The Famous Millionaire

Duyoung nodded, saying “Yea, I agree.”

“By the way, it looks like they are intending to steal your research material to the end,” said Hyunwoo.

Duyoung was of the same opinion.

But he wasn’t worried at all. It would be almost impossible for anyone to find his material, and even if they succeeded in stealing it, they would find it hard to use for their own purpose.

Duyoung already applied for a patent on Super Green.

There was little possibility that they would produce products similar to Super Green because the number of patents he applied for was over 160. He found out all the microorganisms that reacted not only to gasoline but also to diesel, kerosene, and bunker C oil.

Besides, he applied for patents on the test results of the reaction related to the change in the environment such as electric current, sunlight, and temperature.

No matter how good of Singyong’s development team created, it would be difficult for them to apply for some other patents than Duyoung’s.

***

Munsik just felt heavy with the lack of progress in his team’s research on green oil.

“Any update? How soon can I get the result?”

“Sorry. It is a dangerous chemical formula that can cause an explosion if any mistakes are made. That’s why we are slow in the experiment. We’re taking extreme caution.”

Munsik was disagreeably surprised. He hired a professional handler to take the risk of stealing Duyoung’s research material on green oil, but the development team didn’t fully make use of it.

Besides, what Duyoung developed was Super Green. It would be superior to ordinary gasoline in terms of the high performance for its price. Wasn’t it natural for Super Green to have more explosive power then?

A dangerous chemical formula meant that it could be genuine green oil.

Nonetheless, his development team was dragging its feet because they were scared.

He felt if his team kept delaying the experiment like that, Duyoung’s STM would steal the show.

“How stupid they are! How can they develop super energy when they’re so chicken-hearted like that? Let me go and check it.”

“Chairman, it’s dangerous. It could explode in your presence.”

Munsik was aware of that, too.

But he knew that if they experiment in small quantities, it would not explode. As a chemistry doctor himself, Munsik was as much well versed in the field as the manager of the development team.

“Shut up!”

Munsik headed for the development room.

***

Early the next morning, Hyunwoo had breakfast with his family. Among them were Kuroda and some of the workers at Hyunwoo’s Mom.

After eating breakfast, Duyoung habitually opened a newspaper as he did.

Stunned, Duyoung called Hyunwoo.

“What the heck is this? Come here, son.”

“Why? Any good news?”

“Munsik was at the scene of the experiment…Explosion…Hahaha.”

Duyoung was about to say something but stammered, barely holding back laughter.

Hyunwoo could figure out what his father was trying to say. Though he doubted that it would happen, it was obvious that it did, given his dad’s expression.

According to the report, Singyoung led by Munsik Choi has recently been actively developing super energy with an ambitious goal.

In particular, its CEO Munsik Choi sometimes leads the research efforts as he is overly ambitious. Yesterday, he participated in an experiment but an unexpected explosion took place.

Though nobody was killed in the explosion, three people including Munsik suffered minor burns.

There was a picture showing Munsih being transported to a hospital, covered in soot from head to feet. It was what Duyoung exactly imagined.

What was more laughable was that Munisk was being carried on a stretcher.

It was for promotional purposes. Namely, he wanted to show the public that he had such a passion about the development of super energy.

At the end of the article, there was some praise of Munsik’s patriotic ambition to make Korea a country with plenty of resources.

Duyoung and Hyunwoo distorted their faces at the same time.

“Damn it. I hate the story.”

“Nobody knows. If Munsik had succeeded in the experiment, the media would have praised such a mean guy as a hero,” said Duyoung.

Kuroda, sitting beside them, heard what they talked about.

Shaking his head with a bitter expression, Kuroda said,

“In any country, the press, politicians, and businessmen are all in the same boat. It’s hard to find accurate news.”

“People like us should join hands more strongly than ever despite such deplorable things,” said Duyoung, clenching his fists.

In the meantime, Munsik didn’t sit idle.

He had very light burns because of the experiment. He had no reason to give up his ambition about super energy.

And he trusted the experiment data that he stole from Duyoung. Though he failed in the experiment due to an unexpected explosion, he was absolutely sure it was still the Super Green that Duyoung had developed.

“It’s Super Green. It’s only natural that it’s so sensitive to experiment with. We can make a success if we took more caution.”

Munsik did the experiment again based on Duyoung’s material. He was convinced that he could apply for a patent on that if he succeeded.

