Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Dung Heap
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Kwon Soo-yeon, the first developer of the Iramide solar cell, had come out to her front gate to wait for Na Gang-in.
Her house was north of the Han River. The road right in front of it had a pretty steep incline, so it wasn't the easiest place to walk. On top of that, no village buses ran through the neighborhood.
Instead, every house in the area came standard with a garage. Residents either drove their own cars or called taxis whenever they headed out.
She stood at the front gate, gazing down the road.
"He said five minutes, so he should be here any moment..."
A garage door creaked open a bit higher up the hill at another house. A German convertible slipped out.
The car followed the road down and pulled up right in front of her.
Yang Yong-jun flung open the driver's door with a grin and hopped out. He raised his right hand toward Kwon Soo-yeon.
"Whoa! Soo-yeon! How many years has it been?"
"Three months. You went on that business trip to the U.S. three months ago."
"I'm just so thrilled to see you, it feels like years. I've been back for a whole month now. Hey, I called you tons and sent all those texts—how come you never picked up?"
"I was busy."
The month before Yang Yong-jun returned from overseas, she'd squeezed out every last drop of energy preparing for her research presentation. She hadn't had the bandwidth back then to chat idly with him every time.
After that, she'd collapsed amid the laptop theft incident and ended up hospitalized.
While in the hospital, she'd changed her phone number. That's when the secret surgery plans had been set.
She and Kwon Dong-jin had agreed to minimize outside contact until after the secret surgery. She'd given her new number to a few close contacts, but she hadn't bothered telling Yang Yong-jun.
Yang Yong-jun asked,
"Why've you been so hard to track down lately? Anyway, now that we've bumped into each other, let's grab a bite. I'll clear my schedule for today."
Kwon Soo-yeon couldn't have a normal meal until her illness was treated.
"No, it's fine."
She hadn't told Yang Yong-jun about her condition. Few people had known the details of her ailment even before, and now it had to stay even more under wraps.
Yang Yong-jun grumbled.
"Come on, are you seriously gonna do this? What's so hard about eating with me...?"
The sound of a car engine rumbled up. Kwon Soo-yeon glanced downward. Na Gang-in's car was climbing the sloped road.
Her face lit up.
Yang Yong-jun followed her gaze.
"What the hell? That shitbox."
Na Gang-in had snagged a car that nearly got scrapped due to electrical issues for a song.
With AI Jeon Ji-in's help, he'd fixed the electrical system. After that, he'd slapped on armor plating here and there and added combat assist features, bulking up the vehicle's weight considerably. The engine groaned loudly as it hauled the heavy frame up the hill.
From the outside, the car looked like it was on its last legs.
Na Gang-in pulled up, got out of the driver's seat.
"You're already out here?"
Kwon Soo-yeon walked over to him.
"Yeah. You said you'd be right here, so I waited."
The car doors were pretty heavy thanks to the armor plating. Kwon Soo-yeon wasn't in great shape physically.
So Na Gang-in opened the passenger door for her.
"Hop in."
As she moved to get in, Yang Yong-jun reached out and asked,
"Hey? Soo-yeon, why ride that shitbox? Where you headed? If you're going somewhere, take my car!"
"No thanks."
Yang Yong-jun jabbed a finger at Na Gang-in this time.
"Hey! Who the hell are you? Why're you talking to Soo-yeon all casual like that? You her chauffeur or something? Who are you?!"
Kwon Soo-yeon lightly hooked her arm through Na Gang-in's and said,
"He's a friend."
"What? A friend? Come on, he doesn't even seem like your type..."
Kwon Soo-yeon snapped in annoyance.
"Can you cut it out? Go mind your own business!"
Kwon Soo-yeon let go of Na Gang-in's arm and climbed into the passenger seat. Na Gang-in closed the heavy door for her, then got back in the driver's seat.
Yang Yong-jun stomped around in place. Na Gang-in ignored him completely and pulled away.
Na Gang-in glanced at Yang Yong-jun in the rearview mirror and asked,
"Who's that guy?"
"Kid from the neighborhood. High school classmate."
"You two close?"
"Nah. He's got a petty personality, so we don't hang much. I've even seen him try to hit people before. Pretty rotten, right?"
"Huh?"
Na Gang-in had beaten the crap out of plenty of guys.
"Does beating up terrorists to catch them count as hitting people? What do you think about that?"
"A detective doing that is par for the course, isn't it? In that situation, you could even shoot them."
"Sure, if you're a detective. What if a random bystander grabs a robber and lays into him a few times?"
Na Gang-in had recently smashed the Cougar Jewelry Heist Crew.
"That seems fine, doesn't it?"
"I think so too."
Yang Yong-jun watched the car drive off and made a call.
"It's me. Sending you a license plate—find out who owns it. Right now."
- Understood.
Yang Yong-jun headed to the office.
His father was the president of Palstar Tech. Yang Yong-jun held the title of team leader.
The moment he sat at his desk, he summoned a secretary's office staffer. The employee who'd taken his earlier call showed up with a tablet PC screen ready.
"Here's the vehicle lookup you requested. We tapped auto insurance channels for the basics, then dug deeper from there."
Yang Yong-jun cut straight to it.
