Chapter 102: Laboratory One (4)

Youre going to finish it in two weeks? Kim Hyun-Taek asked Young-Joon like he was shocked.

Yes. I can do it in two weeks.

Are you serious? I know that you have a way of making new drugs, but this isnt something like that. We are developing a new material.

I understand. Isnt that why its easy? We dont need things like clinical trials, right? Young-Joon replied like it was no big deal. Kim Hyun-Taek was even more flustered.

Even Kim Hyun-Taek, who proposed this project, had no solid ideas for experiments. Honestly, even the general supervisor couldnt be certain that this study could be completed within two years. But Young-Joon could do it? In just two weeks?

How in the world are you going to do it?

Lotus leaves have numerous bumps, which are three micrometers in diameter, on its surface, and the nanoparticles have a water-repellent coating. That is the key structure in achieving the lotus leaf effect. We just have to isolate the gene that codes for it, make it synthesize the biomaterials, and then refine them.

Its easy when you say it. The process to find that gene is

The gene is the three hundred second ORF[1] in chromosome seven, Young-Joon said. It doesnt even have a name since its not really well-known in the scientific community, so should we just call it the lotus leaf gene from now on?

Kim Hyun-Taek took a sip of coffee as his hands trembled.

Are you being serious? Or are you messing with me?

Why would I mess with you? I am being serious. Theres a paper that says the surface structure of lotus leaves were destroyed when that gene was broken.

A paper like that exists?

This data is from an on-campus paper published by Chengkun University.

Kim Hyun-Taek squinted his eyes in suspicion. He had never heard of this university before.

How did you find an on-campus paper from somewhere like that?

I did some research after I saw that the MSIT selected as one of their projects for 2020.

This was not information that could be found by just thoroughly looking through the literature. To be honest, Kim Hyun-Taek wasnt confident that he could find a no-name paper buried in the wilderness like him; it wasnt easy for any scientist to find that kind of literature.

Of course, it was different for Young-Joon. As he could figure out the answer first through Rosaline, he was able to search up the answer as the keyword. It was very difficult to find that the lotus effect was related to the three hundred second ORF in chromosome seven from huge databases of literature without any background knowledge, but it would be easy to find results if one searched up the exact gene.

But will the data be right when its from a no-name paper like that? There are a lot of papers that cannot be reproduced. How can you believe that paper? Kim Hyun-Taek argued.

Because I tested it myself after reading the paper.

You tested it yourself?

Yes.

This was even more shocking. Kim Hyun-Taek froze.

Wait, Doctor Ryu, how is that possible? How could you have done an experiment when it just got selected? And it wasnt even an ordinary experiment, but a gene manipulation experiment.

Because I have Cas9, Young-Joon said. I bought lotus leaves, put in Cas9 through agrobacterium and cut the candidate drug. The surface of the leaf was destroyed in five hours, and it lost the lotus effect.

...

Kim Hyun-Taek had nothing to say. Even if he assigned this to a very experienced doctorate-level scientist, it wouldnt be easy for them to produce the data that Young-Joon just talked about. The Diagnostic Device Department would maybe be able to find that gene if they all participated and researched for a year.

What about the gene manipulation experiment? If Young-Joon didnt have Cas9, this experiment would have taken at least six months. Even if they did, it would take more than a month if they couldnt handle it as well as Young-Joon. But he skipped that entire process in a day and showed up with experimental results that would have taken a year and a half?

This monster

This was Kim Hyun-Taeks mistake. He should have thought of this beforehand. Young-Joon was this kind of person. He had easily taken over all kinds of major incurable diseases and humanitys long-standing enemies, and he had conquered HIV, one of the worst infectious diseases in human history, had he not?

Young-Joon was not exaggerating when he said he would do it in two weeks. Perhaps even that span of time might have been modest. When other people were planning the project and studying background knowledge, this man would be able to finish it and judge the results.

Well, I think even this much information would really help the research, Young-Joon said. And Director, to be honest, the Diagnostic Device Departments part in this project should be to discover the gene that causes the lotus effect, right? I think their work is done if you just cross-examine that what I told you is right.

...

Then, the Protein Purification Department should work on synthesizing biomaterials with that gene. I will help you then as well, so please let me borrow the Diagnostic Device Department for a few years. Of course, once you cross-examine what I told you with experiments and prove that what I told you is correct.

Kim Hyun-Taeks fists trembled.

...

He slowly opened his mouth.

No

Pardon?

Doctor Ryu, stop it.

What are you talking about?

You have enough, dont you? Will you be satisfied if you take this company away from us? Or are you doing this because you have a grudge against me because of what happened with Cellicure?

Young-Joon raised his head like he was baffled.

No, what are you talking about? You know that I dont work emotionally. And isnt what I am suggesting now also helpful to you, too?

...

Director, we are using the same people at the same time and doing the Genome Project on top of developing a new material with the lotus effect, right? Of course, I would receive the reward for the Genome Project, but you will be given a department with the experience of working on a project like that. This alone would be a considerable asset.

Kim Hyun-Taek sighed.

Lets be honest here. I know the reason why you want the management rights to A-Gen. You are trying to stop unethical things that management does, like how I stole Cellicure and tried to get rid of it, right?

...

But now, you are big enough to do whatever research you want and not be controlled by A-Gens management. But why do you have to suffocate me and reach the top of A-Gen? Kim Hyun-Taek said. Mr. Yoon and I may not have ingenious research abilities like you, but we have been in this field for decades. You really want to fight head-on? Youre going to have to bleed in order to destroy us. Stop it now. Mr. Yoon, Ji Kwang-Man, and I lead this company and grew it. Even if you are a genius, you cant swallow this up in just a few years.

...

Young-Joon ran his hand through his hair.

