A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 338

Chapter 65: A Foreign Land (3)

Jun-ho’s eyes quickly scanned the patient’s body.

The patient’s face was as pale as white paper.

He placed his hand on the patient’s forehead to check their temperature, feeling a cool sensation.

It couldn’t be hypothermia…

It must have been the sweat cooling down.

Judging by the lack of violent limb tremors or foaming at the mouth, it didn’t seem like a seizure.

‘They’re unconscious, but breathing is normal, and there’s no rash on their skin, so anaphylaxis can be ruled out,’ he thought.

Through his observations, Jun-ho quickly eliminated numerous possible diagnoses from his mind.

However, as the range narrowed.

Jun-ho’s brow also furrowed.

It was as if.

He had an ominous feeling that the reason for the patient’s collapse was hidden in an unexpected place.

“Are you alright?”

Since the patient was a foreigner, Jun-ho spoke in English, gently shaking their shoulder.

The patient showed no reaction, not even a twitch.

It wasn’t a situation requiring CPR, but they weren’t regaining consciousness.

“Doctor, why do you think the patient collapsed?”

The flight attendant asked the question Jun-ho wanted to ask.

“I need to investigate further. It doesn’t seem like a situation where we can easily find the answer…”

“Doctor, here’s the patient’s luggage.”

Just then, the flight attendant who had left returned to the scene.

She handed Jun-ho the patient’s backpack. Jun-ho bowed his head in gratitude and accepted the backpack.

He hurriedly opened the backpack’s zipper and dumped the contents out.

Crash!

A notebook, English books, snacks, chocolate, a headset, glasses, and more fell to the floor.

Unfortunately, the item Jun-ho was looking for wasn’t there.

So, he searched each of the backpack’s small pockets. Even in the pockets and small compartments, Jun-ho couldn’t find what he wanted.

Things were getting complicated.

“What are you looking for so intently, Doctor?”

“I’m checking if they’re taking any medication. If there’s medicine and a prescription, I can check for underlying conditions.”

“Ah… I see. So that’s why you were searching the bag…”

“But I’m not finding anything.”

A bitter smile appeared on Jun-ho’s lips.

In fact, he had high hopes of finding clues for the diagnosis through their belongings.

But it was useless.

He only gained the unhelpful information that the patient liked reading and had a sweet tooth.

“Are we going to have to turn back? I have a business meeting and need to arrive on time.”

A passenger threw a dissatisfied remark at the flight attendant.

Surrounding passengers were also frowning, as if the situation was unpleasant.

It had been an hour since the plane took off.

The time spent returning to Incheon Airport wouldn’t be insignificant.

The passengers were subtly pressuring Jun-ho.

But!

The passenger’s complaint actually opened a new path for Jun-ho.

Did he really need to find the reason the patient collapsed?

What if he changed the question?

Was the patient in a condition serious enough to warrant turning back, or not? That’s what was more important.

As soon as he changed the question, Jun-ho’s attitude toward treating the patient changed 180 degrees.

‘They’re breathing well, and their carotid pulse is fine, so let’s rule out emergency heart conditions,’ he thought.

Then, the most concerning thing is still that?

Jun-ho examined the patient’s head, which he hadn’t looked at until now.

As he carefully examined even the hair.

He saw a blue bruise on the left side of their head and a cut the length of a fingernail.

“Ji-yoon.”

Jun-ho called the flight attendant, who looked like a rabbit.

It was possible because her name tag was on her chest.

“Yes, Doctor.”

“When the patient came out of the bathroom and collapsed, did they fall headfirst? Or did they hit their head on a corner as they fell?”

“Just a moment…?”

Ji-yoon looked up at the plane’s ceiling for a moment, as if needing time to think.

“Come to think of it, they hit their head on the overhead compartment…”

Ji-yoon, who was looking at the overhead compartment, couldn’t continue her sentence. She blinked for a while and pointed to the overhead compartment with her index finger.

The patient’s blood was on the sharp corner of the overhead compartment.

“Oh my! What should we do! It looks like they seriously injured their head.”

“I think we really need to turn back. They still haven’t regained consciousness…”

The flight attendants were noticeably agitated because of the blood found on the overhead compartment.

The passengers, sensing the unusual atmosphere, also rolled their eyes anxiously.

Meanwhile, Jun-ho placed his palm on the patient’s head.

He channeled internal energy drawn from his Mana Heart [a cultivation technique concept, referring to a core of energy within the body] into his palm.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

The internal energy emitted from his palm passed through the scalp and skull, spreading into the patient’s brain.

He was using internal energy cerebral angiography [a technique using internal energy to visualize blood vessels in the brain] with his Qi [life force or vital energy].

Thanks to internal energy cerebral angiography.

Jun-ho was a walking CT, MRI, and angiography machine.

‘This is strange. What’s going on?’

Feeling the resonance of the reflected internal energy, Jun-ho tilted his head.

The patient’s head was fine.

There was no skull fracture, and there was no bleeding or rupture in the blood vessels.

The cause was still a mystery.

But the important thing was…

The patient’s head was fine.

If there were no problems with the heart or head, then the patient’s symptoms weren’t an emergency requiring an immediate return.

But it was at that moment.

“Turn the plane around immediately. A person’s life comes first.”

