Aggregated Results

Today was finally the day to install the eco-friendly purification facility.

From early morning, many outsiders visited the wastewater treatment plant at Wondong Paper's Factory 1. They were there to wrap up the remaining construction.

"Hurry it up!"

Clang! Bang!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I walked around the site, keeping a close eye on the progress. I gave various instructions whenever necessary.

"We need to dig a bit deeper here."

"Yes, perfect. You can place it right there."

"Okay, this part is done."

In the midst of this, Manager Baek visited the site.

"CEO Ji, is everything going well?"

"Yes, we're almost finished."

"My goodness, handling everything from the design to the actual on-site construction... You are truly remarkable, especially at such a young age."

"Haha."

To be honest, considering my past life, I'm not young at all.

Unaware of this, Manager Baek kept showering me with praise.

"Actually, I knew you were extraordinary from the moment I saw you in the lobby. No ordinary student could speak with such confidence in a situation like that."

"Did I?"

"Yes! It was very impressive. But when we were in my office, I became absolutely certain. I felt that you were someone I could trust. Haha."

"I see."

Did he? He had looked like he was agonizing over it quite a bit. Well, he did show trust afterward. Of course, he froze up again when Director Tae tried to interfere.

"It was the same in the meeting room. I was worried when Director Tae stepped in to object, but you shut him down so cleanly! Bwahaha! It was incredibly satisfying."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Thanks to that, an audit was launched against him. And boy... it turns out he had committed a ton of embezzlement and corruption behind the scenes."

"Is that so?"

"Yes! So right now, he's facing a salary cut and disciplinary action. They're even in the process of filing criminal charges against him."

"Ah..."

It seemed the rumors my father heard were accurate. If they were going as far as filing charges, the issue must be quite severe.

"That's good news."

"Yes. Thanks to this, my standing in the company has grown significantly. I'll probably be promoted to director during the next evaluation. Heh."

"Congratulations in advance. In that case, please look after my father."

"Of course. There will be good news for your father soon as well."

Oh? I had only said it out of politeness, but this was promising.

"By the way, what is that peculiar-looking structure over there used for?"

"That is the bioreactor, a facility where the Actiflo microorganisms are intensively cultured. Since the construction is almost complete, let me give you a general overview of the system."

"Oh, I would appreciate that."

I walked around the site with Manager Baek, explaining the entire structure of the facility.

"First, when the wastewater enters the inlet, a device called a bar screen filters out large solid materials. The water flow is controlled by check valves..."

"Next, the core purification takes place inside this treatment tank. The wastewater and microorganisms mix, removing the pollutants. And that device over there supplies air..."

"This is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sedimentation tank, where the treated water and microorganisms are separated. The microbes settle to the bottom, while the purified water is discharged from the top. Then..."

"This is the control room. Using that panel and those sensors, we monitor and adjust critical variables such as temperature, pH levels, and dissolved oxygen concentration..."

"Finally, the purified water is discharged, with the process controlled through the outlet pipe..."

In the meantime, the construction was completed.

"Great work, everyone."

"Good job."

After finishing the remaining preparations, I ordered the first run.

"Alright, turn on the power!"

Soon, the new wastewater treatment facility began to operate smoothly.

Whirrrrr!

"Let's feed in a small amount of wastewater first."

About thirty minutes passed.

"Oh!"

"The water!"

"It's clear!"

The small amount of wastewater fed into the treatment tank had become visibly clear. Because of the scale, the reaction was fast, but regardless, it was working.

This meant the new purification facility was operating perfectly.

It worked.

Confirming this, Manager Baek shouted excitedly beside me.

"Bwahaha! It worked! It's a success! This guarantees my promotion! Thank you, CEO Ji!"

The workers around us burst into applause.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

That night, my father excitedly bragged to my mother. He seemed to have heard the news of his promotion from his superior.

"Yes! I'm up for a promotion this time! I'm moving up to management team leader!"

"Really? Then your salary will go up too, right?"

"Of course it will!"

"Oh, that's wonderful. It feels like just yesterday we were worrying about your reassignment."

Indeed. In my past life, my father would have gone through a difficult time after his reassignment, but now, everything had changed.

What a relief.

My father kept grinning and repeatedly gave me a thumbs-up. My mother also nodded with a bright smile.

"Haha, this is all thanks to our son! Thank you, son!"

"I know. I really had no idea things would turn out like this."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I changed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the subject.

"I got lucky. Thanks to this, I've made a lot of money too. Also, Manager Baek dropped a hint earlier. Since it's working well, they'll likely place orders for the rest soon if nothing goes wrong."

He was referring to the remaining three lines. If that happened, it would generate 1.4 billion won in sales, just as originally estimated.

"Oh!"

"That's amazing!"

Then, my mother suddenly asked, "Hyunwoo, what about a patent? Shouldn't you register one? Someone might see the facility and copy it."

A patent registration? Well, as for filing...

"I already did."

"Oh, really?"

"When?"

"I did it as soon as I received the down payment, just in case. It's still in progress, though."

"Ah."

"Good job."

But in truth, I had hesitated for a moment back then.

Patents aren't always a good thing.

A patent guarantees exclusive rights to a new invention or technology for twenty years. However, to obtain one, disclosing the technology to the public is mandatory.

The problem is that public disclosure. Once it's out there, some people will try to use it secretly without paying a fair price. With my current standing, I wouldn't be able to stop them. In that sense, it was practically a meaningless measure.