But the manager of the development team was strongly opposed.

“I really feel strange about it. The data this time is a total fake, I think. It looks like they are making fun of us.”

“Shut up, man!”

Munsik pushed ahead with the experiment. And he again experienced another explosion in less than a week, but he didn’t give up, continuing the experiment.

After all, he didn’t get anything close to super energy.

Only then did he realize something.

‘I was completely deceived by them!’

He was so ashamed. He felt soaring anger that he could not hold back.

He clenched his fists and resolved,

‘You guys dare make fun of me? Do you think you can get away with it safely?’

He was full of desire to take revenge on Duyoung and his men.

But they were no longer easy prey. Hyunwoo, Duyoung’s son, was the president of a top company in Korea.

As for KOVE DREAM, the number of its employees and its sales were not that impressive, but it had a very good name among the people.

Ani & Funny was also very famous. Many people said the company was the growth industry of the future that could create lots of jobs for more than ten years.

Though very small in size, N&C Korea was also owned by Hyunwoo.

Besides, Hyunwoo’s Mom, a breakfast catering factory run by his mother, also had a good name among the general public.

All combined, Hyunwoo’s companies were more powerful than Singyong. In terms of the number of employees, Singyong was superior to Hyunwoo’s companies but lagged behind it in terms of profits.

In fact, Singyoung could not go from being in the red to black because of its financial difficulty.

Munsik heard that Hyunwoo was meeting a series of politicians recently.

‘I should not touch him thoughtlessly. Let me make a case against him and drive him into a corner right away.’

Munsik needed a lot more tips about him to realize his goal. He needed to monitor not only Hyunwoo but also those around him.

He gave the intel manager special instruction.

“Make a special team to monitor Hyunwoo. Try to find out where he is going, where he sleeps and eats, and who he is meeting. If you find anything significant, let me know immediately.”

“Got it. By the way, what about Super Green? Do I need to continue the search for the relevant data?

Munsik shook his head. Duyoung was expecting what Munsik would do, so it would be foolish to try to repeat the same mistake.

“Just give it up as a bad job. Do a thorough investigation of Hyunwoo alone instead.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

Hyunwoo was on the go, crisscrossing the country all the time. Sometimes, he had to travel to Pusan and Incheon to check the business status of KOVE DREAM, and sometimes, he went down to the offices of Ani & Funny in Seoul, Kwangju, and Daegu.

What made him busier was the new Haenim School under construction in Tapgokri, Sosan City.

It was nearing completion. With some more finishing touches on it, everybody would be able to move soon.

The existing Haenim School in Hwasung would be used as a dormitory of the employees of Hyunwoo’s Mom and Ani & Funny.

The STM factory under construction in Daesan Port was also inching toward completion.

But the process of installing facilities as Duyoung originally designed took some more time as he made sure there should be no errors in the construction because its raw material and final products were all flammable.

Meanwhile, Hyunwoo never failed to visit Yu Zuung’s house.

Hyunwoo got her a house in Hwasung and Seoul respectively. Her house in Hwasung was a single home in a remote village, while the other one in Seoul was a high-end condo.

Though he didn’t visit it often as before, he still stopped by once a week.

No matter how busy he was, he tried his best to stay with her.

In the meantime, he was not as careful as before when he met her. In the past, he created passwords and disguised himself to keep his meeting with her secret.

But as he was accustomed to it, he just relied on the existing methods to meet her instead of replacing them with new ones.

One’s tail is bound to be stepped on if it’s long.

Besides, Yu Zuung was famous not only in Korea but also in China, Japan, and America.

Naturally, she was the subject of media attention all the time. Her every move was photographed by the press.

Besides, there was even a mole shadowing her recently.

The mole didn’t rely on the typical camera that cameramen used for their coverage.

He monitored Yu Zuung with not only an ultrasmall bugging device but also an unmanned drone.

The purpose of the mole was clear.

What kind of relationship did she have with Hyunwoo?

The mole could find it out without any difficulty. When she took her laundry to a dry cleaner’s, he secretly replaced one of the existing buttons with a bugging device.

She met Hyunwoo without knowing at all that a bugging device was hidden on her dress. Not only inside her car but also in her house were several bugging devices installed in secret.

As a result, even her private conversation with Hyunwoo was recorded into the bugging device.

The mole curled his lips, murmuring, ‘I guess my client will be satisfied.’