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Chapter 50
Translator: Enuma ID
The next morning.
The moment Kim Tae-jun got to work, he headed for the conference room.
A meeting had been scheduled for the morning.
It was a meeting chaired by the Strategy Planning Director, which was to say, by his maternal uncle.
Еn ū mā
With everyone of team-leader rank and above filling the seats, Kim Tae-jun slowly turned the pages of the contract on the desk.
It was the draft contract for the joint development of a new drug.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The wording, the terms, the format, all of it was clean, without a single flaw to pick at.
Which made it all the more suspicious.
The words Park Ji-hun had said the night before flickered through his mind.
「That contract, only the surface is clean.」
W̃ е̊bn̄о̀vél̃ Е̂núm̂а
His maternal uncle spoke first.
"Division Head, as I said yesterday, there's no reason to keep sitting on this one."
Kim Tae-jun lifted his gaze.
His maternal uncle continued in a calm voice.
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"The working-level review is already done, and we've had legal's counsel on it too. The China-side schedule is set. If we drag this out any further, we'll only invite needless misunderstanding. With something like this, timing is everything, wouldn't you agree?"
The conference room was quiet.
Е́ n̈um̃а . і̊d̀
Not one person was quick to add anything.
A few were reading his maternal uncle's mood before they even glanced at the contract.
Kim Tae-jun closed the contract and spoke.
"I'm putting this one on hold."
A brief silence settled over the room.
His maternal uncle's brow tightened.
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He asked, forcing his voice to stay calm.
"And which part exactly is the problem?"
Kim Tae-jun answered without wavering.
"The body of the contract is clean. The problem is what comes after it."
Every eye in the room turned to him.
Resting a hand on the documents, Kim Tae-jun went on.
W eb́ n̈ о̊ v̈ еl̂ Ē n̊ ũ m̌ а̂
"I'm sure you all know that with a joint development of this scale, the supplementary agreements and the scope of practical application matter more than the main body."
Kim Tae-jun caught his breath for a moment, then added,
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"The scope of ownership over the clinical data, access rights, the interpretation of the technology transfer, the conditions for returning rights on early termination. With things like this, a single line worded differently can blow up into a disaster down the road."
His maternal uncle's face slowly hardened.
Kim Tae-jun didn't stop.
"It may look fine right now, but the moment someone exploits that gap, it'll already be too late. I have no intention of brushing off that possibility."
Е́ń u_m̀а́ . ї d́
The air in the room sank heavy.
Glances wavered here and there.
The faces that had been tinged with irritation a moment ago began, one by one, to stiffen.
His maternal uncle spoke, his expression set hard.
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"Division Head. There's more than one or two things riding on this contract. This is more than enough. There's no need to scrutinize it so anxiously."
Kim Tae-jun shook his head.
W е̇b̌ń о v ёl̃ Е̄ n̈üm̊ӓ
"I don't see it that way."
His maternal uncle pushed again.
"If you keep coming at this the way you are, I'll have no choice but to take the matter up the chain as it stands."
Kim Tae-jun took it in stride.
"The way I am."
He paused for a beat, then added coldly,
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"By all means, go right ahead. I'll handle this by the established procedure."
Kim Tae-jun slowly looked around at the working staff seated in the room.
"The draft supplementary agreements attached to the main joint-development contract, the data-access-rights review sheet, the materials covering external sharing, the personnel deployment plan for the joint-development response task force, and the approval history for taking materials offsite. Submit every last one of them again."
No one could answer right away.
The silence stretched on.
Kim Tae-jun went on.
Ẁ_е̂b.n̄о̂ v̀ е̊l̇ Ėn ü ḿ ӑ
"By end of day. I'll take the reports again, broken down by the relevant departments."
At that, the legal team leader spoke up first.
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"We'll start by pulling together the materials legal reviewed and submit them quickly."
Right after, the clinical support team leader bowed his head.
"We'll get the task force deployment plan and the data-access history in order right away too."
The production management team leader was no slower to follow.
W ĕ.b̀ń ӧv ѐ l _Ẽ ǹũm̀ а
"I'll have all the working materials related to the joint development reorganized and resubmitted, Division Head."
Until barely a day ago, these were the faces that had read his maternal uncle's mood first.
But now no one was sticking their neck out; they only answered, carefully.
Kim Tae-jun rose from his seat as he spoke.
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"I'll be excusing myself now."
Before he'd even finished, his maternal uncle was already out of the conference room ahead of him.
Е ṅû m ȧ.і́d̆
Soon a few of the staff quietly followed after him.
Others, by contrast, didn't get up right away, pretending to tidy their papers while they read the room.
Kim Tae-jun watched them for a moment, then gathered his documents and left the conference room.
The board was set.
For now, that was enough.
***
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The instant his office door closed, Park Sang-heon loosened his tie.
Face creased into a scowl, he looked at Kang Tae-sik, the Strategy Planning Team Leader standing across from him, and asked,
"What do you make of it?"
Kang Tae-sik lifted his head.
"About what, sir?"
"Do you think the Division Head has a point?"
