A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 373

Chapter 72: Trust (3)

The fourth-floor lounge.

The Mayue Lounge, from its interior design to its furniture, was on a different level compared to Korean lounges.

It was reminiscent of a luxury hotel lounge.

Blue wallpaper that seemed to embody a forest.

Plush and cozy sofas without a single worn spot.

Fresh orchid pots placed everywhere.

However, there was one thing that even the Mayue Lounge couldn’t avoid…

It was the beverage vending machine.

Jun-hoo pulled out canned coffees and handed them to Oliver and Maxwell.

He also got a coffee for himself and sat on a nearby sofa.

The feeling of the sofa, which softly enveloped his buttocks and waist, was wonderful.

After standing in the operating room for six hours straight, his waist and buttocks screamed with happiness as he sat down.

Even for a former martial arts master.

Surgery was tiring and arduous.

“Jun-hoo, I didn’t get an answer earlier.”

“What answer?”

“How did you know the hematoma would shrink?”

Oliver tilted his head and continued.

“Did you perhaps see it in a textbook?”

“No. If I had seen it in a textbook, I wouldn’t have asked you two to trust me. I would have told you to follow my instructions because it was something I studied.”

“So, you figured it out with your own brain?”

Jun-hoo nodded in response.

Clink!

He opened the can of coffee and took a sip of the sweet and bitter liquid.

During the surgery.

Jun-hoo’s way of thinking was simple.

「Is performing a hematoma removal surgery more helpful to the patient vs. is it not helpful?」

He racked his brain over these two options, and the conclusion was the latter.

If he performed a hematoma removal surgery on the temporal lobe, the surgery time would have been extended by at least two hours.

If the surgery was prolonged like that.

It was obvious that the patient’s condition would worsen, and the staff’s concentration would also drop.

「Is there a way to remove the hematoma without performing a hematoma removal surgery?」

From that point on, Jun-hoo’s question took a somewhat absurd turn.

Even he found it ridiculous.

But the probability of a successful surgery was higher only if he removed the hematoma without performing a hematoma removal surgery.

After much deliberation.

Jun-hoo suddenly remembered that the hematoma was located near the third ventricle [a cavity in the brain filled with cerebrospinal fluid].

The ventricle is a passage through which cerebrospinal fluid flows, so if he administered a thrombolytic agent [medication to dissolve blood clots] to the patient.

He hypothesized that the cerebrospinal fluid containing the thrombolytic agent might dissolve the hematoma faster.

And the hypothesis turned out to be a perfect fit.

By the time the surgery was over, the size of the hematoma had shrunk by nearly half.

[The best swordsman is the one who subdues his opponent without using a sword.]

The words of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader were indeed correct.

Even though he was a surgeon, if there was a way to avoid surgery, that was the best option.

“Actually, I thought you would insist on performing a hematoma removal surgery no matter what, Jun-hoo.”

Maxwell continued in a rapid-fire manner.

“I thought you would do the hematoma removal surgery at lightning speed and have Oliver finish the revascularization surgery himself.”

“Normally, I definitely would have.”

Jun-hoo chuckled and nodded.

“So, what suddenly changed your mind today?”

“I started to think that sometimes the roundabout way might be faster than the shortcut. I don’t know for sure, though.”

It was a very strange thing.

Even Jun-hoo himself had difficulty explaining the change of heart he had during today’s surgery.

It was as if a seed of thought that he had unknowingly planted while performing surgeries had sprouted.

According to his teacher, Jae-hyun.

Skill doesn’t improve diagonally.

It rises in the shape of the letter L flipped sideways.

In other words, it keeps crawling along the bottom.

Until it reaches a critical point and then rises vertically.

So, Jun-hoo thought.

Could it be that his surgical skills, which had been stagnant, had risen to another dimension through today’s surgery?

Thump!

As Jun-hoo finished his explanation, Oliver placed his hand on Jun-hoo’s shoulder.

