Chapter 173
Park Gwang-seok’s day was perfect once again.
The middle-aged man reflected in the mirror looked pretty good.
A stiffly pressed dress shirt with sharp creases, and a tie pulled tight over it.
And a pure-white lab coat, with the embroidered [Emergency Medical Center Chief Park Gwang-seok] patch on the left chest.
“Nice. Very nice.”
Park Gwang-seok smiled in satisfaction at his reflection.
“At this level, I’d say the preparations for welcoming the medical center director today are perfect.”
Of course, there was still a nagging unease in one corner of his heart.
That chill he’d felt after picking the wrong fight with the third-year resident Han Hyeonjae, who’d been dispatched here a few weeks ago.
It was true that he’d been a little rattled by the strange presence Han Hyeonjae had shown then, as well as whatever backing he had.
But Park Gwang-seok quickly shook his head and adjusted his tie.
‘If I’m being honest, he wasn’t that impressive.’
He replayed the assessment he’d reached after watching Han Hyeonjae over the past month.
He couldn’t understand why the professors at the main hospital praised and favored that guy to such an absurd degree.
Of course, credit where credit was due.
He was pretty quick on the uptake.
His hands were fast, and his situational judgment wasn’t bad either.
Even when placing orders, he never overused unnecessary tests or prescribed drugs without cause.
Not too little and not too much.
The way he handled things cleanly, walking the line between the textbook and the guidelines, was pretty close to complete for a third-year resident.
‘But that’s all there is to it.’
In Park Gwang-seok’s view, Han Hyeonjae stopped right there.
A resident who was good at his job.
Nothing more, nothing less.
‘Even at the university hospital I used to work at, there was always one guy per year who was about that good.’
Park Gwang-seok snorted.
Rumors that some resident had diagnosed a rare internal medicine disease, or cut open a belly in the ER to clamp the aorta.
Those were obviously either idle bragging blown up for fun within the department, or nonsense rumors exaggerated by professors trying to prop up their own favorites.
Common sense said it made no sense for a resident to pull off something like that so smoothly.
On top of that, he never gave a good enough pretext to crack down on him.
He’d suspected political maneuvering, but after actually watching him, the guy had clearly mastered the art of staying within the lines.
He didn’t do anything particularly irritating, and he knew how to bow and scrape just enough in front of people.
So there was no need to scratch a scab and make things worse; he was just letting it slide for now.
‘At first I wondered why the professors were making such a fuss over some ordinary guy and calling him an ace… but then again.’
He clicked his tongue.
‘No matter how big a university hospital is, this is still a provincial private one. The talent pool is different.’
Park Gwang-seok’s pride was extraordinary.
The university hospitals he’d previously worked at were all affiliated hospitals of famous Seoul-based foundations.
In other words, their roots were in Seoul.
The talent there was formidable, and the competition fierce.
To someone who had survived in such an elite group, the residents at this local provincial hospital could only look mediocre.
In a place where everyone’s just comparing acorn heights, stand out a little and you get called a genius.
That was how Park Gwang-seok fed his sense of superiority.
Then, naturally, memories of the past came back to him.
That humiliating incident that had driven him all the way out here to Geoje Island.
‘I should’ve crushed those bastards’ spirits long ago.’
Back when he was in emergency medicine in Changwon.
He felt wronged.
It wasn’t his fault that he’d taken in that patient that night.
He’d only accepted the patient because he’d reasonably judged the receiving department would take them.
It was absolutely not as if he’d been trying to force in a patient connected to some local big shot.
But when they actually examined the patient, the condition was far too complicated, so the initial treatment plan got tangled up and he had no choice but to hand the case over to the fellow whose hands were at least decent.
Then the bastards below him rose up over that.
Because they’d done a little of the dirty work and stayed up all night cleaning up.
How dare they paint their mentor as an incompetent doctor and submit a petition to the hospital.
‘It was a frame-up. A clear act of insubordination and a political purge.’
