A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 159

Chapter 29 Mission (4)

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yu Myeong-han. Please take care of me.”

The patient also bowed politely to Jun-hoo.

Yu Myeong-han.

A 33-year-old pianist.

He had been called a piano prodigy since he was a child, and as if to prove it, he swept through domestic and international competitions.

So much so that his nickname was the reincarnation of Mozart.

After exchanging names, Jun-hoo observed Myeong-han’s appearance.

Long eyelashes that drooped like willow branches.

Eyes as clear as a still lake.

A sharply defined nose and firmly closed lips.

Jun-hoo sensed a hint of detachment, like a monk who had renounced the world, from Myeong-han.

“Doctor, what exactly is the surgery my son is receiving? I’ve heard a rough explanation, but I don’t quite understand…”

A guardian next to Myeong-han asked.

The guardian appeared to be Myeong-han’s mother.

“It seems like this will be a long conversation. Shall we go to the hospital room first?”

“Okay. You have a good sense, Doctor.”

The guardian smiled and said.

The three of them walked through the hallway and arrived at room 622, a private room.

As Jun-hoo knew,

Myeong-han had chosen a private room even though there was a six-person room available.

Well, he’s a world-renowned pianist; it would be surprising if he didn’t have the financial means.

Upon arriving at the private room, Myeong-han took the surgical gown and went to the bathroom to change.

The guardian placed the luggage she had brought on the bed and looked intently at Jun-hoo.

She seemed to want the answer from earlier.

“The surgery your son will receive is called an awake surgery.”

“The name sounds quite…intense.”

“The surgical method is also quite involved. We’ll wake the patient up during the surgery.”

“Yes? Isn’t surgery usually performed under anesthesia?”

The guardian was horrified and asked again.

“I’m worried Myeong-han will be very distressed if the anesthesia wears off. Is that safe?”

“Fortunately, the brain itself doesn’t feel pain. You don’t have to worry about pain issues.”

Jun-hoo continued to explain, step by step.

“During the removal of a brain tumor, the patient’s nerves may be damaged. To avoid this, we deliberately wake the patient up during surgery.”

“We stimulate the brain with a nerve stimulator to identify which nerve the area is connected to, and determine whether to resect [remove] that part.”

He defined awake surgery.

“In your son’s case, we will do our best not to touch the nerves related to his hands. It’s crucial he can still play the piano after the surgery.”

“Oh my. Are you not removing the entire tumor? But you can’t just leave the tumor behind.”

“That’s correct. But that remaining area is treated with radiation therapy called Gamma Knife [a type of stereotactic radiosurgery], not surgery.”

“But Doctor.”

“Yes, please ask.”

“Isn’t everyone’s brain the same? Like the way nerves are distributed. Is there really a need to wake up a person under anesthesia and check again?”

The guardian’s questions were meticulous and insightful.

She delved into areas that a typical guardian wouldn’t consider.

Perhaps that’s why.

Jun-hoo thought that the guardian’s dedication and education must have played a significant role in Myeong-han’s success.

“That’s a very good question. The general areas where nerves are distributed have been identified to some extent with modern medicine.”

“…….”

“However, that doesn’t mean that everyone’s nerve distribution is exactly the same. The areas where the brain develops as we grow are all different, and the ways in which nerve cells are connected also change.”

“You’re very kind, Doctor.”

The guardian smiled at Jun-hoo.

“The professor who was treating me at the outpatient clinic didn’t explain it this way. And your explanation is somehow easier to understand.”

“Professors are just too busy.”

Just as the explanation was ending,

Myeong-han, wearing a patient gown, approached the bed.

Myeong-han, who had changed his clothes, looked every bit the patient.

Whether they are politicians, sports stars, or entertainers….

Anyone who wears a patient gown with the Shinwon University logo becomes just another patient.

Perhaps Jun-hoo would be the same.

“Shall I explain the awake surgery to the patient one more time?”

“No. I’ve looked into it myself, so I know roughly what to expect.”

Myeong-han shook his head and neatly arranged the items he had taken from his luggage.

Everything was arranged with meticulous precision, as if aligning them in military formation.

