Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 20

20. 6th. California Dreamin’ (2)

“Jo, Johnny?”

“D, Do-ryeon-nim [Young Master]?”

Sun Hae-cheol and Park Tae-jin stammered in surprise. 25 million dollars was more than two-thirds of my money in Standard Capital.

Calmly adjusting my gaze, I said to them,

“From now on, leave it to me. I’d like to talk to Jobs alone… How about it, Jobs?”

“…Alright. Mr. Sun, I’m sorry, but please excuse us for a moment.”

Sun Hae-cheol nodded to Park Tae-jin after receiving Jobs’ request and went to sit at a table far away.

“I’m sorry, Johnny. If I had known you were this kind of person, I would have gone to your house, haha.”

“You can fix it now, Jobs. Humans are learning animals, aren’t they? The reason I asked to meet you today is that I want to share the future you dream of.”

Now it was time to ease the atmosphere. Like the sun shining and the ground hardening after a downpour.

Jobs looked bewildered at the sudden change in attitude.

“What do you mean, Johnny?”

“You have always presented a new future. You created the first PC and recognized the value of the mouse. If it’s the future you dream of, I think it’s worth betting my future on. Above all…”

Trailing off, I put my hands together like Michael Corleone and said,

“Don’t you want revenge? Jeffrey Katzenberg ruined your plans. He made you consider selling Pixar.”

“H, How did you know that?”

Jobs was startled, but it was still too early. The real deal was about to begin.

“You were going to sell it to Larry, Paul, or George, weren’t you, Steve?”

As the names of the three people came out of my mouth, Jobs’ eyes widened, and the color drained from his face.

Pixar was a company that George Lucas, the original owner, sold to Jobs because of divorce alimony [financial support paid to a former spouse after a divorce].

The current Jobs was treating Pixar like a money pit and was probably considering selling it back to Larry Ellison, the owner of Oracle, Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, or even George Lucas, the former owner.

Perhaps because I had blurted out his worries that he had been agonizing over without telling anyone, Jobs swallowed hard and glared at me.

“Are you using some kind of Eastern mind-reading technique?”

“Neither I nor Standard are easy to deal with.”

As I answered with a winner’s smile, Jobs changed his expression and stared at me intently.

“You’re right, Johnny. Ah… Since it’s come to this, let’s make it comfortable. Is that okay?”

“That’s what I wanted, Steve.”

Jobs nodded and raised his hand with his index and middle fingers spread, raising his voice.

“Here! Two juices. The usual.”

As if to prove he founded Apple, the employee who took Jobs’ order brought two glasses of apple juice.

“The apple juice here is good. Try it.”

“I will.”

Jobs emptied half of the apple juice and made a sound of admiration.

“Kheu… I don’t know how you know everything, but you must know how Pixar works.”

“Is there any need to say more? It seems like it would just hurt my mouth [be pointless to elaborate].”

When I shrugged and added a smile, Jobs sighed as if he had lost.

“That damn Jeffrey made me do stupid things. The budget was over, but I can’t get additional costs because of the contract, damn it.”

Indeed.

I understood Jobs’ distorted face. How infuriating it must have been when he fixed it as he was told, but they canceled it because they didn’t like it and wouldn’t give him the production cost.

“And there’s no suitable external investment. I invested 50 million dollars in acquisition costs and operating funds, but I can’t see the future. I’m ashamed, but I even considered reselling it as you said.”

Frowning and rubbing his forehead as he revealed his inner thoughts, I wondered if this was the Jobs I knew. How desperate must he have been to end up like this?

Feeling a little sorry, I offered comfort.

“Don’t dwell on the past, Steve. You can do well from now on, right?”

“I have to do well now. People won’t know. The value of Toy Story.”

Jobs gave a bitter smile and drank his juice, and when the topic of Toy Story came up, I chimed in based on the data I had prepared.

“It’s a wonderful thing. Who would have thought that you could make animated movies with computers instead of brushstrokes?”

“That’s it! A more three-dimensional, living world! No one knows how attractive it is. Everyone will be surprised when it hits the screen, right? Hahaha!”

“Ahahahaha…”

Seeing Jobs’ face brighten and his buttocks wiggling, I could only manage a soulless laugh. It was his area of interest, but he was so excited just because I praised him a little…

After excitedly telling me about the production process and content of Toy Story for a long time, Jobs laughed awkwardly.

“Ahaha… We met because of investment, but it’s embarrassing.”

Looking at Jobs, I was reminded of Jang Ho-geon. Wasn’t he like a racehorse that couldn’t see anything else once he was hooked on something?

