Free PharmCare (1)
Oh Seongjin stared at me with an expression of utter disbelief and asked, “Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve confirmed the chairman’s intention. According to the field reports, he’s been running around to every pharmaceutical company in the country.”
“Y-Yeah… I thought that since you gave me the chance, I should at least do something about it…” Oh Seongjin scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
“Thanks to you, I’ve been spared some of the work. I was worried the most about getting pharmaceutical companies to promote us, but now that the president stepped in early, we should be able to save a lot of time.”
“Ah… I’m glad I could help. None of the companies have even signed yet, though.”
“That doesn’t matter. The moment Iljin Group starts its full-scale nutrition supplement dispenser business, everyone will be scrambling for alternatives. Our chance will come right then.”
Oh Seongjin’s eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement as he heard my words.
“You mean… so that’s why you’ve been so quiet about the patent all this time.”
“Soon Iljin Group will spend 15 billion won on advertising. Of course, the public’s understanding of nutrition supplement dispensers will skyrocket. We’ll use that as a springboard to promote PharmCare’s product. When the public learns about the product’s usefulness and Iljin Group’s dispenser sales begin to climb, we’ll file the patent lawsuit.”
“Noise marketing, huh?”
“Exactly.”
I added, eyes flashing, “If we’ve already pulled tears from someone else’s eyes, they should be ready to shed blood from their own. Lee Jungwan, I’m going to make sure you never recover from this.”
***
One month before the launch of Iljin Group’s nutrition supplement dispenser, Healthy.
The news that Cha Eun-yu had been selected as the Iljin Group model for their product had already reached Donghaeng Pharmaceutical.
An emergency executive meeting was called.
The president asked the executives, “I heard Iljin Group is using Cha Eun-yu to promote their nutrition supplement dispenser. How do our market shares compare right now?”
“We have 25%, while Iljin has 18%.”
“Seven percentage points…” When their new dispenser launches, Iljin plans to sell their nutrition supplements in kit form. That means we could be overtaken soon, right? How can we just sit here and do nothing when we know that?”
“……”
The executives felt the president’s aggressive tone and sensed the crisis. Yet in the face of total helplessness, no one dared to speak up.
Finally, Marketing Director Hong Myung-min gathered his courage and suggested, “What if we hire an actor with the star power of Cha Eun-yu, advertise our product, and run large-scale promotion campaigns?”
“That’s only a short-term Band-Aid, isn’t it?”
Silence fell once more.
The president sighed deeply and said, “Find a similar product, or even if it’s a little late, develop our own dispenser! We need a long-term countermeasure, don’t we? Marketing Team Leader, any good ideas?”
Despite the president’s relentless pressure, the executives’ proposals all boiled down to the same conclusion: investing in dispenser development to protect revenue went against the very nature of a pharmaceutical company.
President Joo Tae-seok, frustrated by the empty talk on the table, sighed in exasperation.
“Ugh… Iljin Pharmaceutical is pulling ahead thanks to the group’s support. It looks like our Donghaeng Pharmaceutical has no choice but to do nothing. What kind of future do we even have?”
At that moment, someone raised their hand.
It was Marketing Director Hong Myung-min.
Since he usually came up with solid ideas, Joo Tae-seok gave him the floor with a bit of hope.
“Please, speak.”
“Actually, a few days ago I was introduced to a similar product. It’s a pill-dispensing device that releases the right medication at the exact time. Someone suggested we supply it to our company instead.”
“Why are you only telling us about it now?”
He handed the president a pamphlet no bigger than his palm.
“It’s… well, the design is a bit…”
Joo Tae-seok’s expression changed slightly when he saw the pamphlet.
Marketing Director Seongjin understood why the product had been mentioned so late.
“Is the company financially stable?”
“They’re a bit short on capital, so promotion hasn’t gone well and sales are almost zero. But they’ve won several venture innovation awards, so I think their product development ability is solid. Apparently they’ve already found an investor willing to pour money in recently.”
