The Scent of Rot

Jihun pulled away from the microphone immediately. "Next is agei. Get into the Discord."

The chat room was still buzzing with talk about Yuna, but Park Jihun didn't care. It was the moment he called for the next appointment, agei.

The chat room flipped instantly.

Before the donation alert even faded, Park Jihun spat out, "I told you to get in line."

His voice was short and low. The chat room surged even more violently.

Instead of answering, Park Jihun pulled up the reservation window. The waiting list stretched out, nicknames packed one after another. Park Jihun pointed his cursor at Neyton's nickname.

"Watch closely. Your turn is 22nd."

The chat room exploded once more.

Park Jihun said nothing more. "agei. Are you not joining the Discord?"

A moment later, the connection sound chimed. "Ah, sorry I'm late. I was looking for my mic."

Park Jihun spoke without even leaning back into his chair. "It's fine. What are you curious about?"

The other person spoke in a trembling voice. "Stocks."

The chat room reacted immediately.

Park Jihun asked without changing his expression. "Which ticker?"

"It's a US bio stock, Novagen Therapeutics..."

The chat room grew restless.

agei continued hurriedly. "The clinical trial announcement is coming up, and everyone is saying it's almost guaranteed to pass. The atmosphere is really good."

"And?"

"I put a lot of weight into it."

agei swallowed a bitter laugh, caught his breath, and said, "I've basically gone all-in. I didn't mean to go this far, but everyone said this was a sure thing..."

Park Jihun tapped his desk with his fingertips.

The moment he heard the name, his mind turned cold. It was when he closed his eyes and reached out with his senses.

"Everyone says tomorrow is a festival, can I keep holding it?"

Park Jihun didn't answer. At that moment, one side of his head throbbed heavily. Then, a smell began to drift in. It wasn't a pleasant one. It was as if someone had hidden the stench of blood in a locked room and poured cheap perfume over it.

Park Jihun said in a low tone, "Say it again."

"Yes?"

"The company name."

agei answered cautiously. "Novagen Therapeutics."

That was the moment. Somewhere in his mind, a door he had been forcing shut rattled.

Immediately, his vision flipped. A conference room that looked messy under fluorescent lights. Half-cooled coffee. A chair pushed back in a hurry. Someone was burying their face in their hands, head bowed.

Ding.

A notification sound rang out from somewhere. Once. And then again. Amidst the incessant vibration, someone urgently spat out English. He could hear the voice, but the meaning wasn't clear. However, the atmosphere was unmistakable. This was a funeral parlor.

Park Jihun's brow furrowed. People laughing and chatting under bright studio lights. Green lights soaring over the charts. Cheers, expectations, certainty. But the stage they were standing on was already rotting. It was a castle built on sand.

agei asked again with an anxious voice. "Uh... why are you like that?"

Park Jihun answered a beat late. "Don't hold onto that."

For a moment, the Discord went quiet. "Yes?" A flustered tone.

Park Jihun didn't hesitate. "Dump it."

The chat room flipped instantly.

agei poured ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out words urgently. "No, wait a second. Everyone said it was almost guaranteed... they said it would be strange if it didn't pass this time."

Park Jihun cut him off. "Everyone is rushing in because they smell money, right?"

His voice turned cold. "All I smell is a rotting corpse."

Park Jihun added, "I told you what I saw. The choice is yours."

"Ah, no, still... are you saying I should sell it right now? What if the market opens and it goes up?"

Park Jihun closed his eyes slowly. "There might be a floral scent for a moment, but..."

agei asked hurriedly. "But...?"

Park Jihun muttered, "Because it's not going to end in joy."

A suffocating silence flowed from the Discord. agei couldn't say anything for a long time. Only his ragged breathing leaked faintly through the mic.

The chat room was already half-flipped.

agei barely opened his mouth. "...Perpetual Job Seeker." His voice was more muffled than before. "Should I really sell?"

Park Jihun answered shortly. "You decide."

agei swallowed dryly. After much deliberation, he made his decision. "I understand. I'll sell it later."

The chat room reactions were divided.

