Chapter 129

Chapter 129Beautiful Genius(3)

Wednesday morning.

Standing in the hallway, adjusting his tie, Jeong-woo checked his outfit and shouted towards the inside.

Im leaving first. Do well on your midterms.

His younger brother, who was eating in the kitchen, nodded in response. As he opened the door, he saw his mother, Hong Ji-sook, hanging up shirts on the laundry line.

Mom, Im heading to work now.

Youre leaving early today.

I have to attend the weekly meeting as a substitute, so I have a lot to prepare in the morning.

Passing by Hong Ji-sook while waving his hand, Jeong-woo suddenly stopped and turned his head back as a sudden question popped up.

By the way, Mom.

Yes?

Remember when I was completely lost and wandering around aimlessly? How did you manage to get me to focus and study?

Why are you asking about that?

I need to meet kids who seem to have lost their minds in a different sense. Its been over 8 years, and I cant remember well.

Hong Ji-sook, who was rummaging through the laundry basket, suddenly straightened her back and stood next to Jeong-woo. Then, she lightly tapped his back.

Oh! It hurts!

Jeong-woo, rubbing his sore back, suddenly realized something.

It was tough love, wasnt it?Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

What are you talking about, you crazy kid? Didnt I tell you to separate the laundry by color?

A blue shirt emerged from the laundry basket, which should have only contained white clothes. Seeing the white shirt also turned bluish due to the mix-up, Hong Ji-sooks sharp gaze fell on Jeong-woo.

Stepping back hastily, Jeong-woo tried to remedy the situation.

I know the people in the department that develops bleach to make that thing snow-white. Ill get you some of the exciting new products.

Seeing even the group t-shirts from the womens association tainted with blue, sparks flew in Hong Ji-sooks eyes.

This eldest son knows how much Mom loves

Enough of this!

Jeong-woo dashed out into the small yard and slammed the door shut.

From the start, clothes that lose color are bad.

Grumbling to himself, he descended the hill and boarded the subway.

It was 7 AM, but the subway was packed. Being pushed around amidst the crowd at each station, Jeong-woo somehow found himself missing the pristine snowfields of Alaska.

Seems like theres no time to relax these days.

From the side effects incident at the pharmacy center last week to the animal epidemic on the island during what was supposed to be a restful holiday, and now dealing with a potential headache handed over by Dr. Moon.

As he practically embarked on his first day at the pharmaceutical bio center, Jeong-woo fervently hoped that only minor accidents typical of office life would occur.

Ding dong.

Walking into the elevator just as the doors opened, Jeong-woo sees someone rushing towards it and presses the open button. The person who dashed in hastily bowed deeply.

Ah, thank you.

Youre early today, Jin Mi-so.

Huh? Senior Jeong-woo?

Jin Mi-so, from the spring recruitment, had a dimple on her cheek. Jeong-woo pressed the button for the 25th floor and turned to look at Jin Mi-so. Since the office for the recruits was on the 2nd floor, she usually didnt take the elevator.

Where are you heading?

To the 25th floor.

As she mentioned the same floor, the conversation continued.

What training are you attending these days?

Im on a period of touring the projects. Im following Senior Lee Dong-gil.

I see.

I was planning to apply to Senior Jeong-woo if you had been involved in a project.

As Jin Mi-so looked at him with shining eyes, Jeong-woo cleared his throat. It was because he remembered making her cry on their first day at work due to a bet.

Song Boyeong finished brushing her teeth in the bathroom and walked out into the corridor, only to be surprised to see Jeong-woo and Jin Mi-so walking amiably.

What? Why am I hiding?

Although she thought so, her body didnt detach from the wall it was pressed against. With only her head slightly tilted, Song Boyeongs eyes followed the two.

Jeong-woo looked particularly neat today. Jin Mi-so, who was always slender and tall, looked quite nice standing next to him. The two of them stood at the entrance to the private research building as they walked down the corridor.

Lets go in. Im in Zone C. Good luck with your planning evaluation.

Um Senior.

Yes?

Youre the only special researcher in the research institute. I really want to work as your assistant after the training ends.

Song Boyeongs eyebrows twitched.

Theres already someone from Research Lab 1 who applied.

But its your choice, Senior. I personally have a lot of interest in you

Interest?

Yes, very personal.

Seeing the tail end of the conversation, Song Boyeong found herself absentmindedly chewing her lips.

Scratching his head, Jeong-woo spoke.

Im sorry, but please refrain from such interest. Im currently preparing to date someone.

D, date someone?

Oh, if anyone hears this, theyll misunderstand. Im still preparing.

While Jin Mi-so was at a loss for words at the unexpected answer, Jeong-woo gestured towards inside.

Its getting late. Youve got to make it worth your while since you came in early. Please, go in.

Jeong-woo disappeared into Zone C. Jin Mi-so watched him coolly walking away, her heart racing, while Song Boyeong chuckled.

Wait. Preparing to date?

Feeling her heart pounding, Song Boyeong placed her hand over her chest.

Surely not me?

Beep beep.

Holding his access card, Jeong-woo entered the research lab and sat down at his desk, turning on his laptop.

Do you know him?

I went to the Tokyo University Gene Therapy Symposium last year. He participated then, and he was a genius at intimidating people with a smiling face. Nobody dared to argue. It was fortunate that the participants were Japanese professors.

Jeong-woos head instinctively turned back to the front at this conversation.

Lee Sang-joong, whose mouth seemed to be tinged with a smile, met eyes with Jeong-woo. Jeong-woo bowed his head, too, as he was too embarrassed to greet them separately.

Whats this? Does he know me?

Whirr

As the electric screen descended on the wall, the meeting began.

Well start with the presentation on the progress of the project.

