Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 34

#34 Gangnam Station (13)

Twitch.

Baek Ui-sin reacted to the mention of his name.

His gaze was fixed on the young man’s face on the screen.

The young man nodded emphatically.

Baek Ui-sin chuckled.

It was a dry, mirthless sound, like the rustling of a winter branch.

However, the woman standing next to him couldn’t help but be surprised.

It had been a long time since she had seen Baek Ui-sin smile.

“Professor, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you smile.”

“…Is that so.”

Baek Ui-sin muttered.

His face returned to its usual emotionless mask.

But beneath the surface, a warm emotion flickered in Baek Ui-sin’s eyes.

How could one describe it?

It was a sense of joy, as if he had rediscovered something he had lost long ago.

#I See You (1)

The last day of April.

It’s also my last day working in the emergency room.

Of course, work continued until dawn, and today’s last patients are a young couple.

“Doctor, a ring is stuck on my finger and it won’t come off no matter what.”

“Is my darling’s finger going to rot?”

The woman teared up, holding out her hand, while the man paced back and forth.

After hearing their story, it turned out that the man had proposed and given her the ring that night.

However, they seemed to have miscalculated the size.

Because she had forced the ring on, the woman’s finger was already swollen.

“Tsk tsk. You ordered a ring that was too small.”

Yeo Bong-cheol clicked his tongue.

Then the woman muttered, sounding wronged.

“That’s strange. It used to be a size 10…….”

“Honey… that’s why I told you to stop ordering so much late-night food.”

“Hey, you moron, is that what you should be saying in this situation?!”

The woman flared up.

The couple was on the verge of breaking up on the day of their proposal.

“Don’t fight, just stay still.”

Thud!

Yeo Bong-cheol grabbed an electric cutter.

Heok!

The woman and man held their breath at the sight of the menacing tool.

“Seon-han, hold her hand tight.”

“Yes.”

I held the woman’s hand firmly.

By now, I was perfectly in sync with Teacher Yeo Bong-cheol.

It felt like a scene from a gambling den: ‘Didn’t you learn that if you get caught cheating, your hand will be chopped off?’

Whirr―

“Aaaaaah.”

The woman squeezed her eyes shut in fear.

The man continued to pace back and forth.

Drip!

Surprisingly, Yeo Bong-cheol’s cutter only cut the ring without touching the woman’s finger at all.

As expected, it was a clean job by Teacher Yeo Bong-cheol, the ace of the emergency department.

“Go on in now~”

“Yes…….”

The woman and man left the emergency room looking pale.

6 a.m.

It seemed there were no more emergency patients.

Today was my goodbye to the emergency room that I’d grown fond of.

“Seon-han, you’ve worked hard.”

“It’s nothing.”

I smiled awkwardly at Yeo Bong-cheol’s words.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected to become this close to him.

Now that I was about to part ways, I felt a pang of regret.

“Oh, right. There was something I wanted to tell you.”

Yeo Bong-cheol gestured and whispered to me.

“It’s about your intern evaluation score.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, this month’s evaluation was still pending, wasn’t it?

I had momentarily forgotten.

Teacher Yeo Bong-cheol had said he would give me an A+.

But in the end, things had become awkward because of my impulsive behavior during the Gangnam Station incident.

I wondered how my score would be affected.

“You don’t have to worry too much. Fortunately, the professor seems to be in a better mood after the TV interview, so you won’t get a bad score just for being disliked.”

“That’s a relief.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, I didn’t know what the final score would be, but I thought I could manage to do reasonably well.

“It’s all thanks to Teacher Yeo Bong-cheol’s advice.”

I said with sincere gratitude.

In fact, when I did the news interview yesterday, Teacher Yeo Bong-cheol had given me some advice.

He told me to give as much lip service to the professors as possible.

So I did as I was told.

I wondered if saying that had helped?

Fortunately, my reputation within the emergency department seemed to have recovered.

I guess I was learning how to navigate social life.

“This time, you were lucky to get away with it, but be careful not to let this happen again. Got it?”

I nodded.

“Yes. Thank you for your concern.”

“Just words?”

“Whenever you come to our seafood restaurant, I’ll treat you to the freshest catch.”

“Huh? You’re the son of a seafood restaurant?”

Yeo Bong-cheol’s eyes widened.

When I told him about our seafood restaurant located in Garak Market, his expression brightened.

“Wow, I should come visit sometime soon! My mouth is already watering.”

“Come anytime.”

“Okay. Anyway, have a good year as an intern wherever you go.”

“Yes, sir!”

I smiled broadly.

Yeo Bong-cheol slapped me on the back with his palm, just like he did on the first day, and disappeared casually.

My father once said:

“When you live in society, you’ll be able to distinguish between good and bad relationships.

If you compare life to a sailboat, there are people who become tailwinds and people who become headwinds.”

Which one is Yeo Bong-cheol?

He’s definitely a tailwind.

I felt good thinking that I’d made a connection with someone who would be a source of strength for me in my future hospital life.

* * *

That evening.

A farewell dinner was held to wrap up the month.

The venue was a beer brewery 15 minutes away from the hospital.

However, coincidentally, many teams’ wrap-up party schedules overlapped.

