Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 134

“Why are you here, Hyung?”

It was Joong-won hyung.

What brings Yeon-guk University’s official speaker, Joong-won hyung, here?

“Hey, were you trying to do all this by yourself?”

“How did you know?”

“I heard it from Misun ajumma [aunt/married woman] a little while ago. I ran into her in the elevator.”

Creak—

He said that, pulled up a chair, and sat next to me.

Could it be that he came to help me?

“Let’s do it together.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah. I have a honey schedule this month, so I’m free.”

Wow, I can’t believe it.

Suddenly, Joong-won hyung looks like an angel.

The fluorescent light reflecting off his forehead even looks like an angel ring.

“Hyung, did you do something wrong to me? What’s going on?”

“Hey, what’s the point of having colleagues? And you switched schedules for me last time. Hehehe.”

Ah, was that so?

I had forgotten for a moment.

Come to think of it, Joong-won hyung promised to help me anytime during the Stove League in May.

The favors I did here and there back then are helping me now.

“I’ll finish what Misun was doing, so don’t worry about it and keep doing what you were doing!”

“Yes, thank you.”

I felt genuinely grateful.

Is this what it means to share joys and sorrows?

Intern life is about helping each other out when things get tough.

And a little while later.

Joong-won hyung was typing on the keyboard next to me when he screamed in despair.

“Ugh, I deleted everything!”

……Support canceled.

“Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Z!”

Joong-won hyung was worse at data work than I was.

Still, it was much easier with two people, and we were able to finish the work around 1 AM.

* * *

“Haaah.”

The next morning.

I yawned and went to work in a good mood.

My eyes were a little dry from staring at the Excel sheet for hours last night.

Still, I’m glad I was able to solve the mission yesterday with Joong-won hyung.

Besides, even though I was on duty yesterday, there weren’t many calls, so I was able to maintain a good condition today.

“Sun-han!”

“Oh, Misun noona [older sister/female friend].”

Misun noona had come to work earlier than me.

She handed me a sandwich and coffee, which she had prepared at some point, and said with an apologetic expression.

“You had a hard time yesterday because of me, right?”

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, is the child okay?”

“Yeah, thankfully, she hasn’t had any more seizures since then, and her fever went down this morning. The seizure was only about a minute long yesterday, so I think she’ll be okay!”

“That’s a relief.”

I was relieved.

How worried must she have been as she rushed home last night?

I can’t fully understand the hearts of mothers, but I’m sure she was very worried.

I’m just glad that the child is safe and sound without any major problems.

“Is that for me?”

“Yeah, it’s not much of a reward, but I prepared this.”

“Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”

“I made the sandwich in a hurry at dawn, so I don’t know if it will taste good.”

“You made it yourself? It’s so pretty, I thought you bought it from a sandwich shop.”

“Hehehe, you. Don’t lie.”

Thump, thump.

She hits my shoulder with a bright expression as usual.

I smiled and accepted the sandwich.

Today is a day when not many operating rooms are open.

So Misun noona and I just need to take care of the ward’s work.

“Sun-han, you had a hard time yesterday, so I’ll do some more work today. Give me all the calls!”

“You don’t have to do that.”

We exchanged warm words and divided up the ward’s routine jobs.

Toc, toc—

30 minutes later.

I heard someone approaching in the hallway.

I think I know who it is just by the sound of their footsteps.

“Interns? Did you finish all the data work I assigned yesterday?”

Chun Sa-yeon smiles and glares.

That look is, how should I put it…….

It’s the look of Patzzi looking at Kongjwi [characters from a Korean folktale, Patzzi is the evil stepsister and Kongjwi is Cinderella].

It’s like she’s asking,

My answer is yes.

Because the toad that would fill the hole in the jar came and went yesterday.

“We finished it.”

“I knew it…… Huh? What did you say?”

“We finished it and sent it back by email.”

Then, Teacher Chun Sa-yeon stares at me with wide eyes.

She has an expression that says, ‘Don’t lie.’

And after a while, she checks the Excel sheet at the station and tilts her head.

“……You really did it all in one day?”

There are no empty words like ‘You worked hard’ or ‘Good job.’

Rather, she looks disappointed that she can’t find fault with it.

Why does she always seem so twisted?

It seems there’s a reason why she’s called the second villain after Kim Viper.

“I’ll check it and let you know if there are any more parts needed. You know you can’t just fill it in roughly, right? This is all part of the treatment.”

“Yes.”

Toc, toc.

After Chun Sa-yeon disappeared, Misun noona got angry.

“Sun-han. Did you see what that teacher just said? She muttered, ‘You really did it all in one day’?”

“I heard it too.”

“Wow, that’s absurd. If she didn’t think we could do it all in one day in the first place, why did she give it to us?”

Misun noona got angry, and I chuckled and moved on.

The sandwich is delicious.

You can’t do intern work if you get upset about every little thing like that.

* * *

My first week as a gynecology intern.

I was gradually getting used to the operating room.

Standing scrubbed in for 3-4 surgeries a day was an opportunity to learn every moment.

The sight of the abdominal cavity unfolding before my eyes was like a precious textbook.

Also, there was a lot to learn from the professor’s hand movements.

For example, things like this.

‘When using a bovie (electrocautery) [a device used to stop bleeding during surgery], you have to think of it as melting with electricity. It’s not like cutting with force like a knife…….’

