"What's strange about it?"
Faisal asked.
"How much is the total amount of funds you have provided over the past 15 years?"
"Approximately two billion dollars flowed through this route."
Inside Taeho's mind, all the puzzle pieces gathered so far were rapidly falling into place.
"This fund flow is too systematic. It's as if someone intentionally made it easy to trace."
"What do you mean?"
Faisal furrowed his brow.
"If they had truly wanted to hide it, they wouldn't have left such blatant traces. It's also strange that they systematically siphoned off funds like this over a long period of 15 years."
Amira asked in an uneasy voice.
"Then you mean there's some other purpose?"
"Siphoning off the funds itself might not be the goal."
"Then what is the goal?"
Amira asked.
A terrifying possibility was surfacing in Taeho's mind.
"The fact that the funds are arranged to be easily traceable could mean they wanted us to discover this. Why? Could they be trying to lead us to a specific conclusion? For example, what if their true goal isn't simple terrorism? The fact that we discovered all of this in the process of treating Prince Faisal—that itself could be part of the plan."
Amira asked with an anxious expression.
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. Prince Faisal suffers for 15 years, then suddenly receives treatment from me, and in the process an artificial virus is discovered, and we end up tracing the source of those funds... Isn't all of this too perfectly timed?"
Faisal furrowed his brow.
"Then even you treating me was part of their plan?"
Taeho put on a grave expression.
"It's as if everything was prepared in advance for us to follow this path."
"Then where are they trying to lead us?"
Taeho's gaze sharpened.
"That's exactly it. The conclusion that it's a 'customized weapon' targeting a specific bloodline, a specific region, specific genes. They may have wanted us to reach this conclusion."
"Why?"
"If their true goal is something even bigger, then while we're focused solely on 'royal targeting,' what they're really aiming for could be something entirely different."
The room was once again engulfed in silence. Taeho's reasoning was simple, yet chilling.
Amira asked in a trembling voice.
"Then what is their true goal?"
"Finding that out is what we have to do. Not following along with what they want, but backtracking to their true intention."
As he left the hotel, Taeho's mind was a complicated mess. The cold night air brushed against his face. Even as he sat in the driver's seat and started the engine, countless possibilities were crossing through his mind.
"Rema."
"Yes, Taeho."
"Analyze this from a different angle. I want to know if Prince Faisal's genes were intentionally targeted. Trace gene editing marks from the blood sample. CRISPR, TALENs, zinc finger nucleases... Find traces of every possible editing technique."
"Setting analysis parameters. Is there a specific target gene you have in mind?"
Taeho spoke, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"All genetic markers related to royal bloodlines. And include Middle Eastern region-specific genetic variants too."
"Understood. I will conduct comparative analysis with the WHO database, CDC, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and international genome institute data."
"How long will it take?"
"Initial results are estimated at six hours; precise analysis will take 72 hours."
Taeho nodded and pressed the accelerator.
On the way home, his heart was heavy.
***
In the hotel suite, Amira stood by the window looking out at the dark sea. Her fists were clenched tight, and her whole body was trembling with rage.
It had been a full 15 years. How many nights had she cried watching her brother suffer during that long time? How desperate had she been traveling to find famous doctors from around the world?
"Amira."
She turned at Faisal's voice. Deep exhaustion was etched into Faisal's face. His body had weakened so much that even emotional turmoil caused his stamina to drop greatly.
"Brother, are you alright?"
Faisal looked at her.
"I don't know. I'm so angry, but I don't know what to do at a time like this..."
Sadness welled up in Amira's heart. Her brother, who had been braver than anyone 15 years ago, had weakened in both body and mind after suffering for so long. But she had not given up the hope that if only he regained his health, he would return to his former self.
Amira approached her brother and sat down, speaking resolutely.
"I know."
"What?"
"I'm going to dig deeper into them. Even if it's to protect my brother."
Faisal knew Amira. He also knew what happened when she made this kind of expression.
"Amira, you know what kind of opponent we're facing now. You stay out of it. It's dangerous."
"No. It's precisely because of that."
Amira's eyes grew determined. The nickname "Lioness of Abu Dhabi" had not come about for nothing. To protect someone she loved, she was prepared to brave even death.
"I can never leave alone those who caused my brother pain for 15 years."
She took her brother's hand and continued.
"And Dr. Gang is now in danger too. From the moment he treated you, he must have become their target."
Faisal's face darkened. He had been thinking the same thing.
"Did we put him in danger?"
"That's what I'm most afraid of."
Complex emotions settled in Amira's eyes.
***
Taeho could not easily fall asleep even after arriving home. He sat on the living room sofa, gazing at the darkness outside the window, lost in thought.
Rema's analysis had already begun, and the first results were coming in one by one. On the screen, complex genetic maps and analysis graphs were being updated in real time.
"Taeho, initial results are in."
"Tell me."
"Three gene editing traces have been discovered in Prince Faisal's blood. In particular, signs of artificial modification in the HLA gene complex are clear."
