A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 175

Chapter 32: Palette (5)

Cardiothoracic Surgery On-Call Room.

“Hum- hmm- hmmm~”

Ayoung was humming and filling out admission and discharge records.

She had just finished her rounds in the ICU, but Ayoung didn’t feel tired at all.

Could there be a stronger painkiller than love?

Just thinking about Junhoo.

Thinking about becoming lovers with Junhoo made Ayoung’s body and mind as light as a feather.

Drrr.

The on-call room door opened, and Junshik, a second-year resident, appeared.

“You seem to be in a particularly good mood today?”

“I have a reason to be.”

“Are you not going to tell me what it is? You can’t just make people curious and then clam up.”

“I… Junhoo and I decided to date.”

Ayoung answered shyly.

Revealing their relationship felt somewhat childish.

It wasn’t like they were middle or high school students.

But she couldn’t stop her mouth from opening on its own.

“Oh? Oh, that’s great. Congratulations. You make a good couple.”

Unlike his words, Junshik’s expression was awkward. It was probably because Junshik had been hurt by Junhoo a few times in the past.

“It’s lunchtime, go downstairs. Eat the cafeteria food today.”

“Then the on-call room will be empty?”

“I’ll watch over it. You haven’t been feeling well lately, right? Eating only bread and ramen will upset your stomach.”

“You don’t have to do that…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I have time, so I’m doing this.”

At Junshik’s insistence, Ayoung chuckled and left the on-call room.

‘I’m going to leave the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.’

‘Instead, I’m going to transfer to the Department of Neurosurgery.’

After declaring this to Junshik, who was harassing her, with Junhoo’s help.

Junshik had been unable to do anything to Ayoung ever since.

Because there was no one as sociable and hardworking as Ayoung.

Moreover, Ayoung was the only applicant for the cardiothoracic surgery residency.

Zzzzz.

As she crossed the hallway, her phone rang.

Unexpectedly, it wasn’t a station call [a call from within the hospital system].

It was a call from a friend.

-Ya, Lee Ayoung! What’s with your messenger profile picture? You should have reported this kind of news to your sister quickly!

Hyunjin spoke like a machine gun, her voice full of excitement.

“Sorry. I was late in reporting. I don’t know, it doesn’t feel real.”

-You’re dating Junhoo?

“Yeah, that’s right.”

-Jackpot! Actually, I didn’t think you would confess. I thought you would just remain friends with Junhoo.”

“I didn’t confess.”

-Huh? How are you dating if you didn’t confess?

“Junhoo confessed.”

Ayoung smiled contentedly, recalling when Junhoo confessed.

Even now, she thought it was a miracle.

Junhoo, who seemed to have no interest in her at all, confessed first…

-Totally a surprise. I guess you have to live a long life to see something like this.

“I know, right? Junhoo also said to put up the profile picture. He said he didn’t want a secret relationship.”

-Anyway, congratulations. It feels like a bothersome wisdom tooth has been pulled out. I can finally sleep soundly.”

“Thanks, Hyunjin. It’s all thanks to you and Taeseop.”

-If you know, treat me when you’re off.

“What do you mean, treat you? I should treat your jaw [buy you something delicious]. Let’s go eat your favorite beef.”

Ayoung chatted with Hyunjin and arrived at the cafeteria on the first floor.

Ayoung ended the call and had lunch.

The cafeteria food on the tray was delicious.

Hospital food was notorious for being terrible, but that was only for patient meals.

After filling her stomach.

Ayoung returned to the cardiothoracic surgery ward.

But while passing through the hallway past the station.

She encountered an unfamiliar face coming from the opposite direction.

The young man was only slightly taller than Ayoung. His face was round, and his eyes were droopy, giving him a kind impression.

“You’re Ayoung, right? Nice to meet you.”

The young man smiled brightly and offered Ayoung a handshake.

Ayoung tilted her head at the young man’s unexpected behavior.

“Who are you…”

“Ah. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Choi Siho, a third-year resident in neurosurgery. I’m Junhoo’s senior.”

“Hello. I’m Lee Ayoung.”

After hearing Siho’s introduction, Ayoung took Siho’s outstretched hand.

Siho’s hand was cold and firm.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Junhoo. I heard that you two are in a relationship starting today?”

“Ah. Yes.”

Ayoung lowered her head, feeling embarrassed. This seemed to be a side effect of a public relationship.

