A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 242

Chapter 46: The Mogen Tribe (2)

Zzzzzzz.

The door to operating room number 4 opened, and the staff members emerged one by one.

Surgical gowns, caps, masks, gloves, and so on were shed like insect husks.

The discarded attire was tossed into the disposal bin.

Thud. Thud.

Chief surgeon Min-seok led the way, followed by Cheol-woo and Jun-hoo.

As the staff exited the operating room, they were immediately met by Jae-eun’s family.

“Doctor, how is Jae-eun?”

“She’s going to be alright, right?”

The family spotted the staff and jumped to their feet.

Anxiety and unease hung in the air.

Their eyes, filled with a mix of expectation and hope, were fixed on Min-seok. Their clasped hands looked pitiful.

“The surgery… was successfully completed. You can rest assured.”

“Wow! Thank you! Thank you, doctor!”

“See? What did I tell you? I said the doctors would take good care of her, didn’t I? Honestly, I was going crazy because you were so anxious.”

Watching the family’s reaction, Jun-hoo felt a sense of fulfillment.

The greatest gift the family could have hoped for was Jae-eun’s safe completion of the surgery.

He was happy to be able to give them that gift.

I’m happy to be a surgeon.

Seriously, I pulled out all the stops in this surgery. Have I ever put on such a show before?

Jun-hoo chuckled, reflecting on the surgery.

There were two highlights in today’s surgery.

One was when he stepped out of the operating room to measure his eyesight from 50 meters away to prove he had Mogen-level vision.

The other was when he finished the vascular anastomosis [surgically connecting blood vessels] with his own hands.

Jun-hoo especially broke a sweat during the latter.

Anastomosing a child’s cerebral blood vessels with 9-0 nylon [extremely fine suture material] was challenging even for Jun-hoo.

Unlike using a scalpel, his suturing skills were not yet fully developed.

Amplifying his vision with internal energy.

Deploying his Manhwa [Korean comics] skills, represented by multitasking and extrasensory perception.

Replaying Min-seok’s simplified anastomosis technique in his mind.

Even with all these Yangsu gourd techniques pushed to the limit, the anastomosis was still difficult.

His knowledge and will were overflowing.

But his hands couldn’t keep up.

It felt like a third-rate martial artist clumsily imitating the martial arts of a second-rate one.

Treading precariously on the tightrope of Jae-eun’s life.

Fortunately, Jun-hoo succeeded in perfectly stitching the remaining three sutures.

If he hadn’t achieved the Fourth Form of the Howol Twelve Swords [fictional martial arts technique], the anastomosis would have surely failed.

A desire for growth that transcended obsession and bordered on addiction.

That was what saved both Jun-hoo and Jae-eun.

“We’ll send Jae-eun to the intensive care unit to monitor her progress for a few days. We’ll discuss the detailed treatment plan after she’s transferred to a general ward.”

“Yes. Thank you, doctor.”

“Thank you for your hard work. We look forward to your continued care.”

The family bowed their heads 90 degrees. The staff also bowed in response.

“Hey. Are you crying?”

While walking down the hallway after parting ways with the family,

Cheol-woo looked at Jun-hoo and asked.

Jun-hoo’s eyes were red and bloodshot, and a single tear ran down his cheek.

“It’s a touching moment.”

“This guy. You’re more sensitive than you look. I guess it can happen after a tense surgery like today.”

“Hahaha. I guess so.”

Jun-hoo awkwardly smiled and wiped away the tears.

He was touched, but.

That wasn’t why he was crying.

The side effects of amplifying his vision with internal energy were belatedly catching up to him.

But he didn’t correct the misunderstanding because he didn’t mind it.

“Seriously. This is ridiculous. For the surgical microscope to break down during surgery.”

Min-seok shook his head in disbelief and continued.

“Chief, haven’t you ever experienced something like this before?”

“Of course not. I don’t think any other surgeon has either.”

