A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 320

61. A Gentleman’s Revenge (5)

First floor, emergency room, trauma surgery team.

Sungmin, arms crossed, glanced sideways at the entrance connecting the hospital interior to the emergency room.

“I’m talking about the neurosurgery department. Have they completely lost their minds these days?”

Sungmin spoke to Jihye, the nurse beside him.

“Why?”

“This isn’t a place for playing games. I asked for a resident with three or more years of experience, and they’re sending a second-year who’s practically a third or fourth-year.”

“…….”

“And to think that came from the department head… The future of neurosurgery is bleak. Very bleak.”

Sungmin lamented, a bitter smile on his face.

Even when Professor Hong was the head.

Even when Professor Hong was just an associate professor.

Surprisingly, even after Professor Hong became a criminal and left the hospital, neurosurgery seemed to be run chaotically.

Of course, he didn’t want to belittle the hard work of the neurosurgery surgeons.

Hard work and efficient work were separate matters.

“Our Sungmin, you only see one side of the coin, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“Neurosurgery is rumored to be doing well these days. They handle emergency room calls right away. The number of surgeries and the success rate have increased significantly, I heard.”

Jihye took neurosurgery’s side.

She, too, was glancing at the emergency room entrance.

“Isn’t that a rumor neurosurgery is spreading themselves? I don’t trust it much.”

“Our department head heard it directly at the department head meeting.”

“They’re usually so bad at their jobs that they look really good even if they do a little well.”

Sungmin shook his head.

Sungmin didn’t believe hearsay. He only believed what he saw with his own eyes. There were too many deceptive stories in the world.

If you believe them too easily,

things will go awry.

Beeep.

Just then, the door opened, and a handsome doctor entered the emergency room.

The name tag around the young man’s neck read Seo Junhoo, Neurosurgery.

Sungmin didn’t like Junhoo’s appearance, which he thought resembled that of a gigolo [male escort].

On the other hand, Jihye’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t take her eyes off Junhoo. It looked like her eyes would turn into hearts if she kept looking.

“Hello. I’m Seo Junhoo from neurosurgery, here to assist.”

“Nice to meet you, Doctor. I’m Cha Jihye.”

“What’s so nice about going to see a patient?” Sungmin scolded Jihye and scanned Junhoo up and down.

He was slender, and Sungmin worried if he could even use his strength properly. Trauma surgery staff had to be strong. Especially today, physical strength and muscle power were even more important because they had to carry the patient on a stretcher and climb a steep mountainside.

“Are you the famous second-year who’s like a third or fourth-year?”

Sungmin asked sarcastically.

“Yes, I am.”

“Then please, live up to your reputation. I hate it when we suffer for nothing and the patient dies.”

“Understood. Please tell me the general situation and initial notification.”

Junhoo asked, and Sungmin calmly replied that thirty minutes ago, a rescue request came through 119 [South Korea’s emergency telephone number, similar to 911]. A hiker had found another hiker who had fallen off a cliff.

“This is the photo.”

Sungmin showed Junhoo the photo taken by the caller on his phone screen. The photo showed a man in his fifties lying sprawled out below a steep slope. The patient’s upper body was stained dark red with blood. His head was turned slightly to the side, and there was a bluish bruise on his temple.

“This patient, he didn’t just fall.”

Sungmin’s eyebrows twitched at Junhoo’s words.

“What makes you say that?”

“His hiking jacket is open, and the shirt underneath is torn and soaked with blood.”

“So what?”

“First of all, it’s not weather to take off your jacket. And it’s strange that there’s bleeding from the abdomen. No matter how I look, I don’t see any sharp objects around.”

Junhoo made eye contact with Sungmin and Jihye alternately, as if seeking agreement. Then he said with a bitter expression, “It seems the patient harmed himself in the abdomen. If you investigate the area later, you’ll find a bloody knife.”

