Chapter 22
Chapter 22
The Black-Haired Investor Awakened as a Superman 022
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Wilson's disease is a disease where early detection is crucial.
If discovered quickly and treated appropriately, a normal life is possible, but most fall outside that category.
Whether early detection is missed or even if it's discovered.
It's a wicked disease that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars in liver transplant surgery and recovery.
Even if the surgery goes well, the cost of medication alone can reach tens of thousands of dollars per month for the rest of one's life.
It's truly a disease where a money-sucking ghost has taken hold.
'But when was I exposed to such specialized medical information?'
'Is the information even accurate?'
It's information that can't be wrong.
Wilson's disease is a disease that low-income immigrant couples living in public housing in Brownsville can never solve.
Alain was saying something next to me, but I couldn't pay attention.
My mind was tracing back to past memories.
I focused my mind further, chasing the source of this medical information.
Crack!
Grasping the thread of memory and descending deeper.
Crackling!—
I felt an intense current, as if my brain was overloaded, flashing through me.
In that moment, a fragment of my childhood unfolded before my eyes.
Whoosh!-
December 21, 2004, about 20 years ago from now.
Back then, as a child, I made sure to watch a reality TV show on FOX called Trading Spouses.
It was a TV show that observed the process of two families with different backgrounds exchanging their Moms.
At the time, as a child, I lacked time with Mom, who was my only ally, and I always felt that deficiency.
As a young immigrant, adapting to a new environment wasn't easy either. So, this program was my escape route, second only to GameStop.
That day, as always, I started my homework only after watching the TV show.
I didn't turn off the television.
It was because Mom had always told me to keep it on at home for English exposure.
The program that followed Trading Spouses was the drama, Dr. House.
The young me checked the screen and grumbled.
"It's Dr. House. Ugh."
I was displeased that it didn't continue with The O.C.
That drama, which dealt with the growth story of Ryan, who entered high society from a poor environment, was also a program that filled the empty space in my heart in a different way than Trading Spouses.
Checking the time, the young me started to worry about Mom.
9 PM.
It was a mild night for winter, but the dark back alleys were always dangerous for Mom.
But if I went to pick up Mom, I would surely be scolded, so the young me tried to concentrate on homework again.
The number of times I checked the time gradually increased.
The time I checked then was 9:36 PM.
Dr. House was still airing on television.
But I didn't pay attention to it.
The young me's mind was full of worries about when Mom would return.
Even then, Dr. House's dry voice was playing.
"Look at her eyes. See the yellowing? That’s jaundice. And see that ring around her cornea? That’s copper. She has Wilson’s disease."
I didn't pay attention to that line, but this was it.
This was when I was first exposed to medical information about Wilson's disease.
And at that moment, the phone rang.
Thinking it might be Mom, the young me rushed out and picked up the receiver and asked.
"Mom?"
"Hongik Ingan."
It was a voice drier and more imposing than Dr. House.
The young me immediately recognized the owner of this voice.
Surprised, I asked back.
"Grandfather? Is that you, Grandfather?"
"Hongik Ingan."
The voice spoke coldly once more and then hung up the phone.
Ah!
When I came out of my concentration, I seemed to have unconsciously let out a short groan.
"...Are you okay? Should we stop for a moment?"
His voice seemed to be getting closer from a distance.
What had initially sounded like noise had now turned into clear words and a worried tone.
As my consciousness returned to reality, I realized that I was sitting in the passenger seat of a moving truck heading to Manhattan.
"Yes. Let's stop for a moment."
Alain quickly looked around and parked the truck on a quiet road next to the Brooklyn Bridge before entering it.
Getting out of the truck, I stared blankly at the massive steel structure of the Brooklyn Bridge and the East River shining below it.
Standing still in the cold air, I felt my mind becoming clearer.
The memory I had just recalled.
That day 20 years ago, Grandfather's voice was a message that foreshadowed today.
I had come into a large sum of money, had to move, and encountered a family in need of help in the process.
When I traveled to the distant past to confirm its authenticity, I received Grandfather's message.
Hongik Ingan. Benefit humanity widely.
Widely.
Humanity.
Benefit—
It was a clear message, as if rebuking me, who was planning a fund exclusively for the Korean people as a way to pay Han Gi for his consultation fee.
Don't limit yourself to the Korean people.
Extend your hand widely to all human beings.
Help Alain's family.
The fact that such a message was left decades ago, foreseeing the present, is truly chilling.
But at the same time, it's also intriguing.
'Is the Han Gi spirit Hwanung or something?'
Hongik Ingan, I never thought I would hear those four letters in this way.
It's not a funny situation at all.
