Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 700

703

The two men sat facing each other.

Choi Min-young, the doctor, spoke first.

“You’re Kim Hyun-sung?”

Choi Min-young already knew Hyun-sung’s name. Although she could know the patient’s name because Nongshim had contacted her in advance, Hyun-sung couldn’t help but wonder how she knew his name as the guardian.

“Yes? Ah, yes, that’s right.”

“I heard about you from Chairman Shin. But if you don’t mind me asking, what is your relationship with Chairman Shin?”

It seemed that Chairman Shin Chun-oh had called in advance.

From Hyun-sung’s perspective, he was grateful to Chairman Shin Chun-oh. He knew too well how valuable his one phone call was.

The situation would be very different if he made a call in advance or not.

Hyun-sung answered politely.

“I first met him in my second year of high school, and I’ve known him ever since. It’s been about 13 years. The Chairman has been helping me in many ways.”

“Really? The Chairman said the opposite.”

“Yes? The opposite?”

Hyun-sung tilted his head at the word ‘opposite.’ Then Choi Min-young continued.

“He said he’s doing well thanks to you.”

“That can’t be true, he’s just saying that.”

“Is that so? I don’t know who’s right, but it seems like you two are close.”

Choi Min-young smiled slightly and then continued.

“Anyway, I think we need to talk about something serious now. Please look here.”

With those words, Choi Min-young’s gaze turned to the monitor. His eyes were completely different from before. He looked sharp, as if he had returned to his true self as a doctor.

“If you look here, you can see a white spot in this area, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a malignant tumor. But it’s more serious than you think. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was worried the patient would be shocked, but it’s much worse than expected.”

Somehow, it felt strange earlier.

Wonju had clearly said that it would be difficult to last more than a year, so he came all the way to Seoul, but Lee Soo-hyuk didn’t seem that serious in front of him earlier.

But now he knew the reason.

Choi Min-young had hidden the fact because he was worried that Lee Soo-hyuk would be too shocked.

Hyun-sung asked immediately.

“How bad is it?”

“Um…….”

Choi Min-young was silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

“At this rate, he could die within 6 months, not 1 year…….”

“Yes? 6 months?”

Hyun-sung asked before Choi Min-young could finish speaking.

“Is it that bad?”

“Yes, he has a very aggressive one. I don’t know how he endured it; he must have been in a lot of pain.”

“He said he lost consciousness a few times.”

“That must have been the case. Um…….”

Choi Min-young nodded and then looked at the monitor, stroking his chin. His eyes seemed to be getting deeper and deeper.

Just by his deepening eyes, he could fully understand how bad Lee Soo-hyuk’s condition was.

Choi Min-young turned his gaze from the monitor and looked at Hyun-sung, saying.

“It seems difficult with ordinary methods.”

“Does that mean there are other methods?”

Hyun-sung’s eyes sparkled. He had clearly said earlier that it would be difficult with ordinary methods. In other words, there is another special method other than the ordinary method.

“Yes, but that’s…….”

For some reason, Choi Min-young couldn’t continue speaking. His eyes were shaking slightly.

He could also see that he was struggling a lot before making a decision.

Choi Min-young took a deep breath and then opened his mouth again.

“There’s a drug that was approved in the United States last month.”

“The United States?”

“Yes, it’s called ‘EPTRT,’ and it hasn’t been used in Korea yet.”

“Are you saying that you’re going to prescribe that drug to Soo-hyuk……?”

Hyun-sung’s voice trembled without him realizing it. Hyun-sung was in a situation where he couldn’t help but be nervous.

How could he not be?

Lee Soo-hyuk may be the first person in Korea to be prescribed that drug.

Choi Min-young nodded and continued.

“Yes, that’s right. Right now, there seems to be no other way than that drug.”

“How about the safety? Of course, the clinical trials are over, right?”

“Of course. It’s just that no one in Korea has been prescribed that drug yet.”

“What’s the reason? I mean, the reason why no one has been prescribed the drug.”

Hyun-sung couldn’t help but be curious. It’s not like there aren’t patients like Lee Soo-hyuk, but even though the drug has been released, no one has been prescribed it yet.

“There are two reasons.”

“Two reasons?”

“Yes, one is that it’s not well known in Korea yet. That problem will be resolved soon.”

“Ah, I see. Then, what’s the other reason?”

“That’s a sad story.”

Choi Min-young suddenly said something different. Hyun-sung had no idea what he meant by the ‘sad story.’

Hyun-sung had no choice but to ask immediately.

“A sad story? What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about the price of the drug. The drug is more expensive than you think. So even if you want to get a prescription, you can’t. That’s why I said it’s a sad story.”

Only then did Hyun-sung understand why Choi Min-young had said it was a sad story.

As it is a new drug, the price of the drug will be quite expensive.

As a result, even if they want to receive treatment, they can’t because of the expensive drug price.

Hyun-sung asked directly.

“How much is it? That drug.”

“Um, it’s 200 million Korean won [approximately $150,000 USD]. That’s just for one dose. Of course, it doesn’t end with just one dose. So who would dare to use that drug…….”

“What about the effect?”

Hyun-sung asked before Choi Min-young could finish speaking. Then Choi Min-young immediately answered in a confident voice without hesitation.

“It’s the best. In clinical trials, patients who were terminally ill have been completely cured…….”

“I’ll do it.”

Hyun-sung said again before he could finish speaking. Then Choi Min-young looked at Hyun-sung for a moment and tilted his head.

“Yes? What did you say just now……?”

“Prescribe that drug to Soo-hyuk.”

