The Goal (7)
It was a bright spring day, so pleasant that even the lingering chill of late frost couldn't dampen the mood. The university hospital stood right in front of the main gate, and the patients and their guardians waiting outside all wore bright expressions. If people who were ill could still smile, then this weather truly felt like a blessing.
After enrolling, I did my best to adapt to the school rules and attended classes as faithfully as possible. One of my classmates knew the curriculum inside out and helped me register only for professors who wouldn't give an F for simply showing up. I paid my dues properly. Since graduation was my goal, I accepted the suggestion, but I actually enjoyed the lectures. Especially the Introduction to Trade Studies.
"Everyone, I always begin the first class like this. My name is Park Youngwoo. And in front of it, I write this: Ph.D."
—Ph.D. Park Youngwoo—
After writing that on the board, he continued.
"You may or may not have heard of Ph.D. In Korean, it's 'baksa,' derived from the Latin Philosophiae Doctor."
I already knew. There's a Spanish version too.
"I am not the same as some academy instructor who merely transmits knowledge."
"I am someone who holds a philosophy—Philosophiae—regarding this discipline, and I have been certified for it."
"Through this lecture, I intend to pass on to you the philosophy I hold and the way I think about it."
"If your only goal is to acquire knowledge, I recommend you drop this course."
No, I think I'll stay. I like the professor's mindset. True to his position in the Department of Trade, he conducted the class in three languages. He repeated the same points in Korean, English, and Chinese—only the important parts. I hadn't expected university to be this global. Out of fifty students, only about half were Korean. Around ten looked Chinese, and another ten were from various other countries. There was someone who seemed Indian, along with Latin Americans and Caucasians. Hey, don't swear in Spanish, okay? I can understand you.
"What do you all think trade is?"
The atmosphere in this class felt completely foreign to me. The moment the professor asked a question, about twenty hands shot up. That was something you'd never see at a Noryangjin cram school. Usually the teacher just talked alone.
"How about you, the student over there? Would you like to share your thoughts?"
No answer.
"Let's talk about trade."
Only then did the student begin speaking. Their English was fluent. The professor summarized.
"There are various academic fields that study what you all think of as trade. Today is the first-year course, Introduction to Trade Studies."
"We'll cover a little of everything. The origins of trade, its historical changes across eras, modern trade practices, and how trade will evolve in the future."
"My goal for this lecture is to make the study of trade feel familiar to you and to share my own perspective on it."
"Since this is our first class, we'll wrap up here. I hope you'll give it some thought and that we can meet again next week."
"Water Lord hyung, shall we go eat?"
The sociable freshman class representative spoke to me. I'd voted for him on the first day. He'd raised his hand too. He seemed eager to please.
Sorry, I already have plans today.
"Oppa."
Who else would it be but Miju. She had a day off and came to visit our school. After lunch we grabbed coffee nearby and chatted about this and that. One of my classmates walked by, spotted Miju and me, looked startled, and bolted. Why'd he do that?
"Hm?"
"Are you listening to me?"
Oh, I just saw a classmate running away. Focus. Can't have her sulking.
"My dream is to own a global pharmaceutical company."
Our Miju has big dreams. She always asked what I was going to do, so I threw the question back. When I asked what she planned to do, she gave that answer. So I tried a flirty line.
"My dream is to have you."
Her exasperated face—I never wanted to see that expression again. Of course, I had her that very night.
Lately, whenever I had a spare moment during travel or between tasks, I checked the community board. There was plenty of useful information. But whatever translation tool they were using didn't feel smooth. Didn't they have a complaints section?
Posts like that popped up too. If something good came in, you could view the detailed listing. It was different from the deep-web stuff.
What was with this guy? He reminded me of the Sparkler. What was FCA? I looked it up—Free Carrier, meaning delivery only to the carrier you designate. So just drop it at the airport. Not bad.
Was he not sleeping? He replied right away.
He was in a hurry, pushing the conversation forward like a real trader.
It had been a while since I'd handled something directly. That day I contacted Manager Cheongnok and asked her to send a sample. We'd never been rejected on quality before, so of course she agreed. He was satisfied with the quality. Then came the price negotiation.
Should I quote retail or wholesale? Since it was a one-time deal, I'd go high.
What? He said he'd match it, then pulled this.
He was trying to halve it. Still, 75,000 won wasn't bad...
We started our little ping-pong game.
Love you, customer.
1,600,000 USD has been deposited from traderLA.
It had been a while since I'd sent that message. The next day, Manager Cheongnok shipped it right away. He must have been surprised by how fast we were—he approved immediately. I wondered if he'd even done a quality test. We'll put it to good use. Dollars in the account now. I wondered if the Filipino guys had made a lot of money. If they'd sold off all the hashish, they should have some cash. Plus, Deputy Director Seon had taken a few friends and apparently boosted sales. Our doctor friend even contacted me to say thanks. I wondered how much he'd spent. Still, that stuff had been bought up north for 200,000 dollars. Was this what trade looked like?
I'd done my part today too. Our business seemed to have a bright future. I saw a news segment recently about the top ten jobs that AI would eliminate, complete with a documentary. Felt like our line of work would be one of those that never disappears. Why? Because today's news said this:
Things like Skylight probably existed, and Telegram too. It was easy—just send a message and the money, and you got the goods. The anchor went on to explain the Ministry of Justice's announcement and the government's response. The Ministry's analysis noted that the growing number of foreign residents was creating a new consumer base. That was how the Vietnamese guys did business. This side had a bright future too.
"Given the seriousness of these drug crimes, the prosecution announced it will strengthen domestic drug monitoring and crackdown systems through collaboration with relevant agencies, while also enhancing international cooperation."
"As an example, they held an international cooperation meeting for drug eradication and agreed to establish a 'point-of-origin strike' international cooperation system by mutually dispatching dedicated drug investigators with major drug source countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia."
"Additionally, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, they announced they are building a linked system from occurrence to treatment and eradication, aiming to lower recidivism rates."
Finally, as always, the Minister of Justice appeared and declared that through inter-agency and international cooperation, they would continue the war on drugs.