A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 38

The Martial Art Surgeon – 38

Chapter 7: Clinical Years (8)

As I exited the library, white snow was falling heavily.

It must have been snowing for quite a while, as the ground was already covered with a thick layer of snow.

Feeling the snow landing on my head and coat, Jun-hoo started walking.

The campus, which he had seen more often than his own home, felt unfamiliar today.

The buildings, the students, the benches, the playground, and everything else.

Except for graduation day, this would be one of the last times Jun-hoo would visit the university.

His six years of learning had come to an end.

He had survived the brutal pop quizzes.

Completed the PK rotations [Pre-clinical and clinical rotations].

And a month ago, he had passed the medical licensing exam and become a full-fledged doctor.

“Hello, senior.”

“Hello, senior.”

On his way to Professor Bo-sung’s lab.

Jun-hoo ran into some second-year medical students, his juniors.

It felt like just yesterday he was the one greeting the seniors.

Now, Jun-hoo had become a senior who only received greetings.

“Are you heading to the library?”

“Yes. But you’re still studying hard, senior. Is there a reason to study even though graduation is just around the corner?”

Jung-ah asked, tilting her head.

As if she couldn’t understand Jun-hoo’s actions.

In fact, Jun-hoo was the only one among his classmates who still came to school.

Jun-hoo had been receiving private tutoring from Professor Bo-sung in anatomy whenever he had time.

Although today was the last day of that tutoring.

“Because doctors learn to give to others.”

“As expected, the legend of the department is different. Top of the class, a perfect 4.5 GPA every semester, and a perfect score on the medical licensing exam…”

“Of course. Jun-hoo senior is the one who changed the orientation talent show and drinking culture.”

Sun-ah chimed in, agreeing with Jung-ah.

Jun-hoo felt embarrassed by the unexpected praise.

Strangely, he never seemed to get used to compliments.

“Don’t give me too much credit. I might just book a trip abroad before graduation.”

Jung-ah and Sun-ah burst into laughter at Jun-hoo’s joke.

“Senior, would you like to have coffee at the cafe?”

“Sorry. I have to see the professor. Study hard.”

After finishing his conversation with his juniors, Jun-hoo went straight to Bo-sung’s lab.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A voice told him to come in after he knocked.

“Jun-hoo, is that you?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Have a seat over there.”

As Jun-hoo sat on the sofa, Bo-sung sat across from him.

Bo-sung was looking at Jun-hoo with a serious expression today.

“Jun-hoo, what do you think about the paper you sent me recently?”

Was the problem with the final paper after all?

He had written the paper with great ambition, but was there an error or mistake?

Jun-hoo felt a little nervous.

“I… I think I did my best to write it within my knowledge.”

“That was your best?”

“Yes.”

Bo-sung paused for a long time before continuing.

“Somehow, I couldn’t find any flaws.”

Jun-hoo felt relieved at Bo-sung’s words.

It seemed that Bo-sung had deliberately created a serious atmosphere to play a prank.

“Professor, you surprised me.”

“I was the one who was surprised. I almost had a heart attack looking at your paper.”

Bo-sung was unintentionally exaggerating.

It had been about four years since he started giving Jun-hoo special lessons.

Surprisingly, Jun-hoo perfectly managed both his clinical courses and Bo-sung’s lessons.

Unofficially, he had the knowledge of a master’s degree in anatomy.

Unofficially, he had the knowledge of a master’s degree in forensic medicine.

Considering Jun-hoo’s brilliance, he was ready to start working in the field right away.

Bo-sung had been in academia for a long time, but he swore he had never seen a kid like Jun-hoo.

A genius.

If there was one word to describe Jun-hoo, it was this.

“So, I was wondering if you would like to learn more under me?”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve never considered any path other than surgery.”

“You heartless fellow.”

“I’m sorry. You even took the time to teach me personally…”

“I’m just kidding, so don’t worry too much. But remember this one thing.”

Bo-sung looked at Jun-hoo and continued.