But since it takes about a year for a patent to be approved anyway... I ultimately decided to register it. By then, I would have the power to take action. Even if I didn't, I would be developing other technologies. In this situation, letting the world know about our company's existence through public disclosure was more beneficial.

And at the same time, it's a way to advance the technological level of the entire planet. But regardless, I didn't strictly need the protection of a patent. I had already implemented safeguards against technology leaks—both in the blueprints and in the actual physical equipment. So there's no way the core technology will be leaked. Anyway.

"So, is everything finished now?"

"It's almost done."

There was still one thing left.

"We have to hold a commissioning ceremony soon."

"A commissioning ceremony?"

"Yes."

It was an event to officially announce the operation of the newly introduced machinery. There was no absolute need for it, but when I subtly suggested it, Manager Baek readily agreed, saying he had already been thinking about it.

"When is it?"

"This Friday."

"Oh, that's soon."

Today was Tuesday, so it was just three days away. It was indeed soon.

"A lot of reporters will be coming that day too."

"Huh? Reporters?"

"Why?"

"It's a form of PR."

From the company's perspective, it was an event to publicize the introduction of this facility. It was to promote themselves as an eco-friendly enterprise.

And for me, it's an opportunity to advertise this eco-friendly equipment.

This was also something I had discussed with Manager Baek beforehand. He promised to actively promote me, carefully selecting the reporters. Either way, it would gain nationwide publicity.

"Oh...!"

"Do you think we'll get more orders then?"

"Well, we'll have to wait and see. But it's definitely better than doing nothing."

Although I said that, I was secretly anticipating it. My parents' expectations, however, were far greater.

"Wow, if we get more orders, the profits will be...!"

"It'll be absolutely massive!"

After chatting about that for a while, my mother brought up another topic.

"By the way, how did your exams go? You must have lacked time to study because of all this."

That was certainly true. Even so...

"I think I did alright. But I won't know for sure until the exact results come out."

"Roughly?"

"For starters, I got perfect scores in all the major subjects."

"Wow!"

"Incredible!"

The two of them looked at each other in excitement and began talking rapidly.

"Is our son a genius? Now that he's actually studying, he's just flying high!"

"I know! A perfect score? Doesn't that guarantee he's at the top of the school?"

"Probably! Who knows, he might even get into Hankuk University!"

"He just might! Since we've sorted out the tuition fees anyway, going to college is definitely the way to go!"

"And it'd be even better if it's Hankuk University!"

Then, my father paused and scratched his head.

"Well... but it's a bit embarrassing since we weren't the ones who sorted out the tuition."

"True. It's not like we could do much for him."

Seeing them like that, I spoke up.

"It's fine. I already received all of that in the past."

More than enough, really.

"Huh? Did we do something special for you before?"

"I don't recall doing anything like that."

In my past life.

Even when I finally came to my senses late and said I wanted to retake the college entrance exam, my parents had trusted and supported me. Even while I was studying at a school in Seoul, they had done everything they could to support me so I wouldn't feel inferior.

They even hid their illnesses so they wouldn't distract me from my studies...

"So don't feel sorry. You don't have to go to such lengths this time."

Today was the day the final exam results were released.

The classroom was buzzing with noise at the news that the teacher would be bringing the report cards shortly.

"Drumroll, please! What will it be?!"

Jang Junyeob was particularly excited. He had studied quite hard this time, and his self-graded results weren't bad.

"I wonder how many ranks I'll climb! Ugh... I'm so nervous!"

"With your grades, maybe around eighteenth in the class? Somewhere below the middle, I'd guess."

But it seemed his expectations were higher than that.

"No way! It'll be higher than that! At least fifteenth!"

"I'm just speaking from experience. Assuming you filled in the bubble sheet correctly, of course."

"Ugh! Now you're making me anxious..."

Seeing him worry, I added a word of encouragement.

"You probably bubbled them in fine. You worked hard."

"Right? I worked so hard... Wait, did you say 'bubbled them in fine' as in guessing?"

"No, I meant you might have just marked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a straight line down out of habit."

"Hey! I'm not that much of an idiot! But... sigh, I do feel like I might have shifted my answers by one row..."

Just then, the teacher entered the classroom.

Slide.

"Alright, everyone, sit down. I'll hand out the report cards right away."

The homeroom teacher's face was beaming. We soon found out why.

"Haha, it looks like everyone worked really hard this time. The top two students in the entire grade are both in our class!"

"Ohhh!"

"Who is it?"

The admiring gazes of the students first turned toward Kim Ildong.

"First place has to be Ildong..."

"Obviously, right?"

They took his first place for granted.

"Then second place..."

The students' eyes darted back and forth between me and the class president.

"Hyunwoo?"

"No way, wasn't last time just a fluke?"

"Could be the class president."

"Well, that's possible, but Hyunwoo also..."

Since I had ranked third in the school last time, the way they looked at me had clearly changed. Normally, they would have dismissed the idea immediately, but now the students were split almost fifty-fifty between me and the class president.

"When I call your name, come up and get it."

With that, the homeroom teacher began distributing the report cards.

"Kim Ildong."

"Yes."

"Seol Sohyeon."

"Yes."

"Jang Junyeob."

"Yes."

...

Soon, my name was called.

"Ji Hyunwoo."

"Yes."

I walked forward to receive my report card.

Let's see...

Since the top two in the school were in our class, I wouldn't be third. I was probably either first or second.

Second place is more likely. I had gotten quite a few questions wrong in the minor subjects.

*Step, step.*

Lost in thought, I reached the teacher's desk.

"Here."

I took the report card.

I checked it immediately on my way back to my seat.

Ho.