Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: The Facebook
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[I suppose old ties still count for something.]
A storm had passed, but we were finally granted permission to enter the dormitory where Mark was staying.
Opening the door revealed a space that could barely be called a lobby.
We tried our best to avoid the students, but we were already the center of attention, with eyes on us from every direction.
[Do you happen to know where Mark Elliot Zuckerberg's room is?]
In my haste, I stopped a male student who was passing by in the hallway and asked.
He was holding a Sony CD player, with earphones plugged into his ears.
Just as I was beginning to think I'd picked the wrong person, the student stared at me and asked back.
[Where are you from?]
His wariness was palpable.
Just then, I remembered the crisp bills in my pocket.
I took one out and waved it, and only then did the student's expression brighten.
Snatch!
[Third floor, second room.]
Clutching the hundred-dollar bill, the young man immediately turned and left.
From his gleaming eyes, you'd think he'd just been handed a blank check.
As I smiled and started up the stairs, Ryan's voice cut in.
[I still don't see why we have to go to all this trouble.]
[Why are you bringing this up now?]
[If you have eyes, look at those students' faces. They're looking at us like we're a couple of thugs here to collect a debt.]
Now that he mentioned it, the stares were a bit unsettling.
And it wasn't just the stares.
A few were discreetly raising their phones, looking as if they were about to report us to someone.
[Don't worry about it. Let's just find him. We might already be too late.]
I couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency.
According to history, Mark Zuckerberg drops out of school around 2004.
If history had unfolded as it should, it wouldn't matter, but with so many events already twisted, who could guarantee that his timeline would remain unchanged?
[That's a relief.]
But it seemed my worries had been for nothing.
The name on the plaque before me was clearly Mark Elliot Zuckerberg.
Proof that he was still at this school.
*Knock, knock!*
[Who is it?]
I knocked without hesitation, and a young woman's voice came from inside.
Ryan and I exchanged glances, our expressions asking what was going on. Then the door opened, and unexpectedly, a female student who looked to be about twenty appeared.
[Isn't this Mark's room?]
[It is, but who are you?]
The look in her eyes was no different from the stares we'd gotten downstairs.
As if to say, what are a couple of suits doing in a student-only space?
Frankly, from my perspective, finding a female student in what I assumed was a men's-only space was more surprising, but I had no time to question it.
[This is…]
[I'm sorry, but this area is off-limits to outsiders.]
She tried to close the door before I could finish my sentence.
*Thud!*
But Ryan was quick to stick his foot in the gap.
He then spoke protestingly to the startled girl, who was backing away.
[Hey, have some decency and let a person finish talking. Do we look like we're here to collect a debt or something?]
[Move your foot before I call the administration office.]
The student retorted, completely unfazed.
Sensing things were getting complicated, I was about to stop Ryan.
Just then, a man's voice came from inside.
[Who is it?]
The face that appeared in the crack of the door was unmistakably the person I remembered.
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg.
Unlike the female student, he boldly opened the door, looked me up and down, and asked again.
[I don't know where you're from, but outsiders aren't allowed here.]
Ignoring his words, I glanced inside.
A table with several computers, and other male students his age, constantly coding something.
Perhaps this was the very scene of Facebook's birth.
[I asked who you are.]
[Ah! My name is Jin Hyun-seung.]
As he pressed me, I handed him my business card.
But he slammed the door shut without even looking at it, leaving us to stare at each other blankly.
[What was that about?]
Dumbfounded, I knocked on the door again.
After a moment of commotion inside, as if a conversation was taking place, a perplexing question came through the door.
[Are you, by any chance, Korean?]
[…Yes, I am.]
[Then I'm sorry, but I have no intention of speaking with you.]
[What the hell? Are you guys being racist?]
An agitated Ryan stepped forward as if he were about to kick the door down.
Sensing a misunderstanding, I held him back and knocked again. This time, a response came that I could finally understand.
[We absolutely did not copy a platform developed in Korea.]
A platform developed in Korea?
Copy?
In an instant, the two words connected in my mind.
And what came to mind was Cyworld.
I finally realized what the young man was so wary of.
“Ah!”
It's true, when you look at it, Facebook does have many similarities to Cyworld.
If I recall correctly, even before my regression, he had become aware of the similarities through Korean international students.
He must have mistaken me for someone from Korea who came to make an issue of it.
[What's he talking about?]
Ryan, not understanding the situation, stared at me blankly.
I waved a hand to dismiss his concern and spoke to the door again.
[It seems you've misunderstood. I'm here because I want to invest in your project. Please, check my business card first, and then let's talk.]
The card I passed through the crack in the door bore the title of Chairman of JW. Investment.
The company had been making headlines in American society for managing a massive fund, so I figured he might have heard of it.
As expected, the door opened again a moment later, and the look in his eyes was completely different.
[You're the head of JW. Investment?]
[The CEO is my friend here. I'm the one who oversees the parent company of JW Investment.]
