Chapter 29: A Supernova In the Scientific Community (3)

The reporter from CNN who came to see Young-Joon after hearing the leaked information from

Science

asked him similar questions to Jessie.

And the reporter asked Ji Kwang-Man all the difficult questions.

“It probably wasn’t an easy decision for the company to give their full support by awarding one outstanding scientist ninety percent of the patent shares.”

“...”

Ji Kwang-Man was pale.

“I can only think that like Doctor Ryu Young-Joon, A-Gen’s management has the same values: to cure all diseases as a true pharmaceutical company.”

“Yes...”

“I think that the

Science

’s special on the paper and Doctor Ryu’s interview will be released in a few days. I think our interview will be released together as the main news for that CNN broadcast. We requested this interview because Doctor Ryu Young-Joon mentioned in his interview with

Science

that you were the one who made the decision regarding the patent shares, Mr. Division Manager. Could I have a comment?”

“...”

“Sir?”

“Y...es, that’s right. I divided the shares as such. Because the goal of A-Gen is not to earn profit... but to destroy diseases,” Ji Kwang-Man said with his fists clenched and trembling in anger.

‘Four percent! This crazy bastard. I’ve gone through hell with the CEO to be where I am right now, and I only have three percent.’

Ji Kwang-Man thought this greenhorn scientist was just some boring bookworm who was only interested in papers, but he was a player. This guy was dangerous. If Young-Joon was left unchecked, he would climb to the top to claim the management of the company as a whole, and Ji Kwang-Man did not want to admit it, but Young-Joon had enough power to do so. He was smart, acted fast, and had the boldness of a CEO of a venture company. The biggest problem was that he was capable enough to research everything there was to know about that stupid induced stem cell technology or whatever and turn the entire pharmaceutical and medical industry upside down.

A-Gen was a lab-centered company. Sometimes, they played politics, such as buying competitive drugs from venture companies to destroy them or becoming the owner of small venture companies by controlling their stocks, but even so, the company was based on drug research; a thousand scientists were supporting this company. What this meant was that Young-Joon was like a fish in the water. More specifically, A-Gen was like a huge sea, and he was like a megalodon: someone who could destroy the whole ecosystem.

‘All this time, I thought he was just a fat tuna with a lot to eat...’

If someone like Young-Joon obtained as much company stock as a lab director, every one of his words would have a huge impact on the company. First of all, if a low-level scientist suddenly rose to the position of a major shareholder in the company, the scientists would be swayed, and he would become a star amongst them.

People became jealous if someone they were similar to succeeded, but they admired them if they achieved unimaginably great success. It was possible that he could temporarily gain more support and respect than Kim Hyun-Taek, the next CTO.

‘Sigh...’

Ji Kwang-Man sighed in his head and continued the interview. He wasn’t getting anything the reporter was saying; all he was doing was glossing over the subject and agreeing with them that A-Gen was a good company. What he was actually doing was thinking about the solution to this situation.

But as time passed, he was no longer hitting the roof in anger. He was calm, and he was logical again.

‘Wait. Now that I think of it, I’m not really backed up into a corner. The situation could actually become better if I use this situation to my advantage, right? I can just make Ryu Young-Joon one of ours.’

Just like how Yoon Bo-Hyun nicknamed him TMJ, it would be difficult to bring him in since he was so focused on ethics, but Ji Kwang-Man thought that was just because he was young.

‘I can make him rot a little and turn him into an ally, right? Who in the world doesn’t turn when they get money and power?’

Yoon Dae-Sung, the current CEO of A-Gen, was brought to mind. He was the founder’s son, and he had built this company along with his father. His family owned fourteen percent of the company shares and was basically the largest shareholder. Also, Yoon Dae-Sung and Ji Kwang-Man were close enough to be brothers and had been business partners for a long time. If he brought Young-Joon into this group, no one would be able to touch them.

On the way back to his office after the interview, Ji Kwang-Man called CEO Yoon Dae-Sung.

“Sir, it’s me.”

—Yes, Mr. Division Manager. Have you eaten?

The CEO laughed heartily as he did not know about the things that were happening under him yet.

“Sir, do you remember the person who received a standing ovation from the CTO during the last seminar?”

—Of course. Doctor Ryu Young-Joon, was it? The one that made induced pluripotent stem cells.

“I have some things to talk about regarding him. Could we meet right now for a bit? I will come to you.”

Ji Kwang-Man was walking, but suddenly paused.

“Oh, sorry. I will call you back in a minute.”

He saw Yoon Bo-Hyun standing outside his office.

“Mr. Division Manager, I have something I would like to discuss,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said.

