A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 489

Chapter 95: Dilemma (5)

The hospital director paced anxiously around his office. He had received shocking news just 30 minutes ago.

Assemblyman Go Hyun-cheol.

A five-term assemblyman and a key figure in the ruling conservative party.

The man who could seemingly control everything had fallen.

He had thrown himself from his apartment balcony.

It had been six months since their last meeting, but there had been no indication of suicidal thoughts back then.

Go Hyun-cheol had been as composed and reserved as ever.

His carefully chosen words and sentences exuded dignity.

A man who had maintained his position as an assemblyman for so long and was respected by both conservative and progressive politicians was clearly exceptional.

But why him!

Why would he make such an extreme choice as suicide?

The hospital director still found it hard to believe.

The news of the suicide, delivered by the assemblyman’s secretary, felt surreal.

‘Assemblyman Go. You shouldn’t have left this world like this. No, you really shouldn’t have.’

The hospital director tapped his desk with his index finger.

He had been cultivating Go Hyun-cheol for a full decade. He had planned to enter politics after retiring from the medical field.

Just like Park Jae-hyun had done.

He had dreamed of a transformation that would surprise everyone around him.

In that sense, Go Hyun-cheol should not have died.

He should have lived to a ripe old age.

He was supposed to pave the way for the hospital director’s path to becoming a politician.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A knock was heard.

He told them to come in, and his secretary entered the office.

“How is Seo Jun-hoo doing?”

The hospital director’s voice was sharp.

The secretary lowered his head, watching the hospital director’s reaction.

“Well….”

“It seems he has refused my orders. That’s why you can’t trust people who only care about patients.”

The hospital director shook his head.

He had paid a high price to recruit him.

But he was useless when he was really needed.

Jun-hoo was an idiot.

Why couldn’t he understand that Go Hyun-cheol’s life was more precious than the patient he was currently operating on?

How dare anyone assign value and ranking to human lives?

Someone might question the hospital director.

If so, the hospital director would answer like this.

You foolish person.

Do you really think all human lives are equal?

That’s why you can’t escape your miserable life.

“I’ll go myself.”

“Don’t you have a meeting with the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs in 30 minutes?”

“Cancel it. Tell them something came up.”

The hospital director put on his doctor’s gown and strode out of the office. He walked quickly, almost running, towards the operating room.

If Jun-hoo still refused to treat the VIP patient even after he went to see him in person….

He was ready to show him the full extent of his power and ruthlessness.

The hospital director had all the malice and ability to do so.

“Dr. Seo Jun-hoo. Which room are you operating in?”

“R… Room 6, sir.”

The nurse who received the question stuttered as she answered.

Was it because of the sudden appearance of the hospital director?

The relaxed atmosphere of the operating room became dangerously tense.

The staff were busy watching the hospital director’s reaction.

But then, at that moment.

Beep.

The door to operating room 6 opened. Someone came out of the operating room and began to quickly take off their surgical gown.

The person was…

None other than Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo spotted the hospital director and approached him in one stride.

What?

Hadn’t he refused his orders and chosen his own patient?

How could he be out of the operating room already?

“Are you here to greet me? I’m honored. I’m even being greeted by the hospital director.”

Jun-hoo joked.

His attitude was slippery and hard to read. Was he always this unpredictable?

“I thought you weren’t listening to me… I’m the one who’s surprised.”

“How could I? I may be bold, but I’m not audacious enough to ignore the hospital director’s orders.”

“Then did you give up on the surgery you were doing?”

The hospital director glanced at operating room 6.

The word ‘ON’ was shining brightly above the operating room.

It meant that Jun-hoo had come out in the middle of the surgery.

“No. I didn’t give up.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes. So, are you going to treat the VIP patient or not?”

The hospital director’s voice was full of anger.

At least in the hospital director’s judgment, Jun-hoo was the best surgeon in Busan Shinwon University.

