Chapter 110: Vaccination
Chapter 110: Vaccination
Making money had changed my perspective on the world a lot.
‘How could a person stay the same? It’s abnormal not to change.’
When I lived in a semi-basement, I was more or less content with my surroundings.
A damp room where cockroaches roamed freely.
I considered myself lucky that snakes didn't show up and was grateful for the minimal heating during the dead of winter.
‘If I were to be greedy, a decent studio apartment would be just perfect.’
I didn’t care about the view.
So what if opening the window revealed a noisy road, or if the place downstairs wasn't a house but a smelly all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet?
I could be satisfied with just a single room in a proper building.
Then, after going through so much, I came to a realization…
‘Turns out, I really like luxury.’
A lavish house, expensive cars, food that was both nutritious and delicious.
I was still frugal, but I spent money when I needed to.
I might save a dollar or two at the supermarket, but I’d also hire a skilled chef and pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Because finding satisfaction in my daily meals was one of life’s great pleasures.
‘Being frugal and being bold are two different things. If something is worth paying for, you should spend the money.’
With every moment, I was awakening to the life of the rich.
* * *
“We’re from San Francisco.”
“Do you work?”
“Of course. We’re office workers. What about you?”
“I’m a nurse. I work in Los Angeles but came here for a little getaway.”
While Lee Jong-yeop chatted amicably with the American nurses, I just gave a simple greeting and drank my beer off to the side.
A cold beer, enjoyed while sitting on the beach.
I wore sunglasses, only lowering my mask slightly when I took a sip.
‘Ahhh. This isn't just a sip of beer. I'm drinking my vacation.’
For a Korean office worker, vacation was something of a double-edged sword.
The first week of August.
Most people's vacations started around the same time, and all hell would break loose on the highways.
Popular tourist spots would often bleed travelers dry with exorbitant accommodation fees, and it was hard to relax anywhere because of the crowds.
Wasn't it the life of an office worker to go on vacation only to come back exhausted from the ordeal?
Of course, that was why I usually just stayed home during the vacation season.
That trip to Gangwon-do with Han Chae-won…
‘No. I need to erase that memory forever.’
A memory so suffocating it was hard to even think about.
The beer I was drinking while gazing at the beautiful Pacific Ocean in California was so refreshing it seemed to wash away all my fatigue.
As I enjoyed my vacation and beer, I could hear the cheerful conversation between Lee Jong-yeop and the nurses.
“Working in a hospital, you must have seen a lot of COVID patients?”
“Of course. We dealt with a lot of sick people.”
“There were so many deaths.”
The three of them seemed to be nurses working at a large hospital in Los Angeles.
“What kind of work do you do in San Francisco?”
“Us? We work at an IT company.”
Earth Resource was technically an IT company.
Though neither Lee Jong-yeop nor I knew anything about the technical side.
“IT? What specific industry? I might have heard of it. My boyfriend works at a software company in Los Angeles.”
“Well, my colleague and I are in the content industry.”
“The content industry?”
“Have you ever heard of Earth Channel?”
Earth Channel had only recently launched, but among Earth Resource’s businesses, it was probably the most well-known to the public.
“I know it! I saw it on the news and was thinking about whether to subscribe or not.”
“Ah, I see. It’s only five dollars a month.”
“I know it’s cheap. But I’ve been so busy with work lately.”
I just listened quietly to the conversation between Lee Jong-yeop and the other vacationers.
Beer and relaxation.
I didn't want to break this perfect moment.
‘It reminds me of when I was traveling through Europe.’
After hitting the jackpot with crypto, I often hung out with strangers at hostels while traveling in Europe.
We’d talk about our travels, cook meals together, or go for a swim at a nearby beach.
That was the most carefree and free-roaming period of my life.
There were many couples traveling together, and it was common to see groups of men or women traveling on their own.
Those two-odd years were filled with encounters with fellow travelers I met and parted with on the road.
‘India, and other Asian countries. Earth Channel must be available in those places too.’
The thought of the children in the slums made my heart ache for some reason.
The pandemic would undoubtedly inflict far greater damage on them.
“So, what do you all think of the K-Vaccine?” Lee Jong-yeop asked about the vaccine.
As someone who played a key role in creating the K-Vaccine, I was also curious about the reactions of nurses working on the medical front lines.
“We’ve all gotten the K-Vaccine shot.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We’re medical professionals who frequently interact with patients. Getting vaccinated gives us a lot more peace of mind. When the pandemic was at its peak, many people died in hospitals without receiving proper treatment.”
“I heard there are cases of infection even after getting the shot.”
It felt like Jong-yeop knew what I was curious about and was intentionally fishing for answers.
“Haha. You hear stories like that in the media sometimes, right? But it’s much safer if you get infected after taking the K-Vaccine. It’s not severe, and most cases are mild and easily treated.”
“That’s right. At our hospital, we categorize COVID patients into those who have been vaccinated with K-Vaccine and those who haven’t. The ones who got the shot don’t develop pneumonia and recover quickly. If you haven’t gotten your vaccine shots yet, you definitely should.”
