Chapter 404

The reason why rare disease treatment drugs are so expensive is very simple.

Among 10,000 new drug candidates, only one can be used as an actual new drug.

It’s truly like finding a needle in a desert.

The atrocious probability of 1 in 10,000 inflates all costs that pharmaceutical companies must pay by 10,000 times.

Therefore, unless you are a large corporation with immense cash flow, you’re apprehensive to even venture into the pharmaceutical field.

Then what about Bioakashi, which was acquired for an estimated corporate value of $520 million, or 870 billion won, at the time of the merger?

The multiple sclerosis treatment drug “Persibus” made a surprising debut in the world as a dream treatment that can be used for all types of the disease, including relapsing-remitting, primary progressive, secondary progressive, and progressive-relapsing.

Had there been no price ceiling condition, it would have raked in at least over 10 trillion won in revenue within a year.

Baek Ho-chan, the former CEO of Bioakashi, explained the secret to success to KBS documentary reporters as follows.

“I was just lucky.”

It could not have been a more empty response to those who heard it.

“We only researched and conducted clinical trials on 10 new drug candidates.”

Indeed, there was already an answer among the ten.

Why were they able to succeed at such a low cost?

Because they broke through a 0.1% probability.

Conversely, the reporters asked.

How could they have believed such a low probability and pursued founding and investment?

“For instance, let’s assume you’re at the final table of an international poker tournament in Las Vegas. Everything is at stake in the last bet. It’s either a huge win or a complete loss. Yet, the world’s best poker player beside you keeps whispering to go all in. Did that person think there was a 0.1% chance in this game? No, maybe it looked like 10%, 30%, or perhaps even over 50%.”

“Is that poker player perhaps…?”

Leaning against a one-person sofa, Baek Ho-chan straightened his posture.

He clasped his hands together and leaned forward.

“It was an incredible stroke of luck to meet her. No, it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of luck that will never come again. However, I heard that when one person monopolizes luck, they are bound to face great misfortune. That’s why I set the price of the treatment at $3,000. To share this luck with as many people as possible.”

That decision carried her will.

She did not receive 200 billion won.

“I only received 200 billion won…! Where is Noname now?”

The next destination for the KBS documentary team was determined.

It was the Korea University Hospital Multiple Sclerosis Clinic.

* * *

“The Persibus treatment will be administered as an intravenous injection once a month. Besides the medication for disease mitigation, since treatment for symptoms is also necessary, the hospital can also provide physical therapy, muscle relaxants like Botox, and medication to alleviate patient fatigue and depression. If needed, cognitive rehabilitation for cognitive dysfunction can also be included. It may be challenging to resolve everything with 10 million won, but we hope our small donations can help in perhaps a small way.”

“Thank you…! Thank you so much!”

“It really helps! It definitely does. Thanks, Noname!”

He expressed his willingness to support the hospitalization costs for families of rare disease patients and briefly explained the new treatment.

He handed the microphone over to Professor Yoon, a neurology specialist at Korea University.

“Great job, Noname.”

“Oh, no. It’s not my money.”

“If it weren’t for you, this money wouldn’t have been gathered.”

“Is that so?”

This strange feeling was something I could hardly adapt to.

So I could only smile awkwardly.

I stepped down from the podium and shook hands with family members.

“Why do we deserve to receive this money…?”

It was the words of a grandmother in her 90s who had a son paralyzed by illness.

I firmly held her wrinkled hand and said with strength.

“A person’s life is equally precious. I hope you receive this money and live happily with your son for a long time.”

“Right… Thank you.”

The last was a middle school girl in a shabby school gym uniform.

Her hair was a mess, as if she had just come immediately after gym class.

For some reason, the outfit looked familiar.

She came to the hospital to receive medical cost support, bringing along her younger brother, who looked three years younger than me.

“Are you by any chance a student at Arabel Middle School?”

“…!”

Instead of answering, she turned her head to avoid my gaze.

I approached her out of pleasant surprise.

“I also briefly attended Arabel Elementary School a long time ago. Only for the first semester of first grade, though.”

“Oh, I see… I’m so grateful for the support for my mom’s surgery costs…”

The middle school girl slowly turned her body again.

