The Miracle Hair Regrowth
After wrapping up that massive one-off job on the hair loss drug, I finished editing the video and uploaded it to YouTube without holding back. I rewarded the manager handsomely with a fatigue fee—2.5 million won, about the size of a decent office worker's monthly salary, wired straight to her account—plus three days of vacation. She belted out a song on her way back to her place. Leaving her retreating figure behind, I headed straight to my parents' house.
"Mom, I'm home. Ooh, what's that delicious smell?"
"Yeah, come eat some chicken. I tried frying it myself, and it turned out great."
I parked the car haphazardly, opened the front door, and the savory aroma hit me like a spell, drawing me straight to the kitchen as I shed my clothes like a snake. Mom gasped at the sight of me in just my underwear shuffling in and smacked my back.
Smack!
"Aigoo, you little rascal, walking around the house naked like that!"
"Ow! It's just inside the house, what's the big deal?"
"You never know when guests might show up—you gotta dress properly! And if you're coming in from outside, wash up first!"
Unable to resist the golden chicken steaming invitingly in front of me, I grudgingly dragged myself upstairs to my room under the barrage of back-smacks. Chicken's still good even if it cools a bit, but nothing beats it fresh out of the fryer. Holding back from grabbing a cold beer, I followed Mom's orders to the letter and hurried back down.
"Mom, where's Dad?"
"He's busy with company stuff—said he'd be back soon. That new girl group just debuted, you know."
"Ah, got it."
"Want me to grab you a beer?"
"Yeah."
I pulled a can of beer from the fridge—the ones Dad hoarded for himself—and cracked it open without mercy. The crisp hiss and cool sensation raced down my hand.
"Thanks for the meal."
Before Mom could reply, I tore into a drumstick. Mom's skills had skyrocketed since she started attending that cooking academy run by some chef, and it showed—this was top-tier.
Crunch crunch.
"Urgh...!"
"Jeez, I raised you like a daughter, and you shove it in your mouth without even offering me a bite first."
Unlike outside where she kept up appearances, Mom let loose at home without restraint. She was wise and composed around my little brother, but with me, she unleashed her true self, curses and all.
"You've already eaten, Mom. I saw the chicken bones over there."
"Ugh, what did I do to deserve a daughter like you?"
Mom, who'd turned off the fire and taken off her gloves, sat at the table and picked up a wing.
"Oh, right—your uncle from the pharma company said to come to the lab tomorrow. That drug's finally out."
"Drug?"
"You know, the one you helped with back in the day, making that hair loss treatment."
"It actually worked? Impressive."
I'd only given a little nudge to the pharma side—not that I knew much about it—but the goal was saving the hair of the person involved and the lab folks around him. When using necromancy on human corpses, you cast regeneration magic separately to halt the decay. I'd confirmed that it regrew hair on a bald corpse, researched it, and effectively blessed balding folks worldwide as a necromancer. Recalling that, I'd processed a corpse chunk and slipped it to my cousin who was hanging around the lab back then.
It was about five years ago when I tossed it their way to test Earth's tech level, and now it had borne fruit. No way I could skip a visit.
"They haven't announced it yet, but it's already chaos. So many execs at our company are balding, you know."
"Guess I should head over early tomorrow to congratulate them. The men in our family could use a bit..."
"Shh, don't say that in front of your dad. He seems really self-conscious every time he comes out of the shower."
"I should ask for a few doses in advance."
My big uncle was already thinning out bad enough to wear a partial wig—bet he'd be thrilled. When I handed over the stuff, he promised a cut of the profits if the drug panned out. Wonder if he'll remember.
"Does it work on women's hair loss too?"
"Who knows. Rumors must be flying—couldn't even get through on the phone. Go in person and ask."
"You not coming, Mom?"
"What would I do there? It's not like I need hair loss pills."
Mom, who looked a decade younger than her peers and sported a lush head of hair thanks to potions, shrugged indifferently at the hair loss drug. She knew the issue was serious, but hardly anyone around her suffered from it—maybe just some joke about a neighbor's husband with a receding hairline.
"Our pharma company's gonna rake it in. Your cousin said it was a hobby, so Grandpa bought him a little company for it."
"Yeah, and since it's so small, no one's listed it yet."
Some company made a fortune—tens of trillions—off a drug that got half the planet's men hard. If this hair loss one sold like that, it'd all go straight to him. From the son leeching off Dad's money to the most self-made relative overnight.
The two lush-heads wrapped up the day munching crispy chicken, poking fun at the balding masses.
Our family wasn't on bad terms with the relatives. Grandpa had sorted the inheritance neatly while still sharp, and we kept harmony alive with ancestral rites and holidays—less cooking, more family trips or casual golf bets among the elders.
That's why I headed to the lab early without hesitation. At the entrance, I greeted the guard struggling with the outsiders and slipped in. The lobby was packed with insiders—everyone looked like they had a sad tale of thinning hair, or their secretaries.
"Feels like every poor soul from the company showed up."
I could've shoved through earlier, but the owner of this tiny pharma outfit was the current chairman's son. As things got rowdy, a staffer opened the door and yelled,
"We'll do the progress report in the auditorium. Head that way, please!"
The crowd surged in, forcing an impromptu announcement with press in tow. They'd really nailed the drug, but had zero plans for production or sales—staff looked panicked.
"Hey! Seo-ah!"
"Oh, bro—"
Turning at the shout from behind, I saw my cousin brother waving from his car window.
As a kid, the word "oppa" used to make me flip out like it was for girls only. Time heals, though—now it was routine.
"Front gate's jammed—come around back."
"Got it."
His cheerful face couldn't hide the thick exhaustion. Less from research, more from the spotlight—he'd aged fast.
Other tech might land safely piercing domestic giants, but pharma had global big pharmas dug in with guns and tanks. Top grads from elite unis had their work cut out begging for deals.
Following him through the back, the little pharma company buzzed with fresh blood flow.
"Thanks. Your help finally solved the family's long-standing curse—the hair loss drug."
"Curse? That serious?"
"Yeah. Check my hair."
He bent over proudly, showing new growth on the scalp that used to peek through thin strands. No more shame over his young bald spot.
"Whoa, thick as hell."
"Right? Noticeable?"
"How'd you pull it off? Thought it'd take forever."
"Couldn't pinpoint the exact thing. What we extracted from your chunk worked, but transplanting to other skin halved the effect."
"So then?"
"To get full results, we'd need endless supply from that chunk—can't mass-produce. Wanna research more, but no funds or setup."
He regretted not publishing papers yet. Domestic pharmas were all mid-tier, so he eyed overseas with the tech.
"What about my cut?"
"The more entangled we get, the harder to honor the original promise. How about company shares instead?"
"Don't wanna tie up with shares. Fine now, but it'll spark fights later—too obvious."
"Tch, then what...?"
"Nah, forget it. I'm not desperate for cash—just pay when it hits. I didn't contribute that much."
"You supplied the sample—it has value."
"I won't refuse."
No greed since I was set for life—he ruffled my hair, calling it cute. Must've fought tooth and nail over funds during research. Without sneaky support from balding male relatives, he'd have quit ages ago.
Anyway, I'd scored a money tree that never dried up.
"Hey, while you're at it, can I snag a dose? Dad's been worrying about his hair lately."
"He called at dawn for it. Manages well for his age, but can't stop the shedding."
Lucky I'm a woman.