Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 114

#114 Surfers (4)

Let’s think.

What did Master Pung say in the dream?

A situation where .

That’s why he said .

‘In that case… let’s get an opinion from a neurologist or neurosurgeon first.’

Who is there?

Suddenly, a face comes to mind.

It’s Dr. Heo Gijin, the neurosurgery resident I worked with last month.

I picked up my smartphone.

[Sunhan] Dr. Heo, how are you? This is intern Shin Sunhan. I have something I’d like to ask you. Would that be alright?

I sent the message.

Let’s eat and organize my thoughts.

I went to a rice soup restaurant with Geunuk nearby.

“Auntie, two rice soups here!”

Geunuk shouts.

He looks excited.

It’s like a child right before going to an amusement park.

“Sunhan, what’s gotten into you?”

“Huh?”

“What made you suddenly ask women you’ve never met to drink with you?”

“Ah… I just felt like doing it impulsively.”

I made up an excuse.

Then, Geunuk snapped his fingers as if he realized something.

“I get it. You like women who work out!”

“……?”

“Well, considering the blind date last time, and our colleagues at the hospital. There haven’t been any healthy, athletic types around you.”

Geunuk nods.

He looks like he’s finally solved all the mysteries.

Whatever, think what you want.

You don’t know what’s going on inside me.

My head is about to explode with complicated thoughts.

“Two bowls of rice soup are here~”

Why so fast?

As expected, the speed of Gokdam.

Even a rice soup restaurant was no exception.

As if they were prepared before we even ordered, two bowls of rice soup were placed on the table.

‘We’re supposed to meet at 8… there’s not much time left.’ One hour left.

I need to come up with a strategy during that time.

I shoved the rice soup into my mouth and searched textbooks and papers on my smartphone.

And, on the other hand, I recalled the shocking scene from the dream.

Patient Park Chorok, who was healthy and working out until this morning.

She was saying in the emergency room, terrified.

‘There were clearly no visible injuries on the patient’s body. But paraplegia appears… that means….’

Tap, tap—

I searched for keywords.

Non-traumatic spinal cord injury.

I found several causes.

Cases where the spinal cord is compressed by a tumor.

Cases where the spinal cord is damaged by infection.

Cases where the spinal cord is not supplied with blood due to vascular problems.

And so on.

In addition to these, all sorts of bizarre reasons kept appearing as I searched the internet.

‘Ha… this is more than just twenty questions?’

It’s difficult.

The hints given are too few.

Difficulty level: the final boss.

If a question like this came out on an exam, the exam committee would be terrorized.

Unlike me, who had a serious expression, Geunuk’s face was flushed.

“Ha… a 2-on-2 date with strange women on vacation. What should I say first?”

Dudududu—

Geunuk has been shaking his leg since a while ago.

The rice bowl is vibrating.

As expected of a health nut, even his leg shaking is as intense as exercising.

“Stop shaking your leg. The restaurant is going to fall apart.”

“If I had known this would happen, I would have put more thought into what I wore.”

“No. You look best when you don’t care about fashion like you do now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

At my words, Geunuk’s simple personality made his face light up.

“What if they both fall for me? I’m the type to be devoted to one person when I’m in a relationship….”

Geunuk is muttering nonsense.

He’s already in a relationship by himself.

Meanwhile, my mind is full of other thoughts.

‘If I can find out the cause of the patient’s paraplegia, I might be able to intervene and change the future….’

Ding—

At that moment, a text message notification rang.

It was Dr. Heo Gijin.

[NS Heo Gijin] Oh, Sunhan, what’s up? I heard you’re on dispatch to Gokdam this month?

[Sunhan] Thanks to you, I’m doing well, doctor. But I wanted to ask you a question.

[NS Heo Gijin] Huh? What question?

[Sunhan] What should I do if a young woman comes to the emergency room with non-traumatic paraplegia as her chief complaint?

I sent the question and waited.

After a while.

Ring, ring—

The phone rang.

I went outside the restaurant and answered the phone.

Then, I heard Dr. Heo Gijin’s voice on the other end of the line after a long time.

“What… did a patient like that come in while you’re on duty? Then you need to contact Neurology quickly!”

His voice is genuinely worried.

As expected, Angel Heo.

He’s too kind.

I made up another appropriate excuse.

“Ah, it’s not a patient I’m in charge of… it’s something that happened at my friend’s hospital in the countryside.”

Then, Dr. Heo Gijin’s tone subsided.

He returned to his usual listless voice.

“Ah, is that so? I thought… Anyway, if it’s non-traumatic paraplegia in a young patient, it’s probably because it’s being pressed by a tumor….”

A tumor?

That’s probably the most common thing.

It was an answer that I had already kept in mind as my top priority.

“A spinal cord tumor?”

“Yeah, that’s a possibility, but what about the labs (blood tests) and imaging? You won’t know unless you test….”

“Ah… I’ll ask.”

“Okay. Tumor, infection, inflammation… there’s a lot to think about. If Sunhan is your friend, he probably hasn’t had his medical license for very long, right? Tell him to contact Neurology or Neurosurgery quickly….”