A passenger who was a few steps away from the scene suddenly got up and approached Jun-ho.

The man appeared to be in his 50s and Korean. His wide forehead was striking.

“Who are you?”

The passenger answered the flight attendant’s question.

“My name is Kim Tae-won, and I run a clinic in Korea.”

* * *

“If they still haven’t regained consciousness, they must have a serious internal head injury. Contact the captain and turn the plane around.”

Tae-won said firmly.

Was it because the patient had injured their head and the patient’s blood was found on the overhead compartment?

One of the flight attendants nodded and was about to run to the cockpit when.

A man stopped the flight attendant.

“Excuse me, sir. You need to move. I have urgent business to attend to…”

“I have urgent business too. I told you, I have an important business meeting.”

The passenger blocking the flight attendant didn’t seem to want to move, spreading his arms to block her.

“I understand your urgent situation, but… isn’t a person’s life more important? I kindly ask for your understanding.”

“If I don’t succeed in this meeting, my life will be over. Isn’t my life a life too?”

“Sir, you can’t do this.”

“They just haven’t regained consciousness, but they look fine on the outside. What’s the big deal? They might regain consciousness soon. Let’s wait and see.”

“A doctor passenger said to turn the plane around. That means the patient’s condition is critical.”

The flight attendant pleaded in a desperate voice, but the passenger blocking the aisle didn’t listen.

“Who are you to suddenly interfere and make a fuss?”

“I couldn’t hear the in-flight broadcast because I was listening to music. When I later realized the situation, that gentleman was already examining them.”

Tae-won answered calmly and gestured towards Jun-ho.

“Move quickly. The patient might need to be transferred to a hospital for surgery.”

“No, let’s observe the situation a little longer. How can a doctor scare people like this?”

Tae-won shrugged off his coat as if discarding it.

A firm physique that didn’t match his age was revealed.

“Move when I’m asking nicely.”

“Old man. What? You want to fight me?”

“If you continue to block the way, I can’t avoid it.”

As Tae-won approached the passenger, the situation became volatile.

The tension created by the two men compressed the air in the cabin, making it feel like it would explode.

At that moment, Jun-ho, who had been silent, stepped forward.

“Everyone, please calm down.”

The gazes of the passengers, flight attendants, and Tae-won all turned to Jun-ho.

“Is this a situation to calm down? The patient might need surgery, but a selfish person is preventing the return.”

Tae-won said, sounding frustrated.

“I agree with the passenger’s opinion. I don’t think there’s a need to turn back.”

“On what basis?”

Jun-ho couldn’t easily answer Tae-won’s question.

There was no way to explain internal energy angiography.

Jun-ho and Tae-won.

The conflict between the young doctor and the older doctor took on a new aspect.

“I am a neurosurgeon. In the opinion of a neurosurgeon… the patient is not in critical condition.”

“Are you saying that after confirming the patient injured their head and has been unconscious all this time?”

“…”

“Shouldn’t a neurosurgeon be arguing to turn back?”

Tae-won retorted in a disapproving voice.

Some passengers nodded as if Tae-won was right.

Public opinion quickly shifted towards Tae-won.

Tae-won’s argument wasn’t wrong either.

A patient with a head injury doesn’t easily regain consciousness?

Then…

It wasn’t unreasonable to suspect the worst-case scenario, intracranial hemorrhage [bleeding inside the skull].

“I see you can’t say anything. You’re just like that selfish person. You think your schedule is more important than a person’s life.”

“…”

“Someone who isn’t qualified to be a doctor should step aside.”

Tae-won’s gaze towards Jun-ho was filled with disgust.

He was frustrated to death, but Jun-ho calmed himself down.

Going around and around.

In the end, it seemed most important to find the reason the patient collapsed and then help them recover.

Frankly, there wouldn’t be a problem even if they turned back.

If possible, he wanted to save the patient on board and also save the passenger with the urgent meeting schedule.

There must be a way.

Jun-ho re-examined the patient’s belongings with a desperate determination.

Since he hadn’t missed or left anything out.

He decided to deduce the patient’s illness from the existing items scattered on the floor.

Again, the most concerning thing was…

There were too many snacks in the patient’s bag.

Cookies, chocolate, candy, and so on.

Jun-ho held the patient’s notebook in his hand and quickly flipped through it.

Hoping there might be a clue about their illness in the notebook.

However, the notebook only contained the patient’s fragmented thoughts.

For example…

‘Humans grow through travel, experiencing completely different and unfamiliar environments, and reassembling a new self-image.’

Even after reading to the end, there was nothing to gain, so Jun-ho put the notebook back on the floor.

He pictured the scene of the patient collapsing in his mind.

The scene of the patient coming out of the bathroom, complaining of dizziness, staggering, hitting their head on the overhead compartment, and collapsing.

Something seemed to be caught, but not quite.

Meanwhile, Tae-won was walking past the flight attendant and approaching the passenger blocking the aisle.

“You really want to fight? I used to box a little.”

The passenger smirked and swayed his upper body playfully.

Tae-won scoffed at the passenger as if he was insignificant.

Just as a fistfight was about to break out.

Jun-ho’s shout shook the cabin.

“Wait! Don’t fight, you two. I’ll recover the patient within 10 minutes.”