been a mistake.
“Actually, I talked to Chad Chun recently.”
Chad Chun was YouTube’s founder, and last year he’d sold YouTube to Google for a fortune, becoming a multimillionaire.
“Chad Chun didn’t sell all his YouTube shares. He kept about 5% of his stake… but looking at the performance lately, he thinks it’s going to collapse soon. He’s regretting that he didn’t just sell all of it to Google.”
“Sung-guk, even YouTube’s founder regrets it, and you want to buy it now?”
That was a fair reaction.
“Mark, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, right?”
“Good grief! Sung-guk, you don’t even have the money!”
“That’s why I’m thinking of selling some stocks…”
Mark shook his head firmly.
“Sung-guk, I know you’re good at stock investing. But I really don’t think this is it. I check YouTube sometimes too, and there aren’t many users. The videos that get uploaded are all garbage. I don’t see any potential for growth at all.”
[The fact that Mark’s telling me not to buy it makes me want to even more…]
I took another bite of Hawaiian pizza.
“By the way, Mark. What are you doing with your Nokia stock? I heard Lim Mi-mi is on a buying spree with Nokia…”
“Sung-guk, I think the world will eventually return to analog.”
“Mark, we’re the ones leading the SNS revolution. That doesn’t really make sense coming from you.”
“Sure, SNS users are growing right now, but ultimately people use SNS to meet up in real life. People can’t live on the internet alone.”
Mark was convinced about this return to analog.
“Everyone’s obsessed with iPhones now, but one day people will get tired of all the excessive information and notifications, and they’ll all go back to analog phones—just calls and simple messages.”
[Mark, I’m telling you, that world won’t come for at least ten years.]
I chugged my cola. And with the feeling that this was truly my last chance, I spoke to Mark.
“Mark, I’m saying this as a real friend who’s known you since your freckle-faced high school days… please, sell all your Nokia stock before the end of this year. No matter how much you lose, next year you’ll lose far more than you can imagine.”
“Sung-guk…”
Mark exhaled slowly, then continued speaking.
“I’m telling you this as someone who’s known you since you were too short to reach your own locker—please, don’t even think about buying YouTube shares. YouTube will collapse within three years. I’m certain of it!”
* * *
After finishing the pizza, I called Chad Chun immediately.
Chad Chun had purchased a house in Malibu, California, and was throwing parties daily while gazing out at the vast ocean.
– Sung-guk, what’s going on?
When I first met Chad Chun in New York, his voice had stumbled through presentations, but now it carried unmistakable confidence.
The power of money was truly undeniable.
“Chad, do you still regret not selling all your YouTube shares?”
– Of course. I wish Google would buy them right now. But why are you asking?
“Could I buy those shares from you?”
– What?
Chad Chun sounded genuinely surprised.
Though FaceNote was expanding rapidly, I wasn’t technically a billionaire yet. At least, not on the surface.
No one knew how much wealth I actually controlled through my stock holdings.
“Ask Google’s legal team if it’s possible for you to sell your shares to me instead—if it’s legally permissible.”
– Oh, sure. I’ll check with the person in charge. By the way, Sung-guk, what are you doing this weekend? Want to come to our place in Malibu Beach? We can discuss this too.
“Of course I’ll come. Can I bring some friends along?”
– Absolutely. I’ll brag to the girls that the charming Jeon Sung-guk who captured Ashley Holmes’s heart is coming. They’ll probably swarm like bees.
“Chad, don’t forget I’m still a minor.”
– Got it, got it.
Chad laughed and hung up.
YouTube was actually a headache for Google at the moment.
Just last year, they’d lost roughly 500 billion won.
Perhaps I could arrange additional investment to acquire more of Google’s YouTube shares beyond what Chad held.
If that were the case….
I checked my stock portfolio.
The Apple shares I’d bought before the first iPhone launched had surged more than tenfold.
Regrettably, there would be opportunities to buy Apple again when its stock dipped following Charlie Jobs’s death.
