Chapter 69
On the last day of February.
The emergency medicine residents’ room was in chaos.
The fourth-year residents, who had endured four years, were finally preparing to leave.
From the lockers spilled a stale, four-year-old stench, along with worn textbooks, knockoff Crocs, and bottles of unidentified supplements.
I watched the scene quietly from my seat.
It was bittersweet.
Just then, Yoo Seong-hoon came over to me carrying a large delivery box.
“Hey, hey, can you see this?”
What Seong-hoon proudly unfolded was a freshly delivered white coat, emblazoned with the blue logo of Oseong Seoul Hospital.
“This is the Oseong coat. It got delivered yesterday. The fit's killer, right?”
Seong-hoon slipped it on and awkwardly tried to show it off.
“Yes, yes. Too much bragging is bad for you, Dr. Yoo Seong-hoon. You're so dazzling I can't open my eyes.”
“Oh? Look at you, punk. So now that I'm going to another hospital, you're treating me like a stranger? That hurts.”
At the joke, I waved him off.
“Haha, of course not. I'm congratulating you. You're going to the best hospital in Korea.”
“Ugh, anyway…”
Seong-hoon awkwardly took the coat off and put it back in the box.
Then, back to his usual detached expression, he gave my shoulder a light tap.
“You worked hard. If someone like you had come around on my shifts more often, my life would've been a lot easier.”
“Come on, from here on out I'm the one who's going to be suffering, Doctor.”
“Still, first-years have it the hardest. If you got through that, you'll get through the rest somehow. Sink or swim.”
And just like that, my brief goodbye with Yoo Seong-hoon was over.
Yoo Seong-hoon carried the box and left the residents’ room.
Through the window, I could see Yoo Seong-hoon pause in front of the Emergency Medical Center sign.
Seong-hoon then pulled his hand from his pocket and gently traced the words 'Regional Emergency Medical Center.'
His face held a mix of relief and lingering feelings.
I was getting sentimental watching him when a booming voice grabbed me by the collar from behind.
“Hyun-jae!”
It was Lee Min-jae.
“What about me! Aren't you going to say goodbye to me?”
...You're the one staying, though.
“Yes… well… uh… I suppose I'll still be greeting you fairly often, Doctor.”
At my thoroughly reasonable answer, Lee Min-jae looked like the world had collapsed.
“Hyun-jae! I thought you and I—we were comrades who shared blood and sweat and a burning heart in this ER! And yet you're trying to end our relationship with nothing but such a businesslike greeting! This behavior is truly disappointing!”
...I really couldn't figure this guy out.
If he'd put even half that passion into studying, he'd already have been number one in the country.
I heard he ranked fifth nationwide.
“Anyway, take care of me from here on out! As of today, I'm not your fourth-year senior anymore! I'm Clinical Instructor Lee Min-jae! Hahaha!!”
Fellow.
He had become this awkward middle ground between professor and resident.
“Ah… yes… fellow—no, congratulations on starting the clinical instructor program….”
I reluctantly shook his hand and offered forced congratulations.
***
A moment later, Yoo Seong-hoon and Lee Min-jae exchanged their final goodbyes in front of the main gate.
“Hey, sad to see me go? If you're that sad, you should've stayed too. Come on.”
Lee Min-jae teased him shamelessly.
“Cut the crap. I'm heading back to Seoul as soon as I can. You can stay here and bury your bones.”
Yoo Seong-hoon shot back and climbed into the taxi without hesitation.
I watched the whole scene from a little distance away with a snort of laughter.
Those who leave.
Those who stay.
And me, watching them and waiting for my turn.
Even in the ER, there was at least a faint smell of everyday life.
***
And so the first-year winter passed, and a new March dawned.
The atmosphere in the ER had changed subtly.
The new chief resident was Choi Su-min.
And Lee Min-jae….
“Hyun-jae!!! Good morning!!!”
Lee Min-jae, who burst through the residents’ room door, still looked exactly the same.
Only his title had changed.
“A clinical instructor's morning is different from a resident's morning right down to the density of the air!!! Do you feel it? This scent of freedom!”
Lee Min-jae shouted with both arms spread wide.
He didn't seem any different from his days as a fourth-year chief resident.
He was still loud.
Still chaotic.
Still excessive.
Well, becoming a specialist didn't seem to change a person's essence all that much.
A new March.
The hospital was packed with new faces.
New interns with dazed eyes, and new residents with the same expression I'd had last year, fresh off shedding their intern badges and taking on the new rank of resident.
And one thing had changed, the most important of all.
My position had changed, just a little.
“All right, you've probably heard the basic rundown already.”
Now a fourth-year, Han Jae-eon said with his arms crossed in front of the newly minted first-years, who stood frozen with pale faces.
“These recruits were all interns at our hospital, so they'll probably adapt a little better. We don't need to teach them the basics like the hospital layout or how to use the EMR, right?”
“Yes!”
“Good.”
Han Jae-eon nodded, looking satisfied.
