At that time, Billy Kates from 【Macro Soft】 visited Steven Job.
“What brings you here?”
“Am I not allowed to come?”
“You’ve become so high and mighty that you used to tell me to come and go. It’s surprising to see you come in person.”
“Don’t be like that. We even joined hands to build a grand alliance against 【Jungle】.”
“It was just temporary. It’s hard to win against search engines right away, and since we’ve launched a portal site to the world, we had to do something. By the way, it seems like it’s not just the portal site that’s the problem. 【Jungle】’s web browser is also starting to show its presence, isn’t it?”
The words exchanged between the two contained hidden daggers.
They didn’t seem like allies joining hands to attack 【Jungle】.
Of course, Billy Kates was relatively more composed.
“Why are you so worked up about the web browser? Everyone knows that ‘Forest’ won’t surpass ‘Internet Ex Cross’ in a short time.”
“Talking about the short term means you can’t guarantee the long term. Well, with 【Yaho】 and 【Jungle】 joining forces and heavily promoting downloads from their portal sites, eventually, we might get overwhelmed.”
Internet Ex Cross was spreading to the world as a bundled product with Windows 97.
On the other hand, Forest was being downloaded from two high-traffic portal sites.
This was evidence that as the internet penetration rate increased, Internet Ex Cross would inevitably be threatened.
Yet, Billy Kates shrugged his shoulders.
“If we get overwhelmed, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Are you pretending to be relaxed?”
“It’s not pretending; I really am relaxed. Actually, I came here today to talk about that.”
“Talk about what? The prediction that your monopoly era in the web browser market will eventually end? And by 【Jungle】?”
“No need to be so provocative. When that time comes, I might not even be at 【Macro Soft】. I came here today to let you know that we are investing in 【Jungle】 before heading to Korea.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear? 【Jungle】 is recruiting shareholders with a plan to raise 18 billion.”
“Of course, I’ve heard. They are recruiting investors in a strange way.”
“Yes, at first, I thought it was nonsense. But as time passed, the results 【Jungle】 showed were no joke. Online shopping, MP3 services, and community-based social media. And beyond that, I’ve confirmed that they have future content with explosive potential. We have to invest.”
“You really are a cold-hearted guy. Absorbing the enemy’s shares? Whether 【Macro Soft】 wins or gets pushed by 【Jungle】, you still make money.”
“It’s a good thing. If it weren’t for that strange method, would their CEO have accepted our investment?”
The current investment method was proceeding like a public offering, where the more money invested, the more shares acquired.
“Looking closely, there’s no upper limit on the investment amount. So, I’m thinking of investing quite a bit.”
“Is 【Jungle】’s future value that significant?”
“Partly, and if I acquire a lot of shares, I can control 【Jungle】.”
“But as far as I know, when they eventually go public, those shares have to be released to the market, right?”
“I’ll release them. And then buy them back.”
“You’re determined to secure 【Jungle】’s shares somehow? And then influence things to go your way?”
“Don’t treat me like a villain. I’m just curious about the CEO’s expression when I acquire the shares. Whether we thrive or 【Jungle】 thrives, I’ll still end up rich.”
“With more money than you could ever spend in a lifetime, what are you planning to do with it?”
“To help the poor, the unfortunate, and the sick.”
His last words sounded genuine.
So Steven Job smirked but didn’t retort.
“Anyway, the reason you’re telling me this is to go and see the CEO’s expression?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You really are something. It’s hard to stay friends with you.”
“Since I’m done talking, I’ll be on my way. Oh, and one last thing, our portal site launches the day after tomorrow, so keep an eye out. It might become one of the Big Three.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
The term “Big Three” in portals ultimately meant rising next to 【Yaho】 and 【Jungle USA】.
It implied that they intended to dethrone 【Ocean】, which had rapidly increased its market share, by 【Pineapple】.
“You should learn what the bottom feels like. After confirming how cold or warm the air is down there, I’ll let you have the spot right below our portal site.”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I have a lot of shares in 【Pineapple】 anyway.”
“Ugh…”
Steven Job’s face showed annoyance.
During a previous investment, Billy Kates had acquired a significant amount of 【Pineapple】 shares, albeit non-voting.
‘Thinking about it, with all the money he made early on, just buying shares of potential threats to his future, that annoying guy would always be the winner.’
Steven Job felt a renewed awareness that he could never beat Billy Kates’ wealth.
‘Then I’ll beat him with innovation.’
He didn’t mind not being able to beat him with money.
He vowed to beat Billy Kates with world-changing innovation.
A person’s face popped into Steven Job’s mind as he made this vow.
It was none other than Lee Hyun-woo.
‘If we’re talking about innovation, it might be interesting to talk to that guy.’
They weren’t far from meeting anyway.