Phew

He sighed. He looked a little irritated. He stared at Kim Hyun-Taek.

Director Kim, he said. To be honest, what you are saying is ridiculous.

What?

Current medicine is Eurocentric. All new drugs are tailored to the bodies of European people, and races like Asian, Hispanic, African, Native American, Latin American, and Oceanian are excluded, Young-Joon said. You know that since you are a scientist in pharmaceuticals and you do biology, right? Genetic differences between races exist biologically as well. Im not just talking about skin color; the expression level or number of replications of genes like KRT1 are different. In order for medicine to advance to be individually catered, one of the obstacles that must be overcome is the Eurocentric database.

...

Is it that hard to solve it? Young-Joon asked. Why are you talking about management rights? Did I ask for the CEO position of this company? Did I ask for your job?

...

Director Kim.

Young-Joon brought his face in front of Kim Hyun-Taeks. The look in Young-Joons eyes as he glared at Kim Hyun-Taek was exactly the same as the time he cursed at him, calling him a fxxking piece of trash.

Dont put politics into science, Young-Joon said.

...

This is exactly the same as Cellicure. The drug that you almost destroyed saved the life of a nine-year-old child. Do you know that? Food and drug safety administrations around the world are interested in this drug, and liver cancer patients are calling it a miraculous drug.

Ha

I believe that these things could one day act as a fatal weakness at a critical moment. Dont stop an important research like the Genome Project for such trivial reasons. Im saying this for your own good, Director.

...

I dont think this is a very good atmosphere to have a productive discussion. I will come again later. I hope to hear a good answer.

Young-Joon shut the door and left.

Kim Hyun-Taek, who was left alone, stared at the empty table for a while in thought.

Thud!

He slammed on the table with his fist. He felt like his blood vessels were going to pop from his blood boiling so much from anger.

Fuck!!

He stood up and kicked the sofa as hard as he could. This bastard quickly rose to become a candidate for the CTO position, and there was a high possibility that he would fill the vacancy when Nicholas left office. He was threatened when he saw Young-Joons growth, but he wasnt angry. However, his emotions were too intense right now.

How dare a doctor that only graduated a year ago screw me over like this?

Crash!

He threw a tablet against the wall.

A thirty-year-old rookie is teaching me the attitude I should have when doing science? When I have worked in this field for over thirty years?

Ha

Huffing and puffing with a red face, Kim Hyun-Taek opened the window. He had to stop that monster as he was out of control.

What should I do?

What could Kim Hyun-Taek do to screw that asshole over? Did he have to use an extreme and violent method like Ji Kwang-Man?

When Kim Hyun-Taek was lost in thought

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on his office door.

Come in.

His secretary heard him screaming and throwing his tablet against the wall. Because of that, she was quite nervous. It was even worse as the news she was about to give him was horrible.

What is it? Kim Hyun-Taek asked when he saw that the secretary looked uneasy.

Um I think you should turn on the TV. The trailer for the next Unanswered Questions[2] is on.

What?

One of the employees from Lab One blew the whistle about Cellicure.

...

Kim Hyun-Taek froze.

What are you talking about?

They said that you bought that important drug from Celligener and tried to bury it

* * *

Park So-Yeon bought a plane ticket headed to the United States. She apologized to Young-Joon, and she was almost done with everything she had to do in Korea. There was one more thing left for her to do, and it was to report Lab Ones conspiracy that was behind Cellicure.

There were three main reasons behind why she was doing this. The first was because this was the just thing to do. Kim Hyun-Taek had yet to be punished from this; he deserved what he deserved. Secondly, it was for her own atonement. She was trying to wash away her shameful past when she betrayed Young-Joon and hid. Lastly, this was her last present to Young-Joon before she left. The research on a new material with the lotus effect was a project that was passed without the proper steps. The proposal wasnt even finished, and the development strategy was missing parts.

The reason why Kim Hyun-Taek was taking this as a national project was probably to stop Young-Joon from beginning the Genome Project. Park So-Yeon was going to destroy that see-through strategy.

Park So-Yeon was sitting on the couch at home and watching TV. Her interview was being aired with her face blurred out and her voice modulated.

This is the incident where the liver cancer treatment, Cellicure, the most popular topic in the medical community, almost disappeared. A-Gen was selling Iloa, a liver cancer treatment, and Laboratory One Director Kim Hyun-Taek, who usually worked on anticancer drugs, felt threatened. So, he bought Cellicure, which had gone through Phase One of clinical trials with Celligener, and tried to bury it without developing it further.

They didnt have to change my face or voice.

Park So-Yeon didnt feel that the program needed to as she was going to quit anyways. She gulped down her beer.

Doctor Ryu Young-Joon, the person who was against that and the current CEO of A-Bio, fought and exchanged curse words, and he was demoted and transferred to a different department in a different lab. You should be able to find it if you look through HRs[3] files. That was also the reason why he took the development rights to Cellicure from A-Gen and left after he succeeded and started A-Bio. Cellicure would have disappeared if it was left at A-Gen, so he tried whatever he could to save it since it is a very important and excellent drug as everyone knows.

Park So-Yeon glanced at her phone. The program wasnt even done airing yet, and the public was running wild.

Wait, is that true? Get a special prosecutor on this. We have to get to the bottom of this.

Fuck. My mom passed away from liver cancer three months ago. This is bullshit.

They tried to get rid of a new drug by even demoting Ryu Young-Joon?

Hes supposed to be a scientist who studies new drugs. Theres no way he is a human being.

The impact of this was going to be huge. This might even jeopardize Yoon Dae-Sungs position. Kim Hyun-Taek would be held accountable and be replaced, and the national project would either disappear into thin air or be taken on by the next lab director.

1. acronym for open reading frame

2. A popular Korean investigative journalism program.

3. HR is an acronym for Human Resources