A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 77

The Future (2)

“Do we really need to go that far? Aren’t you making too big of a deal out of this?”

Ah-young spoke to Jun-hoo in a low voice, so the patient and their guardian couldn’t overhear.

The patient had already received a diagnosis, treatment, and prescription from another orthopedic clinic.

The problem was the severe pain, but that could be managed by prescribing additional painkillers.

But still…

Was it really necessary to remove the cast?

If there were no issues after removing the cast, it would have to be put back on.

In the process, the patient and guardian might suspect that they were trying to get more money for the cast.

In Ah-young’s view, Jun-hoo’s actions seemed to have more disadvantages than advantages.

“There’s something I want to check. Just in case.”

Jun-hoo also replied in a low voice.

However, there was no sign of backing down in Jun-hoo’s eyes.

It was the same look he had when he struggled to treat Ah-young on the day she took the college entrance exam.

Jun-hoo with that look could not be stopped.

“Okay. Jun-hoo, you must have something in mind.”

“Thanks for understanding. I’ll tell you the details after removing the cast.”

Ah-young nodded and moved to the station.

She started looking for an orthopedic grinder in the treatment room.

Ah-young’s doubts had not yet disappeared.

Why was Jun-hoo so desperately trying to remove the cast?

Would anything change by removing the cast?

The patient was just a simple fracture patient.

“Nurse, there’s an orthopedic on-call request. Can you take it for a moment?”

Ah-young was about to return after finding the grinder.

A nurse spoke to her.

Ah-young agreed and answered the phone instead.

“Emergency Room.”

-I’m the orthopedic on-call doctor. Is Jun-hoo there?

“Yes. He’s examining a patient.”

-Still? He should just prescribe painkillers and come up. Why is he taking so long?

The orthopedic on-call doctor had a similar reaction to Ah-young.

It was a reaction that it was difficult to understand Jun-hoo’s actions.

If you had to divide between normal and abnormal, it seemed like Jun-hoo was on the abnormal side.

-Jun-hoo, what are you doing right now?

“He said he wants to remove the cast and check something.”

-Wow, that’s spectacular. He might get cursed at by the patient if he’s not careful. They might think he’s deliberately removing it to get more money for the cast.

“I’m worried about that too, but I can’t stop him.”

-Okay, I understand. Please tell Jun-hoo to come to the on-call room as soon as he finishes the examination.

“Yes, I understand.”

After ending the call, Ah-young went back to Jun-hoo.

She handed Jun-hoo the grinder.

She didn’t intentionally convey the on-call doctor’s message.

She didn’t want Jun-hoo’s mind to be disturbed.

“Thank you.”

Jun-hoo received the grinder that Ah-young handed him.

“Doctor, what are you doing now? Are you perhaps trying to remove the cast?”

The guardian asked the question that Ah-young wanted to ask first.

The guardian seemed to have sensed something unusual.

“There is something we need to check after removing the cast, the full cast that is.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you after I check it, as you may feel uneasy.”

Jun-hoo persuaded the guardian and used the grinder.

Zhiiiiiing.

Zhiiiiiing.

The loud noise, making it hard to tell whether this was an emergency room or a woodworking shop, spread around.

The high-speed rotating blade began to cut through the cast.

Clear lines formed on the cast according to the direction the blade passed. Pieces of the cast also flew in all directions.

Ah-young watched the cast removal process with great tension.

She was worried that Jun-hoo might put the blade in too deep and injure the patient.

The grinder was so powerful that flesh could be torn off if something went wrong.

But it was all for naught.

Jun-hoo’s handling of the grinder was skillful.

There seemed to be no fear, hesitation, or doubt.

He was just going straight, upright, like Jun-hoo’s personality.

‘He’s only been working in orthopedics for a few days…’

‘How is he so skilled?’

‘Does it even make sense for an intern to use a grinder?’

Jun-hoo was showing treatment skills that exceeded his rank again today.

Well, that was Jun-hoo’s charm.

Giving a sense of security as if he is always further and higher than herself, even though he is by her side.

During the smooth removal process.

Ah-young suddenly looked at the patient’s face.

Maybe it was her imagination, but the patient’s face looked much paler than before.

It felt like all the blood had drained away.

She also seemed to be having trouble supporting her body.

It didn’t seem like he was doing this because he was scared of the grinder…

Maybe Jun-hoo really was seeing something that Ah-young couldn’t see.

* * *

Crack.

The cast that was wrapped around the patient’s leg split in half like a watermelon.

Jun-hoo used the grinder to create a suitable gap in the cast.

He put his hand into the gap and tore the cast left and right. It was an action that only Jun-hoo, who possessed superhuman strength, could do.

Thud!

The heavy cast fell to the floor.

Jun-hoo even removed the bandage that was wrapped around the patient’s leg.

Then, the patient’s swollen left shin was revealed.

‘As expected, the reaction isn’t good.’

Jun-hoo looked at the expressions of the patient and guardian in turn and smiled bitterly.

‘Why make things so complicated?’

…was written on their faces.

Jun-hoo couldn’t have not known.

That what the patient and guardians wanted was a painkiller.

A confirmation that there was nothing wrong with the fracture site.

However, if he read an ominous sign, he couldn’t just let it go.

Jun-hoo of the Murim [martial arts world] had lost a precious colleague due to such indifference.

Yang Cheon-woon.

He was a bastard son of the Yang family and a close friend he had met at the Murim Alliance training hall.

At the time, Yang Cheon-woon was being harassed by people from the Namgung family.

Jun-hoo often intervened between the two to stop the harassment, but there was a clear limit.

Their activity groups were different.

-Did those guys harass you again today? Should I go and argue with them?

-No, it’s okay. It seems to be resolved well.

