A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 295

Chapter 56: The Truth (5)

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

During that time, Jun-hoo gradually settled into the Department of Neurosurgery at Daejeon.

With an overwhelming shortage of staff, the workload was mountainous, and each day passed in a blur.

Therefore, the only time he could savor true leisure and rest was during his on-call shifts.

During his on-call hours, Jun-hoo dedicated himself to studying medical knowledge.

He meticulously memorized the cervical and lumbar spine materials sent by his mentor, Park Jae-hyun.

* * *

The mouse wheel moved down relentlessly.

At first glance, it seemed like he was casually reading the documents, but that was far from the truth!

Jun-hoo was simply speed-reading at an incredible pace.

Nerve stimulation using pressure points.

In other words, after activating the Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas [brain regions associated with language comprehension and speech production] with his internal energy, Jun-hoo could read at a superhuman level.

This was the secret to how Jun-hoo’s medical knowledge, even as a second-year resident, approached that of a fellow or professor.

Studying the cervical and lumbar spine parts usually ended around 3 a.m.

Right on schedule, Jun-hoo reverently sat cross-legged in a corner of the on-call room.

He meditated for one hour every day.

The theme of his meditation was as follows:

“Completely curing CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) [a chronic pain condition] with martial arts and internal energy.”

Joo-won, suffering from CRPS, was constantly on his mind.

Having had a similar experience to Joo-won in the Murim world [a fictional martial arts world], Jun-hoo could not ignore him.

Of course, martial arts and internal energy were incredibly powerful, but they were not omnipotent.

The path to treating CRPS with martial arts and internal energy was long and arduous.

‘Why’ does CRPS occur?

‘How’ can CRPS be treated?

Even squeezing every nerve cell in his brain, he couldn’t find answers to the questions he sought.

The right martial art for treatment was also lost in a maze.

His heart felt as heavy as when he had wandered for a long time in the realm of supreme mastery.

To be stagnant meant he couldn’t move forward.

Not being able to move forward meant being in a state of helplessness.

Jun-hoo still hated and feared helplessness.

He wanted to erase it completely.

-Are you a robot, Dr. Seo? How can you run around the ward corridors every day without looking tired?

This was the admiration of a ward nurse.

-Are you really okay? Aren’t you going to collapse if you keep this up? You’ve been on call for a week now?

This was the concern of the chief resident.

-I can’t watch this anymore. I’ll take on-call shifts now, senior.

This was the worry of Dae-hwi, a first-year resident.

As Jun-hoo worked faster and did more than others, various reactions poured in from those around him.

But the staff didn’t know Jun-hoo well enough.

That his physical strength, mental strength, and concentration were always uniformly maintained through a combination of Qi circulation [energy flow] and nutritional supplements.

That even if there was a lot of work, it would help his training as long as it was manageable.

In fact, Jun-hoo’s skills were growing rapidly like a sapling.

Yesterday was different from today.

Today was different from tomorrow.

By taking charge of emergency room patients, his ability to treat and diagnose patients, in particular, rose sharply.

This was a very important skill that would later become the foundation when he became a professor and handled outpatient duties.

There was also remarkable achievement in the cervical and lumbar spine part.

There was nothing to learn from Hoon-shik’s surgery, but there was much to learn from Nak-hyun’s surgery.

Assistant Professor Cha Nak-hyun.

He was a specialist in the cervical and lumbar spine part like Hoon-shik, but there were many things to emulate.

He meticulously managed patients before and after surgery.

He had extensive knowledge of the latest research and papers.

His hand movements as a surgeon were also excellent.

‘Even if I only perfectly absorb Professor Cha’s surgery and return, it’ll be worth the dispatch to Daejeon.’

…that’s the conclusion Jun-hoo came to.

So, when assisting Nak-hyun’s surgery, Jun-hoo sharpened his concentration even more.

What surgical tools Nak-hyun liked to use.

He memorized what procedures he performed with those surgical tools as techniques.

And he replayed the surgical procedures he had turned into techniques in his head like a video during on-call shifts.

Those all became Jun-hoo’s flesh and blood.

To tell a brief Murim story.

In the Murim world, watching others practice martial arts was a great breach of etiquette.

It was almost treated as theft.

To put it in perspective:

Watching someone else’s martial arts was…

…like going into someone else’s restaurant and peeking at how the chef prepares the ingredients.

But modern times were different.

You could comfortably watch and learn from the surgery of a skilled surgeon without any restrictions.

The current situation was a honey pot for Jun-hoo.

The field that Jun-hoo particularly opened his eyes to through Nak-hyun was endoscopic surgery of the cervical and lumbar spine.

Nak-hyun was a master of endoscopic surgery.

Endoscopic surgery had the disadvantage of a narrow surgical view like a pinhole and difficulty in dealing with bleeding during surgery.

Nak-hyun covered those shortcomings with finesse. There was a reason why a master was a master.

One day, Nak-hyun asked Jun-hoo.

It was around the time he was finishing the endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion [a minimally invasive spinal fusion] he was performing on a patient with spinal stenosis [narrowing of the spinal canal].

“You said you came from Seoul, right?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Are all the residents in Seoul like you?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I’m saying you assist so well. It seems like you’re several levels above Dong-won.”

Dong-won was a fourth-year chief resident.

“You flatter me… I still have a long way to go. I’m in the learning stage.”

“You’re too modest. Your skills in securing the endoscopic view, handing over surgical tools, and monitoring the patient’s vitals are top-notch.”

“…”

“The department head said he tried hard to bring you here. I think I know why now.”