Junhoo’s conclusion spread like ripples on a lake, shaking even Sungmin’s heart. In fact, Sungmin had the same thought as Junhoo. The circumstances strongly suggested a fall, but if you examined the patient carefully, you could find suspicious points. What was surprising was that a fresh second-year resident had reached the same conclusion as him.

Usually, even if the patient had a laceration in the abdomen, they would assume he was stabbed by a sharp branch while falling.

“Oh my. You’re saying the same thing as Sungmin. I guess you really are a second-year who’s like a third or fourth-year?” Jihye said, making a fuss. She seemed to have fallen hard for Junhoo.

“It’s nothing great. Anyone with a good eye can tell.”

“Are you implying I don’t have a good eye?”

“Uh… that’s not what I meant. Let’s get dressed quickly and head out.”

Sungmin changed the subject before Jihye exploded. He took Junhoo to the changing room and got him dressed for the helicopter ride: a high-visibility fluorescent vest, a sturdy-looking fluorescent helmet, and a headset that blocked helicopter noise and enabled communication between staff.

The two hurriedly put on the three-piece set and joined Jihye in the elevator. The noise of the helicopter grew louder as they approached the rooftop where the helicopter was waiting. Their bodies trembled.

“Junhoo.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Have you ever been on a doctor’s helicopter before?”

“No. Today is my first time.”

“Really? You seem quite calm for a first-timer.”

Sungmin tilted his head. Trauma surgery staff considered the helicopter their second home, but other surgeons didn’t. They would be scared to ride the helicopter. They would suddenly complain of headaches, dizziness, or nausea. In contrast, Junhoo was too calm. Sungmin couldn’t figure out if that was Junhoo’s original personality or if he just didn’t have any thoughts.

* * *

The inside of the helicopter was shaking violently. Sungmin and Jihye, sitting across from each other, kept swaying. In particular, Sungmin’s shoulders were slightly asymmetrical, so he looked like he was dancing to the helicopter’s vibrations.

Doo doo doo doo.

Doo doo doo doo.

The propeller noise was deafening. It was like someone was firing a machine gun next to them. Moreover, it was a very windy day. Each time they passed through strong currents, the helicopter’s body would tilt from side to side like a tumbler [a rounded drinking glass].

However, Junhoo was on the helicopter for the first time, but he had no difficulty adapting. He had experienced all kinds of hardships in the Murim world [a fictional world of martial arts and cultivation, common in East Asian fantasy novels]. After adapting, he quickly scanned the items and equipment inside the doctor’s helicopter. He needed to know what was where so he could provide immediate treatment.

‘Surprisingly, they have everything they need.’

Junhoo’s eyes widened as he examined the helicopter: patient monitoring device, defibrillator, various fluids and blood, various injections, including epinephrine [adrenaline], needed in emergency situations, bandages, gauze, and splints, and treatment tools such as scalpels, forceps, and scissors.

As befitting the name of a doctor’s helicopter, the helicopter was packed with items needed for emergency treatment. It seemed like they could do almost anything except surgery.

Junhoo, who had memorized the helicopter’s structure, turned his gaze out the window. The sky was as blue as a lake. Large cumulonimbus clouds guarded both sides of the helicopter as if escorting it. Junhoo leaned closer to the window and looked down at the scenery unfolding below the sky. The helicopter was passing through the city center. The cars and buildings looked smaller than ants.

‘He couldn’t possibly be alive, could he?’

Suddenly, the Murim world’s Jeok Ildo came to mind. Jeok Ildo fell off a cliff after being hit by Junhoo’s family’s technique. At that height, it was natural to die, but he hadn’t confirmed Jeok Ildo’s death with his own eyes. That bothered him. In fact, Junhoo had a desire to return to the Murim world with his modern medical skills and work as a doctor. He could save so many people that way. If it was possible to come from the Murim world to the modern world, wouldn’t it be possible to go from the modern world to the Murim world?

Junhoo had been imagining that for a long time. Of course, he knew that it wasn’t the kind of event that would happen just because he wanted it to.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

Sungmin’s voice came through the headset.

