Golden Spoon Investor

A cloudless, clear weekend morning.

Chairman Park Tae-hong emerged from the master bedroom, dressed in a short-sleeved polo shirt and stretchy black pants.

"Are you leaving already?"

Jo Deok-rye, sitting on the living room sofa bathed in bright sunlight streaming through large glass windows, looked up from her book and tea to glance at her husband.

"Yes. I've been away from the golf course for a while, and my putting seems off. I thought I'd go early to practice a bit."

Chairman Park replied as he sat down across from her.

"You mentioned you had a golf appointment with Chairman Kwak of Saseong Group today?"

"Yes, and Chairman Yoo of Daekwang Group is joining us too."

"Then, have some herbal medicine before you leave."

Feigning ignorance of her husband's reluctant expression, Jo Deok-rye raised her voice toward the kitchen.

"Gunsan-dae? Please bring the Chairman's medicine."

"Yes, madam," the housekeeper responded promptly, appearing quickly with a tray bearing warm herbal medicine.

Reluctantly picking up the white bowl, Chairman Park, urged by his wife's insistent gaze, drank it down with a series of gulps, the sound resonating.

"Here's a candy," Jo Deok-rye said, unwrapping and popping a sweet into his mouth as he grimaced at the bitterness.

"Do you think I'm a child?" Chairman Park grumbled, rolling the candy around in his mouth as he set the empty bowl back on the tray.

"This new batch seems even more bitter."

"Good medicine is supposed to be bitter. It was specially brewed with a 60-year-old wild ginseng, so make sure to take it regularly."

"Where do you even find things like that… Fine."

As the housekeeper carried the tray and bowl back to the kitchen, Chairman Park suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, by the way, is Seok-won home? Ask him to come down."

"What do you need him for?"

"It's a good opportunity to take him along and introduce him to Chairmen Kwak and Yoo."

"If that's the case, you should've mentioned it earlier."

"Why? Is he not home?"

Jo Deok-rye glanced at him with a slight glare.

"He told us a few days ago he'd be traveling to the U.S. for some business. Don't you remember?"

Recalling the conversation belatedly, Chairman Park clicked his tongue.

"Was that today?"

"By now, he's probably on his way to the airport."

"I see."

Responding sheepishly, Chairman Park frowned slightly, grumbling about his son.

"Why can't that boy just stay home for once? He's always running around instead of settling down."

With a dissatisfied expression, Chairman Park muttered.

"Could it be that there's a girl waiting for him in the U.S.?"

"Dear!"

Jo Deok-rye glared sharply at her husband.

"What kind of nonsense is that to say about your son?"

"I was just saying…"

Faced with his wife's scolding tone, Chairman Park shifted his gaze, avoiding eye contact.

"What if strange rumors start spreading? Don't make such comments, even as a joke!"

"Fine, fine."

As Jo Deok-rye's reproachful eyes bore into him, Chairman Park took the opportunity to rise from his seat.

"Ahem. I suppose I'd better get going now."

Fortunately, his golf appointment provided an escape. Otherwise, he might have spent the day enduring his wife's gaze while confined to his study.

Just then, Jo Deok-rye picked up a thin folder and handed it to him.

"Take this with you."

"What's this?"

Receiving the folder with a puzzled expression, Chairman Park tilted his head.

"I don't know. Seok-won asked me to give it to you before he left."

"Hmm."

Chairman Park opened the folder to find a June financial report detailing the investment funds managed by Seok-won.

[Investment Principal: 16.33 billion KRW

Total Profit: 65.96 billion KRW (As of July 15, 1994)]

Seeing the figures significantly higher than the previous month's, Chairman Park's lips curled into a smile.

"What's in there?"

"Nothing much."

Hiding his satisfaction, Chairman Park closed the folder with a contented expression, muttering to himself.

"That boy seems to be handling things well."

***

Inside a luxuriously appointed business jet.

Reclining on a spacious seat, Seok-won was deep in sleep.

Even with an eye mask covering his eyes, his flawless skin and sharp jawline were plainly visible.

A slim, blonde flight attendant in a fitted uniform approached, leaning slightly to wake him gently.

"Sir, it's time to wake up."

As Seok-won stirred and lifted his eye mask, she continued with a smile.

"We'll be arriving at our destination in 30 minutes."

Fully removing his eye mask, Seok-won straightened his posture, prompting the flight attendant to ask politely.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, please make it strong enough to wake me up."

"Understood. I'll bring it shortly."

As she disappeared into the galley, Seok-won pressed a button to adjust his reclined seat to an upright position. Turning his gaze out the window, he saw nothing but a thick blanket of white clouds below.

Seok-won's unplanned trip to the U.S. was prompted by news that the beta version of the long-awaited new web browser was complete.

"I thought it wouldn't be ready until after summer, but they really finished by July."

Tom and his team had been working tirelessly, with Tom practically living in the office. Their relentless effort resulted in the beta version being completed much earlier than planned.

"I thought American work culture emphasized work-life balance, but it seems their developers work just as hard as in Korea."

