Chapter 9. When I Didn’t Reply to Russia, They Came to Find Me>
Chapter 9. When I Didn’t Reply to Russia, They Came to Find Me>
Maybe Hyesung really is a genius.
Lately, Taeju had started feeling sure of that.
Hyesung had stepped out, saying he was going to the bathroom, and his midterm report card was lying on his desk.
Name: Ryu Hyesung
Math - Calculus: 100 (1/521)
Math - Geometry: 100 (1/521)
Science - Physics II: 100 (1/521)
Science - Chemistry II: 100 (1/521)
Information - Basics of Artificial Intelligence: 100 (1/521)
Korean: 42 (432/521)
English: 35 (500/521)
Social Studies: 28 (520/521)
His report card showed that in the subjects he was good at, he ranked first in the entire school, while in the ones he was bad at, he had thoroughly crashed and burned.
Teachers and universities would definitely not look at that report card and think he was a genius.
But Taeju knew better.
He had seen it with his own eyes—the defense research institute in Japan, supposedly full of geniuses, had been turned upside down by just a few offhand remarks from Hyesung.
Anyone who had witnessed that scene would have thought the same thing.
That this bastard really was a genius.
It had been the same during the demonstration of the multi-warhead missile toy.
At this size, it’s not all that difficult.
No, it was not easy.
Hyesung doesn’t even realize that he’s a genius.
Then perhaps the offer from Russia to pay him five times a professor’s salary had not been voice phishing after all, but the real thing.
If that were true, then the talent that Russia and Japan were both greedily trying to claim…
“I’ve got Hyesung…”
It was just as the thought in his head slipped out of his mouth without him realizing it.
“What are you zoning out and muttering to yourself for?”
Hyesung had returned.
Class would be starting soon.
Taeju thought to himself.
Science Facility might become the next Nvidia or Palantir.
(Translator’s Note: Nvidia — An American technology company founded in 1993. It is best known for graphics processing units and, later, for its central role in AI hardware and computing infrastructure.)
(Translator’s Note: Palantir — An American software and data analytics company founded in 2003. It is known for government, intelligence, defense, and large-scale data integration platforms.)
A company from Korea might even be born that would one day take the number one spot in the world by market capitalization.
We can never sell this company.
“Hyesung.”
“Hm?”
“Let’s go look at factory sites.”
National Intelligence Service underground secret conference room.
The working-level official continued his briefing with a tightly strained expression.
On the giant projector screen at the front, Hyesung’s face was displayed huge.
“Developer’s name: Ryu Hyesung. Current age: 18. Third-year high school student.”
Click.
The slide advanced.
“He equipped ultra-low-cost drones with motion recognition, swarm control, and automatic evasion functions using nothing but a single camera.”
“So what exactly is the point of that?”
The Director of the National Intelligence Service said with his arms folded.
“We have received the response that even the United States, which currently possesses the world’s highest-level AI technology, considers it absolutely impossible.”
The NIS Director asked back, sounding unable to believe it.
“And he accomplished that? A third-year high school student? Alone? Inside that old container?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Click.
When the slide changed, this time actual footage of the Russian regular army conducting drone-interception training played on the screen.
“These drones entered the hands of the Russian regular army by chance, and are currently being used actively in military training.”
Click.
“As a result, the success rate of Ukraine’s drone tactics in the current war against Russia has dropped sharply.”
“So compared to the drones he made, even those military drones are little more than toys…”
Even the NIS Director let out an astonished murmur, sounding awed.
Click.
“And after Russia, it appears Japan has also identified the true nature of Ryu Hyesung.”
“What about the other countries?”
“China and the United States have already begun to catch on as well. It is now only a matter of time before the world’s great powers identify his true nature.”
“Second Deputy Director, what is our response?”
When the NIS Director asked Jang Seokjin, who had been silently listening to the briefing beside him, he finally spoke.
“Science Facility headquarters… that is, the inside of that container, has already been fitted with ultra-miniature listening devices. And…”
“And?”
“Yes, at present, that is as far as we have gone.”