“Hmm…”
“There’s one more issue…”
The situation had not been resolved in one clean blow.
President Joo Tae-seok asked impatiently, “What is it?”
“The employee who tested the product said the interface is a bit too complex for elderly users.”
Since the test had been conducted by an actual employee, the problem could not be ignored.
However, with no alternative available right now, it was better to make contact first.
“Hong Director, please check it yourself. See if there’s even the slightest chance. We can provide testing and design support on our end.”
“Understood.”
***
Kang Minhyuk offered the CEO position to Oh Seongjin.
A salaried executive who earned a bonus based on performance. Of course, all shares and management rights would belong to Kang Minhyuk.
In exchange for selling the shares, he would receive 1 billion won.
The shares he owned were worth only about 200 million won.
“You’re giving me too high a valuation, aren’t you?”
“The shares will be purchased at cost. What I’m truly valuing are the patent rights and the list of pharmaceutical company routes you’ve personally built by running all over the country.”
“Still, paying an extra 800 million won just for that…”
“Please accept it. It’s the compensation for your hard work over the years.”
Compensation.
Oh Seongjin’s eyes grew moist as he listened to Kang Minhyuk’s words.
He felt immense gratitude that someone had finally recognized his efforts.
Oh Seongjin also wanted to share that same emotion with the staff who had believed in him and stayed until the end.
“The patent costs will be split between the team members who helped develop the product.”
“Yes.”
Kang Minhyuk promised to hire professional managers to handle the business side so Oh Seongjin could focus on product development and sales.
Despite the slight awkwardness on his face, Kang Minhyuk was clearly the one who felt the gratitude.
He had given a struggling man a chance to work again, and now he was even offering him a CEO position to maintain.
To Oh Seongjin, Kang Minhyuk was nothing less than a benefactor.
After accepting the CEO position, feedback on the product began in earnest.
Realizing that the product’s overly advanced features were actually hurting accessibility, Oh Seongjin added more staff to the development team and streamlined the excessive functions.
He also received additional investment funds from Kang Minhyuk and entrusted the design to a famous product design company. Thanks to this, the product achieved a sleek appearance that rivaled large corporations.
One month later,
A brand-new prototype was completed.
Testing the newly renewed product, Kang Minhyuk was immensely satisfied.
“This should make pharmaceutical companies rush to work together.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s time to start proper promotion. Oh! Let’s name it AlgoPharm.”
As if responding to Kang Minhyuk’s permission,
Before the brochure could even be fully distributed, Donghaeng Pharmaceutical’s marketing team called.
“Yes? You want me to show the brochure to the director?”
Kang Minhyuk immediately texted the good news to President Oh Seongjin.
Soon a reply came back.
— President Oh, I’ve sent the 2025 marketing plan by email. Tomorrow, please show it to the Donghaeng Pharmaceutical representative and ask them to adjust the nutrient supplement supply price for us to our data sheet as closely as possible.
‘Whoa. They’re already planning next year’s marketing? Just how far ahead were they thinking?’
— Understood.
Minhyuk replied and downloaded the marketing plan Kang Minhyuk had sent, then printed it.
Soon after,
Oh Seongjin checked the report and couldn’t help but gasp at the projected revenue.
‘…Two trillion won in sales? Entering the US market? Is this even possible?’
***
The day the PharmCare acquisition was finalized.
As expected, TV screens exploded with news.
[Are you adapting well to your new life?]
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
Because the situation had become familiar, he finally had time to answer.
[Congratulations on completing the PharmCare acquisition mission.]
[As a reward, you receive reading rights to the Zeroes Group PharmCare acquisition results.]
[Would you like to check now?]
“Good.”
Ever since the mission might pop up on TV at any moment, Minhyuk had always kept a notebook and pen on the bedside table.
He held the notebook and pen, waiting for the future information to appear.
After a moment, the screen switched.