Myeong-han seemed to have obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

“I feel a little relieved now.”

Myeong-han muttered, looking somewhat calmer.

“Do you both have any more questions?”

“I don’t.”

“I’ll ask you later. I’m too tired right now because the environment has suddenly changed.”

When Myeong-han subtly hinted at dismissal, Jun-hoo understood and left the hospital room.

Awake surgery for a world-renowned pianist….

This case is already complicated.

The professor’s shoulders must be carrying a heavy burden.

While returning to the on-call room, Jun-hoo was lost in thought.

About what role he could play in this awake surgery, entering as a second.

* * *

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A soft knock was heard from beyond the on-call room door.

Judging by the knock,

The person outside didn’t seem to be a member of the department.

“Come in.”

As soon as Jun-hoo gave permission, the door opened with a creak.

A young man wearing a doctor’s gown appeared.

The young man was short, about 165 centimeters [approximately 5’5″] tall. His face was round and his eyes were droopy, giving him a gentle and approachable demeanor.

Jun-hoo got up from his seat and bowed to the young man.

“Hello. Senior Si-ho. I’m Seo Jun-hoo, a first-year resident.”

“You know me?”

Si-ho tilted his head and asked.

“I heard from Senior Min-kyung this morning that the senior who was dispatched to the branch office is returning today.”

“The rumors travel fast. Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Choi Si-ho.”

“Please speak comfortably. I’ll be uncomfortable if you keep using honorifics, since we’ll be seeing each other often in the future.”

“……Should I? Min-kyung and the other seniors are busy with surgery, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll go organize my luggage in the on-call room first.”

Si-ho left the on-call room and returned in 10 minutes, sitting in the seat opposite Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo felt a surge of curiosity about this new third-year senior.

-What kind of person is Senior Si-ho?

-You have a lot in common with him. He’s good at his job, kind, and cute.

Min-kyung had described Si-ho like this in the morning.

The impression he gave off.

The feeling he conveyed in their brief conversation.

Based on these two things, Min-kyung’s words seemed to be accurate.

At least for now.

“The main hospital hasn’t changed. It’s exactly as I remember it.”

Si-ho scanned the on-call room as if he missed it, and then continued, “But I’m glad I went on the dispatch. It’s great to return and find such a reliable junior.”

“…….”

“To be honest, I didn’t think we would have any applicants for our department this year.”

Si-ho smiled wryly.

As Si-ho said, neurosurgery was an unpopular department.

The work is incredibly demanding, but the rewards are disproportionately low.

There’s only so much one can endure with a sense of duty alone.

“There’s also a friend named Kyung-soo besides me.”

“That friend is also a first-year?”

“Yes.”

“It’s truly a lucky year. Jun-hoo, you should be able to see a junior join next year too.”

“How was your dispatch life?”

Jun-hoo asked Si-ho.

Jun-hoo also had to be dispatched somewhere when he became a second-year.

So he was curious about what it was like.

“I was in Busan for about 8 months, but in fact, dispatch is worse than the main hospital no matter where you go. There are simply too few staff.”

“…….”

“The main hospital can’t even meet its full staff quota, let alone the provincial branches.”

“Then you must have been involved in a lot of surgeries?”

“I was in so many that I got sick of it.”

Si-ho shook his head as if he was tired of it.

However, Jun-hoo, hearing Si-ho’s explanation, found the idea of dispatch appealing.

Jun-hoo wanted to gain experience with more patients.

He wanted to participate in more surgeries.

In the end, it was diverse and challenging experiences that fostered growth.

As long as there was a combination of Qi Circulation [energy circulation] and nutritional supplements, he wouldn’t experience fatigue….

Jun-hoo actually felt the urge to grow even more by going on dispatch.

“What? You look envious?”

“Uh… I originally enjoy hardship.”

“Well, I was roughly expecting that reaction.”

“My reaction?”

“I sometimes talked to Min-kyung. Min-kyung told me a lot about you. That a first-year who is more like a monster than me has joined.”

“As you can see, I’m not a monster; I’m a person.”

Si-ho chuckled at Jun-hoo’s joke.

The following conversation was comfortable.