“In the future, you will receive many love calls from people. You will also receive as much jealousy and envy as those love calls.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Be careful who you associate with and don’t be taken advantage of by bad people. The world outside of school is like a jungle.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

Jun-hoo answered with gratitude and bowed his head.

But Jun-hoo was already prepared to face the world as a doctor.

Jun-hoo had lived for decades in a world more savage than modern times.

He had experienced chilling betrayals.

He had felt helpless emotions that brought tears of blood.

He had walked a tightrope between superiors and subordinates.

And all that know-how was already etched in his bones.

Therefore, there was no reason to fear hospital life.

Rather, Jun-hoo was eager to jump into the hospital as soon as possible.

“Well, you’ve always done well, you’re doing well, and you’ll continue to do well, so I’m not too worried, but I’m just saying this out of concern.”

“…”

“If you need my help, feel free to contact me anytime.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

“It’ll be hard to see you once you enter the hospital, so let’s have one last hug.”

Jun-hoo shared a light hug with Bo-sung.

It wasn’t a permanent farewell, but he couldn’t help but feel sad.

Whether it was a good farewell or a bad farewell, the end of a farewell was always bitter.

“I will always keep your advice in mind.”

“Alright. Now, go forward towards your dream.”

After parting with Bo-sung, Jun-hoo leisurely crossed the campus.

Imprinting the scenery of the campus in his eyes and heart.

But it was at that moment.

A painful scream was heard from the direction of the playground.

Jun-hoo’s steps headed that way without him even realizing it.

“Aaaargh!”

One of the male students playing basketball on the basketball court was kneeling on the ground, groaning.

The other male students surrounded the suffering student, not knowing what to do.

“What’s wrong?”

“We don’t know either. Our friend suddenly said his arm hurts.”

“M-My arm hurts so much. Please call 119 [emergency services number in South Korea].”

Jun-hoo felt it instinctively when he saw the student holding his shoulder in pain.

The student’s shoulder was dislocated.

Dislocation, in simple terms, meant that the bone was out of its proper position.

“I can fix it. I’ll help you.”

“What can you do?”

“Because I’m a doctor.”

Jun-hoo answered confidently.

In the past, he couldn’t confidently perform procedures because he didn’t have a license, but now it was different.

“Aren’t you a medical student, not a doctor?”

One of the patient’s friends gave him a suspicious look.

He clearly didn’t trust Jun-hoo.

“I used to be a medical student, but now I’m a doctor. I stopped by the school for a quick errand.”

Jun-hoo knelt on one knee and made eye contact with the patient.

“Calm down, you’ll be okay. Take a deep breath.”

While comforting the patient, Jun-hoo prepared the reduction technique.

With one hand, he grabbed the patient’s dislocated shoulder, and with the other hand, he firmly held the patient’s wrist.

Geumna hand(擒拿手) [Seizing Hand – a martial arts technique for grappling].

One of the martial arts techniques that was good for firmly fixing the patient’s arm.

The patient’s left shoulder bone had come out while playing basketball.

In this situation, there was a high probability of an anterior traumatic dislocation.

In this case, an emergency manual reduction was needed.

Based on the anatomical knowledge he had learned, Jun-hoo mentally visualized the position of the patient’s humerus and glenoid fossa [shoulder joint components].

If I pull the arm straight out at a 45-degree angle from the current state.

“Hey? Are you an orthopedic surgeon? I heard you shouldn’t do this kind of thing carelessly.”

“Yeah, yeah. I heard that too.”

The patient’s friends began to dissuade Jun-hoo from treating him.

But from their point of view, they had good reason to refuse the treatment.

A person who suddenly appeared was claiming to be a doctor and was going to perform manual therapy.

But Jun-hoo was confident in his treatment.

He had already mastered the anatomical knowledge necessary for manual reduction.

He had already mastered the skills to perform manual reduction.

“If manual therapy is delayed, the muscles will spasm, making treatment more difficult later.”

“…”

“Your friend should be glad that he met me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jun-hoo pulled the patient’s arm in one swift motion.

