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# Chapter 1. I Became a Genius International Student
Hyunsoo was an ordinary person.
Someone who knew how to stand up for his own rights to a reasonable extent and didn't willingly take losses for the sake
of others.
In other words, he was an ordinary person with a degree of selfishness.
He wanted to study hard and, once he had enough financial freedom, take care of his family. As for charity work or
noblesse oblige, he considered them nothing more than an expensive flex for the rich.
But then, one day, a young Black child who looked about seven or eight years old followed a rolling basketball onto the
road.
“Hey, get out of there!”
And when Hyunsoo saw a car speeding toward the child from the opposite direction... he ran out without thinking.
‘Wait, what the hell am I doing?’
Thanks to that, he managed to push the Black child out of harm's way, but at just seventeen years old, Hyunsoo was
diagnosed with complete paralysis of his entire body.
Afterward, Hyunsoo regretted that moment every single day.
If only he could turn back time.
He would never have done such a thing.
Why did I do that?
---
[Korean-American high school student becomes a local hero!]
[A touching story of a young man who sacrificed his own body to save a life.]
[Black Lives Matter organization expresses deep gratitude.]
Hyunsoo's life changed overnight.
He received an enormous amount of attention from the media and financial support from various organizations... but none
of it meant anything.
‘Why did I do that?’
Hyunsoo had come to America to study because he wanted to work hard not only academically but also in various
extracurricular fields, so becoming completely paralyzed was an unbearably cruel fate.
Someone had to feed him.
Someone had to clean him up after he urinated or defecated.
He had to be turned over in bed from time to time, and he needed massages all over his body.
He couldn't do anything without someone else's help.
At first, his medical expenses were covered by insurance, and the money he received from donations allowed him to hire
professional nurses, but after two or three years, even that became difficult.
Eventually, Hyunsoo's mother took care of him twenty-four hours a day, while his father worked late into the night to
cover the medical expenses.
His parents always smiled as they told him.
“It’s okay. Everything will work out. You have no idea how grateful we are that you're alive.”
“Mom and Dad are so proud of you.”
“We're such happy parents because you're our son.”
But Hyunsoo could never forget the sound of his parents sobbing late at night, around the time they were certain he had
fallen asleep.
Hyunsoo made a decision.
‘I can't go on living like this.’
---
Honestly, it would have been a lie to say he had never thought about suicide.
But he couldn't repay the guilt he already felt toward his parents for the terrible accident with an even greater sin
like suicide.
Considering their personalities, there was a high chance it would remain as a lifelong burden on their hearts.
‘I have to fix my body somehow.’
Hyunsoo hardened his resolve.
For himself, and for his parents, he swore that he would somehow heal his body.
“Ah. Ah. Mom, I'm hungry.”
Fortunately, his body had recovered slightly. His speech was still slurred, but he could talk, and he had reached the
point where he could eat soft food by himself.
He still couldn't move his limbs, but even that alone was enough for his parents to call it a miracle and offer prayers
of gratitude.
‘This is only the beginning.’
Once Hyunsoo regained his composure, he began studying in earnest.
After all, he had nothing but time.
He had always been intelligent enough to have received gifted education during his school years.
He broadened his knowledge across various academic fields, and once his biological understanding became sufficient, he
focused intensely on cases of complete paralysis.
‘What the hell is this?’
The more he studied, the more disappointed he became.
The development of medicine achieved by humanity was astonishing compared to its beginnings, but the unknown still far
outweighed what was known.
There were countless diseases whose causes could not be determined, and far too many illnesses for which treatments had
not been discovered even after hundreds of years.
Organ transplantation and nerve regeneration in particular were still at the level of a newborn baby. Humanity still
couldn't even recklessly touch the brain and spinal cord, the very core of complete paralysis.
Just how advanced would medicine have to become before he could heal his own body?
Hyunsoo had to admit it.
‘I can't accomplish anything on my own.’
His goal wasn't to plow the fields and sow seeds so that future generations could enjoy the fruits of his achievements.
He had to see the results himself.
While he was still alive.
‘Let's start a company.’