Si-ho seemed to know how to make people feel at ease.

He listened to other people’s stories attentively.

He also often shared his own stories.

Si-ho was like a smooth, round stone without any sharp edges.

“Ah, right. There’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“Yes, please ask.”

“Jun-hoo, why did you become a neurosurgeon?”

“It’s a long story; would you be okay with that?”

“Of course. I asked because I wanted to hear it.”

Jun-hoo fiddled with the bracelet on his wrist and told him about the incident with Sung-ho.

Bringing up old wounds was painful, but he endured it; he persevered.

The Martial Arts Father often said this to Jun-hoo:

“A happy life is not a life without being hurt. A happy life is rather a life lived with wounds.”

Jun-hoo sympathized with that saying now as much as he did then.

“Oh dear… That’s an unfortunate story. You must have been very heartbroken.”

“Because of that sense of loss, I was able to burn more enthusiastically with medical skills. There were some good points in its own way.”

“Fortunately, it seems so. That friend Sung-ho will surely be looking down on you from heaven too.”

Si-ho, who finished speaking, took out a notebook from his gown.

And he began to scribble a few letters in the notebook with a ballpoint pen.

“What are you writing, Senior?”

“I had something that suddenly came to mind after hearing your story. I have a habit of taking notes whenever I have time.”

It wasn’t really Jun-hoo’s intention to peek at Si-ho’s notebook.

However, through the eyesight trained with Angong (眼功, martial arts technique focusing on enhancing eyesight).

Jun-hoo was able to accidentally see some of the contents of Si-ho’s notebook.

[January 30th: Knot (結)]

[April 10th: Knot (結)]

[July 3rd: Knot (結)]

Even considering it was a memo, the content was too concise.

All that was written was the date and the word Knot (結) in Chinese characters [the character ‘結’ signifies ‘knot’ or ‘bond’].

[July 4th: Greed (貪)]

Even the letters that were just written were Greed (貪) [the character ‘貪’ signifies ‘greed’ or ‘avarice’].

However, no matter how hard Jun-hoo racked his brains, he couldn’t understand the meaning.

He wanted to ask outright, but he couldn’t.

It would be like admitting that he had unintentionally snooped on the memo.

Ring~.

Just in time, the on-call room phone rang.

Jun-hoo immediately answered the phone.

“This is neurosurgery.”

-This is the neurosurgery department of the Busan branch. Senior Si-ho, did you arrive well?

He expected a call from the emergency room or the station, but the person who called was surprisingly from the Busan neurosurgery department.

“Ah. Yes. He’s in the on-call room right now.”

-Then, can you put Senior Si-ho on the phone?

“Yes. I understand. Senior, you have a call from Busan?”

“Okay.”

Si-ho took the phone from Jun-hoo and talked to the Busan department staff for a long time.

After a call that lasted nearly 5 minutes, Si-ho sat down again opposite Jun-hoo with a gloomy expression.

“Is there anything bad going on?”

“I was called in for emergency surgery for a cerebral hemorrhage at midnight yesterday. I was the chief surgeon… The patient… passed away in the intensive care unit.”

Si-ho said with his head bowed gloomily. But at that moment, Jun-hoo managed to catch it.

Si-ho’s mouth was strangely twisted.

A subtle expression that he couldn’t tell if it was a smile or a cry.

Jun-hoo didn’t know how to interpret the strangeness that was faintly revealed from Si-ho.

“Senior, are you okay?”

“I’m not okay, but I’ll be okay. I have to be okay. Because there’s no other way.”

“Should you rest in the on-call room for a while….”

Ring~.

As if to interrupt the consolation, the on-call room phone rang again.

“This is neurosurgery.”

-…….

“Yes.”

-…….

“Yes. I understand.”

Hanging up the phone, Jun-hoo got up from his seat.

“Senior, I’m sorry, but I heard that a spinal trauma patient has arrived. I have to go to the emergency room.”

“Okay. Go ahead. I’ll be guarding the on-call room.”

“I’ll ask you to do that.”

Jun-hoo, who came out of the on-call room, hurried out of the ward.

Today, for some reason,

Things that were bothering him in many ways were happening one after another.