A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 60

The atmosphere in the on-call room froze at Jun-hoo’s reply, a tense feeling hanging in the air like a ticking time bomb.

‘How many times is Jun-hoo going to surprise people?’ Hyun-jin thought, glancing at Jun-hoo and clicking his tongue.

Jun-hoo had just stirred up a hornet’s nest. Dong-seok, though only a third-year resident, was the de facto head and disciplinarian of the orthopedic department.

Defying Dong-seok’s nasty temper meant paying the price with physical abuse. If you were lucky, you’d get slapped. Unlucky, you’d get punched or kicked. And if you were truly cursed, you might even get hit with a baseball bat.

Hyun-jin had experienced all three stages and knew the pain intimately.

‘It would have ended if he had just said yes. Why make trouble for yourself? You only need to keep him happy when he’s in front of you!’

Thump. Thump. Thump. As Dong-seok approached, Hyun-jin felt a surge of fear. He didn’t want Jun-hoo to get hurt, nor did he want to be caught in the crossfire.

“Lee Hyun-jin, step aside for a moment.”

“…Yes.”

“Intern, what did you just say?”

Dong-seok glared down at Jun-hoo with a fierce expression, but Jun-hoo didn’t seem intimidated. Hyun-jin thought it wasn’t bravery, but recklessness.

“I said I don’t know what you’re talking about, senior.”

“Interns only answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Can’t you understand that?”

“…”

“How did you get into medical school and graduate with that brain?”

“Are you from the Middle Ages, senior? Are you still treating people like slaves these days?”

Jun-hoo’s words were a clear provocation, a direct challenge to Dong-seok’s authority.

Dong-seok’s face flushed red with humiliation.

“Ha… Look at this audacious bastard? Doesn’t know his place and can’t read the room?”

“…”

“Spare the rod and spoil the child.”

The moment Dong-seok raised his hand, which was as big as a pot lid, Hyun-jin squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the impact.

But the expected smack didn’t come. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw an astonishing sight: Jun-hoo had snatched Dong-seok’s wrist before he could be slapped.

“Eeeeek. This bastard?” Dong-seok tried desperately to slap Jun-hoo, but he couldn’t exert any strength because Jun-hoo was holding his wrist.

‘What? Is Jun-hoo stronger than Dong-seok senior? How is that possible when there’s such a big difference in size?’ An unbelievable event was unfolding before Hyun-jin’s eyes once again.

Just like how Jun-hoo had succeeded with both the short arm cast and the long arm cast at once.

“You said earlier that spare the rod and spoil the child? I’ll return those words to you.”

“Ugh…” A painful groan escaped from Dong-seok’s mouth. Jun-hoo was squeezing Dong-seok’s wrist with surprising grip strength.

Creak.

As the situation took a strange turn, the on-call room door opened. The fourth-year chief resident had appeared.

“What are you two doing there?”

Only then did Jun-hoo release Dong-seok’s wrist, which now bore Jun-hoo’s handprint like a scarlet letter.

“Kim Dong-seok, were you disciplining the kids again?”

“Well, this guy started it first. He was being cocky for an intern.”

“Hey, you need to take it easy. What are you going to do if you get reported? Don’t you know how scary these kids are these days?”

“…”

“Come to the conference room quickly to get some snacks.”

“Okay. Consider yourself lucky. Next time, you’re really dead.” After answering, Dong-seok glared at Jun-hoo and left the on-call room.

Peace returned to the on-call room at last. Hyun-jin was so relieved that he almost collapsed on the floor. It had been a long time since the department atmosphere had been this tense.

“Seo Jun-hoo, let’s talk for a moment.” Hyun-jin sat Jun-hoo down in a chair and took a seat opposite him, unsure of where to begin untangling the mess.

* * *

Orthopedic ward conference room.

Dong-seok was in the middle of a long and tedious lecture from the chief resident.

“Dong-seok, you need to take it easy. You can’t just raise your hand every time you’re upset, right?”

“…”

“There’s a limit to how much I can cover for you. If someone reports you directly to the professor, then… you know what I mean, right?”

The chief resident said soothingly, but Dong-seok listened with one ear and let it out the other.

“Isn’t that something we can take care of in advance so they can’t report it to the professor?”

“Ugh. Did you become a doctor to beat up your juniors?”

“That’s not it, but we need to establish a clear hierarchy.”

Dong-seok didn’t budge from his position. There must be a firm hierarchical order among the residents. Dong-seok had been beaten severely until he became a third-year.

He was beaten for not doing procedures well. He was beaten for not managing patients well. He was even beaten just because his seniors were in a bad mood.

This is the rule of the orthopedic department. Having realized that, Dong-seok, after his seniority had risen, inflicted violence on his juniors just as his seniors had done to him.

Of course, he didn’t feel guilty. If hitting and getting hit was the rule, then Dong-seok was simply complying with it.

“So, what I’m saying is to keep a moderate line. You’re too excessive with your force.”

“I’ll adjust the frequency and intensity. Sss…”

“What’s wrong?”

“My wrist is a little sore.” Dong-seok frowned and looked down at his right wrist. Jun-hoo’s handprint was stamped on it in red like a seal.

The pain wasn’t severe, but it was annoying because it throbbed every time he moved his wrist.

‘What the hell is he?’ Dong-seok was dumbfounded when he thought of Jun-hoo. Jun-hoo was the first intern to stand up to him, to look him straight in the eye and talk back.

