The Birth of a Pharmaceutical Giant
“Aunt.”
“Hmm?” Lee In-hae sensed that Yoon-gi was about to ask for a favor.
“By any chance, could I watch you while you’re seeing patients?”
“Watching me work?”
Yoon-gi nodded. “Yes. I want to see how doctors treat patients from a third-party perspective.”
“Hmm, it’s not a difficult request, but I’m off-duty right now. Should I let you know when I’m back on shift?”
“If that’s difficult right now, could I perhaps watch a doctor you know?”
“Ah, if that’s fine, I can introduce you to someone else. But would you mind if it’s an internal medicine doctor instead of an OB-GYN?”
“Of course not.”
“Grandfather, may I make a phone call?”
“Ah, of course. There’s one here and one in the main room, so use whichever is more comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
As Lee In-hae headed to the main room, Choi Ki-hyun stroked his vitamins for a moment before turning his head toward Yoon-gi. “Did you think of something? Why do you need to see how doctors treat patients?”
Yoon-gi flashed a sly smile. “I suddenly felt like starting a pharmaceutical company.”
Thanks to Lee In-hae, Yoon-gi was able to observe a doctor at a local internal medicine clinic in Seoul. Strictly speaking, there might have been legal issues, but this was a world where people lived and breathed. What was truly impossible in this world? They reached a compromise where Yoon-gi would stay behind a curtain near the examination bed and listen to the consultations. If Yoon-gi hadn’t been so famous, he could have just put on a doctor’s coat and pretended to be a medical student or an intern. But because he was so well-known, this was the only way.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Ah, yes! It’s an honor for me.”
The doctor, thinking he might be making a valuable connection, was extremely polite. Thanks to this, Yoon-gi was able to listen comfortably from behind the curtain.
“What seems to be the problem?”
“Ah… yes. My stomach hurts a bit…”
“I see. Could you lift your shirt for a moment?”
At the doctor’s request, the male patient in his 30s lifted his shirt. A moment later.
“Yes. I’ll prescribe some medicine, so avoid salty, spicy, and greasy foods, and don’t overeat.”
As the doctor began writing the prescription, Choi Deok-bae read the names of the medications and whispered them to Yoon-gi. Meanwhile, Yoon-gi watched the Vibrator he had placed next to the patient, but it showed no reaction.
“Please send in the next patient.”
This time, it was a female patient in her early 20s.
“What seems to be the problem?”
“My stomach hurts…”
The doctor, who had applied the stethoscope again, said the same thing as before.
“Yes. I’ll prescribe some medicine, so avoid salty, spicy, and greasy foods, and don’t overeat.”
Likewise, the Vibrator showed no reaction.
“What seems to be the problem?”
“I think I have a cold.”
“Ah~ say ‘ah’.”
“Ah~”
As expected, the Vibrator remained unresponsive.
Two hours passed like that. Since most of the patients came in with stomachaches or colds, the doctor’s prescriptions were almost identical.
[Yes. I’ll prescribe some medicine, so avoid salty, spicy, and greasy foods, and don’t overeat.]
[Yes. I’ll prescribe some medicine, so avoid cold things, and get plenty of rest.]
It was a strangely familiar prescription. Still, since this wasn’t the military, there was no miracle cure where one pill treated both colds and stomachaches. In the military, you could experience the miracle of curing every disease with a single pill, but at a local clinic, the medication was at least somewhat specialized. Choi Deok-bae started whining from the side, but Yoon-gi persistently observed the consultations.
‘It’s only been two hours.’
‘Shh.’
As a new patient entered, Yoon-gi focused on the situation again.
“Doctor, lately I’ve been having constant headaches, my chest feels tight, and I can’t breathe well.”
“Could you lift your shirt?”
The doctor applied the stethoscope to the chest of the 40-year-old male patient. He changed the position a few times, but his expression didn’t change much.
“Doctor, is something wrong?”
“For now, I’ll write you a prescription, so take it for three days. If there’s no improvement, come back.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
Just as the doctor began writing the prescription, the Vibrator suddenly turned red. It didn’t go into a frenzy, but the fact that it turned red was a clear sign that there was a problem. As soon as the patient left, Yoon-gi spoke up cautiously.
“Doctor.”
“Yes?” The doctor paused before calling in the next patient and looked at Yoon-gi.
“The patient just now, what’s wrong with him?”
“Ah, was it that obvious?” The doctor gave an awkward smile.
“No. It’s not that your examination was obvious, but I just had a feeling he might be quite ill.”
“Ah, then that’s a bit of a relief. Well… that’s a relief for me, at least.”
“Is the patient very sick?”
To the persistent question, the doctor made a thoughtful expression, saying, “Hmm.”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Pardon?”
“It could just be a simple body ache, but I can’t be sure. If I send him to a big hospital right away, the burden on the patient is enormous. I’m just using basic medicine for a few days to monitor the progress.”
“Ah…”
“Actually, how easy would it be if I knew exactly what the disease was the moment I saw them? But most serious illnesses start with minor symptoms, making them hard to judge.”
