A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 515

Chapter 101: As Planned (1)

“Yes, Professor. This is Professor Cheon.”

Cheon Seok-young held the phone tightly to his cheek and continued speaking.

“Is now a good time to talk?”

-Why? What’s wrong? You sound a little shaky.

“Our plan has completely fallen apart. What should we do now?”

-Tell me specifically.

Cheon Seok-young recounted the conversation he had just had with Jun-hoo to Kim Han-sang, word for word.

His voice was a masterpiece of aggrieved appeal.

-So, he’s pitting you and Professor Jeong against each other? And threatening to transfer the one who doesn’t perform well?

“Yes. I never thought Director Seo had such a talent for driving people into a corner. I was completely overwhelmed a moment ago.”

The moment in the operating room flashed back to him like a nightmare.

Cheon Seok-young’s face twisted in agony.

Cheon Seok-young goes on strike.

The epilepsy clinic, already short on surgeons, becomes precarious.

Jun-hoo’s position weakens.

Kim Han-sang regains power.

The plan the two had devised seemed perfect.

But Jun-hoo had made a preemptive move, and they were in danger of not even getting the first button right [referring to the initial step or stage of their plan].

-Tch! He’s got a nose for these things.

“That’s what I’m saying. I’m about to be transferred if I go on strike like this. What should I do?”

-Isn’t Director Seo just trying to scare you? It won’t be easy to run the epilepsy clinic if even one of you is gone.

“Maybe. But that’s not how I felt. He spoke with snake eyes, and he seemed full of venom.”

Cheon Seok-young shuddered with anxiety.

Jun-hoo was a man who got things done.

Since his appointment as director, nothing Jun-hoo had pushed for had failed to materialize.

Even the vice president had opposed it.

The fact that this epilepsy clinic project had been approved was proof enough.

And that wasn’t all.

His skills as a surgeon were unmatched.

Surgeries that took other surgeons five to six hours, Jun-hoo would complete in two to three hours.

And that was true for any field related to neurosurgery.

If his work was sloppy or inaccurate, they could find fault with it, but…

Even that was impossible.

At least in matters related to surgery, no one could touch Jun-hoo.

“Director Seo,” Cheon Seok-young took a breath and continued, “is the kind of person who could take over epilepsy surgeries by finishing his own surgeries faster, even if I go on strike and get transferred.”

-Just hold on for a few more days. I’ll look into some information.

“I’m counting on you, Professor.”

Hanging up, Cheon Seok-young sighed deeply.

In just a short time,

his reflection in the hallway’s glass wall looked several years older.

It was all because of Jun-hoo.

* * *

The next morning.

Jun-hoo was absent from the department’s conference. At that time, he was visiting the chairman’s room in the VIP ward.

There were already guests in the room.

The vice president, the hospital director, and the director of medical affairs.

These were the top figures who controlled the hospital.

There was also a ward nurse, but she stood far from the bed, frozen stiff.

In military terms,

it was like a private being among generals.

For the nurse, this place must have been suffocating.

“You can go back to the station, nurse.”

“But I need to be here…”

“I’ll call you separately if I need you.”

As Jun-hoo sent the nurse out, the others’ gazes turned to him.

“Finally, the main character has appeared.”

The hospital director greeted Jun-hoo with an exaggerated voice and gestures.

Always with the showmanship…

Jun-hoo clicked his tongue inwardly.

Approaching the bed, Jun-hoo bowed lightly to the group.

“Isn’t the chairman being discharged too soon? Wouldn’t it be better to monitor his condition a bit more at the hospital?”

Vice President Jeong Hyeon-jeong asked abruptly.

“The chairman has recovered sufficiently. Being in the ward could actually worsen his condition.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes. It’s a disease of restlessness. It’s a disease that can only be cured by leaving the hospital.”

“Hahaha. You’re the only one who understands me.”

The chairman laughed heartily.

Jeong Hyeon-jeong tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand, and the hospital director and the director of medical affairs laughed along with the chairman.

Even laughter had a hierarchy.

“I’m saying I’m fine, but everyone keeps telling me to stay in the hospital.”

“Wasn’t the chairman in critical condition? Everyone is just worried.”

“But if Director Seo says it’s okay, then it’s okay, right?”

“Of course. Director Seo, who treated the chairman, will know his condition most accurately.”

The director of medical affairs, who had been silent, chimed in.

He was trying to imprint his presence even once more by using Jun-hoo.

The events that had unfolded in the Righteous Sect Alliance [a reference to complex power dynamics and alliances, possibly from a historical or fictional context] were being tiresomely repeated in the modern university hospital.

Where people lived was all the same.

Of course, Jun-hoo was no exception.

“Director Seo, come closer.”

The chairman beckoned Jun-hoo with a gesture. Jun-hoo moved closer to the bed.

The chairman suddenly opened a drawer and took out his wallet.

What is it?

Is he going to give me pocket money?

As everyone wondered, another twist unfolded.

What the chairman held out was a business card. Jun-hoo politely received the card with both hands.

The card was made of a unique plastic material.

The chairman’s name and phone number were written on a transparent background.

In the upper left corner of the card, the number ’10’ was written.

He had simply handed over a business card, but the people around him, except for Jun-hoo, were greatly surprised.

Especially the hospital director and the director of medical affairs.

The two looked back and forth between Jun-hoo and the business card with envious eyes.

Quick-witted Jun-hoo realized that this business card was special.

“Are you disappointed that I’m only giving you a business card? Would you rather receive an incentive?”

“No, I’m just taken aback by such a generous gift.”

“Huh? I just gave you a business card?”

