CHAPTER 847

Ring. Ring. Ring.

As messages flooded his phone, Yoo-hyun received a call from his mother.

He reluctantly walked to a corner of his office and answered the phone.

“Yes, mother.”

-Oh, dear. Did you see Jang-woo? What if Jaehui gets married before you?

“What are you talking about? I’m preparing too.”

-Yoo-hyun, this is not the time to be so relaxed. Jaehui already asked me for permission. Oh, when will I see you get married?

“…”

His mother seemed to have already given her consent.

Yoo-hyun felt wronged.

He was the first one to date, and he had been thinking about proposing for a long time!

Thud.

He hung up the phone and sat down on his seat.

Jangmanbok, who saw him, opened his mouth.

His voice sounded more serious, as if he had overheard the conversation.

“President, you can’t get married later than your younger brother.”

“…”

“That’s right. Why are you delaying the proposal?”

Yun Bomi asked, as if she couldn’t understand.

The start of River was in April 2013.

In two months, it would be three years since he promised Jeong Da-hye.

He wanted to match that timing, and he was preparing accordingly.

But then…

Jangmanbok intervened with a grave voice.

“President Jeong must have seen that video too.”

He had already seen it.

His mother-in-law, no, her mother was watching it with him.

“You have to do at least better than that proposal if you don’t want to lose.”

“…”

Yoo-hyun couldn’t answer Jangmanbok’s words.

He didn’t know if the proposal was a matter of winning or losing, but his feelings were not much different.

He wanted to do more for Jeong Da-hye.

Was that why?

He felt suffocated.

He felt more pressured than ever.

“President, we will help you.”

“How?”

“Let’s talk about it now.”

Jangmanbok and the other four directors flashed their eyes.

It was the meeting of the two presidents who led River.

No matter how the opponent was a champion, they couldn’t lose.

They immediately convened an emergency meeting.

All the core members of River gathered in the conference room on the 20th floor.

It was the first time they had such a meeting, except for the monthly ones.

The atmosphere was more serious than a year ago, when they faced globalization.

A clear goal was written on the whiteboard.

Surpass the champion’s proposal!

Yoo-hyun, who came in unexpectedly, agreed tacitly.

He couldn’t think of a better way to confess to Jeong Da-hye.

‘Maybe, if we put our heads together, we’ll come up with a good idea.’

Yoo-hyun thought positively and listened to Jangmanbok, who led the emergency meeting.

But the content was a bit different from what he had expected.

He asked in surprise.

“A hidden camera?”

“To be precise, it’s a flash mob. We mobilize the crowd.”

“The crowd?”

“Have you seen the movie Mamma Mia? It’s like that. We shoot a group musical. For example…”

Jangmanbok suddenly got up and sang a song with improvised lyrics and choreography, explaining the situation.

He looked like a natural actor.

He played the roles of the protagonist and the passing pedestrians, one verse at a time.

Yoo-hyun was immersed in it without realizing it.

The conference room echoed with a loud serenade.

He came to his senses only after hearing it.

‘You want me to do that?’

What was more absurd was the reaction of the directors.

They nodded as if it was obvious, and Jangmanbok pushed his argument with their support.

“Okay. Got it. Then I’ll try to mobilize about 100 people from the theater troupe.”

“100 people?”

“President, at least 100 people. That’s how much it takes to show the scale.”

Jangmanbok said as if it was natural, and Gong Hyunjun added.

“If we do it in Gwanghwamun, it would be nice to use the outdoor screens, right?”

“Oh, good. We’ll put the proposal video on all the outdoor screens, and advertise on the subway and the streets.”

“Yun Director, that’s a good idea. I think we can negotiate with the Seoul City for that. I’ll look into it.”

Why did Seoul City come up?

Before Yoo-hyun could question Gong Hyunjun, Lee Jihyun wrote a list on the whiteboard.

“Let me know when the schedule is set. I’ll mobilize the branches in Japan, America, and Europe to promote it on SNS.”

“Lee Director, what about the song for the flash mob?”

“Oh, we have a collaboration with LJ Entertainment and Hongbocha. They have musical composers there, so I think we can hire them.”

Lee Jihyun answered Yun Bomi’s question right away, and Won Gijun joined in.

“Then you should also hire a PD. It would be nice to broadcast it live on YouTube.”

“Yes. I’ll do that.”

“Then I’ll have to mobilize the River users. We also need to have an online event. What I have in mind is…”

Won Gijun gave his opinion with a fully immersed expression.

The whiteboard was quickly filled with the proposal list.

Each one was specific and well-grounded.

It was the same as Yoo-hyun’s usual meeting style, except for the topic.

What is this?

He was momentarily speechless, but the best proposal was gradually taking shape.

He couldn’t harm others, no matter how important the proposal was.

Yoo-hyun compromised on the reasonable line, and the five directors vowed to prepare as much as possible without causing trouble.

Was it an illusion that they felt more joyful than when they worked?

