Overhearing the Crisis
Click. Clack.
After the written exams finally ended, I sat down at the computer in my dorm room and pulled up the listings.
“Sigh.”
Every single one was ridiculously expensive. These were all items required to unlock Nam Doyun’s sealed skills. But buying them right now was completely out of the question.
“How much do I even have?”
I logged into my account.
“Fuck. Just surviving costs me a hundred thousand won a day.”
Lunch and dinner alone easily ran that much. Throw in daily necessities like shampoo and body wash, and the daily burn was insane. Thanks to this cursed academy built exclusively for the ultra-rich, even breathing came with a massive price tag.
“The only cash I can actually move right now…”
I glanced at the ancient tome Cha Jiyun had given me—the Count Asura manuscript.
“I can’t sell this.”
It still had its uses, and more importantly, there was too high a risk of it falling into the hands of Demonic Humans. If one of them formed a contract with Count Asura because of it, I’d be facing an incredibly troublesome enemy.
In the end, the only money I could actually use was that 11 million won.
“Maybe I should hunt some monsters?”
I pulled up the monster bounty site.
Monster Bounty Board
Goblin — 100,000 won
Dire Wolf — 300,000 won
Orc — 400,000 won
“Yeah, no.”
I closed the window. The payouts were pocket change, and more than that, it didn’t suit my style. My only real offensive option was the powerful one-punch skill I’d copied from Urbashi. The Sword Saint’s technique had too much recoil to use unless the situation was critical.
“Looks like today is what matters.”
Today was the field trip to Samhwa Bio. Finding some way to obtain Samhwa Bio stock while I was there was incredibly important to me.
Ring—
AM 8:00
“Time to go.”
I grabbed my things and headed outside. Several buses were lined up. I boarded the one with the Samhwa Bio sign on it.
The bus drove for about an hour before arriving in front of Samhwa Bio headquarters. The building was massive.
“Whoa. It’s way bigger than I expected.”
“Right? I thought Samhwa Bio was supposed to be a startup?”
Samhwa Bio sat right in the heart of Gangnam. The entire ten-story building was dedicated to the company.
“They must have poured a fortune into this place.”
“A ten-story building in Gangnam? What’s the monthly rent on something like that?”
“Has to be hundreds of millions.”
“Isn’t this insane? What happens if it fails?”
“Didn’t they say Cha Jiyun was running it?”
“Yeah. She must have dumped every bit of capital she controls into this.”
The students clustered in front of the headquarters, chattering away.
A man in a suit who appeared to be the guide stepped forward.
“Everyone, welcome to Samhwa Bio. We’re glad to have the students of Elphon Academy with us today.”
He smiled warmly.
“I’ll now show you inside. Please follow me.”
The guide led us through the main entrance. A huge information board greeted us immediately.
“Could everyone please look at this display?”
The guide pointed at the board.
“It contains a brief introduction to our company. Samhwa Bio is a startup that launched just three months ago.”
“Only three months?”
“Yes. Though we’ve only been operating for three months, we are an extremely promising enterprise. This is thanks to the capital support we receive from the Samhwa Group. With that financial backing, we’ve been able to recruit a large number of outstanding researchers…”
The guide continued his explanation of Samhwa Bio.
“But why isn’t Cha Jiyun here?”
“Yeah, she signed up for this field trip too.”
“Ah. The representative is currently quite busy.”
“Really?”
“Haha. There are some matters she needs to attend to.”
Kim Hein, Samhwa Bio’s chief researcher, frowned deeply.
“Why is this still failing? Haven’t you finished the analysis yet?”
“I’m sorry. I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Instead of apologizing, analyze the cause. Now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Haah—”
Kim Hein let out a heavy sigh.
The new drug currently under development—Atein—was the one Samhwa Bio had staked its entire future on.
“This has to be completed successfully.”
So far, Samhwa Bio hadn’t produced a single meaningful result. The support from the Samhwa Group had already been cut off. The only reason the company was still running was because Cha Jiyun was personally funding everything out of her own pocket.
“But even that will run dry soon.”
No matter how much of a conglomerate heiress she was, there was a limit to how much an individual could mobilize. That limit was approaching fast. Once it ran out, the company would have no choice but to close its doors.
