Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 116

“Are you here?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho met Jo Gyu-min in front of the hospital. As they had arranged beforehand, Jo Gyu-min had arrived early and was waiting for Kang Jin-ho.

“It’s possible, right?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.”

“Jin-ho, what’s going on?”

Park Yu-min, who had come to the hospital after receiving a call from Kang Jin-ho in the morning, was clueless.

She had thought it was just a visit to the head nun, but seeing Jo Gyu-min there as well, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“It’s been a while, Chairman.”

“Yu-min, it has been a while. Acting Chairman is correct.”

“To be precise, it would be former Acting Chairman.”

After the two exchanged greetings, Kang Jin-ho spoke to Jo Gyu-min.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes. I’ll move right away.”

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

Leaving Jo Gyu-min behind, Kang Jin-ho strode towards the hospital building, and Park Yu-min followed him, bewildered.

“Are we going to see the head nun?”

“Yes.”

Park Yu-min didn’t ask any more questions and followed Kang Jin-ho. If there was something to talk about, he would tell her. Kang Jin-ho was that kind of person.

The two entered the ward and bowed their heads to the head nun.

“We’re here.”

“You’ve come?”

The head nun smiled brightly.

“You look a bit better, don’t you?”

“Jin-ho has been taking care of me and moved me to a good place, so at least my complexion should be better.”

Indeed, the head nun’s complexion had improved significantly.

“What’s going on this morning?”

“Jin-ho suddenly told me to come.”

“Jin-ho did?”

The head nun quietly looked at Kang Jin-ho. She already knew that Kang Jin-ho wasn’t the type to do things without thinking. If Kang Jin-ho had specifically visited this place in the morning, there must be a purpose.

“We’re going to do some tests today.”

“Huh? Tests?”

“We’ll start with a full examination and then do a tissue biopsy again. We’ll also re-read the MRI.”

“Jin-ho.”

The head nun looked reluctant.

“You shouldn’t try to grasp what you can’t.”

“I can grasp it.”

“…Jin-ho?”

“Please trust me and get the tests done.”

The head nun stared at Kang Jin-ho’s face for a moment, then nodded. Kang Jin-ho’s tone was so full of conviction. Even if it had no effect, if it could ease the mind of the child who was working so hard for her, she could endure one more test.

“But the tests need to be scheduled.”

“I’ve already taken care of it.”

“You brought me here for this?”

“Yes.”

The head nun smiled lightly. Perhaps because her complexion had improved, her smile felt a little brighter than before.

“Okay, let’s do it. Then Jin-ho can return with a peaceful mind.”

“Thank you.”

No sooner had Kang Jin-ho bowed his head than the door opened, and a doctor and nurses entered.

“Get ready.”

At the doctor’s instruction, the nurses began to unfold a wheelchair and prepare to transport the patient.

“Patient, we’ll be doing several tests today. It might be difficult, but it’s necessary for treatment, so please bear with it.”

“Yes, doctor. Thank you for your hard work.”

Dr. Kang Chun-sik, who had entered the ward, turned his head slightly to look at Kang Jin-ho.

‘Who is this guy?’

It was the first time someone from Jae-gyeong [a large conglomerate] had come and asked for VIP treatment. Hwang Jung-hoo was someone who hated such things. But seeing someone from the secretary’s office, not just Jae-gyeong, come and mention the chairman’s special instructions, he felt his stomach churn.

‘I shouldn’t displease him.’

Even when Hwang Jung-hoo’s children were hospitalized in the past, there was never any special treatment. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to interpret that the young man in front of him had more influence than Hwang Jung-hoo’s sons in Jae-gyeong.

Because of that, he had a desire to make a good impression and a feeling that he was doing something unnecessary.

‘They did all the tests a few days ago.’

No matter how bad the patient’s condition was and how quickly the cancer could spread, asking to redo the MRI that was taken a few days ago was an excessive request.

If it weren’t for the chairman’s instructions, his beliefs as a doctor wouldn’t have allowed it. He was worried that the tests might worsen the patient’s condition, but as a member of the organization, there were things he could and couldn’t resist.

‘This is why ignorant people are…’

Kang Chun-sik clicked his tongue and ordered the patient’s tests.

“This, this is?”

Kang Chun-sik, looking at the rapidly produced results, rubbed his eyes several times.

“Did the chart get switched?”

He called outside and checked several times, but all he heard was that the chart hadn’t been switched.

“Then what is this…”

Something completely unbelievable had happened.

Just a few days ago, it was stage 4 stomach cancer, or terminal stomach cancer. A patient whose cancer cells had spread to the abdominal wall, making recovery impossible, had recovered to a state that could be called stage 3 stomach cancer in just a few days.

“The metastasis…”

What was particularly unbelievable was that the cancer cells that had spread to the abdominal wall and other organs had completely disappeared.

Cancer cells might spread further, but he had never heard of them shrinking.

It wasn’t at a level that could be resolved with chemotherapy, so they hadn’t particularly tormented the patient by administering chemotherapy. But natural healing?

