The Gift (3)
David was getting ready to take his first vacation since joining Continue Capital.
While a few arrangements were being handled, I met with Trish and explained the situation.
When she heard me out, she couldn’t quite hide her surprise.
“You’re saying LunaVax’s new drug can cure Maggie completely?”
“Yes.”
The reason I was so certain was partly because I knew the future, of course—but also because the clinical trials had already shown clear results.
The cure rate was close to 90 percent, and even the remaining patients had seen significant improvement.
“That’s wonderful.”
Trish had seen Maggie last Christmas while covering the pediatric ward, so she seemed genuinely happy, as if it were her own family.
“Once the treatment’s finished, could you write an article about it?”
Pediatric lymphoma wasn’t exactly a common disease, but it wasn’t so rare that no one ever got it, either. And not everyone could come all the way to Korea for treatment the way Maggie had.
That meant we needed approval from the FDA and EMA as quickly as possible.
If a famous person’s daughter like David Lockhart’s had been cured by the new drug, it might help speed things up a little more.
So David agreed to let the story run.
Trish nodded hard, full of energy.
“Then I’ll have to work even harder on it. Leave it to me!”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Maggie was going to be transported in my private jet, and three medical staff members would accompany her in case anything happened.
She looked a little excited.
“Wow! So this is a plane? It’s my first time on one.”
Well, considering she had spent her whole life in hospitals, this was probably her first real trip, period.
Maggie looked around with wide, curious eyes.
“But it looks kind of different from the planes on TV.”
“Because this is a private jet.”
“What’s a private jet?”
“It’s a plane just for us. We’re going to Korea on it.”
“Waaah! This is my first time going abroad.”
“Once you’re all better, you’ll be able to travel all over the world.”
“Really?”
“Yep. I promise.”
“Promise!”
She held out her pinky finger.
I hooked mine around it. It always struck me again when I did that—children’s hands really were tiny.
“Do you know where Korea is?”
“Yeah. Across the sea. I know Korea really well.”
“You do?”
Maggie nodded.
“Yeah. I listen to a lot of K-pop on A-Tube.”
“Oh! Who do you like best?”
“Jiyu unnie! I watched her concert on Aniverse recently, too.”
I was a little taken aback that the first name out of her mouth was one I knew.
“Jiyu? Why her?”
“Because she’s pretty and she sings so well. When I get better, I want to go see her perform.”
“I-I see.”
At this point, wasn’t Jiyu less of a K-pop star and more just a straight-up pop star?
That excitement about going on a trip only lasted for a moment.
Before long, Maggie had fallen asleep.
I quietly watched her sleeping face.
Curly blonde hair, skin so white and pale it seemed almost untouched by sunlight, a smooth forehead and soft cheeks.
She looked like a little angel.
I could see why David had turned into a total daughter fool. Just having a daughter like that would make anyone feel like a winner in life.
I kept watching her for a while, and for some reason, the back of my neck started to prickle.
When I looked up, David was staring at me with cold, narrowed eyes.
I was a little startled.
“Why are you looking at me like that…?”
In a voice as cold as his gaze, he said, “My daughter is off-limits.”
“What? N-no, I wasn’t—”
What did he take me for, anyway?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Yuseong Hospital in Iwon-dong.
Run by the Yuseong Life Foundation, the hospital was famous for having some of the best medical staff and facilities in Korea.
Yuseong Hospital also operated a separate VIP ward.
The VIP rooms on the upper floors of the hospital came with hotel-grade accommodations and security.
The largest room in the ward was about 90 pyeong.
Like a hotel suite, it had not only a patient room but also a family room and a reception room, so the patient, family members, caregivers, and attendants could all stay comfortably.
It was also connected directly to the underground parking garage by a private elevator, and the route from the room to the ICU and treatment areas was completely separate, allowing the patient to avoid outside attention.
Thanks to that kind of thorough privacy protection, the VIP rooms at Yuseong Hospital were famous for being the preferred choice not only of the Yuseong Group’s controlling family, but also of powerful figures from politics and business.
A commotion broke out in the VIP ward.
The doctors and nurses whispered among themselves, wondering what was going on.
“The chairman must have personally ordered that there be absolutely no lapse in the admission process.”
“Who on earth is being admitted? Is it some Saudi royal or something?”
As one would expect from a hospital under the Yuseong name, it offered medical care at a world-class level, so it often treated foreign dignitaries as well.
Not long ago, members of the Abu Dhabi royal family had been treated there.
For Muslim patients, the hospital had even prepared halal food and a separate prayer room.
“I heard it’s a child. And the head of pediatrics is coming personally, too.”
“Huh? A child?”
The patient’s identity was soon revealed.
“It’s said to be the only daughter of the CEO of Continue Capital.”
“What!?”
At that, everyone was stunned.
Continue Capital was Yuseong Group’s most important partner.
The two companies were expanding cooperation across cloud services, games, and app markets on every front. If the patient was David Lockhart’s daughter, it made perfect sense that Chairman Yoo Jae-ho himself would take a personal interest.
Hospital Director Ryu Hyun-woo personally went up to the VIP ward and gave instructions one by one, including assigning medical staff who could speak English.
“Please do everything you can so the patient feels no inconvenience at all. Ah—and since I hear her birthday is in a few days, let’s all practice a birthday song together. The English version.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The private jet flew for more than ten hours before arriving at Gimpo Airport.
Fortunately, Maggie didn’t seem to find the flight especially exhausting. In fact, she looked happy just being on the plane and spending time with her dad.
An ambulance from Yuseong Hospital was waiting at the airport.
“Good afternoon. I’m Nam Hee-joon, a specialist in emergency medicine at Yuseong Hospital. We’ll be taking care of you from here.”
