A red carpet covered the floor of the hotel meeting room, where two young men with black hair sat stiffly, waiting nervously for someone to arrive.
They were far more accustomed to hoodies and jeans, but today was different. Today, they were here to seek investment for their startup, and so they had squeezed themselves into suits that felt awkward and ill-fitting.
The man they were about to meet was none other than Seok-won, a legendary angel investor well known even in Silicon Valley.
Sergey Brin, a Russian-born Jew, lifted the glass of water placed on the table and tried to moisten his parched throat.
Watching him drain the glass in one gulp, his friend—Larry Page, also of Jewish descent—teased him.
"Are you that nervous? You're drinking water like it's liquor. You'll end up with a stomachache."
Brin set down the empty glass, turned his head toward his friend, and shot back curtly,
"Then why are you shaking your leg like that?"
"Huh…?"
Only then did Page realize that, beneath the conference table, his leg had been trembling uncontrollably. He let out a forced cough and gave an awkward smile.
"You saw that?"
"How could I not, with your leg rattling like that?"
"Ah, damn."
Page exhaled, then placed a hand over his restless leg to still it.
"Phew… Just thinking that we're actually starting a company with the search service we built—it makes me both excited and scared. What if we mess this up?"
"Same here. And knowing that a giant who once invested in Yahoo and Netscape might put money into us… it makes me even more nervous."
Page nodded in agreement.
"They say he's not only into venture investments but also runs a hedge fund so successful that people on Wall Street call him the 'Midas of Finance.' He's probably cold, intimidating, and full of charisma, right?"
"They say he can move hundreds of millions with a single phone call. So yeah… probably."
Forget a hundred thousand dollars—neither of them even had a thousand in their bank account. They couldn't begin to imagine what it would feel like to move around sums that astronomical.
"I still can't believe we're sitting here right now."
"Same here. When we first got that call from Eldorado Fund, I thought it was our buddies playing another prank."
"Or maybe some scammer. But it turned out to be real."
Page still remembered the shock he felt when he heard that Chairman Park Seok-won was not only interested in their search service but also considering investing in it personally.
Originally, the two had no interest in starting a company.
In fact, the search service they built was nothing more than a class project they had worked on together at university.
They hadn't had the money for proper equipment either. Instead of buying commercial-grade servers, they had scavenged CPUs and boards lying around campus and assembled their own by hand.
But once the search engine was complete and went live, it gained far more popularity than they had anticipated. Before long, daily traffic exceeded ten thousand hits—and that's when trouble began.
The overwhelming number of users started causing serious disruptions to Stanford University's network.
Since they could no longer rely on the school's network, the two of them had considered selling their search service rather than founding a company.
They approached Yahoo and several other IT companies that might have an interest in internet search, offering to sell. Every single one turned them down.
And yet, it seemed such a waste to abandon something they had poured so much effort into. While they were stuck debating what to do, a call had come from Seok-won—like something out of a dream.
Page asked with a slightly uneasy look,
"Dropping out of school to start this company… do you think it was the right decision?"
"Of course. Remember how the university network kept crashing because so many people were using our search service? Honestly, I don't think our search engine is any worse than Yahoo's or Lycos's—if anything, I think it's better."
"That's true."
When Brin spoke with forced confidence, Page nodded along.
It wasn't just pride in something they had built themselves—both of them genuinely believed that Google outperformed the existing search services by a wide margin.
"And the fact that Chairman Park Seok-won, who's famous for his eye in spotting Yahoo, Netscape, and Hotmail before anyone else, came to us with an investment proposal first—that's recognition, isn't it?"
At Brin's words, Page's expression brightened, his confidence returning.
"You're right."
In truth, it had been Seok-won's call that had ultimately pushed them to decide on founding a company instead of giving up.
"But still… why is he taking so long to show up?"
After what felt like quite a long wait, Page muttered under his breath.
Brin checked the watch on his wrist and shook his head.
"We just got here early. There's still ten minutes until the meeting."
"Oh, really?"
At that moment, a knock sounded, and the closed door swung open. Both men immediately stood up, as if on cue.
A tall man entered the meeting room with his entourage. Unlike them, his tailored suit fit perfectly, exuding confidence.
It was Seok-won, who had flown in from Moscow on a private jet.
Though his face bore a gentle smile, his youthful charisma made it instantly obvious who he was.
Approaching them, Seok-won beamed and extended his hand first.
"If I'd known you were here early, I would've come a little sooner."
The mix of warmth and confidence in Seok-won's demeanor made Brin feel slightly intimidated as he shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sergey Brin."
"Larry Page."
Seok-won exchanged a light handshake with Page as well before speaking in a friendly tone.
"There isn't much of an age difference between us, so no need to be so formal."
"Ah, yes."
"Understood."
But it wasn't easy for them to relax. After all, they were just university students with nothing to their names, while Seok-won was a billionaire and a titan of Wall Street. It was impossible not to feel the weight of that gap.
After the brief introductions, both sides took their seats across from each other, separated by the long conference table.