Wherever she went, the story of her relationship with Junhoo came up…

She felt like she would have to repeat the same words dozens of times for the next month or so.

“Judging by your appearance, you seem as kind and sincere as Junhoo.”

“I hear that often.”

“You’re also good with words. It was nice meeting you, and let’s say hello often if we see each other in the future.”

“Of course. Please take good care of Junhoo in the future.”

“I should be the one asking you to take good care of Junhoo.”

Siho let go of Ayoung’s hand and walked away.

Ayoung stared intently at Siho’s back.

Even though they had only exchanged a few words.

Siho seemed like a pretty decent person.

His smile was natural, and he led the conversation smoothly and friendly.

Siho would definitely be a source of strength for Junhoo.

Drrr.

Ayoung returned to the on-call room and sat next to Junshik, who was writing charts.

“Senior, you should eat too.”

“I just ate.”

“Did you eat ramen again? Senior, you should take turns eating in the cafeteria with me.”

Ayoung said, smelling the ramen scent wafting in the on-call room.

“I have a strong stomach, so it doesn’t matter.”

“But Senior, did you request a neurosurgery consult [a request for a specialist opinion]?”

“Why neurosurgery all of a sudden?”

“A third-year resident from neurosurgery came to our ward.”

It was common for residents from other departments to visit the cardiothoracic surgery ward. Just because a patient had heart or lung disease didn’t mean their heart or lungs were the only problem.

“I didn’t request a neurosurgery consult? I don’t think anyone else did either?”

“If there’s no consult, then why did he come to our ward…?”

Ayoung was lost in thought, recalling Siho, whom she had just met.

Could it be that he came to see me?

* * *

Emergency Room E Zone.

This zone was where patients classified as Level 5 according to the KTAS (Korean Triage and Acuity Scale) were gathered.

For reference, Level 5 was the stage where the patient’s symptoms were the mildest.

Junhoo was standing in front of a bed in Zone E.

He put his hand on his forehead as if he was in trouble, staring at the patient in front of him.

“Ah! Ah! Air raid alert! Air raid alert!”

The patient shouted like he was having a seizure, shaking his body.

The IV line swayed precariously.

“Mobilize all police forces. Where’s the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner? Commissioner, Seoul Commissioner.”

“Has the patient been like this the whole time?”

“Yes. Ever since he was brought in by the ambulance.”

The nurse standing next to Junhoo said with a fed-up expression.

“You couldn’t even examine him properly?”

“Of course. Even the emergency room doctor shook his head. He’s completely drunk and can’t even have a conversation. I barely managed to get an IV line in.”

At the nurse’s notification, Junhoo smiled bitterly.

The patient was a 60-year-old man who was heavily intoxicated.

He must have drunk a lot.

The smell of alcohol was overwhelming just by getting close to him.

However, he couldn’t just leave the patient alone because the patient had a laceration (torn wound) on the left side of his temple.

It seemed he had fallen while drunk and hit his head on something.

Therefore, he couldn’t rule out findings such as cerebral hemorrhage or concussion due to head trauma.

“He seems a little young to be a war veteran. Was he perhaps a soldier?”

Junhoo muttered to himself.

Judging by the fact that he was shouting about an air raid alert, it seemed he had trauma from working in that field.

“No. He has nothing to do with the military or the police.”

“How do you know that, Nurse?”

“He’s been brought in drunk before. He was relatively sane back then.”

“So he’s just a troublemaker?”

“Yes. If there’s a VIP among troublemakers, he’s definitely a VIP.”

“Ah! Ah! Air raid alert~ Air raid alert~”

The patient started causing a ruckus again, shouting about an air raid alert.

The patient’s limbs flailed, and the bed shook.

Meanwhile, the patients and guardians around him were casting anxious glances in this direction.

“I don’t think we can suture this person. Should I bring restraints first?”

“No. It’s not necessary. Just bring me the suture set for now.”

“What if he hits you, Doctor?”

“That won’t happen. I’ll take care of it.”

Junhoo reassured the nurse and sent her to the station.

Then, he approached the patient and looked him straight in the eye.

As inner energy was contained in Junhoo’s eyes, his pupils began to turn into the color of a blue lake.

Calm your rampaging heart.

Discard your distracting thoughts and focus slowly on your breathing.

Look into the stillness of your inner self.

Containing right mindfulness (正念) [a concept from Buddhist meditation] in his eyes.

