A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 285

Swish!

Jun-hoo brushed aside Hyuk-jae’s fist with a flick of his wrist.

A simple, yet powerful movement.

Hyuk-jae stumbled, nearly losing his balance.

The thought of thoroughly putting Hyuk-jae in his place crossed Jun-hoo’s mind, but he dismissed it.

Firstly, there were too many onlookers.

More importantly…

Jun-hoo didn’t want to subdue Hyuk-jae with brute force alone.

That wouldn’t solve anything.

If he resorted to fistfights every time he disliked someone or things didn’t go his way, how would he be any different from Hyuk-jae?

“Seo Jun-hoo, you bastard! Not only did you speak informally to a senior, but you even laid a hand on me? Are you out of your mind?”

Contrary to his aggressive words, Hyuk-jae’s voice was noticeably softer than before.

He seemed intimidated by Jun-hoo, who had so easily deflected his punch.

“You should get your facts straight. You were the one who threw the first punch. Don’t make false accusations.”

“Anyway, stop being nosy and listen to me. That patient needs surgery right away. He may seem fine now, but his condition could worsen at any moment.”

Hyuk-jae jabbed his index finger towards the bed where the patient was lying.

Amidst the tense standoff between Jun-hoo and Hyuk-jae, an unexpected figure intervened.

A doctor with a slicked-back pomade hairstyle, projecting an intellectual image, stepped between Jun-hoo and Hyuk-jae.

The name on his name tag read Park Jun-oh.

“This… I don’t think it’s my place to interfere, but can I offer my opinion? I’m the one who received the consult from neurosurgery.”

“It’s fine. You can interfere as much as you want. We should humbly listen to the top resident.”

Hyuk-jae welcomed Jun-oh’s intervention.

The two were classmates in medical school and knew each other reasonably well.

“You’re Jun-hoo, right?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you think that patient should have surgery?”

“I told you, surgery isn’t necessary. He can recover sufficiently with medication.”

“I know. I overheard everything you two were saying because it was so loud.”

Jun-oh smiled gently.

Hyuk-jae puffed out his chest and smiled triumphantly.

He looked high and mighty now that he had an ally.

“Then, can you provide the rationale for why surgery is needed?”

“Basically, it’s similar to Hyuk-jae’s reasoning: skull fracture, cerebrospinal fluid leak, subarachnoid hemorrhage [bleeding in the space surrounding the brain].”

“…”

“These three symptoms occurred simultaneously. Can they be managed with medication alone?”

“…”

“If I remember correctly, we operated on a similar patient before, right?”

“Do you remember the specifics of that case?”

“Well… I don’t remember the details. The emergency room sees over 100 patients a day.”

“I don’t think it’s sufficient to say this case is similar to the previous one based on a hunch.”

Jun-hoo shook his head and began to explain.

He detailed the shape of the skull fracture in the previous patient, the amount of bleeding in the subarachnoid hemorrhage, and the extent of leakage in the cerebrospinal fluid leak, etc.

To apply one case to another, accurate data was essential.

Just because a patient complains of a headache doesn’t automatically mean they have a brain hemorrhage.

“Wouldn’t it be better to treat with medication and then perform surgery if the patient’s condition worsens?”

“…”

“Why should we recommend surgery first for a patient who is fully conscious with a perfect GCS score [Glasgow Coma Scale, a neurological scale used to assess level of consciousness]?”

Jun-hoo retorted clearly.

Jun-oh, who had stepped in to support Hyuk-jae, was at a loss for words.

He scratched his cheek with a troubled expression.

He had joined in to boost Hyuk-jae’s morale because he was being outmaneuvered by a junior…

But Jun-oh’s situation was no different.

Jun-hoo’s medical knowledge was unassailable.

Even Jun-oh, after listening to Jun-hoo, thought Jun-hoo was right.

He came to persuade…

But instead, he was persuaded.

“Well, it’s true that the patient is too alert for surgery… We don’t usually operate on patients with such good consciousness unless it’s a brain tumor surgery.”

Jun-oh nodded in agreement.

“Hey, Park Jun-oh! Are you siding with Seo Jun-hoo now? Are you kidding me?”

“No… it just seems like this guy is right.”

“Ugh, damn it! This annoying bickering is driving me crazy. Just do the surgery!”

Hyuk-jae stomped towards the bed where the patient was lying.

His footsteps were heavy and loud.

His face was flushed red.

He was puffing out his nose, looking like a locomotive.

But Jun-hoo blocked Hyuk-jae’s path.

