Chapter 170
Did I doze off when they introduced the center director during OT earlier?
‘He already has me marked?’
He was strutting around in a hoodie from day one.
He was messing around, trying to run the chamber like he owned the place.
He even dozed off during orientation without so much as looking at the center director's face.
If that resident-killer bastard hears about this?
[Hey, Hyeonjae? You listening? Hey!]
“Chang-hoon.”
[Yeah.]
“I’m screwed.”
…
“First calm down. The schedule….”
After the call ended, I picked up my phone with trembling hands and checked the notice in the group chat.
I needed to check whether I'd have to face Center Director Park Gwang-seok, the resident killer, tomorrow, or whether there was a way to dodge him.
[April Week 3 Resident Duty Roster (Temporary)]
※ Tue/Wed/Thu are single-resident shifts (subject to change)
Mon: Han Hyeonjae(D) Yoon Tae-hyun(D) / Baek Eun-seo(N) Kim Seoa(N)
Tue: Yoon Tae-hyun(D) / Kim Seoa(N)
Wed: Han Hyeonjae(D) / …
‘I worked the day shift today. Off tomorrow. Day shift the day after. Night shift the day after that.’
Thank goodness.
Tomorrow is my day off.
“Not bad.”
Compared to when I was a first-year and got stuck on three straight night shifts, sleeping in catnaps in a corner of the ER, this was nothing.
But the issue wasn't how intense the schedule was; it was who I was working with.
“Haa….”
Anyway, I returned to my dorm room with mixed feelings.
Thud.
“Ughhh….”
The moment I flopped onto the bed, all the thoughts adrenaline had been holding back began to creep back in.
‘Did I overdo it today?’
I blurted it out on impulse, but now that I replayed it in my head, maybe I was starting to regret it?
No matter how urgent the patient was, I shouted, “I know how to do it!” in front of a nitpicky professor from another university.
I put a professor from the main hospital into the chamber, sat down in the operator’s seat, and gave orders.
If that gets around and reaches Center Director Park Gwang-seok's ears?
‘An arrogant punk. No manners, no sense of rank.’
That's the perfect way to get blacklisted.
“But did I do the open surgery and REBOA because I thought I wouldn't regret it?”
If I'd been afraid of getting marked in the first place, I wouldn't have started… no, what am I saying.
I was scared at first, though.
‘I just wanted to save them.’
It was the same then.
Because if I didn't, they'd die.
Because I didn't want to watch a heart stop in front of me.
“I don't know.”
I rolled over.
There was a face I especially missed today.
“I miss Chief Park.”
Park Woong was the kind of person who took care of his own people without fail.
A reliable shield who would cover for me even if I caused trouble.
But there was no shield here.
Professor Park Se-young?
Kind, but a newly appointed non-tenure-track professor.
They had their own hands full.
Professor Kim Surim?
I'd just met them today.
Suddenly, what Director Lee Jae-yoon had said came to mind.
Good news.
Could this assignment be an opportunity?
As in, go there and build up my performance record?
“But am I really on the director's side…?”
I thought it over carefully.
Whether I'd really gotten on the director's good side, or if I was just imagining it.
Deputy Medical Director Yoon Tae-ryong… hmm, let's tentatively assume he's on my side.
‘He did seem especially protective of me at the training committee.’
But that might be a bit too much wishful thinking.
Maybe the helicopter-transport rules changed by coincidence and I happened to benefit from it, or Deputy Director Yoon was just the director's lackey, doing whatever the director told him to.
“But would the hospital director really hold a private meeting with just one resident?”
That was the biggest question.
A hospital director of a thousand-bed mega hospital with thousands of employees under him calls a lowly resident into his office separately, serves tea, and reminisces about old times?
‘He wouldn't do that, would he?’
Thinking about it that way, it did seem like the line might be right after all.
“For now, it's clear Chief Park Woong has a good opinion of me.”
Park Woong
Yoon Tae-ryong
Lee Jae-yoon.
Let's believe these three are backing me.
‘That should be enough to keep me going.’
But the problem is that the field commander right now is the enemy.
