Chapter 4 - Episode 3: The Special Project

October 19, 2005

08:45 AM

Blue Bird Orphanage Director's Office

---

Mrs. Han led Je-hoon through the orphanage's administrative wing—a part of the building he rarely saw. The air smelled different here: polished wood, cleaning chemicals, and the faint scent of green tea from the director's always-brewing pot.

"Stay quiet," Mrs. Han whispered. "Just clean. Don't touch papers."

They stopped outside a door marked Storage B. Mrs. Han produced a key from her apron pocket. The lock clicked with a heavy, metallic sound.

The room beyond was not storage.

It was an office. But unlike the director's tidy space, this one was chaos. Files stacked waist-high. Dust coated every surface. In the corner, an old computer monitor glowed with a screensaver of flying toasters.

"This was Mr. Park's office," Mrs. Han explained. "The old accountant. He... passed last month. Director wants it cleared for the new bookkeeper coming next week."

Je-hoon scanned the room. ZEO processed:

· 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙚: 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙭. 3,200 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨

· 𝘿𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 1,800 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙨/𝙢³ (𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠)

· 𝙊𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡: 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚

· 𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚: 𝘿𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨, 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮

"You have two hours," Mrs. Han said. "Sort papers into these boxes: keep, shred, archive. Wipe surfaces. Vacuum. ₩5,000 when it's done."

She handed him rubber gloves and a mask, then left, closing the door behind her.

Je-hoon stood alone in the dusty silence.

𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨: 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙍𝙞𝙨𝙠: 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙍𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙: 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩.

He didn't start cleaning immediately.

First, he walked the perimeter. Noted the filing cabinet (locked), the desk drawers (three, one slightly ajar), the calendar on the wall (stopped at September 2005, the month of Mr. Park's death).

Then he approached the first stack of papers.

𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚: 𝙎𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝘾𝙤. 𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙚: 𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 15, 2005. 𝘼𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩: ₩2,340,000.

He flipped through the stack. More invoices. Food, utilities, maintenance. The orphanage's financial lifeblood.

A separate folder caught his eye: Donor Records 1995-2005.

He opened it.

Names. Amounts. Dates. Corporations, families, individuals. ZEO began absorbing the data, cross-referencing:

· 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 (𝙃𝙅 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥): 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 ₩50,000,000

· 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 (𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨): ₩25,000,000

· 𝙇𝙚𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 (𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣): ₩15,000,000

And smaller entries. Hundreds of them. ₩10,000 here, ₩50,000 there. A tapestry of charity.

He noticed something: donations had been declining since 2001. Steadily. 5% year over year.

𝘾𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚: 𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨.

The orphanage was bleeding money. Director Kim's stress yesterday made sense now.

Je-hoon returned to cleaning. But he cleaned intelligently. Each document he handled, he absorbed. Each number, he memorized.

The computer. It was off, but he pressed the power button. The machine whirred to life, asking for a password.

He didn't attempt to hack it. Too risky. But he did check the desk drawers.

The slightly ajar drawer contained not files, but personal effects: reading glasses, a half-used tube of arthritis cream, and—a small notebook.

Je-hoon opened it.

Mr. Park's personal ledger. Not official records. Side records.

𝘼𝙪𝙜 3: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 ₩300,000 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙎. 𝙈𝙤𝙤𝙣. 𝙉𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙥𝙩 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚𝙙.

𝘼𝙪𝙜 10: 𝙋𝙖𝙞𝙙 ₩150,000 𝙛𝙤𝙧 "𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨." 𝙉𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚.

Irregularities. Small-scale embezzlement, likely. ₩300,000 here, ₩150,000 there. Over years, perhaps millions.

But Mr. Park was dead. The secret died with him.

Je-hoon closed the notebook. Considered. He could report it. But to whom? And what would it gain him? The orphanage's reputation damaged, funding possibly cut further.

No. Information was leverage, not weapon. Not yet.

He placed the notebook back exactly as he found it. Continued cleaning.

His method was systematic:

1. Document sorting (by year, by type)

2. Surface cleaning (dust removal, antibacterial wipe)

3. Floor care (vacuum in efficient patterns)

4. Final organization (boxes labeled, arranged for easy access)

He worked silently, efficiently. At one point, Mrs. Han peeked in, nodded approvingly, left.

By 10:30, the transformation was complete. The office looked ready for occupancy. Je-hoon stood in the doorway, surveying.

He had earned his ₩5,000.

But he had gained something more valuable: a complete financial map of Blue Bird Orphanage. Its donors, its expenses, its vulnerabilities.

And one small, buried secret.

---

11:00 AM, School Playground

Recess. Children ran, shouted, played. Je-hoon sat on a bench, ostensibly reading a book. In reality, he was calculating.

𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡: ₩5,300.

𝙁𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩: ₩8,000-₩12,000.

𝘾𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 (100𝙜): ₩3,500.

𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙩: ₩6,200.

He needed more income. The tutoring job Saturday would bring ₩3,000. Still short.

He observed the playground. A group of older boys played soccer. One of them, Joon-ho (sixth grade), was noticeably better. Scoring goals consistently.

The other boys grew frustrated. "You're not letting us play!" one complained.

Je-hoon approached.

"Your formation is inefficient," he said.

The boys turned. "What?"

"You're playing 4-4-2, but Joon-ho is acting as both striker and midfielder. That leaves the left flank exposed." Je-hoon pointed. "The opposing team has realized this. They're attacking through that gap."

The boys stared. One tried to dismiss him. "You don't even play."

"I observe. If you shift to 4-3-3, with Joon-ho as central striker and two wingers, you'll create more scoring opportunities while maintaining defense."

Joon-ho, the skilled player, looked thoughtful. "Show me."

Je-hoon used sticks to draw in the dirt. Explained positions, movements, passing lanes. Simple tactics, but beyond what ten-year-olds typically conceived.

They tried it. The next twenty minutes saw Joon-ho's team score four times. The mood shifted from frustration to excitement.

After recess, Joon-ho approached Je-hoon. "How did you know that?"

"Pattern recognition. Soccer, like mathematics, has optimal solutions."

"You should play with us."

"Physical sports aren't my priority," Je-hoon said. Then added: "But I could analyze your opponents. For a fee."

Joon-ho blinked. "A fee?"

"Five hundred won per game. I'll provide tactical analysis."

The boy considered. He came from a middle-class family. ₩500 was pocket money. "Deal. We play against East Elementary tomorrow."

"Bring me their previous game results if available. Even anecdotal."

𝙄𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 #3: 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨. 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙡𝙮: ₩1,000-₩2,000.

Small. But cumulative.

---

14:00 PM, Science Class

The teacher, Mr. Kim, announced a project: "The water cycle. Groups of three. Presentations next week."

Groans filled the room. Je-hoon calculated group dynamics instantly. He needed partners who wouldn't hinder him. Mi-so (the girl who noticed his coffee notes) was competent. Tae-woo was loyal.

He made eye contact with both. They nodded. Group formed.

"Let's meet at the library tomorrow," Mi-so suggested.

"Efficient," Je-hoon agreed.

The project was trivial. But it provided cover. While they would create a basic poster, he could use library time for his own research.

After school, he didn't go directly to the public library. Instead, he visited a different location: a used bookstore near the orphanage.

𝘾𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙣. Price: ₩2,500. Slightly worn.

He examined his capital: ₩5,300. Minus ₩2,500 for book = ₩2,800. Minus target ₩8,000 for French press = deficit.

He hesitated. Then ZEO calculated: 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙨 𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙.

He bought the book.

The shop owner, an elderly man with thick glasses, smiled. "Coffee? You're young for that."

"Research," Je-hoon said.

"Ah. Well, there's a chapter on caffeine's effect on focus. Might help with studying."

Je-hoon nodded, paid, left.

He spent the next hour in a nearby park, reading. The book was detailed: chemistry of roasting, physics of extraction, biology of taste buds. ZEO absorbed it all, integrating with yesterday's online research.

By the time he finished, he understood coffee at near-professional level. The knowledge felt solid, tangible.

But knowledge without demonstration was theory. He needed practical application.

---

17:30 PM, Orphanage Kitchen

Dinner preparation was underway. Je-hoon had an idea.

He approached Cook Lee, who was chopping vegetables with practiced speed.

"Cook Lee," he said respectfully. "May I ask about the kitchen's hot water system?"

The cook glanced up. "Why?"

"I'm studying heat transfer. For school."

Cook Lee grunted, pointed to a large electric kettle. "Boils in eight minutes. Why?"

"What temperature does it reach?"

"How should I know? Boiling. 100 degrees."

"At this altitude, Seoul's boiling point is actually 99.1°C," Je-hoon said. "But electric kettles often overshoot to 102-103°C before shutting off."

Cook Lee stared. "And?"

"Overshoot wastes energy. If you pre-heat with warm tap water, you reduce boil time by 32%, saving electricity."

The cook stopped chopping. "You measuring my electricity now?"

"No, sir. Just sharing information. Also..." Je-hoon paused. "The coffee served at donor events. It's instant."

"Of course it's instant. You think we have an espresso machine?"

"I could show you a better method. Using only this kettle and basic supplies. It would impress donors."

Cook Lee's expression shifted from annoyance to calculation. Donor satisfaction mattered. Director Kim cared about appearances.

