Chapter 124: Rendezvous with DreamWorks

Rachel sat across from me, her gaze intense as she studied my expression over the coffee cups.

I avoided her eyes, scanning the office. As head of the US branch and the key player in Miracle, who controlled a massive amount of capital, the opulence was extreme.

Though not entirely to my taste, I decided to accept this culture. The line between frugality and being cheap was sometimes blurry.

“Howard,” she began, “tell me honestly, why did you come to America?”

“You saw it yourself. I came to warn against excessive optimism regarding dot-com companies.”

“Is that really all?”

She usually observed my every move with a sharp eye, but now her persistence felt different. Could there be another reason?

“You seem like you have something else to say. What is it? Be honest.”

A momentary flinch, and then she burst into hearty laughter.

“I can’t win against you, Howard. Haha.”

“Is it a proposal? A request? Or a directive?”

“A proposal.”

“Speak freely.”

“Shall we go to LA?”

This time, it was my turn to flinch.

How did she know? That I was thinking of going to California.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re going to LA too?”

“Similar, but not quite. I was considering San Francisco.”

“San Francisco? Where exactly?”

“Stanford University.”

“A good university.”

Rachel nodded. She clearly assumed I was preparing to study abroad.

“Since it’s a school that has produced so many incredible business geniuses like you, it suits you well.”

The place where a string of future young billionaires would take leaves of absence to prepare for starting their own businesses.

A place that had already produced the founders of GAP, Nike, Victoria’s Secret, Yahoo, Hewlett-Packard, Dolby, and Sun Microsystems, among others.

There was no way I’d actually study there. I was going to meet the guys who were taking leaves of absence or thinking about it.

But I was more curious about LA.

“By the way, why LA? Is it because of a movie?”

“Yes. The premiere of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is next month. We always get invited, of course. Since DreamWorks was founded, we’ve invested in every movie as you suggested. We’re practically partners.”

“If it’s just that, I’m not really interested.”

It was boring.

Wasn’t that the movie I’d seen several times in theaters when it was released and that kept popping up on TV? I must have watched it over twenty times.

Rachel chuckled softly and shook her head.

“DreamWorks sent us a signal.”

“A signal?”

“Yes. Knowing that Miracle’s funds originate from Korea, they’re asking if we’d like to bid for the Asian distribution rights.”

“So, they want an investment?”

“Exactly.”

Back in 1994, when Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen created DreamWorks, there were plenty of opportunities, but I hadn’t shown any interest.

After all, movies exist as independent entities. In my case, I could just invest in movies that were likely to make money; there was no need to pour money into a film production company.

Even Spielberg didn’t always hit home runs.

But the situation was different now.

Asian distribution rights would be a significant weapon for my father. Just the prestige of being a DreamWorks partner could make him a titan in the Korean film industry.

It seemed like a pretty good gift.

“Have any conditions been discussed?”

“DreamWorks started with $1 billion, and their initial proposal is to hand over 25% of the shares and the Asian distribution rights for $500 million.”

“What was your response?”

“No, just a positive review. That’s all I said.”

It meant negotiations hadn’t even started. If Miracle showed interest, DreamWorks would start reviewing and scrutinizing. They would undoubtedly try to verify if we had the ability to operate the Asian distribution effectively and smoothly.

“With Spielberg’s reputation… Surely there have been other Asian companies they’ve negotiated with.”

“Many. From Japan, Korea, Hong Kong. Even China.”

Rachel offered a light smile.

“Another thing DreamWorks wants is communication.”

I could understand what she meant even faster because she didn’t use the word ‘dialogue’.

“Those people probably used ‘cost’ instead of ‘production cost’ and kept talking about profit margins, expenses, efficiency, and management rationalization.”

“Exactly. They complained that it was driving them crazy.”

She clapped her hands and laughed again.

“Spending unnecessary money on lead actors and throwing lavish parties every day probably looks like inefficient waste to them. They don’t understand the basics of entertainment. It’s not easy to grasp that people in that industry gain energy by indulging their primal desires.”

She sparkled as I nodded.

“How about it? Are you interested?”

“I’m not, but there’s someone who would drool over it.”

“Who?”

“My father.”

“Ah…! He’s a film producer, right?”

“Yes. Let’s do this. I’ll accept DreamWorks’ initial proposal. But the person sitting at the negotiation table won’t be me, but my father. If he’s not interested in Asian distribution or doesn’t feel confident, then we’ll call it off.”

“Okay. Let’s schedule a meeting.”

Rachel immediately pulled out her cell phone and started making calls, and I called my father, telling him to fly to LA right away.

My father seemed more excited about meeting the cinematic giants than about DreamWorks itself.

When the two of us finished our calls, I made a discreet request to Rachel.

“This trip to LA is the first time our family will be spending time together overseas. Could you arrange it to be an unforgettable memory? Money is no object.”