Now I noticed that there was a vertical hole in the thigh area of her gym pants.

If it tore further, her underwear would show too; I should quickly mend it with magic.

As I brought my hands to the pants, the girl drew her legs to the opposite side.

When I looked up, her expression had already crumpled.

Did I perhaps make her angry by acting on my own? No, it was embarrassment.

I forcibly pulled her leg inward and released my mana.

[Conjuration: Olefin Resin]

[Cast: Heat Transfer – Conduction]

Screech—

A thin black film adhered to the fabric from the overheated steam.

While mending her pants, I spoke to the middle school girl.

“What is your name, sis?”

“So-hye, Jung So-hye.”

“Does So-hye sis feel ashamed of being poor?”

“No…”

“I actually felt a bit ashamed. The way others looked at me felt strange, everyone treated me with disdain, I couldn’t dream of having the padding or phone that others took for granted, and sometimes I blamed my parents. I started to dislike myself more.”

“You?”

“Um… I’m the one who skipped an entire semester of first grade without permission.”

“I never saw it that way. So you had tough times as well.”

Jung So-hye said in a somber tone.

“The more difficult the situation, the more you need to love yourself to overcome hardships. The person you will be with for your entire life until you die isn’t your teacher, friends, or family, but yourself.”

“Yeah.”

“So I think it’s better to value yourself a little more. At least it won’t hurt, right?”

I lightly tapped the mended gym pants with my hands.

“Ow…”

Jung So-hye suddenly grimaced and wobbled her legs.

She regained her balance and stood up straight, as if nothing had happened.

Suddenly, a deep sense of discomfort washed over me.

“Could you follow me for a bit while leaving your younger sibling with my manager?”

“Why are you suddenly asking that—”

“Boreum, please take care of this child. I’ll be right back.”

I took Jung So-hye’s hand and led her out of the conference room to the emergency exit stairs.

I used my aura to forcefully keep her from shaking off my hand.

Bang—!

The heavy steel door unique to the hospital slammed shut with a loud noise.

“What are you doing?!”

The girl’s shout echoed through the stairs like a reverberation.

“Could you just show me your leg for a moment?”

“… No. Why would I?”

“Why not?”

“If I don’t want to, I don’t want to. Don’t worry about me.”

“If you don’t show your leg now, your mother’s medical cost support will be revoked.”

“You… how can you… you promised us, that can’t happen…!”

“It’s my decision, you know?”

The previously unwavering girl did not persist for long.

Jung So-hye swallowed hard and, with tears of shame, slowly rolled up her gym pants.

A feast of red and blue.

Bruises that were deep and dark covered her thigh all the way to her ankle.

Blisters from burns were ugly with congealed yellow fluid.

I pulled her pants slightly higher above the knee.

There was a cut on the thigh where the gym pants had ripped earlier, as if sliced with a knife.

It was an image that made me frown involuntarily.

“Mmh… Ugh…”

Tears streamed down the girl’s face like raindrops.

Despite having yelled loudly just moments ago, she did not make a single sound as she cried. No, she probably couldn’t.

The sensitivity of girls at this age is acute.

I decided to put an end to any more chit-chat and took out my wand from my pocket to gently rub her leg.

[Cast: Tissue Regeneration]

“Ah…! Ugh…”

“How did you get hurt like this?”

“On the stairs…”

“Did you accidentally hit a bat or a wooden stick by stumbling on the stairs? Or did you accidentally cut yourself with a cutter knife while tripping on the stairs?”

“Geez, you know everything.”

“I just asked out of curiosity. I thought you might have wanted someone to ask at least once too.”

“…”

“Ah, how painful it must have been for someone so young… Are you feeling a bit better now? Does it still hurt a lot?”

“It’s… okay.”

I took a bill out of my wallet and placed it in her pocket.

“Make sure to get treated at the hospital today.”

Jung So-hye put her hand in her pocket.

Rustle—

The sound of a crumpling bill.

It seemed that her mind was caught in an internal conflict between wanting to refuse and being unable to refuse.

The world is unfair, and misfortune is even more unfair.

Once misfortune strikes, all sorts of misfortunes seem to pile up at once.

Even if you want to hold onto hope that follows misfortune, the very nature of misfortune pushes a person to the edge, giving no room to lift one’s head.