Recollections of his previous visit to the Silicon Valley office came to mind. The sight of desks piled high with empty coffee cups and developers resembling zombies as they typed away flashed before him.

"Maybe they're pushing themselves too hard."

Though concerned, Seok-won knew that adapting quickly to the fast-changing market required urgency. He decided to let it go.

"It'll be tough for now, but I can compensate them later with ample stock options."

After all, money was the universal solution to workplace stress.

Smiling faintly, Seok-won offered silent condolences to the developers toiling away.

"Here's your coffee."

The flight attendant returned, placing a refreshing iced Americano on the table before him.

Remembering his preference, she had prepared it cold.

"Thank you."

Taking a sip of the iced coffee, Seok-won felt the caffeine sharpen his senses.

The Gulfstream IV business jet continued its journey, eventually descending toward San Francisco Airport. Seok-won calmly fastened his seatbelt, unbothered by the descent.

A slight jolt signaled the plane's landing. Glancing out the window, Seok-won observed the expansive terminal buildings and numerous large jets lined up at one of the U.S. busiest hub airports.

Following instructions from air traffic control, the jet taxied to an open spot in the parking area and came to a halt.

"Have a pleasant time," the flight attendant said with a charming smile as she saw him off at the stairs.

Acknowledging her with a nod, Seok-won descended the steps to find a tall, muscular Black man in a suit and sunglasses approaching him.

"Are you Mr. Park?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Tyrone, and I'll be your escort during your stay in San Francisco."

"Nice to meet you."

After a firm handshake, Tyrone gestured to a black limousine parked nearby.

"Your car is ready. Please, step inside."

Walking over to the limousine, Seok-won entered as Tyrone held the door open. The air-conditioned interior provided a comfortable respite from the summer heat.

Once the luggage was loaded into the trunk, Tyrone turned to Seok-won from the driver's seat.

"Shall I take you to the hotel?"

"No, let's stop by the Silicon Valley office first."

"Understood."

With that, Tyrone smoothly navigated the limousine out of the airport.

The Netscape office, revisited after several months, was in an even worse state than before.

The partitioned spaces had been removed, doubling the open area. In one corner, mattresses and sleeping bags were strewn about, emitting a musty odor, suggesting that no one had been going home.

Desks were cluttered with leftover pizza, sandwiches, and disposable coffee cups. Cleaning up would likely require professional services.

The employees were in an equally dire state, with dark circles under their eyes and some slumped over their monitors, half-asleep.

"Is this an office or a garbage dump?"

Suppressing an urge to fling the windows open for ventilation, Seok-won shook his head. He refrained from disturbing anyone and headed straight to Tom's private office.

Knocking lightly, he called out, "Tom, are you in? I'm coming in."

Inside, Tom Harper was seated at his perpetually messy desk, typing away on his keyboard. His hair had grown long and unkempt, and his beard was scruffy.

"Tom?"

At the second call, Tom looked up and greeted him warmly.

"Oh, you're here."

Approaching the desk, Seok-won glanced at the bulky CRT monitor.

"You said the beta version was done. Or was it not?"

"It's finished," Tom confirmed.

"Then why do you and everyone else look so frantic?"

"We ran some initial tests while waiting for you and found a few bugs. We're fixing them now."

"Are they serious?"

No wonder everyone looked drained. Seok-won asked, slightly concerned.

"Nothing critical. We should have them fixed in two or three days," Tom replied, leaning back in his chair.

"That's a relief."

Feeling reassured, Seok-won asked, "Can I see it now?"

"Of course."

Tom moved the mouse to launch the newly developed web browser. The hard disk whirred, and soon, a gray background appeared on the screen, with Netscape's signature 'N' logo displayed in the top left corner.

Below, the name "Netscape Navigator 0.9" was prominently displayed in bold text.

"Go ahead, try it out," Tom said, shifting slightly to the side.

After a brief pause, Seok-won moved the mouse, clicked on the address bar, and typed in the Harvard University website URL. Pressing Enter, he watched as the browser swiftly loaded the homepage, outperforming Mosaic in speed and smoothness.

Exploring various university and corporate websites, Seok-won leaned back, satisfaction evident on his face.

"How is it?" Tom asked.

"It's better than Mosaic," Seok-won replied.

Tom, visibly pleased, shrugged nonchalantly.

"I poured my soul into this over the past few months. Even as a beta version, it's good enough to crush Mosaic."

Though Mosaic was his previous project, Tom seemed entirely detached from it, focusing solely on the new browser.

Seok-won, too, was confident in its superiority over Mosaic.

"I knew you could do it."

"No, without your support, I couldn't have done it alone," Tom said sincerely.

Indeed, without Seok-won's financial backing and resolution of intellectual property disputes, the development wouldn't have progressed so quickly.

While another angel investor might have enabled Netscape's success, in this timeline, that opportunity hadn't materialized.

"You know this is just the beginning, right?"

"Of course. We'll finish beta testing soon and launch the official version by the end of the year. Leave it to me."

"I'll look forward to it."

Seok-won smiled and nodded.

Meanwhile, in the main office, the developers, immersed in fixing bugs, suddenly shivered, as if sensing something ominous.