A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 371

Chapter 72. Trust (1)

Jun-hoo’s words were undoubtedly appreciated and touching.

However, Oliver didn’t feel a great resonance from them.

Encouragement is just encouragement.

You can’t forcibly create strength that isn’t there.

Let’s take a soccer game as an example.

If it’s the second half, with 3 minutes left on the clock, and your team is losing 6-1, the defeat is practically decided.

At this point, can the losing team find the strength to dream of a comeback?

It’s impossible.

Just because people around you are cheering you on doesn’t mean you can suddenly do something you couldn’t do before.

In Oliver’s view…….

His limit was right here.

Maybe the very idea of proving his skills to his father was impure and foolish.

Is that why the heavens were punishing him?

Oliver carefully…….

Placed the needle holder and forceps he was holding onto the dressing cart.

He glanced up at the observation room.

He couldn’t see his father, Austin’s, face.

But he could clearly picture his father’s disappointed expression.

“Why are you putting down the surgical tools?”

“It seems like it would be best if you, Jun-hoo, performed the surgery. The extra should step aside.”

“I said it would be okay! For you, and for the patient.”

Jun-hoo’s voice rose a tone, as if frustrated by Oliver’s despair.

“If it was a surgery you couldn’t handle, I would have taken over from the start. Don’t you understand?”

“You overestimated me. But thanks. Thanks to you, I came this far.”

A short conversation ended, and a long silence followed.

Beep. Beep.

Only the mechanical sound flowing from the patient monitoring device spread out rhythmically.

As the mass of silence grew, no one could easily open their mouth.

Meanwhile, Jun-hoo, who had been hanging his head, looked up and stared at Oliver.

It seemed like he was finally ready to start the surgery.

“……!”

But why?

Why did Jun-hoo’s eyes seem to flash a lake-like blue light for a moment?

The moment he made eye contact with Jun-hoo.

Why were various thoughts and emotions flooding Oliver’s head and heart like a tide?

Would all the problems really be solved by avoiding this place and running away?

Could he really be satisfied with that?

What was his goal in the first place?

That’s right.

It was to become a surgeon as great as his father, and to be recognized by his father.

If he was serious about his goal.

If he really wanted to achieve his goal, he shouldn’t turn his back here.

There’s nothing in the world you can get without fighting for it.

Let’s fight once.

Even if he messes up the surgery, let’s collide and break.

If he falls, let’s get up again.

It’s not the person who doesn’t fall who is cool. It’s the person who gets up every time they fall who is cool.

He didn’t know why, but.

Oliver felt the darkness that had been dominating his body and heart receding.

From the moment he made eye contact with Jun-hoo’s eyes, which had flashed blue for a moment.

An unknown courage welled up.

Oliver picked up the needle holder and forceps he had put down again.

“Are you really okay? It looks like your mental state has already taken a big hit?”

Maxwell asked with a worried look.

“Fortunately, the mental state that had gone out just came back. I don’t know why, but I feel like I can do it.”

“…….”

“Maxwell.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I know you don’t trust me, but please help me until the end. I don’t want to give up yet.”

“Okay. Do what you can.”

“Thanks. And Jun-hoo.”

Oliver’s gaze rested on Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo’s eyes had returned to black.

“Keep your promise. Protect me and the patient. I’m trusting you and running [relying on you].”

Jun-hoo nodded instead of answering.

“I will restart the direct revascularization surgery.”

Oliver’s voice spread clearly throughout the operating room.

* * *

‘Is this the end after all?’

Austin, who was watching Oliver’s surgery from the observation room, shook his head.

In fact, this surgery was just barely manageable at Oliver’s level.

Although direct surgery was difficult.

The patient was 12 years old.

Relatively old among children, so the cerebral blood vessels were quite thick and strong.

However, at the decisive moment, Oliver’s critical flaw was revealed.

Oliver’s critical flaw.

It was that he couldn’t perform well in front of him.

It was never easy to exert 100 percent of your ability in front of someone you admired.

Because of the heavy burden of proving himself.

His body was full of tension.

And that tension made his hands clumsy.

It seemed like Oliver knew his shortcomings and tried to overcome them, but his commendable efforts had not reached their limit.

Austin felt sorry and pathetic for his son.

“It seems they are going to continue the surgery.”

“Really?”

Austin, startled from his reverie, stared at the monitor again.

But what?

Even in the short time he had looked away, Oliver was still standing in the position of the surgeon.

‘What? Are they going to continue as is?’

Austin frowned and got up from his seat.

He approached the desk located in front of the observation room window. He reached for the telephone on the desk.

“Aren’t you replacing the surgeon?”

-No. Professor. We will proceed as is.

Jun-hoo, who answered the phone, replied in a cheerful voice.

“There’s only one radial artery left. And even then, there’s no guarantee that the surgery will succeed. Jun-hoo, you should be the one to operate.”

-No. Oliver can do it well enough.

“Are you still saying such carefree things after seeing the blood vessel he ruined earlier?”

Austin frowned.

If it was an unavoidable disaster, that would be one thing, but if it was an avoidable disaster, he had to avoid it.

If Jun-hoo took over the surgery, a catastrophe would not occur.

「If this surgery fails,

Oliver will suffer from surgical trauma and even face a medical lawsuit from the guardian.」

Just imagining that made Austin feel like he was already in hell.

-Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you will continue to fail, does it?

“If the patient had multiple lives, that might be the case.”

-There will be no problem for the patient or Oliver. I will make it so.

