A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 454

Chapter 88: The Unending Cold Snap (5)

They have to amputate the toe.

…Inho denied the truth.

He chose to believe that the doctor at the Korean Capital Hospital was a quack spouting nonsense.

To cut off a toe for a mere case of frostbite…

Wasn’t that a bit excessive?

“Company Commander, do I really have to have my toe amputated?”

After leaving the examination room, Inho cautiously asked the medical company commander.

The company commander didn’t answer.

But his gloomy expression said it all.

‘You’re a quack too.’

‘You’re just trying to take the easiest way out because you lack the skills.’

Inho resented the company commander in his heart.

The ride back to the unit in the company commander’s car.

The car was silent.

The company commander didn’t speak, and neither did Inho. The silence had become a taboo, as if it shouldn’t be broken.

“Honestly, you probably can’t grasp the situation right now.”

Those were the first words the company commander spoke after parking the car in the unit’s parking lot.

“Ah, yes.”

Inho replied listlessly.

His trust in the company commander had already hit rock bottom.

In truth, Inho knew that the company commander was blameless.

It was Inho who had gotten frostbite.

It was Inho who had sought medical attention too late.

And strictly speaking, it was the dermatologist at the Capital Hospital who had said the toe needed to be amputated.

But Inho couldn’t control his twisted anger.

He felt like he would suffocate from the unreasonable situation and stifling emotions unless he hated someone.

And the direction of that anger inevitably turned towards the company commander, who was right next to him.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect a proper treatment.”

“Sigh. Well, you’ll need some time. Take this.”

The company commander took ‘something’ out of his combat uniform top and handed it over.

Inho was greatly surprised after confirming ‘it’.

His eyes widened.

What the company commander handed him was a 4-night, 5-day reward vacation pass.

“Why are you giving this to me…”

“You don’t really trust the Capital Hospital’s diagnosis, do you?”

The company commander hit the nail on the head.

Inho felt a guilty twinge in his heart.

“Talk to your platoon leader and get treatment at an outside hospital. That would be better, right?”

“Th-thank you. Company Commander.”

Inho bowed deeply to the company commander.

To think he would give a vacation pass to encourage him to go to the hospital.

While Inho was at a loss for what to do.

Junhoo placed both hands on Inho’s shoulders.

“The situation is desperate, but I haven’t given up yet. If we keep trying, there might be another way.”

Junhoo’s words were meaningful.

And Inho would later come to understand the meaning of those words.

Adding the 2-night, 3-day vacation pass that the platoon had given him to the 4-night, 5-day vacation pass that Junhoo had given him.

Inho went on a long vacation.

His parents had made reservations in advance, and he visited several hospitals famous for treating frostbite, undergoing examinations and treatments.

The results were shocking.

Those supposedly great hospitals said the same thing as the doctor at the Korean Capital Hospital.

The toe cannot be recovered.

There is no other way but to amputate the toe.

There’s still some time, but.

At least within a month, the amputation surgery must be performed to prevent the necrosis [tissue death] from spreading, they said.

The day Inho returned to the unit after his long vacation.

Despair gripped Inho.

He was now in a situation where he had no choice but to cut off his toe.

Like an unavoidable fate.

There are many incurable diseases in the world, so what’s the big deal about amputating one toe?

Some indifferent person might say that.

But to Inho, his toe was not just a toe.

Inho was a promising table tennis player.

Although he wasn’t selected for the Sangmu team [the athletic corps of the South Korean Armed Forces], he had achieved excellent results several times at the National Sports Festival.

If he didn’t have a toe.

He could no longer pursue his dream of being a table tennis player.

Because he wouldn’t be able to chase the ball properly.

After work hours.

Inho tried moving around the table tennis court without using his big toe. It was definitely slower than before.

Thud!

Inho collapsed to the ground.

Frustration weighed heavily on his shoulders. He couldn’t stand any longer.

Just because of frostbite…

Just because he was late for treatment due to being mindful of his superiors…

He couldn’t believe that his dream had been shattered.

The sky felt cruel and resentful.

Inho barely endured each day, swallowed by depression.

Then he heard that the medical company commander was looking for him and headed to the medical unit.

-The situation is desperate, but I haven’t given up yet. If we keep trying, there might be another way.

Inho suddenly recalled the words the company commander had said to him.

Could it be that the company commander had found a cure?

That expectation raised its head like a flower blooming between the asphalt.

Inho dragged his barely moving big toe and quickened his pace towards the medical unit.

* * *

“I’m putting my faith in you, Doctor.”

“Oh, please don’t expect too much. It’s burdensome.”

A middle-aged man sitting next to Junhoo in the medical company commander’s office waved his hands. The middle-aged man’s name was Moon Kyung-rae.

Moon Kyung-rae was not a doctor but an acupuncturist. Next to his feet was a wooden box containing acupuncture tools.

How should Inho’s frostbite be treated?

Is there really no other option but amputation?

Junhoo struggled day and night.

It would have been easier to just accept it as an unavoidable tragedy and give up, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

The image of Inho in despair kept popping into his head, tormenting Junhoo.

And it wasn’t just that.

The fact that he couldn’t properly treat Inho stimulated Junhoo’s trauma of helplessness.

The deep-rooted wound of Junhoo, having to merely watch people in pain and suffering.

So Junhoo desperately searched for a cure.

While looking through various papers and articles.

Junhoo happened to find an article.

It was an article about an acupuncturist who had saved a toe that was originally supposed to be amputated with acupuncture.

“Hmm…”

Scanning the article, Junhoo stroked his chin quietly.

Junhoo, who was from the Murim [a fictional world of martial arts] and favorable to Qi healing [energy healing] and traditional medicine, still found it hard to trust the article.

