Taeho stared intently at the laptop screen on the folding table in the cramped second-floor office of Geumsan Clinic.
The wall clock pointed to eleven at night.
After tending to the flood of patients who had poured in all day, his body was exhausted, but his eyes were still full of life.
“Isn’t there a more reliable method than ordinary diversified investing?”
Taeho rolled up his shirt sleeves as he spoke to Rema.
A capital sum of 1.3 billion won. Under normal circumstances, he would have chosen a stable strategy of splitting it between blue-chip stocks and ETFs, but now things were different.
He had Rema, didn’t he?
But Rema was……
-I recommend the existing stable diversified investment strategy.
Taeho chuckled and tapped the table with his fingers.
“Yeah, that’s what ordinary investors do. But I have you. Why are you acting like this when you’re so good at what you do? Let’s go stronger. Bolder.”
Rema seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon spread out an enormous volume of big data analysis in hologram form.
-Analyzing……
-I have compiled the clinical trial data and big data crawling information on biopharmaceutical drug development that I have secured, and narrowed down stocks with a high possibility of a short-term surge. This includes companies with a strong chance of Phase 2 clinical success, firms currently applying for FDA emergency approval, and companies with imminent internal pipeline updates.
Taeho pulled his chair closer and studied the screen carefully. The material was packed with information ordinary investors could hardly access: medical conference schedules, unpublished papers, and even the reactions of researchers on social media.
As Taeho flipped through the screens, he noticed a strange graph. Beside a red line plunging sharply downward were the words [Predicted Decline].
“Rema, what’s this? It says Gaia Healthcare is going to crash in the short term?”
-Yes. During internal data crawling, I detected indications that Gaia Healthcare recently concealed serious side effects in a clinical trial.
Taeho’s eyes flashed sharply.
“What kind of indications, specifically?”
-They are the result of big data collection from certain change histories in U.S. FDA documents, anonymous disclosures from a whistleblower’s social media account, and conversations among Gaia Healthcare employees in a closed group chat.-There are suspicions that an unexpected death occurred during Phase 3 clinical trials, but the company classified the cause as unknown and ignored demands for reexamination.
On the screen appeared a tightly organized table of social media captures, traces of anonymous internal employee chats, and the times at which documents on the FDA cloud server had been accessed.
Taeho swallowed once.
“Just from the articles saying Gaia Healthcare successfully completed its trials, I never would’ve known…… If this is true, it’s a bomb waiting to go off.”
-Yes. I estimate that an official report or exposé article will be released within two to three weeks at the earliest.
“Then the stock price will get wrecked.”
Rema opened several screens.
-Gaia Healthcare has a market capitalization of 270 billion dollars and is one of the representative stocks of the U.S. healthcare industry. If it falls, the ripple effect will be considerable. At present, many investors perceive this stock as a safe asset.
“If it’s a blue-chip stock on this scale, then if this clinical cover-up comes to light, it won’t just be a simple drop, will it?”
-Correct. Government agencies will begin investigations, and investor sentiment will cool rapidly.
Taeho turned the laptop toward himself and began searching through stock brokerage apps for inverse products related to Gaia Healthcare.
Most of what he found were comments and reports claiming the stock would continue its long-term upward trend. Now that he knew the truth one step ahead of everyone else, this was the perfect opportunity to make a profit.
“An ordinary investor would never even imagine it. Because it’s a blue-chip stock.”
Taeho pressed his lips together.
Should he go with an inverse ETF, or put options? Put options were riskier, but the returns would be that much greater.
Now that he had set a grand goal, there were far too many things he had to do. And the most fundamental among them was generating sufficient capital.
Taeho boldly decided to put all 1.3 billion won into put options.
Rema warned him.
-The risk is high. I recommend a safer investment.
“You said your information was reliable…… Isn’t it? Do you just hand out fake information too?”
At the words “fake information,” Rema bristled.
-My information is accurate.
“Then go!”
Taeho clicked the mouse.
***
After a long day of consultations, Taeho stood near the reception desk with a tired face, organizing documents.
Just then, the clinic entrance suddenly opened, and the lively sound of high heels rang out.
Taeho raised his head and stopped breathing.
“Hss.”
A woman who had opened the door and stepped inside stood before the reception desk, her long hair flowing elegantly behind her.
She was dressed in stylish clothes and carried an expensive luxury handbag that was obvious at a glance.
She instantly captured the gazes of Park Geumja and the nursing assistants organizing documents behind the reception desk.
Even Seong Gihwan, who had been moving medicine, stared blankly with his eyes wide open.
“Um, Director Kang Taeho is here, right?”
When the woman asked in a bright, cheerful voice, Park Geumja hurriedly nodded.
“Ah, yes. The director is right over there……? Director? He was just here a second ago. Where did he go?”
Park Geumja’s voice grew quieter and quieter.
The woman slowly turned the corner where the reception desk stood.
“It’s been a while, Taeho sunbae. Don’t tell me you were hiding because of me?”
The woman greeted him with a gentle, smiling gaze.
Taeho smiled awkwardly.
“Le…… No, Oh Jiwon? What brings you here?”
Oh Jiwon took one step closer and spoke in an affectionate voice.
“What do you mean, what brings me here? It’s only natural for a junior to follow where her senior goes. You’ve gotten really famous, sunbae, but you never contacted me once, ignored all my calls…… Hohoho. So I found my way here on my own. And there’s a debt you owe me……”
“A debt?”
Taeho tilted his head in confusion. Just then, Oh Jiwon glanced at him with a faint glare and said,
“You don’t remember? I paid for all your meals, sunbae.”
