Baekje University's Bold Upgrades

Episode 96. The reason Lee Jinmyeong had flown to America for Baekje University. It was to organize the shell companies that Daniel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Shin had created. Up until now, those names had been necessary to siphon off foundation funds as slush money. They spanned nationalities from all over the world. His plan was to consolidate them under a few paper companies for easier management and cleanup.

From the start, any money coming out of the Daniel S. Foundation would now flow entirely into the Korean Daniel Foundation. There was no need to maintain all those diverse personal names under foreign nationalities anymore.

And then there were Shin Jaewoo's separate words to him.

"Even if we grow the foundation's assets, can we sustain it? Roughly 600 billion won a year."

It was a truly astronomical sum. But Shin Jaewoo wanted even more than that.

For reference, upon hearing this, Lee Jinmyeong had proposed an alternative approach. And that's what had him so busy right now.

"France, France, huh..."

It had a certain ring to it. In Lee Jinmyeong's mind, Shin Jaewoo wouldn't stop at just hiring a French Nobel Prize winner in literature. They'd need to talk about this again. Hiring that person as a professor wasn't impossible by any means. But surely there were more diverse ventures to pursue.

"Oh, Jin. Long time no see."

And in fact, right now, business from another sector took priority. The blond, plump man who greeted Lee Jinmyeong opened his arms warmly.

Richard Miller. He was a key player in the Daniel S. Foundation, the one managing its assets.

"...I've brought new instructions from the chairman, Richard."

"Jin, it's been ages, and you have to start with that?"

Richard sounded a bit hurt at Lee Jinmyeong's words. But Lee Jinmyeong wasn't one to flinch at such things. His demeanor remained unchanged.

"The chairman said as much himself. That 500 million in annual support just isn't enough."

Here, 500 million wasn't in won—it was dollars. Richard blinked.

My God. Like grandfather, like grandson; the new chairman's scale was on another level.

"I heard you set up a school in Korea. Does running one university there really require more than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠500 million dollars?"

"No, it'd be overkill. If you were running an ordinary university, that is."

Richard's eyes lit up with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠interest at Lee Jinmyeong's response. That meant Shin Jaewoo's methods were anything but ordinary.

And Richard liked people like that.

"Tell me more. So what does our new boss want to do?"

"It wouldn't be right for me to speculate on his intentions, Richard."

"That's your problem, Jin—you're too rigid."

Richard criticized him with a jab. In any case, the conclusion was clear.

"So... how much budget does the boss want routed to the Korean branch?"

"Yeah, if I had to specify... about double what we're doing now. That's what he thinks is necessary."

Richard blinked at that. Double. For a smaller operation, inflating it like that would be easy enough, but at their current scale? It didn't make sense. And yet, he wanted double that.

"Kh, kuhahaha! Jin, do you even realize how outrageous a demand that is?"

"But Richard, you know you can pull it off."

"Hahaha!"

Richard's laughter grew louder the more he heard from Lee Jinmyeong. Right now, Lee Jinmyeong was telling him to funnel a billion dollars to Korea.

Of course, as Lee Jinmyeong said, it was possible. Not by inflating assets all at once, that is.

'Wait, is that even possible?'

Lee Jinmyeong had mentioned it before. Shin Jaewoo was different from the previous chairman. He disliked how the foundation's money flowed in strange directions.

What did that mean?

"If we pulled all that money back into the foundation, we could do more than double... "

Richard trailed off, his lips curling into a grin.

"...But that's not the plan, right?"

"We'll do that too. But no need to balloon the assets suddenly."

"I think the same."

Richard nodded immediately.

"There's no rule saying we have to donate exclusively to that Korean school, right?"

That was the key. Shin Jaewoo's real goal wasn't growing this foundation—it was securing business capital.

Richard grinned slyly. Lee Jinmyeong's expression was much the same.

"...Think you can manage it?"

"Of course—who do you think gave the order? So... what does our new boss plan to do with the university?"

"As I said earlier, I don't need to explain his actions to you."

"Come on, what, hire a Nobel laureate as a professor or something?"

"..."

Lee Jinmyeong didn't respond. Richard's face stiffened.

"For real?"

Suddenly, it made sense why billions weren't enough. But who knew—Shin Jaewoo had no intention of stopping there.

Gongju City's Baekje University. Changes were already underway.

It started with transportation. What Kim Sohyeon had told Shin Jaewoo during his previous visit.

"There's only one bus from Daejeon to Baekje University. And the interval is 98 minutes..."

"Or transfer in Gongju. There are a few more buses from there to here. But you still end up looping back, so it takes about the same time."

Students isolated at the university. And no commercial district nearby. Everyone felt frustrated.

Solution: Shuttle buses. Contracts with three tourist bus companies operating out of Daejeon and Chungcheong region.

One for Daejeon A Route. Another for Daejeon B Route. And one for the Gongju city route.

Gongju routes ran every hour. Daejeon lines every 15-20 minutes.

"Finally, the school feels like a real school."

"Yeah, no more isolated vibe—it's great."

Reactions were positive, naturally. Now they could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠commute freely around class times. If there was a gap before the next lecture, head to Gongju or Daejeon for fun.

'This is perfect.'

Kim Sohyeon was pleased just with that. Especially since all these buses were free.

'Free with just a student ID.'

Show your student ID for unlimited free rides. No need to get off at school either—use like public transit. Each bus hit several stops, so hop on at one and off at another.

'Too good.'

For a frugal type like Kim Sohyeon, it was a godsend.

And that wasn't all. More good news.

"Sis, you hear?"

Park Woojin asked her.

"About what?"

"The school cafeteria."

Of course she knew. Unlike Park Woojin, who preferred eating out, she used it often.

"Yeah."

No more packing lunches. Price: 6,000 won. Already slashed, so satisfying. But that wasn't the end.

Quality had changed.

"...Sometimes I wonder if this is even real."

Menus switched to buffet style. And no more subpar options. Varied and fancy—for just 6,000 won.

More changes too.

"And that old auditorium got totally demolished. Wow. Can a school change this much right after a new chairman?"

"Right? If they separate the cafeteria and library, it'd be even better..."

"Huh? Sis, you haven't heard?"

"What?"

Kim Sohyeon tilted her head at Park Woojin's question. He grinned.

"They're building a new library on the auditorium site."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, that's what I heard."

Her eyes sparkled. Demolition was done. She'd assumed it'd stay empty.

'But a new building there—a library?'

Thrilling news. Though a bittersweet feeling lingered.

"...Everything ramps up right when I'm about to graduate."

Bittersweet indeed.

"Why not aim for grad school, sis?"

Park Woojin suggested, not wanting to part ways. Master's program.

She gave a wry smile.

"You know our school barely admits any grad students."

"Ah."

True. Even so, if Kim Sohyeon had the will, she might've applied. But one fatal issue.

"No money either."

That was it. Her family wasn't well-off. Park Woojin came from money, but not her.

"No grad scholarships?"

"Where would the school get money for that?"

The so-called scholarship system—national, local government, various foundations—Baekje University offered almost none of its own.

At least until recently.

The two paused mid-conversation. At a bulletin board notice.

Kim Sohyeon's steps halted dead at the board. Her eyes locked on "Teaching/Research Assistant positions: Work-study scholarship (3 million won/month)."

"...Woojin, I'm gonna go talk to my professor real quick."