Side Effects
Side Effects
Vroom-!
A powerful exhaust sound was heard.
Mina stepped on the accelerator smoothly. The car glided forward. Mina was feeling immense happiness. Tutoring was fun, but driving a foreign car out like this was also incredibly fun.
Should I say it's like experiencing the life of the rich indirectly?
"Do you like it that much, Noona?"
Beside her, Jaeseong was looking at Mina while wearing his seatbelt. Feeling Jaeseong's gaze, Mina couldn't hide her reddened cheeks and said.
"Of course... This might be the only time in my life I'll ever get to drive a car like this."
The price of the car alone was in the billions. It was safe to say it was basically a walking Seoul apartment. And it didn't end with just buying the car.
If you buy a foreign car, the maintenance costs alone would eat up a whole month's salary. A foreign car was a pie in the sky that commoners couldn't afford even if it were given to them. You have to put in premium fuel, so the gas price is expensive to start with... And if you ever got into an accident, you wouldn't be able to drive it for months while it was in the shop.
Domestic cars had repair shops everywhere, but repair shops for foreign cars like this weren't common. When it came to maintenance convenience, nothing could beat domestic cars. Still, many foreign cars were sold just for the style.
Even though there was almost nothing better about them than domestic cars in terms of maintenance.
"Drive it well, Noona."
"Leave it to me!"
Mina went out onto the street. The world was different from when she was driving her own car.
When she drove the car she usually drove out on the road, there was no sense of dignity. But the foreign car was different. People wouldn't even come close, afraid they might scratch it. A miracle of Moses manifested in the middle of the road. Cars barely came near the foreign car Mina was driving.
I mean, the moment you scratch it, you're paying the price of a whole car. Even if insurance applied, it was an unsettling matter.
"Wow~ This is a section that's usually really congested, but coming here in this car, there's none of that at all~"
"That's the reason for driving an expensive car in the first place. Other cars on the road become well-behaved."
"It really is true. I thought it was just an urban legend."
She didn't know people drove foreign cars for this taste. Because other cars were sticking around the car Mina was driving very carefully. These were sights she would never see if she were driving a small car.
Like that, she parked the car in the cafe's parking lot and went inside. As she got out of the car, she felt the gazes of the people around her. Mina and Jaeseong were a bit burdened at first, but now they were used to it and didn't think much of it.
They had realized that since they were driving a good car because they were successful, there was no need to be self-conscious about others.
Inside the cafe, Jaeseong and Mina shared many conversations.
"You said the cutoff for medical school admissions went up even higher, right, Noona?"
"Yeah. Thanks to Jaeseong Bio. Because they developed the dementia treatment, the number of people wanting to go into psychiatry has increased tremendously. It's a promising field, and it's going to hit its peak for the next few years."
"Hmm..."
Jaeseong tilted his head slightly upward and fell into thought. He was studying hard to earn the title of doctor. But the medical school cutoff was rising more and more.
At this rate, it might really be that students from 1st place in the CSAT would line up to enter medical school.
If the medical school quota were 1,500, then everyone from 1st to 1,500th place in the CSAT would enter medical school.
Of course, since the medical school quota isn't determined solely by regular admissions but also by early admissions, the number would be smaller than that.
At first, Jaeseong wasn't confident. There was a time when he had absolutely no connection to studying, and medical school wasn't a place you could get into with just effort. Medical school was a place you could only go if you also had a talent for studying.
But now, it didn't matter.
Because the more brain stimulation he received from the Medical Ship, the more his study efficiency skyrocketed. Even Mina went so far as to say that there was a huge difference between Jaeseong's skills when they first met and his skills now.
If it really didn't work out, he planned to go to the lowest-ranking department where he could at least get the title of doctor.
And it seemed like that would be possible, too.
Mina smiled as she watched Jaeseong.
Without Jaeseong knowing, Mina was caring for him a lot.
A year had passed since Neurogen appeared.