He couldn’t shake the suspicion that the article had omitted something important or exaggerated some elements.

If amputation was necessary, it meant that the affected tissue was already necrotic beyond repair.

Could acupuncture really overcome such adverse conditions?

Regardless of his doubts about the article.

Junhoo inquired about the acupuncturist who had performed the treatment.

If you’re drowning, shouldn’t you grab at a straw?

As a result of contacting the internet news site that published the article.

He was barely able to get an introduction to Moon Kyung-rae.

And as a result.

After Junhoo’s repeated requests, Moon Kyung-rae came to visit the unit in person.

“Doctor, I have a question.”

“You’re asking how I treated the patient with acupuncture, right?”

Moon Kyung-rae took the lead.

“Hahaha.”

Junhoo replaced his answer with an awkward laugh. Well, in this situation, that was the only thing to be curious about.

“Honestly, I didn’t think treatment would be possible either.”

“……”

“The toe amputation surgery was already scheduled anyway, right? So I thought that even if I failed the treatment, it would be no loss.”

“……”

“I treated him without any pressure, and I guess the result was good.”

Moon Kyung-rae answered modestly.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Just as the conversation was ending, a knock was heard. When he said to come in, Inho entered the company commander’s office.

In the few days he hadn’t seen him.

Inho’s appearance was a mess.

His cheeks were sunken, and his cheekbones protruded.

It was clear how much he had been suffering without having to ask.

“Salute.”

“Yes. Why don’t you sit there?”

Junhoo offered a chair, and Inho sat down.

“This is acupuncturist Moon Kyung-rae. He’s here to see you at your special request.”

“Hello.”

“Yes. It’s nice to meet you… but it doesn’t seem like a pleasant situation.”

Moon Kyung-rae smiled bitterly and continued.

“Let me see your toe first.”

“Yes.”

Inho took off his combat boots and socks.

The blackened, hideous big toe revealed itself once again.

Moon Kyung-rae looked at Inho’s toe for a long time before opening his acupuncture bag.

Inside the bag, needles of various thicknesses and lengths were neatly arranged.

“Are you going straight into acupuncture?”

“Yes. I have to.”

“Doctor, what are the chances of treatment in your opinion?”

Junhoo asked cautiously.

He was worried about whether it was right to say these things with Inho right in front of him.

But the chances of treatment were an important issue.

Especially for traditional medicine, which people were skeptical about.

In fact, Inho didn’t seem to welcome Moon Kyung-rae’s treatment very much.

“You won’t know until you try.”

Moon Kyung-rae laughed heartily.

Following the acupuncture.

Moon Kyung-rae inserted various needles into Inho’s toe.

He thought that inserting about six needles was a lot, but Moon Kyung-rae inserted as many as 20 needles.

The areas where the needles were placed, the types of needles, and the depths of the needles were all different.

Inho’s toe had become like a hedgehog.

“Sss…”

When placing needles in some areas.

Inho bit his lip as if in pain.

But Moon Kyung-rae focused solely on acupuncture.

His eyes were serious, and his hands didn’t tremble.

During the acupuncture.

Junhoo didn’t just stand by and watch.

Perhaps it was his Murim nature.

He carefully analyzed which needles were penetrating which blood vessels and how deep they were.

‘Acupuncturists are definitely different.’

Junhoo admired inwardly.

Moon Kyung-rae was placing needles in blood points that Junhoo didn’t even know about.

About 30 minutes passed like that.

The acupuncture was completely finished.

“How do you feel?”

Moon Kyung-rae asked Inho.

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t you feel your toe getting warmer?”

“No. I don’t know.”

“Really?”

Moon Kyung-rae tilted his head as if dissatisfied with something.

“Mr. Seo, can we talk alone for a moment?”

“Sure. Jungmin, help Inho and take him to the ward.”

“Yes, Company Commander.”

As Jungmin took Inho away, only the two of them remained in the company commander’s office.

“To be honest, I don’t know if the treatment will work.”

“What’s the reason?”

Junhoo asked in surprise.

At least on the surface, Moon Kyung-rae seemed confident in the treatment and skilled in acupuncture.

So why was he suddenly talking weakly?

“First, this patient’s condition is much more serious than the frostbite patient I treated last time.”

“……”

“And second, I’m worried that the patient won’t be able to receive consistent treatment.”

Moon Kyung-rae’s explanation continued.

Originally, frostbite treatment required hospitalization in a traditional Korean medicine hospital for more than a month.

But Inho was not in a situation where he could do that.

He couldn’t take a vacation for more than a month and stay outside.

And Moon Kyung-rae couldn’t visit the unit every day to give acupuncture.

It was a matter of consistent care.

“I’d like to hear Mr. Seo’s opinion. What should we do?”

“The first problem is not something that you or I can do anything about. Whether the treatment will work properly or not is up to fate.”

“You understand. I feel much more relieved now.”

Moon Kyung-rae smiled contentedly.

He knew how much Junhoo was expecting from him.

Why else would he have contacted him after seeing the news article?

But Moon Kyung-rae was not a divine doctor.

He was just doing his best to treat the patient.

It was just that luck had also followed him, and he was able to cure the patient.

“And as for the second problem… I don’t think you need to worry.”

“Yes?”

Moon Kyung-rae, surprised, asked back like a fool.

“Isn’t the second problem the biggest problem? The patient is not in a situation where he can receive consistent treatment?”

“If we can persuade Inho, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“So what does that mean?”

Frustrated, Moon Kyung-rae pounded his chest. He found it difficult to understand the point Junhoo was making.

“It means that since you can’t come and go from the unit, I’ll put the needles in myself.”

Junhoo smiled brightly.

“I’ve perfectly memorized the acupuncture you just did.”