Hyunsoo was an ordinary person.
He knew how to assert his rights to an appropriate degree and didn’t go out of his way to suffer losses for others.
In other words, he was an ordinary person with a bit of selfishness.
He wanted to take care of his family when he had enough leisure after studying hard, but he regarded charity work or noblesse oblige as expensive flexes of the rich.
But when a young black child, who looked about 7 or 8 years old, walked onto the road following a rolling basketball,
“Hey, stop there?!”
And seeing a car speeding from the opposite direction… he jumped in without a second thought.
‘What on earth am I doing?’
Thanks to him, the black child was pushed to safety, and Hyunsoo was diagnosed with complete paralysis at the age of just 17.
Hyunsoo regretted that moment every day thereafter.
If only he could turn back time.
He wouldn’t have done such a thing.
Why did I do that?
[Korean Immigrant High School Student Becomes Local Hero!]
[A touching story of sacrificing his body to save a life.]
[BLM Black Rights Organization Expresses Deep Gratitude.]
Hyunsoo’s life turned upside down overnight.
Despite receiving attention from numerous media outlets and support from various organizations… it was all meaningless.
‘Why did I do that?’
For Hyunsoo, who came to the U.S. to study hard not only in academics but also in arts and sports, complete paralysis was a cruel fate.
Someone had to feed him, and take care of his bathroom needs.
They had to turn his body in bed from time to time and give him massages all over.
He couldn’t do anything without someone else’s help.
At first, with insurance coverage and the money from donations, he received help from a professional nurse, but after 2 to 3 years, even that became difficult.
Ultimately, Hyunsoo’s mother took care of him 24/7, and his father worked late into the night to cover the medical expenses.
They always smiled and said,
It’s okay, everything will be fine. You don’t know how grateful we are that you’re alive.
Mom and Dad are so proud of you.
We’re so happy that you’re our son.
But Hyunsoo couldn’t forget the sound of his parents’ sobs late at night, when they were sure he was asleep.
Hyunsoo made a decision.
‘I can’t live like this.’
Honestly, it would be a lie to say he didn’t think about suicide.
But he couldn’t repay the debt he owed his parents from the big accident with an even bigger sin like suicide.
Considering his parents’ nature, it would likely remain an eternal burden on their hearts.
‘I have to fix my body somehow.’
Hyunsoo steeled his heart.
For himself, and for his parents, he vowed to fix his body no matter what.
“Ah, ah. Mom, I’m hungry.”
Fortunately, his body recovered a bit, and though he spoke awkwardly, he could speak and eat soft food by himself.
He still couldn’t move his limbs, but even that was a miracle for his parents, who offered prayers of gratitude.
‘This is just the beginning.’
After regaining his senses, Hyunsoo began to study in earnest.
After all, he had plenty of time.
He was smart enough to have received gifted education during his school years.
He broadened his academic scope overall, and as his understanding of biology deepened, he delved into cases of complete paralysis.
‘What’s this?’
The more he studied, the more disappointed he became.
The advancement of medicine achieved by humanity was astonishing compared to its beginnings, but there were still vast unknown realms.
There were countless diseases whose causes couldn’t be identified, and too many illnesses that hadn’t found a cure for hundreds of years.
Especially in terms of organ transplants and nerve recovery, it was still at an infant level. The brain and spinal cord, crucial to complete paralysis, were still untouchable.
How much progress in medicine would it take to fix his body?
Hyunsoo had to admit it.
‘I can’t achieve anything alone.’
His goal was not to till the land and plant seeds for future generations to see the results.
He had to see the results in his lifetime.
‘Let’s start a company.’
He didn’t know how, but he had to try somehow.
This was the sole purpose of Hyunsoo’s life.
It wasn’t easy.
He was smart and had a clear vision, but there was no investor who believed in Hyunsoo, who had no specs or connections.
After struggling for a few years, an unexpected opportunity arose.
He got a chance to be interviewed by a famous MyTuber, and the response was good, leading to crowdfunding.
[The Ambitious Aspirations of a CEO with Complete Paralysis: “Physical limitations do not define us. We won’t stop until all disabilities of humanity are eradicated.”]
He raised the banner of treating not only complete paralysis but also all disabilities experienced by humans, and surprisingly, many people were moved.
Hyunsoo then used various social media platforms, including MyTube, to report progress and gathered followers.
‘A large number of followers have more influence than most connections.’
That alone attracted investors and talented people. The company started with skilled engineers donating their time.
They first built an independent database through research on prosthetic arms and legs, the most basic artificial body parts.
Every time they made regular research presentations, Hyunsoo personally did the presentations, receiving great feedback.
He soon became a leading figure in the artificial body parts field and secured billions of investments from the Gates Foundation.
Using that capital, he acquired and merged companies with core technologies, gradually expanding the scale.
By 2040,
Hyunsoo’s company became the world’s best artificial body parts manufacturing company and succeeded in commercializing many products, including artificial organs.
By 2050,
The company’s technology advanced to the level where it could aim for the regeneration of natural skin tissues and the recovery of various nerve tissues.
The era where treating complete paralysis was no longer in the realm of the gods had dawned.
I am able to receive today’s Super Bowl MVP award all thanks to CEO Hyunsoo Lee. He gave me new knees and allowed me to live my dream.
