Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 163

#163 Happy Birthday (22)

There are days like that sometimes.

Days when you feel a strange energy that’s hard to explain.

As if drawn by an invisible force, Ahn Young-hee reached for the phone.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end of the line was that of a young male doctor.

“Yes, this is Ahn Young-hee… Yes? Ah, it’s that doctor from then. What’s the matter?”

Ahn Young-hee was surprised.

It was a completely unexpected call.

After that, a not-so-short conversation lasted about ten minutes.

During that time, Ahn Young-hee’s expression changed from moment to moment.

All sorts of emotions flitted across her face as she listened to the story.

A moment later.

As she hung up, her husband, wearing an apron, approached from the kitchen and asked.

“Who was it?”

“The hospital.”

“The hospital? What for?”

“It was an intern… Remember that doctor who was always standing in front during the professor’s rounds?”

Her eyes were red as she said that.

The husband sensed that his wife’s feelings were undergoing a change.

*Ding-*

Soon, a notification arrived on her phone.

Several reports from medical journals.

And there was also a post on the Yonsei University Hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology blog.

“What did the doctor say?”

“Well…”

The wife slowly opened her mouth.

At first, it was consolation.

Consolation for losing the baby at the hospital.

Perhaps because it was a memory the patient wanted to forget, the young doctor’s tone on the phone was very cautious.

And then, he carefully brought up the stories of recently hospitalized patients.

The stories of patients who had several failures like Ahn Young-hee, but eventually gave birth to healthy babies.

And finally, he gave her various pieces of medical information that she needed to know if she was considering another pregnancy.

“Look here. There are cases where they took great care during pregnancy and eventually had healthy babies.”

“…”

“This person had three premature births and is older than me, but she succeeded.”

She opened the links that Seonhan had sent her one by one on her phone.

Each one was a precedent for cervical insufficiency [a condition where the cervix prematurely shortens and opens during pregnancy].

There were more cases than she thought where people had failed to give birth due to several premature births but eventually had healthy babies.

“It’s unusual for the hospital to contact me separately like this.”

“I know, right.”

“But honey, I know how you feel, but… we decided after a lot of thought, didn’t we? That we can be happy without children.”

The husband said worriedly.

Sometimes there are things you have to let go of in life.

He was thinking that they should give up on their dream of having a child, even this morning.

But, with just one phone call today, his wife’s heart seemed to be changing little by little.

“Do you… want to try one more time?”

the husband asked cautiously.

In one corner of the living room, books on pregnancy and childcare were tied together with string.

He had been trying to throw them away for a while, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

In fact, the husband was hesitating with the same feeling.

“I don’t know. What I want to do.”

“We already decided. That day…”

“I know, I know.”

The wife’s expression wavered.

She can’t forget the moment when she said goodbye to the baby just a few days ago.

She doesn’t want to go through that kind of sadness again.

But…

“Maybe there’s still a chance? One last time, if we try just one more time…”

Her voice trembled as she said that.

The husband hugged his wife tightly and said.

“Let’s think about it slowly.”

“Okay…”

“Maybe we still have a chance.”

Their hearts connect.

The couple patted each other on the back as if comforting each other.

Bright sunlight came in through the veranda and illuminated the two.

Perhaps this time, a miracle might come to the empty living room…

They were beginning to have a very small hope.

As if knowing that the hope would finally return as joy a year later.

* * *

“Whew.”

I hung up the phone.

Has this changed the future?

I don’t know.

I just acted to increase the slim possibility.

However, in the end, I could feel that the patient’s voice had become a little brighter.

‘That’s all I can do.’

Small pebbles gather to change the flow of water.

So, I hope that the changes I made will work out well this time as well.

Of course, there is more than one way to create a happy family…

Between couples who desperately want a baby, I hope healthy babies will be born like gifts from heaven.

“Intern, please fill out Kim Yoon-jung’s baby’s birth certificate!”

“Yes!”

I answered energetically.

Life is being born in obstetrics and gynecology today.

I wished in my heart.

Happy birthday.

I hope the baby born today grows up healthy and becomes the joy of a family.

The children who will soon see the light of the world, and the children who have not yet been born into the world.

#Rival Match (1)

End of September.

Life is peaceful.

Since starting my internship, I have never felt this comfortable.

Noeul is recovering well, and the baby is healthy, so there is nothing to worry about.

‘I wish hospital life was always like this.’

As I thought that and opened the door to my dorm, I heard someone fighting in the lounge.

“Hey, are you serious?”

“Am I wrong?”

“Ha, Kim Geun-wook, I didn’t think you were like that, I’m completely disappointed!”

“Hyung, I don’t understand you. How can you say that?”

What’s going on?

It’s Geun-wook and Hyung [older brother/male friend] Joong-won.

I haven’t seen the two of them arguing so seriously recently…

Judging by the loud voices, the argument must have been going on for quite some time.

“What’s going on?”

I hurried into the lounge to stop the fight.

Then, as if on cue, the two of them looked at me.

“Seonhan, you came at the right time. Let’s hear Solomon’s judgment!”

“Okay!”

Suddenly becoming Solomon, I told them to tell me why they were arguing.

Soon, Hyung Joong-won opened his mouth.

“Ronaldo vs. Messi. Who is better?”

“…”

I’m losing my energy.

I wondered what it was, but they were fighting over soccer?

Looking at these people, they argue over the smallest things.

“You were fighting over something like that?”

“Don’t laugh, Seonhan.”

“Yeah. We’re serious.”

The faces of the two people who said that were even determined.

Well, it’s an interesting topic.

