Episode 19: A Line Rising from Below Is Still a Line 3.
From 20 million won to 840 million won—that was 42 times.
It seemed he had bought it when Mancheon Trading was completely at rock bottom, long before it invested.
"Ooh~ Hyeonu, I'm so jealous."
"You've been holding onto that all this time? When are you going to sell?"
"Do you think I should sell?"
It had risen enough to make selling worthwhile, but the analyst said it would go up further.
"I don't know. I'm not good at that kind of stuff either. But if it were me, I'd sell. How can you hold on when your heart is pounding? Whew."
"That's right, Hyeonu. You've made enough, so just sell it."
"...I'll think about it."
Earlier, the conversation had shifted from bio to probiotics, and this time Yangwoo Bio had shifted to Embiotech.
And from bio, it had shifted to bio stocks.
Bringing up the topic of Yangwoo Bio now seemed impossible; the momentum was completely gone.
"Anyway, congrats on hitting it big with stocks. I'm going to see the Director now, so rookie, you take a look at Yangwoo Bio."
"Yangwoo Bio?"
"Yeah, Yangwoo Bio. It's a project you and I will work on together. Your first official mission."
Hyeonu stood up and bowed deeply at the waist.
"Thank you, Team Leader. I'll work hard."
"Yeah, let's do a good job."
Yang Gyeonghun smiled broadly, tapped Hyeonu on the shoulder, and left the office.
As he straightened from the bow, Song Gaeun came into view, beaming brightly.
"Wow, taking on a project already? Hyeonu, you're really fast."
"Am I the one who's fast?"
"Of course. It usually takes half a year just to learn the ropes, right? Well, you'll be assisting the Team Leader, but that means the Team Leader acknowledges you, doesn't he? Anyway, congratulations on your first project."
"Thank you, Senior Staff. I'll work hard."
He immediately searched for Yangwoo Bio on a portal site.
He recorded Yangwoo Bio's phone number, company location, and CEO's name on his phone, then carefully read through its business areas, financial statements, and so on.
Through Yang Gyeonghun's inner thoughts, he knew all about the regret of missing out on Embiotech and what he was going to say to the Director of Sales Division 3.
A project that could yield quite a large performance if done well.
Although it was only as an assistant, he was finally getting to work on a project.
He desperately wanted to succeed.
* * *
Yang Gyeonghun left the office and walked down the hallway.
Just as he hadn't known Embiotech would skyrocket like this, he couldn't get an exact measure of what kind of guy Hyeonu was.
The more he saw of him, the more confused he became.
At first, he had wondered if the guy was some royal family riding the Chairman's line, but in the next moment, he had felt he was ordinary, just like himself.
But it seemed that wasn't the case.
An ordinary person could never mention such an enormous sum as 840 million won so casually.
And yet, he said it turned out that way because his father bought him 20 million won's worth.
He was a truly perplexing, confusing guy.
At first, he hadn't thought too deeply about the guy's background.
He had merely been on guard because of the talk about him being the Chairman's parachute hire.
If he could gain from the parachute rookie, great; if not, oh well.
That was about it.
But after hearing Gu Hyeongjun's words yesterday, he had started to think a lot.
It was no longer comfortable.
"Damn, fuck..."
A curse had slipped out without him realizing it.
It was because these constantly surfacing thoughts annoyed him.
Before he knew it, he had arrived in front of the Sales Division 3 Director's office door.
He rubbed his stiffened face with his palm to smooth it out, then opened the door while knocking.
Startled, Sales Division 3 Director Kim Inseop turned his head, and an annoyed wrinkle formed on his face.
"Hey, you bastard. Don't knock while opening the door! Knock first, then open!"
"Did I open the door first? I don't think so..."
"Playing dumb again, you little shit! ...Why are you here?"
"I have something urgent to tell you."
"What is it?"
"May I come in?"
"Aren't you already in?"
"I haven't stepped in yet."
