A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 114

The Showdown (4)

“Seo Jun-hoo! You devilish bastard! Stop right there!”

As Jun-hoo and Ah-young were leaving the conference room, an angry voice stopped Jun-hoo.

The protagonist he had fully expected.

Seung-beom.

Seung-beom glared at Jun-hoo with a face flushed red.

“Is something going on between you two?”

Sensing the tension between them,

Ah-young asked anxiously.

“It’s nothing much. Ah-young, could you go to the lounge for a bit?”

“Are you going to be okay alone?”

“I think I’ll be better off alone. Could you get me a can of coffee, the usual kind I drink?”

Jun-hoo gently guided Ah-young towards the lounge.

Seeing this, Seung-beom clicked his tongue as if it were pathetic.

“What a load of crap.”

“That’s what I want to say. Follow me.”

Jun-hoo moved with Seung-beom to the end of the hallway by the window.

There were still many interns near the conference room.

Gathered in small groups, they were chatting.

It was 30 minutes after the end of the suture competition.

Because the judging and awards ceremony would proceed immediately.

“You cheap bastard. You didn’t even listen to what I had to say and stomped on my wrist? My suturing was delayed because of you.”

Seung-beom pointed to his left wrist with his right hand, venting his anger.

Seung-beom’s left wrist was swollen and red. The marks from being stomped on by the Crocs [a type of casual shoe] were also clearly visible.

“That’s rich, coming from you. Did you think I wouldn’t know your intentions?”

“What intentions?”

“You deliberately dropped the forceps and went under the desk to try and lift my chair.”

Jun-hoo sharply pointed out Seung-beom’s scheme.

Seung-beom was busy glancing at Jun-hoo during the competition.

He even dropped the forceps for no reason.

Truly a deliberate action.

Thanks to not letting his guard down,

Jun-hoo was able to see through Seung-beom’s plan.

First, he made his body heavy with Thousand Weights [a skill or technique that increases body weight].

Completely blocking Seung-beom from doing anything to his chair,

After making eye contact with Seung-beom, he also stepped on Seung-beom’s wrist.

If Jun-hoo hadn’t controlled his strength, Seung-beom’s wrist would have been crushed.

He wouldn’t have even been able to complete the suture competition.

However, the reason Jun-hoo showed mercy.

It was because if Seung-beom got hurt,

It would harm the fellow interns or residents who worked with Seung-beom.

Because that would reduce the workforce.

“Hmph… Don’t make me laugh. Who in the world would think of such ridiculous things? Are you paranoid?”

Seung-beom played dumb.

But he couldn’t hide his flustered expression.

“It’s you. You. You’re a real creative genius. How could you even come up with such an idea?”

Jun-hoo sneered.

But there was sincerity in it as well.

During an official competition,

The idea of going under the chair and flipping over a rival’s chair was not something anyone could think of.

Perhaps that’s why.

Jun-hoo had even imagined it.

What if Seung-beom’s character was upright?

What if his mind, which only worked in bad ways,

Worked towards saving people?

If that were the case, Seung-beom would be a reliable colleague whom Jun-hoo could trust and lean on.

Of course, that would never happen, even if the sky were to split in two.

“The perpetrator is making the victim out to be the perpetrator. Damn it, do you think you’ll always be successful?”

“Is it slander now because you lack the skill? Typical of you.”

“You smug bastard. You’ll definitely regret it one day.”

“Stop with the pathetic curses and get lost. Unless you want the rest of your wrist broken.”

When Jun-hoo unleashed his killing intent, Seung-beom trembled.

He bit his lip as if he was upset and left the scene.

Jun-hoo stood his ground, watching Seung-beom’s retreating figure.

When will the bad blood with Seung-beom end?

Even Jun-hoo couldn’t know.

* * *

30 minutes after the end of the competition.

The interns gathered back in the conference room.

“The first place is obviously you, Jun-hoo. The only thing left is the fight for 2nd and 3rd place, right?”

Ah-young said, looking at Jun-hoo, who was sitting next to her.

“You never know until you measure it. You did well too, Ah-young.”

“Me? I’m still far behind you, Jun-hoo.”

“Of course, you can’t compare yourself to me.”

Ah-young laughed at Jun-hoo’s joke.

After finishing the suturing first, Jun-hoo watched Ah-young suture.

Whether she had prepared well for the competition,

Ah-young’s hand movements were skillful.

The process of hemostasis [stopping blood flow], ligation [tying off a blood vessel], and knotting was as smooth as flowing water.

