A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 529

Chapter 103: Cutting to the Chase (5)

The commotion caused by the celebrity couple’s appearance subsided, and the examination room fell silent once more.

“How can I help you today?” Jun-hoo asked cautiously.

“I am a patient, but strictly speaking, it’s not just about me,” Seo Bo-young answered vaguely.

Woo-hyun tilted his head, wondering what she meant, but Jun-hoo immediately understood. His eyes lingered on Seo Bo-young’s protruding abdomen, and a wave of tension washed over him.

*Operating on a pregnant woman was already daunting, but was he going to have to operate on a fetus? And, in the first place, was it even possible to perform neurosurgery on a fetus?* A chill ran down his spine, and goosebumps rose on his arms.

“I wondered why there was a fetal ultrasound picture; so, there’s a problem with the baby,” Jun-hoo said, glancing at the image he hadn’t bothered to examine closely before, assuming it wasn’t relevant to him. His face hardened. This was a serious situation.

“I’ve been involved in neurosurgery for thirteen years now, but…”

“But?”

“I’m afraid even I can’t handle this surgery. I’m sorry to bring you bad news.” Jun-hoo bowed his head, distressed.

“Chief?” Woo-hyun’s eyes widened at Jun-hoo’s quick surrender without even a proper examination. This was unprecedented.

The first neurosurgeon with the Hexa Board [a certification of excellence] in the country, Jun-hoo, who had successfully performed countless difficult surgeries, was giving up on a patient so readily. Woo-hyun could hardly believe his ears.

“Why don’t you try visiting a renowned obstetrician?”

“Why wouldn’t I have?” Seo Bo-young smiled weakly. “I’ve consulted all the top doctors. They all gave the same answer: treatment is impossible.”

“We’ve been to famous obstetricians as well as neurosurgeons. They all just shook their heads,” Kim Nam-joon added, clasping Seo Bo-young’s hand. “My wife and I have been infertile for a long time. This child was conceived through IVF [in vitro fertilization] after much difficulty.”

“…”

“If we lose this child, I don’t know when we’ll be able to have another. Please, I beg you.”

“We’re sorry if it sounds like we’re making unreasonable demands, but please,” Kim Nam-joon and Seo Bo-young bowed their heads in turn. The atmosphere in the examination room grew heavy with their heartfelt plea.

Jun-hoo ran a hand down his face and stared at the fetal ultrasound picture. There was no breakthrough in sight. It felt like facing an insurmountable fortress. Was there a path he couldn’t see? Or was there no path at all? This time, Jun-hoo wasn’t sure.

* * *

Squeak.

Kim Nam-joon and Seo Bo-young left the examination room. Jun-hoo stared blankly at their retreating figures before letting out a sigh. He felt sorry for the two—no, three—of them, especially because he couldn’t offer any meaningful help. He had told them he would think about it and get back to them, and they readily provided their contact information.

“You didn’t seem like yourself just now, Chief,” Woo-hyun observed, watching Jun-hoo’s reaction.

“Why? Because I gave up so quickly?”

“…Yes. I naturally assumed you would take on the surgery.”

“I would have if I could have handled it.” Jun-hoo faced a sense of helplessness for the first time in a while—that hellish feeling that no matter how hard you struggle, you can’t change anything. It was an emotion he had forgotten as his inner strength grew and his martial arts became more refined, but it resurfaced vividly.

Jun-hoo squinted at the fetal ultrasound picture. The fetus was at thirty-two weeks and suffering from a rare pediatric cerebrovascular disease called ‘Vein of Galen Malformation’. Simply put, it was a condition in which the brain’s blood vessels didn’t form properly, potentially causing problems with cerebral blood flow, leading to issues such as high blood pressure, brain damage, and cerebral edema [swelling in the brain].

Jun-hoo had operated on Vein of Galen Malformation several times, but always on children, not fetuses. *How could he access the head of a fetus inside the mother’s womb?*

“What happens to the fetus if surgery isn’t performed?”

“The chances of being born with a deformity are very high.”

“What about operating after birth?”

“That’s meaningless. As you know, brain damage is irreversible.”

“I’m sorry, Chief. I took the surgery too lightly.”

“It’s okay. It’s understandable. It also means you trust me that much.” Jun-hoo didn’t particularly blame Woo-hyun. The question was whether to take on the celebrity couple’s surgery or not.

Reason spoke coldly: *Reject it without hesitation. Differentiate between what you can do and what you can’t. You may be a martial arts-using surgeon, but that doesn’t mean you’re omnipotent.*

Emotion spoke hotly: *Why give up without even trying? Many things seemed impossible at first but were eventually achieved with perseverance. Moreover, you’re the only one those couples can rely on.*

Torn between logic and emotion, Jun-hoo agonized deeply.

“By the way, I had no idea.”

“About what?”

“That couple always seemed so happy on screen. I didn’t know they had such pain.”

“There’s no one who’s always happy, and no one who’s always unhappy.”

“How about you, Chief?” Jun-hoo smiled bitterly at Woo-hyun’s question. “I’m on the painful side right now.”

