Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 64

#64 Isn’t Thoracic Surgery Your First Time? (12)

“Yes, this is Intern Shin Seon-han.”

I answered the phone.

Soon, I heard the familiar voice of the ward nurse over the receiver.

It seemed they needed a doctor to assist with the chest tube insertion.

I thought I could finally relax and hang out with my classmates in the lounge, but…

As always, the work in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, which is always short-handed, never stops, even at night.

“Yes, I’ll be right there!”

I answered immediately and finished the chicken I was eating.

Then, Hyung Jung-won chuckled.

“You’re relentless. You’re being called back as soon as you arrive?”

“Yes. I have to go quickly. Thanks for the chicken.”

“Take care~!”

Instead of replying, I took out my pager and waved it as I left the lounge.

Step, step—

Leaving the lounge and heading up to the ward.

I mentally reviewed the situation once again.

Currently, I have two important pieces of information.

First:

Second: The patient will fall into [brain damage due to lack of oxygen].

I have to change the future and save the patient with only this limited information.

‘Wait… come to think of it, couldn’t I use Ryu Myung-in as a variable instead?’

Let’s change the perspective.

Ryu Myung-in might be a pretty useful card.

Isn’t he the top of the class, after all?

That means he’s the most capable guy among the interns.

Since he studies well, he must know a lot.

If I actively use him, it might help save the patient.

‘Okay. Let’s think positively!’

I changed my mind.

This isn’t the time to be picky about methods.

Of course, he’s still a psycho I don’t like…

Perhaps, a situation might come where I have to join forces with Ryu Myung-in.

I thought I shouldn’t create too hostile a relationship in preparation for that day.

* * *

A few days later.

It’s already the second week of thoracic surgery life.

Ryu Myung-in and I were managing our intern life reasonably well.

Fortunately, we didn’t clash as much as I had worried.

This is because each of us has to take care of different patients.

Friday morning.

Just as the general meeting ended and everyone was about to disperse.

As I was about to leave the conference room, I heard the voices of the residents talking among themselves.

“Hey, Song Yu-ju. I heard your two interns are doing a great job. They’re the top two in this year’s class, right?”

I subtly turned my gaze.

The residents from the cardiology department were talking to Song Yu-ju.

Two interns… are they talking about us?

“They’re just interns.”

Song Yu-ju’s reaction was cold.

Then, the residents chuckled and said.

“Oh, you’re so spoiled. If our department’s interns did that much, I’d carry them around on my back.”

“What’s it like on the heart side?”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. This month, our interns are completely clueless and it’s a mess. They still can’t even write pre-op orders properly and are just wandering around.”

As they said that, the residents walked towards the main building.

The heart department interns, who were listening to this from a distance, followed behind them with dejected expressions.

On the other hand, I was dumbfounded by the words I had accidentally heard.

Is that so?

To be honest, I didn’t know we were doing that well.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never heard a compliment from Teacher Song Yu-ju…

Anyway, the evaluation that we’re doing well is quite encouraging.

I can’t help but feel a tickle on my cheeks.

“Hehehe…”

“You surprised me.”

That’s not my laughter.

When I turned my head, Ryu Myung-in had already appeared next to me, grinning slyly.

“Did you hear what they said just now? The resident teachers talking about us.”

“Yeah. It seems you’re doing a good job, so the rumors have spread.”

“Does Hyung finally acknowledge me now?”

“Yeah. Okay. You’re the best.”

I answered appropriately.

From a few days ago, I started trying to coax him.

To cooperate in case of an emergency.

I have to give him this much of a response to create a friendly relationship.

Then, he makes a satisfied expression even at my soulless reaction.

“Well, I am a bit special. If there’s an awl in your pocket, it’s bound to stick out someday, right?” [idiom meaning talent will eventually reveal itself]

He boasted as always, and I chuckled.

‘This guy is simple and easy to handle.’

In some ways, he was a pure guy.

As I was going up to the ward and working for a while, Song Yu-ju called us.

“Interns. You know that interns have to attend the patient report meeting at 3 PM, right? Finish all your intern tasks by then. Don’t even think about leaving in the middle of the meeting.”

“Yes!”

We followed Teacher Song Yu-ju’s words without complaint and moved diligently.

Still, there wasn’t a single word of praise or encouragement in her blunt tone.

But we were already getting used to Teacher Song Yu-ju’s tone.

“Um, Senior!”

“What?”

“Here, take this!”

Whoa!

Suddenly, Ryu Myung-in took something out of his pocket and handed it to Song Yu-ju.

Out of the blue…

It’s a round lollipop.

“I heard that Senior Song Yu-ju likes strawberry milk-flavored Chups the most, so I bought it!”

Ryu Myung-in says with confidence this time.

If there’s a tree that doesn’t fall after ten chops, there’s also a crazy person who chops it eleven times [persistence can be foolish].

Song Yu-ju stared at it for a moment and said.

“I quit candy.”

“Yes?”

“Dental treatment.”

Whoosh.