Without a doubt, the professor on the other side had somehow lured the residents into it.
He believed it was simply bad luck, and that he’d been saddled with ungrateful trainees.
The place he came to with that wounded pride was the newly opened Geoje Hospital.
Because it had just opened and needed many specialists, and because there weren’t many senior professors, he’d been able to get a position easily.
But contrary to his expectations, once he actually arrived.
‘A newly opened hospital isn’t bad either.’
In fact, it was good.
The staffing level was much lower than at his previous workplace, which was frustrating, but the facilities were state-of-the-art and grand.
Most importantly, there still weren’t many patients.
‘If I just hold out here for a few years, get recognized for stabilizing the branch, earn a full professor title, and later go up to the main hospital and land a post at the university….’
The picture came into focus.
Head of Planning and Coordination? Or vice president?
He would show off his successful self right in front of the guys who’d looked down on him and driven him out.
That was why today’s visit from Lee Jae-yoon, who was both medical center director and director of the main hospital, was such an important day.
“Let’s make sure I leave a strong impression today.”
Park Gwang-seok clenched his fist.
With a solemn expression, he gave his reflection a pep talk.
You are the king of this place.
…
“That concludes the Cheongjindae Medical Center 2050 Vision Declaration Ceremony. Finally, we ask our founding medical center director to say a few words to the local dignitaries and all staff members.”
Applause burst out at the emcee’s cue.
Lee Jae-yoon, who had stepped up onto the stage, took the microphone with a gentle smile.
“Ah, yes. Pleasure to meet you. With the opening of our Geoje branch as the starting point, our medical center is going beyond simply expanding a university hospital and is establishing specialized centers for the final treatment of severe illnesses, one by one.”
Lee Jae-yoon looked around the room with an emotional expression.
“By quickly handling emergency patients from the islands and the coastal area, while also making sure people don’t have to go all the way up to Seoul for major diseases like cardio-cerebrovascular disease or cancer….”
Lee Jae-yoon raised a fist.
“Building a complete medical system where all treatment can end right here at Geoje Hospital is my and our medical center’s vision!”
As Lee Jae-yoon spoke with his fist clenched tight, applause poured out.
“Thank you very much for coming. That’s all.”
When the speech ended, applause poured out once again.
Local politicians and various notables nodded with moved expressions.
But Emergency Medical Center chief Park Gwang-seok was snickering inwardly.
‘Smooth talk, that’s all.’
Lee Jae-yoon looked downright ridiculous to Park Gwang-seok.
‘Those guys up top, pretending to be saints. Don’t go to Seoul? Easy enough to say.’
System building? The community?
The words sounded slick.
In the end, wasn’t it just about inflating the hospital’s size, sucking up more subsidies, and expanding the foundation’s influence?
Don’t go to Seoul?
‘What a joke.’
Of course, Park Gwang-seok was also clapping like a seal on the outside, acting as though he were the most moved man in the world.
‘So what if it’s a show? As long as I can pick up the scraps, that’s enough.’
After the speech ended, the greeting session with the key officials below the stage continued.
Park Gwang-seok gathered himself and squared his shoulders.
Now the real game begins.
“Director. That was a magnificent speech.”
“Ah, Chief Park. You’re here.”
Director Lee Jae-yoon offered a friendly handshake.
Park Gwang-seok took his hand with both hands and bowed at the waist ninety degrees.
“Our emergency medical center is also upholding the director’s vision and guarding the front line of regional emergency care! A place where the lights never go out 24 hours a day….”
But then.
Bzzzt—
The silence was broken by a vibration.
Park Gwang-seok’s brows furrowed at once.
He quickly pulled out his phone, sending an apologetic look.
[EM Professor Park Se-young]
‘Park Se-young?’
Park Gwang-seok felt irritation surge up.
‘What a clueless idiot. He knows full well I’m at an event right now, so why is he calling?’
“Chief, isn’t that maybe an urgent call? You should take it.”
“Ah, no! Not at all! Hahaha….”
