Chapter 19: Year-End Seminar (6)

“Yeah.”

Young-Joon turned around and faced Park So-Yeon. Seeing her face again roused a myriad of emotions within him at once, like the scum of love, betrayal, and anger. To his surprise, he wasn’t glad to see her, nor did he miss her. Young-Joon pushed those feelings down in his heart like he was compressing a full garbage bag.

“It’s been a while,” Young-Joon said.

“Yeah. I think it’s been about a month... How have you been?” Park So-Yeon asked.

“You think I would have been well?”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Whatever.”

“I feel like you changed a little.”

“What?”

“Before, you were sweet and kind, sort of like a puppy.”

“Really? I was?” Young-Joon reacted like he was surprised. “I was like a puppy when I was the one who cursed at Lab Director Kim Hyun-Taek?”

“Well, that was when you were really mad. You’re not usually like that. You were wagging your tail and running around when you first heard that A-Gen bought that liver cancer drug from that venture company.”

Park So-Yeon faintly smiled.

“Then maybe I am mad right now,” Young-Joon said.

“Yeah, you’re kinda acting the same as when you swore at Director Kim,” Park So-Yeon said.

“Really?”

“Are you still mad? At me?” Park So-Yeon asked.

“What do you want?”

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

“It was hard for me after we broke up, too.”

“...”

“You did really succeed this time, but you will have to make peace with Director Kim if you want to succeed in the company.”

“Maybe.”

“My seniors and I can help mitigate things between you and him.”

“So?”

“I’ll help you out a lot. Oppa, let’s date again.”

“...”

Young-Joon silently stared at Park So-Yeon. She was clinging to him like she was hung up on him, but there wasn’t a hint of nerves or fear in her face. She was confident, and it was because Young-Joon really loved her. Park So-Yeon was someone who had always been on the receiving end of love. As foreign as this situation was to her, she did not think that she would be rejected.

“If you want to do something like a joint departmental project with your iPSCs, talk to our executive manager.”[1]

“It’s nothing like that!” Young-Joon shouted.

Park So-Yeon was startled.

“It’s true. I regretted it a lot after we broke up like that,” Park So-Yeon said.

“Then why did you break up with me like that? Without even coming to see me?”

“...I thought it would be harder for me if I saw you. I have a dream at this company, but I had a lot of things to think about when you went against the lab director and had to leave Lab One.”

Young-Joon stared at her without a word. Park So-Yeon could not look him in the eye. She lowered her head and fiddled with her clasped fingers behind her back.

“I can’t trust you anymore,” Young-Joon said.

“...”

“And you told me to control my temper, right? It’s not that I need to control my temper, but you need to have one.” Young-Joon added, “Be moral and have a temper. You’re a scientist too, aren’t you?”

“...”

“The ceremony is going to start soon. I’ll see you inside.”

Young-Joon passed Park So-Yeon and went back into the seminar hall.

* * *

There were five awards given during the year-end seminar.

The first prize was the Award for Exceptional Performance, which was only given to one department. The second prize was the Award for Excellent Performance, which was given to three departments. Finally, the third prize was the Research Award, which was given to five departments. These three awards were given departmentally; they were given a tremendous amount of research funding and a bonus depending on their position.

The next two were given to individuals. One of them was called the A-Gen Scientist Award, and it was given to a total of ten scientists along with a small bonus. It was usually given to young scientists, mostly to encourage them to work hard.

The final award was the Revolutionary Scientist Award. It was given to one scientist who produced the most innovative results. It was the most honorable award for an individual in the A-Gen seminar. It was usually given to executives at a higher position than lead scientists, but not this time since there was someone who produced unbelievable results.

“The recipient of the Revolutionary Scientist Award is...”

Nicholas spoke into the mic. The winners of the other trivial prizes had already been announced, and the only two that remained were this one and the Award for Exceptional Performance.

“Scientist Ryu Young-Joon. Congratulations. Please come up to the stage.”

The crowd applauded and shouted.

“Scientist Ryu Young-Joon. You are awarded this award for leading A-Gen’s development and enhancing A-Gen’s prestige. Presented by Nicholas Kim, the Chief Technology Officer of A-Gen.”

Nicholas handed Young-Joon the plaque.

“Thank you.”

As Young-Joon thanked him and was about to walk off the stage, Nicholas grabbed his shoulder.

“Take one more award before you leave.”

The crowd laughed.

