Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: A Loser Guy Wants to Become a Top Donor
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"Let's begin today's report."
I looked at Jin Seol-hwa's face and felt my cheeks burning.
Right now, we weren't meeting in person to talk. We'd connected directly via something called a 'video call'.
Since she was in the US and I was in Korea, trying to discuss business over a simple phone call had turned out to be full of issues.
"President Do-jun, you have such a cute look about you."
She came straight at me without any warning.
This might sound weird to say, but honestly, she scared me. Not content with just enlisting in the US military as a woman, she'd gone through countless operations in the Middle East where life and death hung in the balance.
Her physical prowess was already on par with any man's, no question.
But Jin Seol-hwa brushed it off like it was nothing.
The look in her eyes toward me was one of respect and admiration.
Such an expression aimed at a loser like me...
It made me a little embarrassed.
"President Do-jun, there's one misconception you have."
"A misconception?"
"It's not right to put yourself down just because your looks aren't as good as others'. In fact, you're far more attractive than some handsome guy who goes around treating women like trash."
"......"
"You're the owner of a major American pharmaceutical company and the head of an investment firm with trillions in assets. The US government is already investigating who the real owner of DJ Investment is."
DJ Investment.
I'd named it after the initials of my own name, Do-jun, for short.
I'd wanted something else, but she'd flatly refused.
Since the funding came from me, she insisted on using the owner's name.
"I'm not sure. I'm just a special case who got lucky and made some money."
"Absolutely not. Thinking success comes from pure luck is a huge mistake."
Jin Seol-hwa took a graceful sip of her coffee.
Then she let out a long sigh.
"As I just mentioned, the US government is tracking your movements. It's only natural after moving capital of this scale."
I hadn't expected the US government to get involved, though.
I'd acquired Selig for a mere 300 million dollars.
The leukemia drug Mark-132 had been successfully completed and was now in mass production. Its cure rate was so high that 76 countries were begging Jin Seol-hwa for the new drug.
For some reason, leukemia cases were on the rise worldwide.
The idea of curing such a deadly disease with cheap pills? It was enough to drive anyone mad with excitement.
'Even so, the stock price shot up to 30 billion dollars... that's a 100-fold profit?'
After hitting 300x returns in crypto,
now the company's value had risen 100 times over.
My visible assets were approaching 40 trillion won.
That had to put me in the global rankings, right?
Still, no media outlets had shown my face.
It kind of freaked me out.
The thought of my ugly mug flashing across screens for the whole world to see made me nauseous.
"The US government seems very interested in Selig. Do you know why, Seol-hwa?"
She answered without hesitation.
"Performance."
"...Performance?"
"Selig successfully completed its leukemia drug and has entered mass production. We're projecting this quarter's results at 1,500% over last year."
Insane!
That meant sales had skyrocketed 1,500%?
This was starting to get a bit scary...
"On top of that, Selig is accelerating its cancer research following leukemia."
I'd heard about it.
I was Selig's real owner, after all.
Leukemia drug Mark-132 and
the next-gen cancer drug Hope-299.
The numbers at the end indicated the number of researchers involved. Mark-132 had 132 researchers, Hope-299 had 299.
It was only natural.
Cancer research on that scale.
Leukemia was deadly, but it paled in comparison to cancer.
It was obvious they'd need more researchers than before.
Jin Seol-hwa must have hired more talent to push the research forward.
Selig was growing bigger by the day.
"Cancer research progress is currently at 16.7%. We're building on existing human papers without issue so far, but everything ahead is uncharted territory."
"So that means no one's tried it before?"
"Exactly. If it succeeds, President Do-jun, you'll be the hero sparking another global revolution."
Everything I touch turns into a revolution.
Am I getting in textbooks?
History is full of great figures.
Alexander Fleming, who developed penicillin, hailed as humanity's greatest invention.
John Snow, who first conducted epidemiological investigations on contagious diseases.
All undeniable legends.
Maybe I'd end up greater than them.
I slowly read through the report Jin Seol-hwa had faxed over. It was all in English, so I didn't understand everything, but some familiar terms stood out.
"The Deadly Mite? This refers to ticks, right? Is this part of Selig's research too?"
Her lips curled up in a grin, dimples forming. It was pretty.
"Sharp eyes, President. It's our second cash cow, nearly complete."
"This makes money?"
The Deadly Mite.
Rough translation: killer tick.
A few days ago, I'd seen it on TV news. Ironically, there was no treatment for the virus spread by killer ticks.
