A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 26

The Martial Surgeon – Episode 26

Chapter 6: True Education (1)

The orientation schedule of one night and two days was over.

The seniors who bravely engaged in a drinking battle with Jun-hoo were all in terrible shape on the way back.

Some were half-dead.

Some were busy throwing up.

Some were even calling for their mothers.

It was their own fault, so Jun-hoo didn’t feel even a bit of guilt.

Guilt is something you should feel when you fail to do good yourself.

Or when you do evil yourself.

So, there was no need to feel guilty when punishing evil.

Many righteous people in the Murim [martial arts world] unfortunately felt guilt when they shouldn’t, leading to great disasters.

But Jun-hoo was different.

He lost his father to the heinous demon, Jeok Il-do, so he understood the nature of evil better than anyone.

Evil was a weed.

A weed should be pulled out.

It was not something to be understood or sympathized with.

‘The results are pretty good.’

On the bus back to Seoul, Jun-hoo looked out the window and smiled.

If he participates in the OT [Orientation Trip] as a senior next year, he will persuade the professors to abolish the talent show.

He will eradicate the culture of forcing people to drink.

Considering his performance yesterday.

Jun-hoo’s influence seemed likely to be quite significant in the future.

“Jun-hoo, are you really okay?”

Suddenly, Ah-young, who was sitting next to him, asked with a worried voice.

“Huh? About what?”

“Are you okay after drinking so much? I think you drank seven bottles of soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] yesterday.”

“Do I look like I’m not okay?”

Jun-hoo asked back, acting nonchalant.

Jun-hoo drank nearly 2 liters of soju, but it was all water to him.

He had detoxified all the alcohol with his internal energy.

In other words, he had only consumed the daily recommended amount of water in the form of soju.

There was no way a problem could arise.

“You look okay, but… I was wondering if you were holding it in.”

“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. By the way, Ah-young, you’re a good drinker too, aren’t you?”

Jun-hoo turned the topic to Ah-young.

Yesterday at the drinking party, Ah-young showed off her ability to remain unaffected even after emptying two bottles of soju.

Considering her usual personality and image, it was quite a surprise.

“Both of my parents are good drinkers, so I guess it’s genetic.”

“Maybe that’s really it.”

“Jun-hoo, I was going to be your black knight if you were having a hard time, but it looks like there’s no need for that?”

Ah-young’s tone sounded somewhat disappointed.

It seemed like she was missing out on an opportunity to help Jun-hoo.

After about 30 minutes of conversation, Ah-young fell asleep.

Jun-hoo stared out the window again.

He hoped that medical school life would pass by quickly, like the scenery that was quickly passing by.

He had the audacious wish that he could wake up tomorrow and immediately start working as a doctor.

* * *

The only perfect scorer on last year’s college entrance exam.

Top student in the entire school.

His splendid dance skills and unbelievable alcohol tolerance shown at the OT, etc.

Unwillingly, he became a popular figure, but Jun-hoo’s usual campus life was that of an outsider.

Jun-hoo visited the library whenever he had free time.

He would borrow and read medical books from the school library that interns and residents would read.

He had finished studying the material for the 4th year of medical school at the beginning of this year.

And he had scored perfectly on last year’s medical license exam, which he took as a test.

However, medicine is deep and profound.

The more Jun-hoo studied, the more he felt his shortcomings.

So, he constantly craved knowledge.

Jun-hoo’s physical abilities based on martial arts and internal energy were already superhuman.

So, the only thing left to fill was medical knowledge.

Ten days into pre-med classes.

Jun-hoo still lived as a library ghost.

He went to the library by 7 a.m. to read medical books, read books during his free time, and if he had no classes, he read books again until 10 p.m.

Even then, he had energy and time left over, so he studied English and watched medical dramas in his spare time.

Jun-hoo’s advanced learning was truly amazing.

* * *

12 p.m. After the liberal arts class ended.

Jun-hoo visited the school cafeteria with Ah-young, Sung-ho, and Jung-han, who were in the same group during the OT.

“Jun-hoo, aren’t you living your life too boringly? It’s almost as strict as eating only chicken breast?”

“Yeah, Sung-ho hyung [older brother/male friend] is right. Why is a college student studying like a high school senior?”

Sung-ho and Jung-han each said a word.

The only time medical students can breathe is during the two years of pre-med.

Once medical school starts, they have to memorize hundreds of pages of medical terms every day and take weekly quizzes.

It was truly a living hell.

But Jun-hoo was living like a medical student even though he was a pre-med student.

He didn’t join any clubs.

He rejected all blind date offers.

The only place he frequented was the library.

It was truly a boring college life.

“If you want to live like a human, you should enjoy some cultural activities.”

“I have the most fun studying.”

“That’s a boring joke.”

“It’s not a joke, so it’s not funny.”

Jun-hoo shrugged his shoulders at Sung-ho’s comment and answered honestly.

Jun-hoo had saved several people from crisis with the medical knowledge he had steadily acquired.

Learning and practice.

These two things were Jun-hoo’s joy and reward in life.

Perhaps other people would never understand, even if they died and came back to life.

The unique values that only Jun-hoo, who had experienced the Murim world, possessed.

“I thought you would be flying around like you did at the OT. This is completely different.”

“Why? Are you disappointed?”

“A little.”

“But why does me studying hard disappoint you, hyung?”

“I don’t know. There’s just something about it.”

“Oppa [older sister’s boyfriend or older male friend], weren’t you trying to use Jun-hoo’s halo to pick up female students?”

“Ahem. Don’t say such hurtful things. Everyone’s expression changes when you say you’re a medical student.”

Sung-ho coughed and said at Ah-young’s comment.

Judging by his awkwardness, Ah-young’s comment seemed to be correct.

