Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, Prosecutor General’s Office.
“Come in.”
Prosecutor General Song Gi-bok’s low voice.
When Prosecutor Jang Cheol-min opened the door and stepped inside, he spoke without taking his eyes off the documents.
“Sit there.”
Jang Cheol-min sat on the sofa and studied the Prosecutor General’s expression. His mouth was set even harder than usual. He guessed that the reason he had been summoned all the way here from the Western District Prosecutors’ Office was not because of anything good.
“Chief Jang, I hear you’ve been busy lately?”
“Pardon? I’m not sure what you mean…”
“I hear you’ve been running around after a hospital?”
Prosecutor General Song’s gaze was sharp.
“Surely you aren’t investigating out of some personal grudge?”
Jang Cheol-min’s nerves went taut.
“Prosecutor General, you know what kind of person I am. I have never conducted an investigation because of a personal grudge.”
“I heard your daughter had been hospitalized. Is that not true?”
Prosecutor General Song slid a sheet of paper across the desk. It was a copy of Yuna’s medical records.
“I heard she had surgery at Seyoung Hospital two years ago and her condition worsened afterward.”
“It didn’t merely worsen. My daughter became vegetative after that.”
When Jang Cheol-min spoke with a grave expression, Prosecutor General Song sighed and shook his head.
“With your child ending up like that, it must have been very difficult… But why did you take a sick child out of the hospital?”
“Because there was a more trustworthy doctor, so I transferred her there.”
“I hear the hospital you transferred her to is a clinic in the mountains of Gangwon Province… And of all things, it’s run by a doctor named Kang Tae-ho, a suspect in a medical malpractice case.”
“I recently learned that there were many problems with that medical malpractice case. And Kang Tae-ho is a doctor I can trust.”
“On what basis?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking what made you trust one mere doctor over one of the top five hospitals in the Republic of Korea.”
“There was evidence sufficient for me to make that judgment.”
“Evidence?”
Prosecutor General Song gave a hollow laugh, as if he found it regrettable.
“I’m curious how objective the evidence Chief Jang found really is. Can you guarantee that no personal feelings were involved at all?”
Jang Cheol-min closed his mouth. Because Prosecutor General Song’s intent was clear.
“Chief Jang.”
Prosecutor General Song rose and walked to the window.
“You know what the job of a prosecutor is, don’t you? It means knowing how to separate personal feelings from public duty.”
“Prosecutor General.”
“But right now, Chief Jang, you look like a father trying to avenge his daughter.”
Jang Cheol-min clenched his fist tightly.
“But the evidence is clear. The negligence of Seyoung Hospital’s medical staff—”
“Is that so?”
Prosecutor General Song cut Jang Cheol-min off and turned around.
“But you see, I took a brief look into this case. And isn’t that doctor Kang Tae-ho rather strange too?”
“Pardon?”
“He was driven out for medical malpractice, and then suddenly succeeded in the countryside. Very quickly, at that. He went to Africa and cured a president, even received a WHO Innovation Award. The media is making a fuss about him being some miracle doctor and whatnot. Don’t you find that too strange?”
Prosecutor General Song’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“I’m in my twenty-fifth year as a prosecutor, and in cases like this, there’s a very high probability that something is wrong. Either there’s someone behind him, or he has some other purpose.”
“Prosecutor General, I cannot understand on what grounds you are saying that.”
“Grounds? Isn’t it the prosecution’s job to investigate when something seems suspicious? If you shake someone down hard enough, something is bound to come out.”
“Prosecutor General, Kang Tae-ho’s personal success and the Seyoung Hospital case are separate matters.”
“Separate?”
Prosecutor General Song sneered.
“He even took away a patient, saying he would treat the victim of the medical accident he himself caused. Isn’t that strange? It’s also strange for some rural doctor to be playing the media like that.”
“I had sufficient grounds when I made that decision. And as for my daughter, Prosecutor General—”
“Chief Jang, it would be best if you stepped away from this case.”
“Prosecutor General!”
“This is an order. Your daughter’s treatment is a private matter, so handle it as you see fit. But transfer the Seyoung Hospital investigation from the Western District Prosecutors’ Office to the Central District Prosecutors’ Office. No matter how anyone looks at it, it does not look good for the Western District to investigate it. The prosecution is already being criticized these days for being unfair and whatnot…”
“…”
“You may leave.”
