Rap and Non-Rap (3)
Yi-hwang tracked Yoon Se-hyeon to uncover the truth behind ES One Corporation.
He grew suspicious upon learning that Yoon lived in a mansion far too luxurious for an ordinary patent attorney.
—This guy's no minion?
—No ordinary patent attorney could afford a place like that. He's definitely involved in ES One's dirty dealings.
—Follow him long enough, and we'll find the string leading straight to the big boss.
But Yoon Se-hyeon's movements were squeaky clean.
He only went between home, the office, and nowhere else.
He handled all his work and meetings in-house, so there was no way to eavesdrop.
—Infiltrating the company will be tough?
—Ever since the failed kidnapping of the ES One president's woman, security at headquarters has been airtight. Try again, and we'll get caught for sure.
—No choice, then.
New designer drug Blue Colchicine, Senate Pharmaceuticals, ES One Corporation, food companies, and new products.
The tantalizing connections forming in their minds kept tickling the viewers' brains.
—There's something there. Something...
But the new products from the food company that ES One had painstakingly acquired were just ordinary, problem-free foods.
The scene shifted to Yoon Se-hyeon's office.
—Oh, Section Chief.
A curt nod instead of words conveyed a heavy sense of trust.
—That guy's been through hell, huh? But there's no one else I trust but you. Hang in there.
—It's not hard.
The emotionless response was like that of a human weapon, but Yoon Se-hyeon seemed satisfied.
—Oh, Section Chief. How many people have you killed?
The casual question thrown out made the viewers tense up even more, holding their breath.
—Why do you ask?
A faint crack began to appear in his impassive expression.
—One or two makes you defective junk. Ten or more makes you a well-maintained blade. Which are you, Oh Section Chief?
—A very fine blade.
From that short reply, viewers could sense the burly security chief's subtle satisfaction and relief.
It felt utterly natural, as if he was speaking straight from the heart, not acting.
—Keep it up just like now, Oh Section Chief. From here on out too.
The top-floor office in the headquarters building.
The vast, opulent interior felt more like a hotel penthouse suite than a workspace.
Choi Ye-ju quietly sat beside Yoon Se-hyeon, who was working on his laptop with his shirt sleeves rolled up.
The woman started teasing him like a playful adult, and eventually, the man's desire erupted in a fierce kiss.
In that sticky, suffocating kiss that seemed intent on smothering her, the mostly female grad student fans covered their eyes through splayed fingers.
'Eek!'
'What is this!'
'Not even Yoo Jeong-ah gets this lucky. Damn.'
'Have some shame and pay to film this!'
The grad student fans quickly checked on Jeong Seo-hoon.
His calm expression made it hard to believe he was the same person as the beastly Yoon Se-hyeon.
The women immersed themselves in Yoo Jeong-ah, while the men projected themselves onto Jeong Seo-hoon.
—How about we bring in Director of Research Song and interrogate him? They know we exist now that the president's woman kidnapping failed.
The kidnapping attempt to uncover the real president of the Korean branch had only served to alert them. But...
—They still don't know if we're after the ES One president personally or ES One itself.
—Touching Song Yi-seok would make it clear we're targeting ES One.
—We need to delay narrowing their guesses from two to one as long as possible.
The odd thing was that Blue Colchicine had suddenly vanished from the streets.
Those addicted to it refused all other drugs and sought only it.
Its street price had skyrocketed several times over, but supply was scarce.
—They could rake in hundreds of billions a year just selling it. Weird they're not producing anymore.
—Maybe Senate Pharma's playing it safe after Kang Jung-seok died?
—We covered that as a traffic accident. No reason for them to be scared.
Slush funds had a nature of continuously multiplying without pause.
Quitting a stable drug operation that steadily generated black money? It didn't add up.
—They're either scared, hit a production snag, don't need to sell anymore, or one of those...
—First and third don't make sense. Maybe the second?
—Or they're selling through channels we don't know about.
—Then addicts wouldn't be going crazy looking for it.
—From now on, focus on the stats. Dig through every health-related statistic in this country—flag anything even slightly off.
Flames blazed in Yi-hwang's eyes.
—Medical insurance, disease types and incidence rates, hospital prescriptions, pharmacy sales—every number related to people's health. Dig it all up!
They hired dozens of experts and began combing through the sand for that one needle.
After grueling investigation, dubious clues started emerging one by one.
—Is this weird, or just unusual...?
—Spit it out. What?
—Internal medicine prescriptions nationwide are up from last year.
—By how much?
