Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 203

#203 Hawk Eyes, a Woman’s Hands, a Lion’s Heart (6)

“……?”

Suddenly, the atmosphere at the dinner became silent.

Professor Baek Ui-sin dropped his liquor bottle, which shattered into pieces on the floor.

Immediately, the staff rushed over and quickly cleaned up the broken glass.

“Sir, are you hurt?”

“No, I’m sorry. I wonder why it suddenly slipped?”

After a brief apology, he turned to us and said,

“Did you see that? It seems like I’m not even supposed to pour you guys drinks yet. The bottle suddenly slipped.”

“……”

“Bring me a new bottle of soju [Korean distilled rice liquor].”

Pour, pour-

I politely received the glass.

But this time, the liquor overflowed, more than filling the glass.

Was he drunk?

No, he didn’t seem to be.

Professor Baek Ui-sin’s face was the same as usual, and his voice didn’t sound drunk at all.

“Did I give you too much?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I’ll accept it with overflowing love~!”

Shin Sang-mi’s affable tone.

Of course, she failed to penetrate Baek Ui-sin’s impenetrable expression.

Embarrassed, we turned our heads, downed our drinks, and returned to our seats.

And, a few minutes later.

Professor Baek Ui-sin headed outside.

Without a word, he suddenly got up and disappeared.

Everyone at the dinner table was bewildered by the disappearance of the main character, and an awkward silence hung in the air for a while.

Teacher Ma Dong-seop cautiously gestured to us and whispered.

“What happened earlier?”

“Professor Baek dropped his liquor bottle.”

“Did you guys make a mistake and make him angry enough to throw the bottle?”

“Gasp… Is that it? I think I mixed too much of a nasal tone earlier! What should I do?”

To Shin Sang-mi’s absurd words, which seemed frightened, I simply added,

“I think his hand just slipped.”

“Really? If that’s the case, that’s a relief.”

Ma Dong-seop scratched his head.

Just a common occurrence at any drinking party.

There was no need to make a fuss about it.

However, some people seemed to be exchanging unspoken words with secretive glances.

After the dinner ended, everyone split into several groups and got into taxis.

Ryu Myeong-in, who was rotating in otolaryngology [ear, nose, and throat medicine], joined us a beat late and was with us.

“Ugh, I have indigestion.”

“I don’t even know what I ate.”

“I wish dinner parties would just disappear. I felt more comfortable and better when we interns hung out together.”

Me, Shin Sang-mi, and Ryu Myeong-in.

Once only the soon-to-be first-year residents were left, the tension eased.

As soon as the taxi started, we all sighed like deflated balloons.

Soon, the two people in the back seat started chatting.

“But isn’t it a little strange?”

“What is?”

“I thought Professor Baek was a superstar at Yonsei University Hospital. But why does everyone seem uncomfortable with him?”

“Would you be comfortable, noona [older sister or female friend]? It’s like a tank suddenly appeared on a well-managed four-lane road.”

“Oh, Ryu Myeong-in. You’re using metaphors now?”

“Of course, Professor Baek Ui-sin was once the best in the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Yonsei University Hospital, but now other professors are leading it well. But since he suddenly returned, the professors must have a lot on their minds.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Besides, given Professor Baek’s personality, I don’t think he was very friendly to other professors in the past.”

That makes sense.

Professor and student.

Even students who have been bullied and oppressed will eventually get the title of professor.

I’ve heard that even if they were once teacher and student, the relationship isn’t very good if they’ve been treated too harshly.

Once they are in a position where they no longer need to be mindful, some people may only try to maintain a moderate relationship with their old teacher, the old professor.

That’s why I’ve heard that the atmosphere in some departments isn’t good, and I wonder if our Department of Thoracic Surgery will become like that too?

“I heard that even when he was in his prime, some people said Professor Baek was too much. He acted like a national star all by himself and squeezed the people around him.”

Ryu Myeong-in, sitting in the upper seat in the back, pretended to know.

Of course, we, as soon-to-be first-year residents, cannot know for what reason the higher-ups are reluctant to Baek.

Simple jealousy?

Memories of being exploited like slaves in the past?

Or political reasons?

Whatever it is, it seems inevitable that likes and dislikes arise among people within an organization.

“By the way, I was so surprised when the bottle fell earlier.”

“Right? I almost had a heart attack. That rumor might be true.”

“Ah, that rumor?”

The conversation is becoming more and more meaningful.

I turned my head and asked, sitting in the passenger seat.

“What rumor?”

“The rumor that Professor Baek retired because he had a health problem.”

I tilted my head.

It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.

“There was such a rumor?”

“Hyung [older brother or male friend] Seon-han is really ignorant of rumors. Haven’t you heard the story that Professor Baek can’t move his hands freely? There was a lot of talk when he left the hospital.”

My heart sank.

…There’s something wrong with his hands?

If that’s true, it would be fatal as a surgeon.

That’s why there’s this old joke among surgeons.

If you want to catch a closing elevator, stick your head in instead of your hand.

That’s how important hands are to doctors who perform surgery.

In any surgery, a 1mm error can change the outcome and even affect the patient’s life.

“There are various versions of the rumor. Some say he can’t stand for long because of a herniated disc, others say he can’t lower his head for long because of a cervical disc, and there’s also a story that surgery is difficult because of presbyopia [age-related farsightedness]… The most likely is TOS.”

TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome).

Thoracic outlet syndrome.

It refers to a condition in which blood vessels and nerves under the collarbone are compressed due to structures above the thoracic outlet.

The main symptoms are pain, numbness, and tingling in the arm.

Sometimes the body swells or the skin color changes.

I’ve heard that sometimes the hands turn blue and cold.

