Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 84

#84 Breath (15)

‘Here we go again!’

I focused my mind.

In these situations, I often see a glimpse of an unpleasant future.

Soon, a familiar yet strange scene unfolded before my eyes.

A school hallway.

I could sense people inside a classroom.

Peeking through the window, I saw students in school uniforms focused on their exam papers.

It seemed to be during an exam.

‘The fact that I suddenly moved to a school means……’

Could it mean something bad is happening to Song-i?

That’s probably the most likely scenario.

The only student in a school uniform I’ve met recently is Song-i.

If so, I need to find Song-i quickly!

I might not even get any information before it ends.

Swish—

I passed through the door and entered the classroom.

It’s possible in a dream, I guess.

I’ve become quite accustomed to moving around in dreams.

Rustle, rustle—

The classroom is quiet.

Only the sound of flipping papers and moving pens echoes.

Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a school.

Almost 10 years since I graduated high school?

I shook my head, snapping out of my reminiscing.

‘Wait. This isn’t the time to be distracted! Let’s hurry.’

I checked each of the students’ faces.

But… why do all the students in school uniforms look so similar?

I couldn’t even see the face of the student who was sleeping with their head on the desk.

‘Song-i must be among them……’

I looked around.

Then, I heard a familiar voice from somewhere.

“Hngh…….”

Abruptly—

I stopped walking.

I saw a female student huddled in a corner seat by the window.

A familiar silhouette.

Song-i, in her school uniform, was sweating profusely and lying on her desk.

‘Why is Song-i like that? Is she sick?’

She doesn’t look good.

She’s almost passed out.

Even in that state, she’s desperately holding onto her pen, trying to concentrate on the last problem.

Ring, ring, ring—

The bell rings, and the exam papers and answer sheets are collected.

Wriggle, wriggle—

Soon, the students start comparing answers or rush to the bathroom.

But Song-i is lying on her desk, unable to get up.

“Yang Song-i, are you okay?”

“What’s wrong with her? Shouldn’t she go to the hospital?”

Friends notice Song-i’s condition and gather around her.

“No. I’m okay. The exam will be over today if I just take one more subject……”

Song-i says with difficulty.

But it’s clear to anyone that she’s not in a normal state.

I knelt down on one knee and carefully examined Song-i’s complexion.

‘Her face is paler than usual, and she’s covered in cold sweat. And why is she breathing so fast?’

Has her pneumothorax [collapsed lung] recurred?

Simple pneumothorax wouldn’t cause this…….

If not, could something much more serious than pneumothorax have started?

As I was thinking that, Song-i’s friend said.

“You said you’ve been sick since a week ago, is it okay to just take antipyretics [fever reducers]? You didn’t even go to the hospital on the day they told you to come.”

My eyes widened.

She’s been sick since a week ago?

That means…….

She’s been sick throughout the exam period but didn’t come to the hospital.

‘Damn it, no matter how important the exam is, this isn’t right!’

I want to scold her, but I can’t speak in the dream.

“Guys, I think I need to go to the hospit…….”

Cough—

Song-i coughs mid-sentence.

Her friends are horrified and surprised.

Blood is mixed in with her cough.

Thud—

Song-i eventually collapses to the floor.

She curls up like a shrimp and gasps for breath.

“Song-i!”

“Hey, call the teacher!”

Friends gather from all directions.

That was the last scene in the classroom.

And the next moment, the dream background changes.

Yeonguk University Hospital Emergency Room.

A large doctor is running down the hallway.

Ma Dong-seop urgently arrives at the emergency room and speaks to Yeo Bong-cheol.

“Yang Song-i patient intubated?”

“Yes, they just went for a CT scan [Computed Tomography scan].”

Intubation?

That means she’s in a critical emergency situation.

I listened to the conversation between the bulky brothers.

“Did you see her chest X-ray? Look at this, it’s all white! How can it be like this just a few days after surgery?”

“I was just coming from seeing it. I’ve rarely seen it get this bad……”

Ma Dong-seop trailed off.

Yeo Bong-cheol continues to check the EMR (Electronic Medical Record) and says.

“Wasn’t the discharge too early in the first place? Her CRP [C-reactive protein, an inflammation marker] (inflammation level) was high and she had a bit of a fever on the day of discharge.”

Ma Dong-seop sighs at Yeo Bong-cheol’s point.

“We’re frustrated too. We made an appointment for her to come to the outpatient clinic earlier than others after discharge, but she didn’t come.”

“When was the outpatient appointment?”

“Last Monday.”

“Tsk tsk.”

Yeo Bong-cheol clicked his tongue as if he felt sorry.

“If she had just come early as the hospital told her to, it wouldn’t have gotten this bad.”

“Tell me about it.”

The two have a gloomy expression.

Even without hearing the details, I could tell how serious Song-i’s situation was.

Then, Yeo Bong-cheol clicks on the CT scan that just came up on the monitor.

“CT is up!”

Soon, Ma Dong-seop snatches Yeo Bong-cheol’s mouse and scrolls through the CT scan.

“Let me see.”

“Hey. Let’s look together.”

Swish, swish—

The CT images on the monitor change every second, showing Song-i’s current condition.

