Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

Steve Jobs.

There are probably very few people in the world who don’t know that name.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this man changed the lives of people all over the world.

But right now, he’d been kicked out of the company he built—Apple. He was struggling with NeXT and Pixar, but the results were grim.

No, he was only racking up deficits.

‘If I don’t invest in Jobs now, the chance will never come again. No matter what, I have to forge a connection with him.’

After spending a night in New York, I boarded a plane again and flew straight to California where Pixar was located.

I hadn’t even contacted him in advance. I just showed up unannounced.

Maybe I wouldn’t be able to meet him since I had no appointment, but considering his eccentric nature, I figured it’d be better to spark his curiosity than to schedule something formally.

Soon, we arrived at the building where Pixar was based.

I walked confidently up to the reception desk. A staff member seated inside looked up at me.

“How can I help you?”

“Is Jobs here?”

“The Chairman?”

“Yes.”

The staffer glanced at me and my group, scanning us up and down, then hesitated before responding.

“Did you have an appointment?”

“No. But if you let him know I’m here, I think he’ll agree to meet me.”

He gave me a look like, ‘what kind of lunatic is this,’ but I returned the gaze calmly.

With a reluctant expression, the staffer asked,

“What’s the purpose of your visit?”

“Just tell him: ‘A man from the East has come to save you.’ That’ll be enough.”

“Haa... geez... One moment, please wait here.”

He stood and disappeared into the back.

Han Kyungyeong, who stood beside me looking awkward, leaned in and whispered,

“Who the hell is Jobs?”

“He’s the one. The guy who’s going to change the world.”

A few minutes later, the staffer returned with an even stranger expression than before.

“...He said you can come up.”

“Thank you.”

We took the elevator and arrived at the executive office.

The secretary standing outside the door gave me a quizzical look too, but still led us to Jobs.

When the door opened, there he was—legs crossed on the sofa. That face I’d seen so many times in photos.

‘Jobs Hyung! So this was back when you still had some hair left, huh?’

I held back a grin as I stepped inside.

“Hey, Jobs! How’s it going?”

Greeting him like an old friend I hadn’t seen in years, he gave me a strange look.

“You know me?”

“Of course. Steve Jobs!”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen you before.”

“Hahaha. Mind if I sit?”

He nodded.

Han Kyungyeong and I took a seat, and Ma Seokdae stood silently behind me.

Noticing the standing man, Jobs gave him a quick glance. I explained,

“He’s my bodyguard-slash-secretary. No need to worry.”

“Oh! Some kind of Asian royalty?”

Jobs had always had a fascination with Eastern culture, so he was quite interested in things like Asian royalty.

“No, I’m from Korea. You know where Korea is, right?”

“Korea? Ah! Ilseong? I went there once. They rejected my proposal back then.”

He furrowed his brows slightly at the memory, then began examining me more carefully.

“So what’s this about coming to save me? If it’s a joke, it better be funny.”

“Who would joke with the great Steve Jobs?”

I laughed and waved my hand.

And without dragging it out, I cut right to the chase.

“You’re thinking about selling Pixar lately, aren’t you? Same for NeXT?”

At the mention of thoughts he hadn’t shared with anyone, his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

But only for a moment—then he smiled and replied,

“Oh? Am I? I doubt it.”

He shrugged playfully, acting like it was nonsense.

“C’mon~ We both know what’s what. I’ve heard you already spent half the fortune you had when you got kicked out of Apple. Isn’t that right?”

The moment I brought up Apple, the smile vanished from his face and turned stiff.

As expected, this topic hit a nerve.

“Ah, don’t make that face. I’m one of those people who think Apple went completely insane for kicking you out. Apple is Jobs, and Jobs is Apple. That’s how it should be. Kicking you out was just madness. Look at the mess the company’s in now—it says everything, doesn’t it?”

That softened his expression again. I gave him a friendly smile.

“But Apple’s not what matters. You’ll go back there eventually. I came here to solve your current problem. Want to hear it?”

He didn’t answer, but gave me a nod, as if to say, “Go ahead.”

I met his eyes, which had begun to glow with interest, and smiled again.

“I’ll invest the same amount you’ve already poured into your two companies. In return, I want half of your shares.”

“I told you I’m not selling.”

His words said one thing, but his body said another.

The legs that had been crossed were now relaxed, and his upper body was leaning slightly toward me.

‘He’s not being honest.’

Smiling to myself, I continued,

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I have zero interest in running things. I just want a relationship with you. You invested about 50 million dollars into both companies combined, right?”

He nodded, and I pushed further.

“You’ve put that much in, but it’d be a shame to sell to someone else. So I’ll give you 50 million in exchange for half your stake. I’ll leave you with full voting rights. I’m only interested in discussing the future with you. Sound fair? That’s a decent savior package, don’t you think?”

At the mention of investing in two money-losing companies while leaving all control to him, his expression visibly shifted.

“I’m not investing in these companies—I’m investing in you. Pixar? NeXT? Without you, they’re worthless. Who else would invest in a company just because of the person behind it?”

With that, the last hint of wariness on his face vanished.

I’d heard he had strong self-esteem, and boy, was that true...

“Alright. But tell me—why does it have to be you? There are plenty of others.”

I let out a laugh like I’d just heard a good joke.