“Then… I’ll be unemployed.”
What happened to Cha Jiyun didn’t really matter to me. But me becoming jobless was a serious problem.
“Which is why this has to succeed no matter what.”
If the new drug Atein succeeded, Samhwa Bio could rocket straight into second place in the industry. The potential value it could create was enormous.
“Let’s completely redesign the mechanism of action.”
“How exactly?”
“Change the mechanism itself. Block the interference process entirely and try activating the T-cells directly.”
“Understood.”
The researcher followed Kim Hein’s instructions.
“Still… the cause hasn’t been resolved.”
Even after the change, the fundamental problem remained. Kim Hein ground her teeth.
“What the hell is wrong with this thing?”
This was already the hundredth revision made in an attempt to identify the cause. Yet they still couldn’t figure out why the drug kept failing.
Click-clack. Click-clack.
The sound of high heels echoed from down the hall. Just from the rhythm, Kim Hein knew exactly who it was.
Cha Jiyun, president of Samhwa Bio.
“What does that damn woman know? Why is she here again?”
Kim Hein bit her lip.
***
“Welcome, President. It’s good to see you.”
Kim Hein bowed deeply.
“…Yes.”
Cha Jiyun gave her a brief glance. On the surface she looked perfectly polite, but her true feelings were obvious.
She must really hate having me here.
Being a seventeen-year-old sitting in the president’s chair of a biotech company clearly didn’t sit well with her. It was understandable. From her perspective, some teenager who knew nothing about the field had suddenly taken the top seat and started giving orders. It would be irritating.
Not just her—most of the employees at Samhwa Bio secretly looked down on Cha Jiyun. Whenever she asked questions, they’d think, She’s not even a specialist; explaining anything would be pointless, and give her only the bare minimum.
But that doesn’t matter right now.
The only thing that mattered was successfully completing the new drug. Everything else was secondary.
“….Could I speak with you for a moment, Hein?”
“Yes, of course.”
Cha Jiyun led the way into the conference room. Once seated, she spoke.
“….Is there any progress with the research?”
“No. There has been no progress.”
“….I see.”
Cha Jiyun let out a deep sigh.
“…I’m truly sorry to say this.”
“Please speak.”
“….It seems we must withdraw from this project.”
“….Excuse me?”
The words hit Kim Hein like a thunderbolt. She had left her previous company and come here solely because of the Samhwa Group name. After all, it was a top-ten conglomerate.
“Then what about me? Where is a researcher supposed to go after working at a company that went bankrupt due to lack of results?”
“….I’m truly sorry. But I have reached my limit as well.”
“What?”
“…As you know, external funding for Samhwa Bio was cut off months ago. Employee salaries and operating costs have been covered entirely by my personal funds.”
“….”
“…But I no longer have any funds left to circulate.”
Cha Jiyun had poured an enormous amount of her own money into this place. To attract top talent, she had rented an entire building in the heart of Gangnam, since those people rarely wanted to leave Seoul. She had provided the best possible working environment to meet their demands.
That wasn’t all. As a startup, recruiting outstanding personnel required massive spending. All of it had come from Cha Jiyun’s personal accounts, because the group’s support money could never have covered both the Gangnam rent and the high salaries.
Still, if it had succeeded, none of it would have felt like a waste.
If she could put Samhwa Bio on the path to success, she would be in a position to compete with her brother for the Samhwa Group chairmanship. For that future, she had been willing to invest any amount of her personal fortune.
But now even that has become impossible.
Repeated lack of results. No progress on the new drug. Despite everything, she had kept pouring in money. The next chairmanship depended on this company’s success.
Now I have nothing left.
There was no more money she could pull from her personal accounts.
“…I’m sorry. But the situation is unavoidable.”
“This is ridiculous. I followed you because I believed in you, President. You can’t just—”
“…But there is no other way. The new drug we staked everything on…”
“….”
Kim Hein clenched her teeth so hard they creaked.
Creak—
At that moment, the conference room door opened with a sound.
Both women whipped their heads toward it.
It was me—Nam Doyun.
“Haha. Looks like I accidentally overheard everything.”