A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 289

Suppression (4)

The atmosphere in the Daejeon branch conference room was lifeless.

Whether they were residents or professors, their eyes were glazed over.

Many nodded like sleepy chickens, and questions were hard to come by.

Yawning spread like an epidemic.

One-third of the medical staff yawning simultaneously was quite a sight.

However, Jun-hoo didn’t think the seemingly unmotivated staff were pathetic.

They were simply tired.

Despite having fewer T.O.s [Table of Organization, referring to the number of available positions] than the Seoul headquarters, they were exhausted from seeing so many patients.

At times like these, Jun-hoo would often have audacious fantasies.

What if he wasn’t from the Murim world [a world of martial arts heroes]?

What if he was from a fantasy continent and could use healing magic on the medical staff?

…He would often imagine such things.

Watching his colleagues, worn out from fatigue, was just as painful for Jun-hoo as watching injured and dying patients.

“Wait a minute. I can’t just let this go.”

The chief resident was briefing on an admitted patient.

A middle-aged professor interrupted the chief’s words.

The professor had a narrow forehead and slanted eyes, giving him a sharp impression.

The professor’s name was Hong Hoon-shik.

According to what Jun-hoo heard from a nurse,

He was the ultimate villain of the Daejeon branch.

“Seo Jun-hoo.”

Hoon-shik spoke in a blatantly disrespectful manner.

It was an unwritten rule to use honorifics even for residents and interns in formal settings like conferences.

“Yes, Professor.”

“About the T.A. (traffic accident) patient you just explained. Why didn’t you operate?”

Hoon-shik asked accusingly.

Hyuk-jae, who had been deflated, perked up.

Hyuk-jae agreed with Hoon-shik.

He had argued that the patient needed surgery.

“Skull fracture, cerebrospinal fluid leak, subarachnoid hemorrhage—aren’t these sufficient reasons to consider surgery?”

“The patient may seem critical when the symptoms are combined. However, considering the severity of each symptom, surgery was not necessary.”

Jun-hoo explained the reasons one by one.

The skull fracture was a linear fracture.

In other words, a minor hairline fracture.

The subarachnoid hemorrhage had a hematoma size of 25CC [cubic centimeters], which could be expected to be absorbed naturally.

The amount of cerebrospinal fluid leak was also not significant, he explained.

Lastly, he added that the patient was in good condition, scoring a perfect score on the GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale) [a test to assess level of consciousness].

Jun-hoo’s arguments and evidence meshed together tightly like gears.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Are you not understanding me, or are you just clueless?”

“Excuse me? What do you mean by that…?”

“We need to operate to make even a few bucks for our department. We need to operate.”

“…….”

“If we just administer medication and monitor the progress, we won’t even make pocket change, will we?”

Hoon-shik frowned and shook his head.

‘What is this all about?’

Jun-hoo was shocked by Hoon-shik’s outrageous remarks.

To perform surgery on a patient who can be treated with medication?

To put them under general anesthesia and open their skull?

Hoon-shik’s way of thinking was extremely dangerous.

Hoon-shik wasn’t seeing people as people. He was seeing them as ATMs.

This was the type of person Jun-hoo hated the most.

“Seo Jun-hoo. Distinguish well between patients who need surgery and patients who can have surgery. And if possible, schedule surgery for patients who can have surgery. Got it?”

“…….”

“Huh? Not answering?”

Jun-hoo kept his mouth shut and resisted, so Director Si-deok joined the conversation.

“Professor Hong, please stop.”

“What do you mean stop? Did I say anything wrong? Isn’t the hospital always picking on our department because we don’t make enough money?”

“…….”

“Surgery may not be that profitable… but it’s still more profitable than treatment. We have to do it when we can.”

After speaking, Hoon-shik crossed his arms.

Si-deok immediately launched a counterattack.

“Forcing surgery can actually worsen the condition. We also don’t have enough staff to perform surgery recklessly.”

“…….”

“Above all, we didn’t choose neurosurgery just to make money, did we? If that were the case, we should have chosen a different major.”

“Ha… It’s because the director is so soft that our department is always in this shape.”