[Oh! This is an honor. JW. I has been the main topic of interest among the business and computer science students here lately, so I was curious myself.]
[…]
[You don't know? JW is being called a genius of investment these days. Honestly, with the astronomical profits you're making every year without a single loss, such praise is well-deserved.]
My gaze instinctively turned to Ryan.
His shoulders were puffed up with pride, but when our eyes met, he flinched and pretended to be busy with something else.
[Anyway, please, come in.]
Zuckerberg, with a belated look of realization, swung the door wide open.
God, it was so hard just to have a conversation.
As I walked in, shaking my head, he scratched his head with an awkward smile.
[I'm sorry about that. I've had a lot on my mind lately… Plus, I recently had some trouble with one of my friends over the project.]
I let his words hang in the air as I surveyed the room.
The computer screens had all been turned off.
The other students who had been working were also gone.
[The room connects to the one next door. They just stepped over there for a moment.]
As if reading my expression, Zuckerberg offered a brief explanation and gestured for us to sit.
So this is how young he was.
A strange feeling came over me as I stared at his face for a while. He spoke again, looking a bit awkward.
[By the way, how did you find out about my project?]
He still wore a guarded expression.
True, word travels fast, but it was practically impossible for me to know about a project they'd started purely for social purposes.
In situations like this, I had no real explanation to offer.
Other than to lie.
[As I said, we're an investment firm. Because of that, we have fairly close relationships with professors in the economics, sociology, and IT departments of various universities.]
[…]
[Securing promising students early on is one of our strategies. And among universities, Harvard is a top priority. Anyway, during a recent dinner with a few professors, I heard an interesting rumor.]
[…]
[That some students were working on a project to share profiles. The moment I heard that, I had a hunch. That it could be worth a tremendous amount of money.]
[…]
He narrowed his eyes and looked at me.
As if amazed to hear someone voice his own thoughts.
I draped the jacket I was holding over a chair and looked at him again.
[Before we continue, let me ask you one thing. This platform you're developing… is it just for socializing?]
He neither confirmed nor denied it.
In other words, he hadn't completely ruled out the possibility of commercialization.
That was the perfect opening for me.
[You're a Harvard student, so I assume you've read Alvin Toffler's work? He said that in the future, information would be the greatest asset. Now, what you're creating… Ah, forgive me, what did you say the name of the platform was?]
[The Facebook.]
[I see. In any case, I understand the purpose of The Facebook is to share profiles, but I'm focusing on the fact that this is precisely the kind of information Alvin Toffler was talking about.]
[…]
He swallowed hard.
Just as I thought, my words resonated with ideas he'd already had himself.
The rest of the conversation should be a little easier now.
[You've probably imagined it yourself. What would happen if The Facebook grew beyond simple socializing and took deep root in society. What if its user base grew from tens of millions to hundreds of millions?]
[…]
[If that happens, corporations looking to sell their products will face an immense temptation. After all, advertising is most effective where people gather.]
[…]
[In fact, it's not just the advertisers who benefit from a large crowd. I believe The Facebook itself could easily create ways to generate revenue from its massive user base. Am I wrong?]
[…]
His expression lit up.
As if he'd just caught a glimpse of his own future.
But for some reason, he tilted his head and asked an unexpected question.
[But didn't you say you were Korean?]
[…What about it? Is there a rule that Koreans can't invest in you?]
[It's not that. I'm just curious why you decided to invest in me when a platform like Cyworld already exists in Korea. Honestly, wouldn't a fully developed platform be a more suitable investment target?]
For a moment, I paused and looked at him.
He had an expression that expected a plausible answer.
I smiled and replied.
[Investment, by its nature, is about backing something with great growth potential. Unfortunately, I didn't see that potential in them.]
[…]
[And…]
Unfortunately, I couldn't say the rest of my thoughts out loud.
I couldn't very well pass judgment on a platform that hadn't even been released to the world yet.
The algorithm that would gradually evolve through his unique business acumen and sensibility.
The resulting addictiveness and the ability to connect that to a revenue model.
In truth, there was no guarantee I could succeed just by copying him, and I didn't have the capacity to focus on it anyway.
[…And I believe that something born with the 'Made in USA' title has a better chance of expanding globally.]
[…]
He looked at me as if I'd said something completely out of left field.
But it wasn't wrong, was it?
In this era, most people in Western society didn't even know where South Korea was on a map. No matter how much buzz it generated there, what were the chances of it spreading to the rest of the world?
But 'Made in USA' was different.
[In any case, I will cover all the necessary development funds for the time being. You just focus on completing the project.]
As I spoke, I took a checkbook from my jacket.
His startled gaze flew to the checkbook, and I added one more thing.
[Trust comes from money.]
[…]
As I finished, I tore a check from the book.
For exactly twenty million dollars.
Ryan, who had been watching, delivered the line we had prepared in advance and took out the contract he'd brought.
[One million of this is for you to use as development funds. The rest is an advance payment for approximately 40% of the company you will soon establish, based on our own preliminary valuation.]
[…]