“From now on, the person who'll mainly teach you, chew you out, and guide you is the person sitting over there, Dr. Han Hyun-jae. If you have any questions, ask Dr. Han first, no matter what.”
“Huh?”
I nearly choked on my coffee at the sudden nomination.
“Well, you're also the senior right above them by a year, and there were a lot of rumors about you last year, too—like you were preparing for double-board certification in internal medicine on your own and whatnot….”
“No, Doctor, that's just a baseless rumor…”
I tried to explain, but Han Jae-eon casually brushed me off.
“But you really do have a lot upstairs. I don't know why you study so hard on your own. Sometimes you even make better diagnoses than seniors like us. Anyway, you've got a sharp brain, so if you don't know something, ask for advice often.”
“Haha… you're too kind….”
I laughed awkwardly.
Baek Eun-seo's eyes lit up with admiration.
Please don't look at me like that.
“And you all know about his legendary rumors, right?”
A devilish smile spread across Han Jae-eon's lips.
“In the ER resuscitation room, while supposedly doing damage control, he was about to cut open a patient's belly….”
“Aah, Doctor!! Enough with the old stories already!!”
I almost screamed as I cut Han Jae-eon off.
Han Jae-eon laughed heartily, as if my desperate reaction was hilarious.
“Sure, sure. Since Hyun-jae doesn't like it, I'll stop here. Anyway, you're truly blessed. You've got a genius just one year above you. Go brag about him to your classmates in other departments.”
'Stop calling me a genius already, you old man….'
I wailed inwardly.
I couldn't help wondering how much more that word genius was going to wear me down throughout residency.
“Anyway! Ask Dr. Han Hyun-jae here for the rest of the details. I'm off!”
Han Jae-eon dumped all the responsibility on me and coolly left the residents’ room.
“Fourth-years are busy, you know!”
I let out a deep sigh.
'You haven't really changed that much from a year ago either… What exactly makes you so busy just because you're a fourth-year, strutting off like that….'
I was about to curse Han Jae-eon's retreating back in my head, then stopped.
But what could I do?
That guy's gone, and the responsibility of leading these poor little lambs has fallen entirely to me.
I was practically forced to lead the ER newbie orientation.
Your clothes, hair, shoes, and socks all get soaked…
Ah, not that kind of tour.
“Let's head to the station first. The EMR account you used as interns should have changed today—have you tried logging in with the new one?”
“Ah, no. Not yet….”
“Try it right now. Since today is your first official day on the job, your prescribing privileges and everything else are probably already unlocked. We need to check that first.”
I pointed to the two computers in the corner of the station.
Baek Eun-seo and Park Seong-jeong hurriedly logged in with their staff IDs.
The familiar EMR interface popped up on the screen.
“Uh… there are 13 minutes left until clock-in, so let's check the most basic things before then.”
I pointed at the monitor at my seat and called over the interns—no, the first-years.
“Look at the screen. It's quiet now, but a new patient will come in soon… Ah, someone just checked in. Once triage is done like that, you can roughly see it here, right? The patient's name, age, and chief complaint appear on the left-side patient list monitor.”
I pointed to the refreshed patient list on the screen.
“But this is only the nurse's first-pass classification; it's not officially confirmed in the system yet. So after we see the patient, we have to enter the diagnosis and KTAS triage level one by one into the EMR chart. If you don't do this right, the patient's out-of-pocket costs can get seriously messed up, and if you don't want to get buried under a mountain of complaints, you absolutely have to check it properly. Okay?”
I opened the charting screen and showed them the diagnosis entry window.
“See the KTAS classification at the top of the diagnosis code field here? When you enter the main diagnosis, don't forget to include this as well, right alongside it.”
“Yes!”
With the basic handover done, the three of us sat side by side in the station chairs.
Oddly enough, no new patients had come in yet.
I was the one who broke the awkward silence.
“Right, Seong-jeong.”
I looked at Park Seong-jeong, who was sitting beside me.
“I've got a personal question.”
“Yes, Doctor?”
“Why did you come to emergency medicine? I'm really curious. You know what I did to you, right?”
Park Seong-jeong hesitated for a moment, then gave a very honest, very practical answer.
“Uh… well… work-life balance.”
“Work-life balance?”
“Yes. The seniors around me said emergency medicine has clear start and end times, so life after work is at least somewhat guaranteed. They said you can clock out on the dot….”
I was speechless for a moment after hearing that answer.
That's so MZ.
Of course, I'm MZ too.
Just then, Baek Eun-seo, sitting beside us, chimed in brightly.
“By the way, Dr. Han. The ER is a lot quieter than I expected. There aren't even any patients, and…”
At that moment.
I tried to cover Baek Eun-seo's mouth with every reflex I had.
“B… Baek Eun!”
Almost at the same instant, the last syllable—'and'—came out.
Ring-ring-ring-ring-ring—!
Too late.
The station phone started ringing.
I facepalmed.
I should have taught them the ER's biggest taboo first.
Then a nurse nearby picked up the receiver.
“Yes, this is Cheongjin University Hospital's emergency room.”