Prosecutor General Song returned to his desk and sat down.
Jang Cheol-min had no choice but to press his lips shut and rise.
***
Western District Prosecutors’ Office, Intelligence Analysis Room.
Jang Cheol-min approached the investigator in charge of intelligence.
“Are the records organized?”
“Yes. I just finished. This is the list of VIP golf course users over the past two months. I organized them by entry time, and matched companion information through the golf course counter entry records and CCTV logs.”
Jang Cheol-min stared at the screen, then pointed at a date with his finger.
“July 14. Sunday, 1:32 p.m. Look here.”
“Yes.”
-Song Gi-bok, Park Seong-ho, Jo Mun-sik, Kim Hyeon-tae
Prosecutor General Song Gi-bok and Seyoung Hospital Director Park Seong-ho’s names were listed together.
“Jo Mun-sik is the president of the Korean Medical Association, isn’t he?”
“That’s correct. And Kim Hyeon-tae is a former vice minister of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. They played as a foursome until the fifth hole, and after that, they used the wine bar at a nearby lounge.”
Jang Cheol-min’s face hardened.
“What articles came out that week?”
The investigator tapped on the keyboard.
“On the morning of Monday, July 15, there was an article about a policy meeting on easing health care regulations. Director Park Seong-ho attended that meeting as a private-sector advisor. That same evening, the Prosecutor General’s schedule is recorded only as an ‘internal strategy meeting.’”
Jang Cheol-min stared silently at the screen, then opened his mouth.
“Keep tracking Seyoung Hospital Director Park Seong-ho’s schedule and report to me. If his movements overlap with the Prosecutor General’s, report immediately.”
“Understood, Chief Prosecutor.”
As Jang Cheol-min stepped out the door, he clenched his fist tightly.
‘So the reason he told me to step away from the investigation wasn’t because of my emotions.’
The opponent he had to face was now becoming clear.
It had been twenty-two years since he threw himself into the prosecution.
If it was a matter of swinging a sword with the law code in hand, he was more confident than anyone. More than anything, for his daughter Yuna, he was prepared to fight even the Prosecutor General. Considering who his opponent was, he would be left bloodied as well, but he was confident he could take the other man’s head.
But the thing that bothered him was…
As soon as Jang Cheol-min arrived at the Chief Prosecutor’s office, he called Kang Tae-ho.
“Director Kang, there’s something I need to tell you. The internal situation within the prosecution has become complicated. The Seyoung Hospital case will be transferred to the Central District Prosecutors’ Office.”
-Transferred all of a sudden?
“Let’s say it’s because of a conflict of interest. And it seems an investigation into you will begin as well. The legality of your medical practices, the source of your hospital operating funds, things like that.”
-When will it start?
“No official order has come down yet. But it will proceed within a few days.”
Jang Cheol-min’s voice grew even more cautious.
“It seems Seyoung Hospital is putting considerable pressure on them. They appear to want to turn you into a suspect.”
-Then what happens to Yuna’s case?
“Another prosecutor will take charge… They’ll probably say they’re going to investigate it again from the beginning.”
-How much time will that take?
“If I block them as much as I can, I think about two weeks.”
-Understood.
Tae-ho’s voice was unexpectedly calm.
***
Tae-ho hung up the phone and took a deep breath. Right now, rather than fear of the investigation, he was filled with other worries.
“Yuna.”
Tae-ho held Yuna’s hand as she lay on the bed.
A hand still cold and unresponsive.
But changes were appearing from the intensive treatment of the past few days.
He checked the data Rema had displayed on the screen.
-Brainwave activity: increased by 15%.
-Muscle reflexes: 3 minor responses detected.
-Eye movement: REM pattern continued for 12 minutes.
-Possibility of regaining consciousness: increased from 47% to 62%.
‘She’s definitely coming back.’
Now was the most critical period.
It was the moment when Yuna’s brain was desperately trying to awaken from a two-year sleep. The nerve regeneration treatment, electrical stimulation, and continuous consciousness stimulation through Patient Synesthesia were gradually showing results.
‘We can’t stop now. We absolutely cannot stop.’
