A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 287

Chapter 55: Suppression (2)

Hyun-ah’s jaw dropped at Jun-hoo’s skillful procedure.

There was one thing some people were greatly mistaken about.

That was…

The misconception that doctors were inherently better at giving injections or inserting IV lines than nurses.

In reality, it was often the opposite.

Performing routine blood draws or securing IV access in patients was primarily the nurses’ domain.

Nurses performed these tasks dozens of times a day.

So, their skill in securing IV lines was overwhelmingly superior.

This was why Hyun-ah had been annoyed when Yu-na had called Jun-hoo.

Hyun-ah had thought that if there was an SOS call for an IV line issue, they should have called another nurse from the ward.

But what do you know?

Hyun-ah’s expectations were pleasantly subverted.

Jun-hoo found the patient’s vein on the right arm, not even the left arm where the veins were somewhat prominent, which she had failed to access three times.

It was a result hard to believe even after witnessing it firsthand.

“How is it? Easy, right?”

Jun-hoo said with a grin after successfully securing the patient’s line.

“Ah, yes.”

Hyun-ah replied with an awkward smile.

The loser had nothing to say.

The commotion ended as Yu-na secured and organized the IV line.

Hyun-ah wheeled the dressing cart back to the station.

“Seo, I thought he was just a pretty face. Turns out he’s got skills too?”

“You’re just finding that out now? There are already rumors about how well Jun-hoo works,” Yu-na said with an excited voice.

“I heard it from the day shift and evening shift workers.”

“Heard what?”

“They say Jun-hoo’s work processing speed is like a sports car. He gives orders within 5 seconds of receiving a ward call, and patient procedures don’t get delayed for more than 5 minutes.”

“Isn’t he just fast?”

“It’s not just speed; he’s also accurate.”

“Really? He must be good at his job.”

Hyun-ah replied with a nonchalant expression, and Yu-na tilted her head.

“Isn’t it a good thing if a dispatched resident is good at their job? Why do you look so grumpy?”

“It reminds me of Seo-jin.”

Hyun-ah mentioned a name that had now become a memory.

Goo Seo-jin.

A neurosurgery resident in his second year who was as stoic as a robot and handled tasks with machine-like precision.

The former ace Seo-jin was no longer in neurosurgery.

He couldn’t withstand the harassment from Hyuk-jae and the supervising professor and left the hospital two months ago, almost as if he was being chased out.

Jun-hoo might soon follow in Seo-jin’s footsteps.

The neurosurgery department at the Daejeon branch was a place where it was hard to survive even if you were too good at your job.

The strong had to bear that much more burden.

“When you talk about Seo-jin, I really miss him. If Jun-hoo and Seo-jin were here together, the ward would be heaven.”

“You’re just realizing that now?”

“Realizing what?”

“That heaven exists only in imagination.”

Hyun-ah pointed to her head with her index finger and smiled bitterly.

During the night shift.

The talkative Yu-na didn’t stop chattering.

It was like she was hosting a radio show by herself.

It had a somewhat awakening effect, so she didn’t particularly stop her.

Today, Yu-na’s topic was Jun-hoo.

After hearing the stories repeatedly, Hyun-ah became curious about Jun-hoo and searched for the NewTube [a fictional video-sharing platform] channel he ran.

“Mi… insane. 1.01 million subscribers?”

The voice of her heart, which she had intended to keep to herself, blurted out.

Hyun-ah couldn’t help it.

A NewTuber with a million subscribers in this world…

Was it possible that Jun-hoo, a doctor, had achieved that feat, which even famous celebrities and actors found difficult?

“See? I told you Jun-hoo wasn’t ordinary.”

Drrr.

Hyun-ah scrolled down with the mouse wheel instead of answering.

The first video was from two years ago.

So, Jun-hoo had been juggling medicine and NewTube since his internship.

As if he had two bodies.

“He’s filmed a lot of videos too? There are study videos, videos of him imitating idol dances, and videos of him doing feats of strength like bending coins.”

“Yes. The basics are study videos and idol dance covers, but he also films other videos from time to time.”

“The views are solid too. The most recent video has over 600,000 views.”

Hyun-ah rubbed her eyes at the unbelievable reality. Then, she looked at Yu-na with a puzzled expression.

