A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 291

Chapter 56. The Truth (1)

“Ah… so this is your first time assisting Professor Hong?”

Jun-hoo focused on the word ‘first’ in Hye-yeon’s statement.

This meant that while this situation was new to Jun-hoo, it wasn’t for Hye-yeon.

“Does Professor Hong often arrive late?”

“It’s about the same as the odds of getting heads when you flip a coin.”

“That’s half the time. Do you know the reason for his tardiness?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be so frustrated. What’s certain is…”

“What’s certain?”

“It’s not like he’s late because of some grand reason.”

Hye-yeon shook her head, a gesture of resignation.

Jun-hoo remained silent.

A beat later, a sense of absurdity washed over him.

This wasn’t a school class or a regular job; this was surgery involving a patient’s life, and the surgeon was late…

He couldn’t understand Hoon-shik’s outrageous behavior.

“The world is truly amazing. It always exceeds my expectations.”

As he spoke, Jun-hoo stared at the wall clock.

The current time was 11:30 AM.

The surgery’s start time was already 30 minutes past schedule.

Thirty minutes.

That golden time, enough to save a person, was being wasted.

Jun-hoo was starting to feel anger beyond absurdity.

Hoon-shik didn’t deserve to be a surgeon.

At least, among the surgeons Jun-hoo knew, none would be late for surgery without a valid reason or even a phone call.

Just as Jun-hoo’s head was about to explode from anger…

Zzzzzzzz.

The operating room door opened, and Hoon-shik appeared.

Hoon-shik stood in front of the operating table as casually as a man out for a stroll in his neighborhood.

“Is the surgery preparation all done?”

“Yes, it’s finished,” Hye-yeon replied, her voice tight.

“Jun-hoo, why aren’t you answering?”

“I was thinking about something else for a moment.”

“What were you thinking about?”

Jun-hoo barely resisted the urge to say, ‘About how I’m going to give you a good scolding soon.’

The time wasn’t right yet.

“It’s nothing important.”

“You’re no fun. By the way, I didn’t realize you were quite the celebrity.”

Hoon-shik looked at Jun-hoo and continued.

“I spoke with the head of the Seoul department on the way here, and your record is quite impressive.”

“…”

“Assisting in an awake craniotomy [surgery performed on a patient while they are awake] in your first year, performing microvascular surgery using only loupes [magnifying glasses], and even being a million-subscriber NewTuber, right?”

“Yes.”

“I like you a lot. Let’s work well together in the future.”

Hoon-shik’s barrage of questions continued.

“Do you have experience assisting in cervical spine surgery?”

“Not much.”

“So you have some? Then approach the surgical site. You should be grateful for this opportunity, as it’s rare.”

Hoon-shik spoke pompously.

But Jun-hoo couldn’t possibly miss the hidden meaning within those words.

Approaching the surgical site was a kind of grunt work.

It was low in difficulty but required a lot of hands-on labor.

Hoon-shik was passing on an undesirable task to Jun-hoo.

However, Jun-hoo readily accepted.

Regardless of Hoon-shik’s intentions, Jun-hoo wanted to have a significant role in the surgery.

It was to accumulate surgical experience points.

“Good. Start. I’ll watch you closely.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Swoosh.

Swoosh.

Jun-hoo disinfected the patient’s neck and covered it with surgical drapes.

Click!

He inserted a number 10 blade into the scalpel handle.

Jun-hoo’s gaze, looking down at the area to be incised, was determined.

The thirty minutes lost due to Hoon-shik’s tardiness.

Jun-hoo intended to reclaim that golden time with his skills.

If he used his martial arts, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

First, he activated the Myriad Manifestations Art.

Whoooom.

Whoooom.

Internal energy drawn from his dantian [energy center in the body, according to traditional Chinese medicine] became an invisible, transparent barrier, enveloping his entire body.

At the same time, his five senses—sight, taste, hearing, touch, and smell—were amplified several times over.

Jun-hoo’s senses instantly transcended the human realm.

That wasn’t all.

Jun-hoo mentally reviewed several martial arts techniques related to speed.

Wind Shadow Sword.

Jun-hoo’s hand movements were like lightning.

Hoon-shik and Hye-yeon couldn’t even properly see Jun-hoo’s hand movements.

They only belatedly recognized the trajectory of the flashing scalpel in the air.

With Jun-hoo’s single strike.

A three-centimeter incision appeared on the patient’s neck.

The incision was as straight as if it had been drawn with a ruler.

Blood oozed out between the parted skin.

Jun-hoo wiped the blood with gauze and said,

“Ms. Jung, don’t just stand there blankly; open the incision.”

“Ah, yes.”

Hye-yeon opened the incision to the left and right, and Jun-hoo made another incision with the scalpel.

Half Moon Slash.

Flash!

A crescent-shaped trajectory embroidered the air.

The Half Moon Slash was characterized by a swift vertical cut that stabbed the opponent as it cut.

“Hey, aren’t you being too reckless with the surgery? Do you think surgery is child’s play?”

Hoon-shik, who had been watching Jun-hoo, finally spoke.

He had entrusted the task to Jun-hoo because of his good reputation, but Jun-hoo’s incision was precarious.

“What if you hit a nerve or blood vessel like that?”

“Check it yourself. There’s nothing wrong.”

“Man, how can you say there’s nothing wrong when you make an incision like that? It doesn’t make sense…”

Hoon-shik couldn’t finish his sentence.

Unlike the rough-looking hand movements, the incision itself was clean.

The scalpel had precisely cut through only the subcutaneous fat and fascia layers.

The depth control was exquisite.

Usually, one would do it carefully.

At the very least, one would have to move the scalpel three or four times.

Jun-hoo achieved his goal in one go.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, it doesn’t seem like it. But your surgery speed is too fast. You need to adjust the tempo.”

