Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: THE SAGE
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Without a moment's hesitation, I set off toward the stage where my legend would begin.
Choi Yang followed reluctantly behind me, her face screaming, What the hell could possibly be in a dump like this?
When we got off on the 11th floor, there was a small glass door at the end of the dingy hallway with "[Silla Biotek Co., Ltd.]" written on it.
The door was firmly shut, and next to it hung an old intercom.
I straightened my clothes and mustered my most confident voice.
Then I pressed the intercom button.
[...Who is it?]
A moment later, a wary female employee's voice crackled through, laced with static.
I recited my prepared line in the smoothest, most trustworthy tone I could manage.
"This is Kim Cheolsu, CEO of Blue Sky Investment. Could I possibly meet with your CEO regarding an investment opportunity?"
No sooner had my oh-so-charming, friendly voice finished than a curt, ice-cold reply shot back through the intercom.
[No peddlers allowed.]
Click.
The intercom cut off coldly after that single line.
An awkward silence settled over the hallway.
"……"
My perfect script—"The visionary investor who unearths a hidden gem"—shattered into pieces with those three little words: peddler.
CEO Kim Cheolsu's face froze in a daze.
I glanced sideways.
Choi Yang was desperately holding back laughter, head bowed, shoulders trembling.
She was clearly mocking me.
That smug look pissed me off so much that I smacked her ass with an open palm—smack!
"Eek!"
Choi Yang clutched her butt and shot me a glare.
"You trying to get sued for sexual harassment?"
"Sexual harassment? From a disposable wipe like you?"
Her face hardened at my words.
A tiny "son of a bitch" slipped from her lips, but I pretended not to hear and pressed her.
"What? What'll you do if I fuck you?"
"Hoo..."
Choi Yang finally let out a deep sigh and gave up the fight.
"Anyway, what now?"
What now? Cling like a pathetic loser, obviously.
I turned back to the intercom and jabbed the button frantically.
This time, I squeezed out a voice that was 180 degrees different—pitiful and desperate.
"Hello! I'm really not a peddler! Please, just five minutes—no, one minute! It's a really important investment matter! Could I at least see the CEO's face? Please!"
"……"
No response from the other end.
"Hello! Hey!"
I hit the button again, refusing to give up, but the intercom stayed dead silent.
My grand legend, its very first page, was blocked by two massive walls: "No peddlers" and utter stonewalling.
Phase 1: "Cling" had ended in utter failure.
I took a moment to cool off.
Fine. Time for Phase 2: "Stubborn Wait."
I pulled the corporate card from my wallet and handed it to Choi Yang, who was still eyeing me like I was pathetic.
"Go buy the most expensive fatigue recovery gift set they have."
"...Huh? Why?"
"Just do it."
Her eyes narrowed even more at my high-handed order.
She snatched the card almost violently, muttering "Fuck, seriously..." under her breath as she vanished down the hall.
A bit later, she returned with a shopping bag that looked heavy even from afar, stuffed with the fatigue recovery set.
I set the bag down carefully beside me and settled in for the long haul.
The hallway on a Friday past 4 p.m. was dead silent, like a ghost town.
Leaning against the wall, I stared daggers at the firmly shut glass door of Silla Biotek.
Eventually, someone would have to come out for the day.
Time dragged on.
4:30 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
Choi Yang fiddled with her smartphone beside me, radiating boredom and annoyance with every fiber of her being.
That's when it happened.
A click echoed from inside the locked glass door—the sound of the latch releasing.
Mine and Choi Yang's eyes snapped to it simultaneously.
Finally, the door creaked open.
A female employee, clearly heading home, stepped out.
I didn't even look at her face—I lunged forward on reflex, thrusting the fatigue recovery gift set at her with both hands, polite as could be.
"Ohh, you must be exhausted—thank you for all your hard work!"
My booming, jovial voice startled her, and she whipped around to stare.
Wide-eyed and flustered, she took the gift set on instinct.
