The Life Thief

Chapter 5 Dark memory

Dr. Yoon's private laboratory was a cold, sterile world, detached from the warm comfort of life. Under the harsh white lights, he sat hunched over a microscope, his eyes fixated on the glass slide that held a single droplet of human blood. He examined the crimson liquid with a frenetic intensity that was nothing short of chilling. This was not just any blood sample; it was blood drawn from one of his unsuspecting patients, a young woman barely out of her teenage years. Dr. Yoon had lured her to his clinic with the promise of a revolutionary skincare treatment, an offer she readily accepted, blinded by the prospect of eternal beauty. The essence of her youth now rested on the glass slide, ready to be subjected to Dr. Yoon's ominous experimentation.

Driven by his obsession with eternal youth, Dr. Yoon found himself falling deeper into the abyss of his research. He had spent countless hours, days, and weeks trying to create a more potent version of his treatment, one that would halt the aging process in its tracks. This relentless pursuit for the perfect elixir had led him to the unsettling realm of blood extraction. It was a path that pushed the boundaries of morality, science, and humanity, but such concerns were lost on Dr. Yoon. All that mattered was the end goal: the promise of eternal youth.

His obsession had its roots in his childhood, a time marked by the tragic loss of his elder sister, Hana. Hana had been everything to him, his beacon of light in the bleak world he inhabited as the illegitimate child in the family. Born out of an illicit affair between his father and his ex-assistant, Dr. Yoon had always been the black sheep in the family. His stepmother, bitter and resentful, had no love to spare for him. In contrast, Hana, who was born to the official couple, showered him with love and affection. She was his sanctuary, his solace, and his source of happiness.

But all that changed when Hana was diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer. She was barely 22, in the prime of her life, when her world came crashing down. The cancer was relentless, spreading rapidly and showing no mercy. Despite her family's desperate attempts to save her, traditional medications and experimental treatments only seemed to make things worse. Hana underwent intensive chemotherapy, but the cancer was unforgiving. Six months into her treatment, she breathed her last in the family's hospital.

That day, Dr. Yoon's stepmother blamed him for Hana's death, his existence being a bad omen that had brought about the misfortune. The blame and the guilt she projected onto his twelve-year-old shoulders were too heavy to bear. That gruesome sight of his beloved sister's lifeless body became a haunting image in his mind, a memory he carried with him as he embarked on his medical journey.

During his fourth year at medical school, Dr. Yoon stumbled upon an historical book about the infamous Countess Bathory. Left open on a library table, the chapter on how she was accused of using blood in her skincare routine and youth elixir fascinated him. This serendipitous encounter sparked an idea. Could the secret to everlasting youth lie in human blood?

Thus began Dr. Yoon's venture into the world of blood-based treatments. His initial experiments were based on blood transfusions, using bags of blood meant for patients in need. When this approach failed to yield satisfactory results, Dr. Yoon decided to take a more direct route. He procured his own transfusion equipment and started to draw fresh blood samples from his patients under the pretext of routine tests.

This strategy worked, and his research began to yield promising results. He was able to isolate an unusual substance from the blood samples, something he named "Ana chromium". The substance displayed unique properties that stimulated the skin cells and promoted their growth. Dr. Yoon began to believe that he had found the key to unlocking the secret of eternal youth.

He approached the university dean and proposed a revolutionary idea: a blood transfusion van. With this, he would be able to collect fresh blood samples for his research while also serving the community. The idea was met with some resistance at first, but Dr. Yoon was persuasive. His passion and conviction moved the dean's wife, who, impressed by his determination, decided to support him financially. Dr. Yoon's research was getting the recognition it deserved, leading to him receiving the Nobel prize for his medical publications about cancer treatments.