Chapter 141
“Guys. That guy’s always been like that, so just ignore him.”
I said coolly, pointing at the closed door.
But the first-years’ expressions were anything but cool.
….
‘Ah, crap.’
I’d just made a comment the first-years probably couldn’t react to—no, shouldn’t dare react to.
Telling these fresh first-years who’d only just joined to ignore the chief resident.
“Sorry. Just forget what I said earlier. Dr. Nam Joo-hyun is ex... ex... uh. Chief.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
The three of them answered like robots.
Their input values already seemed to have glitched, but whatever.
“First, let me introduce myself again. I’m Han Hyeonjae, a third-year resident.”
I gave an awkward cough.
“For practical questions, most of them will be handled first by second-years like Eun-seo here. She’s your mentor.”
Right, that’s her role for now.
“But if there’s something you really can’t figure out, you can come to the third-years. Or run straight to the fourth-years or the professors. Just know I’m not responsible for what happens after that. If you notify a professor directly and get scolded, we can’t shield you from that beatdown.”
“Yes!! We’ll keep that in mind!”
Very disciplined replies.
Good, my job’s done for now.
I nodded at Baek Eun-seo, who was sitting next to me with sparkling eyes.
Baek Eun-seo sprang to her feet.
“I’m Baek Eun-seo, second-year. You’re all dead.”
...?
Silence.
The first-years’ pupils shook like there’d been an earthquake.
“Eun-seo?”
“Yes?”
Baek Eun-seo turned to me with a bright smile.
“That was a little too scary.”
“Oh, Dr. Kim Ji-hoon told me to do it like this!”
….
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
What the hell had that bastard taught her?
“...Fine. Do whatever.”
Screw it.
Baek Eun-seo glared at the first-years again.
That was when it happened.
The hand of resident Kim Seoa, who was sitting in the middle, trembled.
Fidget, fidget.
A secondhand newbie who’d quit after two months of training and come back.
Was she always timid?
“You there, Dr. Kim Seoa?”
“Yes!”
Kim Seoa jerked her head up in surprise.
“Something you want to say? You look a little pale.”
“Ah... no! I have nothing to say. I’m fine!”
“...Really? If you’re sick, say so. Don’t faint on us.”
“Yes... thank you.”
‘...Did she say Kim Seoa? Better keep an eye on her. She looks mentally fragile.’
Then I shifted my gaze and saw Yoon Tae-hyun, the top graduate, on the far right.
He wasn’t rattled at all by Baek Eun-seo’s words, and in fact his eyes were sparkling with interest.
He even shrugged and acted like he was waiting for the right moment to ask something.
Then I’d better ask again.
“Any other questions? You over on the right.”
“Ah, yes! I’m Yoon Tae-hyun, and...”
Yoon Tae-hyun spoke up as if he’d been waiting for that.
“Yeah, I know. I heard it earlier.”
“Oh. Well, I had a personal question.”
Yoon Tae-hyun pushed up his glasses and looked straight at me.
“Dr. Han Hyeonjae. There’s a rumor about you, isn’t there? Genius double board…”
This bastard was poking at a forbidden word on day one.
“Hey.”
A cold voice shot out before I could even open my mouth.
It was Baek Eun-seo.
“Ah, yes, sorry. Never mind.”
Yoon Tae-hyun immediately tucked his tail between his legs.
‘...Oh?’
I was impressed inwardly.
As expected, a smart backer.
I’d thought she was just good at studying, but seeing her cut off questions that might put me on the spot and firmly establish the hierarchy was just...
‘She really knows how to navigate social life. Very reassuring.’
I brightened the mood with a satisfied smile.
“Alright, enough chatter. We don’t have time.”
I unfolded the checklist Nam Joo-hyun had tossed me.
“You know how to use the EMR, right? You all should’ve done it as interns. So.”
“Ah, Dr. Han! I’ll do it.”
Just as I reached for the mouse, Baek Eun-seo shot her hand up.
“You want to do it?”
“Yes! Dr. Han’s throat hurts, so please rest. I’ll whip through it in no time.”
Baek Eun-seo strode over to my seat confidently and took over the keyboard and mouse.
“Okay, everyone look here. Focus on the monitor.”
Baek Eun-seo’s fingers began to dance.
Tap-tap-tap, click, tap-tap.
“Now, as you can see, this is the initial screen, right? Here’s the order window….”
…
“Oh...”
The first-years marveled.
“And if you need to request a consult from another department, click this, choose the department. Keep the text concise. Write the clinical presumptive diagnosis too. Got it?”
“Yes!”
“And imaging is viewed here, while reading results is here. And when you write a death certificate…”
Baek Eun-seo kept teaching without even taking a breath.
She spoke fast and her hands moved fast, but she pulled out only the essentials and delivered them with perfect accuracy.
‘...She’s good.’
“Oh, right. For PACS, if you hit the shortcut, it compares with the previous images immediately, okay? If you don’t know it, memorize it. There, done.”
And just like that, in exactly seventeen minutes, forty minutes’ worth of practical training was over.
“...Done?”
I asked blankly.
“Yes! I’ve delivered all the key points. You learn the rest by doing it.”
Baek Eun-seo smiled brightly.
“Uh... then can I ask one question? Just as a test.”
“Yes! Ask anything you want, Dr. Han! These kids will answer just fine!”
