LD - 2 . Elixir (1)

Han Seo Jin drew the chemical structures on a large piece of paper and observed his findings . Insight didn’t tell him the ident.i.ty of the structures . On the paper was an ill.u.s.tration of unidentified chemical structure . He did not know if the power itself was limited, or if his mental capacity restricted its use . Most likely, the latter is true .  

“What do these structures mean? They seem to be the chemical formula for a medication… Could this be the structure of an effective drug against cancer?”

He continued to observe the paper,but could not comprehend what the structures meant .   In the past, he had not learned much about chemistry nor the pharmaceutical industry . Thus he struggled to understand the technical notes gathered by Insight .

“But why is there more than one structure?”

Three structural formulas were scribbled on the paper .

In addition, there were legible Korean words written .

[Catalyst . King’s blood . ]

“Three structural formulas… and a catalyst? What does this mean?”

Han Seo Jin pondered over this thought for a long time .

“Does this mean I have to combine the three structures with the catalyst in order to formulate the complete anti-cancer drug?”

In his mind, he hoped the power of insight would give him more details about the solution, but unfortunately, his efforts were useless .

“At least I know what a chemical structure is, but what in the world is ‘king’s blood’? Where would I be able to obtain that?”

He constantly thought about the catalyst, but he could not understand its meaning . This continued until his brain throbbed from overuse .

At last, he stood up and began to leave the house .

