CH35 - $100,000

The sky had been overcast since morning, and as Seok-won left Professor Frank's office to head back to his dorm, light snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

"How many days has it been snowing now?" Seok-won muttered to himself as he carefully walked back to his dorm, deciding not to ride his bike because of the slippery, icy ground. The snow was starting to fall more heavily, and he shook his head in mild frustration.

It had been nice at first, but after several days of dull skies and continuous snowfall, it had become more of a nuisance.

When Seok-won finally reached his dormitory, he brushed the snow off his shoulders at the entrance and grumbled, "No wonder soldiers call snow trash falling from the sky."

With a shudder, he hurriedly entered the warm building.

Even though a few students had already returned early like him, the dormitory still felt quiet and slightly empty since the new semester hadn't officially started yet.

As Seok-won ascended the stairs to his room, he reached into his coat pocket for his key, but he paused when he heard movement from inside. Curious, he tilted his head.

"Huh? Did Roy already come back?"

He tried turning the doorknob, and sure enough, it opened easily.

When Seok-won walked in, he immediately spotted a familiar figure sitting at the computer. Without hesitation, he called out, "Hey! When did you get here?"

Roy, still seated, spun around in his chair and gave a half-hearted wave.

"Just about an hour ago," Roy replied.

As Seok-won took off his coat and hung it on the rack, he asked, "It's snowing a lot. How'd you manage to get here?"

"Don't even ask. My connecting flight got canceled because of the snow, so I had to spend the night at O'Hare Airport," Roy answered, his face showing clear signs of exhaustion.

"At least you got a flight the next day," Seok-won said.

"Yeah, but if it hadn't, I would've just gone back home," Roy grumbled.

"You should've checked the weather beforehand," Seok-won chided with a click of his tongue.

Roy scratched his head in frustration, his overgrown bangs nearly covering his eyes. "I booked the flight a month ago to save money. How was I supposed to know there'd be a snowstorm?"

"Anyway, you must be tired. Why don't you rest instead of jumping on the computer right away?" Seok-won suggested.

"A friend from back home developed a web browser, so I was testing it out," Roy said.

"A web browser?" Seok-won repeated, intrigued.

"Yeah," Roy confirmed with a nod.

"It's actually better than I expected."

When Seok-won glanced over Roy's shoulder at the computer monitor, his eyes widened in shock at the large title displayed: Mosaic.

"…!"

Mosaic was nothing short of a revolutionary web browser that would ignite the dot-com bubble and launch the Internet revolution, so Seok-won couldn't help but be surprised.

"Why is that on your computer?" Seok-won blurted out.

Roy gave him a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

Seok-won took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He had just stumbled upon an incredible treasure, and he needed to keep his cool.

"So, your friend made this?" Seok-won asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah," Roy confirmed.

"What's his name?" Seok-won asked, forcing himself to sound nonchalant as he anxiously awaited Roy's answer.

"Why do you care all of a sudden? You never show any interest in who I hang out with," Roy said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I'm just curious who made something like this," Seok-won said, swallowing hard as he awaited Roy's reply.

"His name is Tom Harper," Roy finally answered.

The moment Roy mentioned the name, Seok-won clenched his fist discreetly.

He couldn't believe it—this was indeed the Tom Harper who would go on to create Mosaic, the first graphical web browser, and later found Netscape, which would signal the start of the Internet boom.

'This is unbelievable. How could I stumble onto something like this?' Seok-won thought, feeling a thrill that made his entire body tremble with excitement. He had been considering how to get involved in the early days of Netscape, and now, here it was, practically falling into his lap.

Though his heart was pounding with joy, Seok-won maintained a calm exterior, casually remarking, "Hmm, it does seem quite different from other web browsers."

Roy, now fully engaged in the conversation about his interest, forgot his earlier suspicion and eagerly turned back to the monitor.

"It's not just different; it's revolutionary! Look at this—unlike older browsers that only handle text, Mosaic can display background images and other graphics. Plus, you can use hyperlinks to jump to other pages with just a click of the mouse. It's a game-changer," Roy explained passionately, clicking the mouse as he demonstrated the features of Mosaic.

Even though Seok-won didn't need the explanation—knowing full well that Mosaic would lay the groundwork for all future web browsers—he still couldn't help but marvel inwardly at the innovation before him.

Mosaic's predecessors existed, but now he understood why this one was considered the foundation and origin of modern web browsing.

"Your friend must be really talented to have created something like this," Seok-won remarked.

"Well, he didn't do it alone," Roy clarified.

"Really? Then who else was involved?" Seok-won asked.

Leaning back in his chair and stretching, Roy explained, "He's been working at the NCSA at the University of Illinois, and this was a project from their research team."

"I thought it was too high-quality to be a solo project," Seok-won mused.

NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) was a public research center established by the National Science Foundation, collaborating with universities to develop public-use programs.

"But a lot of the ideas came from his head, or so he says. Knowing him, a bigger computer geek than me, I believe it," Roy added with a shrug.

Seok-won glanced over at Roy, who was twirling a pen in his fingers like a toy. "You must be pretty close, then."

"Yeah, we're tight. He moved in next door when we were kids, and we went to high school together. We clicked because we were both into computers," Roy replied.