When Kim Inseop glared at him, Yang Gyeonghun flashed his front teeth in a shameless grin and walked in.
"Stop smiling, you bastard. I'll knock your teeth out."
"Ah, why so scary? I brought a great piece of info."
"Info? What info?"
"Have you heard of Yangwoo Bio by any chance?"
It was a company he had never heard of.
"Yangwoo Bio?"
"Yes, Yangwoo Bio. Soon, a company called Yangwoo Bio will be mentioned. You'll have to snatch it up then, Director."
One of Kim Inseop's eyebrows rose.
It was because he shared the exact same experience as Yang Gyeonghun.
"Is it like Embiotech?"
"Yes. It's info from the same source as back then. You have to secure it this time. If it gets snatched away like last time..."
"What if it gets snatched away?"
"Then I'll switch to the Director's line."
"Were you ever on my line?"
"That's why I'm in this sorry state."
"You little shit."
Yang Gyeonghun flashed his teeth and smiled annoyingly.
"I'm joking. You know how much I like you, Director."
"I hate you."
"Even if you hate me, you have to grab this one."
"Am I a dog? You want me to fetch it?"
"Fetching it like a dog isn't so bad."
"Sigh... That mouth of yours... Anyway, Yangwoo Bio... it's really certain, right?"
"I heard it will likely pass Phase 3 soon."
Kim Inseop glanced at Yang Gyeonghun's eyes for a moment, then opened a portal site and searched for Yangwoo Bio.
"What is this? It's quiet?"
"That's why you have to hurry. You saw what happened with Embiotech. Once word gets out, you won't be able to invest even if you want to."
"...Get out already. I got it."
"Then I'll trust you, Director, and start getting to work."
Yang Gyeonghun bowed his head and turned to leave.
Kim Inseop, gritting his molars, quietly stared at Yangwoo Bio on his monitor.
In his mind, the face of Executive Director Choe Jeonggeun was drawn.
He was not an easy man.
No doubt, he would try to throw a huge catch to his own line this time as well.
To Sales Division 2 Director Lee Taehyeong.
He had no idea how to deal with him.
"Son of a bitch... I want to retire in peace, but you keep coming around and annoying me just when I'm about to forget. What do you want, riding my line? I don't even have a line..."
* * *
Yang Gyeonghun strode into Sales Team 9's partition.
"Did you look into Yangwoo Bio?"
"Yes, Team Leader."
"How is it? Does it look okay?"
"I don't think it's great if you look at its performance, and it seems to be a company whose only asset is a cancer treatment drug in the clinical trial stage. But..."
"Yeah, the results for that cancer drug aren't great yet, right?"
"Yes, everyone seems to view it negatively. So the stock price has dropped a lot too."
"Don't pay too much attention to those reports. Embiotech, which you hold, was the same. One experiment result makes bio stocks swing between the upper limit and the lower limit. The trap is that no one knows until the results come out. Then what do we have to do?"
"Investigate in detail how the experiments are proceeding?"
"Yeah. That's what we have to do from now on. Well, the Planning Team probably did their investigation, but we have to go to the site and see with our own eyes. That's how you get a sense of reality. You understand?"
It was a truly satisfactory method.
Because going to the site and seeing in person was the only way to hear the inner thoughts of the field staff.
"Yes, Team Leader. I understand."
* * *
They got into Yang Gyeonghun's car and headed to Yangwoo Bio, located in a government-supported complex in Gyeonggi-do called the "Advanced Bio Center."
They had called ahead before coming, but since the president was out, they were received by someone who introduced himself as the head of the development division.
“Someone from Mancheon Mulsan came by not long ago as well. I can’t tell you how fortunate we feel to have the interest of a major corporation like Mancheon.”
He was referring to the planning team’s visit.
“Not at all. We’re the ones who should be grateful. This is a big opportunity for us, too.”
“We handed over all the necessary materials then, so may I ask what brings you here this time…?”
