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CH119 | DI
🕑 Added 2025-05-24 12:35:00 +0000 UTCAs I walked behind Raymond, his low voice brushed past my ear.
“You seized the opportunity well.”
“I was lucky.”
That wasn’t entirely wrong.
Having a private meeting with Kissinger as an auction item was unexpected.
Thanks to that, I had some leeway.
Today, I could just throw out some bait and postpone the main discussion for a later dinner.
However,
“Luck, huh…?”
There was a hint of a hidden smile in Raymond’s words.
A small suspicion arose.
‘No way…?’
Could it be that Kissinger’s participation in the auction itself was orchestrated by Raymond?
If that were the case, it would have been nice if he had informed me in advance.
“For now, it’s best to refrain from making overly negative comments about Holmes or Theranos.”
It seemed like my name had come up at the other table.
And not in a particularly positive way.
It also meant that Holmes had preemptively set up a defensive stance.
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for the advice.”
Raymond chose silence instead of a response.
A way of drawing a line.
He gave advice, but he wanted to make it clear that it wasn’t out of goodwill.
Well, that didn’t matter.
“Don’t worry too much. I was only planning to exchange greetings and then step back today anyway.”
At my words, Raymond silently nodded.
In any case, before I knew it, we had reached our destination.
The man seated across from me was none other than Kissinger.
He was over ninety, but he exuded an extraordinary presence befitting someone who had lived through turbulent times.
There was a dignified aura, like that of an old tree that had weathered countless storms.
“Henry Kissinger.”
“It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Ha Si-heon. Please call me Sean.”
After briefly exchanging greetings with Kissinger, I immediately shifted my gaze to Holmes, who was sitting at the same table.
“I hope you weren’t too disappointed.”
I expressed my apologies regarding the auction results, and Holmes responded with a smile.
“Not at all. It’s fortunate that it went to someone who needed it.”
‘Needed it…?’
It was a cleverly worded response.
As if his intentions were pure, while I had some kind of ‘need’ that drove me to bid such a large sum.
Then, with a slightly regretful expression, Holmes continued.
“I hope my participation didn’t put unnecessary pressure on you.”
The auction, which could have ended at around 500,000 dollars, had soared to 10 million because of her, so she was offering an apology.
I shook my head and gave a gentle smile.
“There’s no need to worry. In fact, I had planned to spend 10 million dollars one way or another today.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s a personal matter, but…”
I paused for a moment before continuing.
“To be honest, this year’s profits exceeded expectations, and my tax burden is going to be quite heavy.”
Even as I spoke, my stomach churned.
The amount of tax I had to pay this year was absolutely insane.
‘If only I didn’t have to start clinical trials within this year…’
Honestly, if I didn’t have to withdraw cash immediately, the burden would be much lighter.
Holding onto equity alone wouldn’t incur taxes.
But—
With the start of Phase 1 clinical trials, I had to liquidate 100 million dollars, and just the taxes on that amounted to a staggering 40 million.
“I was actually looking for a good place to donate, and when I heard that all proceeds from today’s gala auction would go to a children’s hospital, I decided to use 10 million dollars here.”
That’s why I boldly placed my bid.
Since I had to pay taxes anyway, I might as well spend the money here and leave a good impression on the board members.
After saying that, I quickly turned to Kissinger with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
“Of course, more than anything, I really wanted to meet you in person, Mr. Kissinger.”
In truth, my earlier remarks might have made him uncomfortable.
As if meeting a notable figure was just a secondary perk of a tax deduction.
But that was intentional.
‘This is actually better.’
When someone without a strong background approaches a famous person, they instinctively become wary.
Their default assumption is: ‘Am I being used for something?’
Rather than starting off with such suspicions, it was more effective to adopt a casual attitude—‘Since I was donating 10 million dollars anyway, I figured I’d meet a distinguished person as well.’
Kissinger observed me with a smile.
A slightly stiff smile.
“So, what does a young man like you want to discuss with me? At your age, you probably don’t know much about me…”
It was a question made with Holmes’s wariness in mind.
