A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 411

Chapter 80: Nowhere to Go (1)

Inside an officetel [a type of studio apartment or small office space, common in South Korea] building near the hospital.

Jun-hoo stood with Ah-young in front of room 502.

“The password is 0415.”

Ah-young smiled brightly, stood in front of the door, and pressed the password on the keypad.

In that instant, Jun-hoo almost burst into tears. The password was Jun-hoo’s birthday.

‘Why would Ah-young use Jun-hoo’s birthday as the password?’ he wondered.

It wasn’t hard to guess the reason.

‘It’s clearly because she missed me. She wanted to think of me when she came home.’

If the home password was Jun-hoo’s birthday.

Ah-young would have no choice but to think about Jun-hoo at least once a day.

‘I have to treat Ah-young well for the rest of my life. A guy like me…….’

Jun-hoo bit his lip tightly, holding back the surge of emotion.

Beep beep~

A cheerful electronic sound echoed.

Ah-young entered the officetel first, followed by Jun-hoo.

The officetel was cozy.

It had the layout most often sought after by young professionals who had just moved out on their own.

There was no distinction between the room and the living room; it was one open space.

The bathroom was located to the left of the entrance.

On the right side, the sink, washing machine, refrigerator, and wardrobe were closely packed together.

A bed was placed by the window.

Next to the bed was a desk for studying.

Like Ah-young’s usual personality.

The room was neatly organized.

“You said you’ve been living alone for about three years?”

“Yeah. Now I’m more comfortable here than at home.”

“Are there any noise issues?”

Jun-hoo asked, scanning the room.

“A year ago, the neighbors next door raised a dog. It was a bit annoying then, but the person who moved in recently is quiet.”

“I see. How do you handle meals?”

“These days, I think I just order delivery? It’s too much of a hassle to make food and clean up.”

Ah-young stuck out her tongue playfully.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Sure.”

Jun-hoo sat on the bed.

He stared intently at Ah-young, who was filling the electric kettle with water.

Being a professor at a university hospital is a job that everyone envies.

People think you make good money and live a glamorous and dignified life.

This was half right and half wrong.

In the case of surgery professors.

Especially professors of thoracic surgery or neurosurgery, they couldn’t enjoy their daily lives even after becoming professors.

As the avoidance of surgery became more severe.

Suffering from a serious shortage of manpower.

Even the professors were being overworked day and night. Even when resting at home, they would often rush to the hospital if an emergency surgery was scheduled.

So, some surgery professors are said to have quit drinking after becoming professors.

To be precise, they couldn’t drink because they didn’t know when they would receive an emergency call.

Ah-young’s situation was similar.

She hated going to the hospital after receiving an emergency call while resting at home.

To treat critical patients even a little faster.

She was staying near the hospital.

And in fact…….

There was a sad story hidden in why Ah-young ended up getting accommodation near the hospital.

It was three years ago.

Ah-young was resting at home after finishing her outpatient treatment.

The resident on duty urgently called Ah-young.

“Professor. A patient with aortic dissection has arrived in the emergency room!”

Aortic dissection was the most urgent disease in thoracic surgery. The surgery was also known to be notoriously difficult.

Ah-young hurriedly drove to the hospital.

But she couldn’t advance any further on the bridge.

There was a 10-car pile-up.

The patient was eventually transferred to another university hospital, but they couldn’t receive surgery there either.

Why?

Because there was no surgeon to handle the aortic dissection.

The professor on duty was already in the middle of emergency surgery.

Ah-young, who had trauma at that time, eventually got accommodation near the hospital.

‘How long do we have to live being treated like this?’

‘Is this life really right for me?’

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

Even though they were struggling so hard, giving up their personal lives like this.

The hospital only scolded the surgical departments, saying they weren’t making money.

They didn’t provide the necessary supplies.

Or they were glaring at them, trying to reduce their size.

The corporation was the same.

They were only busy cutting down the fees for surgical operations.

In short, surgeons were outcasts who were not treated well anywhere.

‘As expected, my teacher is right.’

‘There is a limit to enduring with the sacrifice of an individual.’

‘Someone has to step up and change the system.’

‘If the system doesn’t change, the tragedy will be repeated.’

Maybe it was because he watched Ah-young living like that.

Maybe it was because he directly experienced how foreign surgeons lived at Mayo [Mayo Clinic, a renowned American medical center].

Jun-hoo felt keenly that Korean surgeons were being treated unfairly.

He also felt a thirst to improve this.

“Here, take it.”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

Jun-hoo took a sip of the green tea that Ah-young handed him.

“How do you feel about returning to Korea?”

“Not really… good.”

“Huh? Why?”

Ah-young tilted her head with a surprised expression.

“Because I see so many things that need to be changed. And I don’t like seeing you living so hard.”

“Well, everyone lives like this, so there’s nothing I can do. It’s not like I didn’t know about these circumstances from the beginning.”

“Just because we live like this now doesn’t mean we have to live like this in the future.”

“But there’s no other way, is there?”

“If there isn’t, we have to create one.”

Jun-hoo’s voice was filled with stubbornness.

Fixing the system was more difficult than fixing people, but he couldn’t give up.

If he couldn’t break the cycle of evil.

There was no future for the surgical departments.

They would really have to import surgeons from foreign countries with money.

“You don’t have any schedule today, do you?”

“Uh…… um…….”