Song Yu-ju left the spot.

Ryu Myung-in was left blank again, and I had to hold back my laughter.

It’s hilarious no matter how many times I see it.

Let’s see how far he’ll try.

* * *

Did Ma Dong-seop ever compare intern life to a ‘tutorial’?

In a way, that’s right.

Like a game, there are challenges every time in intern jobs.

Today’s main mission is .

When a patient is about to be discharged, interns have a lot to do.

Of course, removing the chest tube.

We also have to prescribe the medications to be taken after discharge and make the necessary medical appointments.

In addition, we have to answer questions from patients and guardians about life after discharge.

Sometimes, we have to discharge up to 5 patients a day, and today is one of those days.

“I have to discharge five people today. I need to hurry up with the work so I can have time for lunch…”

I muttered to myself.

Then, Ryu Myung-in suddenly poked his head in and said.

“Hyung, I have 5 today too. Discharged patients.”

“Oh, really?”

Ryu Myung-in often talks about things I’m not even curious about.

“That’s good. Wanna bet? Who can finish the work faster.”

“What?”

“Let’s start!”

Tap tap!

Before I could even answer, Ryu Myung-in started typing on the keyboard quickly.

‘This guy is crazy.’

Does that guy think of everything as a competition?

I shook my head and did my work at my own pace.

Ignoring Ryu Myung-in’s bet, I approached the patients I was going to discharge.

“Hello, patient.”

“Yes.”

“Since you’re being discharged today, I’ll remove the tube in your chest.”

is not as simple a process as you might think.

This is because external air must not enter during the removal process.

Also, only the chest tube should be removed, and this chest tube should not pull out other tissues.

I carefully removed the chest tube one by one.

The patients talked to me during that time.

“Our attending physician, you’ve worked so hard because of me.”

“I didn’t do anything. Mother, you suffered from the surgery. You must be healthy after you leave the hospital.”

“I want to come back to see our doctor?”

“No, Mother~ It’s good if you don’t have to be hospitalized again.”

I smiled and proceeded with the patients’ discharge procedures.

Carefully, one by one.

I removed the chest tube and arrived at the station.

Then, Ryu Myung-in, who was waiting for me as if to show off, said.

“Hyung, I was faster, right?”

He said that and bragged.

Is he a kid?

I patiently said as if coaxing him.

“Myung-in. You know you have to check the X-ray, right?”

Chest X-rays must be taken after chest tube removal.

This is to check for air entering or bleeding, as I mentioned earlier.

“Of course. Who do you think I am?”

Ryu Myung-in always has a confident expression.

Of course, I wasn’t careless.

Because there was also the incident that Jo Jin-ki caused in the past.

‘I should check just in case.’

After a while.

I checked the X-rays of the patients from whom Ryu Myung-in had removed the chest tube at the station.

“…He did it well without any mistakes.”

There are no particular problems.

Since being pointed out by Teacher Song Yu-ju last time, Ryu Myung-in has not made a single mistake.

He is also full of confidence.

Of course, sometimes that confidence is excessive and makes him look anxious.

Anyway, he is quite agile, and his mind is the best among the classmates I have seen.

‘Is that why he’s the top of the class for no reason?’

He is different from Jo Jin-ki.

If Jo Jin-ki was C-class or below, he is A-class or higher.

If our department’s resident wasn’t Teacher Song Yu-ju, he would definitely be having an intern life full of praise.

‘This guy is a talented guy. Instead of worrying about this guy, I should worry about my patients…’

Just as I was thinking that.

Flash—

Everything went dark.

The future was seen.

However, it was a slightly different pattern from what I had seen so far.

* * *

“Hoo.”

Song Yu-ju’s figure is seen sitting on a bench in the back smoking area of the hospital.

A stream of cigarette smoke rises into the dawn sky.

When I thought the scenery was somehow familiar.

Ma Dong-seop appears and suddenly reaches out to her.

“Give it to me.”

“…”

“You said you quit smoking? When you said that you wouldn’t even think about smoking if you looked at the lungs of lung cancer patients every day?”

“I just lit it.”

Wait. This is?

I definitely saw this future once before.

But why are they showing it to me again?

‘There hasn’t been a time when the same prophecy has been repeated twice…’

It’s not a rerun, what is it?

I was dumbfounded, but I listened carefully.

“I heard the story. Something happened in your department?”

“Hypoxic brain injury.”

“How did it happen?”

“It happened when all the residents were in the operating room and only the interns were left in the ward.”

Song Yu-ju says bitterly.

So far, nothing has changed.

However, it was a little different from then on.

“I was also in the operating room for an emergency surgery at that time, but somehow I had a bad feeling… I should have stayed in the ward, even if it was me. It’s my fault.”

“You couldn’t help it.”

“Still, I didn’t know that the top intern at Yonsei University would cause such an accident. Sigh…”

Wait.

I frowned.

The is causing an accident?

That means…

That the one causing the accident is Ryu Myung-in, not me.

The butterfly effect.

The result was unfolding before my eyes now.