The pub was crowded with people who looked familiar.

“Hey, did our hospital rent this place out today?”

“Why are there so many Yeonguk University Hospital people here?”

“I saw surgery and anesthesiology people earlier!”

Buzzing.

People at different tables were greeting each other happily.

I brought a drink from the bar and asked Joong-won hyung [older brother/friend] next to me.

“It seems like this is a famous place at Yeonguk University Hospital, right?”

“Of course. I came here with my seniors when I was a college student. You can think of it as the hottest place among young doctors!”

Well, that was understandable.

The tables were spacious and the atmosphere was lively.

It wasn’t too quiet and not too noisy, making it a suitable place for a meal and beer with a group of people.

“Above all, the beer tastes good, so it’s very popular. But it also has a fatal flaw.”

“A flaw?”

“You shouldn’t badmouth hospital people here! There are Yeonguk University Hospital people everywhere.”

At Joong-won hyung’s words, I chuckled and put my lips to my beer glass.

Gulp.

Oh?

Gulpgulpgulp.

Kkeuh!

I emptied half a glass in an instant.

The beer tasted amazing. The tingling coolness made my chest feel clear.

It was as if a breeze blowing from a barley field was enveloping every single taste bud on my tongue…….

Alright, let’s stop. I’m not a food critic.

“The beer is delicious.”

“Right?”

Joong-won hyung smiled at my simple review.

“You should talk to people you don’t usually talk to! You’re from another school, so you should get closer to people.”

“I guess I should.”

“And today, you’re the main character! How many doctors get on the news during their intern year?”

Joong-won hyung put his arm around my shoulder.

Even now, some residents were actively moving around and looking for me.

Many people knew my name because of the Gangnam Station accident.

“Oh, a celebrity is here!”

“What was your name again?”

“Shin Seon-han.”

“Oh, right. Nice to meet you!”

I talked to various people and raised my glass.

I felt like my world was expanding.

Unlike the narrow confines of college, it was fun to meet so many different people in social life.

* * *

Thwack!

The dart hit the target.

“30 points!”

“Wow!”

The electronic sound echoed from the dart machine in the middle of the pub.

The doctors gathered around raised their hands in the air and cheered.

No matter how mature people are, they show this childlike side when competition arises.

Today’s dart match was surgery vs anesthesiology vs emergency medicine.

The losing team was betting on buying 20,000 won [approximately $15 USD] worth of beers for every table.

Of course, not only money but also pride was at stake.

“Fighting!”

“Win no matter what!”

“If you lose to another department, you won’t get a day off for a week!”

“The person with the lowest score will get all the pre-op consent forms tomorrow~!”

The chiefs of each department were motivating their players with threats disguised as encouragement.

I was holding a glass of beer in one hand and watching the game with great interest.

Then, someone came up next to me.

“I saw the interview on TV.”

Who was it?

I turned my head and looked to the side.

It was a young man with a neat and tidy appearance.

How old was he……? Maybe a little younger than me?

He seemed to be an intern colleague, but he spoke to me as if he was already familiar with me.

“But if it were me, I wouldn’t have done that.”

“……?”

“First of all, I would have transported him to the hospital quickly. If the blood pressure wasn’t maintained during transport, I would administer epinephrine (cardiotonic) in the ambulance to maintain blood pressure, and if necessary, I would perform pericardiocentesis [surgical puncture to remove fluid from the sac around the heart] at the hospital, which is safer.”

Suddenly, he was giving me unsolicited advice right off the bat.

Well, he wasn’t talking in a confrontational tone…….

I asked.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry. Have we met before?”

“You don’t know me?”

“I don’t think so.”

Then his eyes widened.

“……Why don’t you know me? I thought everyone knew me, even if they weren’t from Yeonguk University.”

He mumbled to himself like that.

What is this guy……?

Is he suffering from celebrity disease [delusions of grandeur]?

“Hahaha, I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself first.”

He said that and suddenly reached out his hand to me.

“I’m Ryu Myeong-in.”

What a strange name.

I don’t usually lose to anyone when it comes to having a unique name.

I shook his hand and said.

“I’m Shin Seon-han.”

“Ahahaha. You have a really unique name.”

Was that something he should be saying?

I thought that, and then I looked down at my hand and was surprised.

It wasn’t just a social handshake; he was putting a lot of strength into his grip.

What the heck?

It’s not like he’s challenging me to an arm wrestle…….

He’s a really unpredictable character.

He’s approaching me with a smiling face, but I felt a sense of rejection for some reason.

“Can I call you Seon-han hyung [older brother]? I’m twenty-four years old, so you can speak comfortably to me since you’re a three-time college entrance exam taker.”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

“Since we’re colleagues anyway, should we drop the honorifics?”

Huh?

Suddenly, he was crossing the line.

I’m not particularly attached to honorifics, but the intention I sensed was unpleasant.

I drew a firm line.

“I’d appreciate it if you could use honorifics until we get closer.”

“Ah…….”

Then his eyes widened as if he was surprised.

What, you little punk.

What are you going to do if you look at me like that?

This guy is funny.

I looked at him and said.

“If there’s about a three-year age difference, don’t you think it’s a bit much to drop honorifics from the first meeting?”