Of course, no treatment didn't mean high fatality.
It just became a social issue now and then, not like COVID wiping out masses.
But it couldn't be ignored.
'In advanced countries with good medical facilities, it's mild. But in underdeveloped areas, fatality ranges from 3% to 20% depending on immunity.'
Especially in far-off Africa, exposure to killer ticks spiked mortality.
Why was Selig researching killer ticks?
Maybe targeting poor countries instead of the developed world.
Did she anticipate that?
Jin Seol-hwa explained in more detail.
"Selig's killer tick treatment won't shock the world like Mark-132. Prevention methods are already widespread."
"True enough."
People died from ticks every year, but it wasn't heavily covered.
If even colds kill sometimes, why make a fuss over ticks?
"But you told Selig to help as many people as possible, President Do-jun. Other pharma companies ignore ticks, but we won't."
"!"
"Even the US is dealing with killer tick headaches right now. The government begs companies, but they just nod without committing. It's a bind."
I was stunned.
She always amazed me.
She'd thought this far ahead?
Last time too, her ideas were beyond ordinary. And now again.
Noticing my realization, her face lit up like a mischievous kid.
"Don't tell me, Seol-hwa—you're doing neglected research to leverage it for US government cooperation on performance metrics?"
"Bingo!"
She snapped her fingers, stood, and poured coffee into her empty cup. Her elegance shone through.
Truly, a gem in the rough reveals itself.
Talent like hers can't stay hidden.
Jin Seol-hwa might be even greater than I'd imagined.
And such a person was sweating it out under a loser like me.
"We'll use this killer tick drug to secure US government funding."
"......"
"Then, with that support, we'll fund cancer research."
"You don't mean...?"
"Yes. Exactly what you're thinking, President."
She smiled coldly.
"Cancer research guzzles money. Astronomical amounts. We'll let the US government foot the bill. Free research for us."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ News of Selig crashed over the retail investors like a tidal wave.
The newly announced 【Deadly Mite Treatment】 hit hard for people living in fear.
Because there was still no vaccine or cure for the tick virus.
📰 Breaking News [Selig's Second Revolution: Declares War on Deadly Mites.] [How Far Does Selig See? Challenges Unknown Virus That's Claimed 86 Lives in Korea Alone...] [Research Progress at 82%. Selig President Jin Seol-hwa Vows to Make Lives Safer.] [US Government Announces 250 Million Dollars in Funding to Selig Over 3 Years.] [Selig Stock Hits All-Time High...] 💬 Comments — CrazyAF National pride exploding... Is this really a Korean pulling it off? — WowEyes Isn't it amazing? A woman owning a massive pharma company in brutal America. — CuriousCat Wonder what Jin Seol-hwa's salary is. Gotta be insane. — MoneyMan At least hundreds of billions. Fuck, you think US pharma giants are pushovers? — Skeptic Mark-132 was just developed, and now another hit? — Noob Is deadly mite really that scary? I have no idea. — GrassEater Had a picnic in the grass with my gf, no bite. — Lucky Bad luck and you get it. — Survivor Yeah, hurts like hell. I got it, straight to ER. — ScaredNow Damn, deadly mites are scary. — NewsJunkie Media says up to 18% fatality if immunity low. ⭐ Top Comment — GraveWatcher Yep. Disease control warns every Chuseok during tomb visits. Another death in Jeju recently. — Farmer Deadly mites hit livestock too. — Troll Fuck, now it's scary as hell. — LivestockOwner Your livestock? — Insulter Only your mom. The retail investors took over the stock gallery in an instant.
Just as they were about to sell, thinking it wouldn't rise anymore,
they heard about the deadly mite treatment.
— Hesitant Sell or hold? — Angry Dumbass? Why sell? — Doubter Does deadly mite really move the stock that much? — Rager You idiot. Didn't read the articles? Where's your brain? — Confused ? — Explainer Fuck, US giving 250 mil over 3 years. You kidding? — Newbie Is that a big deal!? — Vet You never worked a real job, huh? — Laughter lololololololol — Cynic Stock gallery full of broke asses with no 100k in bank pretending to be experts. An unexpected backlash.
To the ants, Selig was a honey pot for one-shot riches.
They firmly believed it would always bring unexpected innovations and thrills.
— Buyer Buying Selig stock! — Gazua To the moon!!! — Averager Not selling, adding more. — MeToo Me too! The stock gallery today,
no, the Selig gallery, spent another feverish night that could stop hearts.