“Anyway, I’ve been saved twice thanks to you, Jun-hoo.”

“…….”

“Thanks to you believing in me, I was able to finish the revascularization surgery well, and we avoided an unnecessary hematoma removal surgery. Thank you so much.”

Oliver said with a choked voice and earnest eyes.

Jun-hoo was briefly in the spotlight, but the real star of today’s surgery was Oliver.

How nervous must he have been to perform surgery in front of his father.

Oliver overcame that tension and pressure and successfully completed the surgery.

“I just helped a little. You’re the one who really worked hard.”

“No, if you weren’t by my side, I would have given up on the first attempt. At that time, I really thought I was a terrible person.”

A bitter smile appeared on Oliver’s lips.

“I’ve had many moments of frustration too. Each time, I received help from my colleagues.”

“You too, Jun-hoo?”

“Why? Do you think I’m not human? Do you think my blood is blue or something?”

Oliver laughed at Jun-hoo’s joke.

Maxwell laughed along.

Was it because they had built up a friendship while performing team surgery?

An invisible, strong bond was connecting the three of them.

“You protect yourself and protect the patient. I thought Jun-hoo was a drama doctor when he said that.”

“Hey, please forget about that line.”

At Maxwell’s remark, Jun-hoo blushed as he recalled his embarrassing line.

“By the way, is the next team surgery Maxwell’s turn?”

Jun-hoo quickly changed the subject.

“I’ll see what kind of surgery it is. If it’s okay, I’ll do it.”

“It’s not like you’re cooking. Why are you being so cautious about performing the surgery?”

“I know, right? Maxwell, you tend to avoid performing surgeries too much?”

Maxwell smiled awkwardly at Jun-hoo and Oliver’s remarks.

He lowered his head and fiddled with the coffee can in his hand.

Maxwell was a surgeon, but he tended to avoid surgery.

It seemed like there was a hidden story.

Oliver’s trauma was his father, Austin.

Jun-hoo’s trauma was having to helplessly watch his colleagues die in the martial arts world.

What was Maxwell’s trauma?

What made Maxwell so passive?

Jun-hoo was curious, but he didn’t ask directly.

You shouldn’t carelessly dig into other people’s wounds.

“Anyway, do you guys like basketball?”

Maxwell said, lifting his head.

“It goes without saying. Basketball is my favorite sport.”

“What about you, Jun-hoo?”

“I like it too.”

“Then keep the weekend free. I’ll give you an unforgettable memory.”

A confident smile spread across Maxwell’s lips.

* * *

That evening.

After finishing his work, Oliver went straight to the intensive care unit.

He stood next to Maxi’s bed, whom he had operated on that morning.

The child was still unconscious.

He was sleeping as if he were dead.

A gauze soaked in saline solution was plastered between the crown of the child’s head and forehead.

The intracranial pressure [pressure inside the skull] was slightly higher than normal, and the skull was not closed because the hematoma was not completely removed.

The plan was to perform cranioplasty [surgical repair of the skull] as soon as the hematoma disappeared.

The difficulty of cranioplasty was far below that of moyamoya disease surgery.

There would be no problems with the additional surgery.

“How are the patient’s vitals?”

Oliver asked the nurse who followed him.

“He continues to have a slight fever of 37.9. Breathing, blood pressure, and pulse are normal. The electrocardiogram and oxygen saturation are also fine.”

“Thank goodness.”

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief.

Even after successfully completing the surgery, worries didn’t leave his head.

Quite a few patients died from various post-operative infections.

For a surgeon to truly feel relieved, the patient had to be discharged.

“If you notice anything even slightly unusual, notify me directly instead of the resident.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

Oliver left the bed and moved to the station.

He examined the Brain CT scan taken three hours after the surgery.

The size of the hematoma was much smaller than the one taken immediately after the surgery.

It was about half of half the original size.

‘It’s truly amazing. Amazing. It’s like he’s in a different world all by himself.’

