I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 92

—————

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

—————

Chapter 92
The wine glass was within arm’s reach.
But I was ten years old.
At this age, I couldn’t go near alcohol in South Korea or the United States.
I grabbed the cola right in front of me instead.
After eating so much rich meat, the cola was exactly what I craved.
Mark still watched me with an anxious gaze, clearly waiting for an answer.
“Mark, don’t worry.”
“How can I not worry? You lied.”
Where should I even start explaining this?
Still, I felt I needed to give Mark, my business partner, some insight.
“Mark, Bill Gates met us separately in person. Right?”
“Yeah. But why?”
“The fact that the owner of Microsoft met us separately and directly means no employee would know the amount or terms he presented to us. Plus, both you and I decided not to sell Face Paper to Microsoft. And since we rejected them, Microsoft would keep their offer confidential.”
“Jessie’s Father could still find out.”
“He probably won’t.”
I was certain of it.
Bill Gates hadn’t brought anyone with him when making each of our separate proposals.
That meant only his closest confidants would know about the offers.
It was also to prevent any word from leaking out if the deal fell through.
Mark drank his cola too, but his hands were trembling slightly.
[The kid is naive, isn’t he.]
Mark was still innocent.
It was interesting to watch when and how he would change.
“Mark, Microsoft bought a simple chat app for 100 million dollars not long ago. So this isn’t completely baseless talk.”
“Got it, Sung-guk. Hearing you say that does make me feel a bit better.”
Then I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
I gave Mark a silent signal to be quiet, and he kept sipping his cola.
Michael Schwartsman sat back down with his usual polite smile. Jessie and Jessie’s Mother also returned to their seats.
“Sorry about that. On weekends, especially when spending time with family like this, I don’t take business calls. But it was urgent. I apologize for making you wait. How can I make it up to you?”
“Dad, we’re watching a movie tonight, so don’t complain about us staying up late.”
“You’re saying I should tolerate the noise?”
“Yes!”
Jessie’s Mother looked at Mark and me.
“What snacks should I make? If it’s a movie Jessie picked, the boys will probably find it boring.”
“Popcorn for me, please.”
When I answered, Mark nodded as well.
“Popcorn’s easy. I should prepare wings and drinks too.”
“Jessie, how about we watch Star Wars instead? Then Dad would probably enjoy it too.”
At Michael Schwartsman’s suggestion, Mark and I became excited.
“Bring It On” is nothing compared to Star Wars!
But Jessie shook her head firmly.
“Dad, I’m the only girl at our school who hasn’t seen this movie.”
“Alright.”
There truly was no father who could resist his daughter.
* * *
While Jessie helped her mother prepare snacks, Michael Schwartsman came looking for Mark and me.
“The sleeping arrangements aren’t uncomfortable, are they?”
The initial conversation was, as expected, mundane.
But I knew men like Michael Schwartsman well—the type who never wasted time or engaged in meaningless talk.
“The dormitory beds are really terrible, but this is wonderful,” Mark replied, bouncing on the bed.
Mark sat on the bed and bounced as he answered.
“That’s good to hear. By the way, about that ‘Face Paper’ you two mentioned earlier.”
Was this finally the main topic?
I watched Michael Schwartsman intently.
“I’m curious about the scalability of that SNS. From what I’ve observed, it’s currently only being used among Phillips Academy students and students from similar boarding schools nearby. Could Phillips Academy students in New Hampshire connect and interact with students in New York?”
“Of course. The defining feature of our SNS is networking. When someone signs up, all their contacts—or anyone they’ve ever communicated with—appear simultaneously. As the user base grows, not just New York, but people from all over the world will eventually use this SNS.”
“Hmm… that’s quite interesting. Would it be alright if I observed it a bit more going forward?”
“Yes.”
I nodded in agreement.
After Michael Schwartsman left, Mark grumbled.
“Sung-guk, if Bill was really going to offer 100 million dollars, we should have sold then. Honestly, even if we split that money between the two of us, we could live off it for the rest of our lives. When Jessie’s Father says to observe more, doesn’t that mean he’s not investing yet? If this goes on and there’s no real scalability and no investment, then all our hard work—both yours and mine—will go down the drain.”
“Mark, are you satisfied with 100 million dollars?”
“What do you mean by that?”
I paused for a moment, then looked Mark directly in the eye.
“Mark, we’re only in our teens right now. We haven’t even reached our twenties yet. Even if we fail now, we can start again, but if we take 100 million dollars now, there will be no new beginning in either of our lives.”
This was, of course, a somewhat arrogant statement made possible only because I knew the future.
If I hadn’t known the future?
I would have naturally taken the 100 million dollars, split it with Mark, and lived the rest of my life in leisure.
But if I gave this up now, in more than a decade, I would be giving up a company with a market capitalization greater than the Samjeon Group.
Mark nodded.
“Dad said the same thing. Once I get into Harvard, other opportunities will come along.”
“That’s right, Mark.”
I patted Mark’s shoulder.
Perhaps the future wouldn’t change much after all.
Face Paper would truly take off three years after Mark entered Harvard.
