A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 494

The Martial Surgeon – Episode 494

Chapter 96: A Thousand Hardships (5)

That evening.

An upscale Korean beef restaurant near the hospital.

Jun-hoo and the hospital director were grilling meat in a private room.

Sizzle!

Bright red Korean beef landed on the hot grill. The tantalizing sound stimulated the sense of smell first, followed by the savory aroma.

The meat quickly turned golden brown.

Before he could even chew it a few times, a piece of meat melted in his mouth.

Leaving a rich, meaty flavor in his mouth, no, all the way down his throat, before disappearing.

Pour, pour, pour.

Jun-hoo poured soju [Korean rice wine] into the hospital director’s glass.

“Would you like me to pour you a drink as well?”

“You… drink alcohol?”

The hospital director’s eyebrows twitched.

“Am I not allowed to drink?”

“It’s not that you’re not allowed, but I didn’t think you would. You’re always thinking about patients, awake or asleep. I thought you wouldn’t even take a sip of alcohol in case of an emergency surgery.”

“I think it’s okay to enjoy myself today.”

“True. It’s good to unwind sometimes.”

The hospital director took the soju bottle from Jun-hoo and poured the clear liquor into Jun-hoo’s glass.

Jun-hoo emptied his glass in one gulp.

It had been a while.

Since soju tasted as sweet as sugar.

A difficult surgery.

A surgery where the patient’s life and recovery couldn’t be guaranteed.

A surgery where failing would have put his department head position at risk by falling out of favor with the hospital director.

It tasted even sweeter because it was alcohol he was drinking after successfully completing a surgery that felt like the ultimate burden.

“Director, wasn’t it too early for you to retire? You looked like you could have easily worked for at least another five years.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Young people only think about exploiting old folks. What a terrible world.”

The hospital director clicked his tongue and grumbled.

However, there was a subtly pleasant tone in his voice.

Because Jun-hoo was praising the hospital director as an outstanding surgeon.

“I’ll pour my own from now on.”

“Suit yourself.”

Jun-hoo filled his glass and drank it down in quick succession.

His Adam’s apple bobbed twice.

“Director, you know?”

“Know what?”

“I don’t particularly like you.”

“I’ve known that from the start. Your acting skills are terrible. Not even bad acting, more like toe acting?”

The hospital director replied calmly.

Jun-hoo only cared about patients.

Jun-hoo’s mentor was Park Jae-hyun.

In that case, he was destined to repel and distance himself from the hospital director like the N and S poles of a magnet.

“Still, I was a little sad. Even though you’re a snob, your skills were the real deal.”

Jun-hoo’s face flushed red as he spoke.

“If you hadn’t been here today? Then the surgery would definitely have been half-baked.”

“Good to know.”

“Thank you. This much, at least for today, is sincere.”

Jun-hoo bowed his head and said.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve. Daring to use me as an assistant.”

The hospital director chuckled.

He poured the soju that Jun-hoo had poured for him into his mouth.

“I had a thought for the first time.”

“What thought?”

“Maybe you and I are the same.”

“You despise me, and I think you’re pathetic. But we’re alike?”

“Yes.”

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

It wasn’t just empty words.

Nor was he trying to act friendly.

Jun-hoo sincerely felt that way.

Jun-hoo stopped at nothing to save patients. Using the hospital director as an assistant today was in the same vein.

But when you think about it carefully.

Wasn’t the hospital director the same?

The hospital director also stopped at nothing to advance his own career.

Only the destination was different.

The way to get to the destination was virtually identical.

Perhaps that’s why.

Jun-hoo felt that fully understanding the hospital director might be an important key to transcending the realm of Harmony.

The Martial Alliance Leader who had reached the Profound realm…

…had a subtly cruel side.

The Heavenly Demon who had reached the realm of Detachment…

…had a subtly compassionate side.

The commonality between the two.

Was that they simultaneously possessed the contradictory principles of Righteousness and Evil.

If so, the realization that Righteousness and Evil are two sides of the same coin.

Wouldn’t that realization be a breakthrough in the frustrating current situation?

However, even if he knew it in his head, it was too overwhelming and uncomfortable to follow in his heart.

To say that he, who is altruistic.

Self-sacrificing.

And dedicated, was the same as the hospital director felt like an insult to Jun-hoo himself.

Jun-hoo briefly conveyed what he felt to the hospital director.

Unsurprisingly.

The hospital director scoffed.

“You’re definitely drunk. You’re spouting nonsense.”

“I must be really drunk.”

Jun-hoo’s tongue was slightly twisted.

His pupils were also faintly dilated.

“Director, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

“Are you deliberately ignoring the neurosurgery department?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Professor Kim Han-sang’s bullying is beyond words, you know?”

“Ah! That?”

The hospital director picked up a piece of Korean beef and swallowed it before continuing.

“Were you upset that I didn’t give Director Seo any support?”

“Yes. Frankly, wasn’t it a problem that could have been solved with just one word from you?”

Jun-hoo expressed his blatant dissatisfaction.

Director Seo is my man.

I won’t stand for anyone touching him.

If the hospital director had just said this.

Jun-hoo wouldn’t have had to fight tooth and nail with Choi Jin-goo, who was once his nemesis but is now his right-hand man.

Jun-hoo wouldn’t have had to extract medical statistics from the Medical Affairs Department to threaten the professors.

The change of power would have flowed like water.

And wouldn’t that have been the right thing to do?

Since he had scouted him and brought him here, he should have given Jun-hoo strong support.

But what happened?

From Jun-hoo’s inauguration to the present, the hospital director had been standing by with his hands behind his back, just staring at the neurosurgery department.

As if watching a fire in someone else’s house was fun.

The hospital director kept his mouth shut for a long time.

