Chapter 178
Medical Director, please go safely.
At the entrance of Geoje Hospital, I bent at the waist in a 90-degree bow and greeted him.
Then the rear window of the black sedan slid down.
Inside, Medical Director Lee Jae-yoon was looking at me with a gentle gaze.
“Dr. Han, you're coming back up to the main hospital in a month, right?”
“Ah, yes. That's right. I'll be back as soon as the dispatch period ends.”
“Good. Then let's meet once then. Have some tea or coffee. This time, really, take it easy.”
There's no way that would be relaxing.
“Yes! Understood. Please go safely!”
Lee Jae-yoon gave a brief wave and rolled the window up.
Once the black sedan left Geoje Hospital, silence returned to the front of the hospital.
I stared blankly at its retreating back, then slowly raised both hands.
My palms caught the streetlamp light.
Rough hands.
But today, these hands had created a miracle.
I turned my hands back and forth for no reason.
'Was that some kind of placebo?'
The angle, force control, and handling the God of the Scalpel had used felt as if they had been faintly etched into my muscles... or maybe I just felt that way.
“Hmm, the hardware isn't the problem?”
I snorted.
Maybe it wasn't that my hardware was crap—maybe my software had just been lacking all this time.
I probably leveled up by at least one level today.
“Let's go. Time to work.”
I headed back to the emergency room.
…
Ziiing-
As the automatic doors opened, the familiar ER greeted me.
Before I knew it, Professor Park Se-young, who had been on day shift, was gone, and a sharp-looking woman sat in her place.
Professor Kim Su-rim of Emergency Medicine.
The strict professor who had been on duty the first day I was dispatched here, during the chamber incident.
'So Park Se-young is day shift, and Kim Su-rim is night shift.'
It was a strange déjà vu.
The exact same lineup as my first day at Geoje Hospital.
'But I'm still awkward around her.'
Professor Kim Su-rim wasn't the warm or easygoing type like Professor Park Se-young.
She had a dead-serious, by-the-book vibe.
Someone whose eyes were always sharp and who made you flinch for no reason.
I approached the station hesitantly.
“Good evening, Professor.”
Professor Kim Su-rim, who had been looking at a chart, raised her head.
“Huh? Dr. Han?”
With an expression of puzzlement, she looked back and forth between me and the duty roster hanging on the wall.
“Tonight's night shift is supposed to be just Tae-hyun. Weren't you on day shift?”
“Ah... yes. There are some circumstances.”
I scratched the back of my head.
“I'm on a 24-hour shift today. I volunteered.”
“24 hours? Why?”
“Well... I owe Professor Park a favor, sort of.”
I couldn't exactly say I'd gone to the OR and fainted, so I ended up striking a deal.
“Ah, I heard. I heard things were chaotic this afternoon.”
Professor Kim Su-rim clicked her tongue.
As expected, news traveled fast.
“But the two of you can cover it today. Look at the ER board right now. There are only three febrile patients, and no trauma cases. Tae-hyun alone can handle it.”
She made the suggestion in a tone that made it hard to tell whether she was worrying about me or just annoyed.
“Why don't you just go in and rest today?”
It was tempting.
But as a man, Han Hyeonjae never goes back on his word.
And more than anything.
“Unfortunately, I've already clocked in, so the system has a record of it.”
“Then there's no helping it. In that case, stay at the station and keep an eye on the interns too.”
I naturally sat in the resident seat.
The seat beside me was Professor Kim Su-rim's.
Yoon Tae-hyun had disappeared somewhere.
Awkward.
Suffocating.
What should I even say?
'If I cracked a joke like 'If a duck freezes, it becomes a hill,' I'd be kicked out for sure.'
Then it happened.
“Huff.”
I had just heard a puff of breath from beside me.
When I snapped my head around, Kim Su-rim was looking at the monitor with the corners of her mouth twitching.
“Uh... Professor?”
“Pfft.”
This time, it was unmistakable.
