170. Apollo
Apollo. Real name, Jo Bongjun. That's the handle he uses when he occasionally pops up on a major stock forum. It's also a nickname derived from people praising him as the sun for the knowledge he shares there.
In my previous life, he had nothing to do with me. I'd only heard from Choi Jonghyeon now and then about some friend of his who'd struck it rich day-trading stocks. He didn't mention him that often, so I hadn't really registered the guy's existence. Today was the first time seeing him in the flesh.
He was older than me but apparently younger than Choi Jonghyeon. The two bantered like brothers, using casual speech and calling each other hyung and dongsaeng.
"...Hmm, Lawyer Cha. You know Myungwha Pharmaceuticals is super hot right now, yeah?"
"Yes."
"And you know Myungwha is a Wooshin Group affiliate?"
"I do."
"But their flagship drug, Antrozol Alpha, has issues?"
"That's right."
Choi Jonghyeon, rummaging through kitchen cabinets, suddenly turned to us in the living room and yelled,
"What the hell are you two yapping about so suspiciously!"
"Hyung, chill out for a sec. Lawyer Cha, where'd you get that intel? Antrozol got FDA Phase 3 approval in the US."
"That's regular Antrozol. Antrozol Alpha is newly approved here in Korea. It hasn't passed the US FDA."
"But Alpha's just an upgraded Antrozol, right? I heard the ingredients aren't that different."
Instead of replying, I handed him a stack of documents. Lab analysis results on Antrozol Alpha's ingredients, with changes highlighted for easy reading.
Jo Bongjun settled in, flipping through each page meticulously. Midway, he paused, hand frozen mid-turn.
"Aphilatylene and lopetamine together increase cardiovascular risks?"
"Taking aphilatylene and lopetamine together for months or more triples the risk of heart disease and stroke. But as you see up front, Antrozol Alpha is a long-term injection."
"So why the hell did Myungwha put both in there?"
Jo Bongjun eyed me suspiciously.
"Because, looking purely at arthritis, the effects are remarkable."
"But it triples heart disease and stroke risks. And the more you take, long-term, the worse it gets. Why would Myungwha risk that kind of backlash?"
He still looked unconvinced. Fair enough. When Antrozol first became an issue, people half-doubted it, saying Myungwha wasn't stupid enough to hurt its parent company Wooshin.
"Exactly. But no drug combining those two has ever been sold worldwide before."
"No control group?"
"Right. And separately, neither ingredient has issues. No red flags in trials means it'd pass on ingredients alone."
"But if it's problematic, shouldn't trials have caught it?"
"I can't say for sure what came up in Myungwha's Phase 3 for the Korea Food and Drug Administration. But these documents prove it."
Jo Bongjun rubbed his stubbly chin, humming thoughtfully.
"Assuming you're right, Lawyer Cha. These two ingredients' interaction isn't widely publicized here. So even with approval press releases and production ramp-ups, it's stayed quiet."
"Yes."
"But you're no expert—how'd you know to warn me? Med circles aren't raising alarms."
Dealing with skeptics is tiring but not irritating. Meticulous types who scrutinize beat gullible ones who swallow any smooth talk.
"These docs are a translation of a German research team's paper in a medical journal. Sadly, no Korean papers flag the combo yet."
Jo Bongjun flipped to the end, checking authors and institutions. Then he hunkered over Choi Jonghyeon's laptop, searching intently.
"In this advanced age, how does shit like this get approved? Beats me."
He muttered doubts nonstop.
"Fifty years ago, humanity used radium for cancer treatment. Smeared it in cosmetics, brushed teeth with radium toothpaste, even recommended cigarettes for lung health. Freud prescribed cocaine for depression; cough syrups had chloroform. Post-Industrial Revolution, tech boom era. Most thought society was plenty advanced."
"What's your point?"
Jo Bongjun looked up from the laptop.
"Research piled up, proving radium's deadly. Folks denied it at first—like you now."
"......"
"But evidence mounted, acceptance grew. Among radium toothpaste makers back then, none built trust like Wooshin. Coke started with cocaine-laced cola."
"...So because I said a Wooshin affiliate like Myungwha wouldn't do that, you're spinning this? It slipped through because folks don't know, but future studies will expose it?"
"Yes."
"So Wooshin didn't know the combo's harm, nor did the FDA equivalent here, letting it approve?"
"That's another story."
Quiet Choi Jonghyeon chimed in. I smiled faintly.
"So Myungwha and the agency knew and approved anyway?"
"Can't say it's that black-and-white, but I doubt Myungwha 'didn't know' even if the agency might've."
Choi Jonghyeon and I had already aligned before meeting Jo. He was convinced Myungwha knew and launched anyway. And he was right.
"Know how long developing one drug takes? Minimum ten years. Check that paper's date—2007. Three years ago. Ignored? Means they whipped it up half-assed. Fucking bastards."
Choi Jonghyeon gnashed his teeth.
Jo Bongjun crossed his arms, sighing deeply.
"If you're still skeptical, search that study yourself. Verify if I'm just spouting facts. Gotta convince yourself before we move on."
I hadn't expected instant buy-in today. Even Choi Jonghyeon doubted till I wrapped the Go Yunseong case.
As I rose, Jo Bongjun called out urgently.
"Hey, hold up. Lawyer Cha, you're impatient too."
He squinted, grinning slyly, gesturing me back down. I set aside my coat and sat.
"One more thing. You and hyung seem to think Myungwha knew the harm and sold anyway. Why go that far?"
I'd lost family to Antrozol's side effects. No one knew better how it shattered homes. My vendetta against Wooshin started with Antrozol. Primary goal: halt sales. Ultimate: broader.
"You know Go Sangjun's sons, Go Yunho and Go Yunseok, fought bloody three years back?"
Go Sangjun passing Wooshin to eldest Go Yun-su was a given. But the others? Youngest Go Yunseong was a thug wildcard; second and third sons were viable.
Go tested them by assigning affiliates. Weirdly, they clashed over the plum ones—likely seeing it as paternal favor.
The feud dragged. Some said Go Sangjun pitted them deliberately. It ended three years ago.
"But it wrapped fine. Go Yunho got securities, Go Yunseok cards. Younger bro lost, right?"
Popcorn-munching spectators thought it over. But Go Yunseok wouldn't yield easily.
"How do you think Go Sangjun ended it?"
"Dunno?"
"Simple: promise equal market caps. Calms even Go Yunseok."
"Possible?"
"Three years ago, the method emerged. Now ripe for execution."
"...Equal market caps. Wait."
Jo Bongjun's eyes widened.
"Geumsan Card!"
He bellowed.
"Geumsan Card's debt ratio's sky-high; regulators circling. Group's sold HQ and assets for five years just to breathe. But rumors of selling the card biz first swirled three years back. Hang on..."
He hammered the laptop again, querying market caps.
"Wooshin Card acquiring Geumsan evens them out. So Wooshin's really buying? Solid intel? I should grab Wooshin Card stock."
"Yes. Massive perks: topples Wooshin to No. 1 market share, stock surge. Win-win. Others are drooling too."
"...Plausible. But what’s Myungwha got to do with it?"