“Ah, the people who came last time and we are from different departments. If approval is granted based on what they investigated, our side handles the practical work. Our sales team decides whether to invest or run the business through a partnership such as a sales and distribution agency. So we came to take a preliminary look at what kind of company this is and how the new drug development is progressing.”
“Ah, I see. Just a moment.”
He went to his desk and brought over a business plan to show them.
The name of the treatment under development was YW-TC23.
It stated that it showed outstanding efficacy against most late-stage cancers, especially brain tumors, and detailed the expected profits once the treatment went on sale.
After listening to his rather confident explanation, Yang Gyeonghun asked,
“Then all that remains is to pass Phase 3?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“If you have the experimental data, would it be possible for us to take a look?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’re at the stage where we can show that yet. At the very least, we would need to sign an MOU—a document specifying preliminary agreements before a formal contract—before we could show you the details. I hope you understand.”
Yang Gyeonghun smacked his lips inwardly in bitterness.
He had expected this response, but he had only asked just in case.
Still, the visit had not been meaningless.
He had checked everything he needed to on a first visit: the company’s exterior, its atmosphere, and the confidence of the person in charge.
As Planning Team 2 Leader Gang Jihyeok had said, it was not a bad company—no, it was a company that seemed to be operating quite well.
Yang Gyeonghun rose from his seat and held out his hand.
“Understood. Thank you for the thorough explanation. Once the work is formally assigned to us, we’ll come see you again.”
“I sincerely hope things proceed well.”
After shaking hands with Yang Gyeonghun, he extended his hand to Hyeonu as well.
“Thank you for visiting.”
“Thank you, Director.”
Hyeonu let go of his hand and was about to turn away when he suddenly spoke.
“Um, by the way…”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Do you think the Phase 3 trial results will come out well?”
For some reason, he answered with a smile that seemed manufactured.
“Haha, we believe they will.”
Yang Gyeonghun thought Hyeonu’s question had no meaning at all.
No matter what the actual situation was, the only answer he could give would be that things would go well.
Hyeonu looked into the development director’s eyes for a moment, then said goodbye again and turned away.
Click.
As soon as the door closed, the director immediately picked up the receiver.
“It’s me, President. (…) As you instructed, I only showed them the business plan and sent them back.”
* * *
A hotel coffee shop downtown…
Han Yunseok, president of Yangu Bio, ended the call on his cellphone.
“The people from Mancheon Mulsan have just left. They said it was Team Leader Yang Gyeonghun of Sales Team 9 and a new employee who doesn’t even have a business card yet.”
“Sales Team 9? Wasn’t it Sales Team 9 that kept digging in last time, too?”
At Executive Director Choe Jeonggeun’s question, Sales Division 2 Manager Lee Taehyeong replied,
“That’s right, Executive Director. Back during the M Biotech matter. Strangely enough, we keep running into them whenever we proceed with a bio-related business. Could there be someone feeding them information?”
“Hmm… That’s possible. Rotten through and through, honestly… Since this case came up from Planning Team 2, look into that side. See if there’s anyone connected to Sales Division 3 or Sales Team 9.”
“Understood, Executive Director.”
Choe Jeonggeun turned his head toward the CEO of Yangu Bio, who was sitting across the table.
“Then let’s continue where we left off.”
“Yes, Executive Director.”
“If these experimental results are accurate, when do you think the Phase 3 announcement will be made?”
“Even if we submit it immediately, I think it will take a month procedurally.”
“A month… Good thing it won’t be too late. Very well, President Han. I’ll put together a team, so let’s formally proceed with the MOU and make a splash.”
“Understood. But you are well aware that not a single one of the promises you just made can be omitted from the MOU, aren’t you?”
On the table between Yangu Bio President Han Yunseok and Choe Jeonggeun lay a tablet PC.
And open on the screen was a file titled “YW-TC23, 12th Experimental Results.”
It was the very experimental results they had claimed they absolutely could not show before an MOU.