The director is far away, while Park Gwang-seok is right here.
“Aaaagh, my head hurts!!!”
I buried my face in the pillow and screamed.
I'd rather be trapped in the chamber for five hours than deal with this kind of complicated power game; I hate it.
“I don't know… I'll think about it when the time comes.”
Tomorrow is my day off.
Tomorrow, I'm not thinking about anything.
I'll sleep in, get up, find a good restaurant, and zone out while staring at the sea.
And with that, I fell asleep.
…
***
It's a holiday.
I'm off.
Why on earth did I crawl out from under my blanket and end up wandering around inside the hospital building?
Geoje Hospital, 6th floor.
Not the Pediatrics Department office… but the 6th-floor ward lobby.
I was waiting for someone while holding a vending machine coffee.
Whirr.
When the ward's automatic doors slid open, a hollow-eyed man shuffled out, dragging his slippers.
It was Son Jongun.
“Come inside. Why drag me out here?”
“Ahem, I'm technically an outsider right now, so I can't just go in there however I please.”
“Jesus, what bullshit… never mind. What is it?”
“Have you been well? Is the shift manageable?”
“Didn't I see you in the dorm last night too? I only fell asleep a few hours ago listening to you snore. What kind of small talk is this?”
Son Jongun shuddered.
“Hurry up and say it. I want to go back in. It's cold out here.”
“Ah, right, right. Cold, huh? Freezing.”
I glanced around and lowered my voice.
“You know Chang-hoon, right?”
“Park Chang-hoon? Yeah, I know him. Why? Did he screw up something?”
“No, that's not it.”
I continued gravely.
“So I got a call from him yesterday. Remember that stuck-up old-fart professor he always cursed about when he was drinking? The one who picks on residents?”
“I know. He talks trash about him so much my ears are practically callused.”
“That guy got transferred to our hospital's branch—in other words, he's now the director of the Emergency Medical Center here at Geoje Hospital.”
I expected Son Jongun to be stunned.
But.
“I know.”
Son Jongun yawned indifferently.
“…Huh?”
“I know. It's Professor Park Gwang-seok, right?”
“What, was I the only one who didn't know?!”
Son Jongun clicked his tongue.
“You didn't even look at your chief's profile before coming down here? I went through the entire faculty list before I arrived. By the time I got here, the rumor about his reputation had already spread among the residents.”
“That was it?!”
I was the only one who lost the information war.
Come to think of it.
I've been too busy hanging out with ghosts to keep up with real-world boss gossip.
“Aren't you worried?”
“I'm in pediatrics. Your boss isn't my boss.”
“Are you a T?”
“So? What do you want to say? You scared of that guy and want to run?”
Son Jongun asked while stretching his neck.
“No, I mean….”
…
“So what you're saying is you're worried you stand out too much? That because you're such a show-off, you're scared you'll get singled out by that old fossil?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
I nodded.
That's Son Jongun for you.
Smart.
“Yesterday, on my first day, I put a professor in the chamber and took command. Doesn't that mean I'd be marked for sure?”
“Yeah. You definitely got marked.”
Son Jongun laughed.
“So you're not going to keep doing your crazy shit?”
Son Jongun's eyes suddenly turned serious, unlike him.
“?”
“I'm asking if you won't. Because you're afraid of him, would you just pretend not to notice even if a patient was dying, as long as it was something the center director wouldn't like? Would you still just sit there?”
“Hmm….”
I was speechless.
“Are you going to stop? You're already notorious as a nutcase at the Busan main hospital. You even have a bunch of nicknames. Though the rumor hasn't reached here yet.”
Son Jongun hit me with a fact bomb.
“True enough.”
I've done so many insane things already; there's no way I'd stop now.
My head is already inhabited by unhinged ghost lunatics.
“Even if you act tame, you'll cause trouble again in a few days, so what's there to worry about? Just do what you've been doing. If you get fired… go to another hospital.”
“That's harsh, don't you think?”
But Son Jongun was right.
I can't stop.
And I have something to rely on.
‘I have the director on my side.’
Director Lee Jae-yoon.