“Where are you going?”

“I just told you. I’m going to convince the patient that he needs surgery and proceed with the operation. I’ll take all the responsibility!”

Hyuk-jae shouted.

“Responsibility? Don’t talk irresponsibly. If the surgery goes wrong, you’ll only get a reprimand, but the patient will have to live with the aftereffects for the rest of his life.”

Jun-hoo continued to speak informally to Hyuk-jae.

“Can you call that responsibility? It’s not an equal exchange.”

“I’m only counting to three. I won’t hold back this time either. One… two…”

“Don’t act tough and let’s call the professor.”

Jun-hoo suggested a third option.

Repeating ‘I’m right and you’re wrong’ any further was a waste of time and energy.

To the residents, the professor was the ultimate authority.

“The professor?”

“Yeah. We can ask the professor who’s right. Even if you don’t believe me, you wouldn’t not believe the professor, would you?”

“Damn it, that’s a good idea. Why didn’t I think of that? If the professor says surgery is needed, will you admit it too?”

“Of course.”

“Hey. But are you going to keep talking down to me?”

Hyuk-jae put his hands on his hips and glared at Jun-hoo.

He was stressed and annoyed that his junior was talking back to him informally.

Meanwhile, Jun-hoo stared at Hyuk-jae and took out his pager from his gown. He called the professor while raising his middle finger on his remaining left hand to Hyuk-jae.

* * *

The lounge on the 3rd floor, where the operating room was located.

Hyuk-jae sat on the lounge sofa, gulping down canned coffee.

The can was emptied in a single gulp.

Crack!

The can was mercilessly crushed in Hyuk-jae’s grip.

“What’s got you so worked up?”

Seo Dong-won, who had just entered the lounge, sat across from Hyuk-jae.

Seo Dong-won was the only 4th-year resident and chief in neurosurgery.

With round eyes and a constant smile on his lips, Dong-won’s nickname was Sloth.

His actual personality was also similar to a sloth.

He was only focused on his own work and indifferent to what was happening around him.

“There’s this guy named Seo Jun-hoo who came from Seoul. Have you seen him, Chief?”

“I haven’t seen him in person.”

“He’s a complete psycho. He started talking down to me out of nowhere and even punched me!”

As Hyuk-jae slandered Jun-hoo, a subtle smile appeared on Dong-won’s lips.

“I heard something from a colleague in the emergency room, but you shouldn’t distort the facts. Even novels aren’t written like that these days.”

“…Did you hear everything?”

“Yeah. Everyone who needs to know already knows that you and Jun-hoo fought.”

“What kind of rumors are going around?”

Hyuk-jae’s ears perked up.

“Some people think Jun-hoo was out of line for talking down to you… but most people see you in a worse light because you were the one who cursed and threw the first punch.”

“…”

“Hyuk-jae.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Can’t you control that temper of yours? At this rate, I’m going to die first.”

Dong-won sighed deeply.

He put his hand on his wrinkled forehead.

In fact, Dong-won liked Hyuk-jae.

Because Hyuk-jae often kept the juniors in line, even if he used somewhat aggressive methods.

Thanks to that, Dong-won didn’t have to take care of the juniors separately.

But what was this?

Hyuk-jae was becoming more and more of a tyrant.

One month ago, Hyuk-jae was about 40% responsible for the incident where a resident who had just become a 2nd year ran away in the middle of the night.

“I’m sorry. I’ll refrain from now on.”

“You know I just assisted Professor Nam with surgery, right?”

“Ah. Yes.”

Hyuk-jae lowered his head deeply when Professor Nam came up as a topic.

He couldn’t even see his neck.

“Professor Nam told me to educate you a bit. He said that even though you’re a 3rd year, you can’t even distinguish between surgical and non-surgical patients.”

“I thought that since we’re in surgery, we should try to solve things with surgery whenever possible…”

“Ugh, you’re so frustrating. That’s the kind of excuse you make when you’re a 1st year.”

Dong-won pounded his chest with his fist as if he was frustrated.

Hyuk-jae slyly avoided Dong-won’s gaze.

In the showdown with Jun-hoo in the emergency room, Hyuk-jae had suffered a crushing defeat.

Going back to the emergency room, Jun-hoo notified him of the patient’s condition and handed his phone to Hyuk-jae.

Hyuk-jae took the phone.

-Hyuk-jae.

Professor Nam, who specialized in the cerebral vascular field, called Hyuk-jae with a sigh.

At that moment, Hyuk-jae sensed that things had gone terribly wrong.

