A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 181

Chapter 34. Completion (1)

With short, quick steps, Jun-hoo headed to the first basement floor of the main building.

The first basement floor was crowded with convenience facilities such as restaurants, convenience stores, beauty salons, and bakeries.

The time was 4 p.m.

Despite the lunch hour being long past, the basement floor corridor bustled with people.

Doctors’ gowns, nurses’ uniforms, patient gowns, suits, and casual wear were all mixed together.

It was as if everyone in the hospital was compressed into one place.

The place Jun-hoo hurried to was a Chinese restaurant.

As he entered and scanned the tables, he saw a familiar face.

White and smooth skin.

A prominent nose and a jawline as sharp as a cliff.

The owner of the vampire-like appearance, who looked like he was in his early 50s despite being in his early 30s, was none other than his mentor, Park Jae-hyun.

“Professor, I’m a little late. I was talking with Professor Shin for a bit…”

Jun-hoo said as he sat across from Jae-hyun.

“Of course. It’s only natural. You had to celebrate with the staff after the surgery, right?”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“That guy too. I told your department head in advance that I was borrowing you. So, relax.”

As expected, Jae-hyun’s work was impeccable.

He had taken care of things in advance so that Jun-hoo wouldn’t be scolded for being away too long because of the meeting with Jae-hyun.

“You must be hungry; order whatever you want to eat.”

“I’ll have jajangmyeon [black bean noodles].”

“Well, it must be hard to eat noodles other than ramen usually. I’ll have jajangmyeon too.”

Jae-hyun called the employee.

He ordered two bowls of extra-large ganjajang [dry black bean noodles] and a large plate of sweet and sour pork.

“I didn’t expect you to come to observe, even with your busy surgery schedule.”

Jun-hoo said with admiration.

Jae-hyun’s outpatient appointments were booked solid for six months in advance, and his surgery schedule was packed.

To come to observe in such a hectic situation was a huge investment in Jun-hoo.

“Jun-hoo, I really wanted to see your skills in person. I knew it from when you were suturing the egg membrane, and you lived up to your reputation.”

“I’m embarrassed. I’m still far from my mentor or other professors.”

“Do you know the phrase written on car side mirrors?”

“Why are you suddenly talking about that…”

“Your goal may be closer than it appears.”

Jun-hoo chuckled at Jae-hyun’s joking compliment.

There was so much to learn from Jae-hyun, not only about surgery but also about how to treat patients, his sense of humor, and so on.

Jun-hoo also wanted to become a surgeon like Jae-hyun in the future.

“By the way, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“The patient had a panic attack in the middle of the awake surgery, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“The patient calmed down on his own without any sedatives being administered. That’s absolutely impossible.”

“……”

“What exactly happened in the operating room?”

The look in Jae-hyun’s eyes as he asked the question was sharp. He had accurately seen the flaw in this surgery.

Professor Shin, Chief Chan-young, and the scrub nurse.

The three people who were with him during the surgery didn’t pay much attention to the fact that the patient had calmed down on his own.

They were just thinking that it was a stroke of good luck.

But Jae-hyun was not.

“Well, nothing really happened. We didn’t do anything to stabilize the patient either.”

Jun-hoo played dumb.

He couldn’t explain the Jeong-an [a technique to calm the mind].

Even if he did explain it, he thought he would be treated like a madman.

When it came to martial arts and internal energy.

Jun-hoo had no choice but to be mute.

“I think you did something, Jun-hoo?”

“Me? No way.”

“It’s close to impossible for a panic attack that occurred during awake surgery to be overcome on its own. If that’s the case, then there’s someone who made the impossible possible…”

“……”

“If there is such a person, it can only be you, Jun-hoo, who was directly dealing with the patient, right?”

Jae-hyun’s reasoning was precise and persistent.

Jun-hoo was surprised.

Jae-hyun was the first person to specifically inquire about Jun-hoo having special abilities.

“Can’t you tell me how you calmed the patient down?”

“I can’t tell you because I didn’t actually do anything.”

