A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 336

Chapter 65: A Foreign Land (1)

8 PM.

Jun-hoo arrived at the main gate of Jewon University Hospital.

At this hour, people coming and going from the hospital were as rare as hen’s teeth.

The grayish-white main building radiated a bright light in the darkness.

It was a lighthouse of life.

‘Why did my mentor have to ask to see me on the day of the specialist board exam?’

The question plagued him the entire way there.

His mentor never contacted Jun-hoo for anything unnecessary.

Today would be no different.

Maybe he called because he was short-handed with surgeries, like before.

“So, this is Jewon University Hospital, one of the Big 5 [the five most prestigious hospitals in South Korea]. It’s my first time here.”

A-yeong, who was next to him, looked around, impressed.

After the drinking session was abruptly called off,

Gyeong-soo went home, and A-yeong accompanied Jun-hoo.

“I’ve been here a few times. The facilities and equipment seem a bit better than ours, but the surgery situation is hopeless on both sides.”

“If the Big 5 are like this, the situation at smaller hospitals must be even worse.”

“That’s about right. It’s bleak.”

While talking with A-yeong, Jun-hoo headed towards the emergency room.

He lingered near the entrance, feeling out of place as he wasn’t a staff member, patient, or guardian, when a familiar face appeared.

A slender face and jawline like a Greek sculpture.

Clean, snow-white skin.

Thick, glossy black hair.

The man, who still looked like he was in his late 30s, was none other than his mentor, Park Jae-hyun.

“Professor.”

“Jun-hoo, you’re here. Is this your girlfriend, A-yeong, next to you?”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Lee A-yeong.”

A-yeong introduced herself and bowed politely to Jae-hyun.

A-yeong and Jae-hyun knew each other.

Both were precious to Jun-hoo, so he had indirectly introduced them.

“You two make a very good couple. Even though Jun-hoo looks tough, he’s actually a softie. A-yeong, he’ll need a lot of your help.”

“As expected, you’ve known Jun-hoo for a long time, so you see right through him.”

The two exchanged smiles, finding a rhythm with each other.

Jun-hoo was the only one bewildered.

It was as if he was being subtly excluded.

“Professor, since when have I been a softie? Wasn’t I tough inside and out?”

“No, you’re not.”

“Absolutely not.”

Jae-hyun and A-yeong answered simultaneously.

Outnumbered, Jun-hoo didn’t even dream of retaliating.

“Seeing as you called me at this hour, I guess an emergency patient arrived? And you don’t have enough staff?”

Jun-hoo’s voice took on a rapid-fire rhythm.

No news is good news.

At least, that was the truth among doctors.

“Jun-hoo, all you think about is patients. I’m not even as bad as you.”

“Aren’t you in the emergency room instead of the lab? Of course, you called me because of a patient, right?”

“I came to the emergency room for other business. Relax and take it easy.”

Jae-hyun’s voice was gentle.

Jae-hyun’s eyes were calm.

If it wasn’t a patient call, what on earth did his mentor contact him for?

Jun-hoo’s curiosity grew like a snowball.

“Actually, I contacted you because I have good news to tell you in person.”

“Good news? There’s not really anything that could be called good news…”

“Jun-hoo, you’re having trouble deciding on a subspecialty, aren’t you?”

“How did you know…?”

Jae-hyun knew about a concern that Jun-hoo had never even voiced.

It was astonishing.

“Knowing your personality, it’s not difficult. You want to learn all the subspecialties, but you’re stressed because you have to choose just one.”

“Honestly… that’s right.”

“Let me get straight to the point. Go to the Mayo Clinic.”

“The Mayo Clinic?”

Jun-hoo’s voice grew louder as he repeated the name.

The Mayo Clinic.

It was the undisputed best medical university hospital in the United States.

It was a dream hospital that had been ranked as the top hospital in the United States for nearly 10 years.

But what does the Mayo Clinic have to do with Jun-hoo’s choice of subspecialty?

It seemed as absurd as ordering kimchi stew at a cafe.

Jae-hyun’s explanation followed.

Recently, the Overseas Doctor Import Act had passed in the United States.

According to the law…

Doctors who have completed their training at hospitals ranked in the top 100 worldwide will have their medical licenses recognized in the United States without a separate examination.

The United States also has a shortage of doctors compared to its population, so this was a decision made as a last resort.

‘What is he trying to say?’

Even though he was getting straight to the point, the story seemed to be going around in circles, but Jun-hoo kept his mouth shut.

He listened carefully to his mentor’s words.

“In this context, very coincidentally, the Mayo Clinic has newly established a boost-up program.”

“A boost-up program…?”

“It’s an integrated education program for surgical subspecialties. Let me give you an easy example. If you, Jun-hoo, were to apply to the neurosurgery boost program at the Mayo Clinic…”

Jae-hyun smiled and continued.

“You can learn cerebrovascular, brain tumor, stereotactic neurosurgery, cervical and lumbar spine, pediatric neurosurgery, trauma surgery, and hand surgery all at once.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The training time is also drastically short. The training time for each subspecialty is one year. Since the fellowship in our country is usually two years, you can cut the training time in half if you go there.”

The information Jae-hyun gave was truly shocking.

Not in a bad way, but in a good way.

If he applied to the Mayo Clinic’s neurosurgery boost-up program and was accepted…

He could completely resolve the concerns that had been plaguing Jun-hoo until now.

First, he could learn all the subspecialties related to neurosurgery.

At the same time, he could maximize speed and efficiency.

Moreover, the training location is the Mayo Clinic…

What greater honor could there be?

“I also trained at the Mayo Clinic.”

“I’ve known that for a long time. I saw the paper you published, Professor.”

“Why would you bother with such useless things…?”

Jae-hyun was embarrassed when his own paper came up.

