Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 1

#1 Prologue

The day I officially became a doctor, a banner was hung at the Garak Market.

“Dad, I told you not to hang things like this.”

“Just leave it. When else am I going to brag about my son like this?”

My father brushed off my protests and stubbornly unfurled the printed cloth.

Flutter.

The unfolded banner had large letters in a gaudy, full-spectrum font.

<[Congratulations!] Shin's Raw Fish Restaurant's Third Son, Shin Seon-han, Becomes a Doctor at Yeon-guk University! [Celebration!]>

“Who designed this?”

“Your sisters did.”

“Their sense is just….”

“What’s wrong with their sense? It’s made so well that you can see it from 100 meters away.”

“That’s exactly the problem.”

I sighed.

My face was plastered largely in the center of the banner.

It seemed my family had decided to humiliate me to death today.

My face flushed at the sound of market aunties giggling as they passed by.

“When there’s a celebration, you have to let the whole neighborhood know. Who would have imagined a Yeon-guk University doctor would come out of our family?”

My father smiled and wiped his nose, seemingly moved.

Our family has been in the business for three generations, and my father has been running a raw fish restaurant in Garak Market for 30 years.

The emergence of a professional with the suffix ‘sa’ [meaning a job title requiring specialized knowledge, like lawyer or doctor], like me, is a very exceptional event in our family.

So I understand my family’s fuss, but… I can’t help but feel embarrassed.

We’re probably the only family that hangs a banner just for passing the internship.

“Seon-hye, Seon-do! Come here and help hang this up!”

My father called out to my sisters in a loud voice.

Perhaps because he dedicated his life to raw fish, my father named his children remarkably.

First daughter: Shin Seon-hye.

Second daughter: Shin Seon-do.

Youngest son (me): Shin Seon-han.

It looks like a joke to anyone, but it’s a name he seriously made.

In fact, my father has been running an ethical business for 30 years with the principle of never selling fish that isn’t fresh.

But he didn’t have to name his children like this. He’s such a stubborn person that no one could stop him.

Thanks to that, it’s pointless to talk about how much we were teased for our names since we were young.

I’m going to give my children pretty names when I have them later.

“Hey, what do you think of the banner?”

“It’s awful.”

“I stayed up all night making it for you. You always complain no matter what I do.”

“You could have made it look cooler. This looks like a flyer for a tourist nightclub.”

“I made it that way on purpose. To embarrass you.”

My second sister gave me a devilish smile.

As expected, she’s the one who knows how to torment me best in the world.

Since I was young, 90 percent of my fantasies about women have been shattered because of my second sister.

On the other hand, the fact that I was able to maintain the remaining 10 percent was probably thanks to my older sister.

“Congratulations, our little brother!”

My angelic older sister massaged my shoulders.

“I remember when you were little. You sang about being a doctor since middle school, and this day has finally come.”

“It’s just an internship.”

“Still, the first step is half the battle. Now only days of success are left!”

“Thanks, Sis.”

“Suddenly, I think of Mom. It would have been even better if our mom was here on a day like today….”

My older sister said that and teared up.

My tenderhearted older sister sometimes got caught up in her emotions like a sudden burst.

Before the atmosphere became even gloomier, my father took out a black magic marker and shouted.

“Alright, I’m in a good mood! Today, all items in our store are 50 percent off!”

“No, Dad! Our store will go bankrupt!”

“Leave me alone, I’m doing it because I’m in a good mood today!”

“Sis, grab Dad’s arm!”

My horrified second sister was busy trying to stop my father from writing on the banner, causing a commotion for a while.

* * *

Why did I want to become a doctor?

It was probably because of a scene from a documentary I saw in middle school about 10 years ago.

.

A once-in-a-lifetime genius surgeon.

Probably no one in Korea doesn’t know his name.

A revolutionary and dedicated figure in the Korean medical community who treated patients by sacrificing his own well-being.

He was even more popular because of his blunt tone and uniquely indifferent and cynical expression.

So much so that there was even talk that he would be unconditionally elected even if he ran for president at one time.

Anyway, he left behind countless famous quotes before his retirement, but the one that shook my heart was this.

It’s an interview scene I once saw in a documentary.

―Then, I’ll ask you one last question, Professor. What is needed to become a good surgeon?

―I don’t know because I’m not a good surgeon yet.

―Haha, aren’t you being too modest? You’re Professor Baek Euishin, the ‘Hand of God’ who is recognized even by the world’s best Mayo Clinic in the United States.

―I still have a long way to go. However, it has been said in the English-speaking world since ancient times that there are three things needed for a great surgeon.

―What are they?

―The eyes of a hawk, the hands of a woman, and the heart of a lion.

“That’s so cool……”

I muttered, mesmerized, while watching TV.

Baek Euishin beyond the blurry screen was always thin and haggard, but his eyes were shining sharply like blades.

Looking back now, I think I had my soul completely taken away by what Baek Euishin said at that time.

It felt like a ray of light was shining on my wandering childhood after my mother passed away.

Did a novelist say that?

A person who has discovered brilliant light even once in the darkness will walk towards that light for the rest of his life.

Of course, reality was not easy.

In the first mock exam I took after entering high school, I got a grade of 7 [a very low grade], and it was the moment I felt the first wall that was too high to achieve my dream.

“Son, I’m sorry, but there’s no studying talent in our family.”

My father said that the day I brought my report card.

That’s very comforting.

“Why don’t you give up studying early and make use of your talent to continue the family business? I don’t know if you remember, but you were already able to perfectly dissect a rockfish at the age of 7.”

My father began to tell the story of my bravery, which he had repeated several times in his life.

When I was 7 years old, my parents were distracted for a moment, and I was busy cutting something with a kitchen knife.