She didn’t seem to be nervous like before.

At this rate, Ah-young seemed like she could become a good cardiothoracic surgeon.

“Now, we will begin the awards ceremony for the 1st Intern Suture Competition. First, we will announce the 3rd place winner.”

Jun-hoo quickly snapped out of it at the host’s announcement.

Just because he had shown overwhelming skill,

Didn’t mean he could rest assured.

Seung-yong was among the judges.

Seung-yong, as the Vice Director of Medical Affairs, had the power to make even the last place winner the first.

“3rd place goes to Choi Jong-hoon, an intern training in neurosurgery. Please come up to the stage.”

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Applause erupted along with the announcement of 3rd place.

The 3rd place winner shook hands with Seung-yong and returned to the table with the plaque.

“Next is 2nd place. 2nd place goes to… Lee Ah-young, an intern in plastic surgery.”

“Wow! Jun-hoo, I got 2nd place.”

“You deserved it. Congratulations, Ah-young.”

Jun-hoo sincerely congratulated Ah-young on her award.

Now there was only one spot left.

Only the announcement of the winner who decorated the finale of this competition remained.

Before the 1st place award,

Jun-hoo suddenly made eye contact with Seung-beom,

Seung-beom was grinning maliciously.

He even raised his middle finger at Jun-hoo.

“The 1st Intern Suture Competition. The winner of this honor is… Seo Jun-hoo, an intern in gastroenterological surgery.”

When Jun-hoo was called, Seung-beom contorted his face.

Jun-hoo breathed a sigh of relief.

He returned the favor to Seung-beom with a fully extended middle finger, making sure the judges couldn’t see.

“I knew it from when you performed CPR on a patient with dextrocardia [a rare condition where the heart is located on the right side of the chest]. My eyes are never wrong.”

Seung-yong, facing Jun-hoo, smiled and continued.

“Jun-hoo, you are the overwhelming first place.”

“Thank you, Vice Director.”

Applause poured in from all directions.

Flashes of cameras burst.

The news and photos from today were scheduled to be published in the hospital’s monthly bulletin.

“Vice Director. If you don’t mind, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

Jun-hoo carefully brought up the topic before receiving the plaque.

“Go ahead.”

“Seung-beom is also here, so why am I in 1st place?”

Although he had won the glory of 1st place,

Jun-hoo was still wondering.

If it was Seung-yong, making Seung-beom the 1st place winner would have been a piece of cake.

“You still don’t know me. You still lack the eye to see people.”

“……”

“When you realize the reason later, come find me then. Because that’s when a proper conversation can be had.”

Seung-yong’s words were meaningful and enigmatic.

It was the first time Jun-hoo had failed to read the other person’s intentions and inner thoughts, so he was quite taken aback.

What should I say?

It was like Seung-yong was above his head.

Jun-hoo received the plaque and returned to his seat.

Strangely, his heart was not at ease.

* * *

Jun-hoo, who returned to the gastroenterological surgery department, was showered with congratulations from his colleagues.

They said things like, “I knew you’d get 1st place anyway,” “Let’s take a look at the plaque,” and “Treat us big today.”

The only person not invited to the celebration was Mi-ho.

Mi-ho was busy running back and forth between the on-call room and the bathroom. She was paying the price for putting laxatives in the drinks.

The conversation lasted about 10 minutes.

The 2nd to 4th year residents scattered to their respective tasks.

Since there was nothing to do right now,

Jun-hoo stared blankly at the plaque.

The golden trophy was reflecting Jun-hoo’s face in gold.

The suture competition was definitely a good experience.

He had only been familiar with procedures using a scalpel,

Thanks to it, he opened his eyes to suturing.

He became interested in suturing and increased his proficiency in suturing.

But the aftereffects were not insignificant…

It was the desire for surgery.

After learning suturing,

Jun-hoo wanted to perform surgery with his own hands.

Now, being an intern was not enough to satisfy Jun-hoo.

ABGA blood draws [Arterial Blood Gas Analysis], dressings, nasogastric tube insertion, enemas, Foley catheter insertion, thoracentesis [a procedure to remove fluid from around the lungs], paracentesis [a procedure to remove fluid from the abdomen], etc.

Jun-hoo had converted all the skills needed for an intern into martial arts.

He could perfectly digest it at any time.

Perhaps that’s why.

He had a desire to learn more advanced procedures and skills.

Ring~ Ring~

The sound of the phone breaking the reverie.

