A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 200

Chapter 37: Reckless (5)

Kyung-soo got up from his chair and stretched.

He rotated his neck and bent at the waist like closing a flip phone.

‘It might be temporary, but…’

The chronic pains he’d been suffering from had vanished, and his body felt refreshed.

His movements felt much easier.

He’d always thought his seniors were exaggerating when they raved about Jun-hoo’s massages.

But after experiencing it himself, he finally understood.

‘He’s a really unique guy, that Jun-hoo.’

Kyung-soo smiled to himself, thinking of Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo had left the on-call room, saying he had some business to take care of.

A guy who works on-call even when he’s not scheduled. A guy who doesn’t feel tired even after working on-call.

A guy with more medical knowledge than his seniors.

A guy who practices breaking *dalgona* [a Korean sugar candy] with a scalpel and perfects it.

A guy who only thinks about patients.

Jun-hoo was a kid who already possessed the character and talent a doctor should have.

Kyung-soo couldn’t, even if he died and came back to life.

No, even if he was reincarnated several times, he didn’t think he could live like Jun-hoo.

Just look at the hostage situation today.

If he were Jun-hoo, he wouldn’t have stepped forward to save Jun-hoo.

The two weren’t particularly close.

Even if they were close…

He wouldn’t have thought of throwing himself into a dangerous situation.

But Kyung-soo learned one thing from Jun-hoo.

That there are people in the world you can trust.

That he could trust and rely on Jun-hoo.

That Jun-hoo’s justice and goodness were not just for show.

Drrr.

Just then, the door opened, and Min-kyung entered the on-call room.

“Senior, aren’t you sleeping?”

“I’m not sleeping; I can’t sleep. I have a case presentation tomorrow.”

Min-kyung rubbed her sleepy eyes and moved to the bookshelf. She began searching for medical books to see if there were any textbooks she needed.

Then, holding the book she needed, she turned to face Kyung-soo.

“You were pretty shaken up today, right? How are you now?”

“I’m fine.”

“If it’s hard, tell me. Holding it in isn’t good for you. Whether it’s your body or your mind, you get sick from holding things in.”

Min-kyung continued, with a worried expression.

“If it’s really hard, should I cover your on-call shift?”

“No, it’s not that bad. But, Senior.”

“Why?”

“I’m sorry for being so prickly all this time. You’ve been looking out for me in many ways, but I think I’ve always been too cold.”

Kyung-soo said, bowing his head slightly.

When he opened his heart to Jun-hoo, he started to see things differently.

He realized that he had been viewing the world and his relationships too narrowly and defensively.

Min-kyung, for one, was someone who genuinely cared about him.

But Kyung-soo had treated her like a stranger.

“Oh? Why are you acting so unlike yourself?”

“Something happened that changed my perspective. I’ve been thinking a lot since that incident.”

“Being a cold city guy was part of your charm. It’s a shame.”

Kyung-soo chuckled at Min-kyung’s joke.

“But why are you standing instead of sitting?”

“I got a massage from Jun-hoo and moved my body a bit, and it feels amazing.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have gotten one when I told you to. I even switched my off days with Jun-hoo to get massage tickets.”

“It’s definitely worth it.”

“Looks like one more rival has appeared.”

“I might have an advantage over you, Senior. I spend more time in the on-call room.”

“Maybe. Good work, and call me right away if you’re having a hard time or if any problems arise.”

“Yes, Senior.”

As he watched Min-kyung head towards the on-call room door, Kyung-soo suddenly thought of something.

“Hey, Senior. Just a moment.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Do you want to use this? It’s really effective.”

Kyung-soo hurriedly rummaged through his desk drawer and handed Min-kyung a herbal patch.

It was something Kyung-soo usually used for aches and pains.

Min-kyung stared intently at Kyung-soo and the patch he had handed her, then smiled softly.

She realized that Kyung-soo had opened his heart to her.

And that he wanted to give her something as a token of it.

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

* * *

1 AM that night, in the conference room.

Si-ho and Min-kyung were sitting across from each other at a round table, working on their laptops.

Both of them had case presentations the next day.

A case presentation was when you presented the case of a patient you had studied to the professors during the morning conference.

It was part of the resident evaluation.

And if the content was sloppy, you would be bombarded by questions by the professors, so you had to prepare diligently.

“Haaa.”

Min-kyung covered her mouth and yawned quietly. She didn’t want to show Si-ho her yawning.

“You’re tired, aren’t you?”

“A little.”

“It’s more than a little, isn’t it? You’ve been really busy because people were gone for the seminar.”

Si-ho looked at Min-kyung with his signature gentle smile.

It was a smile that Min-kyung liked.

Most of the female staff in the ward or who frequented the ward liked Jun-hoo, but…

Min-kyung liked Si-ho more.

Si-ho had a vulnerability that Jun-hoo didn’t have.

He seemed less self-assured, making you want to protect him.

Of course, Si-ho wasn’t actually a weak person.

Si-ho was the ace of neurosurgery, with strong stamina and mental fortitude, and the professors were keeping a close eye on him.

“Senior, you must be tired too after coming back from the seminar.”

“Tired? I just sat there.”

“I actually get more tired from sitting still. It feels like I have ants in my pants.”

“That might be the case for you, Min-kyung. Should we have a cheers?”

Si-ho held out his tumbler filled with coffee.

Min-kyung also held up her tumbler.

After clinking her tumbler against Si-ho’s, she took a sip of coffee.

Was it because she felt like she was on a date alone with Si-ho?