* * *
After the sun set, we parted ways with the nurses and took a leisurely walk along the beach.
“It’s a great place to relax, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is.”
Healing didn't have to be complicated.
Who wouldn't love staying in a fully-equipped mansion by a beautiful beach?
I instantly understood why sports stars and movie actors owned gorgeous mansions in places like Florida.
‘You really have to experience things for yourself.’
We drove to the supermarket, did some light shopping, and bought a few comfortable outfits.
In the supermarket parking lot, we bought fruit juice from farmers who made it themselves.
“How much ice would you like?”
“Just a moderate amount. Thank you.”
I had worked hard, living only to build more.
Sipping the refreshing fruit juice, I felt the fatigue wash away.
* * *
The next day, Lee Jong-yeop and I went to a hospital and got our COVID vaccinations.
In the United States, anyone could get vaccinated if they wanted to, regardless of nationality or occupation.
“You’ll feel a slight prick. Please contact the hospital if you develop a fever or any unusual symptoms.”
“Yes, I will.”
After getting the shot at the hospital, I rested well at the mansion.
I was a bit tired on the first day, but thankfully, I didn't experience any of the side effects I had worried about.
Some people apparently developed fevers or headaches, so I was relieved that didn't happen to me.
‘Getting the vaccine myself makes me anxious, I can only imagine how much worse it is for others.’
It’s human nature to worry about the ‘what ifs,’ even when you know the statistics say it’s safe.
After getting the COVID vaccine, I felt much less burdened about meeting people.
I could now truly appreciate the claim that Biolife had saved hundreds of thousands of American lives.
That was why Earth Resource was inundated with requests from politicians who wanted to meet just once.
The US presidential election had taken place ten days earlier.
The US holds its presidential election in November, and we had received requests for endorsement speeches from both the Trump and Biden campaigns.
I had declined, of course, not wanting to get entangled in politics.
From the next day on, my routine consisted of jogging in the morning and exploring the city’s burger joints and shops in the evening.
Even though we had a top-class chef at home, there was a certain taste to a burger that you could only get by eating it at a shop.
―Oh Myeong-woo: There's an important issue with Earth Channel.
―Kim Shin: What is it?
A message from Oh Myeong-woo after several days made me tense.
It was about company business.
He wouldn't bring it up unless it was something significant.
―Oh Myeong-woo: There are too many Chinese subscribers.
―Kim Shin: Is having a lot of Chinese subscribers a problem?
―Oh Myeong-woo: An enormous number. It’s already surpassed 40 million.
―Oh Myeong-woo: And the number is steadily increasing. It looks like it will soon become bigger than the US market.
The scale of the Chinese market was as unimaginable as its population.
Their consumer power was growing along with their economic development.
Once they got a taste of this massive market, even companies like Apple and Tesla had no choice but to bow to the Chinese government.
―Kim Shin: So what’s the problem?
―Oh Myeong-woo: The broadcast and movie content isn't a major issue yet. We can’t do much about people illegally sharing files.
Unlike most countries that respected copyright, China was famous for its citizens freely enjoying popular foreign content.
When a hit drama came out in Korea, fan cafes would pop up in China even if it had never been officially exported.
On various sites, Chinese viewers would rate and discuss the drama among themselves.
Attempts to crack down on illegal sharing were ineffective because the Chinese police and courts weren't proactive.
―Oh Myeong-woo: But the games are a serious problem. The number of gamers is increasing, and they're causing all sorts of issues.
―Oh Myeong-woo: From using illegal programs to toxic chatting and trolling to intentionally lose games.
Most of Earth Channel's games didn't separate users by country.
As a result, Chinese users were running rampant.
―Kim Shin: Penalize them within the game.
―Oh Myeong-woo: We are penalizing them according to the rules. We're constantly hiring more game moderators. We're even planning to implement an AI to handle punishments.
―Kim Shin: And?
―Oh Myeong-woo: The sheer number of cases is the problem. No matter how many times we sanction them, they don't stop.
―Oh Myeong-woo: If we enforce strict regulations, we have to worry about negative public opinion in China and refund issues.
If they regulated the misbehaving gamers from China, those gamers would demand refunds, claiming they couldn't use the service properly.
In China, refunds were granted even in such cases, so toxic gamers would cause all sorts of problems and then just get their money back.
It was a problem that every game company that entered the Chinese market struggled with.
―Kim Shin: We didn't enter the Chinese market. Earth Channel is operated from the US, and the Chinese users came to us.
―Kim Shin: We'll do it our way.
―Oh Myeong-woo: How?
―Kim Shin: Don't regulate on a game-by-game basis. If someone causes trouble multiple times across the platform, just terminate their account.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Really?
―Kim Shin: Yeah. Tell them to sue us in a US court if they have a problem.
I doubted many Chinese users would go so far as to sue in a US court.
Even if they did, we could just hire a US law firm to handle it.
―Kim Shin: I have no intention of trying to hold on to toxic users. Get rid of them all.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Right. That's better.
I thought of myself as a well-fed businessman.
Even so, I had no intention of running a business that catered to toxic users just to secure more numbers.