Well, if you’ve only studied and just entered college, it’s impossible not to be interested in the opposite sex.

Jun-hoo fully understood Sung-ho.

The four of them finished lunch and went to a nearby cafe.

They continued their conversation while drinking coffee.

“Did everyone see the news yesterday? About Kim Tae-hoon’s medical accident?”

Ah-young changed the subject.

Jun-hoo’s ears perked up at the word medical accident.

Jun-hoo, who dreamed of becoming a surgeon, became curious about anything related to medicine.

“I’ve never heard of it?”

“See? You only look at books, so you don’t know anything about what’s going on in the world. Tsk tsk tsk.”

“So, what’s the case about?”

Jun-hoo ignored Sung-ho’s criticism and asked Ah-young.

Ah-young’s explanation followed.

A middle-aged male actor named Kim Tae-hoon died while undergoing surgery at a general hospital.

According to the family’s claim, Kim Tae-hoon lost his life due to a medical accident.

The patient complained of abdominal pain and visited the emergency room twice in two days, but was only prescribed painkillers.

Then, on the third visit.

The patient lost consciousness and collapsed, and the subsequent emergency surgery resulted in the patient’s death, which was the basis for their claim.

“It smells fishy. I understand why people are whispering about it.”

Jun-hoo narrowed his brows.

To know the details, it would be right to hear both sides of the story.

But Jun-hoo couldn’t shake the suspicion that the hospital was at fault.

Looking at the details so far.

It showed a pattern of medical accidents resulting in patient death due to delayed treatment and diagnosis by the hospital.

“There’s also a story that Kim Tae-hoon is the problem?”

“Why Kim Tae-hoon?”

Ah-young tilted her head and asked at Jung-han’s words.

“He posted a picture on SNS [Social Networking Service] saying his condition improved after receiving emergency room treatment. Isn’t that suspicious?”

“That’s not a valid reason.”

Jun-hoo, who had been silent, refuted Jung-han’s words.

“If he was prescribed painkillers, he may have temporarily improved.”

“What, Jun-hoo, are you on Kim Tae-hoon’s side?”

“At this point.”

Jun-hoo answered and drank his coffee.

The coffee tasted particularly bitter today.

There was nothing Jun-hoo could do about the Kim Tae-hoon case.

He had no personal connection with the actor.

The family would proceed with the lawsuit on their own.

But he couldn’t help but wonder about the truth of the case.

Was the hospital really trying to conceal and downplay the incident?

Or was the family wrongly blaming the hospital?

Jun-hoo, who would become a surgeon, could experience the former situation at any time.

He could also experience the latter situation at any time.

So, it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.

When the conversation was briefly interrupted.

Jun-hoo searched for the Kim Tae-hoon case on his phone.

Only Jun-hoo didn’t know, but the media was already buzzing about the Kim Tae-hoon case.

Meanwhile, the name of the hospital involved in the dispute was Taejung Hospital, a famous gastroenterology surgery specialist hospital located in Gangnam [affluent district in Seoul].

“Let’s stop talking about depressing things. We’ll get indigestion.”

Sung-ho looked at Jun-hoo and continued.

“By the way. Why don’t you try tutoring?”

“Why suddenly tutoring?”

“A club senior asked if I was interested in tutoring, but I really have no intention of doing it.”

“Tutoring…”

Jun-hoo stroked his chin quietly.

He wasn’t in a financially difficult situation.

First of all, he was promised a full scholarship upon admission.

And as his past good deeds of providing emergency care became known, a scholarship foundation even provided him with a scholarship of ten million won [approximately $7,500 USD].

But even if you have a lot, money is never enough.

You never know what kind of misfortune might befall your family.

And when the two-year lease expires, you might have to move to a new house.

“I’ll do it. Hyung.”

“I thought our Jun-hoo only knew how to study, but he’s surprisingly interested in money?”

“I’m just trying to earn some pocket money.”

“I’m going to the club room with Jun-hoo, so you two have fun.”

Jun-hoo followed Sung-ho out of the school cafe.

They moved to the club room located on the 2nd basement floor.

On the way, some seniors who passed by recognized Jun-hoo and spoke to him, most of whom were faces he had seen at the OT.

This was because the impact Jun-hoo had shown at the OT was so great.

Volunteer club.

Soccer club.

Theater club.

Rock band club, etc.

Various types of club rooms were lined up along the hallway.

In fact, Jun-hoo had once considered joining a club.

The medical community was small.

You could know everyone by crossing just one bridge.

In other words, if you built a solid network, you could get help later.

But Jun-hoo gave up on this.

He didn’t want to do club activities with the purpose of building a network, unless a network was naturally formed while working.

The network that eats away at the medical community would definitely be the latter.

“Wow, this is really a club that doesn’t suit hyung at all? We didn’t come to the wrong place, did we?”

Jun-hoo burst into laughter in front of the club room where Sung-ho had stopped.

The club Sung-ho had joined was a book club called Check It Out.

“I’m just going to read some books. Why? Do you have a problem with that?”

“So, what’s the last book you read?”

“Helpless.”

Sung-ho made a corny pun and knocked on the club door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

When they entered the club, a senior who had arrived earlier was putting clothes in the locker.

It seemed like he had just entered the club.

“Senior. Hello.”

“Ah. Yes, hello.”

The club senior also greeted Sung-ho with polite words.

This was probably because Sung-ho was a third-time student.

Through Sung-ho, Jun-hoo learned that the club senior was a sophomore in pre-med and his name was Kyung-tae.

That is…

But the document envelope in Kyung-tae’s hand caught Jun-hoo’s attention.

The words and logo of Taejung Hospital were printed on the document envelope.

Wait, Taejung Hospital…

Isn’t that the hospital where the Kim Tae-hoon case broke out?