Park Gwang-seok waved it off.
“It seems like just a spam call. I’ve been getting so many loan solicitation calls lately. If someone inside the hospital had something important, they’d have left a text.”
“Ah, I see. Then….”
Just as Lee Jae-yoon nodded and was about to turn to another department head.
Bzzzt—
The phone vibrated again.
“Haa….”
Only one thought was in Park Gwang-seok’s head.
It had to be because of the report he’d ordered about the hyperbaric oxygen treatment last time.
He was probably pestering him to approve it, or using some approval paperwork as an excuse to be annoying.
Park Gwang-seok angrily shoved the phone away and turned it off.
“It’s not an important call, Director. I guess the professors under me get anxious when I’m not around. I do tend to handle things very thoroughly… heh heh.”
“Oh… is that so?”
Director Lee Jae-yoon’s eyes gleamed oddly.
He stroked his chin and stared intently at Park Gwang-seok.
“I guess things are busy enough that they wouldn’t run without you, Chief?”
“Ah, yes! Anyway, I have a paper topic I used to work on at my previous hospital, and if I combine it with our Geoje Hospital data this time, I think it could become a very good SCI-level paper, so I’m preparing it. Sometime later, maybe….”
Park Gwang-seok desperately rattled on, trying to change the subject.
It was also a chance to tout his academic achievements.
But Lee Jae-yoon wasn’t listening.
After thinking for a moment, he made a sudden proposal.
“Emergency Medical Center Chief.”
“Yes? Yes! Please, go ahead!”
“Seeing is believing. As I emphasized in my speech earlier, the face of our hospital is ultimately the emergency room, isn’t it?”
Lee Jae-yoon smiled faintly.
“Shall we go take a look at the emergency room together? Right now.”
“…Pardon?”
Park Gwang-seok’s pupils wavered.
Now?
All of a sudden?
“I’m also curious how well the system you were so proud of is actually in place. It’s not on the schedule, but seeing it on-site is the most important thing, isn’t it?”
Lee Jae-yoon smiled and started walking.
“Ah… ah, I see. Yes, well… that’s a good idea, but….”
Cold sweat broke out on Park Gwang-seok.
Of course, when he’d looked earlier in the day, the ER had been clean and peaceful.
There were no patients, and the cleaning had been perfect.
He’d even come here with his tie on, shouting, ‘Fighting!’ so the staff would surely be on their best behavior.
Not bad for show.
But the emergency room was a place where variables always existed.
What if there happened to be a drunk lying around, or blood on the floor?
‘No. They said there were no patients today. It was dead empty even earlier.’
Park Gwang-seok forced down his anxiety.
This was actually an opportunity.
A golden chance to show how neatly he managed the ER.
“Understood! I’ll guide you. I just so happened to have everything perfectly set up.”
“Right? Let’s go.”
The black-suited entourage murmured in confusion, but once Lee Jae-yoon led the way, they had no choice but to follow.
Rumble.
The black-suited group left the auditorium and headed to the first floor.
‘Please. Let there be nothing wrong. Please.’
He prayed inwardly.
He did feel bad about ignoring Park Se-young’s call earlier, but it was probably nothing.
Ding—
Upon reaching the first floor and passing through the lobby, the entrance to the emergency medical center came into view.
Park Gwang-seok rushed faster than anyone else, opened the automatic doors, and shouted.
“The director is coming! Everyone…!”
And then, what met Park Gwang-seok’s eyes after he had hurried down in a show of bravado to check the ER before the director could see it, was this.
Hell.
“When is the CS on-call doctor getting here?!!”
“Doctor! It takes some time to thaw that FFP(* fresh frozen plasma)! It still hasn’t come up from the blood bank!”
“Then bring PRBC(* packed red blood cells) first, at least!”
Park Gwang-seok’s lips trembled.
The emergency room he’d said was perfectly set up.
This place he’d confidently led the director to.
Park Gwang-seok quietly closed his eyes.
‘I’m screwed.’