Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Boom (4)
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"Miss, I tried so hard to stop you... Sigh, look at your red lips."
Lee Si-hyeon sighed as she saw my reddened eyes.
I'd ignored the people around me trying to stop me and stubbornly insisted on eating that spicy Shin Ramyun, and this was the result.
"Hwahhh! It's spicy, so spicy..."
Tears welled up in my eyes. When I glanced in the mirror, I saw a girl looking utterly pitiful, bawling like someone who'd lost her parents (which I had).
"M-milk... Hic."
I grabbed a carton of white milk from the fridge and chugged it down. My tongue was still burning.
Who knew all the milk I'd stocked up on for growing taller would come in handy like this.
"Gimme the leftovers. Let me finish it."
Lee Si-hyeon finished clearing the dishes and approached me, holding out her hand.
I clutched my ramen bowl protectively, my face scrunched up in a pout as tears dripped down.
"N-nooo... I-I'm gonna... eat it."
It had been so long since I'd had spicy ramen like this—I couldn't just give it up.
"..."
Lee Si-hyeon gave me a pitiful look for a moment but didn't push it further.
And about ten minutes later.
"Whew, dinner was great."
I patted my full belly, hopped down from the chair, and like always, grabbed my game console and headed to my game room.
It was the room where I'd gathered the few fun things in this harsh life. Right now, it only had the game console, but I'd eventually turn it into a space for enjoying subculture stuff.
"Miss, heading off to game again?"
"Yeah."
She was used to it by now, so Lee Si-hyeon didn't try to stop me. I wasn't the type to listen anyway, and she trusted in my abilities and character.
"What game this time? Didn't you get an earful last time for indulging in that heavy Japanese culture stuff?"
Cultural liberalization hadn't happened yet, so I was smuggling in Japanese games through back channels. Power sure came in handy for things like this.
In a normal situation, she'd scold me, but given how my talents were a double-edged sword right now, no one said a word.
At most, they'd tell me to avoid games with too much Japanese influence and stick to something more wholesome. Unlike in ordinary families, playing around without working was actually encouraged for me.
"The game I'm playing now? Zelda. The Legend of Zelda. I even got the distribution rights for this one."
Not that domestic laws were blocking distribution yet... but it'd come in handy later.
"Ah, is that green-clothed kid over there Zelda?"
"That's Link. Zelda barely appears in the game."
"...?"
-Beep beep.
Man, this thing's controls are tough. It was the first game in a series I really enjoyed before I died, so I knew it wasn't great but bought it anyway.
But... ugh. No save function either.
This was trash-tier.
"Argh."
Growing bored, I tossed the console aside, spun around, and buried my face in the pillow.
Kicking the blanket with my heels sent dust flying everywhere.
"Ah, I'm so bored. Maybe I should go inspect the semiconductor fab."
"Ugh... I hate that place. We have to wear those weird suits."
True. The cleanroom suits were super uncomfortable and made you sweat buckets.
Still, it wasn't so bad since Si-hyeon had to deal with it too. Even she, who stuck to shirts and suits, would complain about the heat and take off layers.
...If I were a guy, there'd definitely be rumors. Lucky no one bats an eye when it's me satisfying a little curiosity.
"Fine, then let's just chat at the outer research lab instead of going inside. Not today—tomorrow, got it?"
It had been a while since we'd gone out. Lee Si-hyeon, who'd swiftly switched from nanny to secretary, pulled out her notebook and nodded.
"Yes, I'll let them know."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Low oil prices, low dollar, low interest rates.
The Three Lows Boom was ushering in limitless growth for the semiconductor industry as well.
"Whoa, Miss, it's been a while."
The lab director welcomed me warmly, with no hint of annoyance—just pure delight.
"Yeah, been a while. Last time was half a year ago, right?"
"Haha, yep. You came right after we made the 1M memory chip... Hmm, you've grown even taller. You're starting to look like a proper young lady."
"Right?"
I grinned, sneaking a glance at the mirror nearby with satisfaction.
There stood a ten-year-old girl who suited the term "beautiful girl" better than "pretty child." Her black eyes sparkled, and with the baby fat fading from her face, she was quite lovely.
The head of a lab researching DRAM memory chips held a lofty position. Even I, who rarely used formal speech, bantered casually with him.