If there was a surgeon who could save Assemblyman Go, it would definitely be Jun-hoo.

He couldn’t trust the others.

“Of course, I have to go treat him. That’s why I came out, isn’t it?”

“You said you wouldn’t give up on the patient?”

“Of course, I can’t give up.”

Jun-hoo smiled.

“Because the surgery is already over.”

* * *

At that moment. Operating room 6.

The atmosphere in the room became somewhat lighter as Jun-hoo left.

Jong-won, a 4th-year resident and chief resident, took Jun-hoo’s place.

Woo-hyun took Jong-won’s place.

The intern from the neurosurgery ward, who had been urgently called, took Woo-hyun’s place.

“Wow! Chief, you’re amazing. How can a person be like that?”

Woo-hyun said, making a fuss.

He admired the surgical site through the microscope.

If thoracic surgery had CABG [Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, a procedure to improve blood flow to the heart].

Neurosurgery had cerebral artery bypass.

It was difficult to compare the difficulty, but both surgeries were so difficult and dangerous that they made people shake their heads.

As medical technology developed, the mortality rate during surgery decreased, but cerebral artery bypass was still one of the surgeries they wanted to avoid if possible.

Although the mortality rate had decreased.

Problems could arise during surgery, and the patient could suffer from lifelong aftereffects.

But!

Jun-hoo had completed that dangerous surgery as if he were hammering a nail. With a quality that made you doubt your eyes even after seeing it directly.

“I’m still dumbfounded.”

Jong-won chimed in.

He examined the surgical site with a microscope like Woo-hyun.

The femoral artery, taken from the thigh, was connected to the anterior cerebral artery in a curved (∩) shape.

The critical cerebral aneurysm was ligated [tied off] with a clip, but there was no abnormality in the cerebral blood flow.

“But the chief didn’t do a blood flow test before leaving, did he?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“This is a big problem. If there’s a leak in the blood vessel, we won’t be able to handle it.”

“Wouldn’t the chief have done a good job?”

“You never know.”

Unlike Woo-hyun, who was a complete fanboy of Jun-hoo, Jong-won was full of worries.

Jun-hoo was already gone.

That meant…

If a leak occurred in the blood vessel, they would be screwed.

There was no way to call Jun-hoo back.

“Let’s check it out first.”

Jong-won sighed and began the blood flow test.

Click!

Click!

The bypass vessel was temporarily blocked on both sides with hemostats [vascular clamps, surgical tools used to stop bleeding]. Then, a fluorescent substance was injected with a syringe.

“……”

“……”
A quiet and sacred silence followed.

The insensitive patient monitoring device was busy spewing out mechanical sounds.

With everyone except Woo-hyun tense, the results of the blood flow test were finally revealed.

The fluorescent substance…

Was accurately pooled only in the bypass. It meant that a perfect bypass without leakage had been formed.

“Haa….”

Jong-won finally let out the breath he had been holding in.

The tension in his whole body was relieved.

He wanted to collapse on the spot.

“I knew the chief would succeed. Now we just need to close the surgical site, right?”

Woo-hyun asked like an excited child.

Jong-won nodded instead of answering.

As long as the bypass was healthy.

It was possible to close the surgical site with Jong-won’s skills alone.

Chief.

I really don’t know the limit of your skills.

Jong-won shook his head as if he was fed up.

Jong-won had assisted in cerebral artery bypass surgery performed by another professor in the past.

At that time, the professor performed cerebral artery bypass for nearly an hour.

But Jun-hoo.

He had completed the cerebral artery bypass in just 10 minutes. The speed and completeness were also amazing.

Was that why?

Treating the suicide patient would not be easy, but…

He was confident that Jun-hoo would be able to do it well.

Jun-hoo was a person who inspired unwavering confidence. Now it was Jong-won’s turn to repay that confidence.

“We’re going to close the surgical site. Everyone, stay focused!”