It was now establishing itself as a complete dementia treatment. Other countries also showed intentions to import Neurogen through emergency use authorization.
It was to avoid the hassle of having to take a plane to a country called South Korea. And there was also a check against the value of the Korean Won rising more and more.
As dementia patients visited Korea, they naturally had to exchange currency, didn't they? They brought Euros or Dollars, exchanged them for Won, and entered Korea.
Since millions of patients did that, the value of the Won naturally had to rise.
If they distributed Neurogen in their own countries, there would be no need for that anymore.
And there were no side effects seen in dementia patients prescribed Neurogen...
However, an article about something that happened in another country stopped the emergency use authorization for Neurogen.
[Neurogen! Fatal side effects?]
[Dementia patient taking Neurogen... dies of shock!]
[The reason for cardiac arrest occurring in dementia patients? That's Neurogen?]
An article about side effects regarding Neurogen popped up. It hadn't been properly verified, but it turned out to be true that side effects had occurred. This was because the number of cases where dementia patients were found in a state of shock or cardiac arrest had increased.
It mainly happened in underdeveloped countries, not developed ones. No cases had appeared in Korea yet.
But what kind of beings are the masses? They very often make a fuss about things happening in other countries as if it were their own business.
The Korean internet went into an uproar.
[Look at this, I told you new drug development needs to be cautious.]
[Side effects exploded, as expected... dying of shock, seriously.]
[Where are the sheeple who said to approve it quickly? Side effects have happened now, so you guys should take responsibility, right?]
Foreign dementia caregivers who lost their parents vented their anger and responded to interviews.
They poured out hatred for Neurogen, to the point of calling it a devil's drug. Because Neurogen, which they believed to be a reliable drug, had caused side effects.
As the news spread and Jaeseong Bio didn't release any particular statement, the South Korean public also fell into confusion. They were unsure if it was really okay to get a prescription for Neurogen and take it.
Jaeseong Bio's stock price also plummeted. Jaeseong Bio's stock price, which had repeatedly hit the upper limit, dropped by 30%. It had hit the lower limit. Stock investors burst out in angry words.
[At least release a statement!]
[No, my stocks!!! Is it for real that I lost 30% right after buying?]
[Neurogen didn't cure dementia patients, it cured stock addicts... like a Dark Knight.]
[I knew this would happen, so I sold everything~]
A government official also urgently visited Jaeseong Bio's headquarters. Was it a drug with side effects dangerous enough to be labeled a devil's drug? They needed a definitive answer from Jaeseong Bio.
Soyeon looked at the person from the government and said.
"You don't need to worry."
"What...? What does that mean? There's a huge commotion right now saying people have died because of Neurogen... Is it true?"
"Side effects are an impossible thing for Neurogen."
Soyeon naturally knew that it was a drug without side effects. It was made with future technology, so how could there be side effects? It was a drug that had cured dementia without any side effects until the year 9999. Even if it was a degraded copy version, there was no reason for side effects to occur.
"I will announce the details through a press conference. I'm planning to announce it today."
"Ah... I understand."
The government official returned without gaining any particular results. Because it was a fact that Neurogen had found a new life for dementia patients.
Even if there were side effects, dementia patients would willingly take Neurogen. Because they wanted to live as normal people more than living as fools.
Jaeseong Bio held a press conference.
Reporters from all broadcasting stations gathered. There were even reporters from overseas. Patients taking Neurogen overseas were also watching the press conference with interest.
Honestly, the feelings of dementia patients were that even if there were side effects, they just wanted to ignore them and take it. Because dying from dementia or dying from side effects was the same thing anyway. No, dying from dementia was scarier and worse.
Soyeon stood in front of the podium.
She spoke from a place filled with microphones.
"I will speak about this Neurogen side effect situation."
Reporters were looking forward to what words would come out of Soyeon's mouth.
Because they couldn't quite grasp what she would have to say to overcome this current situation.