Real Man

Chapter 445:

Brian Chesky, who was deep in thought, asked.

“Are you sure you know what Steve Jobs is going to do?”

“He’s probably having a headache because of the iPhone 4 issue.”

“What issue?”

“Well…”

Yoo-hyun was about to answer.

Clang.

The office door opened and Joe Gebbia came in.

“Steve.”

Yoo-hyun hugged him while Nathan Blecharczyk also showed up.

They had a long and pleasant reunion since they hadn’t seen each other for a while.

The table was neatly cleared.

Without even needing to make more coffee, the four founders chatted.

They mixed serious business talk with light jokes.

Joe Gebbia, who was laughing about a crazy host story, mentioned the new investment.

“Oh, Steve, there’s a venture capital that wants to invest in us. The condition is…”

“We don’t need the money right now, do we?”

“Not really.”

“Then let’s wait a bit. The terms will be much better soon.”

Yoo-hyun’s answer made Joe Gebbia nod immediately.

“Okay. I wanted to hear your opinion anyway.”

“If Steve says so, we should consider it positively.”

Brian Chesky also agreed without hesitation.

They all accepted Yoo-hyun’s words without any awkwardness.

They felt more like partners than outsiders.

Nathan Blecharczyk gave Yoo-hyun a boost.

“Steve, you were right. Focusing on the mobile internet page was the key to success.”

“You did a great job with the site design.”

“No. If you hadn’t told me, I would have focused on the PC web. I didn’t expect so many people to access it from mobile.”

As Nathan Blecharczyk said, many web developers were still stuck in the PC environment.

But the world had changed, and people who needed accommodation on the spot accessed the internet from the streets.

Thanks to that, the Airbnb site, which was optimized for mobile, got more attention.

Yoo-hyun didn’t stop there.

“Then you must have done what I asked you to do.”

“You mean the app development?”

“Yeah. Based on the iPhone 4 environment, and with the features I requested.”

Yoo-hyun’s words made Nathan Blecharczyk nod.

“I’m working on it right now. I think I can meet the deadline.”

Joe Gebbia asked.

“But Steve, do you have to finish it before the iPhone 4 launch?”

“Yes. The phone won’t be released right after the launch, you know.”

Brian Chesky also expressed his doubt.

Yoo-hyun looked around at his three curious friends and told them the truth.

He had delayed mentioning it because of the pressure, but it was something he couldn’t postpone any longer.

“There’s a reason why we have to finish it before the launch. Steve Jobs is going to present our app.”

“What?”

“St, Steve Jobs?”

“What are you talking about?”

The three people were shocked by Yoo-hyun’s words.

“Maybe there will be some more revisions. We might have to respond to Steve Jobs’ requests.”

“Wow.”

Nathan Blecharczyk couldn’t close his mouth in surprise.

Brian Chesky, who was next to him, said with a dumbfounded expression.

“Steve, you don’t seem to know, but Steve Jobs is not the kind of person who mentions other people’s stuff. Besides, we don’t have any connection with him.”

“Just ask him when you meet him.”

“What? You’re going to meet Steve Jobs? Is that possible?”

Joe Gebbia blinked his eyes and asked.

“Maybe?”

Yoo-hyun shrugged his shoulders and looked at the phone on the table.

It was about time for the answer to come.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the secret room on the third floor of Apple’s headquarters was tense.

A man was bowing his head next to the whiteboard that was filled with notes.

Steve Jobs, who was sitting on a one-person sofa, poured out his sarcasm.

“You son of a bitch. You ruined the iPhone 4. Everything went to hell because of you.”

“I’m s, sorry.”

Sam Paster, the hardware manager, bent his waist as if to bury his face in the ground.

Tim Cook, the operations manager, cautiously suggested.

“Steve, how about delaying the product schedule?”

“Are you kidding me? There’s no delay even if I get dirt in my eyes.”

“If we make a mistake, the customers’ complaints could be significant. Especially the antenna, which is related to the call quality…”

“Tim, shut up. You’re making me angry.”

Steve Jobs’ words made the meeting room quiet.

Everyone knew that if they touched him, he would explode.

Clank.

Then the door opened and Phil Schiller came in.

In the silent atmosphere, Phil Schiller carefully spoke.

“Steve, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me.”

Steve Jobs answered without even turning his head, and Phil Schiller opened his mouth.

His expression was full of embarrassment.

“There’s someone who says he can solve our problem.”

“What?”

Steve Jobs looked incredulous, and the people who heard him blinked their eyes.

The three people who were sitting on the sofa in the Airbnb office were flustered.

It was because of the aftermath of Yoo-hyun’s words.

Especially Brian Chesky, who couldn’t believe it.

“I know you’re amazing, but even Steve Jobs…”

Zing.

Then Yoo-hyun’s phone rang.

Brian Chesky blinked his eyes at the name of the caller on the screen.

“Wow. Phil Schiller? Do you really have a connection with Apple?”

Yoo-hyun checked the message and nodded.

“He says let’s meet tomorrow.”

“Really? You’re meeting Steve Jobs? For real?”

Brian Chesky looked nervous.

Nathan Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia expressed their concern.

“Steve, you don’t have to push it. He might get angry if you ask him to use our service.”