“Oh, Jobs. Stop testing me. Who else would invest in you under these circumstances? You know this—everyone’s an idiot. You think anyone on Wall Street is gonna throw tens of millions at companies running deficits for years? Unless you’re handing over the whole company, no one’s biting.”

That finally made Jobs give in.

“Sigh... What can I say to that? True, no one’s made me an offer like this. Plenty have shown interest in buying the company, though.”

Of course.

Big names in IT like Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, and Larry Ellison, the infamous bad boy of Silicon Valley and founder of Oracle, were already circling.

Ellison, especially, was making bold proposals due to his close friendship with Jobs.

But Jobs didn’t want to sell. Not NeXT, the company he started after Apple. Not Pixar, which he bought for ten million dollars.

If he sold now, sure, he’d avoid losses. But he wasn’t sure he’d ever make it back to Apple.

Well... in the end, Pixar would blow up and NeXT would merge with Apple, bringing him back as CEO.

I nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. If I were a typical investor or businessman, I’d just try to acquire everything. But I figured you wouldn’t want to sell. That’s why I came here. If I was wrong, I’ll just leave now.”

As I pretended to rise from my seat, Jobs hurriedly stopped me.

“Hey, why are you in such a rush? So, you’re saying you want half of my shares. And I stay in charge?”

“Fifty million dollars! What do you say?”

“What if you lose all that money?”

“Then I’ll just consider it the price of becoming your friend.”

Lose it? It’ll come back ten or twentyfold—what’s there to worry about?

“That’s... a bit low...”

Seeing that signature Jobs-style negotiation tactic coming, I cut it off early. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

“Don’t even think about asking for more. Management, voting rights—all yours. If the company goes public or I sell stock, you’ll have first purchase rights. That’s the best I can offer. What other crazy investor would give you a deal like this?”

“Listen to me—”

“Fifty million!”

“No, wait—”

“Fifty million!”

He let out a resigned laugh, like he’d had enough.

“Haa... I’ve never met anyone more stubborn than me. Alright. We’ll hammer out the details later. For now, let’s eat and talk.”

“Okay.”

Han Kyungyeong, who hadn’t said a word this whole time, looked exhausted and leaned in to whisper.

“I’m heading back to the hotel first.”

“Yeah? Got it. Call the lawyer and have him meet us here.”

As Jobs got ready, I gave Han some instructions and stood up.

“This is my partner, James Han. I’ll mostly be based in Korea. James is the one who’ll work closely with you.”

“Oh! Mr. Han? Nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s mine.”

“Let’s all grab dinner together.”

“He’s too tired and headed back to the hotel. There’s something I asked him to do, too. You’ll see him tomorrow when we sign the contract.”

“Alright then. See you next time.”

After shaking hands with Jobs, Han left.

We headed to a restaurant Jobs frequented.

‘Ah... right. He was a hardcore vegetarian, wasn’t he?’

When ordering, he only chose salads and fruit.

“Don’t worry about me—order whatever you like. It’s on me today, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) hahaha.”

He seemed in great spirits, smiling nonstop. I just nodded and ordered the same.

“You’re vegetarian too?”

“No, I’m not picky, but I can’t eat meat in front of Jobs, can I?”

He liked that and burst into loud laughter.

“I like you. That confidence—you remind me of myself when I was younger. But doesn’t your secretary eat?”

“Ah... Don’t mind him. He’s always like that. Reliable guy.”

Jobs glanced over at Ma Seokdae and nodded.

“Hard to find people like that. He’s got great posture, and he’s constantly scanning your surroundings.”

“Thanks.”

“Why you?”

“Because he’s mine.”

The food came, and we continued our conversation over fruits and vegetables.

“What do you think about the internet?”

“It’ll change the world. Especially the World Wide Web. Innovation is already happening—just look at Mosaic.”

“Oh! You know about Mosaic?”

“Web browsers are going to explode. Information will flood everywhere. Eventually, we’ll have a world run entirely through computers. It'll happen within ten years.”

“Even a young guy like you knows that, yet Apple’s idiots don’t. They’re still stuck in the past. That’s not the Apple I wanted.”

“Hahaha, they kicked you out because they’re idiots.”

Jobs gave a pleased smile and nodded.

“By the way, what’s your name? I don’t even know that.”

“Charlie Kim.”

“Charlie? What’s your real name, not your American one?”

“Kim Muhyuk.”

“Kim Mu... what?”

“Hahaha, don’t even try. Just call me Charlie.”

“Embarrassing... I’ve lived in Asia for years, too. Alright, you can call me Steve. I only let my real friends use that name—feel honored, Charlie.”

“Got it, Steve.”

Amid that warm atmosphere, the conversation flowed on.

Jobs spoke about his life journey. I already knew everything, but I played along. Matching his rhythm wasn’t hard when I knew the man so well.

“Innovation is what separates leaders from followers. Charlie, which one are you? A leader or a follower?”

“Steve, I’ve always been a leader, and I always will be. There’s no one more innovative than me—except maybe you.”

“Hahaha!”

He let out a booming laugh, clearly enjoying himself.

“You’re the first person to say something like that in front of me. You’re really something. What’s the future you see like?”

Time to give him a little peek at it.

I pulled a mobile phone from my pocket and showed it to him.

“You know what this is, right?”

“A cell phone?”

“This phone’s going to get smaller and smaller... until a full computer fits inside.”

< Jobs Hyung~ Steve Jobs Hyung~ > End