Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 166

#166 Rival Match (4)

Before Round 1 began.

Ma Dong-seop was subtly filled with anticipation.

He sat in the thoracic surgery cheering section, watching Sun-han, who was waiting, with great interest.

‘This is going to be fun.’

Honestly, he wasn’t curious about the main event.

Because he already thought Song Yu-ju would win anyway.

Rather, he was much more excited about the opening match.

What kind of performance would Sun-han show in the intern league today?

“Dong-seop, now that I think about it, I’ve never seen Sun-han perform surgery… What do you think?”

At Ahn Kyung-sik’s whisper, Ma Dong-seop shrugged.

“How would I know? I’ve never seen him do surgery either. But from what I saw when he inserted the chest tube last time, he seems to have good hands.”

“Really?”

“Look at his face. He looks like he’d be good at surgery.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Of course, it was a joke.

Ma Dong-seop chuckled and then recalled a memory.

He remembered being impressed when Sun-han held the scalpel and made an incision at the precise angle without hesitation when he inserted the chest tube for the first time in the case of the high school student, Yang Song-yi.

Of course, it was just a subtle detail, but Dong-seop trusted his judgment.

For a moment, he even wondered if Sun-han might be the successor to Song Yu-ju.

‘Of course, I might have been wearing rose-colored glasses and overreacting. Hehe.’

Perhaps today, in this place, he would be able to roughly confirm whether that thought was right or wrong.

“But Kyung, why aren’t you participating?”

“I’m only in my first year, so I’m not confident… Hehe.”

“That’s something to be proud of.”

“Wait. Come to think of it, what about you, Dong-seop?”

“I went in for a lung transplantation and fell asleep. I forgot to apply.”

At that moment, someone approached the two of them.

“Move over.”

It was Song Yu-ju, the two-time champion.

Ma Dong-seop lifted his large buttocks, made room to the side, and asked.

“Hey, Champion. Do you think you’ll win easily this year too?”

“I don’t know.”

“You didn’t secretly go out for a smoke because you were nervous, did you?”

“Nervous?”

Song Yu-ju’s nonchalant answer was filled with confidence.

It was as if she was asking what the word ‘nervous’ even meant.

“Well, our Song Yu-ju wouldn’t be nervous about something like this.”

Ma Dong-seop laughed heartily and then turned his gaze to the front of the stage.

“Still, other people might be a little nervous, right? I did it last year, and I was as nervous as when I first entered the operating room. Especially the interns… Ah, it’s starting.”

The interns for today will now be introduced!

Finally, it was the interns’ entrance.

Even though it was an event match, the residents gave them generous applause.

Ahn Kyung-sik cupped his hands in front of his mouth and shouted loudly.

“Sun-han, fighting!”

“Hey, Sun-han is an obstetrics and gynecology intern right now. Don’t you care about our department’s interns?”

“Hey, what department are you in for the interns? I’m just cheering for the person I like.”

“That’s true.”

“Dong-seop, you’re going to cheer for Sun-han anyway, right?”

“Interns, fighting!”

Ma Dong-seop shouted in a thick, short voice and then said.

“Be fair and cheer for all the interns like me, that’s what I’m saying.”

Of course, Ma Dong-seop’s true feelings were that he was cheering for Shin Sun-han.

Why was that?

He was just one of many interns, but he felt particularly attached to him.

Although he was a friend with strange quirks that were hard to understand…….

Still, he liked how hard he worked at everything.

Maybe he would really become a member of the thoracic surgery department soon.

“But the first mission won’t be easy, will it?”

Like a triathlon, the competition would determine the winner by adding up the scores from each round.

The first round, , was by no means an easy task.

The time given was only 3 minutes.

During that time, they had to move all 20 seeds from the left box to the right box.

The score would increase by the number of seeds moved, and if all 20 seeds were moved before 3 minutes, an additional point would be awarded for every 10 seconds remaining.

“Sunbae [senior colleague], does practicing picking up seeds actually help with surgery?”

“It does help.”