“Too much confidence is recklessness.”

-Wouldn’t recklessness that saves people be welcome?

“How come you don’t lose a single word even in front of the department head?”

Austin smiled bitterly.

When Austin was young, he didn’t have as much guts as Jun-hoo.

“Why do you trust Oliver so much? What do you know about Oliver?”

Austin asked the question he had been wondering.

Jun-hoo was a fool who only knew about patients.

Shouldn’t such a Jun-hoo volunteer to perform the surgery instead of Oliver?

-It’s not because I can do it that I believe, but because I believe that I can do it. That’s what I learned.

“…….”

-I’ll show you how powerful the power of belief is.

Jun-hoo hung up first.

Austin wore a hollow expression and savored Jun-hoo’s last words, which echoed in his eardrums.

What are you thinking?

* * *

After putting down the phone hanging on the wall at the entrance of the operating room, Jun-hoo returned to the operating table.

“What did the department head say?”

Oliver asked with curiosity.

“Just to try hard and do well.”

“That can’t be true? He’s definitely not the type to say that?”

“Ask him yourself after the surgery.”

Jun-hoo shrugged.

“Let’s continue the surgery. We’ve wasted 10 minutes doing nothing.”

“Okay.”

The second act of direct revascularization surgery began.

Jun-hoo firmly fixed the two blood vessels to be anastomosed with the forceps in both hands.

Yangsu-hobak Technique [a precise surgical technique].

Howol Twelve Hands, which had achieved 10 stars [a highly skilled surgical maneuver].

Thanks to these two, Jun-hoo’s hands did not tremble.

Since his hands did not tremble.

The forceps did not tremble either.

Since the forceps did not tremble, the blood vessels did not tremble either.

The best environment for the surgeon to anastomose was created from Jun-hoo’s fingertips.

Click!

Oliver grabbed the suture needle with the needle holder and began suturing.

The suture needle, bent like a fishing hook, pierced the blood vessel.

The start was good.

The depth of the needle was neither too deep nor too shallow.

The needle that passed through the blood vessel also penetrated the graft vessel.

As Oliver pulled the suture, a taut tension was generated between the two blood vessels.

Soon, Oliver’s left hand moved splendidly in the air.

It was the action of tying a suture knot.

A clean knot that was not twisted tightly bound the two blood vessels.

‘That’s right. This is it!’

Jun-hoo cheered inwardly.

The fact that Oliver had awakened reached his skin [he could sense Oliver’s improvement].

Unlike before, his hand movements had changed to being calm and precise.

“What? Suddenly a different person?”

Maxwell, who had been full of disbelief, said in surprise.

“Why didn’t you do this from the beginning?”

“I don’t know. From some point on, my mind suddenly calmed down. I also have a conviction that I can do it for some reason.”

Oliver used the suture needle for the second suture.

Wasn’t he completely relieved of tension?

The suture needle piercing the blood vessel was shallow.

In response, Jun-hoo slightly lifted the blood vessel fixed with the forceps.

Thanks to Jun-hoo lifting the blood vessel.

The suture needle cleanly pierced the surface of the blood vessel.

“Jun-hoo, you’re crazy too. How do you react to every little thing like this?”

Oliver said in admiration.

“That’s why I told you. I will protect you as well as the patient.”

“I feel reassured. Please continue to take care of me.”

Jun-hoo continued to work with Oliver after that. He stepped in to cover whenever Oliver made minor mistakes.

Not only fixing the blood vessels.

By calculating Oliver’s hand movements and the force in his hands in advance, he helped Oliver perform optimized suturing by lifting or lowering the blood vessels.

The insight cultivated in the Murim [a world of martial arts].

The swordsman’s unique meticulous hand movements.

These two were being fully demonstrated even in the assist.

But the greatest contributor to this surgery was still Jeong-an (正眼) [a martial arts technique using eye contact].

Jeong-an (正眼).

This was a type of eye skill that involved imbuing the correct thoughts into internal energy and transmitting them to the opponent.

It was a martial art performed with the eyes.

In the past, during brain awakening surgery.

It was a martial art that he had used on a pianist who couldn’t withstand the burden of surgery and hadn’t used for a while.

It was now demonstrating its true value.

Jun-hoo poured out his internal energy to Oliver, filled with thoughts of cheering him on, and as a result, Oliver regained his courage.

Mental state was important in whatever you did.

It was the same principle as how, if you waver, even a normal world seems to waver.

Therefore, Jeong-an was a martial art that helped to maintain the center of one’s inner self.

Perhaps if he were to teach future generations, he would use Jeong-an more often.

While regaining courage.

While receiving Jun-hoo’s flawless assist.

Oliver gradually broke through the anastomosis [the surgical connection of blood vessels].

In a short time, 80 percent of the vascular anastomosis was completed.

Indirect revascularization surgery.

Since the difficulty was relatively low.

It seemed like Jun-hoo’s group’s first team surgery would end smoothly.

Until Maxwell delivered the bad news.

“Wait, stop the anastomosis.”

“What? Are you breaking the rhythm?”

Oliver, who had just finished tying the knot, frowned as if displeased.

“The patient’s intracranial pressure is 35 mmHg [millimeters of mercury, a measure of pressure]. But I can’t see the bleeding point.”

“Could it be?”

“Damn it. I think that’s right. A blood vessel must have burst outside the field of vision. What do we do?”

Maxwell’s eyes, examining the patient monitoring device, shook 불안하게 [anxiously].