The most shocking part was that Jun-hoo had snatched his wrist from the air like an eagle, rendering him unable to move with his strength.

‘He looks pretty, but where did that strength and agility come from?’ The feeling that started with curiosity soon turned into anger. Dong-seok felt intense anger and animosity towards Jun-hoo.

He had to give Jun-hoo, who was acting up as an intern, a stern punishment. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to sleep comfortably.

‘Just you wait. You’ll regret touching me to the bone.’

* * *

Orthopedic on-call room.

“Jun-hoo, what are you going to do now that you’ve made such a big deal out of this?” Hyun-jin continued with a worried expression.

“Thanks to the chief resident, we got over one hurdle, but you’re on Dong-seok senior’s bad side.”

“I’m not a machine, so I can’t just live answering ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ can I?”

“I know. Dong-seok senior said something ridiculous. But you only had to be careful in front of the senior.” Hyun-jin sighed and clicked his tongue.

Jun-hoo was the one targeted by Dong-seok, but somehow Hyun-jin seemed to be suffering more.

But Jun-hoo wasn’t afraid of Dong-seok. If it was medical skills or procedures, maybe. But if Dong-seok was thinking of overpowering him with strength, he had the wrong idea.

Jun-hoo had fought countless battles in the Murim world [martial arts world]. And he currently possessed internal energy [qi or vital energy]. Even if a thousand Dong-seoks attacked him at once, Dong-seok would have no chance of winning.

“You’ve been hit a lot by Dong-seok senior, haven’t you?”

“I’ve been hit a lot. And I’m going to get hit a lot in the future. But he said he won’t touch me when I become a third-year, so it’ll be a little better from then on.” There was deep resignation in Hyun-jin’s answer.

A deep-rooted resignation that there was no way to escape or run away even though he was being assaulted. Although it is gradually disappearing.

Jun-hoo felt sorry, frustrated, and angry at the reality that violence between doctors was being passed down.

“Next time you see the senior, apologize unconditionally. Then you can avoid the worst-case scenario.”

“No. I can’t do that.”

“I’m going crazy, really! Honestly, you were a bit cool earlier, but Dong-seok senior is not someone you can handle.”

“We’ll have to see who’s longer and shorter [who comes out on top].”

If Dong-seok tried to use violence one more time, that was when Jun-hoo was planning not to stand still.

“Sigh, I don’t know anymore. I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Don’t worry too much. I can really handle it myself.”

That’s how the conversation ended. Jun-hoo left the on-call room and began to process the backlog of orders. He also did the casts and splints that he had learned from Hyun-jin perfectly.

He even showed the sense to modify the casts and splints according to the patient’s fracture site and degree of fracture. It wasn’t a very difficult task for Jun-hoo.

While doing the procedures and tests, there was only one thought in his mind: the surgery assist.

‘Even if you work in the ward, you usually go into the operating room more than once a day. When am I going to scrub in [prepare for surgery]?’ Jun-hoo had been eagerly waiting for the time to go into the operating room for some time.

But while he was finishing the procedure and moving to the station, he spotted Woo-hyun approaching from the opposite side. Woo-hyun’s expression was dazed. His shoulders were drooping and his steps were weak.

Looking at his red and swollen cheek, it looked like he had been slapped by Dong-seok.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh.” Only then did Woo-hyun recognize Jun-hoo when Jun-hoo spoke to him right in front of him.

“You have to keep your wits about you. What kind of accident are you going to cause if you go into the next surgery in that state?”

“I know, but it’s too hard. I feel like I’m going to die.” Woo-hyun abruptly began to complain.

The atmosphere in the operating room is too scary. Even if you do one thing wrong, you get cursed at. When you change the patient’s position and pull on the surgical site, your stamina drops and your whole body trembles, etc.

Even though he disliked Jun-hoo, Woo-hyun revealed his inner thoughts honestly. Orthopedic surgery seemed that difficult.

But the more he listened to Woo-hyun’s story, the more Jun-hoo was eager to go into the operating room. He was confident that he could hold his own when it came to physical strength.

“If I’m like this, you won’t be able to last even one shift, will you?”

“That’s your delusion. How many times did you scrub in today?”

“Once in the morning, once in the afternoon. It seems like it’s been 8 hours in total.” Woo-hyun shook his head as if he was fed up.

“When’s the next scrub?”

“In an hour. And it just so happens that the gorilla [Dong-seok] is the first assistant again. I got hit by that bastard and ended up like this.” Woo-hyun pointed to his cheek with his index finger, venting his frustration.

Jun-hoo’s prediction was correct. Jun-hoo also disliked Woo-hyun, but he disliked Dong-seok even more than Woo-hyun.

“Then, do you want to switch schedules with me?”

“How?”

“I’ll go into the surgery that’s in an hour. You can take care of the ward.”

“Hey, Seo Jun-hoo!”

“What?”

“Damn, thank you so much. For the first time, you’re starting to look cool.”

Jun-hoo burst into laughter at Woo-hyun’s sudden change in attitude. He wondered how hard the scrub must be for this kind of reaction to come out.

He also wondered if this was why they create an external enemy to strengthen internal solidarity.

“I’ve taken care of all the backlogged orders, so go hide somewhere and rest skillfully.”

“Yes. Bro.”

Woo-hyun joked and passed Jun-hoo.