“Next, I will announce the Award for Exceptional Performance. This award goes to the department that pioneered the future technology of A-Gen by producing the most exceptional results. This team developed a method to produce embryonic stem cells easily and proposed a new field for pharmaceuticals and medicine. The Life Creation Department of Lab Six, please come up.”

The crowd applauded, but much less than when Young-Joon came up.

Young-Joon carefully examined each scientist from every department. None of them were actually congratulating them sincerely. Even though Young-Joon caused a big scene by going up against Kim Hyun-Taek, he had only been at the company for a year. Most people didn’t really know who he was, and as such, they could congratulate him on receiving the Revolutionary Scientist Award without much concern.

However, it was different for the Life Creation Department. Everyone in this seminar hall thought that the Life Creation Department was beneath them; they all just thought that they got lucky because a smart guy just happened to transfer there. The Life Creation Department was still looked down on by everyone.

‘... It’s not that.’

From what Young-Joon saw, everyone in the Life Creation Department was smart and very skilled. They just didn’t have any results because the project they were given made no sense to begin with. They also accepted Young-Joon, who came to their department after causing trouble, without any prejudice. But everyone was staring at these talented scientists with disgust in their eyes.

However, Young-Joon was sure that it was going to change from now on as he was going to use this department and its members a lot.

“...Presented by Nicholas Kim, the Chief Technology Officer of A-Gen.”

Cheon Ji-Myung and Bae Sun-Mi took the plaque together as Nicholas handed it to them.

There was another round of applause, along with camera flashes. Those pictures were going to be put up on the company’s official website.

Park Dong-Hyun stroked the plaque with his fingers in awe, and Koh Soon-Yeol wiped under his nose with his pointer finger. Young-Joon looked around for Jung Hae-Rim and found her standing behind him.

“Why are you standing in the back?”

As Young-Joon tried to drag her to the front, she tried desperately to stay where she was.

“N-No...

Sob...

I’m going to get my picture taken...

Weep...

”

She was crying with her face buried in her hands. Now that Young-Joon looked around, he could see that Cheon Ji-Myung’s eyes were wet as well. It was natural for them to cry as they had received the greatest honor in the company after sixteen years of beration.

‘It’s actually nothing.’

Developing this kind of technology was as easy as counting numbers for Rosaline. The 1.5 billion won that would be allocated to their budget as a bonus wasn’t a big deal as well.

Young-Joon was the primary patent holder on the iPSC technology, which was being drawn up in the patent attorney’s office right now. He had written whatever he wanted on the share of the patent as well.

‘Soon, the papers will be sent to Gil Hyung-Joon from the attorney’s office, and he will hit the roof.’

But Young-Joon had something in mind.

* * *

The seminar was coming to an end as people were leaving one by one. A small proportion of them were returning to the lab, but most were heading home right from here. The Life Creation Department had decided to go for a celebratory dinner. It was to welcome Young-Joon to the team as well as to congratulate them for receiving the Award for Exceptional Performance.

“Where should we go?” Bae Sun-Mi asked.

“Of course we should go for meat! Right? Hm... Beef?” Park Dong-Hyun glanced at Jung Hae-Rim like was asking for approval.

“I like meat, but beef is a little expensive. I’m okay with Korean-Chinese food too. If we get like kkanpunggi or something like that...,” Jung Hae-Rim suggested while fixing her eye makeup.[2]

“How can we have something like kkanpunggi on a day like this?” Bae Sun-Mi said in shock.

Then, Jung Hae-Rim left the decision up to Koh Soon-Yeol.

“What would you like, Soon-Yeol-ssi?”

“Hamburgers...?”

“Oh my... None of you know how to use money the right way.” Bae Sun-Mi scoffed. That was when Cheon Ji-Myung interfered.

“Our star should be the one to decide. Doctor Ryu, what do you want?”

“I don’t know. But can we use our bonus to pay for dinner?”

“Of course not,” Cheon Ji-Myung quickly responded like he knew that would lead to trouble.

“Then do we have expenses?” Young-Joon asked.

“We do, but not a lot. But I’m buying today, so choose whatever you want.”

“Then should I get some from over there?” Young-Joon asked.

“Over there?”

Young-Joon was pointing to the entrance of the A-Gen building. Choi Myung-Joon and Seo Yoon-Ju of the Health Food Department were standing there.

“Hm.” Choi Myung-Joon crossed his arms.

“I heard, but I don’t want to cause trouble with another department right away when Doctor Ryu saved our department’s face like this.”