In the end, he did not report the critical fact that his own daughter was currently spending a great deal of time in close proximity to the target.
That was solely because of a personal desire of Jang Seokjin’s own.
“Hah… for now it may be a toy business, but in a few years, it’s obvious enough for anyone to see that it’ll become a defense contractor.”
“That’s right. With performance at this level, the day may come when the entire world is using Korean-made weapons.”
“If that happens… then the superpower of Asia… will be Korea. China is going to hate that.”
The NIS Director’s eyes sharpened like those of a bird of prey.
“No matter what happens, we cannot allow VIP to be taken by another country. Especially not China. Deputy Director Jang.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Continue making natural contact with VIP. Make active use of that toy company of yours.”
It was perfect.
That was exactly what he had secretly, desperately wanted.
“Understood.”
How many steps had Taeju and I taken that day?
My legs were starting to ache, but it still felt fun, almost like shopping.
“This factory is a little old, but trucks can get in easily, and there are restaurants nearby too, y’know.”
The real estate broker, speaking in a warm country accent, said it was hard to find properties like this.
“Hyesung, isn’t this place pretty decent? It’s a good size, and the ceiling’s high too.”
“It is, but I don’t like how much dust is floating around.”
Drones were still a high-tech industry in the end.
The less dust there was, the better the final product quality would be.
Of course, we could install a separate clean-room facility to eliminate dust, but it also felt somewhat excessive to go that far.
“There’s only one last place left, right? Let’s look at that one too.”
You never knew.
We had to see every factory.
The next place we arrived at was a site that had once been used as a mask factory.
“It’s bankrupt now, but it used to be real busy.”
The broker walked around here and there while explaining the place.
“Maybe because it used to be a mask factory, there doesn’t seem to be much dust around here either.”
“Yeah, true.”
There really was not much dust around.
The place was a little large, but so what? If the company got busier, that would only be better.
“This place has less dust, vehicle access is decent, and there’s a bus stop just a short walk away.”
“The floor’s epoxy-coated too.”
I said that while brushing my feet across the smooth floor.
I imagined this wide factory filled with our automation machines, with dozens of employees moving busily around.
It thrilled me.
Now we were no longer just importing goods from China and reselling them.
It finally felt like I was becoming the president of a real company.
“But you look like students. How’d you end up buying a factory this big?”
The broker had noticed from our school uniforms that we were students.
There had not been enough time after school to go home and change.
“A hobby of ours went pretty well.”
“A hobby? Impressive. It’s not easy to succeed at that age.”
“Huh? What’s that space over there?”
I had spotted a room-like space in one corner of the factory.
“Who knows? Looks like the previous owner used it as storage.”
Creeeak.
When I opened the door, I found something unexpected.
It was a constant-temperature-and-humidity control unit.
The FCs and sensors that were the core components of drones, as well as lithium-polymer batteries, were all extremely sensitive to humidity and temperature.
(Translator’s Note: Flight Controller (FC) — In drone terminology, the main onboard control board that manages stabilization, sensor input, and flight behavior. This is a real technical term widely used in UAV and hobby drone communities.)
(Translator’s Note:Lithium-polymer battery (Li-Po) — A rechargeable battery type widely used in drones, RC vehicles, and portable electronics because of its high energy density and relatively light weight. It became common in consumer electronics and RC applications in the 2000s.)
This unit could perfectly control not only temperature, but even dust.
“Sir, this…? Does this need to be returned to the previous owner?”
“Oh, that thing? The former owner skipped town overnight. He abandoned it. If you want to use it, go ahead.”
It was an unexpected windfall.
If it had not been there, we would have assembled things as best we could without it, but with this, the quality of the product itself would be different.
“This is incredible. The factory came with a present inside.”
And that extra space that had apparently been used as storage was a jackpot too.
“Taeju. Since the factory already has a separate warehouse, let’s use this room as our private office.”
“Not bad. Want to bring in a game console too?”
Taeju, as if he had caught on to my intentions, started getting excited too.
“And let’s put in a nice soft sofa.”