Laughter.
'This person can laugh too?'
I was stunned.
From the first day until now, all I'd seen was a furrowed brow; she had such a human expression?
“Why... why are you laughing? Did I get something on my face?”
“Nope, just because.”
Kim Su-rim turned her chair toward me.
“News travels really fast in a hospital, you know. Especially bad news and crazy news—those spread at the speed of light.”
“I guess so.”
“I knew it from the first day, when you were working the chamber. I thought, 'This guy isn't just some ordinary lunatic.'”
“....”
To use the word lunatic in such a calm voice.
It hit even harder because it clashed so much with her intelligent-looking face.
“That was because I was trying to save the patient's leg...”
“But the chamber has a manual, doesn't it? Whether it's the U.S. military table or whatever, there's at least some precedent to follow. I thought you were just a stubborn overachiever who'd studied a lot.”
Kim Su-rim crossed her arms and leaned forward.
“But that's not it. Of all the residents I've ever seen in my career, you're the biggest nutcase, hands down.”
Was that a compliment or an insult?
I felt myself shrinking again for no reason.
Professor Kim really did have a strict-by-the-book feel.
The kind of person who'd hate it if someone ignored procedure and an emergency-medicine resident barged into the thoracic surgery OR to assist.
'Is she going to scold me?'
“Hey.”
Tap.
Kim Su-rim lightly tapped my shoulder.
“Yes, Professor.”
When I lifted my head, Kim Su-rim was smiling brightly at me.
“Well done.”
“Ah...”
“You saved him, didn't you? At the end of the day, if the patient lived, that's what matters. Was it an unlicensed procedure? No. Did you perform the operation? No.”
“Thank you... Professor.”
“Keep doing that. And only go crazy when you can take responsibility for it. Got it?”
“I'll keep it in mind.”
That was the second time I'd seen Kim Su-rim smile.
After hearing my answer, Kim Su-rim composed her expression again and turned back to the monitor.
…
***
Night shift.
The night at Geoje Hospital was incredibly quiet.
Statistically speaking, it was a far more peaceful picture.
A total of 14 minor cases.
1 would-be critical patient.
And 0 truly severe patients.
The ER at night was so quiet it felt as if everything that happened during the day had been a lie.
Professor Kim Su-rim had gone into the on-call room to catch a little sleep, and Yoon Tae-hyun was nodding off while sorting charts.
During that time, I sat secretly in a corner chair and stared into space.
[Dead Medical Scholar Gallery]
=================
Why the hell isn't this bastard posting his possession review this time?
Author : HellJoseonSlave1
The guy who normally gets hyped after one surgery and spills the story first is acting like this today?
=================
The moment I uploaded it, the view count started climbing fast.
What a bunch of bored souls.
[Comments]
PediatricsGhost77 : Who are you talking about?
ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : Scalpel God.
ㄴ BoneNerd88 : Who's that?
ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : The God of the Scalpel.
ㄴ BoneNerd88 : Don't abbreviate it.
ㄴ BackInMyDay : Why, it makes you seem younger, which is nice.
ScalpelGod : I mean, I succeeded, didn't I? The patient's alive, so why do I have to write a review?
ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : What is this reaction? How was the lead surgeon today? Did the teamwork work out okay?
ㄴ ScalpelGod : I have absolutely nothing to do with that person!!!! I don't know them!!!! Stop asking!!!!
“Tsk.”
This reaction was way too intense.
'Was he scared I'd have to take the red pill?'
'Wait, didn't he say before in the gallery that he lay down in front of the Minister of Health and Welfare?'
[ㄴ ScalpelGod : I lay down in front of the Minister of Health and Welfare]
Back then I had just brushed it off as bragging, or as him acting out after drinking.
But if that was the truth?
A university hospital professor went and caused a scene in the minister's office?
That was definitely article material.
I quickly powered on the computer and opened an internet window.