He didn't know how.
But he had to try somehow.
This became the sole purpose of Hyunsoo's life.
---
It wasn't easy.
He was intelligent and had a clear vision, but there wasn't a single investor willing to trust Hyunsoo, who had neither
qualifications nor connections.
After struggling for several years, an opportunity unexpectedly opened up from an unexpected place.
By chance, he got an opportunity to be interviewed by a famous YouTuber, and the interview received such a positive
response that a crowdfunding campaign was launched.
[Paralyzed CEO's bold ambition: “The limitations of the body do not define us. We will not stop until every disability
known to humanity disappears.”]
He declared that he would treat not only complete paralysis but every disability experienced by human beings, and
unexpectedly, an enormous number of people were deeply moved.
Afterward, Hyunsoo personally used YouTube and various social media platforms to report on the company's progress and
gathered followers.
‘Having a large number of followers can be more influential than even the best connections.’
That alone drew investors and talented people to him. The company began with capable engineers donating their time.
First, through research into artificial human bodies such as prosthetic arms and legs, they built their own independent
database.
Whenever they made a research presentation, Hyunsoo personally gave the presentation, and it always received a positive
response.
Before long, he became a leader in the artificial human body industry, and through various connections, he even secured
an investment worth hundreds of billions of won from the Gates Foundation.
Using that capital, he acquired and merged with companies possessing various core technologies, gradually expanding the
company's size.
2040.
Hyunsoo's company became the world's leading artificial human body manufacturer and succeeded in commercializing
numerous products, including artificial organs.
2050.
The company's technological capabilities advanced to the point where they could aim for the regeneration of natural skin
tissue as well as the recovery of various types of nerve tissue.
An era had arrived in which treating complete paralysis was no longer considered the realm of God.
“I was able to receive today's Super Bowl MVP award thanks entirely to CEO Lee Hyunsoo. He gave me a new knee and made
it possible for me to live out my dream.”
“I was a refugee. While fleeing my country in search of freedom, I encountered pirates. They took one of my kidneys and
damaged the other, leaving me on the verge of death. If it weren't for CEO Lee Hyunsoo, would I really be alive like
this today? Five percent of the profits our company earns will be permanently donated to support CEO Lee Hyunsoo.”
“Thank you. Our daughter...”
Countless people had already gained new lives thanks to Hyunsoo's company, yet Hyunsoo himself was unable to enjoy any
of those benefits.
‘I don't have much time left.’
He had already lived as a workaholic for thirty years while completely paralyzed.
Unfortunately, the necrosis of Hyunsoo's nerve tissue had become severe, and he was now approaching death.
[Pioneer of artificial human bodies Lee Hyunsoo in critical condition due to complications.]
[Nearly ten million followers pray for Lee Hyunsoo's health.]
[Lee Hyunsoo! Receives Nobel Prize in Medicine while facing death.]
He had been nominated several times before, but perhaps because Hyunsoo was nearing death... the Nobel Committee awarded
him the prize exceptionally quickly.
Hyunsoo's acceptance speech, delivered through a video call, was brief but powerful.
“I feel embarrassed that I'm being portrayed as such a wonderful person. Everything I did was solely for myself. I just
wanted to walk with my own two feet and enjoy even a little bit of sports. You never know. If my body had been healthy,
perhaps I could have become a great artist. I was pretty good at learning musical instruments, too. Wouldn't it have
made wonderful memories if I had even joined a band? Why wasn't I given those opportunities? More than anything, how
painful must it have been for my parents to see a child like this? I just wanted somehow to take away the sadness that
had seeped so deeply into my parents' hearts. Please don't glorify me too much. I'm just a selfish, very ordinary
person.”
His speech was introduced through various media outlets and became the most talked-about acceptance speech in the world.
...The following spring, at Hyunsoo's strong request, he spent his final days alone and eventually passed away.
---
At the moment of death.
‘...Huh?’
When he closed his eyes, the faces of countless people appeared vividly before him.
Looking closely, they were people who had overcome their disabilities through his company.
They were surrounded by a brilliant light as they gazed down at him with warm expressions.