—At this rate, this year's will exceed last year's by three times.
—Not conclusive on its own.
—But the Health Insurance Corporation's burden is only slightly above average. Even though pharmacy sales have spiked noticeably.
—Means a surge in non-covered prescriptions. Dig deeper.
The investigation revealed a sharp rise in prescriptions for indigestion and gut issues.
And the culprit behind the pharmacy sales boom was...
—Psycholsmadin, a new digestive system drug. Not yet on the covered list.
—Senate Pharma?
—No. New drug from U.S. BioDS.
That explained the hesitation about whether it was a clue.
On the surface, it looked like pure coincidence.
However.
—BioDS is ES One's unlisted subsidiary. ES One owns 100%.
—This is it! Has to be!
ES One Corporation was a global pharma giant.
From their perspective, Korea wasn't attractive enough for direct entry.
Yet they were pouring effort into it, even moving their Asia HQ here.
—Bring me Director of Research Song.
—Yes, Section Chief.
The research director dispatched to the domestic food company ES One had acquired was captured.
Tomorrow, when he didn't show up for work, they'd realize it wasn't some individual grudge—they were targeting the company itself.
From now on, everything had to move at lightning speed.
Faced with skilled threats and simple torture, the scholar devoted solely to academia and research quickly broke and spilled everything he knew.
—The three new products from Green & Food each contain different sweeteners...
—Sweeteners?
—They fake umami to stimulate the taste buds and boost appetite. That's why they've been selling like hotcakes since launch, and they'll soon go global.
With his and his family's lives on the line, the scholar pinned all hope on that one thread.
—Some chemical components in the sweeteners take a long time to fully excrete from the body.
—Don't tell me those three combine in the body to cause some chemical reaction like stomach upset?
—It synthesizes a tiny amount of Blue Colchicine... harmless to life...
—You son of a bitch!
Sell the disease for money, then sell the antidote for even more.
That was the essence of ES One Corporation's scheme in Korea.
—Korea was the perfect testbed for this project. Food and drug verification and distribution are stricter here than even in the U.S.
If it passed without issue in Korea, they could roll it out worldwide.
That was ES One's executives' strategy.
—I've told you everything I know. Please, just spare my life...
—Fine. We'll spare your life.
—No, don't! Please! Please!
Song Yi-seok wailed, but he couldn't escape the fate of Blue Colchicine addiction.
—Fuck. They think Korea's a joke? Our country's their lab rat? Like those Unit 731 bastards.
Yi-hwang declared, eyes blazing with rage.
—No time. If this guy doesn't show tomorrow, they'll go on high alert. Tonight's our best shot.
—Ready.
—Let's go.
Leaving his fully armed crew—bulletproof vests, helmets, submachine guns—like a spec-ops team behind, Yi-hwang strode out of the hideout with majestic confidence.
From the non-rapper fans' perspective, they worried Jeong Seo-hoon might get overshadowed, but they couldn't help admiring the visuals.
—Comms team?
—At the target. Just give the signal.
—Now.
A fire broke out at the main relay station covering the ES One headquarters zone, knocking out communications across the area.
Yi-hwang's gang hit every entrance simultaneously.
—Spec-ops! Terror threat—everyone out!
—Repeat: Evacuate the building!
Those fleeing in terror were innocent civilians.
—Who the hell are you! This is a restricted area—even cops can't enter!
—Show your warrant!
—Terror threat. Stand aside. And get out of here.
—You can't pass!
Those holding the line to the end were complicit—not innocent.
A simple, clear way to sort them.
Amid the chaos, screams, and resistance, Yi-hwang's crew swiftly swept and cleared the building floor by floor.
The scene—impossible in central Seoul—delivered an even sharper thrill to viewers' minds.
The grad student fans gripped their seats as Oh Section Chief, the reliable bodyguard always shadowing Yoon Se-hyeon, stepped up.
Caught off-guard by the massive raid, the final five guards defended the president's office to the last.
In the end, only bloodied Oh Section Chief remained alone.
—He's holding out well. Use bullets?
—We made it this far without. He's alone now—don't. No point leaving Kang Seon-hyeon alive either.
—Got it.
Oh fought valiantly, but numbers overwhelmed him.
The fear of gunfire anytime restricted his moves.
Bleeding and vomiting blood, he blocked the president's door with his back.
His eyes closed, and the grad student fans unconsciously reached for beer.
It had gone flat and bitter, but it quenched their thirst.
Aside from a fleeting grimace when stabbed at the end, he fought his enemies like a cold human weapon. That made it all the more intense.