“Really?”

“Yes, of course.”

Choi Min-young looked at Hyun-sung again for a moment. His eyes were shining for some reason.

Then he opened his mouth again.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll check one more time. Are you serious about what you said earlier?”

“Yes, that’s right. If necessary, prescribe it right away today.”

“Does that mean?”

“After leaving the doctor’s office, I will go to the accounting department and deposit 2 billion won [approximately $1.5 million USD] for treatment. So don’t worry about the money and just save my friend Soo-hyuk.”

“…….”

Choi Min-young could only look at Hyun-sung without saying anything. Then Hyun-sung asked again.

“Are there any side effects?”

“First of all, since the drug is strong, the first thing that will happen is hair loss. And as I told the patient earlier, he won’t have an appetite. Other than that, there’s nothing special…….”

Choi Min-young shook his head from side to side. Then he immediately continued.

“The chairman left something out to me.”

“Yes? What do you mean……?”

“The chairman just told me to take good care of you. He left out our CEO Kim’s abilities. I didn’t realize it. I didn’t know it would be that much…….”

Choi Min-young couldn’t help but be surprised.

In the case of this drug, you can’t get a prescription even if you want to. The reason is, of course, the expensive drug price. Moreover, it’s not just used once, but at least three to five times.

Basically, the drug cost alone is 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD]. If you include hospital expenses, the total treatment cost will be well over 1 billion won.

Therefore, in reality, they cannot receive treatment even if they want to. Except for the so-called chaebols [large, family-owned conglomerates].

But the person in front of me is saying that he can afford that cost. So how can I not be surprised?

“You’re saying too much. Then can I go now?”

“Yes, please do.”

Choi Min-young nodded with a dazed expression. Then Hyun-sung got up from his seat right away.

At that time, Choi Min-young spoke again.

“By the way, I’m so jealous.”

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“You two. Lee Soo-hyuk and Kim Hyun-sung. It’s not easy to make such a decision for a friend. It’s not something that can be done just because you have a lot of money.”

“…….”

Hyun-sung quietly said goodbye and came out of the doctor’s office.

“What did he say?”

Lee Soo-hyuk, who was waiting outside, asked right away.

“Good news. There are many people like you who have been cured in the United States.”

“Is that real?”

“Yes, so don’t worry about anything and just get good treatment.”

“Is that all?”

Lee Soo-hyuk tilted his head and asked. Since he had been in the doctor’s office for a long time, he seemed to think that there was something else.

Hyun-sung had no choice but to talk about the new drug.

“I’m going to use a new drug.”

“A new drug?”

“Yes, it was approved in the United States a month ago, and it’s said to be the best.”

“Then it must be very expensive?”

Lee Soo-hyuk stopped walking and asked. His expression suddenly darkened. It must be because of the burden of the price of the new drug.

Perhaps it is the most realistic reaction for Lee Soo-hyuk.

Hyun-sung hesitated for a moment and said.

“As you know, all I have is money. So don’t worry about anything and just work hard to get treatment.”

For a moment, he thought about lying to him. He said that he was receiving it for free as a condition of participating in a clinical trial of a new drug.

But he couldn’t do that. After all, he would naturally find out over time.

Lee Soo-hyuk asked again.

“It’s expensive, right?”

“A little.”

“…….”

Lee Soo-hyuk headed to the hospital room without saying anything.

***

Hyun-sung went to the accounting department and deposited 2 billion won for treatment, and then took Lee Soo-hyuk to the Severance Hospital intersection.

Lee Soo-hyuk asked.

“Where are we going?”

“Barber shop.”

“Why a barber shop all of a sudden?”

“They said the medicine is so strong that your hair will fall out. So I’m going to shave your head beforehand. But don’t worry. They say your hair will grow back to normal after the treatment is over.”

He decided that it would be better to shave his head completely than to have long hair. So he went out to find a barber shop.

30 minutes later.

The two people who had been searching for a barber shop ended up in a beauty salon. Because no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find a barber shop.

“Please shave it all off.”

As soon as Lee Soo-hyuk sat down in the chair, he said bravely with his own mouth. He seemed to have decided to accept the current situation.

“Shave it all off?”

“Yes, please shave it clean without leaving a single strand. After all, my hair will grow back after the treatment is over.”

“Ah, yes…….”

The hairdresser seemed to understand and started cutting Lee Soo-hyuk’s hair.

A little later.

“How is it? Is it okay?”

Lee Soo-hyuk, who had finished cutting his hair, asked Hyun-sung. Then Hyun-sung smiled and said.

“It’s neat and good.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you idiot. This hair suits you much better than long hair.”

With those words, Hyun-sung sat down in the beauty salon chair. Then Lee Soo-hyuk asked right away.

“Why? Are you going to cut your hair too?”

“Yeah, it’s been over a month since I got a haircut anyway. I’m going to cut it while I’m here.”

Then the hairdresser came over and asked.

“How would you like to cut it?”

“Shave it all off.”

“Yes?”

“Just shave it cool.”

It was right then.

Lee Soo-hyuk said to Hyun-sung.

“Hey, you idiot. Are you crazy? Your wedding is in October?”

“It’s okay.”

“Hey, I don’t know about anything else, but this isn’t it.”

“It’s okay. Hairdresser, please shave it cool.”

With those words, Hyun-sung closed his eyes.

Of course, this won’t be of great help to him. But for now, I wanted to share my heart with him even in this way.

Buzz!

The hairdresser, who had hesitated for a moment, began to cut Hyun-sung’s hair.