Plant Gold in American Soil! (2)
I was so flustered by the completely unexpected situation that Colonel Colson spoke up with an awkward expression to explain. "I told you Yeon-ji went to meet some friends, but in truth, she’s been visiting the hospital. I didn't want you to worry."
However, it wasn't the Colonel's words that rang loudest in Yoon-gi's ears, but the voice of Choi Deok-bae, who was muttering an apology. As Yoon-gi stared into thin air without realizing it, Deok-bae quickly continued his chatter. Seeing Yoon-gi staring blankly into space, Park Yeon-ji seemed to realize something; she slowly approached her son and pulled him into an embrace.
"Yoon-gi, even if a younger sibling is born, Dad and I will always love you more than anyone else in the world."
Only after hearing his mother's words could Yoon-gi pull himself together. 'No, no. It’s not that I’m acting this way because I’m afraid a sibling will steal your love.' Having confirmed his own heart, Yoon-gi pulled away from his mother and helped her stand up.
"Y-Yoon-gi..."
Thinking perhaps her sincerity hadn't reached him, Park Yeon-ji fidgeted anxiously. But Yoon-gi's next action melted her worries away instantly.
"You have to love me and the baby the most."
His mother’s belly, where he hadn't yet been told, but was now certain a sibling resided. Yoon-gi pressed his ear against it and wore the happiest smile in the world.
"See? Your son isn't the type to be sad about something like that. He’s got my blood in him, so he’s a broad-minded kid."
Colonel Colson let out a hearty laugh, satisfied by his grandson’s magnanimous behavior, and Park Yeon-ji, letting out a sigh of relief, pulled Yoon-gi into a warm hug while he still had his ear pressed to her stomach.
"I really wanted a sibling."
It was the truth. In his previous life, he had been an only child, so he had always been terribly lonely at home. He had needed something to attach his affection to, and as he grew older, that loneliness had reached its peak. Having thought countless times, 'If I had a sibling, I wouldn't have been this lonely,' Yoon-gi was genuinely delighted by the news of his mother’s pregnancy.
'The number of people I need to protect has grown.'
As he smiled both inwardly and outwardly, Colonel Colson spoke to his daughter. "Anyway, what are you going to do? It didn't matter before we knew the truth, but now that you're pregnant, your body will be strained if you take another long-haul flight. Didn't the doctor say anything?"
"The doctor actually recommended that I give birth in the United States if possible. I'll have to talk to Father-in-law about it."
"If that happens, then Yoon-gi..."
Colonel Colson trailed off, looking at Yoon-gi. 'This is my chance!' He had been trying to find a way to suggest living in the U.S. during every school break, and now he had a perfectly timely excuse. Besides, considering it would be awkward to put a newborn baby on a plane, he had effectively secured an excuse to come and go from the U.S. every vacation until at least he graduated from elementary school.
"I'm fine. Mom and the baby are more important. Mom, just make sure you explain it well to Grandfather and Dad."
"A-are you sure?"
At his mother's question, Yoon-gi nodded vigorously. "Of course. Instead, I'll come over every vacation to be with you and the baby. That's okay, right?"
When he looked at Colonel Colson, the Colonel’s mouth stretched into a wide, toothy grin.
"Wow, so this is the Altair computer! I’ve only seen it in magazines!"
As Yoon-gi began to circle the computer with great excitement, Bill Gates wore a proud expression. "Is this your first time seeing one in person?"
"Yes! There aren't even 400 computers in all of Korea. So it's really hard to see one."
"I suppose that's true. Even in the U.S., you can't exactly say computers are common."
Watching Bill Gates nod, Yoon-gi turned his gaze back to the Altair. A strange computer without a monitor. The Altair had many lamps on its main unit, and you had to know how to decipher those lamps to use it. It was definitely a state-of-the-art machine, but Yoon-gi felt like he was in a museum, enjoying the Altair to his heart's content.
"Come to think of it, there’s a funny anecdote about this computer."
"What is it?"
"When we were trying to sign the contract with MITS, we had to show them our program. But Paul realized on the plane during his business trip that we hadn't made a start prompt."
"Was the start prompt... the device used to execute the program?"
"You know it!"
Every time Bill Gates realized that their young investor was genuinely interested in the field and had invested because of it, he was moved. The same went for Paul Allen, who was standing to the side with an embarrassed look on his face.
"I really love computers. Of course, I don't know as much as you guys..."
As Yoon-gi feigned a shy expression, Bill Gates picked him up, sat him on the desk, and began a long lecture. "As far as I know, there are few kids in the U.S. as interested in computers as you are. Anyway, back then, Paul barely finished the start prompt on the plane, and..."
Watching Bill Gates talk excitedly, even spitting a little as he spoke, Yoon-gi listened to the story with an expression full of interest from start to finish. Beside him, Choi Deok-bae looked awkward and wiped his nose with his index finger. In fact, the biggest reason Yoon-gi was able to listen to others so intently was because of Deok-bae. He had gotten used to listening to Deok-bae, who would pour out words incessantly even when he was just a baby who couldn't even hold his own body up. On top of that, due to the inferiority complex of not having been able to learn before his regression, Yoon-gi had a massive desire to learn new things. Because of these two factors, he could listen to what Bill Gates was saying with "genuine" interest.
"Whoa, whoa. Bill, stop. You're using words that are too difficult for a kid to hear."
When Steve Ballmer intervened, Bill made an 'oops' face and laughed sheepishly. "Ah, sorry, Yoon-gi. I just get so excited about this stuff."