“It’s okay. You can confide in me. Keeping secrets can be a burden on your mind.”

Jae-hyun’s tone was gentle.

For a moment, Jun-hoo felt the urge to confess what he had experienced in the Murim world [a world of martial arts] and the abilities he had gained there.

He wondered if Jae-hyun, of all people, would understand him.

To be honest, Jun-hoo was lonely.

He felt frustrated, like the hat maker who couldn’t shout that the king had donkey ears [a reference to a folktale about keeping a secret].

His experiences in the Murim world were clearly half of Jun-hoo’s life.

Jun-hoo had to keep that half hidden until now.

“I’m…”

Jun-hoo fiddled with his water glass and then spoke with difficulty.

“I don’t have any special abilities like you think I do. I’m sorry.”

“It seems like you’re not ready yet. It’s okay; you don’t have to feel guilty.”

“……”

“But remember this one thing. I’m ready to accept whatever you say.”

“……”

“And you can lean on me whenever you’re having a hard time.”

Even though Jun-hoo was hiding the truth, Jae-hyun still treated Jun-hoo warmly.

From Jun-hoo’s perspective, he was just grateful to Jae-hyun.

Jae-hyun could have been upset that Jun-hoo was hiding something, but he wasn’t.

Master.

I’m still afraid and anxious to tell you the truth. I might be treated like a monster.

But even if it’s not now, I’ll tell you everything someday.

I’ll break down the wall between you and me.

Please wait for that time.

Jun-hoo swallowed the words he wanted to say.

After the conversation, an awkward silence flowed, but then the food came out.

Jun-hoo ate with Jae-hyun.

The meal after finishing a 6-hour major surgery was delicious.

It felt like he was being eaten by the food, not eating it.

He finished his meal in an instant.

Jun-hoo escorted Jae-hyun to the B3 parking lot.

“Professor, I have something to tell you.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’ve read all the brain tumor papers you sent me. Can I move on to the next stage?”

“You’ve already read all that?”

“Yes.”

“I thought it would take at least a year and a half, but that’s amazing.”

Jae-hyun muttered in admiration.

Jun-hoo could stimulate the prefrontal cortex, which deals with reason and thought.

And the Broca and Wernicke areas, which are responsible for language and characters, with acupressure to maximize study efficiency and speed.

And that’s not all.

He could even stimulate the hippocampus, the memory center, to recall the information he needed when he wanted to.

His exceptional learning ability was like fate.

“What field do you want to study next?”

“Cerebrovascular disease.”

“Brain tumors, which have the most patients in the brain area. Then cerebrovascular disease…”

“……”

“It seems like you want to be able to handle emergency situations.”

“You’re still my master.”

Jun-hoo was also impressed with Jae-hyun.

Jae-hyun was seeing through Jun-hoo’s heart.

Unlike the brain tumor part, the cerebrovascular part had many emergency diseases. If a cerebral blood vessel was blocked by an embolism or thrombosis, the blood vessel had to be opened urgently.

“Okay. I’ll organize and send you the cerebrovascular disease papers as soon as possible.”

“Thank you.”

“How many times a day do you say thank you?”

Jae-hyun continued jokingly.

“And you don’t have to be so grateful. This is all for me in the end.”

“Why…”

“Because if you grow up quickly and replace me, I’ll be able to retire early.”

“Please don’t say such scary things. Unless you want to make me, the staff at Jewon University Hospital, and the patients and their guardians faint.”

A smile spread across the faces of the two men as they exchanged jokes.

Although they hadn’t met long ago.

There was a strong bond of master and disciple between the two.

Beep beep!

Jae-hyun pressed the car key, and the driver’s seat of the car opened.

“Oh, right. It’s embarrassing to call it a gift, but I bought one for you when I was buying mine.”

“……”

“Take it.”

Jun-hoo tilted his head as he received the gift Jae-hyun handed him.

No way, why is this here?

* * *

Drrrrr.

After seeing Jae-hyun off, Jun-hoo returned to the neurosurgery resident room.