He was pointing out that I didn’t seem to have a strong reason to seek out Kissinger.
Alright, time to begin.
“You’re right. Politics and diplomacy aren’t my areas of expertise, so I’m quite ignorant. However, I heard about you from my parents.”
“Your parents?”
“Yes, they told me that if it weren’t for you, North Korea might have invaded the South long ago.”
Of course, that was a lie.
My parents had never said such a thing.
But I knew that Kissinger had played a crucial role in strengthening U.S.-South Korea relations as part of his North Korea policy, so I brought it up.
At my words, Kissinger’s eyes gleamed.
“Are you Korean?”
“Yes, I’m a Korean-American. I immigrated when I entered middle school.”
“You’re from Seoul?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve visited Seoul a few times myself.”
Kissinger’s expression softened in an instant.
Regardless of how he was perceived, U.S.-South Korea relations were one of his major achievements.
Since I was connected to that, he likely felt more familiarity toward me than he would with just another ‘Asian.’
However, soon, a wry smile appeared on his lips, and a flicker of doubt crossed his eyes.
“But… I don’t think I’m viewed that favorably in South Korea…”
To be honest, I had no idea.
I left my homeland decades ago, so how would I know?
But politics always invites controversy, no matter what.
Kissinger’s actions must have been criticized in various ways, so my overly positive portrayal probably sounded like blatant flattery.
I carefully continued my response.
“My father’s opinion was probably not common. He served in the Vietnam War…”
“The Vietnam War?”
“Yes. He once said that thanks to you, the war ended early, and I was able to be born.”
A look of surprise, followed by pride, flashed across Kissinger’s face.
And that was only natural.
He had played a key role in negotiating the end of the Vietnam War and had even won a Nobel Peace Prize for it.
His gaze toward me grew noticeably warmer.
“Your father was one of the war heroes. Please convey my gratitude to him.”
At that, I gave a wry smile.
“Unfortunately, he passed away ten years ago. But he’s probably listening from above.”
“……”
A brief, uncomfortable silence followed.
Then, Kissinger spoke in a sympathetic voice.
“I didn’t know about that. You must have gone through a lot at such a young age.”
“It’s alright. I’m sure he’s happy with my mother now.”
“……”
Silence fell once again.
I had just subtly revealed that not only my father but my mother was also gone, making me an orphan.
Of course, this was intentional.
Normally, being an orphan would be a disadvantage, but in this situation where I had to go against Holmes, the image of a ‘pitiful orphan’ could be a useful card.
‘Perfect for playing the victim.’
Becoming Holmes’s victim.
That was the strategy I had devised.
From now on, I would play the role of the poor orphan being bullied by Holmes.
An orphan left behind by a soldier who had fought in a war that Kissinger himself was deeply involved in.
There were several reasons for this approach.
The most important one was that the board members seemed to be emotionally attached to Theranos.
From what I heard in my past life, the elders, led by Kissinger and Schultz, cherished Holmes like their own granddaughter.
A recent investigation even revealed that they had personally hosted her birthday party.
Therefore, when dealing with Holmes, it was safer to approach her as their granddaughter rather than as a business partner.
Theranos was, in a way, an insurance policy sold by their granddaughter, and the old men were merely cheering her on.
But what if one day, a stranger from the East suddenly appeared and pointed out flaws in their granddaughter’s company?
How would the old men react?
Would they accept it favorably?
No, they wouldn’t even listen to me objectively in the first place.
‘Of course not.’
Granddaughters are always beautiful in the eyes of their elders.
Hearing bad things about a beloved granddaughter would naturally make them defensive.
The harder I attacked, the more I would just become the villain bullying their “precious granddaughter.”
So, under what circumstances would they listen to me?
To solve this problem, I came up with a plan.
—What if their granddaughter was the one relentlessly bullying someone?
But that alone wasn’t enough.
So, I added another layer to it.
‘Emotion should be countered with emotion.’
What if the person being bullied was just a resilient orphan trying to survive?