The chain reactions of misfortunes often make it hard to overcome by individual strength.

Sometimes it’s referred to as fate, and sometimes as destiny—this situation was one I absolutely detested.

“Why didn’t you report it until it got this bad?”

“The kids said that if I reported it, they wouldn’t leave my mom and younger sibling alone…”

* * *

To capture a historic moment in conquering the chronic disease multiple sclerosis, the KBS documentary team arrived at Korea University Hospital.

They could see Noname engaging with patients until evening.

Noname welcomed reporters who cautiously requested interviews without any complaints.

Somehow, the documentary began to take a converging form.

All involved pointed to Noname alone.

They had mountains of questions to ask her, yet for the moment, it was their duty to observe her work quietly without interruption.

In the eyes of the young child, dark circles were already taking residence.

One reporter, worried, asked her.

“Noname, are you feeling tired? You look incredibly tired right now.”

Noname merely lifted one side of her mouth.

“Is that so? I am tired.”

“You must have been quite busy today.”

“I feel that being busy is the only way to feel alive. Don’t you reporters have any questions? Right now’s a bit of a free time.”

“It might take a bit longer with the questions, is that okay?”

“Yes. If it gets too long, I’ll cut it off myself.”

“How did you discover the component Persijumab among so many new drug candidates?”

Unable to reveal her numerous trial and error from her past life, Noname had no choice but to give a response from a scholarly perspective.

And it was a very simple task for Noname.

Predicting which stock will rise in the future is very difficult, but explaining why a stock rose in the past is something anyone can do.

Noname cleverly pieced together her reasons for selecting new drug candidates by referencing information already published in various academic journals.

The director, unaware of these intricacies, felt the overwhelming power of genius.

In his eyes, Noname was the very embodiment of a superhuman.

In just a month, not only did she cover all the courses in medical school, but she also perfectly understood the latest papers in academia to a level where she could collect new information on her own.

“Still, theory is just theory. I guess it can only be explained that I was lucky.”

“I saw that you advised Noname to sell the treatment at a very low price.”

“Well, I think this price is just right—not too high, not too low. Ultimately, the research costs were minimal. Isn’t profit what you get when you subtract total costs from total revenue? I believe the profit from Persibus can still be quite significant.”

Another notable point was worth noting.

Noname firmly rejected being painted as a good person.

‘What kind of person is she, to have lived ten lifetimes…?’

The Q&A continued as Noname surveyed the various wards.

Previously at the academy, she mentioned spending a lot of time at the library.

It was well-equipped with academic databases, so she used a lot of time studying exactly what she needed at the moment.

“You seem to be living a very busy life…! What about your future plans? Will you continue to meet patients tomorrow as well?”

Noname rolled her eyes and then looked toward the ceiling.

“Director, when will the documentary filmed today be aired?”

“Was today Thursday? It’ll be on TV by Sunday night at the latest.”

“In that case, I hope you definitely air what I say right now. It’s fine if my name is muted.”

“Hmm?”

“Those who bullied at Arabel Middle School, Go OO, Kim OO, Seo OO, Ye OO, and Jo OO, five individuals, come to the police station by 3 PM on Monday or show up at the front gate of Seviron Academy. If even one of you doesn’t come, I’ll personally come looking with my seniors.”

* * *

The public broadcaster in Korea cannot casually disclose details about private individuals.

So would airing Noname’s remarks without revealing the identities of the perpetrators be acceptable?

That too was unrealistic.

One cannot dismiss the possibility that the perpetrators may be innocent students. There also remain issues of defamation of the school and online doxxing by netizens.

That is merely a theoretical problem, but most notably, the higher-ups would never allow it.

So the PD schemed.

“Isn’t it okay since Noname is a minor…?”

Passing the responsibility to a child is like casting a spell that makes accountability disappear.

Ironically, it is a common tactic used by school bullying perpetrators.

The PDs gave Noname the edited video.

Noname accepted it and posted it on her Instagram under the title “Documentary Cookie Scene.”

The KBS social media manager timidly shared Noname’s post as a conclusion.

This much could probably be contained within just three pages of an explanation. At least the view count would be guaranteed.