Medically, a patient in this condition absolutely required continuous and intensive treatment. There was a critical point in the recovery of a brain-damaged patient. Once that critical point was crossed, rapid recovery became possible, but if treatment was interrupted midway, the patient could return to square one.
Tae-ho instructed Rema.
“Rema, recheck Yuna’s treatment schedule. Set up a protocol that can proceed at maximum efficiency for the next two weeks.”
-Analyzing…
-Days 1–7: administer 1.5 times the nerve regeneration treatment.
-Days 8–14: Patient Synesthesia sessions.
-Increase from 3 sessions per day to 5.
-Entire period: 24-hour continuous monitoring.
Tae-ho called Seong Gi-hwan.
“Mr. Gi-hwan. Can you double the production volume of Yuna’s nerve regeneration treatment? And can you upgrade it to a stronger version as well?”
-All of a sudden? Did something happen?
“We’re a little pressed for time now.”
Perhaps because they had worked in sync until now, Seong Gi-hwan understood the seriousness of the situation from Tae-ho’s voice alone.
-Understood. I’ll proceed as quickly as possible. But approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is the problem. If we have to get approval before moving forward, it looks like it will take quite some time.
“I’ll take care of that problem, so please move quickly.”
After hanging up, Tae-ho looked at Yuna again.
Her face was still expressionless.
“Yuna, hold on just a little longer. We’re almost there.”
Tae-ho resolved that no matter what happened to him, he would make sure Yuna woke up.
***
Five black sedans screeched to a sudden stop in a row in front of Geumsan Clinic.
“We’re the special investigation team from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety!”
Investigators in suits stormed into Geumsan Clinic. In their hands were a search and seizure warrant and empty boxes for collecting evidence.
Nurse Park Geum-ja rushed out with a flustered expression.
“What is this about?”
“We’re from the Pharmaceutical Safety Bureau of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. We will execute a search warrant.”
An investigator held out the warrant.
“We are conducting an on-site search on suspicion of manufacturing and using unauthorized pharmaceuticals. Where is Director Kang Tae-ho?”
“He’s treating a patient right now…”
“He must stop treatment immediately and come out. Where is he right now?”
“Well… Could he be on the third floor? Eun-ji, go upstairs and see where the director is, then let him know.”
When Park Geum-ja met her eyes, Park Eun-ji nodded as if she understood and leisurely changed into indoor slippers.
“Our director is the type to pop up here and there all the time, you see. I think he said he was going to the third floor earlier… Please follow me.”
In the meantime, Park Geum-ja entered the nurses’ station and hurriedly picked up the internal phone.
“Director! We’re in trouble! The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety—”
Tae-ho received the call and frowned.
What was coming had come.
He looked at Yuna on the bed. Since last night, her brainwave activity had been increasing sharply.
Now only the final injection remained…
Tae-ho took out a high-concentration nerve regeneration stimulant from the desk drawer.
Just as he finished preparing the injection, the voice of nurse aide Park Eun-ji rang loudly from the hallway.
“Directooor! Where are yooou? You’re not on the third flooor, where did you gooo?”
Tae-ho quickly locked the hospital room door.
Click.
“Open the door! What are you doing in there?”
“Kang Tae-ho! Open this door right now! We are executing a search warrant!”
“If you don’t open it, we’ll force it open!”
Bang, bang, bang!
The pounding on the door grew more and more violent.
Tae-ho calmly inserted the needle into Yuna’s arm.
The clear liquid slowly seeped into Yuna’s bloodstream.
Crash!
The door broke open and the investigators burst in.
“Kang Tae-ho! What are you doing right now?”
“You’re under arrest in the act for using unauthorized pharmaceuticals!”
An investigator rushed at Tae-ho.
But it was at that very moment.
“Mm…”
A groan came from the bed.
Everyone froze and turned their gazes.
Yuna’s eyelids were trembling slowly.
“Yuna?”
Tae-ho held his breath.
Slowly, very slowly.
Yuna’s eyelids opened. At first, her gaze was unfocused, but gradually, it followed Tae-ho.
“Yuna?”
Yuna’s lips moved faintly.
“…Doc…?”
It was a sound like a breath, but there seemed to be intent behind it.
The investigators also held their breath and watched. Goosebumps rose all over their bodies.
A miracle was taking place before their eyes.