The Secret Investment Formula of a Chemical Genius - Chapter 167



Only Krnovel

Episode 167: Brand

Cheeeeek!

The eel was placed on the grill and cooked, making an appetizing sizzling sound.

A savory smell that stimulates the appetite.

Yet no one sitting around the restaurant table touched the plump, meaty wild freshwater eel with their chopsticks.

Even.

Even Taekang, who had been singing eel, eel, and song before coming here.

… … It’s not like I’m holding a ritual in front of food.

I lightly tapped the guy’s arm!

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat it? If you leave it like that, it’ll probably burn.”

“Oh, right. I have to eat it!”

The guy who had been thinking about something for a while came to his senses at my words and laughed brightly.

“Mom! Try this. It’s really delicious!”

The man used tongs to place a piece of well-cooked eel on her rice and smiled pleasantly.

“……thank you.”

The middle-aged woman bowed her head with a pale complexion.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Choi Ja-young.”

“What is your daughter’s name?”

“… … It’s Lee Ji-an.”

“then…….”

“Why are you asking so many questions while eating rice? Try this. Dip it in salt and eat it. It’s so chewy. It’s really the best!”

Taekang looked at me.

When I turned my gaze, I saw Choi Ja-young putting down the chopsticks she was holding weakly.

The corners of the mouth are stiff and motionless, as if nervous.

… … Anyway, this part is so detailed that it’s useless.

I put the grilled eel in my mouth and chewed it slowly.

The chewy yet light crab was a place that Taekang, who is secretly picky despite his appearance, would definitely recommend.

“It’s delicious. Please eat.”

“Ah… … yes.”

Choi Ja-young looked at me eating with a bewildered expression and picked up her chopsticks again.

“I’ll do the math… … .”

“Hehe, you don’t have to worry about that. He has more money than he looks, right?”

The guy patted my back hard.

… … Tap gently, it hurts.

“Don’t worry about money, eat as much as you want.”

“……thank you.”

“In that sense, I think it might be lacking, should I order some more eel?”

“How much more do you want to order?”

“For about 10 people?”

“… … You pay for what you eat.”

The guy pretended not to hear me and slowly looked away.

“Looking at your beauty, I think there must have been a lot of men lining up in front of you in the past.”

“You mean not now?”

“What are you talking about! I absolutely did not mean to imply that he is secretly feeding people!”

The startled guy quickly waved his hand.

As the guy continued his antics, the corners of Choi Ja-young’s mouth also relaxed.

Unlike the gloomy initial atmosphere, the mealtime went by relatively pleasantly.

When you cross two grills like that.

Choi Ja-young put her chopsticks down next to her, wondering if she was quite full.

When I glanced at Taekang, he nodded slightly.

“How did Mr. Lee Ji-an end up like that? I heard it was an acid attack earlier.”

When the story of her daughter came up, Choi Ja-young’s expression quickly darkened.

“My daughter is a college student. She is so courageous that she worked hard at part-time jobs to pay for her own college tuition, so that she wouldn’t be a burden to me and my husband.”

The two of us also put down our spoons and quietly listened to what she had to say.

“Then, my daughter joined an investment club. She had always been interested in financial investment. There, she met a man named Sunbae for the first time… … and he confessed that he liked her.”

Choi Ja-young’s hand, holding the glass of water, trembled.

“My daughter complained to me that I kept following her around even though she clearly said no. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. My husband and I first met in college, so I laughed it off as a simple love quarrel that happens between young people. If only I had listened to Ji-an a little more at that time… … .”

Tears welling up in the corners of the eyes.

A deep look of guilt appeared on her face.

Taekang picked up the napkin next to him and handed it to Choi Ja-young without saying a word.

“Thank you,” she said, swallowing back tears as she continued to speak.

A senior who follows me around like a stalker.

A junior who keeps avoiding him, saying he doesn’t like him.

Then, he said, the incident eventually broke out.

“A friend of Ji-an’s who she was close with sent her a text message at night. He asked if she could come out for a moment. My daughter said okay without much thought.”

