After work, during a leisurely evening.
A package arrived for Lee Junho, who had returned to the United States.
“It looks like a gift for Junho.”
When Gihwan came in carrying the package, Hayul toddled along behind him. Lately, Hayul had taken quite a liking to delivery boxes. She seemed to think that when a cardboard box was opened, all sorts of fascinating things would spill out from inside.
“Hayul, shall we open it together?”
Hayul opened her mouth wide and squatted down beside Gihwan. Gihwan patted her head once, then opened the box.
Inside the box were colored pencils, paints, and picture books packed full. Before the vivid, colorful array, Hayul’s already large eyes grew even wider.
“Wow, all of this is Hayul’s?”
“Hayuri’s?”
“That’s right. This is all yours, Hayul.”
When Gihwan took out a sketchbook and opened up the colored pencils for her, Hayul quickly lay down on the floor and began to draw. Her little hand, gripping a colored pencil, slid excitedly over the paper.
“Junho must have thought of Hayul a lot after going back.”
Gihwan said as he took out a picture book.
Taeho nodded with a smile, but one corner of his heart felt heavy.
Lee Junho had returned to New York and begun treatment in earnest. However, he had yet to show any significant improvement. It was not because the medical team lacked skill, but because SSPE was simply that difficult a disease to treat.
“Oh, Hayul is drawing something different today?”
Hayul, who always drew fractal patterns, was drawing human faces today. Three round faces were drawn on the sketchbook.
Gihwan pointed to the largest, best-drawn face and asked.
“Hayul, who is this?”
“Unca Taeho.”
Without hesitation, Hayul pointed at Taeho.
Gihwan had expected as much. Though Gihwan was the one who mostly looked after Hayul affectionately, for some reason Hayul always thought of Taeho first. It felt like a daughter who liked the father who played with her once in a while more than the mother who took care of her every day.
Gihwan chuckled and asked again.
“What about me? Where am I?”
Hayul pointed to the smiling face on the opposite side.
“Is the one in the middle Hayul?”
“Yes!”
“All three of us are smiling. Did something fun happen?”
“Pawkage.”
“Hm?”
“Pawkage came.”
“Ah, the package came, so we all became happy. Then shall we write a reply to Uncle Junho to say thank you?”
Hayul thought for a moment, then turned a page in the sketchbook and began drawing another round face. It seemed to be Lee Junho’s face.
Just then, as even Taeho, who had been watching from the side, smiled, Rema sent a notification.
—Suspicions have been raised that Bioject manipulated the clinical trial for Metalclear. News has broken that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has launched an emergency investigation.
The news he had been waiting for had finally arrived. His heart began to pound rapidly.
Taeho tapped Rema with his finger.
Rema displayed Bioject’s stock price chart along with a real-time news feed. It was a candlestick chart showing a sharp decline. The circuit breaker would be triggered soon.
His prediction had been right, and Taeho, who had invested in an inverse product, would soon make a large sum of money.
But Taeho’s interest did not stop at money alone.
A few days later, Bioject announced in a press conference that it would carry out a full-scale organizational restructuring in connection with the suspicions of clinical trial data manipulation. Accordingly, 30% of its research and development staff were included among those subject to layoffs.
“I guess it’s time to move.”
—Are you certain you wish to proceed? The probability of persuading the researchers is below 10%.
“Why? Because it’s the countryside in Gangwon-do?”
—Most research and development centers of Korean pharmaceutical companies are located in organized clusters in the metropolitan area and major cities, providing modern and convenient working environments.
Before long, the Geumsan R&D Center would open.
Taeho needed capable new drug researchers. The researchers who had been laid off from Bioject this time had already proven their abilities through their results.
The problem was whether they would really come all the way into the mountains of Gangwon-do.
“I know. Let’s meet them first.”
Taeho rose from his seat.
***
A VIP room at a luxury hotel in Gangnam, Seoul.
At 2:10 p.m., Park Sehui, dressed in a black suit, arrived first. Next came Lee Dongjin and Jeong Minsu. Until a few days ago, all three had been researchers at Bioject, but now they were unemployed.
Taeho greeted them first, handing out his business cards.
“Hello. I’m Kang Taeho, the one who called you. Thank you all for coming here.”
The three of them stared for a long while at the business card that read, “Director Kang Taeho, Geumsan Clinic.”
Lee Dongjin spoke first.
“Before coming, I searched for the Geumsan Development Center, but nothing came up. Does it really exist?”
“It will open next month.”
At Taeho’s answer, disappointment was plainly visible on all three of their faces. They seemed to regret coming all the way here, thinking there might be a chance.
Taeho slowly opened his mouth.
“What Bioject did to you was truly heartbreaking.”
“That matter… We weren’t the ones who manipulated the data.”
Park Sehui quickly said, as if making an excuse.
Taeho nodded.
“Yes. I know. I know that you were falsely accused.”
“How do you know that when no one believes us?”
This time, Lee Dongjin asked.
“Because real researchers don’t manipulate data.”
At Taeho’s words, the three people’s gazes wavered. At first glance, it sounded like a simple proposition, but it meant that he believed the three of them were real researchers.