My surprised parents were horrified and took me away from the knife, but on the cutting board was a perfectly trimmed rockfish.

Believe it or not.

Anyway, I was good at not only handling fish but also doing anything with my hands since I was young.

Sewing, soldering, cutting, etc…….

When I cut fruit, the neighborhood aunties would rave about how I cut it so round.

When I sewed, it was as good as new, so my sisters’ clothes were always repaired by me since I was young.

I wanted to use this talent in the direction I wanted.

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if I give up without even running towards my dream, I thought I would regret it for the rest of my life.

“Father, I like catching fish with a knife, but I want to become a doctor who saves people with a knife.”

“Doctor?”

“Yes.”

“The doctor who is in the hospital?”

“That’s right.”

“It won’t be easy with the brains that came out of our family…….”

“I’m going to go to medical school no matter what, even if I have to try several times if it doesn’t work out in one try. Don’t stop me.”

I was stubborn.

It seems that stubbornness is not only in our father. Genetics are really scary.

Anyway, there are no parents in Korea who would stop their children from studying, so I was barely able to pass the medical school with the lowest cut-off line after three attempts.

The university I worked hard at after passing has now gone bankrupt, but let’s talk about that later because it only hurts to talk about it.

* * *

That evening, the whole family gathered at the raw fish restaurant.

My brother-in-law, who works for a large company affiliate, filled my soju [Korean distilled spirit] glass and asked.

“Nephew, so are you becoming a Yeon-guk University doctor now?”

“I’m just an intern.”

“Isn’t being an intern all you need? Our company hires interns for 3 months and hires them as regular employees if possible.”

“A university hospital internship is literally a training course. After a year, there’s a high probability that I’ll be in another hospital.”

“Oh, really? It’s a little different from a regular company internship.”

“It’s a little different.”

I answered that and turned my head to swallow the alcohol.

Kuh…….

The soju goes down particularly well.

“Tsk…… Still, isn’t Yeon-guk University Hospital the best in Korea? It would be really nice if you could work there all the time.”

My second brother-in-law says regretfully.

Of course, I want to do that too.

Above all, isn’t Yeon-guk University Hospital where my role model, Professor Baek Euishin, was!

But life doesn’t go the way you want it to.

The probability that I, who came from a local university, will work at Yeon-guk University Hospital even after a year is close to zero.

Of course, I’m going to try.

Because my future as a doctor will be determined by how well I do in the next year.

“Hey, don’t put pressure on our son!”

“I’m greedy. If my nephew is a doctor at Yeon-guk University Hospital, how reassuring would it be to live, hehe.”

“Hey, you. You should think about living without going to the hospital, not thinking about getting help from a doctor.”

“Tsk…… By the way, Father-in-law, what are you carrying around like a treasure?”

“Oh, this?”

My father smiled and carefully opened the Lock & Lock [a popular brand of airtight containers] as if he were opening a treasure box.

And inside was something no one expected.

“Father-in-law, isn’t this a tuna eyeball?”

“Hey, does this look like a regular tuna eyeball to you? Look closely.”

At my father’s words, everyone’s eyes gathered in one place.

Unlike ordinary tuna eyeballs, the color is 영롱하다 [yeong-long-ha-da: sparkling, glistening].

I feel strange because the eyeball that is separated is staring at me for some reason.

My brothers-in-law, who are very interested in gourmet food, immediately showed interest.

“It’s golden.”

“That’s weird. How can there be such a color?”

“It’s something that came into the Bang’s house yesterday, and I was so amazed that I took only the head and froze it. I’m going to give it to our son on a good day, hehehehe.”

With that, my father began to tell a story.

It was Geomundo in the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from approximately 1392-1897], or anyway, it was an island village.

An old fisherman had a son, and he was sad that he was blind and weak from an early age.

He wanted to feed him something that would be good for his health, but he couldn’t because he was poor, and his worries only deepened.

But one day, he saw a golden light on the beach, and when he cast his net and caught it, it was a fish with an auspiciously shining eyeball.

That evening, the fisherman boiled the fish’s eyeball and fed it to his son.

After that, the son’s eyes opened clearly and he became bright, and eventually, he mastered studying on his own and returned home in triumph after passing the civil service examination.

Of course, as my father always says, believe it or not.

“Dad, you hear strange stories from somewhere and then…….”

“Golden or whatever, isn’t it just radioactive fish?”

My sisters were suspicious.

Of course, I didn’t really want to eat it, but I couldn’t break my father’s stubbornness.

“Fish eyeballs are something you can’t eat even if you don’t have them. This is called eyeball liquor.”

“Eww.”

I frowned at the sight of my father slicing the frozen fish eyeball and filling it into a soju glass.

But I didn’t want to ignore my father’s earnest sincerity, so I decided to close my eyes and drink it.

“Now, for the future of our doctor!”

“Cheers!”

I clinked glasses with the adults and tilted the soju glass.

Whoa―

The strong soju scent and the fishy scent rise at the same time, and the tip of my nose heats up.

It tasted really bad.

“Actually, I have something I brought for my nephew.”

“Nephew, try this too. It’s precious…….”

Then, my brothers-in-law, who are health food maniacs, started to take something out of their bags.

The first brother-in-law took out Janghyeolju, which was made with deer blood.

The second brother-in-law took out Taejasam, which grew at the foot of Jirisan Mountain.

I think finding and eating bizarre health foods is a racial characteristic of Korean 아재 [ahjussi: middle-aged men].

Anyway, I didn’t want to refuse because it was something the adults were giving me, so I readily accepted it all, and I had to suffer from diarrhea the next day.

Maybe it was from that day.

I don’t know what caused it because I ate so many strange things that day…….

Anyway, one of them must have had a problem.

Because after that day, I gained a that others don’t have.