A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 116

The Bracelet (1)

“You’ve worked hard, Jun-hoo.”

As Jun-hoo returned to the on-call room, Soo-cheol thanked him.

“No, it’s nothing. Aren’t you going to ask if I did the sutures well?”

“I’m sure you did well. And if you hadn’t done it properly, the patient’s guardian would have already called and made a fuss.”

Soo-cheol showed Jun-hoo complete trust.

This was thanks to Jun-hoo’s performance during his two-week rotation in plastic surgery.

Being recognized by colleagues is always rewarding.

A smile appeared on Jun-hoo’s face.

“I’m sorry to keep asking you, but could you also do rounds in the pediatric ward?”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s my job.”

Jun-hoo took out his secret weapon from the drawer and put it in his gown pocket.

He moved to the children’s hospital via the sky bridge.

The atmosphere of the children’s hospital was different from the main building.

The interior was charming.

The wallpaper was colorful, and the reception desk and building columns were decorated with flowers, trees, and animal characters.

It was the hospital’s attempt to make the pediatric patients feel more comfortable.

However, the colorful interior of the children’s hospital looked rather sad to Jun-hoo.

It felt like they were forcing a cheerful atmosphere.

4th floor, pediatric plastic surgery ward.

Having arrived at his destination, Jun-hoo pulled the dressing cart and went around the ward.

He started the ward rounds.

Doing dressings and changing bandages.

Removing stitches and drawing ABGA [Arterial Blood Gas Analysis] blood, etc.

Most of the patients were children between the ages of 3 and 10.

Facial deformities, congenital foot deformities.

Cleft lip and palate, post-traumatic scars, etc.

Children with various stories and various diseases had undergone surgery.

Or were waiting for surgery.

And were recovering after surgery.

Whenever Jun-hoo visited the pediatric ward, his heart ached.

They were children who should be growing up healthy and happy.

It was hard to watch them suffer from diseases.

Moreover.

Pediatric surgery had a severe shortage of surgeons compared to other fields.

It was because the surgeries were difficult and could only be performed at university hospitals.

And the compensation was low compared to the effort.

The patients and the staff.

In other words, the pediatric surgery ward was a place where both suffered.

“Waaaaah. I don’t want to. It hurts. I don’t want to do it.”

As soon as Jun-hoo entered a ward, a child who spotted Jun-hoo cried.

Choi Seong-jin, 8 years old.

He had undergone surgery for microtia [a congenital deformity where the ear is underdeveloped], yesterday.

Jun-hoo visited the ward to disinfect the child’s ear.

“Seong-jin, stop! You need to get treatment quickly so you can be discharged.”

The guardian coaxed the child.

She glanced at Jun-hoo, who had just entered the ward, and smiled awkwardly.

It was instead of a greeting.

Jun-hoo also replaced his greeting with a simple nod.

“It’s too stinging and painful. I don’t want to get treatment.”

The child was adamant.

He refused treatment while covering himself with a blanket.

Jun-hoo, who had expected this, was not flustered.

Ji-ho, the intern who had dressed the child in the morning, had said this.

-When you go to the pediatric ward, you’re going to have a hard time. There’s a kid named Seong-jin, and he’s not easy to deal with.

“Seong-jin, are you going to keep doing this? Do you want to see your mom get angry?”

The guardian tried to pull off the blanket with force, but Jun-hoo stopped her.

“Leave it to me. Seong-jin.”

“Why?”

“If you come out from under the blanket, the teacher will show you something fun.”

“You’re lying. Teachers always lie.”

The child’s voice was heard from inside the blanket.

“If the teacher is lying, you can cover yourself with the blanket again.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

At Jun-hoo’s words, the child peeked his head out from under the blanket.

Is it time for the secret weapon to play its part?

Jun-hoo took out 10 small rubber balls from his gown pocket.

They were juggling balls he had bought a month ago.

Whizz. Whizz. Whizz. Whizz.

Jun-hoo juggled with both hands.

With nimble hand movements, the 10 balls spun around like a Ferris wheel turning all night long.

It was truly a spectacle.

He was juggling not just three or four balls, but ten balls.

Jun-hoo’s show quickly caught the attention of other patients and guardians.

Everyone was busy staring at Jun-hoo, mesmerized.

The balls turned.

The eyes of the patients and guardians turned.

The heads of the patients and guardians also turned.

‘This is a piece of cake.’

Jun-hoo laughed inwardly.

The ambidextrous skill he had been learning since his orthopedic surgery residency.

The training of playing rock-paper-scissors with both hands had ended last month.

