A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 383

Chapter 74: Spring (3)

That evening.

After finishing his afternoon rounds, Jun-hoo was in the Pediatric Neurosurgery Department Head’s office, talking with Austin.

The two men sat on the sofa, facing each other.

“Shouldn’t you have told me about that patient in advance?”

Jun-hoo asked abruptly.

He didn’t add any further explanation.

“If I told you in advance, it wouldn’t be fun. The fun in life comes from unexpected events.”

“If it’s any more fun, I think I’ll have a heart attack.”

Jun-hoo’s voice was half joking, half serious.

Jun-hoo leaned back on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling.

The faces of the conjoined twins were still vivid in his mind.

The two children, lying in a stroller with the crowns of their heads touching, looked up at Jun-hoo, smiling and waving as if to say hello.

Jun-hoo couldn’t smile.

He couldn’t wave back or return their greeting.

It was the first time Jun-hoo had seen conjoined twins in person.

That’s why the shock was even greater.

It was as different as watching a video of climbing Mount Everest and actually climbing Mount Everest.

“Is it okay to operate?”

Jun-hoo asked worriedly.

“That’s the wrong question. Shouldn’t it be, we need to operate for them to be okay?”

“I’m talking about the surgical method. The parents said that other hospitals only recommended surgery to save one child.”

Of course, separating the heads and brains of conjoined twins was incredibly difficult.

Saving one was hard, and saving both was enough to make you sick.

The separation surgery was so dangerous.

There were quite a few conjoined twins who lived without separation, sharing their bodies.

“The parents want to save both children.”

“Isn’t it true that doctors can’t always fulfill the parents’ wishes?”

Austin pressed his lips together at Jun-hoo’s question.

He crossed his arms and stared intently at Jun-hoo.

“You’re being surprisingly conservative about this surgery. I thought you would naturally say you’d save both children. Is there a reason?”

“I thought about it from the parents’ perspective.”

Jun-hoo bit his lip, looking distressed.

“How so?”

“How they would feel if they tried to save both children and ended up losing both of them. I think my heart would break.”

“Of course, there’s some truth in what you say. But have you thought about it this way?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you were the parent, which child would you save?”

Jun-hoo couldn’t answer. He felt speechless.

It was like being asked a mischievous question that was popular in the past: “If your mother and father fell into the water, and you could only save one, who would you save?”

If such a situation actually happened, wouldn’t you suffer from regret or guilt no matter what choice you made?

“Why don’t you answer?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

“The reason I’m telling you this is…”

Austin paused before continuing.

“I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to be led around by questions in the future. Questions are important, of course. But sometimes, questions can get in the way of the path to the answer.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s go back to the parents’ story. If you were the parent, what kind of surgery would you want to give your children?”

“Of course, I would want a surgery that would keep both children safe.”

Unlike before, Jun-hoo gave an immediate answer.

This was a no-brainer.

“That’s it!”

Austin snapped his fingers cheerfully.

“Find out what your desires are first, and then choose questions in a way that can fulfill those desires.”

Austin’s explanation shone like a ray of light, illuminating Jun-hoo’s dark mind.

The twin separation surgery was so difficult and dangerous.

Jun-hoo had forgotten his own desires.

A surgery that makes both the patient and the parents happy.

That was the kind of surgery Jun-hoo dreamed of.

“If your mother and father fell into the water, and you could only save one, who would you save?”

Now, he felt like he could answer that question without difficulty.

Jun-hoo would try to save both of them.

Even if the questioner protested, ‘Don’t you understand? You can only choose one,’ he wouldn’t listen.

Jun-hoo would answer like this.

You can only save one because you’re only trying to save one.

Of course, it would be heartbreaking if you tried to save both people and ended up losing both of them.

But that was the responsibility of the person who made the choice.

Ultimately.

Saving only one person doesn’t make the responsibility disappear or decrease.

“Have you found a surgical method?”

Jun-hoo changed the subject.

“No, not yet. I’ve done about five conjoined twin separation surgeries, but this is the first time I’ve seen a case like this.”

“So there are surgeries that even the department head hasn’t done before.”

“The world is wide, and there are many patients.”

Austin smiled bitterly.

Why wouldn’t he be afraid?

In some ways, the fear Austin felt might be greater than the fear Jun-hoo felt.

The parents’ expectations of him.

The reputation of the people around him were all big and heavy burdens.

Maybe that’s why.

Jun-hoo vaguely saw the image of a martial arts alliance leader in Austin.

“Department Head, there’s one thing I’d like to ask you.”

“Tell me.”

“About this conjoined twin separation surgery.”

* * *

That evening.

Jun-hoo was on duty in the on-call room as a trainee.

The trainee on-call duty was like a professor on duty in Korean terms, and it was the chief in charge of the pediatric neurosurgery ward, who was responsible for surgery when emergency patients came in.