And next year’s Lehman Brothers collapse would trigger the worst market crash in the United States, taking years to recover.
I was about to sell all my stocks when I stopped myself.
The real key to this transaction was Chad Chun himself.
Chad Chun was timid and indecisive by nature, and crucially, he couldn’t stand seeing others succeed.
After hanging up, he’d undoubtedly wonder why I wanted to buy YouTube. If he sensed potential, he might try to hold onto more shares himself.
To counter this possibility, I’d already arranged for an economic journal to publish an analysis of Google’s failed YouTube investment.
I’m well aware it’s underhanded.
But this is how the world actually works.
Those who know more ultimately win.
* * *
Inside Mark’s used car heading toward Malibu.
To make matters worse, the air conditioning broke down, forcing me to drive toward Malibu with the windows down, absorbing the full heat of California.
Lim Mi-mi, sitting in the passenger seat, muttered under her breath.
“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve just stayed at the office working.”
“Mi-mi, I’m sorry. I never imagined the air conditioning would give out like this. But once we get to Chad’s Malibu place, you’ll see it’s worth it. I saw the photos Chad posted on FaceNote bragging about it—they’re amazing.”
I flipped through the newspaper with a snap.
– Google’s Achilles’ Heel: YouTube.
[They really nailed the headline.]
I read through the article with satisfaction, noting that YouTube, which Google had acquired somewhat impulsively last year, was running a deficit exceeding 500 billion won, and no one knew how many more years Google would have to absorb these losses.
Since YouTube wouldn’t start turning profitable until around 2010, the article wasn’t entirely off the mark.
“Sung-guk, what are you so pleased about?”
“YouTube’s future doesn’t look good.”
“Sung-guk. I’m telling you, YouTube’s going to collapse soon.”
“Mark, just focus on driving.”
Lim Mi-mi turned around to look back.
“Boss, but why didn’t you take that nice car that Jeon Tae-guk’s Protocol Team drives? Why are you riding in our car with the broken air conditioning?”
“Riding with people infected with hip-hop fever is more unbearable than a broken air conditioner.”
I could picture that car without even looking.
The entire drive to Malibu, they’d be blasting Eminem music and exchanging clumsy rap verses with each other.
* * *
Mark’s car pulled into Chad Chun’s Malibu estate.
It was a magnificent house that truly deserved to be called an estate.
Right in front stretched a sandy beach and the ocean, and the house was equipped with a swimming pool, tennis court, and basketball court.
Chad Chun greeted us with a deeply tanned face.
“Sung-guk! Mark! Welcome!”
“Chad, it’s been a while.”
“Sung-guk, you seem taller than the last time I saw you?”
“Hmm. Really?”
Honestly, I hadn’t measured myself in a while, but judging by the fact that I was slightly taller than an employee who was around 180 centimeters, I’d probably already surpassed that height.
“Chad, you look healthy.”
“California sunshine did this to me. Come on in, everyone. I’ve got plenty of cold beer inside. Of course, I’ve got lots of cola for Sung-guk too. Mark, still wearing the checkered shirt, I see.”
“It’s the most comfortable.”
Mark held Lim Mi-mi’s hand tightly as they entered Chad Chun’s estate.
Just then, a car carrying Jeon Tae-guk arrived at the front of the house and the door opened. As expected, loud Eminem music blared out.
Three people dressed in hip-hop attire stepped out as if they were a single team.
Chad Chun tilted his head in confusion.
“Did I invite a hip-hop group to today’s party…?”
“Chad, that’s my brother and his friend, along with the heir to Samjeon Group. They’re really into hip-hop these days.”
“Really? That works out great. I can ask them to perform later this evening.”
[He’s going to regret that.]
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Chad, have you reached out to Google yet?”
I asked Chad as casually as I could while heading into the house.
At that moment, Chad looked at me with an unreadable expression.
“Sung-guk, I think YouTube is going to grow much bigger in the future.”
[Chad, are you seriously high right now?]

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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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