“Why can’t you say it?”

“I think I might have a schedule that didn’t exist…….”

Ah-young smiled ambiguously and took out the cell phone she had put in her pocket.

The name saved on the phone was ‘Enemy’. It was probably a cute expression of the word ‘nemesis’.

“Yeah. Sung-hwan.”

-“…….”

“Okay. I’ll go now.”

Only after ending the call did Ah-young let out a sigh.

Even if she didn’t say it, it was easy to grasp what the situation was.

“Should I say this is worth having accommodation near the hospital?”

“Maybe?”

Ah-young laughed weakly at Jun-hoo’s dark humor.

“Jun-hoo, I’m sorry. It’s your first day in Korea, and I should be with you all day.”

“It’s okay. I’ll see you enough in the future.”

“That won’t happen. I never get tired of seeing you.”

“If you couldn’t say that, I wouldn’t hate you. Don’t worry about me and go. By the way, should I take you to the hospital? It’ll be a short trip if I hold you and use the footwork [a martial arts technique, implying he’d quickly carry her].”

“It’s not that urgent. You get some rest at home.”

Ah-young, who had gotten up from the bed, gently pressed Jun-hoo’s shoulder.

* * *

Jun-hoo, who was left alone in Ah-young’s house, stood by the window.

He stared silently at Shinwon University Hospital, which could be seen beyond the transparent glass window.

The surroundings were dark as the sun went down.

Perhaps that’s why.

The main building, which emitted light, looked like a lighthouse.

It had only been a day since he returned to Korea.

Jun-hoo was already planning for the future.

He had a lot to do.

He also had a lot of things he wanted to do.

He needed ten bodies to do them all.

Then the important thing was prioritization.

What was the most urgent and important thing?

First, it was choosing a hospital to return to as a surgeon.

A safe choice would be…….

Returning to the neurosurgery department of Shinwon University, which he had grown fond of.

Since his classmates and seniors and juniors were occupying professor positions, he wouldn’t need time to adapt separately.

Considering Jun-hoo’s reputation at Mayo.

He would likely be able to take a position as an associate professor without any difficulty.

For reference, the order of the professors in the department was as follows.

Assistant Professor.

Associate Professor.

Head of Department.

If Jun-hoo became an associate professor.

He would actually be about the fourth in command.

‘It’s all good…… but it seems like it won’t be easy to handle things because they’re people I know. There’s also the issue of promotion.’

Jun-hoo frowned and stroked his chin with one hand.

Jun-hoo’s real desire was to become the youngest head of neurosurgery.

This is because he could push his will firmly if he became the head of the department.

The decision-making process of doctors was closer to vertical than horizontal.

It was easy to go from top to bottom.

It was difficult to go from bottom to top.

The upper echelons often regarded actions going from bottom to top as rude and challenging authority.

In the case of Shinwon University.

Since they were all acquaintances, there was a high probability that they would be swayed by emotions when making judgments.

‘Should I seriously consider other hospitals?’

Jun-hoo, who was worried, soon slapped his forehead with one hand.

A foolish, empty laugh burst out.

He had forgotten something more important than choosing a hospital.

Jun-hoo had not yet finished ‘that’.

Only after finishing ‘that’.

He could start a proper surgeon life.

Beeeee.

While he was flustered by the unexpected difficulty, his cell phone vibrated.

He checked the number and it was an unknown number.

Jun-hoo answered it anyway.

“Who is this?”

“Jun-hoo. It’s been a while. It’s Sung-deok.”

“Hello. Director. No, should I call you Vice President now?”

The person who called was Pyo Sung-deok.

The man who was the head of the neurosurgery department at Seoul Shinwon University Hospital when Jun-hoo was a resident.

The man who is now the director of Busan Shinwon University Hospital and the vice president of the Korean Neurosurgical Association.

It had been seven years since he had seen his face, so it was not strange that his cell phone number had changed.

“What brings the Vice President to call me?”

“Because I heard that you returned to Korea. I heard that you completed the Boost Up program at Mayo? I also heard that you were the top student in all majors.”

“I worked hard and had some luck.”

“You’re still humble.”

After a short exchange, a long silence followed. Jun-hoo saved his words because the other person was like a slippery eel.

‘By the way, why did Sung-deok call?’

He couldn’t have just made a simple greeting call.

That was an idea that only someone who didn’t know Sung-deok would have.

Sung-deok was a meticulous and calculating person.

He must have contacted Jun-hoo with a clear intention and contract.

“By any chance, who did you hear my news from?”

“I wish I had heard it through your mouth, but that’s not the case. Your article was plastered all over the Medical Report.”

“Ah. Yes.”

Jun-hoo nodded.

He recalled the fact that he had interviewed Seo-yeon earlier that day.

He thought it would take at least two days for the article to come out, but he immediately hit the headlines today.

Seo-yeon seemed to have been greatly influenced by Jun-hoo.

Well, she almost died in a car accident and they did first aid together.

“The interview content was all good, but I feel like you subtly sniped at me. I must be mistaken, right?”

‘Was this the main point?’

‘Was he upset because the little resident who used to be under him was fighting back?’

‘Did he want to receive a personal apology?’

Jun-hoo chuckled and adjusted his grip on the phone.

“You’re not mistaken. You saw it right.”

Jun-hoo threw a fastball [a direct and confrontational statement].