She smiled brightly.

“You really don’t care about the cost?”

Suddenly, I felt a pang of fear.

* * *

When we arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, two men in uniform, who were clearly chauffeurs, were waiting for us.

They guided us to a Phantom Rolls-Royce limousine waiting outside the gate and opened the doors for us.

I was a little surprised, but my mother and older brother were speechless.

“This is a service provided by the hotel. You can use it anytime during our stay, so don’t be too surprised.”

Rachel’s explanation was even more astonishing.

What kind of room had she booked for such a service to be complimentary?

When my mother and brother got into one car and Rachel and I into the other, I asked urgently.

“Rachel, which hotel is it? It’s definitely a suite, but what’s the nightly rate?”

“Sixteen thousand dollars.”

“S-Sixteen thousand? No way… ?”

“Yes, that’s the price per night. Ho ho.”

Damn it.

I wasn’t supposed to be surprised, but it was too late.

I was supposedly the third-generation heir of a chaebol and the wealthiest person in their twenties in Korea. Moreover, this level of extravagance was commonplace for my family.

I must have looked too shocked. Rachel quickly tried to prevent any misunderstandings.

“It’s my first time too, and I’m trying not to be surprised. I’ve never spent more than $500 on a hotel room.”

I needed to stop being surprised here, but my mind was already running the calculations, and I couldn’t stop.

With three rooms booked, it was $48,000 a night. My mouth went dry, and my legs trembled, but the Rolls-Royce smoothly drove into downtown LA. Irreversibly.

The Ritz-Carlton Presidential Suite had two bedrooms, a private study, a private kitchen, and even a rooftop infinity pool overlooking the Los Angeles skyline. A luxurious steam sauna was a given.

It also provided a personal butler, trainer, therapist, wine cellar, private fitness center, and even helicopter service.

The jaw-dropping luxury made the exorbitant cost momentarily fade from my mind.

That night, my father’s reaction upon his late arrival wasn’t much different.

But the thumbs-up he gave me was unexpected.

“Thanks to my son, I get to experience a luxurious honeymoon. Don’t look for us for the next 24 hours.”

My father put his arm around my mother’s waist and went into their room.

“How much are you even making?”

My brother, who was sharing a room with me, asked with a surprised expression as I opened the bedroom door.

“I think I’m going bankrupt this time.”

* * *

For two days, I forgot everything and enjoyed quality time with my family. My older brother sometimes had deep conversations with my father, sharing his concerns about the future.

After attending the ‘Saving Private Ryan’ premiere, Rachel finalized the specific meeting schedules with the three giants of DreamWorks.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“I never do anything that would put me at a loss. Don’t worry about the money. Just decide if it will help with the plan I mentioned or not.”

“Rachel hinted at it. It’s a deal that requires $500 million… I wonder if it’s even worth that much.”

“Don’t equate dreams with money. If you can buy it with money, can you even call it a dream? Money is just a tool to achieve dreams. Tools are meant to be used and discarded. Spend the money. Haha.”

My father was speechless, staring at me for a while before finally opening his mouth.

“I thought I had the son of a ruthless chaebol chairman, but it turns out I have the father of a wise chaebol son.”

Embarrassed and cringed by my father’s heartfelt words, I headed to Stanford.

I boarded another plane from LA to San Francisco.

The combined economic power of the entrepreneurs this university has produced and will produce is greater than that of an entire country like Korea.

People usually think that Stanford graduates or students on leave run to Silicon Valley because it’s close, but it’s actually the opposite.

The university actively supports its graduates’ startups, which led to a venture boom. These individuals gathered to prepare for their ventures and establish companies, and as a result, Silicon Valley began to form around the school.

As soon as I arrived at Stanford University, the first place I went to was the library.

I needed to start the search from here.

Looking at the library index, I began searching for papers. They had to be recent and about algorithms.

Honestly, I thought it would be easy to find.

But in the last three years alone, there were over a thousand papers on the topic of algorithms.

It was a stark indication of where American college students’ interests lay.

I needed to rely not on precise memories but on dredging up faint recollections buried deep within my brain.

If only their names were as easy to remember as Yahoo’s founder, Jerry Yang. Grumbling to myself, I continued searching through the papers.

How many hours had passed?

I found a paper with a rather long title: 「The Anatomy of a Large―Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine」.

The words ‘Web Search Engine’ immediately caught my eye, followed by the authors’ names: 「Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page」. Computer Science major…

Damn it, my memories are so vague, they won’t surface.

Are these the guys?

There’s no other choice. I’ll have to read it carefully and look for hints.

Reading a paper by engineering students, filled with technical jargon, made my vision blur, but the moment I read the first line, I couldn’t help but cheer.

The librarian put a finger to her lips and glared at me, but I didn’t care.

Thank you, guys.

These guys had written the word I was looking for in the abstract of their paper.

Nice to meet you, Google!