"Uh, um...?"
My chance was now.
Before she could recover, I whipped out my flashy business card—gold-plated 18k, gleaming like a dream—and shoved it at her.
"Kim Cheolsu, CEO of Blue Sky Investment! Nice to meet you! If I may ask, what's your position?"
Caught off guard by my rapid-fire moves, she numbly accepted the card.
"...Uh... I'm the... research team leader?"
"Aha! I knew it! I've got a good eye for people—saw that aura and thought, yep, she's one of the top brass!"
I clapped my hands dramatically, hamming it up.
Flustered even more by my over-the-top praise, the team leader started to say something.
"...Um, but who...?"
I cut her off and went one step further.
Like reuniting with a long-lost benefactor, I grabbed her hand with exaggerated flair.
"Oh, it's nothing big—just came to see the CEO about an investment, and wouldn't you know it! We bump into Team Leader right here! What are the odds?!"
Not giving her a second to think, I gently nudged her back inside and strode through the door.
"Come on, it's fate—let's head in!"
"W-Wait, hold on! We don't allow outsiders...!"
The team leader tried to block me in a panic, but I was already inside, arm around her shoulders, patting her back as I steered us deeper into the office.
"Aw, come on, Team Leader! Who am I? Kim Cheolsu, CEO of Blue Sky Investment! Since I'm here and met you, I even brought these for the staff so you don't burn out!"
I snatched the fatigue recovery set from Choi Yang and shoved it back into her arms.
Now clutching the bulky gifts, the team leader flailed helplessly against my bulldozing advance.
Left in the hallway, Choi Yang watched this absurd ploy actually work, shaking her head with a look that said, The world is vast, and there are so many crazies in it.
With my shameless act, I finally set foot inside Silla Biotek.
And I took it all in.
Perfect.
It couldn't have been more perfect.
The office was exactly the "failing biotech startup" I'd imagined.
Tiny space barely divided by partitions.
Peeling paint on battered desks everywhere, chairs with worn-out backs hollowed through.
In one corner, precarious stacks of unfiled papers from who-knows-when.
A few ceiling fluorescents flickered on their last legs, adding to the gloomy vibe.
A textbook case: somehow listed on KOSDAQ, but no hits since, just burning through investments year after year to stay afloat.
But amid this pile of ashes, I felt pure joy.
The visionary investor who unearths a hidden gem.
What better story could there be?
The team leader tried to stop me, flustered, but I'd already entered with my arm around her.
I held the door open and nodded at Choi Yang in the hall to come in.
The three or four staff froze mid-task, staring blankly at me—the source of the commotion—and their fidgeting team leader.
The office air, with quitting time nearing on a Friday at 6 p.m., hung heavy with helpless resignation.
As all eyes turned to us, the team leader's face flushed deeper. She tried to salvage the situation.
"Sir, you really can't do this. Please leave and..."
"Hey, Team Leader."
I cut her off, slapping her shoulder like old pals.
"Let's go see the CEO together. I've got something to discuss with you anyway."
I had zero intention before, but now I did.
To break this awkwardness and meet the boss, I needed her on my side first.
At my brazen suggestion, she played her last card.
"Um... Do you really have an appointment with my brother-in-law?"
Brother-in-law? Jackpot. I cheered inwardly.
Godsend opportunity.
I freaked out like I'd been electrocuted, grabbing her hand again.
"No way! You're the CEO's sister-in-law?! That explains it—your face just oozes class!"
My loud voice drew even more stares from the staff.
The team leader, on the verge of tears, tried to pull away, but no dice.
I breezed past her awkward question and guided her—gently but firmly—toward the office marked "CEO."
"We'll make the appointment now! When his sister-in-law escorts you personally, no way he'd turn you away! Hahaha!"
I laughed heartily and twisted the CEO's doorknob without knocking.
Choi Yang, watching it all from behind, stuck out her tongue in disbelief.
That bastard... gotta admit, the guy's got stamina and shamelessness for days.