Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

My first stop in the United States was a visit to Apple’s headquarters in Silicon Valley.

Steve Jobs had been repeatedly asking me to come for days now.

“Hey! Charlie!”

The moment Steve Jobs saw me, he pulled me into a warm embrace.

“How’ve you been, my friend?”

I answered his question with a smile.

“Of course, I’ve been well. But Jobs, you don’t look so good. It seems like you haven’t slept properly for days.”

“Hahaha! I guess that couldn’t be helped. Come on, let’s go inside. There’s something I want to show you. I’ll show you my secret weapon—something no one else knows about yet.”

A secret weapon. From those words alone, I could already guess what Steve Jobs had created.

When I widened my eyes and looked at him, Jobs grinned slyly.

“Could it be...... you’ve already made it?”

“You’ll know when you see it. Just follow me.”

Jobs led me inside.

Only after passing through several layers of security did we finally arrive at a certain office.

“What is this place?”

“My personal playground, you could say. No one but me is allowed in here.”

Despite his # Nоvеlight # words, it didn’t look like a particularly special space.

Jobs opened a safe at the very back and took out a small square box.

Then he opened it and held it out to me.

“So? What do you think?”

I was stunned when I saw what was inside the box he had opened.

Even with all the hints, I never thought he’d have made it already.

“Don’t tell me it’s already finished?”

It looked slightly different from what I remembered, but there was no doubt—it was an iPhone.

At my question, Steve Jobs shook his head, though his expression was full of confidence.

“A prototype. But it works properly. Go on, turn it on. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to show this to you first?”

Carefully, I took the object from the box into my hand.

The small phone fit snugly in one hand, carrying the familiar feel of the iPhone I knew so well.

I pressed the power button cautiously. After Apple’s signature boot screen, the interface I knew so well finally appeared.

“Well? Does it look like what you had in mind?”

Instead of answering his slightly anxious question, I focused on examining the iPhone’s interface.

It wasn’t much different from the early iPhones I remembered. At this level, it could be released immediately.

If there was one difference, it was that the App Store was already built in.

“Try pressing it. See if it works properly.”

Nodding lightly, I tapped the app labeled iPod first.

The distinctive iPhone interface greeted me, and I scrolled up and down with my finger, checking the response speed.

‘It does feel a bit slow......’

But that was probably just because I’d used smartphones from several generations later.

Even this level of responsiveness was nothing short of revolutionary for this era.

I checked the other apps one by one as well.

It wasn’t fully satisfying to my eyes, but it was more than enough.

“It can’t make calls or connect to the internet yet, right?”

“That’s right. It’s a prototype that hasn’t been shown to anyone yet. We’re still refining it. Sometimes it freezes up too......”

I nodded. The story about Apple preparing multiple iPhones for the first demonstration—switching devices whenever one froze—was well known.

“You really did include the App Store, just like we talked about.”

“Exactly! If not for that, it would’ve already been released. Building a system where anyone can freely develop and upload apps turned out to be a lot of work.”

“But I knew you’d pull it off, Jobs. So, are all the preparations done?”

“Probably by the end of this year.”

Though he said that, he’d never release it unless it met his own standards.

“So when are you thinking of releasing it?”

“At the latest, sometime in 2006. If everything goes well, maybe next year. It’s not perfect yet. Until I’m satisfied, I won’t release it to the world.”

This was why perfectionists were exhausting.

Shaking the iPhone in my hand, I said,

“At this level, it would sell even if you released it right now.”

“Absolutely not! I’m not satisfied yet. I can’t sell something like that under Apple’s name. There’s still room for improvement.”

They could always release it first and fix things gradually afterward.

But that stubborn conviction was what made Steve Jobs who he was.

I held the iPhone out to Steve Jobs again.

“I’m really looking forward to it. So much that I want to use it right away.”

“Right? I couldn’t sleep because I wanted to hear your evaluation. This whole project started from a conversation between you and me, didn’t it? That dreamlike idea is becoming reality now.”

“I only provided the idea. You and Apple’s engineers are the ones who made it real. Truly worthy of Apple—a gathering of geniuses.”

Smartphones did exist even now. But the devices called smartphones were crude at best.

They required plastic buttons for input, which made the screens small. They were hard to operate and, most importantly, not very ‘smart’ at all.

That was why the iPhone Jobs created would change the world.

In my previous life—and in this one as well.

Watching Jobs grin nonstop, I asked cautiously,

“By the way, Jobs...... did you keep your promise to me?”

“Promise?”

Seeing his puzzled expression made me a little uneasy.

“The health checkup.”

“Oh, that. I wondered what you meant. Yes, I did. They said I had a malignant tumor in my pancreas. Thanks to you, it was caught early and I had a simple surgery. Seriously, how did you know something was wrong with my body years in advance?”

“Really? And it was resolved with just a simple surgery?”

Knowing his stubbornness so well, it was hard to believe he’d already gone through surgery.

But Jobs shrugged it off casually.

“Yeah. What you said bothered me, so I went for a checkup. The doctor told me that if it had been a year later, my survival rate would’ve dropped below fifty percent. That’s when I learned how terrifying pancreatic cancer really is. Anyway, the surgery went well. No problems now.”