Oliver shook his head, recalling Jun-hoo’s excellent judgment.

Wasn’t it a situation where anyone would have thought that a hematoma removal surgery was necessary?

However, Jun-hoo dissolved the hematoma without using a scalpel, considering the anatomical location of the hematoma.

Even Raymond, the chief resident of Mayue Neurosurgery, probably wouldn’t have thought that far.

Maybe.

Just maybe.

Jun-hoo might soon catch up with even his father.

Oliver suddenly had such a bold imagination.

Thud. Thud.

Oliver’s footsteps left the intensive care unit and headed to the ward.

As he crossed the ward hallway, passing by numerous patients, he saw a familiar face and familiar footsteps in the distance.

Without realizing it.

Oliver’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

Soon, the two stood facing each other at a reasonable distance.

A strange tension enveloped the two.

Oliver’s opponent was Austin, an authority in pediatric neurosurgery, the head of the Boost Up program, and Oliver’s father.

Austin was much older, but Oliver couldn’t keep up with the sense of intimidation and charisma that Austin’s physique exuded.

To Oliver, Austin was always a presence that was always there but always out of reach.

“What brings you to the ward?”

Austin asked first.

“I’m on call tonight.”

“Is that so? It might be quite busy. The weather forecast said it’s going to pour later.”

“Are you worried about traffic accidents?”

“Yes. The roads around here are known to be dark and treacherous.”

Since the conversation with Austin seemed to be going around in circles, Oliver cut to the chase.

There was something Oliver really wanted to hear from Austin.

“You watched my surgery today, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“How did you see it? As a surgeon, not as a son.”

“Do you want to hear an honest answer?”

“You’re not the type to give a fake answer even if I asked you to.”

“I guess that’s true.”

Austin chuckled and paused for a long time.

Thanks to that, Oliver, who was waiting for an answer, was getting impatient.

Oliver had been thirsty for his father’s recognition since he was young.

When Oliver entered medical school.

When he completed his neurosurgery residency at Mayue.

Even when he was accepted into the Boost Up program, which was as narrow as a needle’s eye.

His father only congratulated him half-heartedly.

He didn’t seem proud of Oliver at all.

That was disappointing to Oliver.

He was frustrated about how to get his father’s recognition.

But today.

Although he struggled greatly in the early stages of the surgery.

Although he received help from Jun-hoo.

He was confident that he had successfully completed a relatively difficult surgery.

He thought that his father would recognize him this time.

“You’re not answering. Am I still not up to your standards?”

Oliver couldn’t stand it any longer and asked first.

“Can I only get your recognition when I’m better than Raymond, or Jun-hoo?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something very seriously.”

“Me? Aren’t you the one who’s misunderstanding?”

“I’m just…”

Austin avoided Oliver’s gaze and continued.

“I was embarrassed.”

“Yes? Embarrassed?”

Oliver’s voice rose at the unexpected answer.

“As you know, I’m not used to expressing affection. You can tell by how I treat your mother.”

“I know that, but still…”

“It’s a terrible disease. I have no problem praising others, but I’m stingy with praise for my family or people I care about.”

“…….”

“What should I say, the most accurate way to describe it is that it was difficult to express my true feelings.”

“I… I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t know either. Until just now.”

“Just now?”

“I ran into Jun-hoo on the way here, and he gave me an earful. He said you were upset because you couldn’t get recognition from me. But I’ve always recognized you, Oliver.”

“…….”

“To evaluate your surgery today as a surgeon, it was excellent. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

Austin brushed past Oliver as if he were running away shyly.

Oliver stared blankly at Austin’s retreating figure.

Oliver was surprised twice.

At the fact that his father had recognized him a long time ago.

And at the fact that his father had been influenced by Jun-hoo’s advice and had revealed his true feelings.

It seems…

Jun-hoo also had an excellent skill in mending hearts that had been torn apart.