“Time to go . ”

~~~

Jinsung Pharmaceuticals .

Han Seo Jin located a branch office of the Jinsung Group, the largest conglomerate in Korea . In fact, his 4-year-old semiconductor job was affiliated with the production of Jinsung Electronic’s merchandise .

Due to his familiarity with the Jinsung brand and its status as the largest domestic company, he approached the conglomerate .

“Welcome, may I help you with anything?”

Greeting me at the lobby of the first floor, was a receptionist with a bright smile .

True to its reputation as the top conglomerate in Korea, the building was both s.p.a.cious and beautiful . Although he was slightly nervous, he tried his best to deliver his purpose confidently .

“I have a formula for a medicine that I would like to make, but unfortunately I do not have the proper equipment to do so . Would your company be able to take my personal order and produce it?”

“I am sorry, but currently our company does not accept personal requests . But I’ve heard that academic inst.i.tutions are able to accept these types of orders . I can help direct you to the person in charge of that area . Now, this would be a task for the academic inst.i.tutions and not our company’s, so we would not be affiliated with the order . I will deliver a message up the chain on your behalf, but I cannot guarantee that it will be done . ”

The receptionist kindly replied . Han Seo Jin mustered up his courage and answered with his prepared response .

“I only need a small amount of the drug made, I will even pay for the production cost . ”

“I will deliver your message-”

“I would like to speak with a supervisor or someone higher up on the chain . All I need is 10 minutes for a consultation . Tell the individual that I’ll give them a consultation fee of $50 million won . This will be given even if I do not receive a satisfactory response . ”

After hearing this, the receptionist slightly froze .

At first, this man appeared to be normal college student in his mid-20s . Yet, he was able to present a large sum of $50 million won for a simple consultation .

Immediately, she changed her expression .

“Please wait for a moment . ”

She must have a.s.sessed that he was not spewing out lies, because after a few moments a man in his mid-40s quickly arrived . He wore an ID stating his name and t.i.tle: ‘Deputy Administrator Park Hyun Jun’ .

Park Hyun Jun glanced at Han Seo Jin and had a brief thought . He was too young .

“You’re here, sir . This is the person I was talking about . ”

“This person?”

Park Hyun Jun looked at Han Seo Jin with skeptical eyes . The guy was too young and dressed too casually . When he was told that someone was offering $50 million won for a 10 minute consultation, he had thought that it would be a special request . Hopefully, he was not wrong .

“h.e.l.lo . ”

“Nice to meet you, I am Park Hyun Jun . Please follow me . ”

Once Park Hyun Jun led Han Seo Jin to the building’s cafe, he ordered coffee and tea and brought it to their table . As soon as he sat down, Han Seo Jin pulled out an envelope .

“This is the consultation fee . ” 

“ . . . Hold on, let me check the envelope for a moment . Thank you for understanding . ”

Park Hyun Joon moaned lightly after checking its contents . Within the envelope was a check for $50 million won .

‘I really did get $50 million won? For a short 10 minute consultation?’

Realizing that Han Seo Jin was different from how he appeared, Park Hyun Joon held a more courteous att.i.tude .

“Our company does not accept private requests . For cases like yours, we don’t accept commissions to manufacture drugs designed by private individuals . However, we are able to help with the production of compounds for academic purposes . We only support universities when their equipment and materials are insufficient . ”

“Yes, that is why I am here . Other pharmaceutical companies do not have this program, only this group does . ”

“So are you in a chemistry cla.s.s? Or research group?”

“No, but there are some medications that I personally formulated . ”

“You do know that there are strict regulations on the manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceuticals, right? Many have tried to do similar tactics but… . ”

“I plan on doing this for experimental purposes only, the production would be minimal . ”

“Well… . Can I see the chemical formula you have?”

Han Seo Jin showed him the chemical structures . Park Hyun Joon slowly observed them and lifted his head .

“Currently, 2 similar compounds are already on the market, but they are slightly different… The other structure looks similar to the first one, but it isn’t present today . Although it doesn’t look like a preexisting drug in the market, it does not look hazardous . ” 

“But I am not trying to market it as a drug for the general population, this is for personal reasons . ”

“Although the structures are not dangerous nor would it be hard to develop them, a reasonable justification is required to begin manufacturing . For example, if this was an academic research project we would be able to start immediately . ”

“I will give you $1 . 5 billion won for developing it . ”

Han Seo Jin stated the amount that was nearly his entire net worth .

Approximately $1 . 7 billion won remained after the tax deduction from the lottery winnings . After this, only $200 million won would be left over .

‘Since this is a large company, they may dismiss my private request, thinking that it was not worth it . I can’t let that happen…”

He had decided to acc.u.mulate a large sum of money in order to prevent others’ attempts to disrupt his plans . At the end of the day, he valued his life over money .

Park Hyun Joon stiffened .

“I don’t care if the company or if you, the Deputy Administrator, accepts the money . I just need someone to produce a small amount of these drugs . ”

“ . . . since this is not for advancing academic research, the company will very likely decline your offer . They refuse to manufacture anything for private use . However, there may be a loophole . Allow me to look into it more, could you give me your contact information?”

“Here you go . ”

Han Seo Jin watched Park Hyun Joon’s eyes sparkle . It seemed that the administrator was trying to devise a method to complete the task and pocket the money himself .

However, this did not matter to Han Seo Jin . If Park Hyun Joon was able to produce the 3 compounds, then he would be willing to pay any price .

Approximately one week later, Park Hyun Joon contacted Han Seo Jin for a meeting . They met immediately after the call .

“It’s done . ”

Park Hyun Joon opened a bag and showed 3 containers . In each container, there were clear liquids . These were the chemical compounds Han Seo Jin had commissioned .

“Since the company was not able to undergo the task, I had to produce these during our break hours . ”

Park Hyun Joon stated, as if he was giving an excuse . But Han Seo Jin did not care about these matters . He just stared at the contents of the three vessels .

Focusing on them, Han Seo Jin was able to call upon Insight to look into the validity of the products . Chemical structures started to form above each container . Han Seo Jin sighed in relief when he noticed that the structures were correct .

“Thank you . ”

Han Seo Jin took out a fat envelope and gave it to Park Hyun Joon . Excited, Park Hyun Joon checked the contents of the envelope and noticed that there were over 100 bills inside .

“To make things easier for you, I withdrew money with 10,000 won bills . ”

“Oh, thank you . ”

“Would you like to check on the amount?”

“No, it is fine . ”

Park Hyun Joon lowered his head to Han Seo Jin . Although he wore ordinary attire, Han Seo Jin seemed to be someone extraordinary .

‘But those compounds do nothing… how is he going to use it?’

He was curious about that point, but once he saw his payment, his curiosity went away .

‘The materials have been gathered . ’

After the two left in different ways, Han Seo Jin sighed in relief . He hugged the bag containing the three containers as if it was something of more monetary value .

“But the instructions were to use the catalyst ‘King’s Blood’, right? What in the world is that?”