“Do you miss your friends?”
Woo Sang-won had to ask again because he couldn’t immediately grasp Lee Hyun-woo’s intention.
“Pardon?”
“The purpose of this content is to help people find their school alumni through the internet.”
“……”
“In other words, it’s about finding friends and seniors you shared memories with from elementary school to university. Sometimes, people lose contact with their friends due to moving or transferring schools, and I thought this could be really beneficial for them.”
“Ah… That sounds good.”
Finally, Woo Sang-won showed a reaction.
Of course, Lee Hyun-woo felt a bit embarrassed.
This was an idea from a previous life, so claiming it as his own was problematic.
Nevertheless, the reason he easily spoke out was simple.
“In fact, this idea isn’t mine.”
“Then whose…”
“Part Leader Oh Min-woo’s.”
Lee Hyun-woo’s statement was true.
At the end of last year, when Lee Hyun-woo had no friends to hang out with, Oh Min-woo had brought up the current idea.
Because of that, a blog was created in Jungle, but the core idea was definitely Oh Min-woo’s.
To be precise, Oh Min-woo had thought of it first in this life.
After recently attending the Korea University alumni meeting, he vaguely thought it would be nice to have a way to find alumni, and seeing the blog gaining more traction recently, he became certain.
‘The time is ripe.’
Most importantly, he wanted to give his girlfriend, Kim Ah-young, a chance to find friends.
The previous day, she had moved Lee Hyun-woo’s heart by talking about not having a single friend.
‘I should ask her about it later.’
Before that, he had to meet Oh Min-woo, who first came up with the idea.
Lee Hyun-woo couldn’t just take a subordinate’s idea, so he immediately called in Oh Min-woo to discuss “Do you miss your friends?”
“What? So, you mean to run a separate site instead of a blog?”
“Of course. But this is your idea. I can’t just use it recklessly.”
“I don’t mind. I actually want to do it.”
“You?”
Oh Min-woo was still impulsive.
Honestly, Lee Hyun-woo had anticipated this reaction, so he didn’t try to persuade him.
However,
“What about the Cloud?”
The fact that Oh Min-woo was the part leader of the Cloud division was a concern.
Trying to handle both tasks simultaneously could lead to overwork.
But Oh Min-woo hit the nail on the head.
“I’ve heard rumors about you lately, CEO.”
“What rumors?”
“That during the day, you’re with Jungle, and at night, you’re diving into the frontline of the clothing industry.”
“Haha…”
This time, he was completely caught without any room for excuses.
“Was it Jung-woo?”
“During the day, there’s a bird, and at night, there’s a mouse. I have a duty to protect my informant’s identity.”
“If it’s not that guy, there’s no one else who would tell you my every move. I guess I’ll have to find a time to give him a good scolding.”
“Please don’t say I told you.”
“Even if it’s not about this, there’s plenty for him to be scolded for.”
Lee Jung-woo often conspired with Kim Ah-young too.
Of course, it wasn’t a genuine threat but a playful conversation.
Anyway, a serious conversation was bound to follow.
Oh Min-woo, an exceptional developer, had the tendency to immediately articulate new content ideas in his head.
As expected, he approached the whiteboard in the CEO’s office, picked up a marker, and started drawing.
“So, what do you think of this for the initial screen? At the top, there’s the name of the site, next to it, fields for ID and password, and below that, a section for easy registration.”
“As expected, you’re a genius.”
“Why are you saying that? I still have a long way to go to catch up with you, CEO. Lately, even Jung-woo is catching up quickly.”
“Jung-woo says similar things. He mentioned that he feels tense because you’re catching up.”
“What? Who’s catching up with whom… Lee Jung-woo, that guy has grown up a lot. Anyway, let’s not get sidetracked.”
“Got it, keep going.”
“If we make registration easier than on a portal site, we can quickly gather many members. Or we could allow step-by-step information entry. Initially, just name, phone number, email, and password for registration, then gradually add personal details.”
Lee Hyun-woo nodded.
Since it’s about finding alumni, making users input their school information right away would complicate initial access.
“Right. First, let them see what’s happening inside, then gradually let them add school information, living area, and interests to create social connections.”
“Wow, talking with you, CEO, always goes so smoothly. How about just developing this with me?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“You’re a workaholic. I’d lose all my time.”
“Wow, you’re talking as if you’re not one.”
“Alright, let’s stop here for today. We’re already 20 minutes past quitting time.”
Kim Ah-young would be arriving soon.
Since he promised to be better for her, Lee Hyun-woo decided to spend his evenings with her whenever possible.
Noticing this, Oh Min-woo smirked and said,
“Yes, yes, have a good time.”