‘What the hell? All of you are perfectly alive, so why are you coming to see me when I'm the one dying? Are you ghosts
or something?’
He let out a hollow laugh, but for some reason, his eyes grew hot.
He could feel their gratitude in its entirety.
‘At least my life wasn't meaningless.’
A moment later, they turned into golden particles and were sucked into every part of Hyunsoo's body.
“...!”
It was strange.
The nerves throughout the body that had been dead for half his life began to recover, and vitality surged through every
corner of his body.
It was absurd.
At the very moment he was dying, he felt more alive than ever.
Hyunsoo passed away with a faint smile.
Or so he thought.
When Hyunsoo opened his eyes again, he was in a completely different “era.”
“Hmm, what is this?”
He was utterly confused.
He had closed his eyes in a hospital bed, but when he regained consciousness, he was outside.
The wind tickling his hair.
The warm sunlight.
And two perfectly functioning legs standing firmly beneath him!
“...!”
Hyunsoo stared blankly at his hands with an expression of disbelief. He even moved his fingers one by one at will.
‘My body is fine?’
He couldn't easily come to his senses.
...Nor was he given the chance.
“Huh? That bastard?!”
At that very moment, a very familiar Black child passed directly in front of him.
The child was even dribbling a basketball when he accidentally let it slip from his hands.
“Ah! My ball!”
Hyunsoo gritted his teeth.
It was him.
Because he had regretted this moment thousands of times throughout his life, the face of that Black child was still
etched vividly in his memory, along with every event that was about to follow.
‘I was such an idiot. Jumping onto the road without thinking.’
Throughout his life, Hyunsoo had made the same resolution thousands of times. It was impossible, but if he ever returned
to the past, he would never, ever run onto the road after that Black child.
And he kept the resolution he had made in the past.
Even after seeing a vehicle approaching at high speed from the opposite side, Hyunsoo simply stayed where he was.
“Here goes.”
However, he picked up a suitably sized rock beside him and hurled it with all his strength.
It seemed that he had poured all the resentment from his previous life into that throw.
“Argh!”
The rock struck the child directly in the back.
The child collapsed onto the ground in pain.
Fortunately, he fell in a spot the car wouldn't reach.
Hooooonk!
The car passed by, honking irritably, but everyone was safe.
The Black child and Hyunsoo himself.
“Don't jaywalk, you bastard!”
Hyunsoo shouted at the child before simply going on his way.
He couldn't have felt more relieved.
“Huh?”
But when he raised his head, a Black man several sizes larger than him was approaching with a fierce expression.
“What the hell! You threw a rock at my son?!”
“...”
Hyunsoo thought for a very brief moment.
The man looked much younger than he remembered, but Hyunsoo remembered that he was the father of the Black child lying
on the ground and an extremely talented amateur boxer.
‘Hmm. It's a little awkward to explain this myself, but I'm a hero who saved your son's life twice... I don't know why
I'm living through the past again, but if I explain that the first time I saved him, you knelt in front of me with tears
in your eyes, thanking me and apologizing for saving your son, and swore that you'd do anything for me, would you
understand?’
He glanced around.
The dangerous car that should have been “Evidence 1” had already disappeared without a trace, while the child who was
supposed to play an important role as “Evidence 2” had fallen in a spot that wasn't particularly dangerous.
More importantly, the man was approaching with an aura that made it look like he was about to kill someone.
Naturally, Hyunsoo made his choice.
“Don't you dare run!”
‘Would you stay if you were me?’
He ran for his life with every ounce of strength he had.
At first, he ran because he wanted to live.
Later, he ran because it was so much fun.
Hyunsoo was so excited that he even ran while letting out a foolish giggle.
He didn't care if other people looked at him like he was crazy.
‘I can run.’
Even after the Black father was no longer visible, he kept running for a long time.
He couldn't even remember the last time he had run enough to work up a sweat.
Would ordinary people know what a tremendous blessing it was to be able to move one's body freely?
‘But... was I always this fast?’
Hyunsoo didn't care.
If this was a dream, he hoped he would never wake up...