Taeho's face hardened. The HLA genes were a critical region directly connected to the immune system.
"Explain more specifically."
"Specific regions in the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQA1 genes have been altered. This is a pattern that cannot be explained by natural mutation."
"Then it means there's a real possibility the genes were engineered to be vulnerable to artificially edited viruses or toxins."
"That possibility is high."
Taeho clenched his fist. His worst suspicion was being revealed as reality.
"What are the comparative analysis results with the WHO database?"
"It is currently in progress, but initial results show correlations with genetic variants that appear only in specific Middle Eastern bloodlines."
"Continue the analysis. Keep all possibilities open."
"Yes, Taeho."
He muttered in a low voice toward the darkness.
"Prometheus..."
***
At 6 AM, the emergency room of Samcheok Central Hospital was already bustling with energy. A week since Jo Hyeongjun had joined, the atmosphere in the ER had completely changed.
"Dr. Gim, check the blood pressure of the patient in bed 3. Dr. I, please continue ECG monitoring for the patient in bed 2."
"Dr. Jo, the patient in bed 3's blood pressure has stabilized."
Gim Dohyeon reported.
"Good. Then let's request an internal medicine consultation and send him up to the ward."
I Chaelin approached with the ECG results.
"Patient 2 does have some arrhythmia, but it doesn't seem to be at a dangerous level."
"You're right. Outpatient follow-up observation should be sufficient. Good work."
Taeho watched this scene as he entered the ER. It was evident at a glance how much the two residents had grown under Jo Hyeongjun's leadership.
"Dr. Jo, this is truly amazing. At this rate, it could run perfectly even without me."
"Please don't say that, Director. I still have a long way to go. But I'm amazed at how quickly Dr. Gim and Dr. I are learning."
Jo Hyeongjun smiled and shook his head.
Gim Dohyeon said proudly.
"It's because Senior Jo Hyeongjun teaches so well. His MSF experience really seems incredible."
"But Director, if you have time, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"I have time now. What is it?"
Jo Hyeongjun looked around and lowered his voice.
"That Arab patient, you know. Rashid. Could I take a look at his chart?"
"Why? Did you find some problem?"
"No, it's just... something about him feels familiar."
Thirty minutes later, Taeho and Jo Hyeongjun were reviewing Faisal's medical records in the hospital conference room.
Jo Hyeongjun examined the screen closely and slowly nodded.
"As I thought..."
"What is it?"
"I saw a similar patient three years ago at a refugee camp in northern Syria."
Taeho's eyes widened.
"A similar patient?"
"Yes. The symptoms were almost identical. Unexplained chronic pain, nighttime exacerbation, normal inflammation levels but localized immune responses."
"What happened to that patient?"
Jo Hyeongjun's face darkened.
"He died. Six hours after I arrived."
"In six hours?"
"Yes. Sudden multiple organ failure set in. Up until then, he had been fine enough to walk around..."
Jo Hyeongjun continued, recalling that day.
"He was a Kurdish man. Mid-30s. His family said he had started getting sick a few months prior."
Taeho tilted his head.
Then why hadn't Rema found that case?
"Can you look up that case now?"
Jo Hyeongjun smiled bitterly.
"The patient died within a day. We couldn't perform a proper diagnosis, tests, or treatment. The records probably just say 'unexplained sudden death.' It would have been recorded that way in the MSF field logs too."
"I see. Thanks for telling me."
Taeho turned to leave and urgently called for Rema.
"Rema!"
"Yes, Taeho."
"Find a case from three years ago at a refugee camp in northern Syria: Kurdish male in his 30s, unexplained sudden death."
"Searching..."
"Search complete. 127 cases of unexplained sudden death were found in the northern Syria region three years ago."
"Rema, filter only the cases that complained of chronic pain and then suddenly died of multiple organ failure."
"Filtering complete. There are 23 cases matching those conditions."
Taeho's face hardened.
Twenty-three cases?
"Dr. Jo must have seen only one of them. Rema, analyze the commonalities among those 23 cases. Age, gender, tribe, region, time of death—everything."
A few minutes later, Rema presented the results.
"Analysis results: All 23 were of Kurdish origin, aged 25 to 45, 19 males and 4 females. The time of death was concentrated from March to August, three years ago."
This was no coincidence.
"Rema, expand the scope further. Find death cases with similar patterns across the entire Middle East region."
"Expanding search scope. Similar patterns have also been found in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. There are a total of 67 related cases."
Rema announced additional analysis results.
"An interesting point was discovered. Of the 67 cases, 65 died, but 2 survived."
"Two cases? Including Prince Faisal?"
"Yes. One is Prince Faisal, the other is the son of a tribal chief in Baghdad, Iraq."
Taeho drew a breath.
The fact that there was another survivor.
This wasn't simple bioterrorism.
Then Taeho's phone rang. It was an urgent call from Faisal.
"Dr. Gang! Please come right now. Amira..."
.