* * *

‘I overdid it for the first time in a while.’

Jun-hoo was looking down at his hands. His wrists, palms, and fingers were trembling.

It was an aftereffect of pushing himself too hard.

Regularly scheduled patients VS VIP patients that the hospital director had threatened him with.

Jun-hoo couldn’t give up on either of them.

If he had to choose only one, he would naturally choose the former, but he vowed to treat both, even if it meant pushing his limits.

The result was a great success.

He killed two birds with one stone.

The number one contributor to the surgery was Illyunmyeongwol.

Illyunmyeongwol (一輪明月) [literally, “a single bright moon”].

This was the final form of ‘Howol Twelve Hands’, one of the martial arts techniques that made Jun-hoo who he is today.

(The both hands embracing technique improved the proficiency of both hands, and Howol Twelve Hands helped to master faster and more accurate hand usage.)

Illyunmyeongwol meant a single bright moon.

It gathers the internal energy in the dantian [energy center in the lower abdomen, a concept in traditional Chinese medicine] into the hand and releases it all at once.

At the same time, it precisely controls it.

Illyunmyeongwol was difficult because it had to operate on two different principles simultaneously.

Even Jun-hoo, who had mastered Howol Twelve Hands, sometimes made mistakes.

But just as the moon is brighter in the dark.

Jun-hoo brilliantly executed Illyunmyeongwol in a precarious situation.

Through Illyunmyeongwol.

Jun-hoo entered a state of perfect harmony.

I become the moon.

The moon becomes me.

He reached the point where the moon becomes the hand and the hand becomes the moon.

The staff didn’t know because of the bright light of the shadowless lamp, but Jun-hoo’s hands were shining brightly as he performed the cerebral artery bypass.

His wrists and fingers were always drawing a round trajectory like the moon.

Since Jun-hoo, who was only a human, became one with nature, the effect was astonishing.

Jun-hoo completed the cerebral artery bypass, which would have taken another professor nearly an hour, in just 10 minutes.

However, he temporarily experienced hand tremors as an aftereffect.

“You’re still doing crazy things even after becoming a chief.”

The hospital director, who was walking ahead, said. His words were rough, but his voice was soft.

It was probably because he had achieved the outcome he wanted.

The hospital director was originally that kind of person.

He didn’t care about others as long as he got what he wanted.

“Changing the world is inherently crazy.”

“Are you admitting that you’re crazy?”

“Well, I think it’s possible that others see it that way. I can’t agree, though.”

The hospital director chuckled at Jun-hoo’s brazen answer.

You crazy bastard.

To finish the cerebral artery bypass in 10 minutes and then treat my patient.

In the hospital director’s eyes.

Jun-hoo was a unique madman.

A madman who was crazy about patients.

“But where are you going now? Isn’t the VIP patient in the operating room?”

Jun-hoo asked, tilting his head.

“The patient is still at the scene. He was originally scheduled to be transported to our hospital by ambulance, but there was a traffic accident nearby and the road is blocked.”

“……”

“What can we do? We have to go to the scene by helicopter.”

“You’re going to entrust the trauma surgery to me.”

“Why? Are you not confident?”

“I don’t lack the confidence.”

Jun-hoo’s answer was overflowing with confidence, even arrogance.

That was because…

He had enough training in trauma surgery at Mayo Clinic.

Trauma surgery was also a subspecialty branching out from neurosurgery.

“The patient must be very important. Enough to pull me out of surgery.”

“Shall I tell you how important he is this time?”

The hospital director turned to Jun-hoo and smiled wickedly.

“You have to save this patient no matter what. If the patient is talking to King Yama [the judge of the dead in East Asian mythology] in the afterlife.”

“……”

“Beat up King Yama halfway and bring him back no matter what. You die if the patient dies. How about it? Do you get the picture now?”

Jun-hoo frowned slightly at the hospital director’s threat.

I’m still the same.

You’re still the same too.