“In this shape? That’s too harsh.”

“Then, Professor Hong, are you so great that you got disciplined and demoted to associate professor during your time as director?”

“Why is this person bringing up painful old stories!”

The conversation between the two caught fire.

Like enemies meeting on a narrow bridge, the two tore at each other fiercely.

This was not a simple argument.

It was a territorial dispute between two fierce beasts trying to protect their territory.

Si-deok, who recently became the director.

Hoon-shik, the former director who dominated the department.

Unless one of them backed down.

Unless one of them shed blood.

This fight would never end.

* * *

As the department’s number one and number two figures clashed head-on, the conference and rounds concluded in a grim atmosphere.

Staring at the scattering staff, Jun-hoo sighed deeply.

It was frustrating that they were fighting internally when they should have been united.

Even if they were taking sides, Jun-hoo had no choice but to side with Director Si-deok.

Si-deok was a reasonable person.

He was someone who hadn’t forgotten the doctor’s duty.

“The first conference is so chaotic. I feel like my face is all red.”

Chief Dong-won, standing next to Jun-hoo, said a word.

“Do the two of them fight often?”

“They’re at each other’s throats. From the director’s perspective, he must hate seeing former director Professor Hong acting like the director.”

“…….”

“From Professor Hong’s perspective, he must be twisted inside because someone who used to be under him is now his superior.”

“We’re shrimp caught in a whale fight [idiom for being caught in the middle of a powerful conflict].”

“Something like that.”

The chief shrugged.

“But you look fine considering you were on night duty?”

“This is nothing to me.”

Jun-hoo had the ultimate cheat combination of nutritional supplements and Qi cultivation [cultivating internal energy].

By taking nutritional supplements.

And doing Qi cultivation for just 30 minutes.

He could recover his physical and mental strength as if he had slept soundly for half a day.

“You have surgery schedules starting today, right?”

“Yes. I have surgery for a cervical myelopathy [spinal cord compression in the neck] patient in an hour. Come to think of it, the surgeon is… Professor Hong.”

“Well, it’s better to get it over with quickly. Good for you.”

“What’s Professor Hong like when he operates?”

“Uh… it’s better not to know.”

The chief avoided answering with an awkward expression.

Jun-hoo felt like he knew the hidden meaning even without hearing it.

Even if his personality is terrible.

It would be okay if he was good at surgery….

It seemed like Hoon-shik’s surgery skills were also a mess.

But while talking to the chief, 3rd-year Hyuk-jae brushed past Jun-hoo and the chief.

Without even glancing at them.

“Hyuk-jae, he’s been acting strange since this morning. Isn’t it because Jun-hoo spoke informally to him?”

“He tried to punch me in the face. There’s no way I can treat him like a senior, even if I die and come back to life.”

“Still, the atmosphere in the department is too gloomy. You should apologize first.”

“I can’t.”

“Even if I order you to?”

The conversation quickly changed from a horizontal atmosphere to a vertical one [shift from casual to hierarchical].

The chief was trying to suppress Jun-hoo with his position.

“Is an apology something you have to do because you’re ordered to? And I think I’m the one who should be apologized to, not Senior Hyuk-jae.”

“Ha… you’re not an easy one either. But you know.”

“What do you want to say?”

“You have to know your place. Are you not going to learn anything here?”

“…Are you threatening me that you won’t teach me surgical skills if I don’t apologize to Senior Hyuk-jae?”

Jun-hoo frowned.

Hyuk-jae wasn’t in his right mind, but the chief wasn’t in his right mind either.

Why should the victim apologize to the perpetrator?

Well, the chief couldn’t be given a good score either, as he had condoned Hyuk-jae’s rampage.

“Rather than a threat, it’s more like advice.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that advice.”

“You’re choosing the bitter pill over the sweet wine [idiom for choosing the difficult option]? Fine.”

The chief nodded.

“Come to the 3rd CT room on the 2nd floor in 30 minutes. Let’s watch you do a myelography [an imaging test using contrast dye].”

“Sure.”

Since the business was over, Jun-hoo returned to the on-call room.