Click! Click!

Jun-hoo’s brow furrowed deeply as he moved the mouse back and forth.

He was looking at the CT and MRI of the conjoined twins, and the more he looked, the more he sighed.

If they had only shared their skull.

The surgery would have been relatively easy.

He could have separated the skulls and performed cranioplasty [surgical repair of the skull] on each of them.

But if that were the case, other hospitals would never have refused the surgery.

The two children shared a significant portion of the middle cerebral artery.

One blood vessel and two children.

The problem was serious because of that.

If it were food, they could share it, but blood vessels couldn’t be shared.

Jun-hoo stared at the monitor for a long time before ruffling his hair with one hand.

There was no good solution.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt like the brain cells in his head were twisting like pretzels.

He knew it would be difficult to find a surgical method.

Other university hospitals had also given up.

Even the great Austin couldn’t find a clue.

In other words, it wasn’t a problem that would be solved by Jun-hoo thinking about it for a while.

But still.

He couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

A surgeon saves by finding.

“Wow. Is this the video of the conjoined twins who were admitted today?”

Daniel, a first-year resident who was working with him, came up to Jun-hoo and asked.

Jun-hoo nodded instead of answering.

“Their skulls are attached, and more than half of their middle cerebral artery is attached? Is surgery even possible?”

“If it’s not possible, we have to make it possible.”

“But why are you looking at this, Dr. Jun-hoo? Isn’t Department Head Austin going to be the one performing the surgery anyway?”

“I’m the first assistant.”

A few hours ago, Jun-hoo had asked Austin.

He wanted to be the first assistant for this separation surgery.

There were many reasons.

But if he had to pick just one, it was because he wanted to push beyond his limits.

How far can I go?

However, it was still questionable whether that was the right choice.

If during the separation surgery.

The two children lost their lives.

Jun-hoo would be in unspeakable shock. He would be as dazed as when he had sent Seong-ho away.

For a while, he might not be able to handle his surgery schedule due to the aftereffects.

Still, he didn’t want to give up.

Running away or hiding wasn’t Jun-hoo’s way.

“You’re the first assistant?”

“You’ve been just surprised since a while ago?”

Jun-hoo chuckled.

“It’s because there’s only surprising things. Did the department head readily agree?”

“He told me to do it.”

“That’s amazing. I thought the professors would naturally be the first assistants. The surgery isn’t a normal surgery.”

“Me too.”

Jun-hoo was also wondering.

Why Austin readily chose him as the first assistant.

He was a man who had gone through thick and thin, so he must have had some ulterior motive…

But there was no way to know what he was thinking.

“Are there any patients to notify separately?”

“No. Not yet. I have a good feeling that tonight will pass quietly.”

“Saying that always makes a patient explode [meaning something bad will happen].”

“Don’t say unlucky things.”

Daniel shook his head. If he were Korean, he would have sprinkled salt on Jun-hoo [a Korean superstition to ward off bad luck].

“Oh, right. I got a call from Senior Levi a while ago.”

Daniel changed the subject.

“Who was Levi again?”

“The second-year resident who had a fight with Dr. Jun-hoo before.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Jun-hoo remember Levi and nod his head.

Levi was a guy who was insincere in his work and even drank alcohol, so Jun-hoo had scolded him.

After his blood alcohol level was revealed through a blood test.

He was disciplined and kicked out of the hospital. That was already 6-7 months ago.

“What’s he been up to?”

“He’s a resident at James Hopkins Hospital. He said James Hopkins Hospital is a hundred times better than Mayu.”

“He’s just saying that.”

Jun-hoo chuckled and got up from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to see a patient for a while. It won’t take long.”

Jun-hoo left the on-call room and crossed the hallway. He entered the ward closest to the station.

Surprisingly, there were no guardians in the ward.

Usually, at least one of the couple is supposed to be in the pediatric ward.

Jun-hoo tilted his head and went closer to the bed.

Four clear eyes were looking up at Jun-hoo.

The children’s names were Sophia and Emma, respectively. But Jun-hoo couldn’t tell who was Sophia and who was Emma.

What’s so good about it?

The children smiled brightly and waved their arms at Jun-hoo, just like they did in the examination room.

Jun-hoo held out his index fingers to each of the children.

The children were busy fiddling with Jun-hoo’s fingers.

He could feel the soft and smooth texture in the children’s hands.

Again, it was too cruel to have to choose only one of the two children.

Even if it was difficult and risky.

He was convinced that it was right to perform a surgery that could save both children.

The problem was how to find that method…

As his worries deepened.

The ward door opened with a click.

The conjoined twins’ parents, Jordan and Scarlett, entered the ward.

“Hello, Doctor.”

“Hello.”

After exchanging light greetings, the couple stood next to Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo asked what he was most curious about.

“Which one is Emma and which one is Sophia?”