* * *

Jun-hoo finished work early for once and went straight home. He searched for papers on fetal surgery, a topic he had occasionally seen in obstetrics and gynecology and thoracic surgery, but had passed by indifferently. Most of them were surgeries unrelated to Vein of Galen Malformation, and none were performed in neurosurgery. Jun-hoo felt isolated, unable to get help from anywhere.

Was that why he was leaning more towards giving up on this fetal surgery? He had no idea how to even perform it. If he recklessly pushed ahead, not only the fetus but also the mother would be in danger.

“Jun-hoo, let’s have dinner.”

“Okay.” Jun-hoo erased the shadow on his face and went to the living room. He sat in front of the TV and unwrapped the delivered food. Dinner with Ah-young was almost always takeout, as both of them were surgeons and rarely had time to cook.

While eating, they watched a medical drama. Medical dramas were broadcast regularly and generally did well. *Who hasn’t been sick in their life? Who hasn’t been to a hospital?* Perhaps it was because it was a topic that was easy to empathize with and contained a humanism that was hard to find in reality.

“Jun-hoo, I have something to tell you.” Ah-young’s voice was lower than usual, setting a serious tone.

“Don’t tell me you want me to buy bread after dinner?”

“I’m not joking; it’s really important.”

“Hmm… I’ve been fooled more than once or twice.”

“I won’t cry wolf today.” Ah-young hesitated before handing something over: a pregnancy test stick, about the length of a middle finger, with two lines clearly drawn on it.

“I took a half-day off today and went to the OB/GYN, and they said I’m pregnant.”

Jun-hoo, initially speechless with surprise, hugged Ah-young. A joy he had never felt before surged from his core, as if a brilliant light filled his entire body.

“That’s great! Are we going to be parents now?!”

“Yeah.”

“There’s no greater celebration than this. But why do you look so down?”

“I don’t know… what should I say…” Ah-young paused for a long time. “I’m worried that I won’t be able to do thoracic surgery, and you’re so busy, so I’ll have to focus more on housework.”

“I guess that could be true…” Jun-hoo understood Ah-young. Pregnancy and raising children would make it difficult for her to work as a thoracic surgeon, which could feel like giving up on a dream.

“Don’t worry too much. If we divide the roles well, you’ll be able to return quickly.”

“You’re so busy, Jun-hoo. Will we be able to divide the roles?”

“We have to make it happen. If the situation changes, I have to change too.” Jun-hoo had no intention of leaving childcare entirely to Ah-young. Now it was his turn to step up for her, who had always been considerate of him.

*If only the baby was born.* He would reduce his workload to spend more time with his family and help Ah-young return to work. Anyway, Jun-hoo had been thinking about the next chapter of his life, planning a new system in which surgeons would cooperate with each other rather than struggling alone.

“Anyway, you don’t have to worry. You can go back to work as much as you want, and the baby will grow up healthy and strong.”

“Thank you, Jun-hoo.”

“I’m more grateful.”

“Actually, I was worried a lot. We’ve both been running towards our dreams, but I felt like we had to give up those dreams because of the baby.”

“I guarantee we can have both. I’ll make it happen.”

“I feel reassured for once.”

“I’m always like this.” Jun-hoo said arrogantly with his arms crossed.

“Our child will definitely be special. I’m going to teach them martial arts and tell them about the mind techniques.”

“Is that okay? What if people notice?”

“It doesn’t matter if you teach them well. No one knew I was from the Murim [a hidden world of martial arts experts] until I said it myself, right?” Jun-hoo was very excited and talked a lot, passionate about the education of his future child, who hadn’t even been born yet. Ah-young watched him with a happy smile. The couple’s conversation continued until midnight.

* * *

The next day, morning, in the lobby of Shinwon University Hospital in Busan, Jun-hoo was going to work with Ah-young. Since it wasn’t outpatient clinic hours, most of the people visible were hospital staff, all with tired faces. Their steps were lifeless, and their tightly closed lips only opened occasionally to yawn. The lobby was quiet.

“We should try to wrap things up within this month, right?”

“I think so.” Ah-young nodded at Jun-hoo’s words. She was seven weeks pregnant. Usually, people found out around four weeks, but her discovery was quite late. Jun-hoo replenished her energy every morning with internal energy injections. When she concentrated on surgery, she fell into a trance and couldn’t take care of her own body.

“I feel sorry for the others. It’s going to be hard for everyone if I leave.”

“They’ll understand. You’re going to come back later anyway.” Jun-hoo patted Ah-young’s shoulder. The more she wavered, the more he needed to keep his balance.

“Take care of yourself and tell me if you’re having a hard time. I’ll run to you like a bullet.”

“Bring salt bread when you come.”

After parting with Ah-young, Jun-hoo went to the neurosurgery office. He sat at his desk and stared blankly at the monitor, which displayed the fetal ultrasound image from yesterday. The surgery he had postponed.

Was it because he had heard the news of Ah-young’s pregnancy that the couple’s story didn’t feel like someone else’s anymore? Its clarity became even more vivid. *How would he feel if his future child was born with Vein of Galen Malformation? How painful would it be to know that his child was born with a deformity and have to watch helplessly?*

After a long period of agony, Jun-hoo decided to take on the surgery. Of course, he didn’t know the specific method, but he decided to start looking for it with all his heart from now on. *Is there really a way where there is a will?* He would find out soon.