Ma Dong-seop nodded seriously.

The lung parenchyma [functional tissue of the lung] is a weak tissue. Therefore, grasping the lung with a grasper and moving it gently (manipulation) is the basis of thoracoscopic surgery [minimally invasive chest surgery].

If this manipulation is rough, it can lead to postoperative pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

In that sense, controlling the seeds with the right amount of force so that they don’t bounce off is the first step to becoming a thoracic surgeon.

In other words, even if it is an entertainment event, it is a strict training exercise as it is a competition held in a hospital.

3, 2, 1, start!

Soon, at the same time as the host’s loud voice, the interns began to move their hands busily.

Everyone stared at the monitor in front of the auditorium.

The divided screen showed the participant’s number, the screen of each laparoscopic/thoracoscopic machine, and the timer.

Oh! They’re already struggling! Intern number 5, you’re supposed to be moving the seeds, not throwing them away!

Laughter briefly erupted at the host’s comment.

As expected, the interns’ hands were more clumsy than the residents’, and everyone had expected this kind of picture to emerge from the start.

But, among them.

There was one mutant-like guy.

“What, number 3… is too fast?”

“Oh-!”

Admiration flowed from the residents who were watching.

Even the professors looked at each other and smiled as if to say he was quite good.

The main character of that number 3 screen was Ryu Myung-in.

“Wow, look at Ryu Myung-in.”

“Is he really an intern?”

“He’s good. Didn’t they say he was the top student when he was an undergraduate?”

Pick, pick—

He was picking up the seeds without hesitation and moving them accurately.

Is this his first time? He’s got a lot of skill!

Everyone couldn’t help but think so.

Soon, some of the other interns seemed to be speeding up as well.

About a minute after the first round started, a gap began to widen between the participants.

“Hey, Kyung. You need to feel a sense of crisis. Especially that number 3, Ryu Myung-in. It’s the first time I’ve seen an intern do so well.”

Ahn Kyung-sik frowned at Ma Dong-seop’s words.

Intern Ryu Myung-in.

He had spoken to him a few times when he was an intern in the Department of Thoracic Surgery.

He was definitely a genius, but for some reason, he didn’t like him.

Something… something about him smelled terribly unlucky.

Ahn Kyung-sik secretly hoped that he would make a mistake.

‘I wish Sun-han was better than that Ryu Myung-in or whatever….’

Soon, Ahn Kyung-sik’s eyes widened as he checked Sun-han’s screen.

“Oh? That’s unexpected?”

Number 4 screen, Sun-han.

His speed was the slowest.

As 1 minute and 30 seconds passed, only 7 seeds had been moved on the number 4 monitor screen.

It definitely looked slow when compared to Ryu Myung-in next to him, who had only 6-7 seeds left.

“Has he ever been in VATS surgery [Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery]?”

Song Yu-ju suddenly said.

She originally had no interest in other people’s affairs.

But right now, she was watching Sun-han’s screen carefully.

Ma Dong-seop scratched his temple and replied.

“Well, I don’t know. He wouldn’t have been there when he was in TS [Thoracic Surgery]… I don’t think he would have had much of a chance to touch it even while assisting with surgery in obstetrics and gynecology, would he?”

“Besides, he came late and didn’t seem to have practiced properly.”

“Really?”

Ma Dong-seop sighed at Ahn Kyung-sik’s addition.

“Oh, even if it’s the first time, he’s too slow.”

“I guess his score won’t be very good today?”

“I should have called him separately and had him practice once….”

The two smacked their lips in unison with regret.

At that time, Song Yu-ju opened her mouth.

“Well, I think he has his own thoughts.”

No sooner had Song Yu-ju finished speaking than the host’s comment came out.

Oh, the seeds shouldn’t fall on the floor! That’s a waste of time!

As time passed, the interns became impatient and made mistakes.

Many interns dropped the seeds on the floor because they failed to control their strength while trying to move them.

On the other hand, Sun-han made no mistakes.

And the speed gradually increased little by little.