The doctor continued, “If I say it’s a serious illness and it turns out not to be, it becomes a mess. And if it is a serious illness, it’s also a mess. So, from a local clinic’s perspective, we have to approach every patient with caution. You don’t need to worry too much. It’s a common occurrence.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
After that, Yoon-gi saw the Vibrator turn red two more times. And he was convinced.
‘I can definitely start a pharmaceutical company!’
The Vibrator was a ghost worth trillions, no, tens of trillions.
“You want me to be the president of a pharmaceutical company?” Lee In-hae’s eyes widened.
“Yes. After seeing the work you do, I thought it would be good to establish a pharmaceutical company. What do you think?”
They were in Yoon-gi’s study. Lee In-hae, sitting there, seemed flustered for a moment and wiped the sweat beads from her cheeks with a handkerchief.
“Uh… well… then, does that mean I have to quit being a doctor?”
“I suppose so? Because the workload is bound to become murderous. You definitely won’t be able to do both.”
“…If you say it’s murderous, that means the workload is no joke…”
“Would it be too hard for you?”
Lee In-hae shook her head. “No, actually, the workload isn’t the problem. If I think back to my medical school days, internship, and residency…”
Lee In-hae shook her head as if the mere thought gave her goosebumps.
“How much did you study back then?” Yoon-gi asked, suddenly curious about her school days.
“When I was in medical school, sleeping two hours a day during exam season was considered a lot. My friend said she slept six hours, so I asked, ‘Wow, you slept six hours a day?’ and she told me that was six hours for the whole week.”
“Whoa…”
Honestly, even Yoon-gi was surprised. Yoon-gi was someone who worked hard, but he still made sure to get at least five hours of sleep. Of course, there was a clear difference between medical school exam periods and Yoon-gi’s daily life, but regardless, studying on less than an hour of sleep a day was beyond the common sense of an average person.
“And internships and residencies were even more nauseating. In medical school, you just had to study or do clinical practice, but internships and residencies are essentially practical work. The tension and pressure are no joke, oh my…”
Lee In-hae shook her head vigorously, as if trying to erase the memories of the past.
“At least I had it better.”
“You call that better?”
The way Lee In-hae nodded her head repeatedly carried conviction in her own words.
“OB-GYN isn’t easy either, but surgery is truly hell. Honestly, OB-GYN sees a lot of messy things too, but at least there’s the reward of the birth of life, right? Of course, bad things happen sometimes, but fundamentally, it’s easy to find a sense of reward.”
“That’s certainly true.”
“But surgery isn’t like that. There’s a reason why surgeons working in the ER are always drinking. Furthermore, the wounds are all, oh my…”
“Being a doctor is truly not an easy job.”
“Well, that’s true. Still, everyone has a reason for wanting to be a doctor. I have a hospital director for a father, but regardless, I became a daughter-in-law of Samwoo and YK, and my male classmates became sons-in-law to collateral branches of chaebols, even if not the direct line. It’s the same for my female classmates.”
“It’s not for nothing that the rich and chaebols look for doctor sons-in-law and daughters-in-law.”
“Right?”
Yoon-gi and Lee In-hae looked at each other and grinned.
“We’ve digressed a bit, but do you have any intention of becoming the president of a pharmaceutical company?”
“Hmm~ honestly, I’m a woman, so would it be okay if I became the president?”
“What’s the problem?”
“Huh? No, I wonder if people will follow a female president well, and I’m worried people around me might ask if a woman can do a good job as president…”
“I’ll handle those kinds of people, so Aunt, please just display your capabilities. Among the people around me, you are the one who is closest to me and has the most outstanding medical knowledge.”
“Do you trust me that much?”
“Of course.”
At Yoon-gi’s answer, given without a moment’s hesitation, Lee In-hae looked touched.
“Instead, you have to work really hard. You remember your husband, right?”
At the mention of Jo Cheong-woo, Lee In-hae’s face turned slightly pale. However, the thought of becoming a female president made her clench her fist.
‘Yes. I’ve been born into this life, so let’s not just end up as a female doctor like everyone else; let’s become the president of a pharmaceutical company. Heck, I can just think of it as returning to my medical school days, right?’
Lee In-hae opened her mouth with a determined expression.
“I’ll do it!”
“That’s a great idea!”
Yoon-gi immediately asked Lee In-hae for ‘capable’ doctors, pharmacists, and people from chemistry backgrounds he knew.
“That’s not difficult. I’ll carefully select only the most capable people.”
In a sense, it was Yoon-gi’s whim. But thanks to that, Lee In-hae became the first female president of a pharmaceutical company in South Korea. Of course, she would have to work as hard as Jo Cheong-woo.
YK is establishing a pharmaceutical company. Until now, YK hadn’t really established companies related to ‘technology.’ Of course, they had technologies acquired from Daehan Group or utilized through the absorption of Shin-sang Group, but that didn’t mean they had specifically developed them further. They were recruiting foreign geniuses, including Andrew, to develop basic science, but since South Korea generally neglected basic science, companies didn’t pay much attention to it either.
However, a pharmaceutical company was a different story. Therefore, numerous companies were contacting people who might join YK Pharmaceutical to plant industrial spies.
“Excuse me? You’ll give me ten million won if I just hand over information?”