In Japan, they call them Otaku, but in the U.S., the term Nerd is used quite often. In that sense, it was no surprise that Bill Gates, a computer nerd, would become this talkative in front of someone who understood him.
"Bill-hyung, you're a computer genius, aren't you?"
"Hey, he called you a genius."
Bill felt a little shy watching Paul laugh, but he didn't deny it. "So I was curious, are the people at Harvard all geniuses in their own fields like you, hyung?"
"I don't know if you could call them all geniuses, but it's true that they are people close to being geniuses, right?"
The 'geniuses' Bill Gates thought of were 'true geniuses' like Newton, Gauss, or von Neumann, so there was a slight difference in concept from the 'genius' Yoon-gi was talking about.
"Is it possible to look around Harvard? I want to know how real geniuses study and what they research."
Watching Yoon-gi’s sparkling eyes, Bill Gates looked troubled. "Well, I'm not actually attending Harvard right now, so..."
When he turned his gaze to Paul, Paul took a step back and shook his head. "Why are you looking at me? I'm a graduate of Washington State University."
Then Bill Gates's gaze shifted to one side, and Paul’s head followed suit.
"Hmm...?"
When Steve Ballmer pointed at himself, both Bill Gates and Paul Allen nodded. "Why don't you show our major shareholder around Harvard? It's the summer semester, so it won't be that obvious, right?"
"Hmm... well, shall we...?"
At the same time as Steve’s answer, Yoon-gi smiled, having achieved his purpose for visiting Microsoft.
Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is a university that is always mentioned when naming the best universities in the world, then and now. A university he should never have had the chance to visit in his original life. However, Yoon-gi was entering the main gate with Steve Ballmer, escorted by plainclothes soldiers his grandfather had assigned to him.
"So this is Harvard..."
At Yoon-gi’s Korean, Steve Ballmer looked at him and said, "Huh?"
"Ah, I was just saying, 'So this is Harvard.'"
"It goes without saying, but this is your first time at Harvard, right?"
"Actually..."
"Actually?"
"It's my first time at a university itself."
Yoon-gi blushed without realizing it. In Korea, where you're treated like an idiot if you don't go to college, the treatment a middle-school-educated day laborer received was obvious. But that was all just a thing of the past.
"Isn't that obvious?"
Watching Steve look puzzled, Yoon-gi thought, 'Oops,' and smiled bashfully and sheepishly. "No, I mean, real geniuses enter college when they're young, don't they?"
"In my opinion, you're also a genius to a certain extent. Honestly, kids who enter Harvard at ten are the ones who are truly called geniuses throughout history. Even Bill, whom you like the most, went to a normal school called Lakeside when he was young, just like everyone else."
"Now that I think about it, that's true."
Yoon-gi, having glossed over it appropriately, looked around the Harvard campus. 'There are so many different kinds of people.' Even though it was a university where the world's greatest scholars were gathered, the people were truly diverse. There were students covered in luxury brands, while others wore clothes that looked like they came from a market, or even clothes that were worn out. But regardless of the price of the clothes, there were students who wore expensive clothes but didn't look dressed up at all, and students who wore cheap clothes but looked truly magnificent.
'I used to think that only nerds went to Seoul National University.'
Kids who studied in class all day long. He had thought that those kids gathered at SNU, creating a gloomy atmosphere the better the university was. But at Harvard, bathed in the bright sunlight of the American continent, students of all different colors were gathered, creating a variety of atmospheres.
'This is why it's important to see a lot of the world.'
If he hadn't been able to live this life, even if he hadn't committed suicide, he would have lived and died trapped in a narrow world of perception forever. Even in this life, if he had just settled for reality, he wouldn't have been able to see the wide world.
'Yes, I must see more and study more. That is the repayment to the person who gave me this opportunity.'
For a moment, Yoon-gi scrunched up his face, then quickly smoothed it out and turned his head toward the direction the voice came from. However, Steve was in the direction he turned.
"What do you think of Harvard?"
For a moment, Yoon-gi couldn't help but notice Ballmer’s forehead. The forehead that was already being 'logged' at the 12 o'clock position despite being in his 20s.
"Uh... it's very wide."
"Is that so?"
"And, it's very shiny."
"Somehow, that sounds like a child-like evaluation, so it's not bad?"
Steve smiled broadly and patted Yoon-gi’s thick hair. He didn't realize it himself yet, and Yoon-gi didn't know Steve’s future either, but Steve Ballmer’s future would be grand and brilliant. After all, he would become one of the major shareholders of Microsoft.
"This is the lecture hall. Since it's the summer semester, there are many empty ones."
Yoon-gi, who had been looking around Harvard following Steve, asked directly when the place he wanted didn't seem to be appearing.
"Is it possible to meet someone like Bill-hyung?"
"Someone like Bill? Ah, come to think of it, you said you wanted to do that earlier."
Steve slapped his forehead and took Yoon-gi to the research building. A place where graduate students were gathered. Opening the door to one of them, Steve waved his hand.
"Andrew, what are you doing?"
A man with matted red bobbed hair stretched lazily and replied. "What do you think? Always the same."
A man who looked about two years older than Steve. Yoon-gi naturally didn't know who this man was.
"Yoon-gi, this is Andrew Gibson. He's currently majoring in a master's program in the Department of Mathematics."
At Steve’s words, Andrew, who had been looking at Yoon-gi with eyes that had no interest at all, sighed and spoke to Steve again. "I think I'll have to give up on the master's program. I don't have any money at home..."
The moment Andrew’s words ended, Yoon-gi’s eyes lit up.