SACCHARIN
CHAPTER 23

 

06. The Nameless Island

It had already been ten days since I arrived on this island.

I glanced at my left wrist to check the time. It was ten minutes before exactly 5:00 PM, and right on cue, a beautiful classical melody flowed from the speakers mounted on the ceiling. It was the signal that all operations would cease in ten minutes—time to wrap up whatever we were doing.

Turning my head slightly from side to side, I scanned my surroundings. Everyone working in the same section as me was tidying up their workstations. I figured it was time for me to do the same.

“…….”

I picked at the scraps of leftover tape stuck messily to the worktable, peeling them off one by one with my fingernails. Then, I pulled out a wet wipe and scrubbed the surface clean with firm strokes.

Honestly, my job wasn’t difficult at all. As long as I could endure the boredom of repeating the same task over and over again, it was simple work.

The small, tightly sealed boxes that came to me via the automated conveyor belt were no bigger than the palm of my hand. My task was to do a final inspection to ensure the packaging was properly sealed.

I rotated each box, checking the front, back, and sides for any areas where the taping might be incomplete. If I found any loose seals, I secured them myself before passing the box along to the final inspection station.

After removing my gloves, I massaged my stiff shoulders and rolled my neck. Since I had never done physical labor before, every inch of my body ached. But in a way, it was a blessing. Focusing on this mundane task left me no time for unnecessary thoughts.

“Do you even know what your father does at the company?”

It had been a full week since I started working at the factory.

By now, I knew exactly what my father’s company did and what kind of work he was involved in. The small paper boxes I had just been inspecting contained saccharin, produced by Pyeonjae Trading.

“Hey… I heard something interesting earlier. When we were on the boat coming here….”

The night I first arrived on the island, the people I shared a room with had whispered about me late into the night, not even bothering to lower their voices.

Even if I hadn’t deliberately drawn attention to it, rumors about me and Shin Chi-woo had already begun to spread. That was fine. It was part of the plan, something I had already braced myself for.

But amid their idle gossip, sometimes valuable information slipped through. Information about Pyeonjae Trading and the secrets of this island.

“I heard the shipment got delayed by a week because the Chinese coast guard has been cracking down lately.”

“Yeah, so instead of heading straight back, they had to go down to Manila first and then loop around Japan.”

“Chairman Pyeon is already furious because of her dad. This is only going to make him angrier.”

“You think he’s losing it so bad that he’ll just order them to bring her back to Seoul so he can deal with her himself?”

“I heard he’s in the final stages of cancer. Would he even have the strength for that?”

“Who knows? We’re talking about Pyeon Jae-ho here.”

Piecing together the bits and pieces I had overheard, it seemed unlikely that Chairman Pyeon Jae-ho was personally running a ship to manufacture drugs in international waters.

The owner of the notorious drug factory ship was someone else entirely. They were the ones producing and selling the raw materials—the unrefined essence of the drugs.

However, what was surprising was that Pyeonjae Trading seemed to possess the technology to refine those raw materials into highly pure narcotics.

I had no idea how they extracted it, but the technicians here refined the drugs into small crystal forms—just like the ones I had found inside the stuffed bear back in my room.

Saccharin (New-Sugar).

The tiny, transparent crystals—each no larger than a fingernail—were sealed inside opaque white plastic bags, stamped with Pyeonjae Trading’s logo. They were then packed into boxes, double-sealed, and shipped out under the guise of saccharin exports.

The actual refining of these drugs was handled by highly trained specialists—a process completely out of reach for someone like me. But whenever I happened to cross paths with one of them, fully suited up in gas masks and sterile protective gear, I couldn’t help but observe them closely.

Extracting high-purity, contaminant-free crystalline drugs had to involve a sophisticated chemical process. At times, I even forgot my own predicament and became curious as a researcher—just what kind of modern alchemy had Pyeonjae Trading mastered?

Korea University – Department of Chemistry

The major I had struggled three years to get into was chemistry. At first, I had simply followed my entrance exam scores, but part of me had also considered using it as a stepping stone for medical school.