Baek Eun-seo was full of confidence.
Could it be that if they answered poorly, she’d chew them out later?
“Uh... sure. Then.”
I looked over the three first-years and gave them a question.
“Who knows where to input the KTAS level for a patient?”
This one is pretty confusing.
Hope they remember this, heh heh.
Up.
Before I even finished asking, a hand shot up.
It was Yoon Tae-hyun.
“If you scroll all the way down in the prescription field, there’s an emergency management fee item, and right below that is the grade input field!”
Oh?
“...Correct. You taught well. Or did you already know it?”
“Right? I showed it to him a little earlier. Dr. Tae-hyun has a good eye.”
‘Look at these guys.’
They were already in perfect sync.
The first-years I’d expected to be bumbling were much quicker than I thought, and Baek Eun-seo was a far more capable teacher than I expected.
Looks like I’m the only one who has to do well.
“Good. Looks like you’ve roughly picked up the theory.”
When I stood up, my lower back gave a twinge.
Don’t show it.
Aaaagh.
“Then let’s move to the station first.”
As I took the lead, Baek Eun-seo and the three first-years followed behind me.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway.
The start of a new season.
Not a bad feeling.
“Now, look here. Coming back to the ER as a resident feels different, doesn’t it? Even the atmosphere is different from when you were interns.”
I began the ER tour, leading the first-years with all the composure of a third-year resident.
“Those who rotated through the ER earlier might get a little confused again. But you roughly learned the layout while on internship, right? This is Zone A, where severe patients are placed. Over there is Zone B, which handles moderate and mild patients.”
“Yes! Understood!”
The three newbies nodded and trailed after me.
Their eyes held both tension and excitement.
Watching them, I felt like I could see the version of me from two years ago overlapping with them.
“Then shall we slowly review the location of the resuscitation room equipment and the defibrillator for real? Eun-seo, could you give a demo?”
“Yes! I’ll show them brilliantly!”
Just as Baek Eun-seo rolled up her sleeves and was about to step forward—
[Ding~dong~daeng~dong~]
a chime rang out from the speaker mounted in the ceiling.
Hmm, a hospital-wide announcement?
The ward code blue system isn’t supposed to ring through to the emergency medical center.
[Dr. An Hyeon-jeong of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. An Hyeon-jeong, please come to the flight control room immediately. I repeat, Dr. An Hyeon-jeong of Obstetrics and Gynecology, please come immediately….]
[Ding~dong~daeng~dong]
...?
“What? OB/GYN?”
I frowned.
Calling an OB/GYN over the announcement system, and to the flight control room at that?
The flight control room is, what do you call it, the place they go before boarding the helicopter.
Usually, the doctor helicopter goes to transport severe trauma, myocardial infarction, or stroke patients.
So it’s usually an emergency medicine specialist who rides along.
But calling OB/GYN meant the situation was very unusual.
“Did an emergency delivery happen or something….”
Just as I murmured to myself,
bzzzz— bzzzz—
the phone in my coat pocket buzzed loudly.
I pulled out my phone with a cold feeling creeping over me.
The group chat name on the screen.
[Cheongjindae Hospital Doctor Helicopter Team (22)]
“...Ah.”
The doctor helicopter team?
“...Guys, hold on a second.”
I raised a hand to block the first-years’ view.
Today’s duty roster.
March 1.
Morning helicopter duty, onboard physician.
[EM R3 Han Hyeonjae].
‘Right. I was on helicopter duty today.’
I’d been so distracted by orientation that I’d forgotten I was destined to fly today.
With trembling fingers, I checked the message.
[Air Medical Team Coordinator Kang Min-jeong]
[ Pt : 34/F, Primi, GA 35+2 Loc: Changnyeong Handoff Point CC: Regular cramping pain, Watery discharge. Suspected PPROM…]
[…Spotting (+) seen, but no bulging. BP 130/80 HR 90 ETA: - ]
“Ah.”
The moment I read the message, my vision swam.
Thirty-four years old, primipara.
35 weeks. Preterm labor.
Changnyeong.
Forty minutes round-trip by helicopter from here.
And the symptoms… her water had broken, and contractions were coming every five minutes.
PPROM.
Preterm premature rupture of membranes.
Once the membranes rupture, labor progresses rapidly.
On top of that, the helicopter’s vibration and changes in air pressure can stimulate uterine contractions.
If this went wrong.
If I was really unlucky.
I might have to deliver the baby in that cramped helicopter back seat.
Not in a nursery, not in a delivery room, but up in the sky.
And I wasn’t even an OB/GYN—just an emergency medicine resident who’d only ever watched a baby being delivered during internship.
At 35 weeks, the lungs might still be immature, so what if the baby didn’t breathe the moment it came out?
And there’d be no incubator?
So that was why they’d called Dr. An Hyeon-jeong from OB/GYN over the announcement system.
The risk was too high to send only an emergency medicine doctor, so they were sending an OB/GYN along too.
Double boarding.
Which meant.
I had to sprint to the rooftop right now, pick up that mother, and prepare for delivery while getting covered in blood and amniotic fluid inside the cramped cabin.
I stared blankly into space.
The first day of my third year.
A refreshing morning.
The leisure of an Americano.
I could hear all of it shattering into pieces.
“Haa…….”
I shoved my phone into my pocket.
Let’s go deliver a baby.