“But they started it first,” Park Dong-Hyun replied to Cheon Ji-Myung.

“They looked down on our entire team,” Jung Hae-Rim added, and Park Dong-Hyun agreed.

“To be honest, Soon-Yeol-ssi, I wanted to throw that shirt out for you. But the way they were talking was just so outrageous.”

“Even if we don’t get money, we should at least get an apology,” Young-Joon added.

“Alright, then I’ll...”

As Cheon Ji-Myung was about to go there, Park Dong-Hyun quickly stopped him.

“It’s going to get weird if manager-level personnel go there. We’ll take care of it ourselves.”

“But they have an executive manager too. Shouldn’t I go fight?” Cheon Ji-Myung asked as he pointed at Choi Myung-Joon.

“All of us have fought against manager-level personnel during our prime time. We also have someone who fought against a lab director who is said to be the next CTO.”

Park Dong-Hyun glanced at Young-Joon.

“Ah... Right. I forgot that all my members were Saiyan.”

Cheon Ji-Myung nodded in understanding.

“Oh, over there.” Koh Soon-Yeol suddenly pointed. “Haha, I saw that woman in front of the washroom before the ceremony.”

“Seo Yoon-Ju-ssi? What did she say?” Park Dong-Hyun asked.

“That is...” Koh Soon-Yeol scratched his head.

It was about three hours ago when Young-Joon was talking on the phone with Cell Bio regarding his experiment that he had commissioned them. Seo Yoon-Ju had called Koh Soon-Yeol at the entrance of the washroom as he was about to go in.

“Koh Soon-Yeol-ssi!”

“Eh?

Ore?

” Koh Soon-Yeol asked as he pointed to himself.

“Are you really going to ask for four hundred thousand won if your department wins the Award for Exceptional Performance?”

“Um...”

“To be honest, it was all Doctor Ryu Young-Joon! You guys didn’t do anything, so why should you get that award and rip me off?”

“

Etto...

The data at the end of the presentation that showed the cell differentiating into a heart muscle cell was from me.”[3]

As Koh Soon-Yeol propped up his glasses, Seo Yoon-Ju frowned.

“Still, this is wrong. How is that rag that you’re wearing Comme Des Gar?ons!”

“

Yare yare,

the

pointo

is that you promised.”[4]

“No, whatever. Play the CCTV tape or whatever, I don’t care. Sue me if I was the one who bumped into you. Even if it’s my fault and destruction of property, I won’t be ordered to pay that much. No way that the rag that you are wearing costs four hundred thousand won. This is fraud. Just sue me because I can’t just give that to you.”

Park Dong-Hyun and Jung Hae-Rim were shocked.

“She said that?” Park Dong-Hyun asked.

“Without even apologizing?” Jung Hae-Rim added.

Bae Sun-Mi covered her mouth like she was in shock as well.

“She should first be apologizing, but she’s telling you to sue her?” Cheon Ji-Myung frowned.

“I don’t understand. Still, we got the Award for Exceptional Performance...,” Bae Sun-Mi murmured.

“They think we’re the same old Life Creation Department that’s beneath them even if we get the award,” Cheon Ji-Myung replied like this was a headache.

Crack. Crack.

Park Dong-Hyun cracked his neck and warmed up his body.

“Ah, man... They’re making my temper from my prime time come up again...”

As Park Dong-Hyun walked toward them like he was about to destroy them, Young-Joon stood in front of him.

“I will take care of it.”

“What are you going to do?” Jung Hae-Rim asked.

“We can’t be fighting them on a departmental scale right now. Probiotics is a field I want to study next year, so we have to use the Health Food Department a lot.”

“Hm...”

“But we can’t just let this slide. I will get them here and make them apologize, so just wait.”

Young-Joon calmed the four people down and walked over to Choi Myung-Joon and Seo Yoon-Ju.

‘It’s actually better when they apologize to me on their own like Park So-Yeon.’

[Rosaline Lv.2]

Young-Joon pulled up the status window. He pressed on the message window and opened the data on probiotics. It had the analysis of Roche’s probiotic product, Active Lactobacillin.

1. iPSC is short for induced pluripotent stem cells. ?

2. Kkanpunggi is a Korean-Chinese dish that consists of deep fried chicken pieces in a spicy and sweet garlic oil sauce. ?

3.

Etto

is a filler word in Japanese, and it essentially means “uhh” or “umm”. ?

4.

Yare yare

means “well well” in Japanese, and

pointo

is the Japanese pronunciation for “point”. ?