“Don’t just work all the time… try dating too.”
“It’s very strange to hear that from you, CEO.”
“Oh, by the way, you’ll have to go to the U.S. with me this time.”
“What? Me too?”
“Yeah, you’ll need to explain what we just talked about to Jungle USA.”
“Are you planning to do this alumni finding in the U.S. too?”
“Why not? And let’s think even broader. It’s not just about finding alumni. How fun would it be if people with similar interests could interact?”
More and more of the concept of ‘Face Note’ flowed from Lee Hyun-woo’s mouth.
But the more he talked, the more he felt something.
‘This is serious. I keep thinking only about work.’
He decided he must prioritize finding a way to solve his workaholic tendencies.
That evening, Lee Hyun-woo spent a quality evening with Kim Ah-young.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Lee Hyun-woo if work didn’t come up in the middle.
“If you could contact your old classmates or homeroom teacher from elementary school, what would you do? There might be someone among your old friends or teachers who wanted to stay close to you.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
When she asked, Lee Hyun-woo began to tell her about the conversation he had with Woo Sang-won and Oh Min-woo.
Kim Ah-young’s eyes soon glimmered.
“Honestly, I don’t know either. But if such a site existed, I might register out of curiosity and then check how those friends and teachers are doing.”
“After checking, treat them big.”
“Treat them big?”
“Yeah, approach them casually like a friend and then treat them lavishly like a chaebol. You could even organize a reunion at Seorabeol Hotel. Who knows? Like I said, there might have been a friend who wanted to get close to you but never had the chance.”
Did such a friend really exist?
Curiosity filled Kim Ah-young’s eyes.
On the other hand, Lee Hyun-woo was confident inside.
‘Do you know how many people would want to have a chaebol as a friend?’
Probably more than half would want to be close to Kim Ah-young.
And among them, there would certainly be friends who understood her as a person, not just for her background.
At least, that’s what Lee Hyun-woo thought.
‘Come to think of it, I kind of want to see my friends too.’
Lee Hyun-woo wasn’t friendless either.
And after his return, he stayed in touch with some of them initially, but he realized now that it had become infrequent at some point.
‘I should start reconnecting too.’
He heightened his awareness about himself.
In his previous life, he lost almost all his friends because he only worked.
Maybe that habit persisted even after his return.
‘That can’t happen.’
Lee Hyun-woo, who decided to live a different life this time around.
Although it wasn’t 100% as he planned, he felt he should at least try.
Moreover, living a life where he often met friends was essentially the same as having evenings for himself, so he decided to put effort into restoring relationships.
‘Do you miss your friends! This is good. It even makes me think of meeting my friends.’
The reason ‘Do you miss your friends!’ was even better was that it seemed applicable in the U.S.
Since he had already explained this to Oh Min-woo, he had a rough idea before going to the U.S.
“Based on what you mentioned last time, I’ve considered the U.S. version of ‘Do you miss your friends!’”
“You’re not making this without sleeping, are you?”
“Sleep is a waste of life’s time. Anyway, I think we should change the name too.”
“To what?”
“Make Friends. I came up with it without much thought, but let me know if you think of something better.”
“It’s fine. It’s straightforward and good.”
Thus, ‘Do you miss your friends!’ was set to be changed to ‘Make Friends’ in this life.
‘Joe Murphy will like this.’
Joe Murphy always sang the same tune.
When would additional content be created?
Of course, it wasn’t that they hadn’t applied any content.
Jungle USA already had a blog.
But the real money-makers like online shopping and music services hadn’t even started.
That was because the online ecosystem in the U.S. wasn’t ready for it yet.
Why can’t we do online shopping when there’s Amazoness?
If asked, they could answer that it required more thorough preparation to compete.
Unlike Korea, where the online shopping market was already dominated by Amazoness, there were numerous considerations for competition.
Instead, social media like ‘Do you miss your friends’ could be applied without much preparation.
People might ask about this too.
Aren’t ‘Do you miss your friends!’ and the blog service on Jungle similar?
They are similar.
But there’s a difference.
Blogs on portal sites are additional elements.
That is, the importance of social relationships between individuals and others is secondary.
While there are users who visit Jungle just for the fun of blogging, it can’t compare to the impact of social media that people access solely for relationships like ‘Do you miss your friends!’.
Therefore, Lee Hyun-woo had to convey this well in the U.S.
‘I discussed this with Tim Conner before, so it shouldn’t be too hard to understand.’
Yet another task added to Lee Hyun-woo’s list for the U.S. trip.
Once again, he felt the weight of his workload.
Hence, he needed early retirement.
‘Or else, I won’t live long.’
He sighed.
Why is work so enjoyable?
