A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 416

Chapter 81: Medical Company Commander (2)

“Sit there.”

“Yes, Commander.”

At Junhoo’s instruction, the patient sat on the bed.

The patient was quite frozen. His face was stiff, and his movements were unnatural.

“Why? Do you think I’m going to eat you?”

“No, sir.”

“Then why are you so nervous?”

“You’re an officer, aren’t you?”

The patient replied.

Unlike how medical officers lightly regard the military, the soldiers didn’t seem to take them so lightly.

It seemed they thought they could be penalized if they were caught doing something wrong.

Junhoo examined the patient’s uniform before the examination.

The name on the uniform was Kang Min-gi.

The rank was Private.

“How old are you?”

“I’m 21 years old.”

“You’re on leave from university, and then you came to the army?”

“Yes.”

At 21, he was in the prime of his youth.

He must have had many things he wanted to do.

Since he was drafted into the army, Junhoo couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. That’s why he wanted to treat Min-gi with extra care.

Being in the army is already upsetting enough.

To be sick in the army?

Then the psychological pain would be multiplied by the physical pain.

“How long has your back been bothering you?”

“About a week.”

“What happened?”

“I twisted my back while working. It’s not a major injury, just occasional throbbing.”

“Have you ever injured your back before?”

“No, I haven’t. My posture has been bad since I was studying, so it sometimes hurts, but it’s not severe.”

Min-gi spoke quickly.

“I’m really okay. I think I can just put on a patch and go.”

“You’re really something, aren’t you?”

“Yes? What do you mean all of a sudden…?”

“It’s like you’re trying to be both the patient and the doctor.”

Junhoo joked to lighten the mood.

But Min-gi tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what he meant.

‘Is this the gap between soldiers and officers?’

“Never mind. Pretend you didn’t hear that, and lie down on the bed.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Min-gi lay straight on the bed.

Junhoo immediately started the SLR [Straight Leg Raise] test.

The SLR test was also called the straight leg raise test.

It was a test to determine the presence of a disc issue by raising the patient’s leg and measuring the angle at which the leg rises.

“How is it now? Do you feel any pain in your buttocks or back?”

Junhoo raised Min-gi’s left leg to about 70 degrees.

If it were a disc issue, he should have felt pain around this point.

When the leg is raised, the tension in the back and leg increases, putting pressure on the disc.

“I don’t feel anything.”

“Really? What about this time?”

“It’s okay this time too.”

Even after testing both legs, Min-gi showed normal findings.

Then is it really just a simple sprain?

Junhoo stroked his chin.

He might have been overdoing the examination because he wanted to treat Min-gi well.

But there was still something unsettling.

Min-gi clearly said this:

‘My posture has been bad since I was studying.’

‘My back sometimes hurts.’

It was rare these days to find someone without back pain.

But he didn’t want to ignore the suspicious points.

“This time, take off your combat uniform top and lie face down.”

“I’m really okay with just a patch.”

“Stop telling me not to examine you.”

“I’m sorry.”

Min-gi, in his undershirt, lay face down on the bed.

*Slap!*

Junhoo placed his palm on Min-gi’s back. It was finally time to use the skills of a doctor from the Murim [martial arts world].

Junhoo drew internal energy from his dantian [energy center in the body].

He put the drawn internal energy into his palm.

*Woo-oong. Woo-oong.*

The internal energy passed through the shirt and skin.

Drawing a circular wave, it began to thoroughly scan the vertebrae.

The vertebral bones and spinal canal.

The spaces between the vertebrae.

Discs, etc.

Reconstructing the information sent by the internal energy, Junhoo drew a picture of Min-gi’s vertebrae in his head.

‘As expected…’

There was a problem between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae.

There was a very slight disc protrusion.

The degree was so slight that the straight leg raise test couldn’t detect the disc.

If the back was neglected and continuously strained by work.

Min-gi’s disc would have protruded further, and in the worst case, he might have had to undergo surgery.