There’s a saying that if a dog stays at a village school for three years, it can recite poetry.

I’m that dog right now.

Learning like this over the shoulder becomes a great experience.

‘I can see the lymph nodes like that in the body. And when removing them, it’s important to find the layer to go into.’

I concentrated every moment, imagining the moments when I would become a surgeon in the future.

Then, assisting became easier naturally.

I developed a habit of thinking from the surgeon’s point of view, not my own.

“Our intern always helps me well whenever I need it. I think you’re better than our first-year residents?”

Some professors would throw compliments like that in passing.

I don’t know if it was just lip service, but it felt good.

And one day, this also happened.

“Are the interns practicing tying separately these days?”

The professor, who was irrigating the abdominal cavity in the final stage of the surgery, asked.

It was quite common to ask various questions when there was time to spare during surgery.

I, who was suctioning the abdominal cavity from the side, quickly answered.

“Yes, I’m making time to do it in between.”

“How many ties can you do in a minute?”

Tie.

It is literally the act of tying a thread, which is the most basic of basics.

Anyone who dreams of becoming a surgeon will practice tying by hooking a thread on the buttons of their clothes.

I don’t know exactly how many I can do in a minute, but I answered skillfully.

“I think I can do about 30.”

“Really?”

The professor glanced at me as if amused and said to the scrub nurse next to him.

“Nurse, give this intern a 2-0 black silk (suture) [a type of surgical thread]. Let’s see if he’s good.”

Suddenly during surgery?

It was an unexpected test.

Sometimes this happens.

University hospitals are basically spaces for patients, but they are also institutions that train future generations.

So, professors conduct education through sudden questions, tests, and lectures like this.

‘I’m confident in this.’

While practicing suturing at Gokdam, I didn’t neglect hand-tying practice either.

I grabbed the black silk that the professor had hung on one side of the drape with both hands.

And I started hand-tying as I was used to.

Alternating between and …….>

Forward—Forward—Reverse—Forward.

If you tie it like this, the thread will never come loose.

‘I can easily do more than 30 in a minute?’

Should I do it a little faster?

As I was about to start moving my hands in earnest with that thought, the professor smiled and said.

“Okay, you can stop. The way your hands are moving shows that you’ve practiced a lot. I bet you’ve built a tower with tie knots, my friend.”

Then, he puts down the surgical tools and says to Teacher Chun Sa-yeon this time.

“Sa-yeon, can you finish it?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“The intern looks like he’s well-trained at first glance. Teach him well and finish it together.”

“Yes.”

Chun Sa-yeon answers with a softly smiling look.

Beep—

The professor left the room.

Then, Chun Sa-yeon’s tone, which had been soft until just now, quickly changed.

“Oh my, Intern, you must be really happy? You’re a YouTube star and you’re getting love from the professor too.”

The atmosphere around me was like, ‘Here we go again,’ and I didn’t say anything special.

“Since you’re so good at tying, you must be good at cutting too, right? Hold the scissors and assist me well by my side.”

“Yes.”

I silently helped Chun Sa-yeon cut the thread with scissors.

There’s a saying that a fox is king in a cave without a tiger.

Then, in an operating room without a professor?

The resident is king.

Teacher Chun Sa-yeon proceeded with the suture triumphantly, as if enjoying the feeling of being king for a while.

That’s the look she seems to be giving me.

How do I feel?

I don’t care.

To be honest, I just wanted to say, ‘So what?’

‘Have I grown up a bit too in the meantime?’

I chuckled inwardly.

6 months as an intern.

Now, I don’t get much of a hit from the residents’ words.

I’ve become somewhat relaxed.

Of course, it’s true that they have much more experience and are higher up than me. They are also the ones who evaluate me.

However, as I work with all kinds of people, I seem to be learning how to control the situation and adapt.

Teacher Chun Sa-yeon is just one of those various people after all.

I thought that cleverly navigating this situation was also part of my growth.

* * *

A few days later.

The tests continued whenever there was a chance.

It was around 7:30 PM when Misun noona and I were finishing up the ward work at the station together.

“Interns, can you get the abdomen CT reading for patient Kim Seong-ja in room 54?”

An abdominal CT scan was one of the tests that was always performed before gynecological surgery.

But Chun Sa-yeon’s next request was absurd.

“Can you get it before 8 o’clock?”

“Yes?”

Misun noona looked at the clock in surprise.

There were only 30 minutes left.

If you go through the normal course and apply for a reading, it would be impossible within 30 minutes.

“Why, does your face say you can’t do it?”

“No, that’s…….”

As Misun noona hesitated, Chun Sa-yeon’s eyes flashed.

“In my day, I would run to the radiology department and grab their pant legs and beg, but I would somehow bring back the reading result.”

Suddenly, she’s launching a 꼰대 (kkondae) [Korean slang for a condescending older person] attack.

I can only see the back of Misun noona’s head, but I can picture her flustered face.

No!

If she gets caught, she might be harassed until the end of this internship.

Before any more attacks come in, I quickly answered.

“Yes, I understand.”

Then, Chun Sa-yeon looks at me this time and asks.

“How many minutes do you think it will take?”

“Give me 10 minutes.”

“Too slo…… What did you say, 10 minutes?”

Chun Sa-yeon asked back in embarrassment and coughed.