I tilted my head to look at the screen.

But…….

The two are too big.

I feel like a lizard stuck in between large rocks.

‘I can’t see!’

Let’s look together!

I tried to stick my head between the two’s shoulders, but it wasn’t easy.

Even so, the serious conversation continues.

“This, isn’t it completely gone?”

“It’s gone.”

“What should we do?”

“We need to tell Professor Han Sang-gi quickly and schedule an emergency surgery!”

Tap, tap—

Ma Dong-seop soon grabs his cell phone and leaves the emergency room station.

Only then was I able to properly see the monitor screen.

The image on the CT screen was very different from the images I had seen before.

Then, suddenly the space distorts again.

‘Wait, too fast! I haven’t even seen the CT properly……!’

Flash—

The third space is the operating room.

The atmosphere is serious.

Doctors wearing masks are focused on the surgery.

Although I can only see their eyes, I immediately recognize that the small figure in front of me is Teacher Song Yu-ju.

And across from her, Professor Han Sang-gi is standing in the chief surgeon’s position.

And they are frowning as they look at the surgical field.

I also followed their gaze and looked at the surgical field.

‘Gasp!’

The lung is completely black.

Although I haven’t been inside an operating room, I know that the original color of the lung is pink.

But the lung in front of me now is…….

As black as charcoal.

And yellow pus was flowing out from the inside.

What is this!

I’ve never seen anything like this before.

I turned my head and checked the patient’s name written on the chalkboard on the wall.

<17/F Yang Song-i>

Song-i’s lung has turned that black?

No way!

How can it change that much in just a few days?

Then, the anesthesiologist, who was watching from the head side, raised his head and shouted.

“Maintaining blood pressure is not easy!”

The anesthesiologist’s expression is serious.

Professor Han Sang-gi moves his hands busily in the field and replies.

“Necrosis [tissue death] is severe. It seems that the bacteria have spread throughout the body. Please hold on a little longer!”

Then, after a while, he nervously mutters to himself.

“That’s why you should have come when we told you to! How long has she been in this state!”

Flash—

Leaving behind Professor Han Sang-gi’s lament, I returned to reality.

* * *

That night.

I sat at the desk in the dormitory and downloaded a thoracic surgery textbook on my tablet PC.

During the day, I was too busy with work to think calmly.

Fortunately, I can concentrate in a quiet environment now…….

“Krrrrr—”

……not really.

Geun-uk is snoring on the top bunk.

With the sound of snoring as background music, I turned the pages of the thoracic surgery book one by one.

The title of the book is .

My body is tired and I want to lie down on the bed right away, but my mind is still clear.

Because the image I saw in the dream was so intense.

‘What on earth do you have to do to make a lung turn that black in such a short period of time?’ I need to find the cause so I can prepare for it…….

Let’s take a look step by step.

I looked at the typical complications that can occur after lung resection [surgical removal of lung tissue].

Arrhythmia [irregular heartbeat].

Respiratory infection.

Wound dehiscence [wound reopening].

Etc…….

I diligently read the ‘Postoperative Complications’ chapter for a while.

But I couldn’t find any complications that would make the lung turn that black.

“I’m going crazy.”

Whoa.

I swept my hair back and leaned back in my chair.

Come to think of it, the bulky brothers also said something like that in the dream.

“It’s gone.”

Was that just an exclamation?

If not…….

I twirled the pen in my fingertips and pondered.

Then, suddenly Geun-uk jumped up from the top bunk.

“Umph!”

Thud!

Geun-uk jumped up and hit his forehead on the ceiling.

I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

“You surprised me. Why are you doing that when you’re sleeping well?”

“I had a nightmare.”

“A nightmare?”

“In my dream, I was a hero protecting the Earth. So I was fighting aliens…… Seon-han, who I thought was an ally, was actually the ultimate alien boss in disguise…… You bad guy…….”

Geun-uk starts talking nonsense while still half asleep.

What kind of person am I in your subconscious?

‘But I feel a little uneasy.’

Maybe Geun-uk is quick-witted.

After all, it’s true that I’m hiding my precognitive abilities from others.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m like an alien.

Then, Geun-uk suddenly grabs his leg and says.

“Hey, hey. I have a cramp in my leg. My blood isn’t circulating.”

Wait a minute.

Blood isn’t circulating?

I’m bothered by what Geun-uk said without thinking.

Why?

It feels like there’s a hint in it somewhere…….

“Hey, hey, I’m telling you my blood isn’t circulating. Massage my leg.”

Geun-uk said, flustered.

But I was lost in thought.

Blood isn’t circulating…….

Blood isn’t circulating……?

‘That’s right. If blood hasn’t been circulating in the lung for a long time, the lung could rot and turn black like that!’

Let’s check.

How?

The fastest way is to ask.

To someone who knows more than me.

I grabbed my gown and left the dormitory room.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“I’m going to the ward for a bit.”

“I told you to massage my leg?”

“Lick your nose [mind your own business].”

“Ugh, you heartless guy…… I knew that guy was a villain.”

I turned away from Geun-uk’s nonsense and headed to the thoracic surgery ward.

But will there be anyone who can help me at this hour?