A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 309

Chapter 59: Pressing Down Like Mount Tai (4)

“I’m sorry about earlier, Senior.”

As soon as Jun-ho returned to the on-call room, Dae-hwi, a first-year resident, said this with his head bowed deeply.

“About what?”

Jun-ho shrugged and sat on the chair opposite Dae-hwi.

“I pretended not to see you getting scolded by Professor Hong… I was cowardly… You even fought with Senior Hyuk-jae because of me.”

“Anyone would have done the same in that situation. There’s no need to blame yourself.”

“Still…”

“Hey, man. Hold your head up high.”

Only after hearing Jun-ho’s words did Dae-hwi barely raise his head.

However, Dae-hwi’s eyes were not looking directly at Jun-ho.

“Senior, it seems like you’ve been marked by Professor Hong. What are you going to do? Professor Hong is practically the most influential person in the department.”

“Let him keep marking me. He’ll end up hurting himself.”

“Wow… Senior, you’re really amazing.”

“Suddenly?”

“How can you be so confident even in this situation? I would have run away immediately if I were you.”

Dae-hwi shook his head.

Hun-shik was not only an ‘evil’ person but also a ‘vicious’ one.

He was the type of person who would chase someone he disliked to the ends of the earth and torment them.

There was actually a victim.

Goo Seo-jin.

The second-year resident who worked right above Jun-ho before he was dispatched here.

He was marked by Hun-shik and couldn’t withstand the tyranny of Hyuk-jae, a third-year resident, so he quit his residency.

Dae-hwi was afraid that Jun-ho would follow in Seo-jin’s footsteps.

He couldn’t imagine, and didn’t want to imagine, a department without Jun-ho.

“Dae-hwi.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“You may not know it, but people like Professor Hong are the easiest to deal with.”

“Isn’t it the opposite?”

“It’s the opposite of the opposite.”

Even though Hun-shik had kicked him in the shin, Jun-ho’s voice was cheerful.

“Why is that?”

“Listen to this.”

Jun-ho took out his phone and played the freshly recorded audio file.

However, the wrinkles on Dae-hwi’s face did not disappear.

“What do you think? It’s quite useful material, right?”

“It is… but is it possible to punish Professor Hong with just an audio file?”

“…”

“I feel like it’ll get cut off later… Professor Hong has a strong grip on the Vice Director of Medical Affairs and other higher-ups.”

“No, no.”

Jun-ho wagged his index finger from side to side with a disapproving look.

“This is just one puzzle piece. When two more pieces are added, Professor Hong’s head will fly off.”

“Is there anything more you can do than this?”

“Of course. Did you think I was trying to catch Professor Hong with just one audio file?”

Jun-ho was still confident.

Dae-hwi couldn’t understand the source of it.

Perhaps that’s why.

Dae-hwi thought that he might not know all of Jun-ho’s true nature.

“Anyway, I’m on your side, Senior. I’m telling you this because I want you to succeed.”

“I know. That’s why I showed you the audio file.”

“I really hope things work out according to your plan, Senior. I hate seeing Professor Hong too.”

“It will definitely work out. Trust me.”

Jun-ho smiled brightly.

Only then did Dae-hwi’s worries begin to melt away like snow.

Jun-ho, who created the current department…

Maybe…

It might be possible to kick out Hun-shik. Believing that was the best thing to do right now.

“Ah, Dae-hwi. You said there was a second-year resident before I came, right?”

“Yes. Senior Seo-jin…”

“Can you give me his contact information?”

“It’s not difficult to give it to you, but what are you going to use it for?”

“We need all the help we can get. Of course, I have to bring him back.”

“He was burned so badly, do you think he’ll come back? I think he wouldn’t even want to pee in the direction of our department.”

Dae-hwi said with a frown.

Jun-ho’s idea didn’t seem very good.

It seemed like he was doing unnecessary work.