Subtly pointing out Hoon-shik’s tardiness, Jun-hoo moved on to the next task.

He placed a retractor [surgical instrument used to hold back tissues or organs] on the patient’s neck, which was on the dressing cart.

Four centimeters to the left.

Four centimeters to the right.

He opened the incision with the retractor and tightened the screws to secure the edges of the retractor.

Squeak. Squeak.

While working, Jun-hoo’s hands flew.

The hand movements were so fast that the sleeves of his surgical gown fluttered.

As the hands wearing white gloves crisscrossed the operating table, it looked as if a ghost in white mourning clothes was moving back and forth in the air.

This was thanks to Jun-hoo bringing out the essence of the Quick Strike Hand.

The Quick Strike Hand was the only technique possessed by the Seo Clan.

A fierce wind and gently flowing water.

The Quick Strike Hand contained the principles of both.

In other words, it was a martial art that caught both speed and flexibility.

Thanks to this, Jun-hoo finished the pre-operative procedures, which would normally take three minutes, in ten seconds.

As the field of vision was secured, the white neck bone appeared.

‘What?

Did he attach a high-speed motor to his hand?

How could he be so fast?’

Meanwhile, Hye-yeon was horrified by Jun-hoo’s overwhelming surgery speed.

Even though the process of approaching the surgical site was easier than the actual surgery, Jun-hoo’s speed was beyond imagination.

She had been working as a scrub nurse for four years.

Even the professors who were said to be skilled were not as fast and accurate as Jun-hoo in pre-operative procedures.

In colloquial terms, Jun-hoo seemed to be not human.

“Ju… Jun-hoo, Doctor.”

Hye-yeon stammered as she called Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo already had a diamond drill in both hands.

“Yes? Is there a problem?”

“Are you perhaps ambidextrous?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Even if you’re ambidextrous, there’s usually a dominant hand and an assisting hand. Wouldn’t it be risky to perform a posterior arch resection [surgical removal of part of the vertebral arch] with both hands?”

“I use both hands well. There’s no separate dominant hand or assisting hand.”

“That’s usually not the case…”

“I’m not usual.”

Jun-hoo’s answer was confident.

Given Jun-hoo’s performance so far, Hye-yeon couldn’t argue.

“Then, can I ask you for another favor?”

“Tell me.”

“That’s…”

Hye-yeon shyly revealed her true feelings.

“Could you slow down the surgery speed just a little bit more? I can’t keep up.”

* * *

‘Hehehe. This is like hitting the jackpot.’

A broad smile was on Hoon-shik’s face as he watched Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo’s skills were beyond expectations.

At least so far, he was several times better than the fellows he was training.

‘If so…’

It would be good to keep Jun-hoo as a permanent fixture in his surgical assistance in the future.

His body and mind felt like they were flying because he took care of the difficult procedures on his own.

Hoon-shik watched Jun-hoo’s surgery with a satisfied expression.

Weeeeeeng.

Weeeeeeng.

The diamond drill was emitting a loud noise.

The drill relentlessly shaved off the flat posterior arch that surrounded the spinal cord.

Fine bone particles, like slush, scattered in all directions.

Since Jun-hoo was using the drill with both hands, the surgery progressed twice as fast.

Hye-yeon was also busy.

There was no time to breathe.

With one hand, she was using suction, and with the other, she was irrigating the surgical site with saline.

Like spraying water at a building demolition site.

“Professor. Posterior arch resection is finished,” Jun-hoo said, placing the diamond drill on the dressing cart.

Hoon-shik nodded and brought his eyes close to the microscope.

‘Perfect.’

No other word was needed.

The posterior arch was neatly resected as if it were a work of art.

The resection range was accurate, and the cross-section of the resected area was clean.

The thick ligamentum flavum [ligament connecting the laminae of adjacent vertebrae], which was compressing the spinal cord, was also removed to a minimum.

Damage to the cervical nerves and blood vessels?

Such worries were unfounded.

The first half of today’s surgery was an undeniable success.

“Very excellent. If I weren’t wearing gloves, I’d feel like applauding.”

“Thank you.”

“You used both hands fantastically. I was worried because the surgery speed was too fast, but the quality wasn’t compromised… I have high expectations for the future.”

Jun-hoo bowed his head instead of answering Hoon-shik’s praise.

“Ms. Shin, you’ve worked hard too.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Sweat was beading on Hye-yeon’s forehead as she answered.

Her arms were trembling slightly.

She looked exhausted from keeping up with Jun-hoo’s speed.

“Professor. I’ll replace the surgical drape before the surgery. There are bone fragments on it.”

“Yes, yes. You’re quick to notice things, which is good.”

Jun-hoo, who was carefully removing the surgical drape, narrowed his eyes like a flounder.

He had discovered a serious problem with the patient’s prone position.

“Professor, I think we need to slightly adjust the patient’s position before the surgery.”

“What? What nonsense are you talking about?”

Thorns grew in Hoon-shik’s voice.

Hye-yeon also stared at Jun-hoo with an expression of disbelief.

It was extremely rare to suddenly change the position during surgery unless a problem arose.

“If we don’t change the position, the patient is at risk of going blind.”

“Huh… you’re good at saying outrageous things. To mention blindness in neck surgery. Jun-hoo, you know you’re a neurosurgeon, not an ophthalmologist, right?”

Hoon-shik sneered.

“Jun-hoo, Doctor. You shouldn’t say things like that in front of the professor. Apologize quickly,” Hye-yeon said, worried about Jun-hoo.

But Jun-hoo had no intention of backing down even a step.

There was no need to be mindful of others when saying the right thing.

Even if the other person was a professor.

“I’ll explain why the patient could go blind… from now on.”