Jang Ho-geon, who bet everything on semiconductors, also talked about semiconductors dozens of times to Spielberg, whom he met for DreamWorks investment, and ruined the negotiations. In my knowledge, the two men were die-hard racehorses.

“It’s okay, Steve. I like your passion.”

When I waved my hand and smiled, Jobs grinned.

“Let’s cut the introduction… 25 million dollars, is that true?”

“Yes. I don’t talk nonsense about investment. Don’t you like it?”

There was no way he wouldn’t like it. It was 8 million dollars more than the production cost Disney gave him, and wasn’t it half the money Jobs had invested in Pixar so far?

“A, Are you… Are you in your right mind, Johnny?”

“I’m very sane, Steve.”

“Ha, ha, this is…”

Jobs, who even stuttered, only let out a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe it.

I smiled as I looked at him, but inside I was shouting cheers hundreds of times.

If I just waited until the end of next year, Jobs would become a celebrity in Hollywood, and based on the success of Pixar and NextStep, he would return to his universe, Apple, and revive Apple with the iMac G3.

To get involved with Apple at that timing, I had to become Jobs’ friend from now on.

“Steve, they say the difference between a madman and a pioneer is just a piece of paper. No matter what the world says, I want to be a piece of paper that makes you a pioneer.”

Even I cringed at what I was saying, but I held back and said it to engrave my existence.

“That’s a pretty big piece of paper, isn’t it? Especially for someone your age.”

“Age is just a number, Steve. As long as I have the opportunity and ability, I can be your paper as much as you want. It would be even better if we were friends. How about it?”

“Friends?”

“If we’re friends, I can always give and take more than necessary with you. Wouldn’t that last longer?”

A relationship where one side only gives and the other only receives cannot last long.

It is common for the giving side to eventually reach its limit and explode, and even if the giving side does not have complaints, the receiving side’s sense of indebtedness festers into an inferiority complex unless they are shameless.

In the end, we can only be together for a long time if we become a relationship where we give each other more than expected.

I will always be the one to give first between Jobs and me.

Because I will extract more than I give from Jobs, the icon of the era who planned things that shake people’s hearts, even though he is a quirky, stubborn control freak. Even after he leaves.

“Okay. If you’re that kind of friend, let’s do well in the future. But…”

Jobs hesitated for a moment, nodded, but trailed off and looked at me before continuing.

“25 million, does that mean you’re going to buy my shares? Or…?”

“Capital increase [issuing new shares].”

Jobs looked at me with an unbelievable expression after hearing the answer.

“Why? It’s enough money to buy half of my shares, but you’re going to take fewer shares?”

“I’m not trying to steal your future, Steve. I came to be your friend, so I should naturally acquire new shares. I also want to see Toy Story on the screen.”

I wanted to cut off half of it greedily, but I couldn’t. To make the proud, stubborn, control freak Steve Jobs my friend, I had to always show the gesture that I was on his side.

“Tell me how much you want.”

“No. You tell me. As your friend, how much should I have?”

Even Jobs, who only thinks of himself first, couldn’t make the words he just said meaningless. I could already hear Jobs’ face hardening and the sound of him thinking.

How long had it been? Jobs emptied all the remaining apple juice.

“35 percent. No management interference. Deal?”

“Not.”

Jobs’ face hardened as I shook my head immediately.

“I can’t go any higher than that, Johnny. That’s the maximum. I can’t give it up, even if we’re friends, absolutely.”

But the reason I shook my head wasn’t because of that.

“Guarantee 30 percent of the shares until right before the listing. No management interference except for accounting audits. If you want, I’ll give you the right to buy my shares first [right of first refusal]. The funds will be invested in three installments over the next six months.”

At my suggestion, Jobs looked at me with a surprised expression in an instant.

“Do you know what you’re saying? That’s…”

“It’s a stupid suggestion. You reduce your shares, entrust management rights, and even give the right of first refusal. If other people knew, they would say I’m crazy, right?”

When I cut him off and answered calmly, Jobs looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I told you. I want to be your friend. I hope you succeed and return to your universe, Steve.”

Jobs’ head must be complicated right now. He must have thrown a condition that would maximize his own interests, but how embarrassed would he be that I was yielding more to him and even cheering him on to return to Apple?

Of course, I couldn’t just look like a pushover, so I attached a condition.

“Don’t treat me like Wozniak [Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, who felt he was often undervalued]. Keep the accounting books clean, okay?”