“Come in.”

Ji Kwang-Man opened the door and walked in. He opened the refrigerator and handed Yoon Bo-Hyun a beverage.

Yoon Bo-Hyun opened the bottle and sat comfortably in the chair. He crossed his legs and stared at Ji Kwang-Man.

“What did you talk about with Ryu Young-Joon? CNN suddenly came here, and you even did an interview, right?” Yoon Bo-Hyun asked.

“He said that he successfully turned iPSCs into optic nerves. And he said that he did an interview with

Science

as he announced his paper and talked about the patent royalties as if they had been confirmed.”

“Did he put the nail in the coffin so that you couldn’t go back on your word?”

“...”

“You made a mistake.”

“I agree. I thought he had no interest in power, and even if he did, I thought that I would be able to crush him easily.”

“I knew from the start that Ryu Young-Joon was that kind of person. I warned you many times, right? I told you he was dangerous.”

Ji Kwang-Man nodded.

“Mr. Division Manager—no, Uncle Kwang-Man.”

“Manager Yoon. Be careful at the company. You’re not trying to spread the word, are you?”

“I’m saying this not as the manager of A-Gen management or as the heir getting management lessons, but because we are close.”

“...”

“Are you perhaps thinking of turning him into an ally by including him in your group or something?”

“Um...”

Ji Kwang-Man thought for a bit.

“I only asked because I was worried, but I guess it was true. Uncle, don’t overdo it. You won’t be able to handle Ryu Young-Joon. To be honest, there’s some dirty corruption in our company, right?”

“...”

“Knowing his personality, he will blow up the company if he finds out about even one of them. He has Reset Syndrome. The company will explode. We cannot let him become a part of our management.”[1]

“...

Sigh

. What do you want to do?”

“I think that we should step on him before he gets bigger. This is the maginot line.”

“Do you have a way?” Ji Kwang-Man asked.

“We have to go strong. First of all, let’s rip up that shitty patent application request and contract. And give him something so that he cooperates.”

“But if we do that, we’ll become a national embarrassment after the

Science

publication and the CNN news broadcast. Do you think we could handle that kind of smearing on our image? We will look like an insane company that is obstructing the future of a genius scientist who is saying that he could cure all neurological disorders. And we’re basically giving a new pharmaceutical market worth trillions of won to America.”

“Do you think that bastard will really leave? Did he say that he was going to go to Pfizer or Roche? It’s all bullshit. Immigration isn’t that easy. He completed elementary, junior, and high school here. He also got his bachelor's, master’s, and doctorate in Korea. He’s Korean inside out. Throwing away his home that he’s lived in all his life and going to another country? It’s not that easy. If we crush his spirits a little, spoil him with money and a promotion and swindle him, he’ll stay.”

“...”

“Don’t get scared and be strong. You’re not acting like yourself, Uncle.”

“

Sigh

... Bo-Hyun... Never mind. We can’t do that. I know that you learned a lot from CEO Yoon ever since you were little, but you are seriously mistaken. We can’t poke Ryu Young-Joon like that.”

“Ah. Seriously! Stop being so frustrating. All he is is a scientist, an assistant manager at best. How can we not handle someone like him? How can we be swayed by him and lose?”

“That guy made iPSCs in a couple of months, differentiated it into optic nerve cells and cured blind mice with it.”

Ji Kwang-Man added, “That is enough for him to bet on his talent and just ask for four percent of company stocks. He didn’t have to make a deal with the royalties of his patent. If he threw a tantrum and said he was going to Pfizer if they didn’t give him stocks, smart people like the CEO or Nicholas would just give it to him and let him be an executive.”

“What are you talking about! That’s ridiculous. All of you are overestimating Ryu Young-Joon,” Yoon Bo-Hyun replied. “Of course, I acknowledge the significance of his results. He was so lucky that he would’ve hit the jackpot if he lived in the US, but that’s all. Unless he has an alien locked up in his house and he’s torturing it, there is no way he’s going to succeed in everything he does. There were a lot of one-hit wonders in this field, right? And they all disappeared quickly.”

“That’s the scary part!” Ji Kwang-Man shouted.

“There are definitely going to be shareholders that will think of him like that. They are going to think that he’s just going to be a one-hit wonder, or they’re going to wonder why we gave a mere scientist four percent. They’re going to ask if that thirty-year-old scientist is on the same level as Lab Director Kim Hyun-Taek since he also has four percent. They are going to be angry!”

“What?”

“If that happens, he might not be able to get his shares. That’s why he is making sure by giving me thirty percent of the royalties of the induced pluripotent stem cells! He’s basically telling me to give the shareholders the royalties and convince them!”