“......Post-op care is important too. Go to the hospital regularly for checkups. If Jobs collapses, Apple collapses too. I don’t want that.”

After Steve Jobs passed away, Apple would continue to thrive.

In fact, it might grow even more.

But it would be growth without substance.

After Jobs, Apple would lose its image as an innovative company and turn into one that simply squeezed money out of loyal fans.

The Apple I wanted was one that kept innovating—an Apple with Steve Jobs at its core.

“As a friend, and as a major shareholder of Apple, I’m asking you. Your health isn’t just your own problem.”

“Hahaha! All right. The hospital told me to make sure I get enough protein, so I’ve been trying to adjust my diet lately. It’s hard to change all at once, but I’ll do it gradually. So don’t worry too much. Anyone watching would think you’re my wife.”

I chuckled at Steve Jobs’s attempt to lighten the mood with a joke.

“Alright then. Let’s stop the nagging and talk business. Even if the release is delayed, how about revealing it earlier?”

“Reveal it early? Why?”

“The iPhone’s own quality is important, but the individual apps created by small developers will define its convenience and quality. With only Apple’s default apps, functionality will always be limited.”

“......True. Apple can’t possibly make every app itself.”

“Exactly. So how about revealing it first, providing developers with tools, and asking them to prepare apps in time for the iPhone’s release?”

If development tools were only released at launch, it would take too long for new apps to appear.

It was far more efficient to give developers early access and let them start creating apps in advance.

“Hm...... It’s a good idea, but it still feels premature to reveal it.”

“I’m not saying you have to do it right away. Just consider it.”

“I’ll think about it. By the way, how long are you planning to stay in the U.S.?”

“About two weeks, maybe. I have to travel around quite a bit, so I set a longer schedule. I came here first because you kept calling me to.”

He burst out laughing at that and pointed at the iPhone.

“Do you know how badly I wanted to show this off? Thanks to you, we even resolved those troublesome touch-related patents. Oh, by the way—don’t you have a semiconductor company among your businesses?”

“Yes. Both Ilseong Semiconductor and Joongwoo Semiconductor are affiliated with me.”

“Oh? Then there won’t be any issues with semiconductor supply. Naturally, you’ll help us.”

“Of course. Don’t worry. We’re preparing to relocate Ilseong Semiconductor to the U.S. We’ll produce and supply from there.”

Jobs’s eyes widened at my words.

“You’re moving Ilseong Semiconductor to the U.S.? Will Korea allow that?”

“Ah, only the headquarters will move to the U.S. Most of the production facilities will remain in Korea. Of course, we’ll also build manufacturing plants in the U.S. And since economic cooperation with North Korea is in full swing, we plan to build new factories there instead of China.”

“North Korea...... Can you really trust that place?”

At the concern and suspicion in his voice, I answered calmly.

“More than China, I think. You shouldn’t consider outsourcing production to China either, Jobs. They’re vile enough to steal your technology and more.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Let’s go eat. But first, put that back in there.” ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Jobs carefully placed the iPhone prototype back into the box and returned it to the safe.

“Alright! Let’s go.”

We left Apple’s headquarters together and headed to a nearby restaurant.

Over dinner, we talked about many things.

“Oh, by the way—what’s your relationship with that guy Elon Musk?”

“Elon Musk? He’s someone I invested in.”

“He came to see me, using your name.”

“Musk? Why would he go to see you?”

Jobs shrugged.

“Who knows. But after talking to him, I realized he’s an even bigger dreamer than I am. What? Going to Mars? Did you really invest thinking that was possible?”

So Musk had gone to Jobs and told him about his dreams.

For Jobs to react like this, Musk really was something else.

“Even if he can’t go to Mars, he might someday launch satellites. That’s what I invested in.”

“Is that really possible?”

I never once seriously considered terraforming Mars. From the start, my goal was satellites.

“There’s no guarantee every investment will succeed. But I believe his fantasies could become reality. That’s why I invested. Imagine hundreds—no, thousands—of satellites launched into space. If that made internet access possible anywhere in the world, can you imagine how many more iPhones you’d sell? It’s still a distant future, but I think it’s possible.”

“Really? Then should I invest too? Musk told me to invest as well. He probably wants my name more than my money, but still.”

So that was why he’d used my name to approach Jobs.

At this point in time, Jobs’s name still carried far more weight than Musk’s.

“That’s up to you to decide, Jobs. I can’t force you. But if you do invest, you’ll likely see great returns later.”

“I see......”

At my certainty, a strange glint appeared in Steve Jobs’s eyes.

He’d probably meet Musk and invest within a few days.

“It was a great meeting, Jobs. Next time, I hope to see you unveiling the iPhone at a conference.”

“Yes. I’ll be sure to invite you.”

Jobs nodded with a smile.

After the meal, I shook hands with Jobs and returned to my hotel.

The next day,

I left Silicon Valley and headed for Washington.

There, I met a man. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

“Nice to meet you. I’m Charlie.”

“Barack Obama. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The man sitting across from me was Senator Barack Obama.