“…I can’t believe it.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had been sitting silently across from him, opened his mouth.

“Is treatment possible?”

Kang Chun-sik nodded, bewildered.

“Y-yes, it’s possible. It wasn’t possible before, but now it’s possible. If the chart hasn’t been switched.”

It was so unbelievable that Kang Chun-sik kept mentioning the possibility of the chart being switched.

“What’s the method?”

“Now, we need to remove the entire stomach with a gastrectomy [surgical removal of the stomach]. There may be a small number of metastasized cancer cells, but that can be taken care of with chemotherapy.”

“Please proceed. And schedule the surgery as soon as possible.”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

Kang Chun-sik flipped through the chart with an incredulous look. If the MRI he was seeing was real, it was definitely a situation that needed to be reported to the academic community.

“Doctor.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Kang Chun-sik realize what Jo Gyu-min had meant when he spoke to him earlier.

No information about this patient should be disclosed to the outside. Sharing within the hospital is also prohibited.

‘Did he know this in advance? Even before the tests?’

Kang Chun-sik’s eyes narrowed.

‘Is it a new drug?’

If this patient had been given a new drug and it had been effective, it would explain everything. The young man in front of him must be the person in charge of developing the new drug, and he must have found a suitable patient, admitted them to the VIP room, and then conducted clinical trials.

It was illegal and medically unethical to arbitrarily select patients for experiments without permission, so he must be trying to keep his mouth shut.

“Please explain it well to the patient.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Kang Chun-sik, who had guessed the whole situation, nodded. As a doctor, participating in such a thing was unsettling, but the patient’s condition suppressed that feeling.

It was definitely a happy thing to save a patient who seemed unsavable.

The door opened, and Park Yu-min pushed in the wheelchair. The head nun, sitting in the wheelchair, bowed her head.

“Please come in.”

Kang Jin-ho made way, and Park Yu-min placed the wheelchair across from Kang Chun-sik and waited anxiously for the diagnosis.

“First of all, the patient’s condition has improved significantly.”

“Really?”

Park Yu-min’s eyes widened.

When was it that she heard there was no hope? And yet, in the meantime?

“Yes. It has improved significantly. If it’s the current condition, surgery is possible.”

“Surgery?”

Park Yu-min looked back and forth between Kang Chun-sik and the head nun with a dumbfounded expression.

Surgery?

It hadn’t even been a month since she had been told that surgery was impossible because the cancer cells had spread too much, but in the meantime, her condition had improved and surgery was possible.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t looked into various information. But almost everyone said that if it had reached that stage, it would be better to let the patient go peacefully. Those who sometimes said there was hope were either charlatans or believers in alternative medicine.

But surgery?

“R-really?”

“Yes, it’s possible.”

Tears began to well up in Park Yu-min’s eyes.

“Head Nun!”

Park Yu-min held the head nun’s hand tightly.

However, despite hearing that she could have surgery, the nun’s face remained calm. The nun turned her head and looked at Kang Jin-ho quietly, then smiled.

“Was this it?”

“Yes.”

“Jin-ho, you’ve worked hard.”

Park Yu-min also turned her head to look at Kang Jin-ho. She was too out of it to think, but it was clear that Kang Jin-ho had done something.

“Let’s finish hearing the explanation first.”

“Let’s do that.”

Kang Chun-sik cleared his throat and continued.

The plan was to completely remove the stomach, connect the esophagus and small intestine, and then eradicate the remaining cancer cells with chemotherapy. After hearing that even if the stomach was removed, daily life was possible as long as she was careful about her diet, Park Yu-min half collapsed on the spot.

“This kind of thing…”

She had sensed something was strange when Kang Jin-ho said they had to move hospitals, but she thought it was to make her passing more comfortable. But after seeing the dramatic change in front of her eyes, her mind felt blank.

“I’ll schedule the surgery as quickly as possible. Her condition might worsen. All the schedules are full until next month, so it’s difficult to do surgery right away, but…”

When Jo Gyu-min gave him a subtle look, Kang Chun-sik smiled awkwardly and continued.

“In the patient’s case, it’s an emergency, so we’ll perform the surgery even if it’s not during regular surgery hours. In that case, the surgery can be scheduled within a few days, so please prepare yourself mentally.”

“…Thank you, thank you so much.”

Park Yu-min shed tears and bowed her head repeatedly. The head nun, who had been calmly accepting the situation, also smiled lightly and bowed her head.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I didn’t do anything. I’ll accept your thanks after the surgery is over.”

“Yes. Please do.”

“You can go out now. If you have any questions, think about them and ask during tomorrow’s rounds.”

“Yes.”

The group pushed the wheelchair outside.

“To the ward.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s words, Park Yu-min nodded repeatedly and pushed the wheelchair towards the ward.

“I’m so out of it right now.”

“It seems so.”

Park Yu-min’s face was covered in tears and snot, but she didn’t let go of the wheelchair.

She felt so happy that she could fly.