‘Come to think of it, I think Professor Baek also wrote a paper on TOS…’

I once searched for all the papers under the name Baek Ui-sin.

As expected, Baek Ui-sin.

He is a person who demonstrates monstrous skills in clinical practice, but his research performance was also considerable.

The research crossed the heart part and the general thoracic part, and even some of the papers were published in journals with an impact factor (a score indicating the grade of the paper) of over 20 points.

I remember that one of those many papers was a study on TOS.

While my thoughts were reaching that point, Ryu Myeong-in continued.

“…Anyway, there’s also a rumor that he’s back at the hospital to take a position until retirement, even though he’s in a condition where he can’t go into the operating room at all.”

Ryu Myeong-in’s added words did not sound light to me.

“It’s probably just a rumor. Let’s not spread unconfirmed stories carelessly.”

Perhaps my reaction was a bit sharp, and the two people widened their eyes.

“Ah, right. Seon-han hyung was a Professor Baek Ui-sin otaku [obsessive fan].”

“Really?”

“You can’t insult Professor Baek in front of Seon-han hyung. It’s like insulting an idol in front of a fan club.”

“Hey, are you a fan of a professor because there’s no one to be a fan of? Just stan [support] an idol! There are so many pretty kids these days!”

At Shin Sang-mi’s words, I chuckled and threw my gaze out the window.

The desolate night scenery of the city was quickly disappearing behind us.

Come to think of it, I didn’t know much about ‘human Baek Ui-sin’.

After he returned to the hospital, let’s gather the new evaluations of the people around me that I’ve heard for the past few days…

A person whose personality changes when he puts on gloves.

The tyrant of room 17.

A person who is reluctant to work with.

Surprisingly, an attention seeker.

‘They’re all negative.’

I felt a sense of gloom.

Just yesterday.

I saw Baek Ui-sin’s skills with my own eyes in the emergency room.

The sight of him boldly putting his hand into the patient’s chest cavity, accurately blocking the bleeding site, and saving the patient.

It was the ideal and wonderful image that I had always admired.

‘Let’s not pay attention to what other people say. Professor Baek is a hero to me.’

I sorted out my own thoughts, and the two people’s words continued.

“Anyway, I have to go into Professor Baek’s surgery! That way, even if I run away later, I’ll have something to talk about for the rest of my life, right?”

“Are you still thinking of running away?”

“Of course, I’m going to run away if things go wrong.”

“In my opinion, noona will only say she’s running away for the rest of her life and become a thoracic surgery ghost.”

“Hey, don’t say unlucky things!”

“Agh, I got hit in the bone!”

The sound of Ryu Myeong-in being punched was heard from the back seat.

Actually, I was curious too.

Baek Ui-sin’s surgery, which is famous.

What kind of surgery will he perform?

And a few days later.

When his first surgery after his return was decided, everyone was surprised.

* * *

“Varicose veins?”

The residents and fellows of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, who were gathered in the office, looked embarrassed.

“Is he starting with a warm-up?”

“Well, he could be.”

“What, are you guys ignoring varicose vein surgery? It’s a very important surgery.”

“That’s true, but it doesn’t suit Professor Baek. He wasn’t originally a specialist in that area anyway…”

Everyone was puzzled and held back their words.

Varicose veins.

‘Haji’ means leg, and ‘varicose veins’ means that the blood in the veins that should go to the heart flows backward.

In other words, it is the occurrence of reverse driving on a road that should originally be one-way.

As a result, the veins expand, twist, and lengthen because they cannot withstand the pressure.

When this disease occurs, the blood vessels appear blue and crooked on the skin of the legs, which is not good for aesthetic reasons and can also cause pain.

There are several treatments.

The most certain way is to remove the veins that are causing the problem altogether.

‘Because it can be removed relatively easily.’

Recently, a surgical method is mainly used in which a thin laser line is inserted into the blood vessel and the blood vessel is burned through the laser.

Of course, some protruding blood vessels are also removed by directly tearing the skin with a knife and cutting the blood vessels.

You might think, why are the blood vessels in the legs under the jurisdiction of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, but it is the job of the Department of Thoracic Surgery to handle the major blood vessels in the body.

The official academic society name of the Department of Thoracic Surgery is the Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, which is in the same context.

“Is he going to do varicose veins here and then open his own practice?”

In fact, the almost only field in which a thoracic surgeon can open a practice is the field of varicose veins.

“I see. To choose the simplest surgery among the heart part surgeries in thoracic surgery as the first surgery…”

Once, twice, and three times.

The same surgery was repeated and the doubt was amplified.

-What do you guys think of Professor Baek Mo [slang for ‘what is Professor Baek doing’]?

-I heard a rumor that he can’t use his hands well anymore…

-Then he shouldn’t even be doing varicose vein surgery

-I think he just came to warm up before opening his own practice

-Isn’t he already past his prime?

-Aren’t you guys saying too much?

-His reputation was exaggerated in the first place ㅋㅋㅋ Legend is bullshit, he’s the only one who goes on TV and pretends to be cool ㅋㅋㅋ The backstabbing on the anonymous community, which has now become almost a garbage dump due to some malicious commenters, was more blatant.

[Exclusive] Professor Baek Ui-sin, unable to perform surgery normally? Testimony from insiders continues…

Even the yellow press, smelling something, released sensational press releases.

In that way, the rumors surrounding him were gradually becoming a foregone conclusion.

‘Everyone is talking too much.’

To me, who had unwavering faith in Professor Baek, they seemed like futile noises.

Anyway, what’s certain is.

Professor Baek Ui-sin was a born issue maker.

Perhaps he is the only doctor in Korea whose every move is so closely watched.

* * *

The third week of January.

It was a day when the winter wind was blowing coldly.

A baby was admitted to the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit through the outpatient clinic.