A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 418

Chapter 81: Medical Company Commander (4)

That afternoon, in the company commander’s office.

Yellow sunlight streamed through the gap in the drawn curtains by the window.

The time was already 5:30 PM.

It was almost time to go home.

The advantage of being a medical officer was this.

Especially for surgery residents, they could leave work on time, something they couldn’t do in the hospital, and enjoy their own time.

Tap, tap, tap.

Seated at his desk, Jun-hoo began to write something.

It was a list of the patients he had seen that day.

A total of 10 patients.

There wasn’t a single patient who made Jun-hoo nervous or sent chills down his spine.

It was the change of seasons, so there were many patients with colds.

Next were patients complaining of orthopedic issues, mainly neck and back pain.

Following them were patients complaining of skin conditions, abdominal pain, and so on.

Among them, there were also two patients requiring outside referrals.

An outside referral meant sending patients who were difficult to treat at the unit to the division medical unit or a Korean rehabilitation hospital for treatment.

Outside referrals were said to occur twice a week.

‘Is this why people become complacent?’

Jun-hoo stroked his chin with one hand as he examined the list.

The biggest reason why medical officers provided subpar care was their own laziness, but the second reason might be that emergency patients rarely appeared.

Because patients didn’t have any major illnesses.

(This was because soldiers are mostly healthy young men in their early 20s. If they had serious illnesses, it would have been difficult for them to be drafted into the military in the first place.)

Treatment became lax.

And because they provided treatment with a lax attitude, they made the mistake of casually overlooking patients they shouldn’t have.

He felt that various medical accidents and problems that arose in the military had that kind of characteristic.

‘I can’t be like that.’

Jun-hoo lightly tapped his cheek.

He wasn’t the type to be careless from the start.

Even so, he resolved to maintain his keen senses.

Humans were fragile.

They broke down.

They got hurt.

And there were countless cases of people dying in the blink of an eye.

Who would have imagined that Sung-ho *hyung* [older brother or close male friend] would be in a car accident and fall into a coma?

After finishing the list.

Suddenly, his forearm began to tingle.

Jun-hoo quickly rolled up the sleeves of both combat uniform tops.

It was difficult to find normal blood vessels.

Most of them were a mess.

They were swollen and bluish.

This was because the medics had been practicing IV insertions on Jun-hoo’s blood vessels.

They probably had a hard time.

Jun-hoo’s forearms were thick, clear, and prominent, but he used his inner energy to shrink the blood vessels.

When the medics tried to insert the IV.

He subtly moved the blood vessels.

– Huh? Huh? The blood vessels are moving subtly, Company Commander?

– It feels like the blood vessels are bouncing the needle off. I’ve never experienced this before…

Jun-hoo chuckled as he recalled the medics’ bewildered reactions back then.

He had deliberately played tricks to toughen up the medics.

The best treatment that could be provided at the medical unit.

That was inserting IV lines and giving injections.

So, if they couldn’t properly handle these two things, the medical unit was as good as useless.

In other words, to fulfill its value.

It could be interpreted as meaning that they had to succeed in inserting an IV no matter what kind of patient came.

It was okay when Jun-hoo was at the medical unit, but after he left work, the medics had to treat the soldiers.

Jun-hoo sat at his desk.

And began to circulate the Clear Breeze Mind Method.

Inhales and exhales came and went.

As natural true energy permeated his body, turbid energy escaped to the outside.

True energy was divided and moved to two places: the Mana Heart and the Danjeon [energy center in the body, often associated with traditional medicine and martial arts].

Each place was filled with pure energy and spread to the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Subtle Meridians.

A cool energy like an autumn breeze.

Swept from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet.

How much time had passed?

Jun-hoo opened his eyes and looked down at his forearm.

His forearm, which had been as terrible as that of a drug addict, had returned to normal before he knew it.

He had used the natural healing technique of the Clear Breeze Mind Method.

If he said that his blood vessels had returned to normal in a day, he would be suspected.

It seemed like he should offer his forearm to the medics again in two days.

Beeeeeep.

The phone rang just in time.

Jun-hoo’s eyes widened as he checked the number.

He naturally thought it was Ah-young’s call.

Because they had made dinner plans after work.

But it was a completely unexpected person who had called.

“Yes. Hello?”

Jun-hoo answered the phone.

* * *

Knock, knock, knock.

A voice told him to come in after he knocked.

Jun-hoo entered the regimental commander’s office.

The regimental commander’s office was on a different level than the company commander’s office. First of all, the square footage alone was almost three times larger.

A table and leather sofa for receiving guests were placed in the center, and various tactical books were꽂혀 [꽂혀 is likely a typo and should be ‘placed’] on the bookshelf.

Unit maps and operation plans were attached to the walls, and a whiteboard for meetings was also provided here.

“Unity.”

Jun-hoo saluted the regimental commander with appropriate military discipline.

The regimental commander, who was sitting on the sofa, raised his hand and returned Jun-hoo’s salute.

The regimental commander’s name was Seo Cheol-soon.

His rank was colonel.

The regimental commander was the highest commander who commanded the regiment to which Jun-hoo belonged and was an officer who controlled the three battalions belonging to the regiment.

In short, Cheol-soon looked like a soldier.

His skin was dark, and he had many wrinkles on his forehead and face.

His jawline was sharp.

His eyes were slender and sharp.

He looked to be in his 50s. His hair was streaked with gray, and he had quite a few gray hairs.

“Sit there.”

“Yes.”

As Jun-hoo sat on the opposite sofa, Cheol-soon looked him up and down as if he were exploring.

“I heard you came to the military late, but you look quite young?”

“Looking young is more of a problem.”

Jun-hoo answered comfortably.

He had been briefed that medical officers did not need to add ‘sir’ to the end of their sentences, even to superiors.