“Dr. Park Sehui, what hurts the most right now isn’t the data manipulation itself, is it? More than being used by the company, what must have hurt the most was the feeling that the research you devoted your entire life to had collapsed.”
Park Sehui pressed her lips tightly together.
“That’s right. It felt as though all the time and effort I had devoted to my research had been stolen from me.”
Taeho nodded and turned his gaze to Lee Dongjin.
“It is not your responsibility that the data was manipulated. Rather, it means the research was valuable enough for the data to be manipulated.”
Lee Dongjin looked at Taeho in surprise.
“Do you really think so?”
“I do. What you truly want, Doctor, is not data, but respect as a researcher and an independent research environment. Am I right?”
“Yes. That’s what I wanted.”
This time, Taeho looked at Jeong Minsu.
“You’ve been losing sleep over the research you couldn’t finish at Bioject, haven’t you? Lingering attachment and a sense of responsibility over not being able to show the true value of chelation therapy.”
“How… did you know?”
Jeong Minsu’s voice trembled.
By intuition. Because I can feel that all of you feel humiliated by the betrayal, and that you’re extremely anxious right now.
Taeho only smiled without saying anything, then soon spoke in a voice filled with conviction.
“It is not over yet. In fact, the real beginning starts now. I will make it so that you can freely conduct the research you want at the Geumsan Research Institute.”
“But is the Geumsan Research Institute located near this Geumsan Clinic in Samcheok, Gangwon-do?”
Park Sehui carefully asked, pointing at the business card.
“That’s right. Geumsan-ri is a quiet and beautiful rural village. If you drive just thirty minutes, you can see the East Sea anytime you like. In places like the United States, aren’t research institutes in rural suburban areas actually more common?”
Because Taeho spoke with such confidence, none of the three felt much resistance. Moreover, as all three were single, they were not particularly hung up on the location.
Once the groundwork had been laid, Taeho began working in earnest.
“First, I’ll show you what we do.”
Using a tablet, Taeho showed them, one by one, the results of the treatments carried out at Geumsan Clinic so far.
When he showed them the complete cure of Mei’s hidradenitis suppurativa and the results of Park Seongu’s recovery from itai-itai disease, Lee Dongjin was startled and said,
“This is the research on TNF-alpha inhibitory proteins, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“Ah, come to think of it, you were Dr. Kang Taeho.”
All three had read with interest the paper that dealt with research similar to their own. They simply had not connected Kang Taeho, the co-author of the paper, with Kang Taeho, the director of Geumsan Clinic.
“Now I’ll make the formal proposal. As your first project, all three of you can continue the research you were doing at Bioject. Your salaries will be matched to the level you received at Bioject. Performance bonuses will be paid separately.”
The three of them looked at one another and were unable to speak for a moment.
After a brief silence, Park Sehui asked,
“Then does that mean we can continue the chelation research?”
“Of course. Here, no one will interfere with your research. You only need to think about treating patients.”
Taeho answered with a smile.
From the analysis of the three people’s social media through Rema, all of them had little sociability and were the type who genuinely liked research itself. That was why, despite producing the best results at Bioject, their entire team had been discarded. To people like them, a workplace that was small in scale but allowed them to conduct research freely was an extremely attractive offer.
“I look forward to working with you, Director Kang Taeho.”
“I look forward to working with you as well.”
Taeho was able to sign contracts with the three researchers.
***
At three in the morning, the phone rang loudly. Half-asleep, Taeho picked up his cell phone, and the moment he saw the international number on the screen, he became wide awake.
“Hello, this is Kang Taeho.”
—Director Kang.
A trembling voice came from the other end of the line.
—This is Lee Junbeom. I’m sorry, at this hour…
Taeho shot upright in bed.
“Did something happen to Junho?”
—His condition is very bad right now. He’s having seizures more than five times a day.
Manager Lee Junbeom’s voice cut off for a moment.
Taeho thought of Lee Junho’s clear face.
—Neither antivirals nor interferon are working.
Taeho could guess what state of mind Manager Lee Junbeom had been in when he made this call. They must have tried every treatment at Mount Sinai, only for Lee Junho’s condition to keep worsening. Manager Lee Junbeom must have called Taeho as a last resort, in a state of despair.
—Director Kang, I’m truly sorry, but… could you come here once?
“But I don’t know what the Mount Sinai medical staff will think of me…”
Until now, Manager Lee Junbeom had tried to continue holding video conferences with Taeho once a week. But the medical staff at Mount Sinai had reluctantly attended at first, and eventually all refused. It was understandable. From their perspective, they felt no need to take seriously the opinion of some doctor from an unheard-of hospital in Korea.
“I apologize regarding that matter. This time, I am asking you to come in your capacity as my consultant, as the patient’s guardian. Of course, I will cover your travel expenses, as well as a consulting fee.”
Taeho could not answer easily. Objectively speaking, it was reckless. What more could he do for a patient whom even the world’s best medical team had given up on?
“Please, could you just come and take a look at him?”
He heard the desperate plea of a father.
Taeho considered it fortunate that Geumsan Clinic had no emergency patients, and most of its patients were by appointment, so adjusting his schedule would be possible.
“All right. I’ll go on the earliest flight available.”
“Thank you so much! Director.”
Manager Lee Junbeom expressed his gratitude as if sobbing.