Junhoo made eye contact with the patient for a long time. He was using Jungan (正眼) [literally “right eye,” a meditative technique], which he had been practicing recently.

If he could only master it.

Jungan was a mystical art that could calm patients faster and more powerfully than drugs or injections.

“…”

The patient, who had received Jungan, stopped his rampage for a moment.

He looked up at Junhoo as if possessed by a ghost.

Did he finally succeed?

Just as Junhoo was about to pop the champagne of self-congratulation.

The patient blurted out a word.

“Are you the police commissioner?”

“Ah…”

Junhoo shook his head.

The path to mastering Jungan was still long and arduous.

If he had succeeded in Jungan, even a drunkard would have been as docile as a sleeping child.

“Are you the police commissioner?”

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

Junhoo looked around and lightly supported the patient’s head with his left hand.

Then, he struck the back of the patient’s neck with a hand blade [a chopping motion].

Thud!

As the impact was applied to the Wind Mansion point [a pressure point on the neck], the patient instantly lost consciousness.

The body that had been causing a ruckus slumped like a doll.

Only then did the terrible struggle with the patient come to an end.

May he rest comfortably in a dream without air raid alerts.

Junhoo placed his hand on the head of the unconscious patient.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

He used Internal Force Cerebral Angiography [a technique using internal energy to visualize blood vessels].

There were no abnormalities on the X-ray taken in advance, but there were limitations to understanding the patient’s condition with X-rays alone.

Since he had become accustomed to Internal Force Cerebral Angiography.

Junhoo finished the examination in just one minute.

Originally, cerebral angiography took as long as an hour from test preparation to results.

But in Junhoo’s hands, it was over in one minute.

Fortunately, the patient’s head was fine.

The cerebral blood vessels did not burst.

The meninges [membranes surrounding the brain] were not torn.

The cerebrospinal fluid did not stagnate excessively.

“Oh my? The patient fell asleep in the meantime?”

The nurse, who had returned to the bed, discovered the patient lying down as quiet as a mouse and made surprised owl eyes.

“He must have been very tired from announcing the air raid alert.”

“I guess so.”

The nurse chuckled at Junhoo’s joke.

“I brought restraints just in case, but it’s no longer necessary.”

At the nurse’s words, Junhoo looked down at the restraints placed on the dressing cart.

The restraints were a kind of sturdy strap.

They were used to tie the patient’s arms and legs to the bed if the patient was causing a ruckus.

It was an unavoidable choice from the medical staff’s point of view.

However, most guardians extremely disliked the use of restraints.

Who are you to tie up our husband, father, to the bed.

Isn’t that a violation of human rights.

Would you tie up your family in such a barbaric way, etc.

However, guardians needed to know.

That if restraints were not used, the patient could pull out the IV line themselves or assault the medical staff.

However, in Junhoo’s case, there was no need to use restraints.

Thanks to his experience in the Murim world [a world of martial arts experts], he could easily knock out troublemaking patients.

It was a great relief.

“I’ll start suturing.”

Junhoo put on surgical gloves with the help of the nurse and stitched up the patient’s laceration.

Simple interrupted suture [a basic stitching technique].

He performed the most basic suturing technique, making knots stitch by stitch.

The knots created by the dazzling hand movements.

The cheerful and rhythmic sound of cutting the remaining suture thread above the knot.

A total of 10 stitches were sewn in the blink of an eye.

The intervals between the knots were as consistent as if they had been measured with a ruler.

The knots were perfectly horizontal without a single deviation.

“Wow, Doctor. Anyone would think you majored in plastic surgery. Your suturing skills are amazing?”

“Amazing? You’re more amazing, Nurse.”

“Me?”

“Of course. You see dozens of patients like this every day. You are a living Buddha.”

“I’m a Christian?”

“Oh… then what should I say?”

“It’s okay, I know what you mean.”

The treatment ended in a friendly atmosphere.

Zzzzz.

But as soon as he left the emergency room, his call phone rang.

Looking at the number, it was a neurosurgery station call.

-Doctor, this is the ward.

“Yes. Go ahead.”

-You know the pianist patient who has an awake surgery [surgery performed while the patient is conscious] tomorrow? He’s complaining of chest pain and difficulty breathing right now, so I think you should come up quickly?

“I’ll be right up.”

It felt like a bolt from the blue.

It never rains but it pours…

Why at this time…

Junhoo ran to the ward, even stepping on the movement technique [a martial arts movement for rapid travel].