Е n̊ umа̇ .і̄ d
Kang Tae-sik let a moment pass, then spoke up with feigned caution.
"Well. Being careful is all well and good, but how is a man supposed to get anything big done when he trusts his people that little?"
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Park Sang-heon nodded at that and said,
"That's exactly my point. Get spooked over nothing and stall everything, and all you do is rack up losses, no?"
He let his eyes drop for a moment, then spoke again.
"Looks like this falls on you now."
Ẁĕ b̄ n̄.о̇v̂ е̃ľ Еn̂ u m а̀
Kang Tae-sik quickly bowed.
"Not at all, Director."
"Anyway, just tell the China side we need a bit more internal review. Don't tack on anything unnecessary. Smooth them over, tell them there won't be any change to the schedule."
"Yes. I'll pass that along."
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Park Sang-heon let out a scoff, as if it were nothing.
"We just need this one to blow over quietly. Honestly, if it ends up looking like that punk Tae-jun got spooked over nothing and blew the whole thing up himself, that's not so bad either. Makes it that much easier to call that punk's judgment into question."
Ӗň um à
Kang Tae-sik bowed his head deeply.
"I'll do as you say."
"Off you go."
Park Sang-heon waved a hand.
Just as Kang Tae-sik started to turn, Park Sang-heon called him back.
"Hold on."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Yes, Director."
Park Sang-heon lowered his voice.
"The supplementary documents are clean, right? Even if Tae-jun goes digging the way he did today, you're sure none of it splashes back on me anytime soon?"
Kang Tae-sik answered without hesitation.
"Yes. From the supplementary documents alone, it'll be hard for him to make anything of it right away. I've arranged things so there's no trail leading straight back to you."
Park Sang-heon's expression eased a little.
Ѐ ṅǔm̈ ȧ
"Good. Keep my name out of it, all the way to the end."
"I'll bear that in mind."
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Click.
Kang Tae-sik shut the office door behind him and stepped out.
The instant the door closed, his expression hardened in a flash.
Instead of the elevator, he turned straight for the emergency stairwell.
Е̃n_ū ḿа
Only after opening the door, stepping inside, and checking up and down the stairwell did he pull out the second phone hidden in his inner jacket pocket.
The moment he powered it on, he dialed a number he'd saved in advance.
A moment later, the other party picked up.
"How did it go?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Kang Tae-sik clenched his teeth.
"The approval got blocked."
Е̄ ñ u mа .і d
"What?"
"The Division Head took it into his own hands. He said every document tied to the joint development has to go through his sign-off, and that he'll personally verify the access to the core data, the external sharing, and the materials going offsite, all of it."
On the other end of the line, the voice grew rough to match.
"Then we're screwed. Did somebody trace this back to us somewhere?"
"Now's not the time to be asking that. We need a plan first."
After a brief silence, the researcher asked,
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"So what are we supposed to do now?"
Kang Tae-sik answered at once.
"We can't make any rash moves anymore. He's ordered every related item resubmitted by end of day. If they start picking the whole thing apart again, you and I both end up in danger together."
He dropped his voice further.
"From here on, we keep our stories straight. Don't touch any more of the materials, and don't go making any suspicious moves."
The researcher spat out a rough curse.
Еñ um а̀. iḋ
"So you're telling me to just sit on my hands and wait here until they come to haul me off?"
"If you move now, we're both finished."
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"......And I'm supposed to believe that, in a situation like this?"
"There's nothing to believe or not believe. Just hold out until things quiet down."
A short silence passed.
The other man asked,
W ѐ b ń o̊vе̊l̈ _E n u m̀а̌
"......And what are you going to do?"
Team Leader Kang answered, pressing down his ragged breathing.
"I'll start cleaning things up on my end. So don't you go making any moves either."
It was then.
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The line went quiet on the other end.
After a moment, the other man gave a short reply.
Ẇ е̂ b̈ñ ȯvе l Ѐnů m а̌
"I don't trust you anymore. From here on, it's every man for himself."
Kang Tae-sik frowned and shot back,
"What did you just say?"
Click.
The call cut off.
Kang Tae-sik immediately dialed again.
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The line rang a few times, then dropped.
When he tried once more, it wouldn't connect at all.
He'd been blocked.
"That crazy bastard......."
Kang Tae-sik switched off the second phone and shoved it deep back into his inner pocket.
Wearing a face that said nothing had happened, he slipped out of the stairwell and returned to the Strategy Planning office.
Ѐ ṅum̆ ӓ.і́ d
Then he immediately rang the research center on the internal line.
"This is Team Leader Kang Tae-sik from Strategy Planning. Where is Researcher Choi right now?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The other person answered hesitantly.
"Sorry? He left a little while ago, said something urgent had come up. Just said he'd file for a half-day off and walked right out."
Kang Tae-sik's face went rigid.
"When?"
Е̃.n̆ um̃а
"About five minutes ago."
After hanging up, Kang Tae-sik couldn't set the receiver down for a while.
His palm was damp with sweat.
This was never supposed to be something he'd have to scramble to contain.