An internet news article appeared.
[Pharmaceuticals and AI converge: AlgoPharm’s NASDAQ debut—achieved in just five years since founding!]
“AlgoPharm? Oh~ I was already wondering what a good name would be. The sound is nice, and it carries a strong AI technology image. Perfect.”
Minhyuk quickly noted the product name in his notebook and read the article thoroughly.
The main point was that on December 1, 2025—AlgoPharm’s fifth anniversary—PharmCare would be listed on NASDAQ thanks to the product’s global popularity.
Offering price: 30 dollars. Shares offered: 10 million. Total value: approximately 400 billion won.
The article also added that the world market would expand even more actively as a result.
“Listing on NASDAQ next year? This isn’t just a big hit—this is a super hit. How did this even happen?”
Immediately, another article appeared in response to his question.
[Korea: Drug overuse shortening lifespans seriously]
It explained that the increase in elderly people taking more than 10 medications a day was causing side effects from overdoses, which in turn caused serious long-term damage and actually shortened lifespans.
The article was dated late April.
Right before the scheduled May launch of AlgoPharm.
“Timing is everything!”
No doubt the noise marketing had succeeded in getting the name out first, and the drug-overuse article had exploded sales. Now NASDAQ listing.
Then… he would need to invest even more?
***
Donghaeng Pharmaceutical conference room.
Oh Seongjin arrived at the office in one fell swoop after receiving the marketing team’s call.
But as the promised time drew near, his heart grew heavier.
It was because the marketing plan Kang Minhyuk had given him made him uneasy about its reliability.
Of course, he understood.
Business plans naturally required some exaggeration to inspire confidence in partners.
But could a product with zero monthly sales and almost no promotion suddenly achieve 200 billion won in annual revenue in just one year after a simple redesign?
Oh Seongjin still felt a nagging doubt in his chest, like a tail he couldn’t shake.
‘President Kang can do it. I believe in him! If I can’t believe, how am I supposed to convince others?’
Oh Seongjin steeled his resolve once more.
Even if others laughed, he refused to doubt that AlgoPharm was an extraordinary product.
The door opened and the previously seen section chief and the gray-haired executive entered.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Hong Myung-min, Director of Marketing.”
“I’m Oh Seongjin, President of PharmCare.”
Director Hong went straight to the point without unnecessary pleasantries.
“I’ve reviewed the product explanation you gave me earlier. I’d like to see the actual product first.”
“That’s because the product was upgraded over the past month. It will be much easier to understand if you look at the brochure first. Here.”
Oh Seongjin handed over the guidebook, and Hong Myung-min flipped it with casual interest.
“The design has been slightly changed.”
“Yes. Not only the design, but we’ve also simplified the usage instructions. You yourself pointed out that the functions were too complex for the user age group, so…”
“Hmm. I see. The interface is now much simpler.”
After checking the brochure, Hong Myung-min became even more curious about the actual product.
“It would be great if you could demonstrate the product usage process.”
“Yes!”
Oh Seongjin placed the product from the box on the table and began the explanation.
“Once you insert the cartridge containing the pills, the information pre-stored in the cartridge is transmitted to the mainboard, and the medication information and quantity are entered.”
“Oh~ The troublesome input step is completely eliminated.”
“Exactly. And when you press the spoon button after a meal, the alarm will activate precisely 30 minutes later and dispense the medication on schedule.”
“Oh~ Wonderful.”
Excited by the positive reaction, Oh Seongjin gave a passionate product explanation.
He was certain this time he could deliver a positive result.
After the demonstration,
Director Hong Myung-min, who had been watching the product with an increasingly interested expression, finally asked the question he had been most worried about.
“So, what is the selling price of AlgoPharm?”
“……!”
Oh Seongjin, who had been completely focused on the projected revenue, had not considered this question in advance.
Instantly, cold sweat broke out on his back.
“The selling price of AlgoPharm… is zero!”