“Yeah, Steve Jobs is not someone you can compromise with.”

They had a valid point.

Of course, Yoo-hyun couldn’t just go there.

He took something out of his pocket and put it on the table.

Thud.

“What is that?”

The three of them asked with bewildered expressions.

“It’s the magic device that will make me the major shareholder of Airbnb.”

Yoo-hyun smiled brightly.

The iPhone 4 had made a historic sales record when it was released.

But the process was not smooth.

The initial iPhone 4 products had an issue where the phone would not work if a finger touched the antenna line on the lower right side.

This problem, known as the ‘antenna gate’, caused Apple to receive a lot of criticism from the media.

As customers complained, Apple eventually apologized and offered free bumper cases.

They even made a humiliating promise to give a 100% refund if they wanted.

At the time of the controversy, Steve Jobs had said something.

-There is no defect in the product. The problem is the users who hold it wrong.

That sentence was still strongly engraved in Yoo-hyun’s mind.

Was there a better way to describe Steve Jobs than that?

The next morning.

Yoo-hyun was in the secret room on the third floor of Apple’s headquarters.

He recalled Steve Jobs’ words and chuckled to himself.

It was absurd, even after thinking about it.

But he maintained a calm expression on the outside and faced the arrogant perfectionist.

Steve Jobs, wearing his trademark black turtleneck and jeans, flashed his eyes.

“What kind of problem did you come to tell me?”

That one sentence pierced through the proposal that Yoo-hyun had sent through Philip Schiller.

Yoo-hyun said he knew the solution to the problem and wanted to meet Steve Jobs in person.

It would have been impossible to challenge him if they didn’t know each other.

Yoo-hyun answered bluntly.

“It’s the antenna problem of the iPhone 4.”

“What?”

“More precisely, the iPhone 4 has a problem where the antenna reception drops when a finger touches the antenna line on the lower right side.”

As soon as Yoo-hyun finished speaking, Steve Jobs turned his head sharply.

At the same time, the heads of the Apple executives who were standing next to him bowed.

Only the hardware department employees who had been confined for a week and couldn’t go home, and the core members of Apple who were here knew this fact.

Steve Jobs snorted and scanned the Apple executives.

“Huh. There was a rat. I can’t believe this secret leaked.”

“…”

No one here could answer.

In the silent atmosphere, Steve Jobs turned his head to Yoo-hyun.

“Or are you in cahoots with those dirty information brokers?”

Steve Jobs’ deep and fierce eyes stared at Yoo-hyun’s eyes.

Yoo-hyun felt a suffocating pressure, but he lifted the corners of his mouth.

His insolent appearance twisted Steve Jobs’ lips.

As his anger was about to explode, Yoo-hyun opened his mouth first.

“Does it matter how I found out? Or is it more important to solve it properly?”

“Are you playing word games with me?”

“Word games? That’s harsh. I’m just trying to help you.”

“What?”

“If you don’t want to hear it, I’ll leave.”

Yoo-hyun shouted, and the Apple executives turned pale.

The most absurd thing was Steve Jobs himself.

Even Bill Gates, who used to be his rival, didn’t dare to provoke him like that.

But what made this kid so confident?

Steve Jobs remembered Yoo-hyun’s previous retina display announcement and gave a sarcastic laugh.

“Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t have come here if I wasn’t.”

“Tell me. If I don’t like it, there will be no retina premium announcement.”

“Let’s do that.”

Yoo-hyun answered casually, but he was not calm inside.

He had to walk on a tightrope with limited information from now on.

He could fall into the abyss with one mistake, so he had to be careful.

Yoo-hyun reminded himself of that and asked Steve Jobs.

“Can we clarify the cause of the problem first?”

“Whatever you want.”

Steve Jobs nodded his head with his arms crossed.

Yoo-hyun turned his body to the Apple executives and walked out.

Squeak.

As soon as he moved one step, everyone’s eyes were on Yoo-hyun.

He approached Sam Paster, the hardware manager who was standing on the far right.

He had short blond hair and thick double eyelids that were impressive, but dark circles under his eyes showed his troubles.

“The reason for the Apple antenna issue is that they used a stainless steel antenna instead of a plastic antenna.”

“How did you…”

Yoo-hyun sped up, not giving him a chance to answer.

Instead of answering, he moved his gaze to Jonathan Ive, the design manager.

He seemed to be so busy that he had a beard on his clean face.

“This was because the design team pushed for an innovative design. They probably had some ideas to improve it, but it was too late.”

“…”

Jonathan Ive’s expression confirmed Yoo-hyun’s hypothesis.

He passed him and looked at Tim Cook, the management manager.

He had white hair and horn-rimmed glasses, and his forehead narrowed.

“The problem was also that they went out without enough verification to meet the schedule. The Chinese line was already set up and couldn’t be stopped.”

“Did the information leak from China?”

Tim Cook asked, pointing out the wrong thing, and Yoo-hyun shrugged his shoulders.

“Of course not. Just consider it as a very strong interest.”

With Tim Cook’s words, Yoo-hyun completely understood Apple’s situation.

There was a solution to the iPhone 4 antenna problem, but it was impossible to meet the schedule.

And Steve Jobs would never postpone the schedule because of his personality.

It was a dilemma.

They must have prepared an alternative in this situation.

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