Ji Kwang-Man wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead.

“He blocked my escape route with the interview with

Science

and made it so that everything went just how he wanted. He was making sure he would get the right to participate in the company’s management!”

“...”

Ji Kwang-Man’s hands trembled.

“And how would the directors who got the shares feel? They might not like Ryu Young-Joon, but they will want to keep an eye on him. Then, from that point on, there will be people who like him among the board of directors.”

“Hm...”

“He’s insane. That portion of the royalties isn’t even his, but already part of the company. But he’s selling it to the company directors like it’s already his, and getting a seat at the management table while also getting stocks worth trillions of won for that? Is he Kim Sun-Dal selling water from the Taedong River or something...”[2]

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Yoon Bo-Hyun scratched his head.

Ji Kwang-Man said, “He’s not just some talented and confident kid. Ryu Young-Joon knows exactly how much value he has, and he is only acting in ways that match that. You want me to have some guts and tell him to go to Pfizer if he wants? He’ll actually go. Honestly, what’s he got to lose?”

“But still...”

“I am also telling you this as your father’s friend who has known you for a long time, but be careful with Ryu Young-Joon. He’s like a landmine, so it will be your foot that flies off if you step on him the wrong way. If you want to inherit the business safely, you have to make him your ally. Leave it to me.”

“But we can’t let him into the board of directors. We have some corruption in our company, right? Some of them aren’t even comparable to the liver cancer drug from Celligener, and if he finds out...”

“Don’t worry about that part either. I will discuss it with the CEO and get it taken care of. You, don’t worry about it anymore.”

* * *

There was an emergency board meeting. It was just before the publishing of Young-Joon’s paper and special in

Science

, and the release of the interview. Considering the time zone difference, a bunch of news and articles would come up on Friday morning. On top of that, A-Gen’s stock prices would skyrocket.

But before that, they would have to decide what to do with this matter. Since the situation was so urgent, management had informed the board of the meeting the day before and asked for their attendance. Still, most of the board directors had taken their seats, but the atmosphere was a little unsettled.

“Four percent... It’s too much for an individual to have. That’s the same amount that Director Kim has, right?”

“We cannot give four percent of the company stocks to an unverified kid like that. We don’t even know who he’s associated with...”

“If we give him that, we will also have to give him an executive position. We’re going to have to hold a temporary general board meeting. COO Son, what are your thoughts?” Oh Jun-Tae asked.

After pondering for a brief moment, a frown appeared on COO Son Jin-Gap's face and he answered, “If we assume that everything that Doctor Ryu Young-Joon does goes well, all of our stocks will skyrocket. If he is able to cure all those neurological disorders, the company could be a lot bigger. If we consider that merit, it could be a big mistake to refuse just because we cheap out on four percent.”

“Ha, I can’t believe this. I only have two percent,” Goh Yoo-Sung mumbled in irritation.

“Lab Director Gil Hyung-Joon has one percent, right? Haha, someone who was just a scientist suddenly is worth four times more than his own lab director. He’s not just getting a seat at the table, now you basically have to serve him.”

Gil Hyung-Joon had his eyes closed as if he was in pain.

‘I told this idiot Ji Kwang-Man to get ahold of Ryu Young-Joon, but he’s the one who got crushed. Four percent? Four percent? A thirty-year-old rookie is going to take stocks worth trillions of won alone? This bastard is out of his mind!’

Four percent was how much Lab Director Kim Hyun-Taek had, and he was the one who did all the hard work with CEO Yoon Dae-Sung and built the business back when it was just a mid-sized company. The only individuals who had more stocks than him were COO Son Jin-Gap, CTO Nicholas Kim, and CEO Yoon Dae-Sung.

“Let’s give it to him,” Nicholas said without hesitation. “Like the COO said, all of our stocks will rise if Doctor Ryu really succeeds. And as the chief technology officer of A-Gen, I am confident he will.”

“But still, four percent is...”

“Our company has about twelve percent of treasury stocks, right? Give him four percent from there. Doctor Ryu is a scientist valuable enough for that. Everyone, don’t think of him just as a worker or employee of this company; we have to think of him as the elite who will win the bread for our company,” Nicholas said firmly.

1. Reset Syndrome is when an individual believes that they could reset their life and what they’ve done in real life like they could do in games or on a computer. ?

2. Kim Sun-Dal is a famous fraud that lived during the Chosun time period. His most famous fraudulent act was lying to merchants that he owned the Taedong River, which was an important water source for people as there were no wells in Chosun, and selling it off to them for a large sum of money. ?