It made sense. He was sharper than most university professors, and even Grandfather held him in high regard.
Anyway, I sat down with him to catch up on the current situation. Even if I wasn't actively involved, I knew better than to stop gathering intel.
"Director, how's the research going these days?"
The tech gap between Daeha Electronics and the leading companies was now just two years. The summit was in sight.
The lab director nodded with satisfaction.
"Haha, of course. Thanks to you, Miss, we've overcome so many hurdles. The researchers say you saved their lives."
"Lucky timing. It just happened to be what I was studying..."
It wasn't luck that I solved the tech issue—it was luck that the issue matched what I was studying.
Arrogant as it sounded, he just chuckled and let it slide.
"Heh, that's you alright. It's true, though... You're amazing. If I were a pure academic, I'd do anything to keep you here."
"They all would've figured it out eventually with enough time. Our team is full of top talent."
He didn't disagree. As a proud scientist, he couldn't.
"True enough. But... semiconductors are all about the race against time, aren't they?"
Time was everything in high-tech. They'd chased Japanese and American giants this close through passion and youth poured into effort.
If I hadn't studied semiconductors a bit in my past life, advising them would've been tough. But my current brilliant mind turned that shallow knowledge into massive gains.
No idea why, but knowing the rough answers upfront slashed trial and error dramatically.
"Ehe, thanks for the praise."
I beamed, unwrapping and popping a candy from the table.
It was sweet.
Sigh, this was why I loved smart people. They knew exactly how great I was.
"So... we've restarted research. Chairman stocked us with plenty of dev funds, and you gave us those big performance bonuses, right? Haha, can't just take the money and slack off."
"Sorry for working you all so hard. The researchers need breaks too."
The apology was empty, but I was genuinely worried. Losing them to overwork would leave irreplaceable gaps.
This lab had Korea's top semiconductor experts. Grinding them 12 hours a day was luxurious.
I chipped in plenty from my own pocket, but... honestly, it was still passion pay compared to their output.
But the director just grinned and replied:
"No, this time our goal is 4M before the end of '87. Can't quit when the peak's right there."
...From my memory, 4M DRAM came in February '88. They'd shaved off nearly three months.
Makes sense—I'd intervened full-throttle here.
I applauded without holding back. They deserved it.
-Clap clap clap.
"Wow, that's incredible. If you pull it off, it'll be huge... Grandfather will be thrilled."
As the head of Daeha Group's most prized lab, he was quite political and knew the economic lay of the land.
"With the boom, exports are tough these days. We need to snag semiconductor exports now for Daeha Electronics to thrive. That's the plan."
"Ooh..."
I nodded enthusiastically, fanning the director's passion for chips. From experience, folks like him loved praise from peers in the field.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ On the way back, Lee Si-hyeon brought it up.
"You've been paying a lot more attention to semiconductors lately."
Of course.
"It's the boom. Not many chances like this to grow the company."
But even in this massive boom, there wasn't much I could do personally, so I focused on semiconductors, even if it felt inefficient.
Steadily expanding headcount, overseeing fab construction design... These ran without me usually, so I didn't meddle. But with spare time like now, it was worth it.
Just showing my face would pay off later.
And so, the waves of the Three Lows Boom began sweeping Korea.
Foreign debt, once half of GNP, plummeted to 15%. Growth exceeded 10% as expected. Surveys showed over 80% considering themselves middle class.
January 14, 1987. A Seoul National University student died under police torture during interrogation. The government tried to cover it up as usual, but media unusually defied guidelines and splashed it on front pages.
Early April. The dollar/yen hit rock bottom at 137 yen per dollar. Executive Director Ha Joo-seong, diving into forex, let out a joyous scream.
April 13. President Chun Doo-hwan announced the April 13 Measures to safeguard the constitution. Nationwide protests demanding revision erupted.
Japan's housing prices skyrocketed, stocks soared daily. Korea's market boomed too—KOSPI, at 200 early '86, broke 300 on January 27, '87, and kept climbing.
June 9. A founding member of Yonsei's comics club—which doubled as a student activist circle, 'Comics Love'—was knocked out by police tear gas.
That sparked the full-scale June Uprising.
Overall,
it was a boom.