Now Jun-hoo could use both hands freely.

That’s why he could do stunts like juggling.

“Wow. Teacher! Can you also do circus tricks?”

The child exclaimed as Jun-hoo finished juggling.

The blanket, which he had been wearing like armor, had disappeared.

“How is it? Amazing, isn’t it? Don’t you want to learn, Seong-jin?”

“Yes! I want to learn.”

“Then if you get good treatment from the teacher, I’ll teach you. How about it?”

“Ugh… I’ll get treatment.”

Only after winning the child’s favor with juggling.

Jun-hoo barely got the chance to do the dressing.

When he unwrapped the bandage around the child’s head.

The child’s left ear, which was not fully formed, was revealed.

How much teasing and emotional hurt had the child received because of his ear, which was different from his peers?

Especially since Seong-jin’s hearing was also said to be poor because of his ear.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Before starting the dressing in earnest.

Jun-hoo tapped the pressure points around the child’s ear with his index finger.

The dressing was next.

Swish. Swish.

The cotton swab soaked in disinfectant moved in concentric circles.

The dressing was finished in 2 minutes.

Jun-hoo re-bandaged the child’s head.

“Teacher. But.”

“Yeah, why?”

“Strangely, it doesn’t hurt at all when you disinfect me.”

“Is that so? I think Seong-jin really wanted to learn juggling?”

Jun-hoo said with a smile.

Of course, it couldn’t hurt…

Because he had done pain-relieving pressure point massage in advance.

“Here. Take it. Let’s start with just two.”

Jun-hoo handed Seong-jin two rubber balls.

He briefly explained the knack for juggling.

In fact, juggling itself was not meaningful.

The important thing was hope.

Hope was the best painkiller that humans could create on their own.

As he started rolling the ball in his hand.

The child’s face was indeed filled with happiness.

“Teacher. Thank you. For caring so much.”

“I just happened to have one more talent than others. Then, I’ll be on my way.”

Jun-hoo left the ward, returned the dressing cart to the station, and returned to the plastic surgery ward.

Just in time, the pager rang.

After checking the number, Jun-hoo connected the call.

-Jun-hoo, it’s Dae-jin. It’s been a while. It’s about time for you to choose your specialty, why don’t you come to gastroenterological surgery?

At Dae-jin’s call, Jun-hoo said he would think about it and hung up.

Another call came in a little while later.

This time, it was Hyun-jin from orthopedic surgery.

-Jun-hoo. You know why I called, right? Be sure to apply to orthopedic surgery. If you don’t, I’ll come find you with a hammer?

After that, several more calls came.

Knowing that Jun-hoo was a surgery applicant, each surgery department started trying to recruit him.

However, Jun-hoo couldn’t give a clear answer to any department.

* * *

5th floor lounge.

After finishing his surgical scrub, Jun-hoo ran into Seong-ho in the lounge.

He chatted with Seong-ho while drinking canned coffee.

Seong-ho was a third-time applicant, a medical school classmate, and someone who played soccer games together in the hospital club.

“Hey. You’re doing well on NewTube [a fictional analogue to YouTube] these days? How much is the revenue?”

“It’s been decreasing these days, but about 2 million won [approximately $1,500 USD] a month?”

Jun-hoo replied.

Jun-hoo’s NewTube, which he had started without knowing anything, now had 300,000 subscribers.

The average number of views per video reached a whopping 150,000.

There were two secrets to the channel’s success.

One was the idol dance short videos.

The other was Hae-na.

Hae-na was the granddaughter of the elder whom Jun-hoo had paid the medical bills for.

With Ji-ae’s help, Hae-na entered an agency.

After that, she appeared in the children’s division of the trot [a genre of Korean pop music] competition.

And she achieved the feat of taking third place there.

-There is a grateful teacher who has helped me so far. It’s Dr. Seo Jun-hoo. The teacher also paid for my grandmother’s hospital bills. He always encouraged me, saying that I could do well.

Thanks to Hae-na’s acceptance speech.

Jun-hoo’s NewTube entered its second heyday.

The power of TV broadcasting could not be ignored yet.

“What? You’re making so much money, but you’ve been keeping it a secret until now?”

“I don’t have much money saved up. I helped patients who were in difficult circumstances.”

“I’m also in difficult circumstances?”

“Can you please get out of here?”

Jun-hoo took Seong-ho’s joke as a joke.

Jun-hoo sipped his canned coffee.

And turned the topic to major selection.

“Have you decided on your major?”

“I decided a while ago. I’m going to go to neurosurgery.”

“Neurosurgery? You?”