“Then why did the microscope break down? I heard it hadn’t been serviced in a while.”

“I’m wondering that too. The repair technician is on his way, so I’ll have to hear what he has to say later.”

“…….”

“Anyway, Jun-hoo, thanks for your hard work. I really benefited from your help this time.”

Min-seok’s gaze rested on Jun-hoo.

“Don’t mention it… I just added a spoon to a surgery that was already finished [helped in a small way].”

“That spoon was crucial. Yes, indeed.”

Just thinking about the moment the surgical microscope broke down still made Min-seok’s heart sink.

It felt like a tiger was behind him.

And a bottomless cliff was in front of him.

But in that situation where he couldn’t do anything,

Jun-hoo appeared as a savior.

Of course, he was skeptical at first when he heard Jun-hoo’s boast that his eyesight was 10.0, but surprisingly, Jun-hoo really did have 10.0 vision.

By wearing 2.5x magnification loupes [magnifying glasses].

He secured a 25x surgical view.

And successfully completed the difficult vascular anastomosis.

-If it weren’t for Jun-hoo, this surgery would have been a complete disaster.

That was Min-seok’s firm belief.

Jun-hoo is a lucky charm after all.

That’s why Professor Seo, the brain tumor specialist, kept using Jun-hoo as an assistant.

Professor Seo, that guy….

He’s subtly cunning.

Zzzzzzz.

As his thoughts shifted to his rival Professor Seo, the cell phone in his gown rang.

Checking the number, it was the head of the department.

“Yes, Chief.”

-Professor Kwak, where are you now?

“I’m on my way to the cafeteria on the first basement floor. I was going to treat the kids to lunch after all their hard work.”

-Tell them to have lunch first, and you come to the ward conference room. The surgery went well, so shouldn’t you make an impression on the association members?

“Understood. I’ll head up right away.”

Min-seok explained the situation to Jun-hoo and Cheol-woo, entrusted his personal card to Jun-hoo, and then.

Tadatadat [sound of quick footsteps].

He quickly left the scene.

“Doctor. What do you want to eat?”

“If you want to replenish your energy, there’s nothing better than meat. You don’t disagree, do you?”

“No.”

“But Jun-hoo, if your eyesight is 10.0, isn’t it usually very uncomfortable? Doesn’t it make your eyes more tired or something?”

“It doesn’t really interfere with my daily life. It’s like my eyesight only improves when I concentrate.”

“Really? Well, that’s a relief.”

Fortunately, Cheol-woo didn’t delve deeper into Jun-hoo’s eyesight.

‘This… your lying skills are improving as much as your surgical skills.’

Jun-hoo thought to himself.

Whenever he performed unbelievable feats with his martial arts, Jun-hoo always had to make excuses or lie.

The case of bending the cerebral aneurysm coil with his bare hands in the previous surgery was a prime example.

If he were Pinocchio.

His nose would probably be about 10 meters long by now.

Jun-hoo chuckled at that thought.

Thud. Thud.

While walking down the hallway.

The sunlight streaming in from the window was illuminating Jun-hoo’s path like a stage light.

Jae-eun, I kept my promise.

So now it’s your turn to keep yours.

Let’s only walk on flower paths from now on [a Korean idiom meaning to have a life full of happiness and good fortune].

* * *

Tadatadat [sound of quick footsteps].

Tadatadat [sound of quick footsteps].

Jun-hoo, who had returned to the on-call room, was catching up on his pending tasks. He was busily tapping on the keyboard.

Entering orders and prescriptions received from professors and nurses.

Writing admission and discharge records.

Classifying the diagnoses of admitted patients.

Writing minor departmental documents, and so on.

Having just finished a half-day surgery, his workload was piled up like a mountain.

But Jun-hoo easily smashed through the pending tasks as if he were breaking a stack of wooden boards.

Jun-hoo’s average typing speed was close to 3,000 characters per minute.

Regardless of whether it was English or Korean.

