12 Hours After

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

I leaned over the sofa and watched the TV. On TV, a reporter was explaining something in the background of the National Assembly.

“… the controversy is likely to continue in the future.”

I looked at it and thought, ‘Well… it’s time to be on the air.’

Sure enough, the announcer had a chance. “Healthy functional food good for the body, you’ve all heard it before, haven’t you?” It was on the air. The announcer went on and on. “But recently, a suspected case of dying from eating healthy food has shocked consumers. It was covered by a reporter, Jeon Gook-hwan.”

The screen changed and someone’s interview video was released right away. “She was a healthy person. The doctor said her blood pressure was a little high, but other than that, she was healthy…” He was the husband of the dead woman.

A reporter wearing glasses said, lifting a long red bottle, “But after she drank this, she died?”

It was a mosaic but I’d been looking for it all day and I could see it right away; it was Power Red V of Nature’s Gift.

“She has itched all over since she took this, and then… suddenly…”

“Mrs. Hong, who was normally healthy, but when she was sixty years old, buying and eating this health food led to her death. One month after taking this product, she felt itchy, and she had an unknown cause of blisters, and died of acute septicemia.”

“The manufacturer countered right away.”

“Our company produces all of our products on the recommendation of the Food and Drug Administration. There is no evidence that she died from taking this product.”

There was also an interview for a doctor in a gown, saying, “… the chances are low. However, reports of side effects have been reported, and the FDA notes that it could cause serious diseases such as fungal infections…”

The news seemed to last almost a minute.

“… the police have launched an investigation to determine the exact nature of the case.”

When I saw it, I thought, ‘Even tomorrow, I can’t sell the stock because it was just on the eight o’clock news. Thirteen million is small money for me, but big money as well. I’m not sure if this stock of Nature’ Gift is being manipulated, but if it’s a scammed stock, I’ll probably lose at least half of the money. If I can make the short stock selling, I’ll be able to do it.’

‘When the true cause of death by taking this health-functioning food is revealed… In fact, it wouldn’t be strange to delist it directly…’

But it wasn’t very likely. I found it very difficult to reveal such a pharmacological causal relationship, as I had been looking for the news either before or after work. If this red ginseng and probiotics had an element that could kill people directly in the first place, it wouldn’t have been sold.

I drew a scenario. ‘Once the crash is right, because a person died and the news came out… But it’s going to be an easy game to play if they make a crash here and then buy the stock at a cheaper price and give it a reversal. Now that the police investigation has begun, there will be a series of articles about it: once they push it with negative articles, later they will give it positive articles and a reverse, the situation will turn around.”

‘It’s a matter of timing… but the knives are held by the press covering this. When are they going to use the knives?’

I thought about Director Lee Won-jae. ‘That guy…’ To be honest, he was not very likable. Although he was not as cruel as Director Tak Joon-gi, treating ordinary people like dog pigs, he was a bit creepy in that he made profits by the manipulation of information.

‘Maybe he could’ve been a good colleague… I know the news in the future, and this guy can send out the current news. If we worked together, we could create a lot of synergies. However, there are too many problems working with this guy. The biggest problem is that he is basically not reliable.

‘I just want to buy this company and get out of here. However, the Daewon Daily News is an unlisted company, not a company which can be bought by money, as it was formed from the flow of capital from a large company in the first place. It would be more likely I could buy the parent company. That will cost me a billion dollars.’

I was thinking about it and suddenly I thought, ‘Should I buy a media company? A major media company, such as the Daewon Daily News, may be too much, but the Internet newspaper, a newspaper company that has a clean record, is likely to be affordable. Major companies, whether in the U.S. or South Korea, are all slightly connected to the media, trying to manipulate public opinion to their advantage.’

Our company would continue to grow, too, and I thought we’d better keep a friendly press company on it. In addition, if I got to Master Class, I would get the ‘Undercover Report’ skill.

I didn’t really know how it worked, but the Customer Service said, “Our correspondent is very competent.” Even if I were to grasp the information, wouldn’t it be good for me to have a media channel to report it through?

Come to think of it, most of the news I would be looking for would be special editions, a lucky press that would accept all such special editions. If it could be, it’d be better to be mine, too.

I texted Secretary Seo right away when I thought, ‘Okay, fine, then…’

– Get in touch with Vice President Jang and tell him to check out media companies which we can invest in. I’d like a listed company, but it would be okay for even a non-listed company.-

The reply came quickly, -Yes, boss.-

‘If I have a media company, it may be able to rig my future news a little. For example, a month from now, if there is the news, “Ballad singer Koo Jung-chan and girl group Chae So-young’s love affair,” it could explode a week later. Sometimes, it could send out the news, “CEO Han Sang-hoon of Invictus Investment has another big investment hit this time” or a compliment. Then the possibility of Han Sang-hoon appearing on the news in 12 Hours After will be increased…

‘Okay, then, do it…’

I picked up my cell phone and looked at the clock. It was 8:53. I didn’t know time was passing by because I was watching the news. I stood in front of my computer and prepared to receive emails.