Jun-hoo asked, tilting his head.

Because Seong-ho had always said that he would never go into surgery.

“What wind suddenly blew? Neurosurgery is one of the toughest surgeries, isn’t it?”

“I couldn’t tell you, but my father collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage a few weeks ago and had surgery.”

“…….”

“At that time, I felt a tingling in my heart. I also felt like I was turning a blind eye to something important.”

Jun-hoo could easily sympathize with Seong-ho’s confession.

In high school.

His mother also received inpatient treatment for a ruptured cerebral aneurysm.

Even if he just thinks about that time, his stomach churns and his head spins.

“You must have had a hard time. But you should have told me in advance.”

“That’s why I’m telling you now. The surgery went well, so he’s recovering healthily now.”

Seong-ho looked at Jun-hoo and continued.

“Now only you are left, Jun-hoo. A-young is in thoracic surgery and I’m in neurosurgery.”

“I guess so.”

“There’s still time left. Think about it slowly. The sky may choose your major for you.”

“Why are you suddenly talking about the sky? Is the bracelet in that context too?”

Jun-hoo smiled and pointed to Seong-ho’s wrist with his index finger.

Seong-ho had a germanium bracelet on his wrist.

It was said to be good for health.

It was said to emit far-infrared rays that are beneficial to human health.

Germanium bracelets were popular for a while, but it was all a scam.

It was all a gimmick.

“This… my mom gave it to me, telling me to stay healthy…”

At Seong-ho’s words, Jun-hoo felt a little guilty.

‘Oh no…’

‘I didn’t know his mother would come up here.’

“It hasn’t been scientifically proven, but it may have an effect. The world is a mysterious place, isn’t it? You can also expect a placebo effect.”

“Seo Jun-hoo, your change of attitude is amazing?”

“It’s not a change of attitude, it’s that you didn’t listen to me until the end.”

“Then you wear it too.”

Seong-ho took out another germanium bracelet from his gown pocket.

‘What?’

‘It’s not Doraemon’s pocket.’

‘Why is another bracelet coming out?’

“My mother gave it to me to wear on both wrists, but it’s too noticeable, so I can’t do that.”

“…….”

“Why don’t you like it?”

“…….”

“The world is mysterious and it hasn’t been scientifically proven, but it may have an effect? Besides, you can expect a psychological effect too?”

Seong-ho smiled broadly.

He used Jun-hoo’s logic as it was.

Jun-hoo had no choice.

With tears in his eyes.

He wore a germanium bracelet in front of Seong-ho.

Jun-hoo never dreamed that he would become a doctor and wear a bracelet related to such pseudoscience.

“Wow. It suits you well. It’s perfect.”

“I… I guess so.”

“I’m going down to Daejeon today, do you need anything?”

“You have tomorrow off. You’re going to see your father, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I don’t need anything, just see your father well.”

“You little rascal. I thought you’d say that. I’ll buy you some Sungsimdang bread [a famous bakery in Daejeon].”

The chat ended like that.

After parting with Seong-ho.

Jun-hoo slipped off the germanium bracelet and put it in his gown pocket.

* * *

That night.

Seong-ho was driving to Daejeon.

The current time is 1 a.m.

The national highway was as dark and eerily quiet as pitch black.

Before leaving the hospital.

Seong-ho was tired and considered taking the KTX [Korea Train eXpress, a high-speed rail system], but eventually chose to drive.

He wanted to take a drive and get some fresh air.

There were no cars on the road.

The car moved forward without hesitation.

Seong-ho felt good about driving on the open road, unlike in the city center.

He couldn’t help but dance to the trendy dance music he had turned on in advance.

It was freedom he was enjoying for the first time in a while.

While driving, Seong-ho suddenly thought of Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo had not been able to choose a major.

He seemed to be in a lot of pain.

It must be because he was greedy and talented.

Jun-hoo had been that kind of kid since he was in medical school.

A guy who would do anything for a patient.

A kid who works hard to become a great surgeon.

You can go anywhere.

Because you’ll do well anywhere.

Seong-ho was about to give Jun-hoo that kind of advice, but he stopped.

It seemed like too common and too embarrassing a comment.

But now that he thought about it, he wondered if he should have said that.

“Huh?”

A dazed sound suddenly came out of Seong-ho’s mouth.

The truck coming from the opposite lane was unusual.

It feels like it’s staggering?

Drunk driving?

Or drowsy driving?

Feeling uneasy, Seong-ho changed lanes from the first lane to the second lane.

But the truck crossed the center line as if to laugh at Seong-ho and crashed into Seong-ho’s car.