Park Jihun said calmly, "Once you dump it, don't have any regrets."

"...Yes."

Park Jihun said no more. The words had already been spoken. That was when a short line appeared amidst the bustling chat room.

Park Jihun's gaze lingered on that chat for a moment. Soon after, another line.

The chat room clung to it immediately.

Park Jihun ignored the chat room and opened his lips. "Next."

The chat room remained restless even then.

Kim Taejun let out a hollow laugh while looking down at the chat room. "This is really funny."

Novagen Therapeutics. It had been familiar from the moment the name first popped up. It wasn't just a matter of being familiar. Taejun's money was also in that company. To be precise, his brother's fund had bitten into it first, and Taejun had followed suit. There was no need to worry much. This was a sure thing.

The atmosphere had been different for at least a month. Rumors had started leaking out ahead of the Phase 3 clinical trial announcement, and around that time, Taejun had heard it directly from someone who had shared a few drinks with the Novagen CFO. They said it was almost over. The numbers weren't bad, the internal atmosphere was good, and it was at the level where only the announcement was left.

Of course, there was no such thing as 100% in this field. It wasn't as if Taejun didn't know that. But this was enough. Others picked up scraps, but Taejun heard the steps before those scraps were even made.

But.

'The stench of a rotting corpse?'

Kim Taejun chuckled. His expectations had been high, but they quickly turned to disappointment.

'Why would you sell that?'

Taejun leaned back against the sofa armrest and swiped through his phone screen. The Novagen profit rate on his stock app was still rising. It was a spot that would jump even higher once tomorrow's announcement ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit.

"If you get scared, you lose."

Muttering to himself, Taejun lifted his glass and downed the remaining alcohol. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The guy named Park Jihun might be gifted when it came to human lives. But when it came to numbers, it was different. This time, he was right. At the very least, Kim Taejun believed so.

As soon as the US market opened, Novagen jumped upward. The numbers skipped lightly, one tick, two ticks, and soon the range of the rise widened. The community heated up immediately. Expectations for the clinical trial announcement, rumors that it was confirmed, and claims that this time it was for real poured out in real-time.

Kim Taejun looked down at his phone screen while leaning back on the sofa. The Novagen chart was stretching upward refreshingly. That was when a chat went up.

Kim Taejun smirked. "That's why you shouldn't have gotten scared and dumped it."

He swiped up on the screen with his thumb. Novagen was still strong. The market, the atmosphere, and the numbers were all on his side. The words Park Jihun had said on the broadcast a while ago flashed through his mind.

「All I smell is a rotting corpse.」

Taejun snorted and sniffed. He only smelled the thick scent of money. "Was this all it was?"

It was late in the morning. Kim Taejun tossed and turned his sluggish body before finally opening his eyes. Because the alcohol from last night hadn't fully worn off, his head throbbed dully. He reached out and grabbed his phone. As soon as the lock screen turned on, his brow narrowed. There were several missed calls. They were all from the same number.

Kim Taejun frowned. "What is it?"

With sleep-deprived hands, he opened the stock app. And then, he stopped dead. Novagen Therapeutics. The graph that had been stretching upward until yesterday had crashed to the floor. It was so miserable that the numbers didn't even register in his eyes at once. It wasn't just halved. It had become worthless scrap paper.

Kim Taejun slowly sat up. "...What is this?"

He immediately opened the news app. Breaking news headlines were popping up one after another.

For a moment, his mind turned cold. His brother's fund had bitten into it first. There had been words from the CFO line, too. They said the numbers were fine and only the announcement was left. But. Everything was wrong. No. It wasn't that it was wrong; he had been deceived.

Kim Taejun stared down at the screen for a long time. Before the loss, another face came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to mind. A blank face. A low, dry voice.

「All I smell is a rotting corpse.」

「Because it's not going to end in joy.」

Kim Taejun muttered to himself. "...Oh my god."

He closed the news window and reopened the broadcast app. The Perpetual Job Seeker's broadcast had ended long ago. Kim Taejun stared at the screen for a long time before muttering.

"Was my turn... five days later?"