Chapter 94: Targeted by Beauties
Chapter 94: Targeted by Beauties
[ Breaking News: U.S. Grants Emergency Use Authorization for K-Vaccine ]
[ K-Vaccine to be a Game Changer for COVID-19 ]
[ Plans to Ship 430 Million Doses of K-Vaccine Before Year's End ]
[ K-Vaccine Announced to Have 97% Efficacy in Preventing COVID-19. Significantly Lowers Mortality and Severity Rates. ]
[ Pfizer Supply Possible in December at the Earliest, Even if Clinical Trials Pass ]
[ K-Vaccine Production Started Early. Kim Shin Was Right. ]
As the K-Vaccine was supplied to the UK and the US, it made headlines in media all over the world.
Footage of the vaccine being transported by plane at the airport was shown on television.
- Senior Managing Director An Myeong-guk: Security at Incheon Airport is extremely tight. British and French military aircraft are landing, and special forces are stationed around the runway.
I received a report on the situation at Incheon Airport from Senior Managing Director An Myeong-guk.
- Kim Shin: Please see it through to the end.
- Senior Managing Director An Myeong-guk: Yes, of course. It seems Isung Group's reputation is well-deserved. In coordination with the police, the transport vehicles didn't stop once from the factory in Songdo all the way to the airport runway.
- Senior Managing Director An Myeong-guk: I heard Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong is personally overseeing it.
I could feel how proactive Isung Group was being about this.
Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong would occasionally send texts, as if briefing me on the vaccine production.
- Seon Jae-yong: We are testing the finished vaccine with Biolife employees. The Pfizer vaccine has to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, but the K-Vaccine is so much easier to manage.
- Seon Jae-yong: We are trying to expedite the expansion of Factory 4. We also plan to move quickly on Factories 5 and 6 in consultation with the city management office.
The texts were his way of asking me to look favorably upon Isung Biologics.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be explaining the factory expansions in such detail.
‘I never thought I'd have the upper hand over Isung Group.’
According to Senior Managing Director An Myeong-guk, Isung Group was contacting them so often it was becoming a nuisance.
With the emergency use authorization for the vaccine, both Biolife and Isung Biologics became incredibly busy.
At this point, all they had to do was produce the vaccine, and they could sell it to the entire world.
- Paul: The results of the third clinical trial were excellent. So much so that the UK, which has been hit hard by COVID, had no reason to hesitate in granting emergency use authorization.
- Kim Shin: It's a huge relief that the side effects are mild.
- Paul: Once the K-Vaccine is supplied, it will save hundreds of thousands of people who would have otherwise died this year alone.
Professor Paul was right.
Media reports also stated that while the K-Vaccine wasn't entirely without concerns about side effects, it would prevent COVID and save an incredible number of lives.
“The vaccine has arrived in Paris. On behalf of the many people of France, I extend our gratitude.”
“You're welcome. I hope the vaccine will be of some help.”
“The people of France will not forget this kindness.”
I received a call of thanks from the French Foreign Minister.
The UK, Spain—prime ministers or high-ranking officials from every country where the vaccine arrived called me personally.
“Thanks to you, the people of Britain will have hope for their safety.”
“I'm glad the vaccine was delivered safely.”
“Her Majesty the Queen also asked me to convey her thanks. Once the vaccine proves effective and the number of infected decreases, please visit the UK. The Royal Family will prepare a knighthood for you.”
A knighthood in the 21st century.
It felt a bit old-fashioned, but I knew it was a great honor.
The UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand were part of the Commonwealth, and receiving a knighthood meant that newspapers and broadcasts would refer to you as "Sir."
In Europe, families with honor and tradition still existed.
“Yes. I will visit the UK when I have the chance. I would appreciate your hospitality then.”
“All of Britain will welcome you.”
Expressions of gratitude from various people.
I felt a sense of pride in what I had accomplished.
‘It was truly the right investment.’
I was investing in stocks and savoring the joy of watching their prices rise almost every day.
The feeling of becoming richer and richer.
In a few months, my assets had grown from 20 billion dollars to 40, then 60 billion. Now, they exceeded 80 billion dollars.
To some, it might have felt like just a number, but to me, it was a source of pride and felt like power.
Having run a business, I knew the immense power of money.
‘Honestly, I'm not that scared anymore.’
When I was expanding the cloud business, Microsoft and Google felt enormous.
Companies with tens of billions of dollars in revenue in that field alone.
Even against global corporations, I wouldn't be crushed for lack of money.
It was the same with pharmaceutical companies.
Pharmaceutical companies with market caps in the hundreds of billions of dollars no longer felt like insurmountable walls.
After the COVID vaccine was released, if I took Biolife public, its market cap could reach tens of billions of dollars.
‘By that logic, does that mean my wealth is over 100 billion dollars?’
My life wouldn't change dramatically just because my wealth surpassed 100 billion dollars, but...
The attitude of people applying for jobs at Earth Resource had certainly changed.
In the early days of the business, when I met people in interviews, it was natural for them not to know who I was.
“CEO. I have a great interest in Earth Resource's Source Coin.”
Then, as the YouTube channel's popularity grew.
“CEO Kim Shin. I've watched all your YouTube videos. Seeing how you founded and grew Earth Resource from the beginning... I want to stake my dream on this company.”
It was only a few months ago that I felt a sense of pride when interviewees recognized Earth Resource and me.