“Yu-na, aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

“Why Dr. Seo is still a doctor when his NewTube channel is doing so well? With this level of popularity, wouldn’t it be better to be a full-time NewTuber?”

“Money is important, but there are things in the world that money can’t solve.”

An unexpected voice came from an unexpected direction.

Hyun-ah raised her head and stared straight ahead.

Jun-hoo was looking at Hyun-ah with a smile.

* * *

“Ah, Dr. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to badmouth you.”

Hyun-ah panicked upon discovering Jun-hoo.

She frantically waved her hands from side to side.

“It’s okay. Judging from the fact that my ears weren’t itchy, it seems like you weren’t cursing me out.”

Jun-hoo responded playfully.

Yu-na covered her mouth and giggled at this.

“Dr. Jun-hoo is also good with words.”

“How many enjoyable things are there while working in the ward? At least my mouth should be enjoyable.”

Jun-hoo’s words continued.

“Can we continue the story from earlier? The story about why I continue to be a surgeon.”

“Yes, I want to hear it.”

Hyun-ah nodded.

“Let’s say I’m an executive at a Korean conglomerate. Then I’d have a lot of money, right?”

“At least tens of billions of won [Korean currency, roughly equivalent to millions of US dollars].”

“Even if I had that much money, I might not be able to receive emergency surgery if there isn’t a surgeon available.”

Jun-hoo cited the case of the nurse at the Big 5 hospital [the five largest and most prestigious hospitals in South Korea] who had a brain hemorrhage a while ago.

In fact, it didn’t matter who was in that nurse’s position.

The important thing here was…

The dire reality that even the Big 5 hospital couldn’t perform emergency surgery on its own and had to send the patient to another Big 5 hospital.

“Money is important, but it’s not everything. People seem to forget that part too often.”

“Hmm… when I hear it like that, it makes sense. So, is there a sense of duty that keeps you going as a surgeon?”

“There’s a sense of duty, a sense of responsibility, and a desire to shake off trauma.”

After finishing his answer, Jun-hoo looked down at the bracelet he was wearing on his left hand.

It was a memento left by his medical school classmate, Sung-ho hyung [an honorific term for an older male friend or brother], who had become a star in the sky after organ donation following brain death.

Sung-ho had passed away, but Jun-hoo hadn’t let him go.

“I apologize for being grumpy when you were securing the IV line earlier.”

Hyun-ah said with her head bowed.

“Honestly, I didn’t know you’d be that good.”

“Well, you can misunderstand things sometimes.”

“By the way, what brings Dr. Jun-hoo to the station?”

Yu-na, who had been silent, changed the subject.

“I had some free time, so I thought I’d have a conversation with the doctors.”

Jun-hoo’s words were half true.

The other half was motivated by the intention to gather information about the ward and the department.

Nurses were the eyes and ears of the ward.

Information about patients and guardians not on the chart.

The situation in the department.
The personalities and relationships of residents and professors, etc.

They were excellent sources of information who could provide relatively objective information about various things within the ward.

In terms of the martial arts world…

Would they be the Beggars’ Sect or the Hao Clan [references to information-gathering organizations in martial arts stories]?

In any case, if he could grasp the information about the department in advance, he could shorten the time it takes to adapt to the department by more than five times.

“Today is my first day on dispatch. I have a lot of questions about the ward and the department.”

“…”

“Would it be okay to ask you a few questions?”

“Sure. Ask me anything.”

“What kind of person is the head nurse in your opinion?”

Jun-hoo first asked about the disposition of the head of the department, the leader of the department.

“The head nurse… has a straightforward personality and is very good at her job.”

“She’s only been promoted to head nurse for three months, so she’s also having a hard time.”

“What kind of hard time?”

“She doesn’t get along with Associate Professor Hong Hoon-shik. In short, they’re enemies.”

Jun-hoo perked up his ears and listened to Hyun-ah and Yu-na’s story.

He nodded or added interjections to react in order to gather more information.

He also asked additional questions from time to time.

The information he gathered was as follows.

1) The head nurse has a good reputation externally.

2) The head nurse and Associate Professor Hong Hoon-shik get along like cats and dogs.