“… … The person who sent that message wasn’t a friend.”

“Yes. Later, I found out that the senior had stolen my phone and sent me a text message pretending to be my friend. When Ji-an went to the meeting place, the senior was waiting for her.”

“So what happened?”

“Jian was so shocked that she turned around to try to leave, but the senior blocked the door. At first, they had a small argument, but then, perhaps because things weren’t going his way, he got angry and tried to subdue her with force and do something terrible to her. But when Jian continued to resist… … .”

I don’t think I need to listen to any more gossip.

“That guy, that senior… … What’s going on now?”

Taekang, who had been quietly listening to the story with an expressionless face, suddenly asked a question.

“He left his daughter there and ran away. I heard that he also committed a crime and then got so scared that he jumped from the roof of the building.”

“He was a coward to the end.”

A cracking sound of bones was heard from Taekang’s hand.

When I tapped him on the back to tell him to calm down, a small sigh escaped his mouth.

The victim was left alone at the scene of the incident for a long time.

“Is your daughter in critical condition to the point where her life is at risk?”

Choi Ja-young shook her head slightly.

“The burns are severe, but not life-threatening.”

After hesitating for a moment, she took a photo out of her pocket and held it out in front of us.

“… …It’s pretty.”

“This is Gian’s college entrance photo.”

A sad smile appeared on her lips.

“My husband and I were so grateful that our daughter was alive. But I think Gian thought a little differently.”

The bright age of early twenties.

A ruined face.

The future has disappeared.

“Because she always said she was okay, we didn’t realize that our daughter’s despair was that deep. She had such a strong personality and never showed it, so we mistakenly thought she was really okay. While we were away for a moment, in the bathroom… … .”

Does the situation at that time come to mind?

An overwhelming sense of fear appeared on Choi Ja-young’s face.

“She took medicine. Fortunately, a nurse found her in the middle of the night and barely managed to save her life. After that, Ji-an covered herself with a blanket and refused to talk to us. My husband and I took turns looking after our daughter, but whenever we took our eyes off her for a moment, something similar happened again and again.”

Ha-eun said that to me.

Burns are said to be wounds that destroy the soul.

More psychological frustration than physical pain.

An indelible mark.

“Please, please save my daughter. Sir… … .”

Her white hair was hanging down, her head bowed, shedding tears.

I looked on in silence.

* * *

“What are you going to do?”

“That’s what I wanted to ask.”

After breaking up with Choi Ja-young, on the way back to the company.

I stopped walking and stared intently into Taekang’s eyes.

“What would you like me to do?”

The guy was silent for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders.

“You decide.”

“I know what decision I will make.”

“Whatever decision.”

At the word hydrochloric acid terrorism.

The guy showed a deep emotional connection to Ms. Lee Ji-an’s case.

As I looked closely at Taekang to figure out his true intentions, he started to grin.

“Why? Why are you staring at me like that?”

“What will you do if I say no?”

“What can I do? It can’t be helped.”

“Are you serious?”

“Where in the world can there be more than one or two similar stories like that?”

Although not frequent, similar incidents make the newspapers a few times each year.

“We are not God, and we cannot grant all such requests just because we feel sorry for them.”

Taekang muttered in a calm voice.

“You’re saying it’s a shame?”

“Well, I’m human too.”

“… … .”

“Lunchtime is over. Even though the representative and vice representative may not be good role models, let’s hurry and go.”

The guy who was snickering walked ahead.

I stared at the guy’s huge back for a long time.

Yeah, human.

You too, and me too… … .

I followed the guy.

* * *

“There are 4 yellow balls and 1 green ball in the bag. There are 5 balls in total. The yellow and green balls have the same weight and size, so you can’t tell them apart by touch. In this situation, if one person takes out one ball each three times, what is the probability that the person will take out a green ball on the last third try?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Eunsu started writing something down in pencil on her notebook.

A confident attitude.

I glanced at the writing on the small, round head.