Jun-hoo smiled shyly at Nak-hyun’s praise.

He couldn’t help but feel good.

The fact that there was someone by his side who recognized his true worth.

“That’s why I’m saying this…”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Try to educate Dae-hwi, the first-year resident, well too. He has a good personality, but he’s a bit clumsy in the operating room.”

Jun-hoo obtained new information through Nak-hyun.

So, from that day on, he occasionally taught Dae-hwi the tricks of assisting in surgery.

The secret to assisting was simple.

The secret was to see the surgery not through your own eyes, but through the eyes of the surgeon.

What is the surgeon thinking as he operates now?

What kind of assistance would make the procedure easier for the surgeon, and so on.

Because he was from the Murim world, Jun-hoo had already mastered the mindset and way of thinking needed for assisting.

In order to defeat an opponent pointing a sword at you.

It was always necessary to think from the other person’s perspective.

So, ten days and one day later.

Jun-hoo had blended into the Daejeon department as if he had worked in Daejeon for several years.

Now Jun-hoo was a Daejeon department person.

* * *

It was pitch dark outside the window.

The sun, which had been on day and evening shifts, had left work, and the full moon had taken over the night shift.

The neurosurgery ward corridor was deserted.

Some patients were walking the ward corridor for a quick recovery.

Or to relieve boredom.

“Senior Jun-hoo, isn’t it really amazing?”

Dae-hwi, who was in the neurosurgery station, spoke to Nurse So-hyun, who was on duty.

Dae-hwi had just finished his ward rounds.

“It feels like the clogged toilet has been cleared since Senior Jun-hoo came. Don’t you think so? Unlike before, there’s no backlog or blockage in the ward work.”

Dae-hwi continued to praise Jun-hoo. He was about to write a hymn himself.

“When Senior Sung-kyun deserted, I was really in the dark, but these days I’m actually enjoying life.”

“Dr. Dae-hwi, do you really think so?”

So-hyun stared at Dae-hwi with a coy look.

“Why? Did I say something wrong? Thanks to Senior Jun-hoo, the nurses are much more comfortable too.”

“No. I like Dr. Jun-hoo too, but…”

“But what’s the problem?”

“Dr. Dae-hwi is completely forgetting the most important thing. Dr. Jun-hoo is a dispatched worker.”

“…”

“How are you going to handle the aftereffects when Dr. Jun-hoo returns to Seoul?”

“Ah… I really didn’t think about that. It’ll be hell again without Senior Jun-hoo. Ugh.”

Speak of the devil.

Just in time, Jun-hoo approached the station.

Jun-hoo was returning after finishing his rounds in the intensive care unit.

“My ears are itching, so I guess you were talking about me?”

Jun-hoo stood next to Dae-hwi and joined the conversation.

“Yes. We were talking about Dr. Jun-hoo.”

So-hyun replied.

“What were you talking about?”

“We were saying that it’s reassuring to have Dr. Jun-hoo, but if Dr. Jun-hoo returns to Seoul, the ward will be a mess again.”

“That won’t happen.”

A smile appeared on Jun-hoo’s lips.

“Is there another good way? From what I see, there seems to be no way other than Dr. Jun-hoo learning how to create clones.”

“I’m thinking of setting up a framework for the department before I leave.”

“A framework?”

“Yes. I have everything planned out.”

Jun-hoo lightly tapped his temple with his index finger.

There was no way Jun-hoo wouldn’t worry about what other people were worried about.

Rather, Jun-hoo tended to worry more and worry more seriously than others.

That way, he could cope even in the worst-case scenario.

“As expected of Senior Jun-hoo. Oh! My dazzling sun!”

“Could you tell us specifically? I think I’ll be less anxious if you do.”

Dae-hwi praised Jun-hoo again, and So-hyun asked a question.

“It’s no fun if I reveal it already. You’ll naturally find out within a month or two.”

The three were talking.

Hyuk-jae, a third-year resident, approached the station from the end of the corridor.

“…!”

Hyuk-jae’s eyes widened like an owl when he found Jun-hoo.

Hyuk-jae stopped walking for a moment and stood there, then started walking again.

“Hyuk-jae, where are you going?”

Jun-hoo asked Hyuk-jae first.

Hyuk-jae had committed a sin against Jun-hoo.

And since he had received permission to speak informally to the chief resident, Jun-hoo was still using informal speech to Hyuk-jae.

“Me? I’m just going to the convenience store for a while.”

“Don’t slack off and come back quickly. There are a lot of surgical records that haven’t been written today.”

“Okay. I got it.”

Hyuk-jae left the ward with his shoulders drooping.

“Senior Jun-hoo is amazing no matter when I see him. He treats that violent Dr. Hyuk-jae like a baby.”

“He deserves it because of the karma he’s built up.”

Jun-hoo shrugged.

After finishing his small talk, Jun-hoo went to the on-call room.

Jun-hoo finished the pending work like lightning and took a light breath.

Currently, Jun-hoo’s goals were twofold.

One was to deal with the villainous Professor Hoon-shik.

The other was to treat complex regional pain syndrome with martial arts.

Tonight, he planned to focus on the latter.

It was time to try out the enlightenment he had gained while meditating.

* * *

Jun-hoo used his right index finger to strike a pressure point on his left leg.

The effect appeared after about 10 seconds.

The tendons and blood vessels on his leg bulged thickly.

The muscles were stretched taut as if they would break, and the fine hairs stood on end.

The calf trembled.

That’s right.

Jun-hoo was using the Tendon Severing and Bone Displacement Technique on his own leg.