"This guy's loaded?"
"No, sir. Current address is a semi-furnished apartment."
"Gangnam?"
"Gangbuk. Northeast Seoul."
"So special job? Some groundbreaking researcher? Or maybe MIT prof got headhunted?"
"Couldn't confirm education, but we got the job. He cooks and sells food at a PC bang kitchen."
Yang Yong-jun blinked in confusion.
"Wait, PC bang kitchen?"
"Gets good reviews as a hidden gem."
"This is ridiculous. That's it? Nothing special?"
"That's all we found, sir."
Yang Yong-jun leaned back in his chair, griping.
"Then why'd Soo-yeon go off with that loser instead of me? I've got more money, higher status. And my looks are way better!"
In the lab, Park Ji-hyuk threw both arms up toward Kwon Soo-yeon.
"Soo-yeon noona! It's been forever! How's your health? Feeling better?"
Kwon Soo-yeon's reaction was worlds apart from when she'd met Yang Yong-jun. She gave a slight smile.
"I was a little sick."
"Ah... sorry."
Park Ji-hyuk glanced at Na Gang-in to change the subject.
"Who's this guy...?"
"My friend. From our school."
"Not a senior from our department, so... Soo-yeon noona's boyfriend maybe...?"
Kwon Soo-yeon smiled.
"The guy who made that pyramid out of pipes back in the day."
Park Ji-hyuk got it instantly.
"Oh! That Na Mo..."
Kwon Soo-yeon yelped in panic.
"Hey! When did I ever say that?"
"You didn't, noona. Prof spilled it during drinks. Prof messed up."
Kwon Soo-yeon introduced Park Ji-hyuk to Na Gang-in to shift gears.
"This is Park Ji-hyuk. His research is different from mine, but he's helped me out a ton."
Park Ji-hyuk flexed his arm.
"I handled all the heavy lifting. Haha."
Na Gang-in muttered softly,
"Ji-in, any record of a Park Ji-hyuk in your initial memory?"
"Guess he's not destined to be some famous scientist in the future?"
"The Iramide solar cell even has its origin story preserved."
"That tech's a big deal, huh."
Na Gang-in asked Kwon Soo-yeon,
"That solar cell you're researching—mind if I take a look?"
"Of course. That's why I dragged you along today, to help with the grunt work while I work."
"Huh?"
"Moving equipment, heavy lifting—lots to do. Come on, Gang-in, let's get moving."
Kwon Soo-yeon had developed the Iramide solar cell tech on her own. The others had different research topics, so no one meddled in her work.
Na Gang-in pitched in. Mostly heavy lifting or odd jobs, but it let him watch what she was doing up close.
Still, nothing really clicked for him.
Na Gang-in murmured,
"This tech gets finalized in 2052 using the era's capabilities, right?"
Per AI Jeon Ji-in's initial memory, the tech got shelved for 30 years after Kwon Soo-yeon's death, then unearthed in 2052 and brought to light.
"Then this time, development won't drag on that long. We'll keep Soo-yeon alive."
"Yeah, better do that."
After wrapping up in the lab, Kwon Soo-yeon got back in Na Gang-in's car.
She apologized.
"Sorry. I should at least buy you dinner..."
Na Gang-in knew full well she couldn't eat normally.
"Not hungry. You look beat—go home and rest. I'll drop you off."
"Yeah. Thanks."
Na Gang-in took Kwon Soo-yeon home, then headed to his fabrication base.
He sat at his desk, sipping hot coffee, and said,
"Ji-in, got any recipes Soo-yeon could safely eat?"
"Too bad. But hey."
Na Gang-in sighed.
"Watched the Iramide research up close, but still nothing comes to mind."
"Your intellect's on my level, you said. Looks like our Ji-in's phoning it in now."
"I know. If I'd studied, I'd nail it."
AI Jeon Ji-in went quiet for a beat, then pivoted the conversation.
"Hey, why the hesitation?"
"Huh? Spill."
"Stuff we can check domestically?"
Three monitors cleared, the remaining one's data expanded across all screens.
"No connections, so infiltrate and eavesdrop?"
"Whoa, backdoor like that...? Hang on, engineering seminar's open entry?"
"Huh? Ji-in?"
"Had faith in you. Get the invite via Cheolin Machinery."
"Good work. You're getting sharper."
"Sure. You're one of us now."
Two days later, Na Gang-in arrived at the Gangnam tech presentation hall. It was at a hotel.
Na Gang-in was serious too.
"Taste guaranteed?"
"I do. But that 13% miss rate felt way higher."
"Our tastes match. Who's tampering?"
Na Gang-in flashed his invite and entered the venue.
Two halls inside. Advanced engineering seminar kicked off first.
Na Gang-in headed there, saying,
"Kill time here first, then when the other starts, fake a bathroom break and slip over. Lingering in the hall looks sus..."
Suddenly, someone pointed at Na Gang-in.
"Hey? You!"
Na Gang-in turned. A familiar face.
A small hologram clip of Yang Yong-jun stomping around popped up in his peripheral vision.
"Oh, that arrogant dung heap. But Ji-in, you spotted him first—why no heads-up?"
"Fair enough."