You're my Sunshine, my only Sunshine

11.1 : Park Jimin

Studying abroad in California was much more difficult than at home due to the unfamiliar environment, the schoolwork was heavy and he has to work part-time frequently. Jimin quickly lost weight, but at the same time, he also gained much valuable experiences. Jimin began to focus on the internet, which was developing at breakneck speed.

With a strong foundation in mathematics helped Jimin to do research in computer technology more effectively. Unlike others who were interested in setting up web portals, Jimin was interested in information search. After a year and a half, deserving the title of genius, he developed an algorithm for searching single-handedly. But it was not without flaws because it required other algorithms in order to work. Hence at first, venture capitalists were not interested, only a well-known internet company wanted to buy it at a very low price. Jimin knew what he had was worth more than tens of thousands of dollars, but he did not have time to wait for a better offer. Fatigued and stressed out, he became very sick. When his health improved, his meager savings were almost gone.

Jimin was desperate and used his remaining money to place an ad in an influential Korean newspaper, explaining his situation and seeking investment from his fellow countrymen.

However, reality soon left him disappointed. Within 10 days, he only received one phone call. The caller did not help him but instead called him a shameless swindler who is a disgrace to the Korean people. When he lost all hope and contemplated selling the algorithm to the internet company, he received a letter from N City. In it was an unsigned letter and five hundred dollars. The handwriting was not good so it was difficult to determine if the writer was male or female.

Hello!

I saw your ad in the newspaper asking for help. I’m sending you $500. It’s not a lot of money, but hopefully, it can help you wait for a substantial investment.
The $500 were a drop in the bucket, but the money reignited Jimin’s fighting spirit. It helped him last through two difficult months. During this period, he managed to develop a complete set of search algorithm. Soon after, he obtained his first $1 million venture capital.

Challenging times created heroes. Jimin was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. A few years later, when he sat in the president’s office of SOSO Company and listened to the valuation of his assets, Jimin was in disbelief.

If not for the $500, maybe he would only become a good technician. Jimin thought about looking for the person who sent the money, but he quickly gave up. The world is like a vast sea of people and the letter did not even have a name, so there was really no clue to begin the search.

But soon after, the benefactor appeared before him.

One day, a former classmate from S University, visited him and brought along a letter addressed to him.

“This person probably doesn’t know you’ve left the university, as the letter was sent to our faculty so when I saw it, I brought it along with me.”

The handwriting on the envelope was familiar.

Jimin was excited when he opened it.

Mr. Park:

Hello, I don’t know if your address has changed or you might not remember me. About three years ago, I read an ad in the newspaper about you asking for help, and I sent $500. How embarrassing, but if it’s financially possible, can you return the $500? I know this request is unreasonable, so if it’s difficult for you, then pretend I haven’t said anything.

I’m really sorry!

Kwon Lalisa

Kwon Lalisa!

Jimin silently repeated the name in his heart.
He finally knew her name.