That’s when SNS would become more familiar, and when networking would be more actively managed in college than in high school.
At that time, investment in Face Paper would become more concrete, and the company might begin to take shape.
But I had already achieved my goal.
I had become a co-founder of Face Paper.
* * *
2003.
All university entrance exams had concluded.
Mark, Jessie, and I were all accepted to Harvard.
The essay about Face Paper that Mark and I had developed certainly played a significant role in our acceptance to Harvard.
Face Paper had become actively popular among students from nearby boarding schools, but there were limitations to its expansion among high school students.
To make matters worse, Mark, the developer, suddenly hit puberty, and his grades dropped during freshman year, so he focused on studying while putting Face Paper development on the back burner—I still hadn’t fully implemented all my ideas.
Now that high school was ending, I was planning to start pushing Mark harder.
“Sung-guk!”
Jessie walked through the middle of the restaurant, her long blonde hair flowing behind her.
As Jessie entered her senior year, her beauty shone even more brilliantly.
The gazes of male students who envied Mark and me eating with Jessie every day were always intense.
Mark had stuck by Jessie’s side for all three years, yet he still felt embarrassed in front of her.
As soon as Jessie sat down, she brought up the topic.
“You two are going to the graduation party, right?”
To be honest, I wasn’t interested.
By Korean age, I was thirteen, and my height had reached 172 centimeters.
There was now barely any difference between me and Mark, who was 174 centimeters tall.
My face had transformed—not for the worse, but for the better—and I received attention from female students whenever I passed by. But the moment they learned my age, they all backed away.
Age was still an enormous barrier for me.
“Mark, are you going?”
I asked Mark first.
“I don’t even have a date, so what’s the point.”
Mark was equally unenthusiastic.
Although he was friends with Jessie, the school’s most popular girl, Mark had no dating history whatsoever.
It would be accurate to say he had no presence at all.
“Sung-guk, are you going?”
“I don’t have a date either….”
I was trying to brush it off casually.
Being over forty, I absolutely despised cheap liquor and loud music venues.
But why was Jessie’s gaze sparkling as she looked at me?
Could it be?
“Sung-guk, perfect timing. Come with me. Mark, you know my friend Amy, right? Amy doesn’t have a date either. What do you say?”
I quickly glanced at Mark to gauge his reaction.
Mark was slightly taken aback, but his face lit up with anticipation at the prospect of actually going to the graduation party.
Amy, whom Jessie had mentioned, came to our table carrying her tray.
Birds of a feather flock together—the saying fit perfectly, as Amy was a beauty no less than Jessie.
If Jessie was a dazzling blonde beauty, Amy was an elegant beauty with dark hair.
It was obvious that the prom queen of this graduation party would come from one of these two.
Jessie and Amy were also the female students with the most friends on Face Paper.
“Hi.”
As Amy took her seat, Mark suddenly pretended to be indifferent again.
I quickly grabbed Mark’s arm and whispered to him.
“Mark, this might be your last chance to go to the graduation party, so stay as composed as possible. Got it?”
“Yeah, Sung-guk.”
Mark nodded and gulped down his milk in one go.
Amy smiled brightly and looked at me.
“Sung-guk, three years ago when you first enrolled at our school, you weren’t this tall. Now you look about the same age as Mark even standing next to him.”
[What? She’s saying I look old?]
I felt a flash of irritation inside, but I held it back.
Jessie tilted her head.
“Amy, doesn’t Sung-guk still look young to you?”
“Of course he does. Sung-guk, your eyes are so beautiful. I’ve never seen eyes that sparkle like that before.”
[Amy, get your head straight. Your partner is Mark, not me.]
Amy’s attitude was a bit confusing.
Could she possibly be interested in me?
Just then, Jessie interjected.
“Amy’s been asking to join our group all along. Mark, what do you think of Amy?”
“Me? I’m fine with it.”
Amy smiled mysteriously and seemed to whisper something to Jessie.
Mark whispered to me.
“Sung-guk, those two seem to be having some kind of showdown over you.”
[This popularity thing…]
Soon Jessie smiled and looked at me.
“I talked it over with Amy, and we thought you and I should go as partners, and Mark and Amy should go together. How does that sound?”
“Uh… sure.”
Mark nodded.
“Sung-guk, what do you think?”
“Jessie, Amy agreed to this too?”
Something felt like Jessie was pushing this through.
Amy quickly waved her hand.
“Sung-guk, don’t worry. I suggested it.”
[Something feels off.]
But I didn’t ask further.
Jessie wore the smile of someone who had just claimed victory.
* * *
The girls’ restroom.
Amy watched Jessie apply lipstick.
“Jessie, Sung-guk is handsome and cute, but isn’t he still too young? Do you really like him that much?”
“I don’t have romantic feelings for him yet. But there’s no one at our school as handsome as Sung-guk. And age is something that naturally comes with time anyway.”
“It’ll probably take a while. Anyway, you know Mark’s counting on you to set him up with people when you get to Harvard, right?”
“Of course. I’ll take good care of Mark.”
Jessie smiled as she tucked her lipstick away.
A romantic relationship with Sung-guk might not be possible right now, but she wanted to continue watching his growth.

—————

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

—————