‘W-what is this?’

2009—it’s been quite a while. If Jung Ji-Won purchased this chair back then, does that mean he used to be in this lab too?

‘Right. Now that I think about it, Professor Park Hyo-San said he was Ji-Won’s advisor.’

There’s something sentimental about this. To think the team leader once bought this chair during his research days.

As Han Seo-Jin sat down, he asked,

“Professor, do you happen to know Team Leader Jung Ji-Won?”

“Ji-Won? Of course, I know him well. He was one of my students. How do you know him?”

“He’s my direct superior at the company. He’s the team leader.”

“Already? That guy should’ve told me he became a team leader. Why didn’t he mention it? Anyway, to think that clumsy kid rose to a team leader’s position… the world really has changed.”

“Do you keep in touch often?”

“Every now and then. You might not know this, but Ji-Won was the first alumni president of our department.”

At that moment, a scruffy-looking young man with horn-rimmed glasses interjected.

“Professor, isn’t this student a new graduate student? But you’re saying he’s under Senior Ji-Won at work?”

“He’s currently a first-year undergrad, but he worked before entering school, so he’s a bit older. He’ll join the lab later on.”

Han Seo-Jin was flabbergasted. Excuse me, Professor? What did you just say? I never agreed to that, though?

“Um, how old are you then…?”

The horn-rimmed glasses guy asked cautiously, likely hesitant because of the mention of prior work experience.

“I’m 25. I was exempted from military service.”

“Oh, so you’re younger than us.”

The horn-rimmed glasses guy looked relieved, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and Professor Park laughed heartily while making introductions.

“Introduce yourselves. You’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”

“I’m Choi Tae-Gyu. I’m in the doctoral program. I’m the senior-most student in the lab.”

“I’m Ahn Hong-Cheol. I’m a master’s student.”

“I’m Kim Hyun-Jin.”

“…I’m Han Seo-Jin. Still a first-year undergrad.”

Why am I introducing myself to the graduate students in this lab? Seo-Jin was baffled at how the situation had spiraled, while Professor Park smiled warmly in satisfaction.

Feeling like he’d been tricked, Seo-Jin hastily got up.

“Professor, I think I need to leave now.”

“What, leaving already? Take your time and look around the lab properly. You’ve got plenty of time, don’t you?”

“I need to leave for work. I’m sorry.”

“Work? Didn’t you quit your job to enter school?”

Horn-rimmed glasses, Choi Tae-Gyu, asked in confusion. Seo-Jin gave a vague answer.

“My company has a work-study scholarship program. They allow me to attend school during work hours.”

“Wow, there’s a company like that? That’s amazing.”

“Now that you mention it, Senior Ji-Won works at H Semiconductors, right? Wow, H Semiconductors must be doing really well these days.”

“Yeah, it’s all thanks to Beagle. I heard they might surpass Jinseong Electronics’ semiconductor division soon.”

I am the one who developed that Beagle, but if I say that, I might end up living in this lab permanently. Seo-Jin made his excuses and hurriedly left the lab.

Once outside the research institute, he glanced back. The building’s exterior boasted a cutting-edge design, yet it gave off a strangely eerie vibe, like an abandoned house.

“You visited the lab?”

Hearing this, Jung Ji-Won’s expression hardened slightly. Seo-Jin recalled hearing that Ji-Won had left his doctoral program almost as if fleeing.

“Yes. Professor Park seemed quite surprised when I mentioned you’d become a team leader. He wondered why you hadn’t told him…”

“Hmm… Seo-Jin-ah.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“As a scholar and as an advisor, Professor Park Hyo-San is actually a great person. Even though I fled while studying under him, I acknowledge that much.”

The moment something positive came out, a foreboding sense crept in. What kind of negative twist was about to follow?

“The problem is…”

“Yes?”

“He’s extremely tough.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I mean it. He pushes his students way too hard. I spent about six years under him, including my undergrad days, and eventually decided I couldn’t keep doing it. So I escaped.”

“…”

“At the time, I felt like I’d die from overwork if I stayed under him for just another year.”

Ji-Won spoke with a look of utter exasperation. Even recalling the past made the light in his eyes dim. How intense must it have been for him to react this way?

“Still, no one can deny he’s the top scientist in Korea when it comes to semiconductors. If you study under him, you’ll definitely learn a lot.”

A meeting between a young genius and a seasoned genius. Ji-Won couldn’t even begin to estimate what kind of synergy that might create.

But still…

“It’s going to be intense. Be prepared for that.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Yes. I can say with certainty—it’s very intense.”

His expression wasn’t promising. Seo-Jin couldn’t even imagine what it would be like. If someone like Ji-Won was shaking his head, how brutal must it be?

“You’ve already caught his eye, so you’ll have to make a decision soon. Think it over carefully.”

“What kind of decision?”

“Whether you’ll join or not. The fact that he already brought you to his personal lab means he’s firmly set on you.”

Ji-Won smirked and added,

“Of course, someone as talented as you would naturally catch his attention.”

Gathering his materials, Ji-Won got up. As he walked away, Seo-Jin caught him muttering to himself, “Still, going through it once might be a good growing pain…” or something to that effect.

Of course, Seo-Jin was internally panicking.

‘Please don’t say such things so lightly!’

Recalling the chair Ji-Won must have once sat in sent chills down his spine. That chair carried such a weight of suffering. No wonder it seemed unusual at first glance. It must be thanks to the heightened intuition from his Insight.