Jun-hoo, who was closest to the phone, answered it.

“Yes. This is the gastroenterological surgery department.”

-Hello. This is the emergency room. The patient’s number is 1478910.

“……”

-The patient has acute appendicitis. I confirmed rebound tenderness by palpating the right lower quadrant [a medical test for appendicitis]. There are also signs of inflammation on the abdominal CT.

“Okay. I’ll schedule the surgery and go down.”

The call ended.

After listening to the notification from the emergency medicine doctor, Jun-hoo checked the patient’s chart.

Appendicitis was more difficult to differentiate than he thought.

Because the symptoms overlap with enteritis [inflammation of the small intestine], urolithiasis [kidney stones], diverticulitis [inflammation of the diverticula in the colon], intussusception [a condition where part of the intestine slides into another part], etc.

But the patient he received the notification for definitely had appendicitis in Jun-hoo’s view.

“Senior. I just received a call from the emergency room. They said an appendicitis patient came in.”

Jun-hoo notified Dae-jin, who had returned to the on-call room just in time.

“Appendicitis? Ugh… This is bad.”

Dae-jin’s face contorted.

“Is there a problem?”

“I was supposed to perform the first surgery if an appendicitis patient came in this time. Ugh, I’m already nervous.”

“……”

“Would you like to come in as an assistant if you’re okay with it?”

“I’d be more than happy to.”

“I’ll take care of the surgery procedures, so you go to the emergency room and bring the patient.”

“Yes. Senior.”

Jun-hoo went straight down to the emergency room and moved the bed where the appendicitis patient was lying to the operating room.

When he arrived at the operating room,

Dae-jin, who had arrived first, received the surgical consent form.

In the meantime, Jun-hoo went into the operating room and set up the surgical equipment like lightning.

About 20 minutes passed like that.

The curtain rose on Dae-jin’s long-awaited first appendectomy as the surgeon.

The patient was lying on the operating table under general anesthesia.

Perhaps because of the light from the surgical light,

The patient’s skin looked particularly pale.

Beep. Beep.

The mechanical sound of the patient monitoring device was regular. The cool air unique to the operating room wrapped around the skin.

The pungent smell of disinfectant stung the nose.

Dae-jin was the surgeon.

Sang-hyuk, a 3rd year resident, was the 1st assistant and supervisor.

The scrub nurse took her place next to Dae-jin.

Jun-hoo took his place next to Sang-hyuk.

“Are you very nervous? Are you worried about what will happen if you make a mistake?”

Sang-hyuk said in a tone that he understood Dae-jin’s feelings.

“I wanted to run away until just a moment ago, but I feel much better now.”

“Ooh~ Really?”

“Yes. Strangely, I’ve become calmer since Jun-hoo gave me a massage.”

“There’s even a massage that relieves tension?”

Sang-hyuk asked, looking at Jun-hoo.

“Yes. My massage has everything except what’s not there.”

Jun-hoo smiled and replied.

He had given Dae-jin, who was nervous, the Chugung Blood Point massage [a specific massage point or technique], and its effect was clearly showing.

“You probably know the appendectomy procedure, so go ahead and perform the surgery. I’ll only tell you the precautions along the way.”

“Yes. Senior. Give me a number 10 blade.”

Dae-jin held the scalpel in his hand with a determined expression.

The appendectomy was uneventful.

Swoosh.

The patient’s right lower abdomen was cut horizontally.

Dae-jin incised the skin, muscles, and subcutaneous fat layer in order.

In response, Jun-hoo, as if he had been waiting, opened the incision up and down with a retractor and installed a fixed retractor.

Instantly, the surgical field of vision was clear.

The cecum, swollen like a pouch.

The appendix, attached to the end like a tail, revealed its appearance.

Scribble.

The appendix was separated from the large intestine with a few scalpel cuts.

Including abdominal closure.

The appendectomy ended without incident in 40 minutes.

Dae-jin shared his emotional first surgery impressions.

Jun-hoo listened to it calmly.

He didn’t show it, but he envied Dae-jin.

Because Dae-jin was in a position to perform the surgery himself.

Jun-hoo wanted to perform the surgery so badly.

Jun-hoo’s desire for a surgeon was growing uncontrollably.

Jun-hoo briefly imagined a future where he was a resident, not an intern.

That future soon became a reality.

Spring, summer, and autumn passed, and winter came.

Jun-hoo was training in plastic surgery.

And it was the 10th month of his internship.

The public recruitment for residents was scheduled for next month.