Crack.

The clear sound of bone echoed through the court, sending chills down their spines.

A manual technique that unfolded in the blink of an eye.

Soon, the patient got up and looked bewildered.

“Huh? What happened?”

“I put the dislocated shoulder joint back in its original position with a manual reduction technique.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. It barely hurts now?”

“Still, you should definitely go to the hospital. There’s a high chance of it recurring habitually.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“I’m sorry for doubting you earlier. Thank you.”

A flood of gratitude poured out from the patient and his friends.

As expected, it was worth delving into anatomy.

With the anatomical knowledge I have now, I’ll be loved no matter which department I go to.

Jun-hoo felt proud that his four years of studying anatomy had not been in vain.

Leaving the students’ greetings behind, Jun-hoo left the campus.

Although Jun-hoo was gone, his footprints remained clearly on the campus.

* * *

It was around 6 PM when Jun-hoo arrived near his house.

Originally, he could have come 20 minutes earlier, but he had been thinking about other things and stopped by the neighborhood where he used to live.

Jun-hoo stood in front of the apartment complex and looked up at the apartment.

He felt strange.

He also felt awkward, as if he was floating on a cloud.

A newly built apartment located near the subway station.

This apartment was the new home for Jun-hoo’s family.

The move from the old row house to the apartment had taken place at the beginning of this year.

The decisive reason why they were able to move from a house with a deposit of 30 million won and a monthly rent of 500,000 won to an apartment.

That reason was Jet Coin.

On the recommendation of Mi-ho, the head of the securities company who he had met due to the medical malpractice case, Jun-hoo had consistently invested in Jet Coin.

And that Jet Coin had done something big at the beginning of this year.

The signs had been ominous since last year, but it had skyrocketed like a rocket at the beginning of this year.

The profit Jun-hoo made from selling Jet Coin was a whopping 1.2 billion won [approximately $900,000 USD].

It was an amount that he could barely touch after decades of being a doctor.

I should have bought more if I had known this would happen….

He couldn’t deny that he felt a little regretful, but that was just greed.

Jun-hoo’s dream wasn’t to become a real estate tycoon.

Therefore, he was satisfied enough with the fact that he had obtained a decent house to live in with his parents.

“Jun-hoo, is that you?”

“You’re here. Our son.”

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

They had both reduced their workload a lot, so they were getting off work early these days.

The fact that his parents were suffering less was also Jun-hoo’s happiness these days.

“What were you doing?”

Jun-hoo asked as he entered the living room.

“Mom was preparing dinner. Dad just got home.”

“You must be hungry, let’s eat first.”

Jun-hoo washed up briefly and had dinner with his parents.

After moving to the apartment, smiles never left his parents’ faces.

Well, the sense of security that comes with owning your own home was hard to express in words.

But Jun-hoo also had regrets.

Because there wouldn’t be many opportunities to make memories with his parents in this nice house.

Once he became a doctor.

Moreover, if he became a surgeon, he would have to live apart from his family.

That was the fate of a surgeon.

After finishing dinner, Jun-hoo went back to his room.

He sat in front of his desk and accessed the Shinwon University Hospital website.

Today was the day the results of the Shinwon University Hospital regular intern recruitment were announced.

Typing.

When he entered the necessary information, the results window popped up.

[Seo Jun-hoo has been accepted into the Shinwon University Hospital regular intern recruitment.]

The moment he confirmed the results, his heart pounded.

It wasn’t that he was happy to be accepted.

It was because of the excitement that he could finally start the doctor’s life he had been waiting for.

If he had gone through the preparation process to become a doctor so far.

What lay ahead was a life as a real doctor.

The orientation will be held next week, and then I’ll start working right away the following week?

Jun-hoo checked the calendar and smiled.

The martial arts, internal energy, and physique he learned in the Murim world [a world of martial arts and cultivation, often depicted in Korean fantasy novels].

The medical knowledge he had accumulated since high school.

I’ll pour everything out without holding back.