He had already promised to meet him when he went to Korea.
Meanwhile, at 【Jungle】, after the investor presentation, the atmosphere was almost certain of success.
On this day, Shin Dong-woon separately reported to Lee Hyun-woo.
“Tomorrow morning, investors are supposed to send us the funds, and from what I saw today, most of them are likely to apply. High expectations can lead to great disappointment, but earlier, my acquaintances hinted that they plan to bet as much as possible.”
A smile spread across Lee Hyun-woo’s face.
“What do you think is the reason? Why are they betting so much?”
“The company’s value is higher than we thought, and perhaps they judge that the Korean economy has bottomed out, making it the right time to invest for currency gains.”
Currently, the exchange rate was close to 1,150 won.
It had risen nearly 30% from the beginning of the year.
That meant what could be bought with one dollar before could now be bought for 70 cents.
“So foreigners see the Korean currency crisis ending around this time.”
“That’s correct.”
It was a milder currency crisis than expected, but only Lee Hyun-woo didn’t feel the fear.
When a currency depreciates by 30% in a year, businesspeople can’t help but tremble.
However, if this was the bottom, it was the perfect timing for a low-point purchase.
‘Maybe that’s why Billy Kates is investing too.’
That guy would have succeeded no matter what he did.
After early retirement, he had been devoted more to charity or infectious disease treatments than business,
‘If he had focused solely on investments, wouldn’t his returns have been higher than Warren Buffett’s?’
Such thoughts brought a sense of respect.
It felt as if Billy Kates’ past life was showing Lee Hyun-woo how to live after retirement.
Lee Hyun-woo also felt motivated to do something for humanity’s future once he left the company.
He continued to ponder even on his way home.
‘A path for humanity?’
What could it be?
The first thing that came to mind was the infectious disease treatments Billy Kates had focused on.
When the novel coronavirus pandemic broke out, he invested to accelerate the development of a vaccine.
Some said Billy Kates did it to make money or expand his influence, but such acts couldn’t be entirely devoid of considerations for humanity.
‘Spending money on developing vaccines or treatments wouldn’t be bad.’
Another thought that came to mind was the climate crisis.
In fact, Lee Hyun-woo had nearly failed to meet the SPA supply quantity due to abnormal weather before he died.
He had prepared for winter, but who would have thought that season would be so warm!
It was almost his first failure in his workaholic life, and the deep frustration kept him up for days.
Of course, it wasn’t just a few days of overwork that led to his death, but accumulated fatigue over time.
‘Preventing the climate crisis would be rewarding too.’
Couldn’t he prevent others from becoming victims like himself?
He had already thought of two things.
However, both were not easy tasks.
If it had worked at once, he might have seen some hope before his death.
‘Neither the conquest of infectious diseases nor the prevention of the climate crisis showed signs of resolution.’
They were almost impossible tasks.
So should he give up?
No. Having grabbed a large sum early and likely becoming a mega-wealthy individual in this life, just coming up with new challenges filled him with enthusiasm.
Thus, even the process of writing down what to do after retirement was delightful.
First, develop vaccines or treatments for infectious diseases
Second, take actions to prevent the climate crisis
Although he didn’t know how many more things would be added, after writing this down, the feeling was,
‘I want to retire soon!’
It was.
The successful investment from the next day would be the starting point helping Lee Hyun-woo, who constantly called for early retirement.
Should it be considered fortunate?
The next day, the amount people subscribed to invest in 【Jungle】 was beyond imagination.
A whopping 7 trillion won!
The amount was so staggering that Shin Dong-woon’s jaw dropped as he compiled all the data over the next few days.
Considering they aimed to raise 350 billion won, the application amount was over 20 times that.
His voice trembled naturally as he reported this to Lee Hyun-woo.
“Because it’s based on the amount, the investors who subscribed more will get more shares, but unexpectedly, the largest investor was 【Macro Soft】. And Billy Kates invested separately as well… It’s a bit of a trick, but there’s no regulation to control this.”
In fact, the current subscription method was also a trick, and it wasn’t covered by Korean securities law.
To proceed normally, Hwang Do-hoon, the head of the team, had to run around a lot.
Fortunately, they received a favorable interpretation and proceeded with 【Jungle】’s unique subscription.
As the jackpot became certain, a smile spread across Lee Hyun-woo’s face.
“How much does each get?”
“The maximum.”
“The maximum means 1%.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
This subscription ensured that no investment entity would hold more than 1% of 【Jungle】’s shares.
Thus, 【Macro Soft】 and Billy Kates would each hold 1%.
‘Not bad.’
For Lee Hyun-woo, who foresaw Billy Kates’ future life after retirement, it was a welcoming outcome.
If both he and Billy Kates made money, they could do more for humanity later on.
Would that be another form of competition then?