⅘ × ¾ × ⅓ = ⅕

After completing all the calculations, her bright eyes looked at me.

“Correct. Good job.”

I smiled brightly and patted her head.

A proud expression rose on Eun-soo’s face.

I’ve been praising the child for a long time.

Suddenly, I heard a loud breathing sound right next to me.

Let’s turn our heads slightly.

Natasha was glaring at Eun-soo who was being praised.

Tears welling up beneath the eyes.

I shouldn’t laugh, but Natasha’s look is so cute.

A smile escaped my lips without me knowing it.

“Natalie is good at English. Can you teach Grandma some English?”

Then my mother came into the living room holding some cut fruit.

“That’s right! Natasha speaks English well.”

As if asking when she had cried, Natasha ran towards her mother with a “Huh!” sound.

“You don’t speak Russian? You idiot!”

Natasha grabbed her mother’s hem and stuck her tongue out at Eun-soo.

“Wow, our Natasha speaks English and Russian well!”

At her mother’s praise, Natasha raised her head and placed a lovely hand on her waist.

Eun-soo, who had been staring blankly at the sight, put down her pencil and clapped her hands at Natasha.

“… … .”

Natasha had a confused expression on her face, as if to say, “Something isn’t right.”

As soon as my mother put a sweet grape in my mouth, my expression immediately lightened.

“That’s right. Natasha is good at English and Russian, just like Eunsu is good at math. People can’t all be good at everything. So don’t be too jealous. Okay?”

“……huh.”

It was awkward for a moment.

The two children sat together in front of a picture book, stomping their feet as they read the book together.

Mother looked at Eunsu’s notebook and smiled wryly.

“Wouldn’t it be too difficult for Eunsu to study?”

“Really? Is this difficult?”

I tilted my head.

While helping Eun-su study, I found out that she was talented in math.

I often looked at it whenever I had time.

“Well, you too, since you were young… … .”

“Me?”

As if saying no, my mother spoke with an awkward smile.

“Come to think of it, when you came home from kindergarten with a test paper that got 100 points, your father would brag to everyone in the neighborhood.”

“… … Was that so? I don’t remember that.”

“You didn’t show it in front of me, but you bragged about it so much. I heard that even Mr. Hansu, who lived next door, was disgusted by it.”

A hazy look appeared in my mother’s eyes.

“if…….”

“huh?”

“If you ever get a chance to meet your father, what would you want to say to him?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“So, if that’s the case.”

The mother thought about it for a moment.

“If I had the chance… … I would like to tell you that you’ve had a hard time. So, rest comfortably.”

“… … .”

“why?”

“No. And this time, I won the Nobel Prize.”

“That’s right.”

Mother smiled brightly.

“The awards ceremony will be held in Sweden in two months. Do you want to go with me?”

“I?”

“yes.”

“I’m worried that I’m interfering with your work by interfering with it… … .”

“I’m not going to work, I’m going to receive an award. Let’s go together.”

The mother, who had been thinking for a moment, nodded obediently.

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

At that moment, two pairs of eyes staring at me intently.

“Eunsu and Natasha, do you want to go to Sweden with me?”

“Sweden!”

“… … !”

At the mention of going on a trip, the two children got up from their seats and jumped up and down excitedly.

After a while, Natasha tilted her head and looked at Eunsu.

“… … Where is Sweden?”

Crackle crackle.

My mother and I burst out in laughter at the sight of the two children’s antics.

* * *

A dark night where even the light is silenced.

A deserted hospital rooftop.

A blood-soaked bandage flutters feebly in the wind.

A humming song.

Even if I close my eyes for a moment, the image of Hyejin I saw in my dream is vividly portrayed in my mind, as if it were a movie.

Recently, I saw Taekang and Hyejin looking so happy.

I remember that it was a bygone era, but… … .

The image from that time still remains deep in my heart, like a stain that has not been erased.

And such an unfortunate thing happens.

“Even one time is not enough.”

I stared at the photo of Lee Ji-an smiling brightly for a long time.