Even though it was an ambulance, it wasn’t an emergency transfer, so the siren stayed off and it drove at normal speed like any other vehicle.
Since all the admission procedures had already been handled, Maggie was taken straight to the VIP ward as soon as we arrived at the hospital.
I looked around her room again and marveled at it.
“Hmm. So this is what a VIP room looks like.”
I’d only ever seen places like this in movies and dramas. This was my first time actually setting foot in one.
So this was where all those chairmen who collapsed clutching the back of their necks, or who came in a wheelchair after being dragged to the prosecutor’s office, had been staying all this time.
It was called a hospital room, but in truth it was no different from a luxury hotel.
For reference, the price was even higher than a hotel’s.
Since single rooms weren’t covered by insurance, the hospital was free to set whatever price it wanted. It was fair to say that the profits from a setup like this were probably what covered losses elsewhere.
David watched Maggie as she underwent a series of tests before admission.
He usually didn’t show much emotion.
But this time was different. From the moment we got on the plane, he hadn’t been able to hide how excited he was.
Come to think of it, he probably looked happier than I’d ever seen him.
Was this the difference between an investor and a father?
Watching him made me realize, once again, that there were things in this world more important than money.
“It reminds me of when I first met you, Boss. Honestly, at first I thought, what kind of person is this?”
I snorted softly.
“That sounds about right.”
“Thinking back now, meeting you that day was the greatest stroke of luck in my life.”
“The same goes for me.”
No matter how talented someone was, it was hard to find a person you could trust not to betray you.
If he hadn’t been there, Continue Capital would never have grown this quickly. That was why I hired him first thing after crossing over to the United States.
David looked at me and said, “I will never forget this kindness for as long as I live.”
There was a heavy sincerity in his voice.
How much money could possibly measure one person’s heart?
The truth was, it couldn’t.
Some things could not be bought, no matter how many billions you were willing to spend. A human heart was one of them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I called Jiyu.
I’d gotten her contact information a while ago, but this was the first time I’d ever called her myself.
She answered right away.
Jiyu: “Ah! Hello, senior.”
Miru: “Hey, is this a bad time?”
Jiyu: “No, I’m free right now.”
Miru: “I watched your last performance. It was great.”
Jiyu: “Really? What did you think?”
Miru: “It was amazing. It felt like I was watching a movie or a musical.”
Jiyu: “I’m so glad. I worked hard because I knew you were watching, senior.”
Miru: “I-I see.”
Was that kind of like how fans feel when they know someone’s watching them?
Since she was probably busy, I got straight to the point.
“I have a friend whose daughter is sick, and she’s been living in hospitals since she was little.”
I explained Maggie’s situation to her.
Then Jiyu said in a startled voice, “Ah! Really? Oh no…”
“Ah, but you don’t need to worry at all. Once she gets treatment, she’ll recover quickly. That’s actually why we’re in Korea right now.”
“Really? Thank goodness.”
“Anyway, Maggie’s a huge fan of yours, and she really wants to meet you. Her birthday is in a few days, and I was wondering if you might be able to come. Your agency, Dongho, will take care of the details. And of course we’ll cover your appearance fee.”
“N-no, that’s not necessary! What fee? Of course I should go if it’s for something like that. No—I really want to go. Please let me come.”
I’d worried she might be too busy, or might not want to do it since it was a personal favor, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
“Then I’d really appreciate it.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Maggie adjusted to the new hospital quickly, and drug treatment began right away.
Instead of booking a separate place to stay, David remained in the family room. From time to time, he would head to the Korean branch office as well.
All the important materials and documents were uploaded through the cloud anyway, so all he had to do was review them and issue instructions.
After work, I went to a nearby bar with David.
It was a place Min-woong had recommended.
It was the same alcohol no matter where you drank it, and I did sometimes wonder why people paid this much for it—but if the place gave you a quiet space where no one bothered you, then it was worth paying for.
“How’s Maggie holding up?”
“She’s enduring it well.”
“She’s got a strong spirit.”
I used to scream even when I got a single shot as a kid.
Actually, I still did. That was why I hated going to hospitals.
But Maggie, perhaps because she took after her father, had a surprisingly mature side to her. Apparently she didn’t like showing pain because she was worried it might make the people around her anxious.
We drank slowly and talked.
“Chairman Yoo Jae-ho put in a lot of effort. If he hadn’t, the Korean FDA would probably have waited until after the FDA approved it in the States before making a move.”
“Then I’ll have to thank Chairman Yoo separately later.”
“Why wait until later?”
On a whim, I called Chairman Yoo Jae-ho right then and there.
“Hello, Chairman. We’re having a drink right now, and Representative Lockhart said he wanted to thank you.”
Then Chairman Yoo replied without hesitation.
“If that’s the kind of gathering it is, I can’t possibly refuse. I’ll come right away.”
I texted him the name of the place and the location.
A little later, Chairman Yoo appeared.
The two men shook hands warmly.
David spoke with real feeling.
“I will never forget what you did for us this time.”
Chairman Yoo answered modestly, “Think nothing of it. I only did what Representative Han asked me to do.”
I shook my head.
“A request is easy to make, but it isn’t easy to grant.”
These days, a company like LunaVax could be acquired or invested in whenever I wanted, if I put my mind to it. But back then, it wasn’t like that.
Back then, I didn’t have that much money either.
And since this was investment in new drug development, we needed not only capital but also infrastructure support. In the end, it would have been difficult without Yuseong Bio’s help.
Both the investment in LunaVax and the fact that the new drug was approved this quickly—it had all been thanks to Chairman Yoo Jae-ho’s decision.
Seeing David and Chairman Yoo standing side by side in front of me, I felt, somehow, like I had really made it.
I filled both their glasses.
“Shall we toast?”
We raised our glasses.
“To Maggie’s health!”
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