Ghosts of Eternity

Seo-han ordered a complete overhaul of his office.

The flimsy furniture was gone, replaced by a deep leather sofa and a minimalist floor lamp. The walls were covered in muted silk wallpaper that seemed to absorb light, and the ceiling was painted matte black to add a sense of depth to the space. In the underground parking lot, a black Genesis G90, leased under Aether Bio's corporate name, was delivered.

Because Aether Bio's available funds were hitting rock bottom, the backlash from the finance department was immediate. Holding a signing folder, the head of finance stepped into the CEO's office with obvious distress written all over his face.

"Sir, spending this much on hospitality and renovations right before a capital raise will provoke our shareholders and existing investors."

"Let them look."

Seo-han replied dryly, signing the document with his fountain pen.

"Execute it exactly as planned."

After the head of finance exited in heavy silence, Seo-han stared out the window.

His official justification was boosting public credibility. To handle the upcoming large-scale clinical trials, meetings with global big pharma, and consultations with regulatory agencies, Aether Bio could no longer afford to look like a university lab.

Yet Seo-han knew exactly how the existing investors would interpret this scene. A deep leather sofa and a G90 arriving in the office of a company whose runway was drying up—to them, it would not look like growth. It would look like a CEO spending investor money as if the company were already his private estate.

A crack just wide enough to make the current investors uncomfortable. For Seo-han, that calculated discord was all he needed. That misunderstanding would soon become the perfect opening for Eterno to move even more quietly during the upcoming capital raise.

The wall would protect Aether Bio’s ownership. But a wall without a weapon was only a bunker. Seo-han needed a spear.

He turned his gaze to the monitor and launched the new pipeline design software. His next target was Interleukin-11 (IL-11).

It was the core axis that accelerated tissue fibrosis and age-related organ hardening. Aligning the amino acid sequences of human and mouse IL-11 proteins revealed a similarity of over 90%. That similarity meant one antibody could potentially hit both species.

Seo-han intended to filter the candidates through two channels. The antibody had to precisely bind to human IL-11 while securing cross-reactivity so its efficacy could be read in preclinical models. The animal model was already chosen: a complex condition overlapping obesity, chronic inflammation, and liver fibrosis. It was the perfect stage to reproduce, in compressed time, the scars aging left across organs.

Proving it there would be enough. If Ghost was the spark, AX-11 was the firewall. And the IL-11 axis would become the next unnamed wall standing beyond that firewall.

A knock broke the silence, and Kang Si-hyun, a senior partner at Taesan Law Firm, walked in. She calmly took in the altered atmosphere of the room.

"The CEO's office looks like quite a splendid gallery now."

Si-hyun sat down elegantly on the leather sofa.

"It's the bare minimum required for corporate hospitality and operational efficiency."

"The investment analysts are going to talk. With a massive funding round ahead, they’ll think management has lost discipline."

She spoke while lightly eyeing the Genesis smart key on the table. It was the exact misreading Seo-han wanted.

"That is the point. I want them to back out of this capital raise on their own."

Si-hyun's eyes narrowed sharply. She instantly read his calculation. He was making the existing investors hesitate so Eterno could take a larger share.

"It's the most efficient way to utilize Eterno's capital."

Seo-han handed her a cup of coffee freshly brewed from the espresso machine.

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"Defending against legal risks during that process is your job, Counselor. Please prepare documentation proving that all these expenditures were essential steps for normal business operations and enhancing public credibility."

Kang Si-hyun toyed with her fountain pen, offering a low smile.

"I will package the renovation and vehicle lease costs as a strategic investment to elevate brand value. There won't be any legal loopholes. However... I can only block legal attacks."

Si-hyun set her pen down and stared straight at Seo-han.

"Rewriting the very language of regulatory agencies is outside my domain. That doesn't require a lawyer—it requires someone who designs state institutions."

"Who are we talking about?"

"Baek Seo-yoon."

Baek Seo-yoon was the eldest daughter of a political heavyweight—a former Vice Minister of Economy and Finance and Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs. She was the one person capable of reshaping the state regulations and administrative barriers Aether Bio would face in the future, turning them into a favorable terrain rather than something to merely evade.

A few days later, looking out the window of a senior researcher's office at GSI in Gwanghwamun, a forest of high-rises stretched across a city submerged under a gloomy sky. The thick, monotone carpet absorbed all footsteps, leaving only the dry friction of turning tablet pages to drift through the silent room.