And what if that orphan was the child of a soldier who had fought in Kissinger’s war?
Now, what would happen if Holmes bullied such an orphan?
A kind-hearted old man would likely try to stop his granddaughter.
This would make Holmes more sensitive than usual, leading her to badmouth me even more.
But the moment their sweet granddaughter started slandering a pitiful orphan, the old men would start wondering: ‘Why is she suddenly acting like this?’
A sense of concerned curiosity.
An intuition that something was amiss.
And just as those feelings began to grow, they would coincidentally have dinner with the very orphan at the center of the conflict.
At that point, wouldn’t Kissinger himself ask, ‘Is there something we don’t know?’
That was my plan…
Whether it would unfold as expected remained to be seen.
For now, I had secured the image of a sympathetic orphan in Kissinger’s mind.
It was time to move on to the next topic.
“I heard you invested in Theranos…”
Kissinger’s next question followed.
“I didn’t invest; I participated as part of the due diligence team.”
“I’ve heard that you have some kind of remarkable accuracy in predictions…”
Normally, I would take the opportunity to show off my skills, but today, humility was the way to go.
“It’s not certain yet. Accuracy is only proven in hindsight, so I can only speak after multiple verifications. For now, it’s just a theory.”
“I’m curious about that theory…”
“The healthcare industry is currently at a very unique turning point. With the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, generic drug manufacturing by latecomers accelerated. Now, the moment a patent expires, competitors flood the market. For pharmaceutical companies, this creates a revenue cliff, so they must find new revenue streams before the cliff arrives. Since patent expiration dates are known in advance, predicting these movements becomes possible…”
As I briefly explained the principles of my algorithm, as expected, curious questions followed.
“Based on that theoretical success rate, where would you place Theranos?”
“That’s…”
I slowly turned to look at Holmes.
A smug smile was playing on her lips, as if she was daring me to go ahead and badmouth her company.
She was practically provoking me: “Go on, give it your best shot.”
I smiled back at her be fore finally opening my mouth.
“Of course, I believe it falls within the 80% that will succeed.”
Holmes’s smile vanished in an instant.
She clearly hadn’t expected that response.
“Is that so?”
A flicker of doubt crossed the faces of Kissinger and some other board members.
To them, my support for Theranos was an unexpected twist.
But I simply put on an expression of ‘Why are you all so surprised?’ and continued.
“Naturally. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t have stayed in California for several days conducting due diligence.”
Yes, this orphan wasn’t an enemy of Holmes.
On the contrary, he was an ardent supporter of her company.
To prove that, I filled my gaze with passion and spoke persuasively.
“I am convinced that Theranos represents a revolutionary breakthrough. While the technological aspects are important, what excites me the most is its potential to reshape the social paradigm. It will accelerate the decentralization of medical diagnostics. By placing medical decision-making directly in the hands of patients, it goes beyond being just another product and instead drives real change.”
I spent a good while enthusiastically praising Theranos.
I even parroted the exact words Holmes and Sharma had used before.
Holmes’s expression was priceless.
Her initial shock slowly twisted into a frown, and she occasionally let out incredulous scoffs.
‘Yeah, this must be baffling for you.’
During due diligence, I had scrutinized every detail with sharp, piercing questions, combing through every department’s records.
Yet now, in front of the board, I was suddenly playing the role of a devoted supporter?
Would she really let this slide?
“You really think that?”
Of course not.
Holmes stepped in herself.
And I barely managed to hold back a grin.
‘Thank you.’
The most essential accomplice in my strategy was none other than Holmes herself.
She had to attack me in order for my plan to unfold as intended.
“I thought you completely distrusted our technology.”
Her gaze was sharper than usual.
There was a slight edge in her voice, but… it still wasn’t enough.
If she was going to play the villain who bullied a pitiful orphan, she needed to be far more ruthless.
Well, making that happen wouldn’t be difficult.
Maybe I should push her buttons just a little more.
Comments
Ishan Agarwal
its gonna happen soon