He avoided Jun-hoo’s gaze and looked up at the sky.

“I’ve already contacted Jennifer, an acquaintance, in advance. Jun-hoo, all you have to do is decide and get on the plane. How about it?”

Jun-hoo couldn’t easily say ‘yes’ to Jae-hyun’s question.

Why?

An opportunity to have everything he wanted was right in front of him.

Why couldn’t he bring himself to speak?

Was it too good to be true?

Did he need time to calm his surprised heart?

That didn’t seem to be it.

Jun-hoo clearly felt something holding him back, even though he wanted to move forward.

But frustratingly, he couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Huh… is this something you need to hesitate about so much? You’re not acting like yourself today, Jun-hoo.”

Jae-hyun asked with a frustrated expression.

It was a reaction that assumed Jun-hoo would definitely say he would go.

Jun-hoo moved his lips several times before finally saying.

“Professor, I’m sorry, but could you give me just one more day?”

* * *

After that, Jun-hoo and A-yeong left Jewon University Hospital and arrived near his house.

Even then, Jun-hoo was wavering.

He was swaying helplessly from side to side like a reed in the wind.

Should he apply to the Mayo Clinic’s boost-up program?

Or shouldn’t he?

That was the new dilemma.

Suddenly, he looked up at the night sky, and Jae-hyun’s face floated above it.

It was the face he had made when he was greatly disappointed by Jun-hoo’s lukewarm reaction to his proposal.

Today was probably the first time Jun-hoo had disappointed Jae-hyun.

Because…

It was the first time he had seen Jae-hyun make that expression.

“A good opportunity has come, so shouldn’t you go? Why didn’t you answer on the spot?”

A-yeong asked Jun-hoo cautiously.

“I’m strange too. I don’t know my own heart.”

“Actually… I think I know?”

“I don’t know my own heart, but you know, A-yeong?”

Jun-hoo asked with wide eyes like an owl.

The eyes he suddenly met were deep and calm.

She didn’t seem to be joking.

“If you know, tell me. I’m dying of frustration.”

“I hope you find this answer yourself, Jun-hoo. You can do it. Follow the path of your heart. It’s very easy.”

A-yeong kissed Jun-hoo on the cheek and ran off towards the fork in the road on the right.

“A-yeong.”

Jun-hoo reached out his hand belatedly, but A-yeong had already disappeared into the distance.

Under the lonely moonlight, Jun-hoo walked home, stepping on the snow that had melted and become soggy with salt.

What is it that A-yeong knows but he doesn’t?

He asked the question, but no one answered.

He needed someone to receive the ball to know if it was a strike or a ball [a baseball analogy meaning he needs feedback to understand the situation].

Jun-hoo, who was walking aimlessly, soon arrived at a place that wasn’t his house.

It was a park near his house.

The park was desolate like a wasteland because the weather was chilly and the snow hadn’t completely melted.

There were no people, only the occasional stray cat.

Jun-hoo brushed the snow off the bench and sat down.

He bent over halfway and asked the question that no one would answer again and again.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of going to America.

Jun-hoo’s English speaking skills were top-notch.

During his high school years,

he had practiced English speaking in anticipation of studying abroad.

It had been a while since he had used his English, but if he set his mind to it, he would quickly regain his skills.

Jun-hoo wasn’t afraid of competing with American doctors either.

Jun-hoo had the reliable helpers of internal energy and martial arts [referencing skills he has from the fantasy elements of the story].

Based on this, he already had the skills of a professor.

Then why?

Why on earth?

Why was he hesitating about the boost-up program?

Jun-hoo persistently dug into the reason and went deep into his heart.

The truth was hidden there.

When he faced the hidden truth, the tangled thread was unraveled in an instant.

“Ha…”

Jun-hoo let out a hollow laugh.

White breath was exhaled between his parted lips.

The truth was this.

His parents.

A-yeong.

The seniors, juniors, and professors at the main branch of Shinwon University.

If Jun-hoo left for America for 7-8 years,

he would have to disappoint the people who wanted to be with him or who were looking forward to his performance.

Jun-hoo didn’t like that.

Disappointing his precious people was overwhelming and painful for Jun-hoo.

Should he stay in Korea after all?

Should he slowly build up his skills, even if it takes time?

He didn’t want to go to America as if he was cutting off all ties.

But even when it felt like staying in Korea was the right thing to do, Jun-hoo’s heart quickly leaned towards going to America.

Jun-hoo had a long-held dream in America.

To master all the neurosurgical subspecialties and reach the miraculous state where he could directly treat any emergency patient.

Now, if he just reached out his hand, he could grasp it…

At the end of the question, a painful multiple-choice fork in the road was created.

Jun-hoo, who had gotten up from the bench, started walking towards his house again.

-You two make a very good couple. Even though Jun-hoo looks tough, he’s actually a softie. A-yeong, he’ll need a lot of your help.

-I hope you find this answer yourself, Jun-hoo. You can do it. Follow the path of your heart. It’s very easy.

-Now that we’re on the subject, let me tell you something serious. I think you have a Messiah complex. And it’s in its final stages.

The words of his mentor Jae-hyun.

The words of A-yeong.

The words of his colleague Gyeong-soo passed through Jun-hoo’s head in turn.

Following those words, the path he had to take became clear.

“Our son is home? Did you have dinner?”

“Did you do well on the exam?”

As he entered the front door, his parents greeted Jun-hoo happily.

Behind his parents, his companion dog Ddol-ddol was wagging his tail like a propeller.

For some reason, he was convinced that this was his only chance.

So Jun-hoo said in a very casual tone.

“I had dinner and did well on the exam. But I think I need to go to America.”

The ‘Overseas Doctor Import Act’ and ‘Boost-Up Program’ were created for the rapid development of the play [plot].