He didn’t even make a single typo, even though he was typing 10 times faster than others.

With astonishing speed, Jun-hoo finished his pending tasks in 20 minutes.

‘Being able to type fast is surprisingly sweet.’

Jun-hoo chuckled and stretched.

70% of a first-year resident’s work consisted of electronic tasks such as entering prescriptions and orders, and writing documents.

And being able to finish electronic tasks like lightning was a blessing.

Because he could use the remaining time effectively.

Jun-hoo first logged into social media and posted a message announcing that Jae-eun’s surgery had been successfully completed.

-Doctor. Thank you for your hard work. I would have cried so much if anything had happened to Jae-eun ㅜㅜ

-I didn’t watch the live broadcast, but I deposited a donation into the donation account. I hope it helps even a little.

-Thank you always!!!!

…….

Soon after posting, dozens of comments were pouring in.

Jun-hoo was grateful for people’s warm interest.

The world was still worth living in.

And empathy and consideration were not dead.

The only way to repay this gratitude was for Jun-hoo to continue developing his skills as a surgeon and saving critically ill patients in the future.

Creak.

Just then, the door to the on-call room opened.

Kyung-soo, who had finished assisting in the surgery, sat down next to Jun-hoo.

“Are you a born troublemaker? I heard you did it again this time?”

Kyung-soo asked with a fed-up expression.

“You heard about it.”

“I can’t help but hear it. People are only talking about you. Mogen Jun-hoo.”

Kyung-soo put emphasis on Mogen.

Only then did Jun-hoo regret mentioning the Mogen tribe.

He had a bad feeling that….

His nickname would be fixed as Mogen.

He couldn’t take back the words he had already spoken, which was frustrating.

“I heard your eyesight is 10.0?”

“Well, something like that.”

“It’s not something like that. How can a person’s eyesight be 10.0?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, who does? Does the Mogen tribe know?”

“Hey, stop it. I’m already tired of it.”

“I haven’t even started yet, and you’re already tired of it?”

Kyung-soo kept asking Jun-hoo about his eyesight, and Jun-hoo answered vaguely.

Jun-hoo didn’t really like this kind of attention.

All that mattered to Jun-hoo was that the surgery went well.

That Jae-eun was safe.

He wasn’t interested in his abilities being the talk of the town.

“Bending surgical steel with your bare hands and helping with cerebral vascular anastomosis using only loupes (optical glasses). What exactly are you?”

“An alien. I’m actually an alien.”

“Oh. That’s a bit convincing. What’s your home planet?”

“Ar….”

Jun-hoo swallowed the joke he was about to make and stared at the phone on his desk.

Ring~.

The phone rang.

Kyung-soo, who was closer to the phone, answered it.

“Neurosurgery.”

-…….

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

‘I guess it’s about time to go down to the emergency room.

Should I improve my medical skills for once?’

While eavesdropping on Kyung-soo’s call, Jun-hoo nodded his head from side to side and loosened his neck.

He was filled with anticipation for meeting new patients.

To a doctor, patients are….

A source of reward and a source of experience.

Without patients, doctors would not exist.

“Emergency room, right? I’ll go.”

“Not the emergency room?”

Kyung-soo replied, putting down the receiver.

“Then where?”

“Medical device repair technician. He arrived at the operating room and is starting the maintenance. The surgical microscope broke down.”

“Ah… the company came. Then I should go even more.”

“Why are you going there?”

“I have a few questions. Watch the on-call room for a bit.”

“Hey! That’s not fair! How can you run off alone when it’s so busy?”

“I’ll give you a massage when I get back.”

“Okay. Sure. Take your time.”

Kyung-soo’s change of attitude was faster than lightning.

Creak.

Jun-hoo, who came out of the on-call room, headed to the operating room at a brisk pace.

Jun-hoo was curious.

Whether the surgical microscope really broke down by accident.

And whether he could fix the microscope himself if the same thing happened next time.