The black coffee tasted sweet.

“Oh, right, I saw a circle marked on the on-call room calendar for this Friday? Is there something going on?”

“Ah… that? I switched my off day with Jun-hoo.”

“Jun-hoo is off on Friday?”

“Yes. He must have *matchwoda* [made plans] for his date with Ah-young. He’s going on dates when even you can’t, Senior. He’s slacking off. Slacking off.”

“I see. Jun-hoo is off on Friday.”

Si-ho nodded, wearing a strange expression.

“I shouldn’t be saying this, but don’t you feel any jealousy towards Jun-hoo, Senior?”

“Why would I?”

“You were originally the ace of neurosurgery. But Jun-hoo is catching up so fast…”

If a junior is better than a senior…

The senior would naturally feel uncomfortable and resentful towards the junior.

At first, Min-kyung also felt that way towards Jun-hoo.

Now that she knew Jun-hoo was so kind and good-natured, and the difference in ability was so great, she had given up her jealousy.

“I’m rather grateful if there’s someone better than me because there’s something to see and learn from that person.”

“Wow, you’re such a magnanimous person, Senior.”

“Not that magnanimous. I’ll be right back, going to the restroom.”

After Si-ho left…

Min-kyung immersed herself in the case study again. But after 10 minutes, Si-ho hadn’t returned, and she felt strange.

‘Could his stomach be hurting a lot?’

Drrr.

Min-kyung got up from her seat and headed towards the conference room door.

She opened the door and looked down the hallway.

Just then, Si-ho was coming out of a patient room.

She felt puzzled that Si-ho, who had said he was going to the restroom, was coming out of a patient room.

But Min-kyung went back to her seat, thinking it was nothing.

Si-ho had been voluntarily making rounds in the ward since his first year.

* * *

At the same time.

Jun-hoo had infiltrated the thoracic surgery on-call room. He was sitting face to face with Ah-young, chatting.

When Jun-hoo was on-call, Ah-young would go to the neurosurgery on-call room.

When Ah-young was on-call, Jun-hoo would go to the thoracic surgery on-call room. It had now become a natural date routine.

If they didn’t do this, it would be difficult to see each other even once a week.

The date time was usually about 1 to 2 hours.

Any longer than that could interfere with work.

While dating, Jun-hoo began to enjoy everyday conversations with Ah-young.

He shared the trivial thoughts and feelings he had during the day.

It was a change that hadn’t existed before.

In the past, Jun-hoo only knew medicine and patients.

He treated everything else as secondary.

But now, Jun-hoo knew that most of the experiences that made up a day were trivial and that he was the one creating those trivial things.

“But you’re still leaving out that story?”

“What story?”

“The hostage situation today. I heard you ran at the hostage-taker to save your colleague?”

Ah-young, who was sitting across from him, finally brought up the topic.

From Jun-hoo’s perspective, who had mastered martial arts, it was a very natural and safe action.

But Ah-young wouldn’t have seen it that way.

She would have felt like her beloved had jumped into a fire.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I brought it up to praise you for doing well, on the contrary.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah.”

Jun-hoo tilted his head, surprised by Ah-young’s reaction.

“I believe you had your reasons for doing that, Jun-hoo. I believe that.”

“……”

“And I got help because you stepped up like that. So I can’t say anything.”

Ah-young suddenly brought up a story from her school days.

On the day of the college entrance exam in her senior year of high school, Ah-young was about to faint from hyperventilation, and Jun-hoo had saved her by using a plastic bag.

“I thought I was going to get a big scolding, but it turned out like this?”

“My heart is usually this broad. Do you get it now?”

“Of course. I only have eyes for you, Miss, now and forever.”

Ah-young giggled as Jun-hoo joked around. She took a bite of the cream bread she was holding.

“Jun-hoo.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Someday, when you’re in danger or need help, I’ll be sure to protect you by your side, even if it costs me my life.”

“Isn’t that getting too dramatic all of a sudden?”

“I know, but I really wanted to say that.”

“Don’t say things like sacrificing your life. It’s bad luck.”

Jun-hoo shook his head.

If he lost Ah-young on top of losing Sung-ho, Jun-hoo would be devastated.

He felt like he would never be able to get up again.

“Did I overdo it?”

“To a serious extent. But does the date have to be there?”

Jun-hoo asked, looking at the calendar hanging on the wall of the thoracic surgery on-call room.

He had a date with Ah-young in two days, on Friday, but the problem was the date location.

There were so many good places, but why did the date have to be there…

“It has to be there. Doesn’t it have some meaning?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s okay. You’ll know even if you don’t know.”

Jun-hoo, who had many sins(?) against Ah-young, just nodded.

If Ah-young wanted to, he would have to do it. There were so many things he hadn’t been able to do for her.

“Then I’ll plan the afternoon date schedule.”

“Really? Can I trust you with it?”

“Of course.”

“Ugh… such a corny joke. I’m already getting anxious.”

Ah-young shuddered and took another bite of the cream bread. Like a bread lover, Ah-young only insisted on bread as a late-night snack when she was on-call.

“You have cream on your mouth.”

“This is the *Yonsei* Milk Cream Bread that’s popular these days. I think I eat two a day. It’s full of cream, so it gets on my mouth often.”

“I’ll wipe it off for you.”

Jun-hoo got up from his seat.

He took a tissue from the tissue box on the desk and approached Ah-young.

And while pretending to wipe Ah-young’s mouth with the tissue…

He kissed Ah-young.