Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 79

#79 Breath (10)

Song-yi’s request was very simple.

“Please, just one photo.”

“Why a photo?”

“I want to post a proof shot on social media!”

Song-yi’s eyes sparkled.

*He’ll probably say yes, right?*

But unexpectedly, Seon-han flatly refused.

“No way.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like people recognizing my face.”

“Oh, come on, Doctor. Just one.”

“No.”

“Doctor, your video already has over 2 million views. What difference does it make if I post one photo now?”

Song-yi pleaded, almost clinging to him.

But she couldn’t persuade Seon-han.

Soon, her lips began to pout.

“Tch, what’s so bad about taking one photo… Not even granting a wish to someone who might not even make it through surgery tomorrow…”

Song-yi continued to grumble, seemingly still disappointed.

*I feel bad, but there’s nothing I can do.*

*I should go back to the ward.*

But then.

Seon-han chuckled and reached out his hand.

“Alright. Give me your phone.”

Click!

Seon-han held the smartphone high.

And he took a selfie with Song-yi, their faces close together.

Caught off guard by the sudden move, Song-yi froze, wearing an awkward smile.

“Is that enough?”

“…Yes!”

“Go to bed early. Tell me if anything hurts.”

Seon-han returned the phone and headed toward the nurse’s station.

And a moment later.

“Ugh, geez, you scared me…”

Song-yi let out a breath she had been holding, watching Seon-han’s retreating figure.

Thump, thump.

She felt a brief flutter in her chest.

*Wasn’t that a little too forward of him?*

She was about to upload the ‘proof shot’ she had just taken to social media.

But…

Soon, she was shocked by what she saw on the screen.

“Ugh, what is this? Why do I look like an squid [a common Korean expression for looking unattractive in a photo]?”

She was doomed.

She hadn’t even been able to wash up properly after the concert and had been living in the hospital, so her appearance was a mess.

Plus, her eyes were swollen from crying.

*How could I have asked to take a photo together looking like this!*

But she couldn’t bring herself to delete it, so she decided to save it carefully in a hidden folder on her phone.

Anyway, thanks to the conversation with Doctor Seon-han, she felt a little less anxious.

Song-yi was able to fall asleep comfortably back in her ward.

* * *

The next day, at 8 AM.

Song-yi was being transported to the operating room in a wheelchair.

She was nervous because it was the first surgery she had ever had.

The thin surgical cap that covered her entire head felt unfamiliar.

“Honey, don’t be too nervous. The surgery will go well,” Song-yi’s father said, standing next to her.

He had returned early in the morning from a business trip to be with Song-yi.

But for some reason, her mother had been nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Mom?”

“Mom’s on her way.”

“Why didn’t she come with you?”

“You know how sensitive your mother is. If she gets too stressed, she gets a headache and can’t move. She was groaning this morning, took some medicine, and left a little while ago.”

Her father sighed deeply.

Song-yi thought, *Is it because of me?*

*Because I lied and have to have surgery as a high school senior? Is that why Mom is suffering from Hwabyung [a Korean term for a culture-bound syndrome often described as ‘anger syndrome’ or ‘fire illness’]?*

*Even so, how can she suddenly be sick and unable to see her daughter on the day of her surgery, when she doesn’t even know what will happen to her?*

Thinking that, she suddenly felt angry.

Song-yi said in a cold tone, “Dad, I’m going in now.”

“Wait a little and go in after seeing your mom’s face. She said she’s on her way.”

“It’s okay.”

Song-yi replied curtly.

Perhaps because of her disappointment with her mother, she didn’t even want to look at her father.

Soon, the orderly moved the wheelchair.

Whirr—

The door to the surgical waiting room opened.

She could hear her father saying something behind her.

Words of encouragement, like ‘Hang in there, honey.’

Song-yi just pretended not to hear and looked straight ahead.

Murmur, murmur—

When she arrived at the lobby of the operating room entrance, many patients had already arrived.

Some came in wheelchairs, some lying on beds, and some babies were held in their guardians’ arms.

Waaah, waaah—

The sound of a baby crying echoed, and nurses in surgical gowns were moving busily.

*Wow. The lobby leading into the operating room is incredibly busy…*

Contrary to what she expected, it was a chaotic, market-like atmosphere.

But through the speakers, soothing and calm classical music was playing to reassure the patients.

Song-yi was frozen stiff.

In Song-yi’s eyes, she could see the automatic door to the operating room opening and closing.

Through the briefly opened door to the operating room, she could see walls painted in sky blue.

*Is that where the surgery takes place…?*

Curious, Song-yi couldn’t take her eyes off everything she was seeing for the first time in her life.

At that moment, someone approached and spoke to her.

“Are you patient Yang Song-yi?”

The person who spoke to Song-yi was an anesthesiologist.

The nurse in the sky-blue surgical gown who came with him hung a number plate with ‘2’ written on it on the wheelchair.

It seemed to be a signal that she would be entering room number 2.

“Patient, I’m Ahn Ja-yong, the anesthesiologist who will be in charge of your surgery today. Can you open your mouth for a moment?”

Ahn Ja-yong?

*What if the anesthesiologist’s name is Ahn Ja-yong?*

*What if I don’t fall asleep?*

Song-yi thought so and almost laughed out loud.

She suppressed her laughter and trembled.