“Yes, Professor.”

-Just because you’re a surgeon doesn’t mean you should operate on everything. You have to consider the patient’s condition when deciding on surgery.

“Well… there’s a fracture, bleeding, and cerebrospinal fluid all at once…”

-No, that’s not what I mean.

Professor Nam cut off Hyuk-jae’s words with annoyance.

-You shouldn’t just look at the disease; you should also look at the patient’s condition. Where else in the world is there a neurosurgeon who insists on surgery when the GCS score is perfect?

“I was worried that the patient’s condition might worsen…”

-That’s something to think about when the time comes. If you treat patients like that, you’ll end up burning down the whole house trying to catch a flea. Be careful in the future.”

“I’m sorry, Professor. I’ll do better in the future.”

The situation ended with Professor Nam siding with Jun-hoo.

In front of all those emergency room staff, Hyuk-jae suffered a complete defeat to Jun-hoo.

Could there be anything more embarrassing than this?

Today was a day of unforgettable humiliation for Hyuk-jae.

He wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly for a while.

Grit.

Hyuk-jae gritted his teeth as he recalled the humiliation from a few hours ago.

“I got an earful from Professor Nam because of you. He said I’m not educating and managing the kids properly as a chief.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Let’s not do anything to be sorry for in the future. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“But what’s Dae-hwi doing that he hasn’t shown his face all day?”

Dong-won tilted his head in confusion.

Hyuk-jae didn’t miss the chance he had.

“Jun-hoo told him to take a good rest outside all day. Without the Chief’s permission?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes. This is 100 percent true with no lies. You can ask Jun-hoo or Dae-hwi, and they’ll tell you right away.”

Dong-won frowned at the information Hyuk-jae provided.

“Jun-hoo, this guy has a lot of problems.”

* * *

That evening, the on-call room.

A welcome party was held for Jun-hoo, who had been dispatched from Seoul.

The welcome party was extremely modest.

Because there were only three people in total.

Jun-hoo had given the 1st year, Dae-hwi, a temporary vacation(?).

The existing 2nd year had run away.

So the only residents in the ward were Jun-hoo, Dong-won, and Hyuk-jae.

The conversation between the three people continued with the delivered pizza in the middle.

Since Jun-hoo and Hyuk-jae were already like oil and water, most of the conversation was only between Dong-won and Jun-hoo, and Dong-won and Hyuk-jae.

“I heard that you gave Dae-hwi a vacation without permission?”

Dong-won asked with his arms crossed.

“Yes. That’s right. When I asked Dae-hwi why he was taking off his gown, he said he was thinking of running away.”

“…”

“So I listened to his story and told him to take a good rest today.”

“By whose authority?”

“I’m sorry. I should have told you in advance… but Dae-hwi’s condition looked so bad.”

Hyuk-jae smiled as he listened to Jun-hoo’s excuse.

He had a look on his face that said it was satisfying to see him being questioned by the chief.

“You know this from experience, but our department is severely short of T.O [Table of Organization, referring to the number of available positions]. If even one person is missing, there will be a hole in the work.”

“…”

“Did you think about how much more work would pile up if you let Dae-hwi rest without permission?”

“But there were no disruptions to the work. I finished writing all the overdue charts.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s not an amount I, who just got dispatched today, can finish.”

“If you don’t believe me, check it out.”

“Do you think I won’t if you tell me to?”

The chief jumped up from his seat and approached the computer desk.

After 10 minutes, the chief’s face, who returned to his seat, was filled with astonishment.

“Wow! You really finished everything. You even wrote the surgery records?”

“I tend to work quickly and efficiently. That’s why I let Dae-hwi rest.”

“Well, that’s fine then. As long as the department’s work isn’t delayed, I don’t particularly plan to interfere with you guys.”

“Chief, are you really going to end it like this? Aren’t you going to discipline Jun-hoo?”

Hyuk-jae asked urgently when even the chief sided with Jun-hoo.

“He did everything he was supposed to do, so what are you trying to find fault with?”

“But he let Dae-hwi rest without the Chief’s permission.”

“I don’t care about that.”

Jun-hoo smiled as he watched the nonchalant chief and the flustered Hyuk-jae.

Jun-hoo knew that the best work performance is the best political maneuvering.

At this point, Jun-hoo decided to cement his position.

“Chief, I have something to tell you.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“While I’m dispatched, I’ll take all the night shifts, no matter what.”

Jun-hoo’s statement once again caused a huge wave.