At the moderators words, Kim Won-bae stood up from his seat and stood at the lectern. The progress of Team 1s development of the Beta Blocker immediately appeared on the beam projector screen.

As you know, conventional beta blockers have been contraindicated for heart failure patients and relatively contraindicated for type 2 diabetes patients. However, the improvement points we have reflected this time are

As the presentation, which lasted for five minutes, was coming to an end, Kim Won-bae addressed everyone.

If anyone has any questions or opinions regarding the research progress, please speak up.

What about the lipid solubility?

Its lower than that of propranolol or atenolol. We aim to minimize central nervous system side effects.

When will the clinical trials begin?

If we receive positive evaluations in the preclinical trials, we expect to start in the fall.

As the Q&A session was nearing the end of Team 1s presentation, Lee Sang-joong, who was sitting in the front row, raised his hand.

Kim Won-bae, with a slightly stiff expression, looked at Lee Sang-joong.

Yes, Professor Lee Sang-joong.

Its quite surprising that a hypertension treatment of this level is being developed in Korea.

Ah, thank you for the compliment

But

As expected, it wasnt merely about praising the achievements.

The first and second rank side effects are persistent problems with antihypertensive drugs. Its hard to understand how just changing the composition of the drug can improve it.

At Lee Sang-joongs questioning on the difficult part to answer, Kim Won-bae sighed inwardly.

Its still in the preclinical stage, and were only validating the newly added chemical structure through simulation, so there are some shortcomings.

Just by looking at the chemical structure, it seems like the decrease in natural peptides in the brain could worsen headaches.

Thats unlikely.

Furthermore, Ive analyzed the transformed cells of sudden cardiac death patients, and the protein included in the current chemical structure was similar to those cells. Those transformed cells had a very fatal genetic trait that weakened the hearts contractility.

The researchers buzzed with discussion after two consecutive comments.

Especially, Center Director Yoon Donghwis expression changed when serious drawbacks of a drug under development, which the Pharmaceutical Bio Center was investing the most in, were mentioned. He looked at Kim Won-bae.

Team Leader Kim.

Yes, Director Yoon.

It was much more stable when we discussed it last week. Why did you suddenly change the chemical structure?

Well, thats

Kim Won-baes eyes became sorrowful as he looked at the spot where Team 1s members were sitting. None of the team members could offer a suitable opinion on the situation.

Why arent you answering, Team Leader Kim?

With sweat forming on his forehead, Kim Won-baes stern gaze turned towards Jeong-woo. Sensing the desperate plea in his eyes, Jeong-woo examined the chemical structure on the PT carefully and discovered a horrifying flaw.

So, it was this that Professor Lee found?

Jeong-woo raised his hand, surprised by the fact that Lee Sang-joong, just by looking at the chemical structure, could understand its effects to that extent.

Team Leader Kim. I think I made a slight typo in a hurry when I sent it. Here, let me correct it for a minute.

Oh. Is that so?

Im sorry, but please give me a minute to make the correction.

Jeong-woo quickly corrected the chemical structure on the laptop next to the lectern and waved his hand.

There. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Lee Sang-joongs eyes sparkled as he looked at the corrected chemical structure. Kim Won-bae cautiously spoke to Lee Sang-joong.

It was originally an idea from Researcher Han Jeong-woo, and we applied it because we judged it to be feasible, but there seems to have been a slight mistake in the process.

Now that I see the chemical structure, it doesnt seem to be very stable. It has become quite different from the genetic traits I researched. And as you know, substances involved in the human body can become toxic or medicinal with just one molecular difference, right?

Im well aware of that.

When Lee Sang-joong acknowledged, Kim Won-bae sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging.

After finishing the presentation and returning to his seat, Kim Won-bae said to Jeong-woo, seemingly without any face-saving intentions.

It was obvious that it was hastily prepared. Im sorry, and thank you.

Dont mention it.

When Team 2 leader Jeon In-gu declared that he would develop generics into improved new drugs, Yoon Donghwi opened his mouth in surprise.

How am I supposed to accept it if you suddenly change the direction of the project like that?

Weve already completed verification in the database. If you look, dizziness has been significantly improved, and even symptoms of blurred vision occur much less frequently than with the original drug.

Who conducted the cross-validation?

Under Yoon Donghwis pressure, Jeon In-gu felt as if his feet were being swept from under him and pointed to Jeong-woo, who was in conversation with Kim Won-bae.

Special researcher Han Jeong-woo conducted the validation.

Is that so?

Yoon Donghwi, who had been probing rigorously, suddenly softened. By firmly establishing that it was entirely Han Jeong-woos idea, Jeon In-gu built up the center directors trust before concluding the presentation.

As soon as Team 3 leader Jeon Yeong-ho displayed the presentation slide with improvement points, Yoon Donghwi raised his head and asked with a smirk.

Using gene retroversion technology to shorten processing time? Isnt it unrealistic to expect simulation results to match real-world values? Have you actually tried making it?

Well Well bring in the process proposer to hear directly from them.

Jeon Yeong-ho immediately called Jeong-woo to the platform.

Director. This isnt primarily focused on retroversion but rather on optimizing at the genetic level using catalysts before protein cultivation. I think there might be a mistake in the notation of the catalyst chemical formula during the transmission process. Please wait 30 seconds.

Team 4s Seon Woo-jin started the presentation with Jeong-woo from the beginning.

Lilac with spinach and broccoli. The key to natural fat breakdown lies in the combination of ingredients. Precision is essential to match the antioxidant network. Team Leader Seon Woo-jin.

Yes?

Alpha-lipoic acid and glutathione should be included in the same structural formula, but this seems too disconnected Its my fault for miscommunication. It can be corrected quickly

As each presenting team pointed to a specific researchers, responsible researchers from other centers attending the meeting couldnt help but laugh at the absurdity.