Even if I say this, Jobs will take the lead in controlling spending because Pixar’s financial condition is a mess. The Steve Jobs I know is not the kind of person who would be satisfied with just making one movie and calling it quits.

“I’m not thinking of ending with just making this one. I have to save as much as possible and prepare for the second one, right?”

I couldn’t help but nod at his Jobs-like answer.

I’ve crossed the 7th ridge with this, so it’s time to get the consent of the two people to take the remaining 3 ridges.

“By the way, the problem is whether the two people sitting over there will accept this crazy deal… What are you going to do?”

Jobs, who was looking at me, pointed at Sun Hae-cheol and Park Tae-jin, who were far away, with his outstretched hand.

I smiled at the two people with dissatisfied expressions and said to Jobs,

“It seems like their minds will change if they become the first audience of Toy Story… How about it?”

Jobs twisted his lips for a moment, then chuckled and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s treat it like an investment presentation and invite them to our humble company. It seems like their tea time is over, shall we go?”

“Let’s go.”

Smiling, we got up from our seats and walked towards the two people who were watching us.

***

That’s how we went to the Pixar office with Jobs and watched Toy Story.

“How is it?”

“It’s okay?”

I answered Jobs’ question indifferently, but it was far from okay. It seemed like it wouldn’t have been good at all without the investment.

Sun Hae-cheol looked at me with wide eyes, a little sullen at my reaction.

“It’s just okay? Isn’t this amazing?”

“That’s right, Do-ryeon-nim. If I had known it was this kind of work, I would have recommended the investment a long time ago.”

Jobs smiled at Sun Hae-cheol and Park Tae-jin’s praise, who was a little disappointed in my reaction.

“I’m glad you like it. Mr. Sun, Mr. Park. Then… Will you invest as we proposed?”

“Good, Jobs. I’ll make a contract as soon as I get back to New York and visit you again. I hope to see you in San Francisco next time, haha.”

“Yes, Sun. I’ll go to San Francisco myself next time, haha.”

Sun Hae-cheol, who shook hands with Jobs, put his hand on my shoulder.

“Johnny, don’t you have anything else you want to say to Jobs?”

After hesitating for a moment, I pretended to read Jobs’ expression and opened my mouth.

“If you renegotiate with Disney later, can you give us the Korean distribution rights from the next work?”

“Korea? Not Japan?”

I was strangely unpleasant, but I thought it was okay. Wasn’t Jobs obsessed with Japanese culture?

“Yes. It’s not free, and Standard will invest half of the production cost. The profit distribution excluding distribution is Pixar 6, Standard 4. How about it?”

Jobs nodded readily.

“Okay. The Korean market is small, so it doesn’t matter. You’re taking into account that it only takes effect when the renewal is successful, right?”

“Of course. I hope you renew your contract with Disney, haha.”

Unlike me, who was smiling brightly, Jobs tilted his head.

“Somehow it seems like I’m more profitable… Tell me if there’s anything else you want, Johnny.”

“Then… If Next needs investment, please contact me, Steve.”

Jobs stared at me intently, then chuckled. His eyes were full of interest as he looked at me.

“You keep saying you’ll give it to me… Okay. Contact me when you want to invest, Johnny. Next needs a lot of money, hehe.”

I barely managed to hold back my mouth from tearing as I looked at Jobs. To easily put the Pixar movie that will lay golden eggs and Next, which will be merged with Apple, into my sights!

After saying goodbye to Jobs, I got into the car and called Sun Hae-cheol.

“Uncle, we’ve come all the way here, can I take a look at Stanford University?”

“Stanford? Why there?”

“It’s the seedbed of Silicon Valley. I’d be sad if I just left after coming all this way.”

40,000 companies.

5.4 million jobs.

Annual sales of 2.7 trillion dollars.

Even the logos of the companies that achieved these three things.

When Korea’s Y University, which wanted a sisterhood relationship with them, showed a presentation of admission scores, number of successful candidates in the bar exam, and the number of politicians and high-ranking officials produced, Stanford showed the output in return.

Such Stanford was an essential visit course for me. Isn’t it a seedbed that will turn Silicon Valley, or the American stock market, into a beautiful flower garden?

Sun Hae-cheol looked at me with a curious expression.

“Oh? Are you going to be a florist?”

“It wouldn’t be bad to buy some good flowers, would it?”

There is a very favorite flower at Stanford University.

A flower that hasn’t sprouted yet, but will bloom beautifully.

A flower that will be worth a fortune in five years.

A flower that will show its peak in the new millennium.

I will transplant that flower into my pot when no one knows.