His back tingled, perhaps because of the chief’s gaze.

* * *

“I have a chief’s call, so I’m going to the CT room. I also have surgery assist right after, so I’ll be away for a long time.”

Jun-hoo, who was working in the on-call room, said to Dae-hwi, a 1st-year, as he got up from his chair.

“Senior, are you really going to be okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“I actually… I overheard Senior and the chief talking earlier. It seems like the chief is determined to discipline you.”

Dae-hwi continued in a worried voice.

“Even if we let Senior Hyuk-jae go, if your relationship with the chief sours… wouldn’t it be difficult for you?”

“Dae-hwi.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what’s the most useless thing in the world?”

“Um… I don’t know.”

“It’s worrying about me. Don’t worry about me for no reason and just take good care of the house.”

Jun-hoo lightly patted Dae-hwi’s shoulder. And he left the on-call room and moved to the 2nd floor CT room.

People didn’t know.

Jun-hoo was just wearing the mask of a 2nd-year resident.

Inside, he had the skills of a fellow, or even a new professor.

Jun-hoo was proficient in various martial arts and had stored the treatments and surgeries of seniors and professors as ‘forms’ [practiced sequences of movements].

So that he could unfold them at any time.

Not only that.

In Jun-hoo’s head, there were various papers containing the essence of his teacher Jae-hyun.

Frankly, there was nothing to learn from the chief.

This is good.

I’ll take this opportunity to remodel the department to my liking.

…Jun-hoo was determined.

“You’re here?”

The chief, who had arrived earlier, pretended to notice Jun-hoo as soon as Jun-hoo arrived at the CT room.

His tone was as cold as the winter wind.

“A patient will be coming in soon, but let me ask you something.”

“Yes.”

“Why would you perform myelography on a patient who needs an MRI [magnetic resonance imaging]? Tell me the reason.”

“Because they have claustrophobia or have had previous back surgery and have internal fixations [metal implants].”

“…….”

“The patient undergoing angiography now is the latter.”

“You really didn’t want to get caught? Did you study a bit?”

“I already knew it.”

Jun-hoo answered with an indifferent face.

“You little rascal. Have you ever done angiography at the Seoul headquarters?”

“No. I haven’t.”

“Then you can do it yourself today. Since you’re so great, you’ll do well on your own without me teaching you, right?”

“No. I can’t.”

“Huh? Now you’re saying that? Really?”

The chief grinned at Jun-hoo’s answer.

He judged that Jun-hoo had surrendered.

Myelography.

This was a test in which a needle was inserted into the patient’s back, contrast agent was injected, and X-rays were taken.

The process itself was simple, but it was a skill that many residents feared.

First, it was difficult to puncture the needle in the correct area, so one or two failures were basically guaranteed.

Second, there was a risk of damaging blood vessels or nerves if the needle was inserted incorrectly.

Myelography is….

In short, it was a difficult and dangerous procedure.

You arrogant bastard.

You should have lowered your tail sooner.

No matter how good you are.

How can you succeed in myelography that you’ve never done before, without the help of a senior? Hehehe.

The chief felt secretly pleased with the situation.

“Ahem. Shall I show you a demonstration myself? It’s impossible to do it alone, right?”

“Chief… I think you’re seriously mistaken about something.”

“Huh? What?”

Jun-hoo’s answer struck the chief in the back of the head.

“You shouldn’t do myelography on the patient who’s coming in now. Why would you harm an innocent person?”

A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]

A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]

무공 쓰는 외과 의사
Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] Haunted by vivid dreams of a life lived in a world of martial arts, Seo Jun-hoo finds himself at a crossroads. Is he the martial arts master of his dreams, or the high school student of the present day? The answer is both. He discovers he can cultivate internal energy even in the modern world, a power he never imagined possible. Torn between two lives, Seo Jun-hoo seeks a path that blends his extraordinary abilities with a desire to help others. Leaving the sword behind, he chooses the scalpel, aiming to save lives instead of taking them. Witness the rise of a doctor unlike any other, a healer wielding the power of martial arts. Could this be the destiny he was always meant for?

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