[D. 12 Hours After]

[D. 12 Days After]

[D. 12 Weeks After]

[D. 12 Months After]

As expected, the four emails came. But when I looked at them, a sudden thought came into my mind, ‘Maybe… I can set the timing.’

‘If I can tell when an angler is going to lift the fishing pole, I can make up for the loss. What’s needed to set the timing is names. First, Nature’s Gift owner, Won Young-sung, has no response at this moment, but chances are high that he will open his mouth in a police investigation or something like this.’

If I tracked him, something might come out. I put his name on the list first, and the names of the Minister of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, and so on. I would be putting these names on the ‘People Search’ in turn from time to time.

[The health functional food that has been issued is harmless…]

[There is little correlation with this death…]

From these people’s mouths, if such stories came out, it would be the time of the rebound.

Lee Won-jae had said, ‘If you spend twenty million dollars, you will get six million.’

‘It means that if I spend a few million dollars more on top of my thirteen million, I can make up for the loss, averaging down… Of course, it may be better to just make sure of my loss in a cool way and focus on other stocks, but it’s a matter of pride. I haven’t lost a single time before, but this time I will lose.’

‘OK, let’s look at the situation and think about the averaging down of the stock. If this is a real scammed stock… I can’t fuck myself up alone.’ I watched the news, thinking that way.

In the news of 12 Months After, I got a good news story. [AS Jin, the defense industry has been taken over by Susung Electronics.]

‘All right, it’s good for Susung Electronics to take it over. Big hit… the date is September 10th next year.’

On the calendar, I wrote my initial thoughts like that way. ‘ASJ TO SE’

‘Next September is a little far away, but then this stock will benefit me greatly.’

I lost money today, but I felt comfortable with the thought that I got one of these big bites.

‘Yeah, this is a little unfortunate, but anyway…’ I closed my mailbox, thinking that way.

‘Then what am I going to do today? Shall I watch a movie? I’ve been a little busy lately, so it’s been a long time since I watched a movie in a private theater. After watching a comedy movie I can laugh at, the stress will dissipate.’

I took a can of beer out of the refrigerator and tried to pick up a cookie and head to the private cinema.

But then, strangely, I heard someone pressing down on my studio keypad.

‘Who is it?’ I was a little creeped out. I was the only one who knew my home password. But someone was pressing the keypad to enter my studio.

‘A thief? Or…?’ There was not much money in my studio. I didn’t like luxury goods in the first place. If I had a valuable thing, it was a hundred thousand dollar high-end watch. Come to think of it, that might be enough. I walked around, wondering if I could use something as a weapon.

Then, outside, a voice said, “Why isn’t this working?”

As soon as I heard the voice, I could tell what was going on. “Huh, this lady, really…” I put the beer I was carrying on the shelf and opened the door.

Outside, Lee Ah-young looked at me with her eyes slightly lifted and said, “Uh? Oppa next door? Why are you coming out of my studio?”

‘Why does this lady go around like this all the time when she can’t even drink?’

I told her, “This is my apartment, yours is next door.”

“Huh?” She looked next to herself. “Oh, I see. I’m sorry, oppa,” she said in an embarrassed voice.

She said that she was sorry, but I didn’t think she would remember. I looked at her just to see if she got in. She stumbled in front of her door as if she was going to fall down, before she managed to enter her password.

‘525720*’ I spoke out the password. To be honest, I couldn’t forget it, because I had it memorized.

She was lucky enough to type her password correctly. The door opened with a click.

When I saw it open, I started to close the door and go back into my apartment. But then she collapsed on the spot with a thump.

‘Huh…’ I waited a moment for her to get up. But she didn’t stand up, her hair all over the ground like that. It was January now, and cold in the hallway. Even so, there might be aftereffects if she slept here. ‘She could have a stroke…’

It would not be so beautiful to think of such a beauty having such a thing happen. I was forced to approach her and get her up. She was drunk and clung to me.

‘… I can’t help it.’ I entered her studio with her back and legs in my arms, the so-called “bridal carry.” I could feel a strong sense of deja vu. No wonder. I did the same thing last time. But there was a difference from last time: there was no friend watching Ah Young.

I laid her down on the bed in her bedroom. She still had a flamboyant beauty and a sexy body. The strings of my reason faded slightly.

‘If I think about it, she came to my studio first, right? Is this… does she like me?’ It was a strange theory.

Suddenly, she brought her hands to her eyes and muttered, “Mom… Dad…”