"Better how?"

"Freshly brewed coffee has superior aroma and taste. The Park family, for example, are known coffee enthusiasts. Their daughter mentioned it."

A lie. But a plausible one. Soo-jae had mentioned coffee, just not her family's preferences.

Cook Lee wiped his hands. "Show me."

Je-hoon's first practical test.

He used the kitchen's materials: a fine mesh strainer (normally for tea), paper towels (as makeshift filter), and the orphanage's cheap pre-ground coffee (intended for instant but still sealed).

He boiled water, then let it cool 45 seconds (target: 93°C). Measured coffee grounds (15g to 250ml water). Poured slowly in concentric circles.

The aroma filled the kitchen. Different from instant's harsh scent. Richer, deeper.

Cook Lee sniffed. "Smells... expensive."

Je-hoon offered the cup. The cook sipped. His eyebrows rose.

"Not bitter."

"Correct extraction temperature prevents over-extraction of bitter compounds."

The cook drank more. Nodded. "Could work for donor events. But we can't do this for fifty people."

"For large groups, a French press would be efficient. Capacity: 1 liter. Brew time: 4 minutes. One press serves four."

"You know a lot."

"I read."

Cook Lee considered. "There's a budget for special event supplies. I could request a French press. If you demonstrate it works."

𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩: 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚.

"Next donor visit is in four weeks," Je-hoon said. "I could prepare a demonstration."

"Do it. But keep it quiet. Director doesn't like changes."

Agreement reached.

---

20:00 PM, Study Hours

Min-soo arrived for his second tutoring session. Today, fractions to decimals.

Je-hoon taught, but part of his mind was elsewhere, calculating:

𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚:

· 𝘿𝙖𝙮 3: ₩5,300 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡

· 𝘿𝙖𝙮 6 (𝙎𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙮): +₩3,000 (𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜)

· 𝘿𝙖𝙮 7: +₩500 (𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨)

· 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙖𝙮 10: ₩8,800

Enough for the French press if Cook Lee's request was denied.

But the real value wasn't currency. It was access. To the kitchen. To donor events. To Soo-jae's monthly visits.

He finished tutoring Min-soo. The older boy actually smiled—briefly, awkwardly—when he correctly converted 3/8 to 0.375.

"Not bad," Min-soo said.

"Practice the remaining problems. Same time tomorrow."

As Min-soo left, Tae-woo approached, looking worried.

"Director was asking about you," Tae-woo whispered. "About the cleaning job. Mrs. Han said you did well, but... he seemed suspicious."

𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨: 𝘿𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙆𝙞𝙢'𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙞𝙖 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨. 𝙈𝙧. 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠'𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩.

"Thank you for the warning," Je-hoon said.

"He's been yelling at staff more. Funding problems, they say."

"I know."

Tae-woo looked surprised. "How?"

"Observation."

---

21:15 PM, Dormitory

Lights were out. Je-hoon lay awake, listening.

The orphanage at night was a symphony of small sounds: snores, whispers, distant traffic, the occasional cough. ZEO filtered each, categorized each.

His mind replayed the day's data:

1. Financial records: Blue Bird Orphanage was financially stressed. Donations down 23% over five years.

2. Mr. Park's secret ledger: Small-scale embezzlement. Possibly undiscovered.

3. Coffee knowledge: Acquired. Practical demonstration scheduled.

4. Income streams: Three established (cleaning, tutoring, sports analysis). Modest but growing.

5. Social network: Expanding (Cook Lee, Mrs. Han, Mr. Park librarian, Joon-ho, Mi-so, Tae-woo, even Min-soo neutralized).

Progress.

But something nagged. The secret ledger. ₩300,000 from "S. Moon." Who was S. Moon? A staff member? A supplier? The amount was too small for major corruption, too large for nothing.

He stored the question. Data point pending.

More immediately: tomorrow. Thursday. Library day with Mi-so and Tae-woo for the water cycle project. An opportunity to research further.

And the soccer analysis for Joon-ho. ₩500.

Small steps. But steps.

He closed his eyes. Let ZEO run overnight optimizations:

· 𝙋𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩: 0.004% 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚

· 𝙀𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚: 100%

· 𝙎𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮: 98.7%

Outside, the rain had stopped. The moon emerged, casting silver rectangles through the window.

In three weeks and six days, Park Soo-jae would return.

He would be ready.

Not just with coffee knowledge.

With something more valuable: a foundation.

---

𝘿𝙖𝙮 3: 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚

𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙖: 𝘼𝙘𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙

𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡: 𝘾𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙

𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠: 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 (𝙆𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨)

𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮: 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙙, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.

---

End Episode 3