A private one-on-one meeting and talk of good news meant, at the very least, that he didn't intend to use me and toss me aside.
‘…Probably?’
And I had one more thing to rely on.
There were a few professors, like those from Osung Seoul Hospital and Catholic Sacred Heart Hospital, who had taken notice of me at conferences.
Some had even given me their business cards.
Maybe I should contact them?
But why does none of my backing feel solid?
They're all so vague.
‘Then let's assume the worst. If I get blacklisted here, do I lose my training status?’
No.
They can't just hand out major disciplinary actions like stripping my training status or firing me here at the branch.
The training committee and the disciplinary committee are held at the Busan main hospital.
Chief Park Woong and Deputy Director Yoon Tae-ryong are at the main hospital too.
‘Right. Don't be scared. I'm a dispatched resident from the main hospital.’
“What the hell are you spacing out about?”
I swiped the floating screen away with my hand.
“Just… making a survival strategy.”
“Yeah, right. Anyway, I'm going in. A kid came up from the ER, and I need to go see them.”
“Go ahead. Good luck.”
“You too, don't have too much fun just because you're off.”
Son Jongun waved coolly and disappeared.
Yeah, what's the point of worrying.
I'll leave tomorrow's problems to tomorrow's me.
Today, I'll look up a good restaurant, have a plate of sashimi, and….
Ding~
A clear, cheerful notification sound rang from my pocket.
“What is it?”
I took out my phone.
[EM Professor Park Se-young]
What is it?
Did they send a check-in text asking if I was resting well?
[EM Professor Park Se-young]
Hyeonjae - 10:16
If you're awake, come out of the dorm and come to the ER for a sec - 10:17
I need to talk to you. - 10:17
“Tch.”
My heart sank.
“Looks like I'm screwed after all.”
Could there have been a problem with what I did in the chamber yesterday?
Did the patient have complications?
Or did Center Director Park Gwang-seok come in, hear about my stunt, and say, “Bring that bastard here right now”?
If they're calling me in on my day off, it can only be one of three things.
The hospital is on fire.
There's a war.
Or I've done something unforgivable.
1 and 2 don't seem likely, so that leaves only 3.
I have to go.
I have to go, but… I'm too scared to go in empty-handed.
I pulled up the floating window.
I need a strategy.
I need political advice.
If anyone could give me useful tips, it would be those max-level veteran ghosts.
[Dead Medical Scholars Gallery]
======================
Anyone here know how to play politics?
Author : HellJoseonSlave1
The department chief at the hospital I'm dispatched to is not normal.
He's a notorious nutjob.
But a professor suddenly called me in on my day off.
I think I'm 100% on his bad side. How do I handle it when I go so I survive?
======================
[Comments]
BackInMyDay : Politics, huh. I did my fair share of politicking back in the day.
ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : For real? How'd you do it? Hurry and give me some advice, I'm seriously in a rush, seriously
ㄴ BackInMyDay : You should probably join a political party. Better to line up with the ruling party or the opposition than go independent. What's the political landscape like in the district you're running in?
ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : (a dumbfounded-face emoji)
ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : In-house politics, you bastard!!!!!!!!!!!
ScalpelGod : Politics? Why would you need that? Just crush them with skill.
ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : He's my superior. How am I supposed to crush him?
ㄴ ScalpelGod : I lay down right in front of the Minister of Health and Welfare.
BoneNerd88 : That's not politics, that's just causing a scene.
ㄴ ScalpelGod : Hey, HellSlave, you should go lie down on the ER floor too.
‘These bastards are for real.’
Not helpful at all.
These guys must've been social misfits even when they were alive.
Is there not a single person here who knows what compromise or negotiation is?
I swiped the floating screen away with my hand.
‘Maybe it was a mistake from the start to ask those crazy ghost bastards for advice on dealing with people.’
In the end, the only thing I can rely on is my own quick thinking.
Should I go and beg, no matter what, saying it was my fault?
Or should I stand my ground and say it was all for saving the patient?
I'll go first and decide after reading the room.
The answer will show on Park Se-young's face.
I let out a deep sigh and pressed the elevator button.
“You really are no help at all. Absolutely no help.”