Perhaps because he had just finished a long surgery, the resident room felt unfamiliar.

Min-kyung, Kyung-soo, and Si-ho were already there, eating ice cream as a snack.

“You’ve worked hard. You’re coming from finishing the awake surgery, right?”

“The chief praised you a lot. He said you assisted so well.”

Si-ho and Min-kyung each said a word.

The taciturn colleague Kyung-soo glanced at Jun-hoo once and said nothing.

“Well, I guess that means I’m doing well for a first-year. But the three of you being like that makes you feel like the Three Musketeers.”

Jun-hoo said with a smile.

Kyung-soo, who was entering orders, was the left wing. Min-kyung, who was sitting next to him, was the right wing.

Si-ho’s position between the two was exquisite.

“The Three Musketeers sounds too cheap, so let’s agree on the Three Heavenly Kings.”

“What Three Heavenly Kings?”

“We’ll have to decide that in the future. Jun-hoo, you should clear your head too.”

“Yes, I will.”

Jun-hoo moved to the refrigerator and took out an ice cream.

He plopped down on an empty chair and began to eat ice cream for dessert.

Jun-hoo was quite tired today too.

The awake surgery itself was so difficult and challenging, and he had gone through all sorts of hardships when the patient had a panic attack in the middle (thanks to that, he had mastered Jeong-an).

So his body and head were languid and tired.

He needed to take some time later to take vitamins and use Qi circulation [energy flow] to get rid of the fatigue.

“You look more tired than usual today?”

“You have no idea. I’m dying.”

“That’s a rare thing. Seo Jun-hoo, the great, is exhausted. So are you eating green tea ice cream?”

“I just like the taste of green tea.”

Jun-hoo shrugged and took a big bite of ice cream.

In the Murim world, Jun-hoo drank a lot of tea. He drank tea as often as modern people drink coffee.

The reason Jun-hoo liked green tea was that it made him feel comfortable and had a slight awakening effect after drinking it.

He found out after returning to the modern world that it was because green tea contained catechin and caffeine.

While resting like that.

Jun-hoo put his foot out of the Crocs he was wearing.

It was because his feet were sore and hot from standing for so long.

“Ugh, Seo Jun-hoo. So gross!”

Suddenly, Min-kyung shouted as if screaming.

“What’s wrong? Senior? What about Jun-hoo?”

“You scared me. I almost had a heart attack.”

Kyung-soo and Si-ho showed interest in Min-kyung, and Jun-hoo was just bewildered because he didn’t know why.

What did I do to be called gross?

“Look at… look at that hideous thing.”

What Min-kyung pointed at with her index finger was Jun-hoo’s foot.

More precisely, it was the toe socks that Jun-hoo was wearing.

“Jun-hoo, do you wear toe socks or something?”

“I received them as a gift. They’re comfortable and nice?”

Only after realizing Min-kyung’s intention did Jun-hoo wear a subtle smile.

What Jae-hyun had given him as a gift when they parted in the parking lot was none other than toe socks.

-Don’t worry about what other people think and try them on. A new world will unfold.

After hearing Jae-hyun’s words, Jun-hoo changed into toe socks on the way.

Indeed, there was no other new world.

The coziness felt from the cotton material.

The cool and refreshing ventilation.

The comfortable and stable toe gaps.

It was unexpected that the master’s must-have item was toe socks.

Toe socks were so effective that they were chosen by the master.

So Jun-hoo decided to only wear toe socks from now on.

“You don’t have athlete’s foot, do you?”

“Do you have to have athlete’s foot to wear toe socks? Rather, toe socks help prevent athlete’s foot.”

“Still, they look so hideous. Ugh…”

Min-kyung shuddered and replied.

“Why are these hideous? They look good to me.”

“Because they’re your toes.”

“Then how about this?”

Jun-hoo deliberately wiggled his toes vigorously to tease Min-kyung.

Then Min-kyung screamed again.

“Seo Jun-hoo, so gross! Totally gross!”