Oh Jiwon’s tone sounded like a joke, but her expression was astonishingly serious and cold.
Park Jiyeon, the nursing assistant watching from the side, whispered to Park Geumja.
“Unni, isn’t she kind of…… scary?”
“Shh!”
Not only Park Geumja, but the nursing assistants and even Seong Gihwan carefully watched the situation.
Taeho quickly waved his hands.
“No, that’s why I gave you all those old exam files instead of paying for meals back then.”
“Ah! Those exam files. I heard you got them for free from the seniors above you too. I was completely fooled. Everyone else got them for free……”
Taeho asked with a bitter smile,
“Did you really come all the way here to collect that?”
“Your clinic has been hot on YouTube lately. I heard you have to wait at least six months to get an appointment……”
Oh Jiwon looked around the shabby interior of Geumsan Clinic and smiled slightly.
“I thought I’d get a little help from my money-making sunbae too.”
“You haven’t changed. You’re unbelievable.”
Taeho laughed in disbelief.
As if ignoring Taeho’s words, Oh Jiwon sat down on the sofa with graceful movements.
Seong Gihwan, Park Geumja, and the nursing assistants were overwhelmed by Oh Jiwon’s beauty as they watched Taeho’s reaction.
***
That evening, pork belly was sizzling on a charcoal grill on the rooftop of Geumsan Clinic.
Usually, rooftop meat parties were something Taeho and Gihwan enjoyed modestly between the two of them, but today, with Oh Jiwon’s appearance, the atmosphere had changed completely.
“Wow, it’s been so long since I smelled this. The air is nice too, and the scenery has that perfect countryside vibe.”
“Don’t talk nonsense about countryside vibes. It’s different from how it looks on the outside.”
“By the way, sunbae, when did you start wearing glasses?”
“Recently.”
Taeho managed his expression and subtly pushed Rema up.
“Your eyesight was better than mine, so that’s strange. But they suit you surprisingly well.”
Oh Jiwon wrinkled the tip of her nose slightly and smiled.
Beside them, Gihwan fussed nervously with the chairs. His face had turned red, and he couldn’t even look straight at Oh Jiwon, only smiling awkwardly.
Taeho smiled at Gihwan and handed him a piece of meat.
“Mr. Gihwan, sit down and try this quickly. It’s cooked just right.”
“Ah, yes, thank you.”
Gihwan took the meat in a daze, but as if conscious of Oh Jiwon sitting beside him, he put it in his mouth and quietly chewed.
Taeho flipped the meat and asked, pretending to be indifferent,
“Oh Jiwon, why did you really come?”
Oh Jiwon snorted and said firmly,
“It really is because of the meal money. It’s not just the exam files. Since our first year of pre-med, you never once kept your promise to buy me food. Do you even remember how many times that was? A full thirty-three times. Thirty-three times you wrote me an empty promise.”
“Did I?”
“See? You don’t even remember…… This is why the world is unfair.”
“Hey, that’s why I’m feeding you now.”
“You think one measly meal will settle it?”
“No?”
“I told you, I came to collect my meals. I’m not leaving until you buy me all of them.”
“You’re rich. Why are you so obsessed with food?”
Oh Jiwon had been famous even in medical school as part of a royal family. Not only was her grandfather the chairman of one of the country’s top ten major hospitals, but from her grandfather to her father, mother, older brother, and older sister, everyone in her family was a doctor.
Oh Jiwon lifted her soju glass and raised one eyebrow slightly.
“Because to me, it’s the most important thing in the world.”
Gihwan cautiously cut in.
“Then, Doctor, are you going to collect all thirty-three meals?”
Oh Jiwon gave Gihwan a slight smile and said confidently,
“Of course. I have no intention of leaving this place after eating even one meal less than I’m owed.”
Taeho laughed as if he found it absurd.
“You really haven’t changed. Leech Oh Jiwonie.”
“Of course.”
Oh Jiwon playfully lifted her chin and downed the soju glass in one shot. The cool, sharp soju slid smoothly down her throat.
“Kyaa, that tastes good.”
***
It was well past midnight.
The entire KSY Entertainment building was swallowed in darkness. As soon as Lee Hajun finished his provincial schedule, he had rushed to the company building. Then, as if searching for something, he looked around the corridor breathlessly.
And suddenly, he stopped.
‘Hngh…… sob……’
A faint sobbing sound came from somewhere.
The sound was coming from the practice room.
Hajun ran to the practice room and flung the door open.
“Mei!”
In the corner of the practice room, he saw the shape of a person crouched on the floor. Small, delicate shoulders were trembling little by little.
“Mei!”
Hajun shouted, but the figure only remained curled up and did not move. Hajun ran over and sat down in front of her.
“Are you okay?”
When she raised her head, he saw a face covered in tears.
“Mei. Since when have you been here……”
Just then, Hajun’s eyes caught sight of the medicine bottle in Mei’s hand.
Sleeping pills?
“Oppa, it’s over for me now……”
Mei’s pronunciation was slurred, and she could barely speak properly. It was as though all the despair that had built up until now had burst out at once.
Hajun quickly snatched the medicine bottle from her hand.
“Are you insane? You can’t give up like this!”
Hajun shouted.
But Mei gasped painfully for breath and cried.
“I want to die!”
Hajun pulled Mei into his arms. Because he knew what kind of pain she had gone through, even words of comfort would not come easily.
At that moment, only one person’s face came to Hajun’s mind.
“There’s still hope!”