Chapter 109
“Huh....”
My consciousness rushed back to fill the place the cardiology specter had left behind.
At the same time, a chill ran up my spine.
‘Phew....’
I gasped for breath and staggered, gripping the rooftop railing.
Not yet.
It doesn't hurt yet.
But I know what comes after this eerie calm before the storm.
Two previous experiences.
The grace period before the penalty hits after the skill is released.
I glanced at my phone clock.
The grace period before the penalty comes after possession ends.
Experience told me it's as short as three minutes, and at most around ten.
‘I'm screwed. I don't have time.’
I racked my brain.
What if I collapse here?
I'll be hauled back down to the ER again.
First year: laparotomy, then I fainted.
Earlier this year: REBOA, then I fainted.
And today, SGB in the helicopter and faint again?
‘A doctor who faints three times in a row after three consecutive insane stunts?’
That's way too contrived.
Too suspicious by far.
It practically invites people to wonder, “Did that bastard get some kind of divine possession?”
No, the sharp ones are already suspicious.
Take Yoo Seonghun, for example, the one who went to Oseong Hospital.
He used to joke around and ask a few times how long I'd been possessed back then... who knows.
I need to change my appearance.
At the very least, I had to avoid the disgrace of collapsing in a frothing heap in front of everyone.
I made my decision.
I had to run.
Somewhere no one else was.
“Professor Kang!”
I called out urgently to Professor Kang Hyunjun, who was tidying up the equipment.
“Uh, why...?”
Professor Kang still looked dazed, as if he hadn't shaken off the shock of what I did in the helicopter.
“Well, this isn't even today's regular shift; I'm just off the doctor-helicopter training schedule.”
“Right. But from what you did earlier, you did exactly as explained, and OJT was, well... carried out very intensely in actual practice...”
Professor Kang nodded.
The training objective had already been exceeded, to the point of overflow.
“I'm not feeling well right now.”
I got straight to the point.
“Huh?”
“I'm leaving early.”
“Leaving early?”
Professor Kang's eyes went wide.
A resident just saved someone's life in front of a sky-high professor and suddenly declares he's leaving early?
That's insane.
But right now I don't have a choice.
In a minute, I'll be writhing on the floor.
“Anyway, this isn't a regular shift; it's the training schedule, right? But right now... the dizziness is so bad and my condition has dropped so suddenly that I honestly can't even stand.”
I made the most pained expression in the world.
As if I were dealing with motion sickness and exhaustion at the same time.
“I feel so bad I think I'm going to throw up.”
Yes, leaving early.
“Uh... uh, yeah. You really do look awful. You're sweating like crazy too...”
Professor Kang looked at my pale face and nodded with concern.
“Well, that can happen the first time you ride a helicopter. And you did CPR and a procedure inside it too... go rest, go rest.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
The moment he gave his permission, I ran without looking back.
Hodadadadadak-
I kicked open the rooftop door and sprinted down the stairs.
Even waiting for the elevator felt like a waste of time.
My legs were shaking and my heart felt like it would burst, but it was still better than collapsing in front of everyone and making a fool of myself.
6th floor. 5th. 4th. 3rd....
I raced like a madman past the 6th-floor control room all the way to the 1st-floor emergency medical center.
If I stopped here, I'd die in the middle of the hallway.
Thankfully, I made it to the first floor.
I gasped for breath and yanked open the duty room door.
“Ha....”
Scan.
Four beds.
Bed 1 empty.
Bed 2 empty.
Bed 3.
Curtains drawn.
Someone's sleeping.
Is that Lee Minjae?
Who cares.
Bed 4 empty.
“Okay.”
I threw myself onto the farthest corner bed, number four.
I climbed onto the bed without even taking off my shoes.
Shrrk-
I roughly drew the curtain shut, and a perfect sealed-off room was complete.
I hugged the pillow, curled up, and pulled the blanket over my head.
Mental prep complete.
‘Bring it on, muscle soreness.’
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
And then.
From deep within my muscles, a sensation like someone searing me with a red-hot iron began to creep up.
It felt as if every cell in my body was talking to me.
(Oh, you're here, Hyeonjae. I'm muscle soreness.)
(Been waiting long?)
(You worked hard putting on a show in the helicopter today.)
(Now I'm gonna wreck you!)
It sounded almost like a hallucination.
Every nerve in my body started screaming at once.
“Ugh.....”
Damn penalty.
I began paying the price in the dark.
***
After that, it was the usual routine.
Twelve hours out cold.
When I opened my eyes, it was already the next morning, and luckily nobody was in the duty room.
I slipped out of the duty room and left the hospital with a face that said nothing had happened.
Phew....
After taking a taxi home, the first thing I did was check the reaction.
‘Gallery.’
A blue window popped up before my eyes.
And, as expected, one hot post was pinned at the very top of the main screen.
=======================
Hell Slave, Wanna Die?