“Sounds good. I’ll bring a dartboard too. And a refrigerator!”
He looked ready to set up a full household.
“Let’s sign the contract right now.”
A few days later, we moved all the 3D printers and various parts from the old container into the new factory.
The automation machines we had been secretly using in Taeju’s father’s warehouse also made it safely into the factory.
“Well now, you young fellows are running quite the impressive business.”
The head of the dobi company—the specialists who professionally moved precision factory equipment—clicked his tongue after seeing the scale of our factory.
(Translator’s Note: Dobi company — In Korean usage, this refers to a specialist contractor that moves heavy industrial equipment, machine tools, or precision factory equipment. It is an industry term used in manufacturing and factory relocation contexts.)
Though at the moment, in that enormous factory, only the machines had been awkwardly placed there by themselves.
The head of the dobi company left us with words wishing our business great success before departing.
And at last, we turned on the long-awaited climate-control equipment.
Wheeeeeee—
It worked perfectly.
“Hyesung, it works.”
Just as Taeju exclaimed, I could actually feel the fine dust inside the factory being filtered away, while the temperature and humidity settled into exact, stable levels.
It had become perfectly comfortable.
“If you buy one of those, it costs twenty-two million won.”
At my words, Taeju’s mouth fell open.
“Damn, then this is like saving both the moving costs and several months’ worth of factory rent in one shot.”
That was the exact moment when the monthly rent of three million won stopped feeling wasteful at all.
Now it was time to hire assembly workers and start churning out one thousand drones in earnest.
All we had to do was deliver them to Toy Empire.
“Taeju. Let’s start recruiting staff.”
It was just before the official launch of the first factory of Science Facility Co., Ltd.
A few days after we bought the factory, it was after-school hours.
We had planned to head straight to Factory No. 1 after school and clean it up.
But that day, for some reason, several sedans were lined up in front of the school gate.
And in front of them stood a whole crowd of intimidating Russian men in MA-1 flight jackets with closely cropped hair.
(Translator’s Note: MA-1 flight jacket — A military-style bomber jacket originally developed for U.S. Air Force pilots. It entered use in the mid-20th century and later became a widely adopted civilian fashion item.)
The sight was so oppressive that the students were frightened and whispering among themselves, and even the teachers looked deeply tense.
“What is this? Did something happen?”
“That’s scary. Their build is on a completely different level.”
“Excuse me, what is your business here?”
One teacher cautiously asked what they wanted, but since they seemed unable to speak Korean at all, they did not even answer.
“Hey, Hyesung. Aren’t those the guys? The ones who bought the drones?”
“Huh? I think they might be… but what are they doing all the way here?”
“You two.”
At that moment, our homeroom teacher called out to us urgently.
“There are some scary-looking foreigners standing out there, so don’t wander off anywhere and go straight home, all right?”
“Yes.”
We answered at the same time.
Even the teacher seemed to be seriously debating whether this was something the police should be called for, since he had clearly never seen anything this threatening in his life.
Then it happened.
“Это Профессор.”
“That’s the Professor.”
Just as we were trying to slip past them cautiously, a familiar-faced man in the group recognized me immediately.
At once, the huge Russian men who had been leaning against the cars or standing around all snapped into perfect attention.
Thunk!
To my astonishment, all of those intimidating men raised crisp military salutes toward me in unison.
“Uh…? What is this…?”
Why were they suddenly saluting me in a group when I was just a high school student?
While I stood there flustered, the man from before—‘VodkaLike’—strode toward me.
“Professor. We have come to escort you.”
“Excuse me?”
“You did not reply to our message, so we feared that perhaps something had happened to you. We will escort you safely.”
“…What?”
These were the people who had once tried to tempt me by saying that if I worked at their research facility, they would pay me five times the salary of a Korean professor.
I had ignored it like it was nothing, and apparently they had developed some serious misunderstanding among themselves, because later they had started desperately offering ten times as much.
“The Minister of Defense wishes to meet you.”
Without realizing it, my hand groped for the object inside my jacket pocket.