Now that my stories were appearing in the American media and I had made an enormous amount of money, their attitudes were different.
“I respect you, sir. You're my role model.”
When talented individuals from Harvard or the London School of Economics said they respected me, I barely managed to suppress a smile.
My pride and self-esteem were soaring, you could say.
[ Everything About Kim Shin, Silicon Valley's Genius Entrepreneur and Investor ]
[ Special Feature: The Founder of Earth Resource ]
[ The Investment Philosophy of Kim Shin ]
Interest in me was also exploding.
American TV stations, newspapers, and magazines were running stories about me as their main features.
It was the same thing that had happened in Korea a few months ago; after all, a young billionaire was a topic the public loved.
Every time I flipped through the TV channels, my picture would appear on the screen.
“The reason I invested in Biolife two years ago wasn't for profit. Even if I didn't make money, I wanted to make the world a slightly safer place.”
The video of my answer to a reporter's question was being played dozens of times a day on various channels.
“I guess I won't be able to go to work for a while.”
Beyond the mansion, an endless line of broadcast vans was parked.
If I so much as stepped outside the mansion, the reporters would swarm me and not let go for hours.
Fortunately, the mansion was large and had plenty of exercise facilities, so I could still live comfortably.
“What are you burning?”
Lee Jong-yeop was in a corner of the garden, burning bundles of paper in a bonfire.
“Fan mail.”
“Fan mail?”
“It's for you, boss. Almost all of it is from the US.”
Most of the letters were thanking me for actively investing in the vaccine's development.
They contained messages of gratitude for doing something good for their colleagues, friends, and families.
‘Is sending letters like this the American style?’
I appreciated the sentiment, but it was impossible to read the thousands of letters that arrived every day.
Lee Jong-yeop had prepared a box and was setting some of the letters aside.
“What are those? Letters from politicians?”
“Letters from beautiful women. They even included pictures.”
“Oh yeah?”
Out of boredom, I picked up a letter and found racy photos inside.
Sending photos in daring high-cut swimsuits was common, and there were many nude pictures as well.
Long, shapely legs in provocative poses.
“She has an amazing body.”
“They're mostly fashion models or aspiring actresses rather than ordinary people. There's even a Miss University.”
“Why would women like that send these kinds of pictures? Is investing in the COVID vaccine reason enough to send photos?”
“Because it's you, boss. You're incredibly rich.”
The simple reason was that he was young and immensely wealthy.
“If they date you, they can gain fame. They'd instantly become a famous celebrity, and if they were to marry you, their lives would be completely transformed.”
There was a reason they called America the final boss of capitalism.
People looked down on celebrities or rich men dating young women, but it was hard to overcome all these temptations.
“Are you only collecting the ones from beautiful women?”
“Yes. I'm judging their faces, and if they're just 'pretty,' they don't make the cut. I'm only keeping the ones who are drop-dead gorgeous.”
“What are you going to do with them?”
“So you can find them later if you change your mind, boss.”
I didn't think that was likely.
No matter how attractive and beautiful they were, a loveless relationship...
Since I was young, I'd had to take responsibility for everything myself.
It was still too burdensome to let go of that sense of responsibility, but...
Even so, I didn't stop Lee Jong-yeop from setting the letters aside.
* * *
From the moment she was born, Jin Yoo-kyung was a member of Mirae Group's royal family.
Mirae Group had a principle of primogeniture, and it was a foregone conclusion that her father would become the group's chairman.
“Yoo-kyung. If you have the ability, I will give you a chance to prove it.”
Jin Myeong-il had promised, and while in school, she never strayed, focusing solely on her studies. And she had shown outstanding performance starting from her time at a Mirae Group affiliate.
“Jin Yoo-kyung. A car factory is no place for a woman.”
“Our eldest brother is right. Even in an office job at Mirae Motors, you need to know how the factory operates. Fashion or ad planning would suit you better.”
Due to her brothers' interference, she couldn't work in manufacturing, but she took charge of the ad planning and fashion business divisions.
For the past seven years, she had steadily built her career and achievements in what was essentially a dead-end position at Mirae Motors Group, and had recently expanded into the hotel and leisure sectors.
A life spent busily working every day, checking on the status of the affiliates.
“Aargh. I should have gone to the US just one day earlier. Who cares if the hotel business fails or not?”
Jin Yoo-kyung clutched her head in her office, agonizing.
Kim Shin's mansion was on the television screen.
The layout of the pool and garden had already been broadcast in detail on public television.
If only she had gone one day earlier, she would be there too.
‘I would have been isolated in that mansion because of the media and spent some quality time with Mr. Kim Shin?!’
Jin Yoo-kyung imagined the outcome and grinned.
What's the big deal about relationships between men and women?
If you live in the same house, it's easy to win someone over.
Eating at the same table, sleeping in the same bed.
It would have been over in no time.
“Ugh.”
The staff in the secretary's office watched as Jin Yoo-kyung sighed in regret.
“The Managing Director is at it again.”
“She's completely lovesick.”
“I never thought the princess of Mirae Group would be like this.”
How arrogant Jin Yoo-kyung used to be.
In South Korea, aside from Isung Group, no other corporation was even worth Mirae Group's notice.
For Jin Yoo-kyung, who was treated with the utmost respect wherever she went and whoever she met, to be acting like this...
“I can understand, though.”
“Yeah. If it were Kim Shin, I'd be dying for him too.”