Junhoo stirred as if he had just woken up from a dream.

“Being on a helicopter makes me think of things I wouldn’t normally think of.”

“Why? Are you scared the helicopter will crash?” Sungmin asked, teasingly. Sungmin’s voice was muffled by the roar of the propellers.

“I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of the patient dying.”

“It’s just a saying, why are you saying it so dramatically? Anyone would think we’re special agents being dispatched to the battlefield.”

“I’m originally a serious person.”

Junhoo made a joke in the current style [a modern or trendy way of speaking]. Jihye laughed, and Sungmin turned his head away from Junhoo with a blank expression.

How much time had passed? Blue mountains spread out below the helicopter. They had arrived at the mountain where the patient was waiting. The helicopter landed on a landing site in the middle of the mountain. Junhoo got out of the helicopter and slung the stretcher over his shoulder alone.

“Don’t show off your strength unnecessarily; let’s carry it together. It’ll take at least 10 minutes to get to the top. Do you want to be exhausted before you even see the patient?”

“That’s right, Doctor. Being too enthusiastic is also a problem.”

Sungmin and Jihye tried to stop him, but Junhoo smiled and said he was okay. Junhoo’s physical abilities were unofficially the strongest in humanity. This level of labor couldn’t even be considered labor.

“First of all, it’s important for someone to arrive at the scene first and check on the patient, right?”

“Why are you asking something so obvious?”

“Then I’ll go to the scene first.”

After speaking, Junhoo began to run up the steep mountain path. Stepping on the Qingfeng Step [a martial arts movement technique], the pride of the Seo family, Junhoo was like a gust of wind. Every time Junhoo passed by, the nearby branches swayed from side to side. The blades of grass trembled.

“Dr. Junhoo… what is he…? Is he using some kind of teleportation? I can’t see him at all now?” Jihye, who was following Junhoo with her eyes, said with a dumbfounded expression. Junhoo’s figure had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“Those newbies are always a problem. They think they look cool and strong when they do that.”

“Why are you so busy criticizing Dr. Junhoo since earlier? He’s quite capable and enthusiastic.”

“There’s something about him.”

Sungmin mumbled vaguely and began to climb the steep hill. Every time he saw Junhoo, he was reminded of a medical school classmate, which made him feel uneasy—a guy who was always confident, a guy who liked to take the lead, ended up killing a patient due to his own mistake during a surgery that was beyond his capabilities. Unable to bear the guilt, he quit his residency in his third year.

That’s when Sungmin realized how foolish and dangerous it was to believe that he could control everything. The line between courage and recklessness was always ambiguous. Sungmin was convinced that if you couldn’t clearly distinguish that line, you needed to be cautious in everything you did.

Meanwhile, at the same time, before Sungmin and Jihye even crossed the first hill, Junhoo was able to arrive at the scene.

“Doctor! It’s here! Here!”

A man who appeared to be the hiker who had reported the incident spotted Junhoo and waved his hand vigorously. Junhoo joined the man. He put the stretcher down on the ground and stood in front of the cliff. Below the cliff were jagged and blunt bizarre rocks. The slope was so steep that it seemed impossible to approach without being a professional mountaineer.

The patient was lying sprawled out on a wide, plate-like rock. Even at a glance, his condition looked critical. His face was as white as paper, and his body was motionless. The abdominal bleeding had worsened, and the inner layer of his hiking clothes was covered in blood. It felt like Junhoo could hear the sound of the patient’s life shortening.

“But what should we do…? There’s no way to get down to where that person fell.”

“…….”

“I tried to go down, but the rock surface is incredibly slippery, probably because it rained yesterday.”

The man seemed concerned, as if he were the patient’s guardian. He seemed to be a very compassionate person.

“But we have to go down to save the patient.”

“I’m worried that you might get hurt too, Doctor.”

“Me? Get hurt?”

A smile of amusement appeared on Junhoo’s lips as he asked back.