They all lit up their eyes and gathered the resources they could use in their fields.

Yoo-hyun didn’t just sit still.

He decided to do his best, since he had started it. He prepared as much as he could.

Singing and dancing practice was only part of it.

Of course, he didn’t let Jeong Da-hye notice anything.

Meanwhile, Paul Graham visited Korea.

The business world was heated up by the news of the arrival of the renowned consultant and global investor.

Paul Graham had a dinner at the Blue House, and toured various companies to examine the Korean industry.

He also gave a lecture at a university to communicate with the young generation.

All this happened in just three days.

“When I graduated from college and took my first step into society as a consultant…”

Yoo-hyun, who was sitting in the front row of the auditorium at Seoyeon University, smiled as he looked at him on the podium.

‘He’s so passionate.’

His voice was clear, and his gestures were vivid.

He also tailored his content to the level of the students.

Considering that it was a presentation in English, he kindly added text to it.

Paul Graham did his best, even though it was a free lecture by his own will.

Why did he do this?

As Yoo-hyun wondered, the presentation reached its end.

Paul Graham suddenly pointed at Yoo-hyun and said.

“About seven years ago, I met Steve Han, the president of River, who is sitting here.”

The camera turned to the audience, and Yoo-hyun’s face appeared on the large screens on both sides of the auditorium.

Why are you doing this?

It was an unexpected move, but Yoo-hyun calmly smiled.

The students who recognized him murmured, and Paul Graham continued naturally.

“He was very bold when he came to me out of the blue. But looking back, I think that boldness was the secret that made him the representative CEO of Korea in a short time.”

He winked at Yoo-hyun and raised his voice.

“Everyone, have courage and challenge yourself. Dream and achieve. You have infinite energy to do anything. Thank you.”

The students responded enthusiastically to his powerful last remark.

Clap clap clap clap clap clap!

The applause lasted for a while.

After the lecture, Yoo-hyun walked out of the auditorium with Paul Graham.

The chilly air before the spring flowers bloomed was melted by the warm sunlight.

Yoo-hyun, who sat at a sunny table, said to Paul Graham, who sat across from him.

“Why did you talk about me like that?”

“I had to make it dramatic. You are like a legend to the Korean youth.”

“You’re good at joking.”

Yoo-hyun chuckled.

Then.

The students approached Yoo-hyun and greeted him.

“President Han, hello.”

“Ah, hello.”

“I really admire you. Can I have your autograph…”

“Autograph?”

Yoo-hyun glanced around, and Paul Graham whispered with a smile.

“What are you doing? You can’t keep the dreamers waiting.”

“I don’t think this is the place to do it.”

“Don’t mind me and treat them well. You have a duty to be an inspiration to your young juniors. So do I.”

He added, and the reason why Paul Graham gave a passionate lecture here was revealed.

It wasn’t a success that he achieved by himself.

He had a duty to give back to the society that benefited him.

Yoo-hyun nodded and gave the students autographs and words of encouragement.

He put his hope in his kindness, that someday these friends would do the same when they achieved their dreams.

Nod.

The students left with bright faces.

Yoo-hyun looked at Paul Graham awkwardly.

“I guess it’s because you made me look good.”

“What. It’s because of the path you walked.”

“What did I do?”

“Didn’t you support many universities, including this one? Thanks to you, countless students benefited.”

How did he know that? He didn’t brag about it.

“It was necessary to grow the venture companies.”

“The idea of connecting the university labs and the research infrastructure of the small and medium-sized companies was good.”

“Silicon Valley is already doing that model.”

“It was a system that was built over a long time. But you used the power of the big companies to create an ecosystem that connects the venture companies and the university labs in one go.”

Paul Graham wished Yoo-hyun would do business in the US.

He believed that global companies couldn’t come out of Korea’s limited environment.

It was not a guess, but a conviction based on his long experience as a consultant.

But what do you know?

Yoo-hyun changed the Korean business ecosystem itself.

He used the company structure that was run by the big companies to grow the venture companies and create an investment environment.

He linked the projects that came out of here with the university labs.

The innovation through the use of the advanced infrastructure based on WithC cloud and data sharing was based on this.

As a result, the communication between the university labs and the companies became active, and the students gained experience in the companies in advance.

This led to a virtuous cycle of the venture companies attracting experienced talents.

It was a part that Paul Graham was quite surprised by when he visited the companies.

‘He seems to have a talent for being an investor.’

He couldn’t find any fault with him as a businessman.

Instead, he had something to say to his junior who had just spread his wings.

Yoo-hyun felt his gaze and shivered.

“You make it sound like I did something amazing.”

“Well, you did alright. There are still problems, though.”

“Problems?”

“I could tell when I looked around the companies. If you want this ecosystem that you worked hard to create to survive, you have to root out the regulations that block innovation.”

Yoo-hyun knew that too.

‘That’s why I got a request for naturalization.’

He felt the regulatory problem that he heard from the CIA deputy director recently.