*Hehe… Are there only teachers with strange names like me in this hospital? I have to post it on social media after the surgery.*

Whether he knew Song-yi’s thoughts or not.

The anesthesiologist checked Song-yi’s teeth and explained the things that could happen during anesthesia.

*Ugh, I’m so nervous I could die.*

How long had she waited in the space at the entrance to the operating room?

Finally, Yang Song-yi was moved to the operating room.

Whirr—

Operating room number 2 opened, and the wheelchair carrying Yang Song-yi entered room number 2.

Song-yi was worried about the surgery, but she was also fascinated by this operating room space surrounded by sky-blue walls.

*…But it’s cold!*

Shiver, shiver.

The first thing she felt was the cold when she entered the operating room.

It felt like a refrigerator.

Song-yi was only wearing a one-piece dress for the surgery, so the cold was felt strongly.

“Okay, patient, get out of the wheelchair, step on this footstool, and climb onto the bed.”

The nurse who had been pulling the wheelchair spoke to Song-yi.

Song-yi stepped on the footstool and climbed onto the operating room bed.

The operating room bed was soft but cold, and narrow.

She couldn’t spread her arms, and her body was shaking, whether it was because of the tension of the surgery or because of the cold temperature.

Shudder, shudder—

Seeing Song-yi like that, the nurses covered her with a warm blanket.

“Are you cold? The temperature inside the operating room is usually low. Okay, don’t be too nervous~”

At the nurse’s words, Song-yi lowered her tension a little and took a deep breath.

Soon, something was attached to Song-yi’s body, and an oxygen mask was placed over her mouth.

“Okay, take a deep breath. You’ll be falling asleep soon.”

Song-yi took a deep breath following the doctor’s words.

Soon, her mind became hazy.

It was as if gentle waves were washing over her head, sweeping away her consciousness like grains of sand.

*Come to think of it… what was the name of the doctor who anesthetized me earlier…?*

Ahn Ja-yong…

Ja-yong…

…

In less than a few seconds, Song-yi fell asleep.

Thus, Song-yi’s right upper lobe resection began.

* * *

After patient Yang Song-yi entered the operating room.

I spent a busy morning and had a moment of leisure.

*I hope the surgery goes well?*

.

In fact, it is not a very dangerous surgery.

The lungs in our body are shaped differently on each side.

Left lung: Upper lobe / Lower lobe

Right lung: Upper lobe / Middle lobe / Lower lobe

Patient Yang Song-yi will have her right upper lobe removed.

*Well, I don’t need to worry. Almost 10 of these surgeries are performed in the thoracic surgery department every day…*

I tried to reassure myself by thinking that.

But even so, I felt more concerned than usual.

*It would be nice if I could know the future with a bang at times like this.*

No news is good news, right?

I chuckled, thinking that.

Come to think of it, the futures I’ve seen have all been dark futures.

Someone gets hurt, dies, or a medical accident occurs, etc…

Thinking about it that way, it might be better if future sight doesn’t happen.

But, just once.

There was an exceptional moment.

The future that was seen in another form.

That scene that was like watching a slide.

That moment when the surgical process seemed to be shown to me in advance.

*It definitely happened after I held the scalpel in my hand.*

Could I experience that phenomenon again?

Let’s experiment.

Secretly, without anyone knowing.

I thought so and got up from my seat.

And I gently approached the nurse who was organizing the medical equipment and spoke to her.

“Excuse me, nurse.”

“Oh my, Doctor Seon-han. What’s wrong?”

The elderly nurse looked at me and said happily.

She was a nurse I had become close to over the past two weeks.

The tone that had distrusted me on the first day was now nowhere to be found.

It seems that I am now being respected to some extent by the nurses as the attending physician.

“Could I get a chest tube set?”

At my words, the nurse’s eyes widened.

“A procedure tool? We have it, but… why all of a sudden? Do you have a patient who needs a chest tube?”

“That’s not it. I’m going to practice using the equipment.”

“Oh. An intern practicing using the equipment?”

The nurse looked at me with an admirable expression.

I continued, slightly embarrassed.

“Yes. I want to become familiar with the surgical tools when I have time. I don’t mind if it’s equipment that another doctor used earlier.”

“As it happens, we have equipment that Doctor Ahn Gyeong-sik used earlier that hasn’t been sent for sterilization yet…”

The nurse hesitated for a moment, then opened a drawer and said.

“Eh, I’ll just give you a new one!”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s for our Doctor Seon-han to practice, what else. This is the first time I’ve seen an intern so passionate, hohoho.”

The nurse handed me the equipment and urged.

“But you must remember to return it!”

Because even one pair of scissors or one forceps is all hospital property, so it would be difficult if it disappeared.

“Last month, an intern put scissors in his pocket and took them home, ugh… We searched the trash can all day because one was missing.”

If even one piece of equipment used on a patient under their care goes missing, they have to search not only the ward’s trash can but the entire hospital to find the equipment.

That’s why the nurse had no choice but to lend it while repeatedly urging me.

“Yes. Don’t worry. Thank you!”

I took the tools I received and headed to the treatment room.

* * *

Click—

I closed the door to the treatment room.

At this time, there are no urgent patients in the ward, and most of the resident doctors are in the operating room.

In other words, no one will disturb me for the time being.

*Okay… shall we begin?*

After securing a space all to myself, I opened the chest tube set I received from the nurse.