He subtly scanned Jun-hoo up and down.

Uncomfortable with the silence, Jun-hoo emptied his glass one after another. He had already drunk two bottles of soju.

Even under the room’s lighting, it was clear at a glance that Jun-hoo’s face was flushed red.

“Why do you think I did that?”

“I thought you were trying to suppress me to death.”

“You’ve underestimated me too much.”

“I have?”

“Yes. You’re a tiger cub. You’re planning to take over the neurosurgery department and expand your power, then bite my neck. Aren’t you?”

“…….”

“That’s why you didn’t go to Jewon University Hospital, where Park Jae-hyun was, and why you left Seoul to come all the way to Busan.”

Jun-hoo’s hair stood on end at the hospital director’s insight.

Goosebumps rose on his arms.

As if he had used telepathy.

The hospital director had perfectly seen through his mind.

But he didn’t show it.

Revealing his inner thoughts was something only amateurs did.

“I don’t have the same desire for power as you do, Director. I’d rather see one more patient than suck up to superiors and play golf.”

“Is that really so?”

“Yes. So, are you going to continue to pretend you don’t see the neurosurgery department?”

“That’s what I’m planning to do. From now on, too.”

The hospital director threw a fastball [direct statement].

He thought that a weak connection had been formed because they had worked together on surgery.

It seemed like it was all a misunderstanding.

The conversation continued for nearly an hour.

The drinking session ended without any gain, and Jun-hoo staggered away from the Korean beef restaurant.

But!

The farther he got, the more Jun-hoo’s steps regained their balance.

His bent waist and shoulders straightened.

His walking speed also increased.

He had completely blown away the intoxication with his inner energy.

In fact, he had only pretended to be drunk in front of the hospital director.

He wanted to take this opportunity to gauge the hospital director’s true feelings.

As expected, he’s a hopeless human being.

He’s a selfish human being who only knows himself.

He hasn’t evolved even a little bit.

While recalling the conversation with the hospital director.

Jun-hoo’s face crumpled.

If he had to admit that he was on the same level as that disgusting human being in order to reach the realm of Profoundity [a higher level of martial arts mastery].

He would rather stay in the realm of Harmony for the rest of his life.

Jun-hoo resolved.

* * *

Ten days had passed since the surgery.

Jun-hoo felt as if the day he had struggled to save the patient by helicopter was years ago.

That’s because so much had happened in those ten days.

The biggest change.

Was that Jun-hoo had been heating up the media for a while.

There were two reasons for this.

One was thanks to Jun-hoo’s treatment of Assemblyman Go Hyun-cheol, who had attempted suicide.

Since Assemblyman Go Hyun-cheol was a political heavyweight, Jun-hoo, who had saved him, was showered with spotlights from all directions.

What was the surgery process like?

What is the prognosis after surgery, etc.

Almost all news outlets requested interviews with Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo willingly accepted all the interviews, which were as annoying as summer mosquitoes.

‘I will jump into politics and change the medical system. Jun-hoo, you become a star surgeon. Open the way for medical students to use you as a guide and become neurosurgeons with a sense of duty.’

Jun-hoo never forgot his promise with his mentor, Park Jae-hyun, for even a second.

So, he was willing to show his face wherever he could.

He had already raised his awareness among the younger generation through Newtube [a fictional video platform].

But when he plastered his face all over the media, the older generation also began to recognize Jun-hoo rapidly.

When he walked through the hospital lobby, the older generation would whisper about Jun-hoo.

There were also some cases where they asked for autographs and photos.

Although Go Hyun-cheol had not easily regained consciousness.

His condition was steadily improving.

The pale complexion had returned to red.

His vitals were like a calm lake without waves. Various blood test values also returned to normal.

It was a natural result.

Because Jun-hoo was actively involved in Go Hyun-cheol’s recovery.

Jun-hoo squeezed out his busy time.

He visited the trauma surgery intensive care unit as if it were his own home.

He infused Go Hyun-cheol with inner energy to maximize his natural healing power.

So, Go Hyun-cheol’s progress could only get faster day by day….

But.

To Jun-hoo’s already hot popularity.

An incident occurred that was like pouring a drum of oil on the fire.

The patient with the giant cerebral aneurysm that Jun-hoo had operated on.

He offered Jun-hoo to appear on a TV show.

He asked if he could appear on the program because he was a PD [Producer-Director] of a public broadcasting health program.

There was no reason for Jun-hoo to refuse outright….

Because he had decided to do anything to become a star surgeon.

So, he took time out on the weekend to visit the filming location.

Heartwarming appearance.

Witty speech.

Professional knowledge.

Familiarity that has arisen from recently showing his face in the media, etc.

Various factors worked together.

Jun-hoo got a golden opportunity to participate as a panelist for a month in a row.

Outpatient reservations are coming in like a tide.

He handles 5-6 surgeries a day.

He visits the publishing house to do recording interviews for his autobiography.

He shoots Newtube.

And what else does he do, and what else does he do….

Jun-hoo’s schedule was so tight that it was hard to fit a needle in.

But Jun-hoo endured.

He erased his fatigue through energy circulation and lived an energetic life.

He endured with the sense of duty to steadily revive the sinking neurosurgery department.

Then one day.

It was a day when there were no surgeries and only outpatient clinics.

It was a day when he was filling his hunger with a sandwich in the clinic during lunch.

Beep, beep, beep.

The cell phone in his doctor’s gown vibrated.

When he checked the number, it was the intensive care unit.

“Yes, this is Seo Jun-hoo.”

-Director, I have an urgent notification. Is it okay to talk?

The nurse’s voice was as fast as if someone was chasing her.

Jun-hoo’s slightly bent waist straightened. The hand holding the cell phone tightened.

-It’s a notification about the politician patient. He just regained consciousness.