“If he doesn’t want to come, we just have to make him want to come. There’s always a way.”

“Senior, you seem like a different person than I knew before.”

“In what way?”

“Hmm… The old Senior had a sense of justice and warmth, but today’s Senior feels… cold and inscrutable.”

“Do you know what that means?”

“No.”

“It means I’m really pissed off.”

Unlike his tone, Jun-ho’s face was still smiling.

Indeed, Jun-ho was strange today.

Dae-hwi gave Jun-ho Seo-jin’s contact information, and Jun-ho saved the contact information on his phone.

“I’m going to scrub in [prepare for surgery]. Take care of the on-call room.”

“Yes, Senior.”

After being seen off by Dae-hwi, Jun-ho went straight to the operating room.

And he disinfected his fingers, hands, and forearms in front of the sink.

With the help of the scrub nurse, he put on a surgical gown, surgical gloves, and a surgical cap and entered operating room number 2.

Ssshhh.

The disinfectant gas pouring from the ceiling enveloped Jun-ho’s body.

The faint smell of alcohol lingered at the tip of his nose.

Thanks to the deal with the chief, he was able to intensively train in cervical and lumbar spine surgery during his dispatch to Daejeon.

An opportunity he couldn’t get in Seoul.

Jun-ho couldn’t miss this short opportunity limited to just six months.

‘I’ve mastered the Lunar 12 Hand Techniques. There’s nothing to fear now.’

Jun-ho’s steps toward the operating table were light.

* * *

Four days later, dawn.

Jun-ho leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed.

He wasn’t dozing off.

Nor was he meditating.

He was reviewing all the cervical and lumbar spine surgeries he had assisted with over the past few days.

Before reviewing, Jun-ho stimulated his occipital lobe [the visual processing center of the brain] with internal energy to awaken his visual circuits.

So, with his eyes closed, the images of the surgeons performing the surgeries were playing on the dark screen in front of him like scenes from a movie.

Everything was vivid.

What surgical tools the surgeon was using.

How precisely the surgeon was moving his hands.

How he was assisting from the opposite side, and so on.

He could even zoom in or out on the scenes he wanted to see.

Through the ‘Internal Energy Brain Nerve Stimulation Acupressure.’

Jun-ho was maximizing the brain’s abilities that others couldn’t unleash.

‘It’s a bit much, but should I try it once?’

On a whim, Jun-ho decided to perform the surgery himself.

He wasn’t satisfied with just reviewing with his eyes.

Jun-ho rewound the spinal kyphosis surgery [a type of spinal deformity] he was replaying in his head to the beginning.

He erased the presence of the surgeon and replaced him with himself.

He tried it half in doubt, but it actually worked.

He was able to do image training that was exactly the same as the real thing.

Jun-ho was overjoyed and performed the spinal kyphosis surgery.

He replayed the surgery in his head until his memory was worn out.

And because he had invincible hand skills thanks to the Lunar 12 Hand Techniques.

Jun-ho was able to complete the imaginary surgery perfectly.

‘Wow! It works.’

Jun-ho’s mouth dropped open.

Being able to experience surgery in his head was a Big Bang-level event.

This meant that he could not only gain surgical experience in the operating room, but Jun-ho could also gain surgical experience on his own as much as he wanted.

-You can grow slowly and steadily. Do you really need to train so hard?

Someone might ask that.

Jun-ho’s answer to that was ‘yes.’

The trauma of his colleagues who died in the Murim world [a fictional world of martial arts and heroes, often used in Korean fantasy novels].

And Jun-ho’s trauma of having to watch them helplessly was deeper than the abyss.

Moreover, he had experienced similar pain in the modern world as well, hadn’t he?

He was sick and tired of experiencing the same suffering.

The sooner he grew, the more patients he could save.

And only then would the pain Jun-ho had experienced be reduced.

Lost in his new realization, Jun-ho continued his imaginary training without realizing the time.