Author: Cardiology Specter
No explanation beforehand.
Didn't even post a single damn word.
Didn't even ask for consent.
You just scribble “I’ll do SGB” on a memo pad and leave it at that, then force a possession on me—what kind of manners is that?
Am I your Pokémon?
“Go! Cardiology Specter!” and I'm supposed to pop out and give him a shot?
Thanks for the super-friendly explanation, you bastard.
=======================
I couldn't say anything because I was guilty.
With God of the Scalpel, I'd at least given advance warning. This time I was truly in a rush, so I just went ahead and did it.
I quietly opened the comment box.
I needed one knockout blow more than a hundred excuses.
[Comments]
Hell Joseon Slave 1: [Image : a stick figure face-planted on the floor, doing a full prostration]
ㄴ God of the Scalpel: ?
ㄴ God of the Scalpel: You're stealing my signature line; pay the copyright fee.
ㄴ Hell Joseon Slave 1: You stole my body and used it for surgery, so let's call it even.
The gallery idiots clicked their tongues at my shamelessness.
Back in My Day: So what was it? What was it? What? What is it? What is it?
Operating Room Specter 3: Give us the story.
ㄴ Cardiology Specter: I did an Electrical Storm SGB inside the helicopter and came back.
ㄴ Anon (118.235): ????? You did SGB in a helicopter? Using ultrasound?
ㄴ Cardiology Specter: Yep.
ㄴ Anon (210.94): Now you're even cutting throats.
The follow-up posts blew past several pages in an instant.
From posts asking whether SGB was even possible in a helicopter to praise for Cardiology Specter's godlike hand skills.
I breathed a sigh of relief at the noisy reaction.
At any rate, it seemed like everyone's anger had cooled.
What followed was the same familiar routine.
As soon as I got to work, the first person I ran into in the hospital corridor was Professor Oh Manseok, the head of the education and training department.
He stopped the moment he saw me.
Then he stared at my face for a good three seconds before letting out a sigh.
“Haa....”
It was a sigh so deep it felt like the ground might cave in.
I reflexively bent at the waist ninety degrees.
“Hello, Professor.”
Professor Oh took off his glasses and wiped them, speaking in a tired voice.
“Dr. Han.”
“Yes.”
“Next Friday. You know what it's about, right?”
“...Yes, I do.”
“Right. Okay. See you then.”
Professor Oh waved his hand as if he didn't want to say anything else and walked away.
The training committee was convened.
By now, it was practically an annual event.
“Review of the Appropriateness of Emergency Medicine Resident Han Hyeonjae's Procedure in the Doctor Helicopter.”
Just from the title alone, the content was obvious.
I'd go in, say it was an unavoidable choice to save the patient, and if Professor Kang Hyunjun backed me up by saying he was the one who ordered it, it'd probably end with a reprimand or warning.
Disciplinary action didn't scare me anymore.
Whether I'd built up immunity or just gone numb.
The reactions around me were still the same.
No, maybe I'd say they had become a little more varied.
In one corner of the station.
Kim Jihoon and Jo Suyeon were drinking coffee and sneaking glances at me.
“Did you hear?”
Kim Jihoon opened his mouth.
“Heard it. You stabbed someone in the neck in the helicopter.”
Jo Suyeon nodded.
“So now that surgery is starting to feel threatened, you're going after internal medicine, your original double-board goal. I've never heard of EM using SGB to treat an arrhythmia.”
“No, wait. To be exact, it's anesthesiology.”
Jo Suyeon corrected him.
“SGB is anesthesiology-pain medicine territory, right? Which means this bastard is now targeting internal medicine, surgery, and anesthesiology. Triple board. Triple board.”
Jo Suyeon threw that out.
“To be precise, that means he'd be going for four boards if you count emergency medicine too.”
Kim Jihoon chimed in.
“At this rate, he'll end up going to obstetrics and gynecology to deliver babies too.”
Jo Suyeon volleyed back again.
I very politely and elegantly flipped the middle finger at Kim Jihoon and Jo Suyeon, who were putting on this whole ridiculous skit in front of me.
“Shut up, scrub duo.”
“Yep.”
“Yep.”
Then the scrub duo stopped teasing me and scampered off, snickering.
I mean, they even personally delayed clocking out just to tease me.
Such thoughtful bastards.
It seemed like everything had gone back to normal.
Just like the previous two possession incidents, a commotion would pass, I'd go through the disciplinary committee once, add another legendary tale to the books, and then return to everyday life.
I thought it would be that familiar pattern.
Just when I thought it would pass like that....
“Hyeonjae.”
Just as the afternoon was getting underway.
A familiar voice called to me from behind the station.
It was Park Woong, the emergency medicine chief.
“Hello, Chief.”
I stopped what I was doing and stood up.
“Hyeonjae, come see me for a second.”
The chief pointed his chin toward his office.
This time, something felt different.
The chief had called me over with a serious look on his face.