Recently, Team 2 had been swamped with research collaboration with Macfle.

“Those Macfle guys hit it big with Beagle, and now they’re treating us like we’re Doraemon or something.”

“Look at this mountain of data. When are we supposed to read and interpret all this?”

“They won’t even share royalties for solving this problem…”

“How long are we supposed to keep working overtime, anyway?”

Design Team 2 spent their days buried under heaps of research data.

Macfle, which had taken the market by storm with its Beagle CPU, was now collaborating with H Semiconductors on next-generation AP chip research. The primary collaborators were known to be Design Team 2, the team behind Beagle’s development.

The hollow-eyed Choi Ji-Seok spoke in a complaining tone.

“Team Leader, can’t Se-Jin just handle this? What’s the point of us mediocre folks gathering here while a genius is just sitting around?”

“No way. It’s a secret that Se-Jin developed the Beagle chip.”

“That may be true, but… ugh, trying to think this hard is about to make my head explode.”

“How can Macfle expect us to solve something even they’ve practically given up on? Are they planning to give us royalties or something?”

Design Team 2 was racking their brains over the draft design of the next-generation AP chip.

Han Seo-Jin tilted his head curiously and asked, “What’s the issue? Is it malfunctioning like during the Beagle chip’s original design phase?”

“No, that’s not it. Computational performance increased by about 20%, but heat dissipation also increased by about 10%. That’s the problem.”

“10% more heat generation is significant.”

“You, how about taking a look? Even if you don’t say anything, just see for yourself.”

“…Shall I?”

The team members already acknowledged Han Seo-Jin’s genius thanks to his work on the Beagle chip. They regarded his skills as superior to their own and harbored no jealousy or resentment.

Initially, Han Seo-Jin felt awkward and embarrassed about playing the role of a genius, but he had since grown accustomed to it. After all, they didn’t resent the rookie for being exceptionally skilled.

“……”

Han Seo-Jin began carefully examining the design schematics displayed on the screen, zooming in to scrutinize them closely. The team watched him in complete silence, their gazes fixed on his face.

The scrutiny was overwhelming, but Han Seo-Jin endured it.

“Even the team leader…”

Even Jung Ji-Won was staring intently at him. The weight of all their gazes felt crushing.

‘Alright, show me the answer. Quickly.’

Han Seo-Jin focused intently, his eyes faintly heating up. The power of his Insight activated. Gradually, truths invisible to others began to emerge, presenting themselves in their most optimal form.

It became crystal clear—the best way to maximize the design’s performance and efficiency based on the current schematics.

“…I think I’ve got it.”

“You’ve got it? Got what?”

Ha Jung-Tae asked urgently. The others’ expressions mirrored his curiosity.

Suppressing his embarrassment, Han Seo-Jin replied, “I think I know how it should be modified. Um… we can probably increase computational performance by about 25% while keeping the heat level unchanged.”

“Really?”

Choi Ji-Seok questioned in disbelief, his expression a mix of astonishment and doubt.

“You’re really a genius, huh?”

“Of course, I knew from the Beagle development phase. Nothing Seo-Jin does surprises me anymore.”

“If Seo-Jin were to design a chip from scratch, we’d be looking at the birth of a real monster, wouldn’t we?”

Han Seo-Jin was about to deny it but held back.

Creating something from scratch was far more challenging than modifying an existing draft. His current expertise in semiconductors was still insufficient for that.

The power of Insight allowed him to see better as his knowledge increased, but it didn’t mean he could fully comprehend everything he saw.

“Team Leader, wouldn’t it be better to let Seo-Jin participate? We can’t keep hiding his abilities forever.”

Kim Kyung-Kyu, who was ranked lowest among the team except for Han Seo-Jin, spoke as if pleading. In response, Ha Jung-Tae and Choi Ji-Seok clicked their tongues in pity.

“Hey, Seo-Jin will eventually start his own company and go independent. It won’t do him any good to get too entangled in this company. If he’s too exposed now, he could end up dealing with nasty stuff like industrial espionage or tech leaks. For now, he should stay under the radar.”

“Independence? Seo-Jin, is that true?”

Caught off guard, Han Seo-Jin glanced at Jung Ji-Won, who smirked and shook his head to deny it.

Ha Jung-Tae continued, “A genius like you has to start your own business. Why waste your talents to make your boss richer? Don’t you think so?”

“…I guess so.”

Keep a low profile and sell your skills later at a high value.

After hearing Jung Ji-Won’s advice, Han Seo-Jin had vaguely started thinking along those lines. For now, his focus was on learning the flow of the industry.

“But for now, I don’t have any plans like that. I don’t know enough to even think about going independent.”

“If you don’t know enough, then we might as well all drop dead.”

Choi Ji-Seok grumbled, and Jung Ji-Won spoke up.

“Are you confident in your modification plan?”

“Yes, pretty much. I don’t see any problems with it.”

“Then what do you plan to do? Should I let you join the research effort? If you want, we can make that happen.”

Jung Ji-Won’s expression wasn’t one of simple encouragement. It felt like he was posing a question, as if testing Seo-Jin to find the “correct” answer. The expression reminded Han Seo-Jin of Professor Park Hyo-San.

Han Seo-Jin slowly replied, “Um, Team Leader. I have a difficult request. Could you possibly connect me to someone at Macfle? And keep it a secret from the company.”

Jung Ji-Won looked at him with a surprised expression before bursting into a laugh, seemingly satisfied with the response.

“Alright.”

Other Novels