As a result, Sun-han, who started the slowest, was actually moving up to the mid-range.

“Ah… he seems to be focusing on minimizing mistakes rather than rushing.”

“Not bad?”

It was a simple logic.

For example, let’s say it takes 8 seconds to move one seed.

If you drop it in the middle, it takes twice as long.

Moreover, it is even more wasteful to add the time to pick it up again.

So, it is better to invest more than 10 seconds from the beginning and move it carefully.

“Sun-han is smart after all.”

“Yeah, so what if his hands are a little slow! It’s more important to practice accurately like in a real battle.”

The two nodded.

But Song Yu-ju was looking at it a little differently.

‘Slow hands?’

I don’t think so.

Rather, it seems like he’s practicing?

Song Yu-ju suddenly recalled the expression . [T/N: Meaning to adjust the sights on a gun.]

Originally, it was an expression derived from shooting, and it is used when a process of personalizing is needed for each person even when using the same tool.

The first round is enough practice, and the real start is from the second round…….

At least, that’s how it looked in Song Yu-ju’s eyes.

Time’s up!

Soon, the timer ended, and the rankings with the scores tallied were released.

[Round 1 Rankings]

1st place: Ryu Myung-in 23

2nd place: Son Ye-ri 20

3rd place: Kim Yu-jin 19

4th place: Jo Jin-gi 18

5th place: Shin Sun-han 17

……

As expected, 1st place was Ryu Myung-in.

He completed the mission in just 2 minutes and 30 seconds, recording a score that was difficult for other interns to catch up to.

The interns briefly returned to their original seats while the mission for the next round was being set up.

“Hey, did you see that? He’s going to climb up even more in the next round.”

Jo Jin-gi sneered as if to let Sun-han hear.

He recorded a higher ranking than Sun-han and had a smug look on his face.

His strategy was the opposite of Sun-han’s, which was ‘unconditionally fast’.

So, he spilled a lot of seeds and made people laugh…….

Looking at the results alone, he recorded a fairly high score.

“17? You used to act so high and mighty, but in the end, you did worse than me?”

As Jo Jin-gi continued to sneer like that, Ryu Myung-in sat next to him and retorted in a cold tone.

“Jin-gi, did you follow the rules?”

“What?”

“I had 30 seconds left, so I was watching, and I think you cheated at the end.”

“Wh-what are you talking about, do you have any proof?”

Jo Jin-gi looked around in embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Ryu Myung-in said calmly with eyes that did not back down at all.

“When you picked up the seeds you dropped at the end, didn’t you secretly put a few on the right?”

“Wh, what nonsense….”

“Well, I might have seen it wrong. Anyway, that kind of sloppy trick won’t work in the mission in the second round.”

Ryu Myung-in raised the corners of his lips.

Jo Jin-gi clenched his fist on his lap, but of course, he couldn’t punch him here.

Meanwhile, Sun-han, who was stuck between the two, had no change in expression.

‘This is fun.’

Sun-han was immersed.

The grasper, which he had just started to get used to, was more interesting than he thought.

The feeling of gradually getting used to a tool that didn’t work as he wanted at first…….

It’s thrilling and new.

A personality that doesn’t see anything else once he concentrates.

His head was full of thoughts about the next round.

The second round will begin soon! Interns, please return to your positions.

After a short break, the second round began.

The second mission was .

That’s right, it was a miniature version of the ring toss game in daycare centers.

The task was to move the rings stacked on one pole to the opposite pole and then back to the original pole.

The size of the rubber rings was about the size of a thumbnail.

The beans could simply be dropped into the opposite box, but the rings had to be inserted precisely into the pole.

Therefore, even more delicate control was required.

Now, let’s start the second round, which is even more difficult!

“Oh-!”

The atmosphere heated up.

The interns, who had warmed up in the first round, began to compete in earnest.

However, there were two monitors that stood out in particular.

The existing number 3.

And number 4.

Ryu Myung-in’s skill in number 3 was expected, but Sun-han’s grasper in screen number 4 was gradually increasing its speed as well.