Until Dae-hwi came into the on-call room around the time of the conference.

“Senior, what are you doing?”

Jun-ho opened his eyes wide at Dae-hwi’s dumbfounded voice.

He was so engrossed in the surgery that he didn’t hear Dae-hwi’s footsteps.

“Ah, well, just…”

“Senior, are you not feeling well?”

Dae-hwi approached with quick steps and placed his hand on Jun-ho’s forehead.

Dae-hwi’s hand was lukewarm.

“Hmm… you don’t seem to have a fever. Are you getting too stressed out from trying to punish Professor Hong?”

“It’s not that. Absolutely.”

“I can’t let this happen. I’ll work the night shift from tomorrow too. You look too tired, Senior.”

“It’s nice of you to worry, but I’m really okay.”

“You’re waving your hands in the air like a crazy person, and you’re saying you’re okay?”

Jun-ho had to work hard to correct Dae-hwi’s misunderstanding.

-Internal Energy Brain Nerve Stimulation Acupressure

-Imaginary Training

Since he couldn’t explain these two things in detail, he made up an excuse that he was just pretending to do surgery with his eyes closed.

Dae-hwi gave him a disapproving look but didn’t ask any further.

Jun-ho was relieved.

The reason Jun-ho insisted on working the on-call shift was not simply out of a sense of responsibility or sacrifice.

For Jun-ho, the on-call time was a golden time to train without being disturbed by anyone.

It was a time he could never miss.

“Senior, aren’t you off today? You should change and go out soon.”

“Even if I go out, I have to participate in the conference and rounds before I leave.”

“Looking at your condition, I think it would be better to just go.”

“Dae-hwi, I’m really okay, I tell you?”

Jun-ho complained of unfairness(?).

As time passed, the morning conference and rounds were all over.

Professors with outpatient appointments went to the outpatient clinic.

Professors with surgeries went to the operating room.

Residents also scattered for their own business.

Hun-shik called Jun-ho.

“Seo Jun-ho.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Jun-ho deliberately pretended to be disciplined and approached Hun-shik.

Dae-hwi, who was with Jun-ho, was staring at Jun-ho with anxious eyes.

“Looking at the surgery schedule, you’re off today, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Is there anything you need me to do?”

“Ah, it’s nothing big.”

Hun-shik scratched his thinning sideburns and continued.

“I have a thesis to submit to the academic society and a thesis I’m researching personally, you know? A total of four.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Organize the data for those and send them to me by email by next week. My documents should be in your personal email by now.”

A sly smile appeared on Hun-shik’s lips.

The intention was so blatant that it was transparent.

Hun-shik was harboring resentment toward Jun-ho for the golf incident and was trying to take revenge.

According to what Jun-ho heard from the chief, Hun-shik received a 10 percent salary cut due to the golf incident.

He had connections in the disciplinary committee, so he received a lenient punishment.

You sneaky bastard.

You deliberately chose my day off to piss me off.

Even though he understood Hun-shik’s intention, Jun-ho just kept smiling.

“I was off, but I didn’t really have anything I wanted to do. It feels like the heavens have given me work.”

“Oh. You have a positive way of thinking? Very good, that kind of attitude.”

“I will definitely finish it within the period.”

“Okay. Work hard.”

Hun-shik patted Jun-ho’s shoulder and left the ward hallway.

Then Dae-hwi, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, ran to Jun-ho.

“Even Satan would cry. How can he throw theses at you on your day off?”

“…”

“I’ll help you, Senior! I can do that much too!”

“Huh? Help with what?”

Jun-ho asked with a puzzled expression.

Reading Jun-ho’s expression, Dae-hwi asked back with an even more puzzled expression.

“You have to organize the thesis data, right? If there are four theses, you’ll have to give up your day off today and stay up all night until next week, right?”

Jun-ho scoffed at Dae-hwi’s point.

“I’m not doing what that bastard tells me to do.”