3) Associate Professor Hong Hoon-shik is a deep-rooted evil and stagnant water in the department. Even the nurses grit their teeth at the mention of Hong Hoon-shik.

4) The state of the department’s residents is a mess. Third-year Hyuk-jae assaults his juniors, and the fourth-year chief seems to be standing by and watching, etc.

There were no good stories in the two people’s stories, even if you washed your ears and looked for them.

That’s how hopeless the state of the neurosurgery department at the Daejeon branch was.

Darkness when you open your eyes, and cliffs everywhere you step.

It was such a total mess that Jun-hoo was at a loss as to where to start.

“Who’s coming?”

Jun-hoo said, turning his head toward the hallway.

“Hey, who would come to the ward at this hour?”

“There’s no one there? What did you see? Could it be that you’re too weak and saw something wrong?”

Yu-na checked the empty hallway and tilted her head.

But it didn’t take 10 seconds for the situation to reverse.

The silhouette at the far end of the hallway gradually became clearer and larger. The sound of footsteps also got closer.

Its identity was none other than…

Dae-hwi, the runaway and first-year resident who had temporarily left the department.

* * *

Neurosurgery on-call room.

Jun-hoo and Dae-hwi were sitting in chairs, facing each other.

Jun-hoo asked Dae-hwi how his day was.

Dae-hwi replied that it was blissful.

He soaked in the sauna’s hot tub.

He ate foods he couldn’t usually eat.

He took a leisurely stroll in the park.

Things that were everyday occurrences for ordinary people were great luxuries for Dae-hwi.

Jun-hoo was happy that Dae-hwi seemed to have rebuilt his crumbling mentality, and on the other hand, he felt sorry for Dae-hwi.

Dae-hwi had consistently been unable to enjoy what he deserved as a human being.

Unless there was a fundamental reform in surgery.

Dae-hwi’s situation, and Jun-hoo’s situation, would not improve in the future.

“But sunbae [an honorific term for a senior colleague or mentor]… I’m scared.”

“Huh? Of what?”

“I rested well, but I’m worried about how to deal with the aftermath. Hyuk-jae sunbae and the chief must be sharpening their knives right now.”

Dae-hwi’s pupils trembled anxiously.

“Don’t worry. I promised to take care of everything.”

“I know that… but Hyuk-jae sunbae’s personality is so terrible. I don’t think it’ll end with just words.”

Dae-hwi swallowed hard and continued.

“Can’t I stay in the on-call room with you today, sunbae? I can’t go into the sleep room.”

Dae-hwi was frightened in advance.

He looked like a victim of a horror movie killer.

How much had they tormented him to elicit such an excessive reaction?

Jun-hoo felt a renewed surge of anger toward Hyuk-jae.

Drrr.

Speak of the devil.

Hyuk-jae entered the on-call room just in time.

Judging by the way he was gently rubbing his stomach, it seemed like he had come to the on-call room to satisfy his hunger.

Or it could have been to find fault with Jun-hoo, who was on duty.

“Kim Dae-hwi? You son of a bitch, I’ve been waiting for you!”

Hyuk-jae glared at Dae-hwi as soon as he found him.

“You little bastard, you skipped work and ran away? Are you crazy? Are you telling us to do your work for you?”

“No, sunbae. It’s not like that. Jun-hoo sunbae said it was okay to take a day off, so…”

“You’re just spouting nonsense because you have a mouth? You should listen to me, why are you listening to a guy who just got dispatched today? Do you think I’m a joke?”

“I’m sorry! I was wrong!”

Dae-hwi got up from his chair and repeatedly bowed.

And Jun-hoo, who was watching this, stood in front of Dae-hwi like a shield.

Wrinkles formed on Hyuk-jae’s forehead.

“Why are you butting in again? Stay out of it, third party!”

“Hyuk-jae, you’re going to make my ears bleed. Speak quietly. Huh?”

“Ha… you’ve been talking down to me since this afternoon. You’re unbelievable. I was holding back in the emergency room because there were a lot of eyes watching? Let’s see you get beaten until sunrise today.”

Hyuk-jae stomped over to the refrigerator and took out the baseball bat he had hidden under the refrigerator.

The aluminum bat shone like the scales of a silverfish.