Yang Cheon-woon replied with a smile.

-How? There’s no way those nasty guys would have easily turned over a new leaf?

Jun-hoo asked, puzzled.

-You’ll find out tomorrow. I don’t know why I had such a hard time until now when there was such a good method.

Jun-hoo was relieved by Yang Cheon-woon’s answer.

He didn’t know the specific method, but it seemed that Yang Cheon-woon had solved the problem himself.

But that shouldn’t have been the case.

He shouldn’t have let Yang Cheon-woon go so easily.

Jun-hoo should have asked one more time what the method of overcoming the harassment was.

The next day morning.

Yang Cheon-woon was found hanging in the Murim Alliance training hall.

The method of preventing harassment was none other than taking his own life.

Ah…

If he had paid a little more attention to Yang Cheon-woon, he could have prevented the tragedy…

He could have saved his friend with his own hands…

Jun-hoo was consumed with regret and self-blame.

-Seo Jun-hoo, it’s not your fault. Thanks to you, Cheon-woon was able to hold on until now.

-That’s right. If you’re going to blame someone, you should blame the Namgung family thugs.

The comfort of his peers did not reach Jun-hoo’s heart.

Every word was right, but it was also true that Yang Cheon-woon’s future could have changed depending on Jun-hoo’s actions.

Maybe that’s when it started.

Jun-hoo struggled not to miss even the slightest actions, words, or emotions of others.

That way, he wouldn’t miss someone he could have saved with his own hands, like Yang Cheon-woon.

In that sense, the patient in front of him was similar to Yang Cheon-woon.

His colleagues seemed to think that the patient had a simple fracture and was suffering from sensitive pain…

Jun-hoo’s thoughts were a little different.

He read several ominous signs from the patient that he had felt from Yang Cheon-woon in the past.

If Jun-hoo’s prediction was correct.

The patient might have to undergo emergency surgery.

Of course, Jun-hoo’s prediction could be wrong.

It could just be that Jun-hoo was being overly sensitive.

But that didn’t matter.

If the patient was safe, he could relax his mind in his own way.

He wasn’t even afraid of being criticized for over-treatment.

What Jun-hoo was really afraid of was missing a critical patient right in front of his eyes.

It was writhing in regret and self-blame after missing the patient.

Now, let’s check it out.

Whether my guess is right or wrong.

Either way, it’s a win-win fight for me.

If Jun-hoo’s guess is correct, the patient will be able to save his leg with emergency surgery.

If Jun-hoo’s guess is wrong, the patient will be healthy.

From Jun-hoo’s point of view, it was something to welcome with both hands.

“Patient, can you move your left leg slightly?”

“Yes. Huh?”

The patient tilted his head as he followed Jun-hoo’s instructions.

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“It feels like my leg is moving well. Does it feel like something is hardened?”

“How does it feel this time?”

Jun-hoo gently poked the patient’s shin area with his index finger.

“I’m not sure. I think my sense has dulled.”

The patient’s reaction was 180 degrees different from before. The patient seemed to think that he was strange.

“Doctor, I suddenly feel dizzy. I didn’t feel like this before, why is this happening?”

“Can I get a CT or MRI scan? I only took an X-ray at the local hospital.”

The guardian, who had been silent, asked Jun-hoo with a worried expression.

“No. There is a high probability that the patient is suffering from a disease that cannot be confirmed with CT or MRI.”

“What is that?”

“We’ll have to check it out now.”

After finishing his answer, Jun-hoo gently placed his hand on the swelling of the patient’s shin.

He infused internal energy drawn from his dantian [energy center in the body, according to traditional Chinese medicine].

He attempted an examination with internal energy prior to a medical examination.

He would rather have a normal finding.

He would rather be criticized for over-treatment.

Jun-hoo prayed earnestly in his heart, but the situation was leaning towards Jun-hoo’s concerns being correct.

Woo woong.

Woo woong.

The internal energy that spread from his palm permeated into the patient’s fracture site.

The surgery that Jun-hoo performs with internal energy is a type of pressure test.

It was a test to check how much pressure the nerve and blood vessel tissues around the injured area were receiving.

Generally, pressure is measured by inserting a needle, but Jun-hoo attempted an internal energy test first.

Ha…

Is this how it’s going to end up?

Jun-hoo’s brow narrowed and wrinkles formed on his forehead.

A tight pressure was felt in the internal energy that had permeated near the fracture site.

It felt like something was tightly squeezing the internal energy.

“Ah-young, can you bring me a portable compartment pressure gauge?”

“…Compartment pressure gauge? Could it be…”

Ah-young’s face turned pale.

She guessed the patient’s disease through the use of the compartment pressure gauge.

“That’s right.”

“…Okay. I’ll bring it right away.”

Ah-young disappeared like lightning and returned like lightning.

She brought back a compartment pressure gauge and a dressing cart.

Jun-hoo disinfected the area around the patient’s shin and inserted the needle of the compartment pressure gauge.

Poohook.

The gauge of the compartment pressure gauge, which looked like an old cassette tape, began to increase rapidly.

The patient’s shin compartment pressure was a whopping 50mmHg.

The guardian and patient were bewildered because they didn’t know what that meant, but Jun-hoo and Ah-young knew the meaning all too well.

“Can you notify orthopedics? Tell them we need to operate right away.”

Ah-young nodded and left her seat once again, as if she didn’t have time to answer.

Sensing an unusual sign, the guardian asked.

“Doctor, what’s going on? Why does my son have to have surgery?”

“…”

“He just hurt his knee while playing soccer. Isn’t it just painful because his bone is broken?”

The guardian asked as if he felt wronged.

It’s about time to reveal the truth.

Jun-hoo parted his lips with difficulty.

“The disease that the patient is suffering from is…”