[Ministry of Health and Welfare protest]
[Lying down in front of the Ministry of Health and Welfare office]
[Ministry of Health and Welfare lying-down protest]
Click.
Click-clack.
A ton of articles popped up, but none of them were what I was looking for.
I scrolled down quickly.
Something more provocative.
Something even crazier.
Click.
“…!”
Found it. Right away, one article with a suspicious title jumped out at me.
[Exclusive] A surgery professor from a university hospital lies in protest in front of the Minister of Health and Welfare's office for 4 hours
2012. 11. 02. 17:10
| A university hospital in the Chungcheong region, once considered a leading candidate, is shocked by its final-round elimination from the regional trauma center review
“Hmm. This must be it.”
The year was 2012.
Back then, it was the period when Korea's regional trauma center project was just beginning to take shape.
It was when public attention was surging toward trauma centers and trauma surgery, and the government started opening its purse strings.
'Did the Gyeonggi Southern Center also get knocked out around then? Anyway, the competition was fierce.'
As far as I knew, hospitals all over the country had been scrambling to win subsidies and get the title of trauma center.
And they were eliminated?
And a hospital that had been a leading candidate, at that?
I clicked the mouse and opened the article body.
[Hanseo Ilbo = Seoul] Around 2 p.m. today, a chase scene straight out of a movie unfolded in the first-floor lobby of the Ministry of Health and Welfare building in Gye-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
'? A chase scene?'
I adjusted my glasses.
'A man in blue scrubs suddenly vaulted over the access-control security gate in one leap....'
'Professor A shouted to call the police and said he wouldn't leave on his own. Fearing physical clashes, the ministry backed off, and the bizarre four-hour silent protest in the hallway began....'
'Professor A is known as an authority in trauma and cardiac surgery, but he reportedly had a hot-tempered personality and frequent friction inside the hospital....'
“....”
I stared at the monitor with my mouth hanging open.
This was beyond anything I'd imagined.
He vaulted over the security gate?
He chased people?
'This is seriously a lunatic.'
It wasn't just lying down; he had practically caused terrorism-level chaos.
With that much guts and madness, the nickname God of the Scalpel made sense.
Maybe 'God of Rage' would fit better.
Rattle-rattle.
I scrolled the mouse wheel down to check the bottom of the article.
'Meanwhile, a Ministry of Health and Welfare official explained, “The review was conducted fairly, and there was no intent to exclude any particular hospital.” Professor A was later escorted home by hospital staff....'
“Even if I scroll all the way down, there's no name.”
'Person A' 'Professor A'
It's anonymized.
It must have been a pretty big issue back then, but it seems to have been buried as time went on.
“Yawn....”
Suddenly, fatigue washed over me.
“I'll just find out next time, whatever.”
Anyway, Chungcheong-region university hospital, 2012 trauma center elimination, surgery professor.
With those keywords, if I take some time later and dig through forums or old newspapers, finding his real name will just be a matter of time.
There was no benefit to finding it out right now.
'Something like this should turn up quickly if I just do a little digging.'
I closed the news window, turned off the monitor, and stood up from my seat.
“Tae-hyun.”
“Uh... yes! Yes!”
Yoon Tae-hyun, who had been dozing off with his head down, jumped in surprise and wiped the drool from his mouth.
“I'm going to the on-call room to get some shut-eye. Wake me if a patient comes in. Unless it's a patient who looks about to die, handle it yourself.”
“Ah, yes! Please go in! I'll keep watch!”
I trudged toward the on-call room.
Click.
The cramped on-call room, swallowed by darkness.
The creak of the bunk bed.
Without even taking off my white coat, I threw myself onto the bed.
In my head, the image of a madman in blue scrubs lying in the Ministry of Health and Welfare hallway still lingered like an afterimage.
And I couldn't help feeling strange curiosity about what connection that lunatic might have with Medical Director Lee Jae-yoon, whom I'd seen earlier today.
'...Well, I'll know after I sleep and wake up.'
I closed my eyes.