I was a refugee. On my journey to regain freedom, I was attacked by pirates, losing one kidney and damaging the other, putting me on the brink of death. If it weren’t for CEO Hyunsoo Lee, would I be able to live like this? 5% of our company’s revenue will be permanently donated to CEO Hyunsoo Lee.
Thank you. Our daughter…
Although many people gained new lives thanks to Hyunsoo’s company, Hyunsoo himself did not enjoy such benefits.
‘I don’t have much time left.’
Despite being paralyzed, he lived as a workaholic for 30 years.
Unfortunately, Hyunsoo faced death as his nerve tissue necrosis worsened.
[Pioneer of Artificial Body Parts, Hyunsoo Lee, in Critical Condition Due to Complications.]
[Ten Million Followers Pray for Hyunsoo Lee’s Health.]
[Hyunsoo Lee Receives Nobel Prize in Medicine on His Deathbed.]
Although he had been mentioned as a candidate a few times, perhaps because he was on his deathbed… the Nobel Committee made an exceptionally swift award.
Hyunsoo’s acceptance speech, conducted via video conference, was short but powerful.
- I feel embarrassed that I seem to be portrayed as a great person. Everything I did was solely for myself. I just wanted to walk on my own feet and enjoy some light sports. Who knows? If my body had been healthy, I might have become a great artist, or it would have been nice to have some good memories from a band life since I was pretty good with musical instruments. Why wasn’t I given such an opportunity? Above all, how much pain would it have caused my parents to see such a child? I just wanted to somehow remove the deep sorrow from my parents’ hearts. Please don’t glorify me too much. I’m just a selfish, very ordinary person.
It was introduced through various media and became the most talked-about acceptance speech in the world.
…Hyunsoo passed away the following spring, spending his last days alone at his strong request.
At the moment of death.
‘…Hmm?’
As he closed his eyes, countless faces appeared vividly.
On closer look, they were people who had overcome disabilities through his company.
They looked down at him warmly, glowing with a radiant light.
‘What, you’re all alive and well, so why are you visiting me, who’s dying? As if you were ghosts.’
A hollow laugh escaped him, but for some reason, his eyes turned red.
Their grateful hearts were conveyed to him entirely.
‘At least it wasn’t a wasted life.’
Soon after, they turned into golden dust and were absorbed into Hyunsoo’s whole body.
“…!”
It was strange. The nerves that had been dead for half his life were revived, and his entire body was filled with vitality.
It was absurd. At the very moment of death, he felt more alive than ever.
Hyunsoo ended his life with a gentle smile.
Or so he thought.
When Hyunsoo opened his eyes again, it was in a completely different ‘time.’
“Hmm, what?”
He was very confused.
He had closed his eyes on a sickbed, but when he came to his senses, he was outside.
The wind gently tickling his hair. The warm sunlight. And the two feet standing upright!
“…!”
Hyunsoo stared blankly at his hands, unable to believe it. He tried moving his fingers at will.
‘My body is fine?’
He couldn’t easily come to his senses.
…He wasn’t given the chance.
“Huh? That kid?!”
Right in front of him, a very familiar black child was passing by.
Even dribbling a basketball on the sidewalk and accidentally letting it go.
“Ah, my ball!”
Hyunsoo gritted his teeth.
It was him.
He had regretted this moment all his life, so the face of that black child was still vivid, and he remembered all the scenes that followed clearly.
‘I was foolish. Jumping onto the road recklessly.’
Hyunsoo had vowed thousands of times in his life, that if by any chance he went back to the past, he would never, ever jump onto the road following the black child.
And he kept his past vow.
Hyunsoo remained in place, even seeing the car speeding from the opposite direction.
“Oops.”
He just picked up a suitable-sized stone nearby and threw it with all his might.
Perhaps it contained all the sorrow of his past life.
“Ouch!”
The stone hit the child’s back accurately.
The child fell to the ground in pain, fortunately at a position where the car didn’t reach.
Honk-!
The car passed by, honking irritably, but everyone was safe.
Both the black child and Hyunsoo himself.
“Don’t jaywalk, you brat!”
Hyunsoo shouted at the child and went on his way.
He felt incredibly relieved.
“Huh?”
But when he looked up, a black man several weight classes above him was approaching with a menacing face.
“What the! Did you throw a stone at my son?!”
“…”
Hyunsoo contemplated briefly.
He recalled that the man, much younger-looking than he remembered, was the father of the black child lying on the ground and a very talented amateur boxer.
‘Hmm, it’s hard to explain that I’m a hero who saved your son’s life twice, and though I don’t know why I’m living my past again, I can explain how you knelt before me, crying and thanking me for saving your son, and vowed to do anything for me the first time I saved him?’
Looking around, he saw that the car, which should be ‘Exhibit 1’, had already disappeared without a trace, and the child, who should play an important role as ‘Exhibit 2’, was lying in a place that wasn’t very dangerous.
More importantly, the man was approaching with an aura that could kill someone.
Hyunsoo made the obvious choice.
“Stop right there?!”
‘Would you stop if you were me?’
He really ran with all his might. At first, he ran to survive, but later, he ran because it was so enjoyable.
Hyunsoo was so excited that he even let out a silly laugh as he ran.
He didn’t care if others thought he was crazy.
‘I can run.’
He ran for quite a while, even after the black father was no longer in sight.
He couldn’t remember the last time he ran until he sweated.
Do others realize how great a blessing it is to move freely?
‘But, was I this fast?’
Hyunsoo didn’t care at all.
If this was a dream, he wished he’d never wake up…