A mischievous look flashed in the chairman’s eyes as he asked.

The chairman was clearly testing Jun-hoo.

“The chairman’s business card must carry a different weight.”

“In what way?”

“Isn’t there a ’10’ written in the upper left corner of the card?”

Jun-hoo pointed to the number and continued, “Perhaps it means that I’m the tenth person to receive this card. It means that this isn’t a card the chairman gives to just anyone.”

“Your eye for detail is amazing. You could even get salted shrimp in a temple [an idiom referring to someone who is resourceful and can find value even in unexpected places].”

The chairman laughed heartily.

His uvula was clearly visible.

Again, the reactions of the people around him were different.

A smile of approval hung on Jeong Hyeon-jeong’s lips.

The hospital director and the director of medical affairs wore expressions as if they had eaten dung [a strong expression of disgust or displeasure].

They seemed to be in pain because Jun-hoo was monopolizing the chairman’s spotlight and even receiving rewards.

“You only get one chance. If you contact me with something trivial, you might regret it for the rest of your life.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Jun-hoo carefully put the business card in his gown pocket.

Was it because he had obtained a wish ticket?

He felt as secure as if he had a thousand troops behind him.

Should I just ask for it here and now, to officially purchase the epilepsy machine?

For a moment, that desire surged, but he calmed it down with a deep breath.

The epilepsy clinic was a battle between the vice president and himself.

He couldn’t drag the chairman into it.

The conversation with the chairman ended ten minutes later.

“Director Seo, let’s talk for a moment.”

As he was about to go down to the outpatient clinic, the hospital director called out to Jun-hoo.

* * *

VIP ward reception room.

Jun-hoo was drinking coffee with the hospital director and the director of medical affairs.

“You know, you seem to have completely won the chairman’s heart. I can’t believe you received that legendary business card.”

The hospital director opened the conversation.

“I doubted my own eyes. Isn’t that the business card that he only gives to each of his family members? I wonder if even three people other than his family have received it?”

The director of medical affairs stared at Jun-hoo’s gown.

To be precise,

he was staring at the business card that he had put in his gown pocket. His eyes gleamed with envy and jealousy.

“By the way, shouldn’t you use the business card you just received soon?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s because of the epilepsy clinic. I don’t see much chance of success in my eyes.”

The hospital director clicked his tongue.

Of course, he still didn’t know that Jun-hoo had brought in the machine at his own expense.

“Your reputation is already sky-high. Everyone will support you even if you just stay still.”

“…”

“Why are you fighting with the vice president and cutting into your own flesh [harming yourself or your own interests]?”

In the hospital director’s view, Jun-hoo was pathetic.

He had become a director at a young age.

He was recognized by those around him.

He had appeared on health programs and gained public popularity.

Even his recently published essay had topped the charts in both online and offline bookstores.

Today, he had even received the chairman’s business card, etc.

But what was he lacking that he would take on a challenge that would ruin his career?

The hospital director wanted to enter Jun-hoo’s mind, if possible.

“It’s not my goal to just live well and prosper. If possible, I want to create a world where patients and surgical colleagues can live well.”

“Your ambition is admirable, but it’s just an ideal.”

The hospital director shook his head and retorted.

“There’s a limit to what you can do.”

“Then I’ll do it to the limit. That’s my capacity.”

“But isn’t there something contradictory in what you just said?”

The director of medical affairs joined the conversation for the first time in a while.

“What contradiction are you talking about?”

“You say you care about your colleagues, but why did you pit the professors against each other? I heard you threatened to transfer the professor with low robotic surgery proficiency?”

That’s right, I’ve got you!

Jun-hoo cheered inwardly.

Cheon Seok-young had contacted Kim Han-sang.

Kim Han-sang had then contacted the director of medical affairs.

Otherwise, the conversation they had a while ago couldn’t have reached the director of medical affairs’ ears so quickly.

With this development,

he could drive Cheon Seok-young and Kim Han-sang to the brink.

Jun-hoo didn’t miss the opportunity.

He switched to an aggressive offensive.

“Patients come first for me, and then my colleagues. If you don’t have the ability to treat patients, you should leave.”

“So, you’re going to push through with the transfer to the end?”

“Yes.”

“Then there will be a lot of manpower shortages? There’s no guarantee that the new professor will be familiar with robotic surgery.”

“I’ll have to hold on until the right person comes. I’m still young.”

Jun-hoo showed his confidence.

“What do you think, Director? Doesn’t Director Seo seem too reckless?”

When Jun-hoo didn’t back down, the director of medical affairs grabbed onto the hospital director.

But the director of medical affairs didn’t know,

there was something that only Jun-hoo knew.

It was the essence of the person called the hospital director.

Jun-hoo was certain.

That the hospital director would not take the side of the director of medical affairs.

“Putting aside the operation of the clinic, pitting professors against each other and driving one out? Isn’t that idea too cruel?”

“Cruel, huh…”

The hospital director stroked his chin and stared at Jun-hoo.

“Director Seo.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Are you confident in the success of this epilepsy clinic project?”

“I wouldn’t have started it if I wasn’t confident. I wouldn’t have stood up to the vice president either.”

“Then that’s enough. Let Director Seo do as he pleases.”

“But Director, this is at the hospital level…”

“You better shut your mouth unless you want to ruin my mood.”

The hospital director exuded charisma and suppressed the director of medical affairs.

The director of medical affairs couldn’t even open his mouth.

“The process doesn’t mean anything. Only the result matters. If we can just make the clinic successful, I’m okay with cutting both of you.”

As Jun-hoo had expected.

The hospital director had no interest in competition or transfers.