‘Now that it’s come to this, I might as well treat it.’

Junhoo made up his mind.

If the disc wasn’t severely damaged, Junhoo could even treat it himself.

That was what differentiated Junhoo from general orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons.

Internal energy was emitted from Junhoo’s palm once again.

But this time, its form was different from before.

The internal energy that had spread out widely in a circle moved forward, tightly focused into one point.

The internal energy passed through the spine and nerves, advancing towards the disc.

The important thing was from now on.

It was necessary to delicately control the internal energy.

If the force pushing the disc in was too strong, a major disaster could occur where the disc burst in the front instead of the back.

Junhoo concentrated.

As if patting a baby’s bottom.

He patted the disc with internal energy, gently pushing it back into place.

In the meantime, he didn’t forget to prevent the annulus fibrosus [outer layer of the disc] surrounding the disc from tearing.

A task that required a high degree of concentration.

Cold sweat began to form on Junhoo’s forehead.

About a minute passed like that.

‘Hoo~’

Junhoo sighed inwardly and took his hand off Min-gi’s back.

The disc was back in place.

The fundamental reason that had been hurting Min-gi’s back was removed.

“C-Commander.”

“Why? Why are you stuttering?”

“My back is completely healed! It’s like the back pain was erased with an eraser.”

Min-gi, who had gotten up from the bed, widened his eyes like an owl.

Then he put on his combat uniform top again and bent his back like a shrimp.

“Wow! It’s so refreshing.”

“You like it that much?”

“Yes. Thank you so much!”

Junhoo was also happy to see Min-gi, who was as happy as a child.

Min-gi didn’t know how great a thing Junhoo had done, but it didn’t matter.

From the beginning, Junhoo didn’t become a doctor to gain fame or reputation.

He became a doctor to shake off the powerlessness of having to watch patients suffer.

Therefore, Min-gi’s smiling face itself was a great reward for Junhoo.

“But how did my back get better just by touching it with your hand?”

Min-gi asked, marveling.

He couldn’t mention internal energy.

Junhoo hesitated for a moment.

“Commander, are you perhaps a miracle healer?”

“Well, let’s just say that.”

Junhoo chuckled.

Perhaps it was because his tension had finally been relieved.

Or perhaps it was thanks to the pain being gone, Min-gi suddenly became talkative.

“Thank you. Thank you so much!”

Min-gi left the company commander’s office, leaving Junhoo alone in the room.

Junhoo suddenly thought that being a military doctor might be as rewarding as being in a hospital.

* * *

“Did you get a good checkup?”

Jeongmin, a medical supply private, asked Min-gi as he came out of the company commander’s office.

“Wow! The new company commander is a real legend! He gave me a very thorough examination, and the pain was gone just by putting his hand on my back.”

Min-gi replied with an excited expression.

“That doesn’t make sense. You’re saying he can heal you just by putting his hand on your back?”

Seonghwan rolled his eyes and continued.

“Wasn’t your back perfectly fine in the first place?”

“No. My back really hurt. You know I’m not the type to fake illness, right?”

“Well, you’ve never skipped work.”

“Did you get a prescription?”

When Jeongmin asked, Min-gi shook his head.

“Why would I need medicine when my back is perfectly fine?”

“Min-gi, you seem to be completely smitten with the company commander.”

“How can I not be? He treated me so wonderfully! Then have a good one.”

Min-gi left the treatment room with a light step.

Seonghwan followed him.

Jeongmin stared blankly at the scene before putting the mentholatum patch and disposable gloves in the medicine cabinet.

“Sergeant Lee Taewon. Didn’t I tell you? There’s something unusual about this company commander.”

Jeongmin said, looking at Taewon, who was sitting on the sofa.

Taewon was already flipping through *Maximum*, a magazine that soldiers aspire to have.

“We’ll see about that. You’ll get burned if you trust people too easily.”

“But aren’t they our direct superior? Shouldn’t we trust them?”

“You can trust them as much as you want.”