However, as I studied, I fell in love with the fundamental sciences, eventually pursuing my master’s degree. Given that, it was only natural for me to become curious about the secrets of this so-called saccharin.

“Out of all the departments you could get into with your score, I think chemistry would be a good fit for you.”

“Why?”

“Who knows? Maybe my daughter will win a Nobel Prize someday.”

“Dad, come on… That’s a bit much.”

“Why? You should dream big! You never know—I might end up being called Chairman Seo someday too!”

Ever since coming to this island, I’d found myself reflecting on my past more and more.

And sometimes, those reflections left me with unanswered questions.

Had my father always harbored some kind of ambition deep in his heart?

Was it really a coincidence that I ended up majoring in chemistry?

I remembered how, back when I was struggling as a repeat examinee, my father had subtly nudged me toward chemistry.

Saccharin, as I knew it, was an artificial sweetener synthesized through petroleum-based chemicals and a chemical formula.

If Pyeonjae Trading had the technology to extract saccharin into high-purity crystals, then they could undoubtedly apply similar techniques to refining drugs.

The processes involved—synthesizing, breaking down, oxidizing, and purifying raw materials—were strikingly similar. Even the byproduct disposal methods used in saccharin production mirrored those used in drug manufacturing.

Because of that, I often found myself mulling over Chairman Pyeon Jae-ho’s words.

Looking at where things had ended up, he probably didn’t see my chemistry background as a mere coincidence either.

If someone gave me a fully equipped lab, the right materials, ample time, and—most importantly—the chemical formula, then theoretically, I, too, could create something just as dangerous.

That was likely why Pyeon Jae-ho had dragged me here.

But there was still something I didn’t understand—why had my father given me that stuffed bear containing the hidden drugs?

Even if his plan had been to train me as a chemist, simply possessing the final crystalline product wouldn’t have been enough. It wasn’t something I could reverse-engineer on my own.

And in this modern age, hiding drugs inside a stuffed animal was such a primitive method that even a layperson like me found it outdated.

People nowadays used social media transactions and all kinds of bizarre smuggling tactics—things that constantly made headlines.

“Like you said, the era of hiding drugs in stuffed animals is long over.”

That was why, in an ironic twist, my father might have outsmarted Chairman Pyeon.

Because the method was so outdated, it had remained undiscovered for nearly seven years.

Following that train of thought, I could somewhat grasp what Pyeon Jae-ho was after.

Even though all I was doing was checking and sealing boxes, I was now complicit in drug production.

This was what he had planned when he sent me here.

And as for Shin Chi-woo, I was starting to see his intentions as well.

If he truly was on my side, then instead of spoon-feeding me the details, he wanted me to see, experience, and figure it out myself.

Still, regardless of whether it was Pyeon Jae-ho or Shin Chi-woo, both of them were, in their own ways, complete and utter bastards.

“Good job today.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“Let’s go eat!”

At exactly 5:00 PM, music played over the speakers once more. It signaled that the factory was closing for the day, and everyone was expected to clock out and leave.

I took my time wiping down my workstation with a wet wipe, watching as the others slowly filed out toward the exit.

I debated when I should follow suit.

Once most of the workers had left, I finally moved.

Stepping outside, I saw that the sun was still up.

I fell in step with the others heading toward the dining hall, absentmindedly patting my chest.

Inside the zippered inner pocket of my work uniform was the phone Shin Chi-woo had given me.

Even just feeling the solid weight of the device gave me a strange sense of relief.

“It’s been modified to be untraceable. You can only make calls and send messages.”

Naturally, phones were strictly forbidden on this island.

Of course, some people probably had contraband phones hidden away. But unlike them, my circumstances were different.

I wasn’t just another worker—I had been exiled here.

If Pyeon Jae-ho found out I had a burner phone, it would be as good as signing my own death warrant.

And if I got caught, it wouldn’t just be my problem. Shin Chi-woo would get dragged down with me.

So no matter what, I had to make sure no one ever found this phone.