Goals (3)

After getting out of the taxi, I sent a message and received a reply saying it was break time. I had done my information gathering. If I wanted to pull off a surprise, I needed to know a few things, didn't I? I knew she was at school, but when classes ended and what lectures she was taking. So when I asked what class she had, she said toxicology. Toxicology? What was that? I looked it up online and found it defined as the study primarily concerned with the origins of poisons and their physical and chemical properties, or the detection of poisons, and the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of poisoning caused by them. Even just reading the description made it sound difficult. But weren't the products being sold these days not poisons? Did they have to be treated as poisons? If used properly, weren't they also used as medicine? After a month of the monk's gaslighting—no, education—I kept having thoughts that led to more thoughts. And I hated myself for trying to find answers. Toxicology is just toxicology. I cut off my own thoughts midway. Let's stay focused on the present. I'll worry about it later when I have time. With those rationalizations in place, I headed toward the Ewha University entrance and spotted Miju's school. For some reason it felt like male students weren't supposed to go in, so I waited outside, but then a man strode confidently through the gate. He even greeted the security guard. ?? I couldn't bring myself to ask and searched the internet instead. Whether it was okay to enter. When I typed in "Ewha male," the related search term "entry possible" popped up. How embarrassing. There were plenty of guys ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like me. To make the surprise even more perfect, I went to the College of Pharmacy. How happy would she be to see me the moment she stepped out of the lecture hall? I sent a message asking her to contact me when class ended. I felt excited. The saying that the giver feels happier than the receiver seemed to fit this situation perfectly. While I stood there taking in the Ewha campus scenery and watching the female students passing by, a message arrived. "I'm done." About five minutes later, female students began pouring out, so I scanned the crowd like a baby bird waiting for food—or like a meerkat—looking for Miju. Ten minutes passed and she still hadn't appeared. She had definitely said she would come out for lunch, right? I was staring intently at the entrance when someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind. I turned around to find Miju standing there.

"Oppa?"

"Hahaha, I knew you'd come out here?"

Damn it… why did the College of Pharmacy have two buildings? I had guessed wrong. Still, from the look on her face, she seemed to be in a good mood.

"What's going on? How did you find your way here?"

"I missed you."

Really? She had been planning to go to the cafeteria, but since I was there, I suggested we eat outside instead. She told me to wait a moment, went over to talk to her friends, and came back. But why were her friends looking at me like I was prey? I gave them a smile anyway.

"When did you come down?"

"Today. The monk told me to come down. He said I could leave the mountain?"

"I don't understand."

Miju had a point. Suddenly keeping someone who had gone off to clear his head for a whole month—what kind of manners was that? Miju said a month was nothing. She had no idea I had once been kept for six months.

"Oppa, what are you going to do from now on?"

The question came out of nowhere, without any warning. I nearly spat out the pasta I was eating. After spending a lunch hour that felt like both one second and one hour, Miju's question lingered in my mind all the way home.

On the way back after parting with Miju, I was browsing Skylight. In truth, the app had lost most of its functions except for messaging. Why would I bother with the buy/sell board where everyone hovered around 36.5 or 36.6 degrees? That board only listed product names, quantities, and purchase prices. After meeting my first client—the U.S. military guy in Itaewon—that section had become useless. The errand-request function had also fallen out of use once the deputy head took over logistics. So why was I still looking? Our Skylight had unlocked a new feature once I reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠38 degrees. The community. Apparently reaching around 38 degrees meant you were considered trustworthy. Separate content had appeared beyond the usual buy/sell and errand sections. Why hadn't the senior mentioned it? I missed the senior. Reading through the posts, the tiers were clearly different. Having just risen from the deep sea, I felt suffocated. The oxygen level was too high. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠As I read, I thought this could be useful for business. There were polite users, and nothing felt childish. Looking back through older posts, there were also stories about daily life. Though "daily life" mostly meant arguments—who was better, who was worse. Occasionally people posted looking for specific items. One post caught my interest.

Like that, I swam through the board like a deep-sea fish that had just surfaced. Before receiving a call from Manager Seon—

Manager Seon's words were like this. Among his alumni was a doctor friend who was crazy about gambling. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had studied well, of course. He graduated from Seoul National University Medical School, obtained his license, completed his internship, and thanks to excellent grades and skills, had done a dermatology residency—one of the major departments referred to as Pi-an-seong at the same university. But he couldn't quit gambling even during his busy resident training, got caught at an illegal gambling house, was kicked out of the hospital, and now worked as a small dermatology pay doctor in the metropolitan area. This friend couldn't resist his old habit and came to the Philippines to play. Obviously he must have run into him at a Philippine casino. Then they started talking business. Manager Seon was impressive when you saw things like this. He seemed like the kind of person who could succeed at anything. Making work even in a place he had been sent to rest. I told him I would look into it and ended the call. One place came to mind. It had been a while—I should check on the Japanese situation.

Ah… there was disruption in logistics. Now I could get to the main point. After doing this a few times, I thought I knew the timing.

?? I had no choice but to call a timeout. I immediately contacted Manager Seon and asked.

Please wait a moment. Nakamura-san was waiting. I had to keep things in order. Blaming my head and fingers that couldn't multitask, I contacted Nakamura-san again.

After finishing the transaction talk with Nakamura-san, I asked Manager Seon.

Actually, I had felt it was a waste too, and seeing the posts looking for it on the bulletin board made me even greedier. My first manufacturing recipe—BS. It seemed to have become a bestseller! While thinking about how to discuss the organization with the deputy head, I arrived at the Noryangjin house when a message came from him.

I recalled the hyung's words that I had forgotten. Prepare for war.

I hurriedly took out the pistol and ammunition I had seized last time, put them in my bag, and contacted Eun-seong.

"It's an emergency. Everyone prepare and move to Seoul. Let's meet in the middle."