“Yes, thank you, doctor. I’ll contact you again.”

“Okay. Take care….”

Click.

The call ended.

I took a deep breath.

Whew.

My complicated head is starting to clear up a bit.

I need to be calm.

Someone’s future depends on my judgment again.

‘Let’s think.’

What if it’s a neoplasm (tumor)?

If I find it earlier and operate, can I change the future?

Before the tumor presses on the spinal cord and causes paraplegia.

‘And even if it’s not a tumor….’

I need to get her to get tested at the hospital quickly.

That was the only solution I could think of right now.

‘But will the patient listen to me?’

It’s a headache.

There’s no justification, is there?

There’s no way she’d agree if a doctor she’s never met suddenly recommends a hospital test….

‘Let’s think hard about a way during the remaining time. I have to persuade her no matter what!’

I resolved.

Of course, the other person is someone I’ve never met before.

I may not have an obligation to help that person.

But if I just ignore it and pass by, will I feel comfortable?

That can’t be.

I’ll probably keep thinking about it.

As a doctor, I can’t just stand still and do nothing after seeing this future.

‘Let’s solve this problem somehow!’

I thought so and returned to the rice soup restaurant.

Then Geunuk, who was seriously contemplating something, said.

“Sunhan.”

“Yeah?”

“What if those women live in Gokdam… should we have our honeymoon home in Gokdam?”

How far has he gone in his head?

* * *

After a while.

It was almost 8 o’clock.

We took our seats at a food stall by the sea.

It was a place where several outdoor shops were lined up on the embankment overlooking the beach.

“This place is nice, right?”

“Yes, the atmosphere is really great!”

“Please, sit down first.”

Two men, two women.

We sat facing each other at a round table.

An unfamiliar meeting.

There is always some tension and excitement in it.

A sweet atmosphere seems to be mixed with the salty smell of the sea breeze.

‘The scenery is nice.’

I looked around for a moment.

Gokdam Beach Street, where camping lights romantically twinkle.

It was exuding the charm that only a summer beach can have, along with the sound of the waves.

From groups of friends to people who seemed to be there with their families, various people who came to the beach were filling the stores.

Among them were groups of unfamiliar men and women like us.

“Come to think of it, we exchanged numbers without even knowing each other’s names.”

“Ah, our names are….”

We introduced each other.

The two of them seemed a little surprised at the mention of being a dispatched doctor.

Soon, the two of them introduced themselves.

Park Choa.

Kim Aryeong.

Those were their names.

I tilted my head for a moment.

‘Park Choa? When I saw her in the dream, her name was definitely Park Chorok….’

Maybe she’s hiding it because her real name is unique.

I understand that feeling.

Because my name is also unique.

Of course, my name is the most unique among these.

“Your name is Shin Sunhan?”

“Awesome!”

Always the same pattern.

It’s perfect for breaking the ice in the beginning.

Thank you for giving me a strange name, Father.

In addition, it seemed that the two of them also knew about the Gangnam Station incident in the past.

“Ah, come to think of it, I saw a video before… I was wondering where I saw it, but it was you guys!”

The atmosphere became friendly in an instant.

Ponytailed Kim Aryeong actively continued the conversation.

“My friend lives in Seoul and works at a company. I work as a sports instructor here.”

“A sports instructor?”

“Yes.”

“Wow!”

Geunuk’s eyes sparkled.

He looked like he had met his destined partner.

As expected, he’s simple….

As expected of a health nut, he’s reacting to the word sports.

“But I’ll tell you in advance, we drink a lot.”

“The doctors might get carried away trying to keep up with our pace?”

“You might run away saying you shouldn’t have asked us to drink together.”

The two women said provocatively to us and laughed.

At that moment, the store clerk came to take our order, and we ordered a large grilled shellfish platter.

“How many bottles of soju should I bring?”

“Give us two for now.”

Geunuk said to the clerk.

Then, the atmosphere at the table suddenly turned cold.

“Excuse me?”

“Only two bottles?”

The women scoffed.

Even the restaurant employee looked dumbfounded.

Did we make some kind of mistake?

“No, how can you order two bottles of soju with so many mouths?”

“Are we just going to wet our lips and end the night?”

The accusations continued.

It was almost like we had committed treason.

Then, Geunuk quickly corrected the order.

“Lay down five bottles!”

“Yes~”

The clerk smiled and scribbled something on the bill before disappearing.

Soon, five bottles of soju and a watery bean sprout soup were served in a dented aluminum pot.

Then, ponytailed Kim Aryeong grabbed a bottle of soju and said.

“I’ll tell you in advance, we don’t have any pretense like being innocent.”

Whir—

She spun the bottle of soju 540 degrees in place and started hitting the back of the bottle with her elbow.

Thump, thump—

Her hand movements are unusual.

It’s like a master’s aura?

I think we messed with the wrong people.

Kim Aryeong looked at the two of us and smiled.

“Should we start by dropping the honorifics?”