Across the desk, Baek Seo-yoon kept her eyes fixed on the tablet. Dressed in a silk blouse with a neatly fastened collar, she exuded the scentless cleanliness characteristic of a perfectly organized space. Her dry, transparent eyes read the cascading numbers on the screen with chilling precision.

A knock sounded, and the door opened as Lee Seo-han walked in. He wore a fine-knit black turtleneck underneath a dark navy coat that fell with crisp, structured shoulders. The subtle glint of a silver chain peeking through his coat collar added a sense of gravity to his refined silhouette.

When Seo-han stopped walking, Seo-yoon looked up. A current of cold, calculated evaluation surged between the two the moment their eyes met.

"Pleasure to meet you, CEO Lee Seo-han," Seo-yoon greeted him in a low voice. Her tone carried a steady, quiet power devoid of unnecessary inflection.

"Lee Seo-han. Aether Bio."

With a measured nod, Seo-han took a seat in the leather chair opposite her.

Seo-yoon moved her teacup aside and placed a thick manila envelope in the center of the table.

"I heard from Counselor Kang Si-hyun. Aether Bio's pipeline is quite fascinating."

"We are advancing our research with a primary focus on immunomodulatory substances."

Seo-han's reply was concise. He stripped away any fluff that might exaggerate or sugarcoat their technical achievements.

Seo-yoon lightly turned her tablet screen toward Seo-han. Moving far beyond simple corporate analysis, it revealed a massive architecture charting the regulatory frameworks of relevant government ministries and the complex dynamics of global pharma.

“The U.S. Biosecurity Act has created a massive vacuum in the global value chain. With Chinese CDMOs and biotech firms being pushed out, this is the clearest opportunity to build an entry barrier.”

Seo-yoon's fingertip pointed to a specific metric on the screen.

"Korean regulation typically follows the U.S.—just later, more cautiously, and in a way that avoids accountability."

Seo-yoon smoothly swiped the screen.

"But this time, we can reverse-engineer the process. If we draft Korea’s guidelines from the beginning in language the U.S. cannot easily reject, MFDS approval will become more than domestic clearance. It will function as a rehearsal for FDA entry. It's a mechanism that simultaneously clears the hurdles for both a NASDAQ listing and the American market."

This was not lobbying. This was system design. Seo-yoon was not trying to slip through regulation. She was trying to write the road itself to redirect the flow of capital.

"Regulations are typically fortress walls built to block corporations," Seo-yoon said, looking directly into Seo-han’s eyes. "But when you stand on the side that designs them, they become the sharpest spear. I want Aether Bio to participate in this platform. I wonder if you find this proposal interesting."

Kang Si-hyun could build a shield of law. But Baek Seo-yoon was offering something grander: a spear and a wall. An avenue for Aether Bio to venture outward, and simultaneously a barrier of national standards that no one else could easily breach.

After a tense silence, Seo-han spoke.

"I am interested. However, if Aether Bio is only meant to decorate your platform, I will not participate."

The corner of Seo-yoon's mouth quirked up ever so slightly.

"If you were that kind of company, I wouldn't have invited you in the first place."

She lightly switched off the tablet screen.

Right on cue, heavy raindrops began to bead against the glass outside before turning into a torrential downpour that pounded the large window pane. The rhythmic drumming quietly blanketed the taut tension that had filled the room.

"It's raining heavily," Seo-yoon murmured, holding her words for a moment as she stared out the window. The sheets of rain falling vertically over the gray city were perfectly orderly, almost like regulatory lines drawn by an unseen hand.

Seo-han rose soundlessly from his seat. Straightening his suit with a light touch, he gathered the documents on the table. There was no wasted movement in his hands as he handled the papers containing Aether Bio's future.

"I will take my leave for today. We will review the structure internally and get back to you."

Even before someone who could draw the blueprints of state systems,, his demeanor carried the finality of a period at the end of a sentence. His footsteps faded down the corridor at perfectly measured intervals.

The door closed, leaving only the heavy drumming of rain against the window to settle back into the room.

Seo-yoon stared at the closed door for a long beat.

Lee Seo-han did not get overly excited like a capitalist, nor did he dodge accountability like a bureaucrat. He did not view institutions as gates to pass through. He saw them as raw materials for a wall.

Baek Seo-yoon very slowly set down her teacup.

"Intriguing."

Outside the window, the sound of the rain grew even heavier.