Resting his clasped hands on the table, Seok-won looked at Brin and Page and began.
"I tried out the search service you created. The engine's performance is noticeably superior to the competition—it delivers results quickly and accurately. I was very impressed."
At his praise, Brin gave a faint, slightly bitter smile.
"Some people say the performance is too good—that it's actually a problem. But thank you for your kind words."
Sitting beside him, Page spoke with a frustrated look.
"I don't know if you're aware, but we once tried selling our search engine to Yahoo. They told us that because our system delivers results too quickly, users leave the site right away—and that it would actually be a minus for them."
Seok-won, quickly realizing why they had reacted that way, shrugged his shoulders and replied.
"It's true that the longer users stay on a search site, the more page views pile up. And with those page views, you can charge higher advertising rates. So their reasoning isn't entirely wrong."
Brin and Page's faces stiffened slightly, but Seok-won pretended not to notice and continued speaking calmly.
"But making money from ads shouldn't come at the cost of forgetting why a search service exists in the first place."
"...!"
"Users come to a search site because they want to get the results they're looking for—quickly. If you deliberately slow down the engine and waste their time, the moment a better search service appears, they'll abandon you instantly. It's the classic mistake of chasing something small only to lose something far greater."
"That's exactly what we've been saying," Page said, his eyes lighting up.
"Sure, users might spend less time on our site compared to others. But if we draw in far more people with fast, accurate search results, that alone will justify higher advertising revenue."
When Brin spoke, Seok-won nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. Even if users linger on a site, if the overall numbers are low, the ads won't be effective, and advertisers won't want to spend money. In the end, the winner in the search market will be decided by who captures the most users."
Seok-won curled one corner of his lips into a faint smile as he looked at Brin and Page.
"And that's exactly why I decided to invest in you two."
Hearing that their search engine had been recognized as superior—and that they might surpass giants like Yahoo to become the true winners—made Brin and Page's hearts leap with excitement.
Perhaps because they had received acknowledgment directly from a figure as influential as Seok-won, their joy was plain on their faces.
They're still unpolished, Seok-won thought to himself, watching how openly their emotions showed.
"You've both reviewed the contract I sent over, right?"
Brin and Page, caught under his gaze, nodded.
"Yes."
"If there's anything in the terms you don't understand, or if there are parts you'd like to revise, now's the time to bring it up."
Page hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"To be honest, the terms were so generous that we started wondering if there was some hidden poison pill in there."
"So we took it to a lawyer to make sure—and he said there was no problem at all."
Carefully watching Seok-won's expression, Brin continued speaking.
It was no wonder they had been suspicious: they hadn't even established a company yet, and still, he had valued it at six million dollars, offering to invest two million in exchange for a 33% stake.
Leaning back in his chair with a relaxed demeanor, Seok-won said,
"If a venture is nurtured properly and goes public through a successful IPO, the profits can be enormous. But cheating your partners for some short-term gain would be nothing but foolish."
The two nodded in agreement.
"Then, if there are no revisions to the contract, let's move ahead with the signing."
From the moment they agreed to today's meeting, they had already decided to accept the investment. After talking with him, their trust and conviction had only grown stronger, so Brin and Page readily agreed.
"Sounds good."
"Let's do it."
Seok-won turned his head toward the lawyer seated beside him.
The lawyer pulled a file from his leather briefcase and laid it out before the two young men.
"This is the same contract that was sent to you earlier. Please go over it once more, just in case."
At the lawyer's words, spoken through his gold-rimmed glasses, Brin and Page carefully read through the two-page document again.
It was only natural—one misplaced word or number could mean huge losses or trap them in unfavorable terms.
Once they confirmed there were no issues, they looked up, and Seok-won gave a small nod of his chin.
Immediately, Han Ji-sung, the associate who had accompanied him, produced two luxurious Montblanc fountain pens and set them down in front of Brin and Page.
"You can sign with these."
The two exchanged a quick glance. Then Brin picked up one of the pens and signed at the bottom of the contract.
Page took the contract next and, without hesitation, wrote his name beside it.
Seeing this, Seok-won also signed his own set of documents that the lawyer handed him. They exchanged copies and signed once more, completing all the formalities.
"From now on, we're in the same boat. Whatever you need, I'll make sure you're supported—so don't hold back. Go ahead and pursue the ideas you believe in."
"Thank you."
"We look forward to working with you."
Their voices were filled with excitement, their faces flushed with anticipation.
In the eyes of the two young men as they glanced at each other shimmered a tide of expectation and hope for the future.
When Brin moved to return the fountain pen, Seok-won raised his hand lightly.
"Keep it. Consider it a gift to mark our partnership."
"It looks expensive, though…"
Brin hesitated, but Seok-won answered with a smile.
"Just work hard and turn today's investment into something much bigger. That'll be enough repayment."
"Then I'll gratefully accept it."
Brin dipped his head and tucked the pen away.
Beside him, Page held his own pen tightly, as if it were a treasure.
With Seok-won's two-million-dollar investment behind them, both men felt their hearts swell with excitement, passion, and determination to turn their ideas into reality.