Taewon replied in a nonchalant voice.

‘Is it because of that incident…’

Jeongmin muttered inwardly.

Jeongmin heard from Sergeant Kim Hyun-chul that Taewon had a reason to be greatly disappointed in the previous company commander.

In the past, there was a soldier in the unit who had severe abdominal pain.

The previous company commander kept prescribing painkillers to the patient.

The soldier continued to complain of pain and eventually fainted.

And at the Korean Capital Hospital, where he was taken late, the patient was diagnosed with peritonitis [inflammation of the peritoneum, the membrane lining the abdominal wall and organs].

Even though his appendix had burst, he suppressed the pain with painkillers, and the inflammation spread throughout his abdomen.

Fortunately, the soldier didn’t die.

But he went through unnecessary hardships as a result.

-I didn’t know it was appendicitis. He didn’t say it hurt that much even when I pressed his stomach.

Taewon was completely turned off by the previous company commander’s ‘that remark’.

From then on, he hated military doctors.

‘Well, the image of military doctors is already a mess anyway.’

Jeongmin nodded to himself.

But why?

Jeongmin had expectations that the new company commander might be different from the other company commanders.

He ordered that all soldiers be examined directly.

(Usually, the medical staff screens the patients first, and then the company commander examines them. Why? Because military doctors hate seeing patients. If you bother the military doctor, the blame can fall on the medical staff.)

And he gave such a good examination that Min-gi was making a fuss.

There was another reason why Jeongmin’s expectations were high.

Out of curiosity, he searched the company commander’s name on a portal site [search engine].

The news article section was filled with the company commander’s name.

He had trained at a huge hospital in the United States, succeeded in difficult surgeries, helped economically disadvantaged patients, and was even active as a YouTuber.

Considering the company commander’s reputation, Jeongmin’s expectations might have been rather low.

“Sergeant Lee Taewon.”

A soldier came into the treatment room and stood in front of Taewon.

It was Seungbeom, a private who was about to finish his term as a medical assistant. Seungbeom was in the same treatment department as Taewon and was Taewon’s assistant.

“Why?”

“Could you come to the ward for a moment?”

“Why?”

“Sung In-ho, the patient who was hospitalized with a high fever, his IV line came out, so we need to put it back in…”

“You can put it back in, can’t you?”

“Well, I tried about 5 times, but I failed every time…”

Seungbeom’s voice grew smaller and smaller.

“Ugh, you idiot. You’re almost a corporal, and you still can’t put in an IV properly?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Let’s go.”

Taewon threw the magazine he was reading on the sofa, looking annoyed.

He left the treatment room and entered the ward.

Seungbeom followed him like a criminal.

“Medic! Your assistant has turned my arm into a beehive!”

Sung In-ho complained as soon as he saw Taewon.

When Taewon looked, In-ho’s left arm was indeed a mess. The blood vessels were swollen and bluish.

Taewon glared at Seungbeom.

Seungbeom lowered his head.

“What’s the patient’s temperature?”

“It’s 37.7 degrees [Celsius].”

“Then he needs to keep getting IV fluids. Anyway, I told you not to call me Medic, right?”

“If I don’t call the medic a medic, what should I call them?”

In-ho retorted.

‘Medic’ was a derogatory term for medical staff.

It was a term attached because they only roughly touched the patient without knowing how to treat them properly.

“You better shut your mouth if you don’t want your right arm to become a beehive too.”

Taewon went up to the bed.

He tied In-ho’s right arm with a rubber band.

The blood vessels were not easily visible on his skinny arm.

‘Damn it. I had a hard time putting it in last time, why did the IV line have to come out?’

Taewon grumbled.

Then he rubbed the slightly protruding blood vessels with a disinfectant swab.

After fixing the blood vessel with his thumb.

He boldly pierced the blood vessel with the needle.

*Thwack!*

Ah…

He missed. Blood didn’t form at the tip of the needle.

His experience as a sergeant was not living up to its name.