It's a matter that should be taken seriously, but I was so dumbfounded that I let out a hollow laugh.
"He's an interesting fellow."
If I can handle the consultation fee that I have to pay the Han Gi spirit here instead of in Korea, I would welcome it more than anything.
If I establish a welfare foundation here, I can receive tax benefits.
Income tax deductions for donations, as well as federal income tax exemptions, are possible, so it's a method that can only be more advantageous for me.
"Let's do that. Hongik Ingan, 10% consultation fee."
I muttered quietly and turned back towards the truck.
Floors finished with dark oak wood and corridors paved with marble.
Antique crystal lights emitting a subtle glow.
The ceilings were high, and Central Park stretched out quietly beyond the windows. Further away, the Manhattan skyline was clearly visible.
Diolcott, our new home.
The moving work had just finished.
Perhaps it was strange that I brought all the old luggage from Brooklyn, Alain asked me several times during the work to confirm the furniture arrangement.
As Alain was about to return to the truck.
I called him to the window.
"Would you like to come here for a moment?"
I gestured towards the south of Manhattan, towards Wall Street, and said.
"You seemed to think I was in IT earlier, but I actually work on Wall Street."
Alain blinked for a moment, then nodded as if he understood.
"I kind of figured."
Then he hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say.
He seemed newly amazed by the success that I, a person of color like him, had achieved on Wall Street.
Even in the brief moment he hesitated, the admiring light in his eyes grew deeper and deeper.
"Working on Wall Street, I come across a lot of information. For example, information about medicine and medical companies. Have you ever heard of a pharmaceutical company called Belmont?"
He had a face that didn't understand why I was saying this, especially to a moving center employee like him.
"It was a pharmaceutical company that had a lot of controversy. Rather than investing in pharmaceutical development costs, it was aggressive in acquiring other pharmaceutical companies that already had pharmaceutical patents."
I continued, facing him, who was only blinking.
"Among them was Aton, a company that had the patent for Cyprine, a treatment for Wilson's disease.
As soon as Belmont acquired Aton and monopolized Cyprine, they raised the price."
"Is that so."
"They raised the price of 100 pills for a month from $600 to $20,000."
His pupils widened slightly, showing surprise.
"Those kinds of guys are really bad guys. Playing with people's lives."
But still, because he couldn't understand why I was telling him this.
There was no real anger in his tone of voice.
He was just agreeing with me, not yet immersed in this conversation.
"Even after time has passed, Wilson's disease treatment is still expensive at $20,000. But the bigger problem is that there is no cure for Wilson's disease.
You have to take medicine and treat it for the rest of your life. $20,000 a month for medicine is $200,000 a year. For the rest of your life. Can the average person afford this?"
"No, they can't."
"So many Wilson's disease patients are giving up treatment. Even then, treatment is only possible if it is discovered early."
I pointed directly to my eyes and the area around them and said.
"The signs of Wilson's disease are jaundice, where the eyes look yellow, and a ring around the eyes.
In the early stages, it may only look like fatigue if you don't look closely, but over time, the signs become clearer and clearer. Jaundice and rings."
Alain's face hardened rapidly.
He seemed to realize now why I was telling him this.
His lips trembled slightly, and he soon became silent as if he had stopped breathing.
In his eyes, which were shaking severely and falling into some fearful thought, tears welled up at one point.
"That ring... jaundice......,"
The words that couldn't be fully uttered scattered, and he collapsed on the spot.
"I saw your child in the family photo. Get an accurate diagnosis from the hospital."
I took out a business card from my wallet and handed it to him, saying.
「 AlphaMind CEO, Hyunwoo Na
Suite 7B-12, 20 Exchange Place, New York, NY 10005, USA
(917) 555-4628, @AlphaMind 」
"Contact me."
For a while, his eyes remained blank, unable to escape from the shock.
As if trapped in that moment, he became speechless.
Then suddenly his expression distorted, and he cried out his daughter's name in a trembling voice.
He got up so urgently, left me behind, and ran outside.
I looked at the empty space he had left and moved to the table.
I need to proceed right away without delay.
Flipping open the laptop, flashing information.
Crackling!
All the details of the documents needed to establish a welfare foundation, even the financial plan. As each one quickly came to mind, I moved my fingers on the keyboard.
Tap tap tap tap tap tap-
After completing all that work quickly, I contacted Marcus.
< Proceed with this one quickly as well. It's about establishing a welfare foundation. >
< If it's because of tax issues, I recommend consulting with our experts first. >
< I've already gotten enough advice. >
I don't need advice.
I can just extract the necessary information from my brain whenever I need it.