As expected, geeks do tend to stick together! Seok-won thought as he suddenly reached out and hugged Roy.

"You're actually useful sometimes, you know that?" Seok-won said with a grin.

"What the hell? Get off me!" Roy exclaimed, scowling as he tried to wriggle free, but he was no match for Seok-won's firm grip, strengthened by his exercise routine.

"Like they say, even dung has its uses!" Seok-won teased.

"That's an insult, right? Some Korean curse? Get off me!" Roy protested.

"Okay, okay. You're just so lovable," Seok-won laughed.

"Aargh!"

***

A few days later, in Chicago.

The office of the Chicago Community Trust was located in a building in the heart of the city. Founded in 1915, the Chicago Community Trust was known as the first community foundation in the United States.

The trust had a long history of supporting various public initiatives, including scholarships, education improvement, housing and medical aid for low-income families, and more.

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Barrack Obama returned to Chicago, where he was now an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School and an active attorney at a law firm.

With ambitions of entering politics, Obama also involved himself in numerous public organizations to build his reputation.

Dressed in a sharp suit with a blue tie, Obama entered the Chicago Community Trust office, holding a coffee carrier in both hands.

"Everyone, I brought coffee!" Obama announced with a cheerful smile.

His gesture was met with enthusiastic cheers from the six or so staff members working in the office.

"You're the best, Obama!"

"Thanks a lot!"

Always friendly and smiling, and occasionally bringing coffee or snacks for everyone, Obama was naturally popular among the staff.

As the employees gathered around, thanking him and taking a cup of coffee each, one of the older staff members, Irina, joked, "Obama, you're going to go broke if you keep buying us coffee every day."

"Haha, don't worry. A lawyer's paycheck is enough to cover this," Obama replied with a grin.

"Nice, charming, and making good money too. No wonder the ladies love you," Irina teased.

"Too bad for them, I'm already married," Obama said, proudly showing off the ring on his finger.

Obama had married his colleague, Michelle, who also worked at the law firm, just last year. Irina, who had attended the wedding, nodded as she held her coffee.

"That just makes it even sadder for us. We could use a few more handsome men like you around here," she sighed.

"Oh, should I tell that to your husband Craig?" Obama quipped.

"Of course not!" Irina quickly put a finger to her lips and shushed him.

"Hahaha!"

Everyone, including Obama, burst into laughter at her reaction.

After some lighthearted conversation, the staff eventually returned to their desks, and Obama made his way to his own workspace, which was set up in one corner of the office.

Obama only came to the office about once a week, where he handled legal matters for the organization pro bono.

As he took a sip of his coffee, Irina approached with an armful of files, placing them on his desk.

"There's a lot for you to handle today," she said.

"It looks like it," Obama replied, glancing at the stack.

"The Rocky Mountain bankruptcy has been a nightmare," Irina sighed.

Rocky Mountain was a mid-sized real estate company based in Chicago. As part of a low-income housing stabilization program, the trust had leased four apartment buildings from Rocky Mountain in a slum area. However, the company had recently gone bankrupt, causing problems.

Knowing the situation, Obama looked up at Irina with a serious expression.

"I heard the bank sent a foreclosure notice," he said.

"Yes," Irina nodded.

"If we don't do something, over 40 families living in those rental units will be evicted and lose their homes," she said, her voice heavy with concern.

"We can't let that happen," Obama said firmly, his gaze on the files before him.

His words seemed to give Irina some comfort, and she relaxed slightly, offering him a small smile.

"It won't be easy, but please find a way," she said.

"I'll do my best," Obama replied as he opened the top file.

Irina knew it was urgent, but she didn't want to pressure him further, especially since he was volunteering his time. She held back any additional comments and prepared to leave him to his work. But just as she was about to go, something came to her mind.

"Oh, there's one more thing I forgot to mention."

Obama looked up at her as she suddenly furrowed her brow, trying to recall something.

"What was his name again? It was unusual… Oh, right! Do you know someone named Seok-won Park?" she asked.

Obama's expression shifted from confusion to realization as he remembered the younger man he had met at Harvard a few months ago. They had exchanged contact information, and Seok-won had kept in touch since then.

"Yes, I know him. Why?" Obama asked.

"Well, he mentioned that you had encouraged him, and then he sent a donation to the trust," Irina explained.

"He did?" Obama blinked in surprise.

"Your connections must be something else. Not everyone knows someone rich enough to make such a big donation," Irina teased.

Obama, still puzzled, blinked again. "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you know? He sent a donation of $100,000," Irina said.

"What?" Obama exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock.

He had every reason to be surprised. A $100,000 donation was significant, enough to place Seok-won high on the trust's list of major donors.

"Oh, look at me. I'm probably distracting you from your work. Anyway, thanks for everything!" Irina said quickly before hurrying back to her desk.

Still stunned, Obama muttered to himself, "He donated $100,000?"

To Obama, Seok-won had just been a younger Harvard alum who was really good at video games. Sure, Seok-won was strikingly handsome and had a certain charisma that made people want to be around him, but Karp had never imagined he had this kind of wealth. The sudden revelation left him baffled.