The Youngest Son of Sunyang

Rachel scrutinized my expression with a coffee cup in front of her.

I looked around the office, avoiding her gaze. As the head of the US subsidiary and the key player in Miracle, the company handling the largest sums of money, she exuded an air of sophistication.

I may not have liked it, but I had decided to acknowledge and accept the culture here. The boundaries between frugality and extravagance were often blurry.

"Howard, tell me honestly. Why did you come to the United States?"

"You saw it. I came to warn against excessive optimism about dot-com companies."

"Is that really the only reason?" She observed me with an eagle eye, not missing a beat, and now she seemed more persistent. Was there another reason?

"It seems like you have something to say. What is it? Tell me honestly." She burst into laughter, catching me off guard.

"This, this is too much. Haha."

"Is it a proposal? A request? Or perhaps an entreaty?"

"It's a proposal."

"Go ahead and say it comfortably."

"Shall we go to LA?"

This time, I was taken aback. How did she know I was thinking about going to California?

"What? Are you thinking of LA too?"

"It's similar but not quite. I was actually considering San Francisco."

"San Francisco? Why?"

"Stanford University."

"It's a great university." Rachel nodded. It was clear she was under the impression that I was preparing to study abroad. "It would suit you because it's a school that has produced many outstanding business geniuses like you."

A place where young millionaires drop out of school to prepare for startups one after another.

A place that has already produced founders of companies like GAP, Nike, Victoria's Secret, Yahoo, Hewlett-Packard, Dolby, and Sun Microsystems, among others.

Do I even have a chance to study here? I'm here to meet those who have dropped out of school or are planning to.

But more than that, I'm curious about LA.

"However, why LA? Is it because of the movies?"

"Yeah, there's a screening of 'Saving Private Ryan' next month. We always get invited, you know. Just like you said, we've invested in every DreamWorks film since its founding. It's almost like a partnership."

"Just that doesn't really excite me."

I'm tired of it.

I must have seen it several times in theaters when it was released, and it's been on TV countless times since then, hasn't it? I've seen it more than twenty times.

Rachel smiled slightly and lowered her head. "DreamWorks sent a signal."

"A signal?"

"Yeah. Once they found out our Miracle's funding comes from Korea, they want to bet on the Asian distribution rights."

"Are they looking for an investment, by any chance?"

"That's exactly it."

In 1994, there was plenty of opportunity when Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen founded DreamWorks, but I didn't show any interest.

After all, films exist independently. In my case, I can just choose to invest in films that make money. There's no need to pour money into a film production company.

Even Spielberg doesn't always hit home runs.

But now the situation is different.

If it's Asian distribution rights, it can be a powerful weapon for my father. Just the name value of being a partner of DreamWorks could make us a giant in the Korean film industry.

It seems like a pretty good gift.

"Are there any conditions?"

"DreamWorks started with $1 billion, but the initial proposal is to transfer 25% ownership and Asian distribution rights for $500 million."

"Have you given an answer?"

"No, it's a positive review. That's all for now."

It means the negotiations haven't even started yet. If Miracle shows interest, DreamWorks will start evaluating and negotiating. It's obvious they'll want to confirm if we have the ability to manage Asian distribution smoothly and effectively.

"Given Spielberg's name value... There must have been no shortage of negotiations with Asian companies."

"There were many. Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and even China." Rachel showed a faint smile. "Another thing DreamWorks wants is communication."

I could understand what she meant by that sooner because she didn't use the word "conversation."

"They must have talked about costs instead of production costs, like profit margins, expenses, efficiency, and business rationalization."

"Yeah, that's right" She sighed, saying she thought she'd die of boredom. She clapped her hands and laughed again. "Wasting money on lead actors, having parties every day, and making a fuss may seem like inefficient wastefulness in their eyes. It's talking nonsense if you don't understand the basics of entertainment. It's not easy to understand that the people in that industry gain energy by adhering to their primal desires."

I nodded my head, and she twinkled her eyes.

"How about it? Are you interested?"

"I'm not interested, but there is someone who could get very excited about it."

"Who?"

"My father."

"Ah...! Is he a film producer?"

"Yes. Let's do this. I'll accept the DreamWorks' initial proposal. But instead of me, my father will sit at the negotiation table. If my father isn't interested or isn't confident in the Asian distribution, we'll consider it a non-starter."

"Okay. Then let's schedule the meeting."

Rachel immediately took out her mobile phone and started a call, and I also called my father and told him to come to LA right away.

My father seemed to be excited just at the thought of meeting the big shots, even more so than DreamWorks.

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

"This trip to LA is a special time for our family, the first time we're all together in a foreign country. Can you make it a memorable one? Cost is not an issue."

She laughed brightly. "Are you really not concerned about the cost?"

Suddenly, I got a bit scared.

When we arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, two well-dressed men, obviously chauffeurs, were waiting for us. They led us to a Phantom Rolls-Royce limousine that had been waiting outside the gate and even opened the door for us.