'Did he die?'
'The detective uncle dies like this? No!'
'Get up!'
—Loyal hound. Commendable.
Finally, the firmly shut door swung wide open.
—Patent Attorney Yoon Se-hyeon? Why are you here?
—Weird for ES One's agent to be here?
The face of a young monstrous capitalist with infinite greed greeted the grad student fans.
All viewers flicked their eyes between Jeong Seo-hoon and Yoon Se-hyeon.
—I see. You're no mere agent. You're the real master of ES One...
—Yi-hwang, why do you hate our company so much?
—Why I hate it?
Yi-hwang's erupting rage was so real it made viewers' livers tremble.
—You know how many companies you've ruined, breadwinners left jobless, kids orphaned—and you ask that? You, you truly have no shred of conscience? You're a demon without even the bare minimum humanity!
—Conscience.
Yoon Se-hyeon stole viewers' breaths for a moment, then struck back with a sneer.
—Is that necessary for business?
—I know what you need right now.
Yi-hwang aimed his submachine gun and fired a single shot into his leg.
But.
Bang!
Sparks flew into empty air as the bullet ricocheted.
Yi-hwang approached, frowning, and discovered a three-meter-diameter transparent cylindrical wall around his desk.
—Bulletproof glass wall?
—Smart hitting comms first. But how many minutes left?
Even bulletproof walls descending from the ceiling. And this was Korea?
These guys were crazier than imagined.
—Dumping Blue Colchicine in Gangnam was a efficacy test?
—No point denying it. Spot on.
—Planning to sell the drug from the start?
The three foods triggering in-body synthesis were suspiciously cheap for their quality, backed by endless promotions.
They must have sold at a loss.
With a way to recoup several times over.
—You bastards... how demonic are you?
—Boss! We gotta go! They're coming!
—Answer me! How far does your demonhood go? How can you wear human skin and do this!
—Boss! No time! Move in one minute!
—Demon.
Yoon Se-hyeon laughed.
It was a demonic laugh transcending even the extremes of capitalism.
—Induce a bit of indigestion, make some money, and I'm a demon? Real demons wouldn't stoop that low.
—You fucker!
Yi-hwang unloaded his submachine gun straight into Yoon Se-hyeon's face.
Pistol rounds sprayed wildly, sparks exploding right before his eyes, but Yoon watched like it was a fireworks show, smiling.
Yi-hwang, emptying his clip, approached suppressing his rage.
He touched the whitened bullet-marked spots, pressed his forehead to the transparent glass, and growled.
—They say evil doesn't know it's evil. That's you right now.
—Boss! We really gotta go!
The two men's glares traded off screen dominance.
In the suffocating tension, some grad student fans forgot to breathe, then let out deep gasps.
Yoon Se-hyeon calmly watched the retreating Yi-hwang crew turn their backs, then sat, reviewed management reports, and resumed work as if nothing happened.
In the escaping car, Yi-hwang's rage-filled face filled the screen.
—I will, I will...!
His expression screamed impending explosion.
Cold eyes reading numbers.
The split-screen contrast of their emotions burned hot and cold into viewers' minds as the frame froze.
Ending OST flowed as the staff roll climbed from the bottom.
* * *
Master's student Park Yeo-jin was glued to the screen, entranced, until the staff roll snapped her out of it, life returning to her eyes.
She glanced at Jeong Seo-hoon, but it didn't feel real.
That cold, businesslike expression Yoon Se-hyeon showed at the end was right there.
The capitalist gaze that quantified human lives and values purely in numbers—it shouldn't be, but it looked too sexy.
Park Yeo-jin muttered unconsciously.
"Ah, I wanna get hired at ES One Corporation."
"Huh, you too?"
"Me too, me too."
"Sunbae, how do I get hired at ES One?"
As immersion faded, reactions of enjoyment, gasps, and laughter rippled through the grad student fans.
"I seriously wanna work at ES One, even as an extra."
"Me too, me too."
"Season 2's coming, right?"
"Hundred percent. They blatantly teased it at the end."
Jeong Seo-hoon turned to the fans with a businesslike smile.
"Did everyone enjoy it?"
"Yes! It was so much fun!"
"Kinda sad you weren't in it much, sunbae, but every appearance was so intense it pulled us right in!"
"I wanna get hired at ES One! Work through the night for the evil corporation under Yoon Se-hyeon!"
Jeong Seo-hoon laughed off the fans' playful slavery.
"Remember this: ES One Corporation cuts anyone without a PhD."