“Isn’t it good to look young?”

“If you look young, you also look like you don’t have much experience. It’s less so now, but if I become a professor later and see outpatients, I might be ignored.”

“Hmm… that might be true.”

Cheol-soon nodded and changed the subject.

“Today was your first day at work, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’d like to hear your brief thoughts.”

“Instead of thoughts, can I tell you my resolution?”

“A grand resolution? Let’s hear it.”

Cheol-soon’s eyes sparkled as if he were intrigued.

“I want to do my best so that all the soldiers in the unit can be discharged healthily.”

Cheol-soon frowned at Jun-hoo’s confident answer.

Was he thinking that the answer was too unrealistic?

Or was he displeased that he was just paying lip service?

The reason was unknown.

“You have a sense of duty as a medical officer. I like that.”

“You were frowning, but you’re saying nice things?”

“Ah. That’s…”

Cheol-soon frowned again.

“I think I have a toothache these days. The left side of my cheekbone is throbbing. It sometimes twitches. I’ve already made a dental appointment anyway.”

“I see.”

Jun-hoo smiled ambiguously.

Dentistry wasn’t Jun-hoo’s specialty.

“Fortunately, it seems that your goal and my goal coincide.”

“…”

“I have a promotion review this year? If I do well, I might be able to get rid of this damn rose of Sharon and get a star [earn a promotion to general].”

Cheol-soon pointed to the rose of Sharon insignia on his shoulder straps and continued.

“Do you know what’s most important when getting promoted?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s that there are no accidents in the unit.”

Cheol-soon’s explanation continued.

Unit accidents meant accidents that happened to people.

He added that this included someone getting seriously injured or dying.

“You’re saying my role is important.”

“I like that you’re quick on the uptake.”

Cheol-soon nodded, smiling contentedly.

“I can take care of things like hazing or bullying in the unit, but there’s nothing I can do about the health of the soldiers.”

“…”

“So you have to do well. In that sense, I will fully support you. Tell me if you need anything.”

If it were another medical officer, they might have been happy to hear Cheol-soon’s words, as if they had gained a great ally.

Because the regimental commander, the highest-ranking officer in the unit, had declared that he would support them.

But this was a double-edged sword.

The moment Jun-hoo was negligent or failed in patient care.

The blade that had been protecting Jun-hoo would fly towards Jun-hoo’s neck.

But Jun-hoo didn’t care.

He just had to manage the soldiers so well that they couldn’t find fault with him even if they wanted to.

Jun-hoo had the ability to do that.

He could perform various tests and treatments through internal energy and martial arts without going to the division medical unit or a Korean rehabilitation hospital.

“I also have something I’m curious about.”

“Tell me.”

“Can you give me plenty of reward vacation passes?”

“Hmm… is there a reason why you’re already concerned about vacation passes?”

“Because diseases that can’t be resolved at the military hospital have to be resolved at civilian hospitals.”

The military hospital had a terrible reputation.

Patients became disabled due to incorrectly administered injections, surgeries worsened patients’ conditions, and so on.

Perhaps that’s why.

In the case of seriously ill patients.

Jun-hoo wanted the patient to be treated at a civilian hospital rather than a military hospital.

And furthermore, he had a thought.

Master Jae-hyun had set a goal to correct the evils of the surgical field and reform the system.

Wouldn’t a systemic reform like this be necessary in military hospitals as well?

How long would countless young people serving in the military have to distrust, avoid, and fear military hospitals?

“Okay. I’ll give out as many vacation passes as I can.”

“Thank you.”

“Ugh…”

In the meantime, Cheol-soon groaned and put his left hand on his cheek.

Judging by his distorted face, his toothache didn’t seem to be ordinary.

Wait a minute…

Jun-hoo examined Cheol-soon’s face and discovered a motor tic. A motor tic referred to a symptom of suddenly twitching the face.

If he was suffering from a severe toothache, he might twitch his face, but there was definitely something suspicious about it.

This symptom was somewhat related to neurosurgical diseases.

What if Cheol-soon didn’t have a dental disease in the first place?

What if he was mistaking a neurosurgical disease for a dental disease?

As the question changed, so did the interpretation.

“Regimental Commander. May I take a look at your teeth?”

“You’re not a dental major, are you?”

Cheol-soon smirked.

“Even if I’m not, I can check the teeth for inflammation and the degree of decay.”

“I don’t think there’s a need to go that far?”

“Show me.”

When Jun-hoo came on strong, Cheol-soon told him to go ahead.

Cheol-soon raised his chin and opened his mouth.

Click!

Jun-hoo turned on the pen light he had and looked inside Cheol-soon’s mouth.

Since there was a tic on the left cheekbone, he carefully checked the upper left teeth.

Indeed, the gums on the molar side were swollen.

It wasn’t for nothing that Cheol-soon said he would go to the dentist.

But still.

It felt excessive for a motor tic to occur with this degree of inflammation.

For a motor tic to occur.

It would have to be at least the pain of impacted wisdom teeth.

“How long have you had the toothache?”

“It’s been about a month. At first, it was tingling, but these days it hurts like I’m being stabbed with an awl.”

“Do you have any underlying diseases?”

“I only have high blood pressure. I’ve been taking medication for it steadily for 5 years.”

It was impossible to confirm ‘that disease’ with this level of questioning.

To make a proper diagnosis, he would have to get tested at the hospital.

But Jun-hoo was a walking CT, MRI, and ultrasound machine.

He could perform tests quietly in this place right now.

“Can you open your mouth one more time? The gums are swollen, but…”

Jun-hoo pretended to fix Cheol-soon’s face and placed his right palm on Cheol-soon’s temple.

He released the internal energy he had drawn from his Danjeon.