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Once the contract went through, he could have dressed the whole thing up as standard procedure.
The materials would have trickled out slowly, and even if things went sideways, he could just cut one researcher loose and be done with it.
W̌е.b n̊ о̆_v̌еl̄ Еnú m̂ӓ
Above all, as long as Park Sang-heon had his back, he'd believed he could keep it all under control at his own level.
But then Kim Tae-jun had suddenly brought everything to a halt, and the whole board had flipped.
Kang Tae-sik bit down hard on his lip.
Right now, the first thing he had to do was stop the researcher from acting on his own.
But the line was already dead.
Checkmate.
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***
Today was his regular off-broadcast day.
Park Ji-hun sat at his computer and skimmed through his inbox.
The number of unread emails had climbed again in the meantime.
[Advertising Proposal]
[Inquiry Regarding Brand Collaboration]
We b n̈ о vеl̇ E̊ n um̃ а
[Product Sponsorship Request]
[Inquiry Regarding a Broadcast Appearance]
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[Inquiry Regarding a Rookie Idol Group's Debut Song]
Even just the subject lines showed how varied they were.
Mixed in among them were a few emails from entertainment agencies whose names anyone would recognize.
Park Ji-hun clicked on one of them.
Е.ṅu̇ mа. id
It was an email from the Planning Division Head at Luark Entertainment.
The contents were simple.
The company had a seven-member boy group preparing to debut, and they wanted him to do a Spirit Reading on the debut song and concept.
"So now even places like this are reaching out to me first."
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Just as he was muttering it to himself.
Bzzt.
W̄е̂b̊ ṅо̂ vе̇ l̊ Ӗ n um̀ а̂
His phone buzzed briefly.
He checked it; a message had come in saying his settlement payment had been deposited.
Even after seeing the amount, Park Ji-hun set the phone down without much of an expression.
Eight figures.
It was a sum that no longer felt unfamiliar.
He looked up at the clock on the wall.
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The night had grown deep before he'd noticed.
"Right about now, wasn't it."
The scene he'd seen through the Spirit Reading.
By now, it was time for Kim Tae-jun to make his move.
As if it had been waiting for that very thought, a call came in over Discord.
It was Kim Tae-jun.
Е́ nům а
Park Ji-hun answered slowly.
Kim Tae-jun spoke urgently.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Help me just one more time. Please."
Park Ji-hun shook his head.
"I said everything I had to say yesterday."
Kim Tae-jun couldn't answer right away.
Е̊.n ūm̂а. ї_d̊
After a moment, he spoke in a heavy tone.
"We confirmed he slipped out toward the storage yard on the west side, but we lost him at the last container line. At this rate, he could get away right in front of us."
Park Ji-hun said nothing.
Through clenched teeth, Kim Tae-jun went on.
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"I'm not doing this just to save my own skin."
He steadied his breath and added,
Ẽn ŭmа̂
"If that data crosses over, it won't be just our company's problem anymore. The clinical data itself could be thrown into question."
"I'm sorry. My part ends here."
Park Ji-hun hung up, just like that.
And he lay down on the bed.
But sleep simply wouldn't come.
A heat rose inside him, as if his body were catching fire.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
'Why, all of a sudden......?'
In the end, he got back up and turned on a private broadcast.
It was in that instant.
A brief scene flashed past.
People trembling with anxiety that their treatment schedules might be pushed back.
Someone had put off a scheduled treatment; someone else was nosing around uncertain alternatives.
Е̊ ǹ ü m а̄
Park Ji-hun's eyes settled into something cold.
This wasn't something he could just let slide.
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Park Ji-hun immediately called Kim Tae-jun back on Discord.
"Yes, Ji-hun-ssi."
"Get in here."
"......Sorry?"
Wӗb̀ n_ov él Ѐ n̄ ü mа̄
"I'm running a private broadcast, so get in here."
The moment Kim Tae-jun joined the Discord.
The smell of brine and oil rushed in first.
Beyond the rusted steel plating, containers stretched in long rows through the dark.
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Among them, one container, caked all over with blue paint, stood out.
Then a weathered sign grazed the edge of his vision.
W̆е̄b_n̄оv́е́l Ӗn um а
It was blurry, but the number, at least, was clear.
7.
Park Ji-hun spoke at once.
"It's Pier 7."
Kim Tae-jun's breathing stopped for a beat.
"Pier 7?"
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"That's right. He's hiding there right now."
Over the line, he could hear Kim Tae-jun urgently barking orders at someone.
"It's Pier 7. Everyone, move on it."
"What? How do you know that?"
"Never mind. Just do as I say."
Park Ji-hun spoke again.
Е̂_n um а̇.і̄d̈
"Move fast. A second too late and you lose him."
After a brief silence, Kim Tae-jun replied.
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"Thank you."
After the call ended, Park Ji-hun slowly shut off the broadcast.
The cold presence drained out of him as though it had never been there, but the look in his eyes didn't cool.
"Now there's no slipping away."
Wē b̌n̂ӧv еl̇ Ë núm a
*****
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