It’s a very primitive question.

It’s no exaggeration to say that all sports in the world started here.

Especially Messi and Ronaldo, the soccer gods of this era.

The comparison between the two, the Me-Ho War [a playful term for the intense rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo fans], is an endless debate.

Soon, as if trying to persuade me, the two began to argue.

“You know that Ronaldo has more goals in history, right?”

“That’s because there are a lot of PKs [penalty kicks]. And! Is soccer all about scoring goals? Messi does playmaking and dribbling.”

“Hyung, Messi hasn’t shown anything in the national team (national team).”

“No… Even after being no-showed by Ronaldo, how can you, as a Korean, support Ronaldo?!”

The two’s bickering shows no sign of ending.

“Calm down, both of you. From my point of view…”

But why am I trying to answer this seriously?

Meanwhile, without listening to me, the two are getting even more excited.

“Hey, is it just because Ronaldo’s muscles are cool? Because he’s muscular like you?”

“No, hyung. Then, if you were born again, would you be born as Messi or Ronaldo?”

“That’s… Ronal… Hey, that doesn’t mean Ronaldo is better at soccer, you!”

It’s getting more and more childish.

Is this really a serious conversation between doctors in their late 20s and early 30s?

It was truly a conversation that made my heart shrink.

“Hyungs [older brothers/male friends], what are you talking about so fun?”

Ryoo Myung-in sits down.

He has changed a little while going through his internship.

I would say he has a sense of what’s right.

Now, he calls the elders ‘hyungnim [term of respect for older male], hyungnim’ and acts kindly.

Soon, Ryoo Myung-in is given the same question.

“Hey, Ronaldo and Messi. Who is better? Choose one.”

Then, Ryoo Myung-in answers without hesitation.

“Aren’t they both past their prime?”

…Oh my god.

He’s adding fuel to the fire.

Being kind or whatever, Ryoo Myung-in is still Ryoo Myung-in.

“This kid?”

“Do you want to die?”

“Ah, why? If I were the coach, I would use that money to use other players. For example…”

Because Ryoo Myung-in added fuel to the fire, a new war began.

I have to escape from here.

As I ran away to the hallway, I saw a familiar person posting something on the bulletin board.

It was the PR team leader.

“Hello.”

“Oh, Seonhan, long time no see!”

He said, looking at me with tape in his mouth, as if he was happy to see me.

This person always works hard no matter when I see him.

If Yonsei University Hospital were to give an award to a hard-working employee, this person would definitely be a candidate.

“What brings you to the intern dorm at this hour?”

“Yeah. Preparing for a big competition the day after tomorrow.”

?

It seems like a word that doesn’t go well with the hospital.

I became curious and looked at the poster that the PR team leader was posting.

[The 3rd Annual National Laparoscopic and Thoracoscopic Surgical Skills Competition]

Again this year, we will determine the best hands. Only one person will stand at the top! More fun missions, bigger scale, richer prizes! Who is Yonsei University Hospital’s next generation of promising talent?

– Date: September 30th, 9 AM

– Recruitment: Residents from each department who wish to participate

– Competition Events: Various missions that require precise work using laparoscopy and thoracoscopy…

“Wow, there’s a competition like this?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Yes, this is my first time seeing it.”

I looked at the poster with a sense of wonder.

It looks fun at first glance.

Laparoscopy and thoracoscopy (Video-assisted surgery).

It refers to a method of surgery in which the abdomen and chest are viewed through a camera, and surgical instruments are inserted through small ports to perform surgery.

It is an essential surgical technique for performing minimally invasive surgery, rather than making large incisions like in the old days.

But, they’re holding a competition and having the residents compete?

“This is a pretty famous event at our hospital. And since the year before last, we’ve been editing it like an entertainment show and uploading it to the internet, and it gets a pretty good response every time.”

The PR team leader smiled.

According to him, the videos uploaded to the YouTube channel have an unusually high number of views.

[Comments]

– Wow, that’s amazing!

– Fun lol

– Doctors do these kinds of events at the hospital lol What is this, an entertainment program?

– Seeing the doctors competing and getting nervous makes them seem familiar ㅎㅎ

“The professors like it because people are interested. So, this year is the 3rd time, so I’m thinking of expanding the scale a bit more.”

The PR team leader pointed to the bottom of the poster with shining eyes.

I shifted my gaze to the bottom, which I hadn’t read yet.

– Opening: Intern Free Competition

– Main Round: Resident Tournament

– Judging: Professors from each department

…

“Interns are participating?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of like a taste test competition? Of course, the difficulty is a bit lower than the residents, so it’s held as an opening match.”

Intern competition.

I was slowly being drawn to it.

Of course, there probably isn’t a single intern who can handle laparoscopy well.

Because it’s not a job that belongs to the intern job.

Perhaps, from the perspective of the professors and residents, it will be an opening match like watching a talent show, saying, ‘Hahaha, how cute.’

But, I still want to give it a try.

“That sounds fun.”

“Right? But the interns don’t seem to have much intention to participate.”

“Really?”

“They think that even if they do well, it’s just breaking even, and if they stumble around, their score will be deducted.”

“Ah, that could be true.”

I immediately understood.

Of course, I want to participate. I wanted to handle laparoscopy/thoracoscopy anyway.

But usually, interns are more likely to avoid it, thinking, .

“So, I offered an attractive prize to encourage interns to participate.”

An attractive prize.

Judging by the way he says that, he must be planning it in earnest.

Maybe it’s just a 50,000 won [approximately $40 USD] department store gift certificate?

As I thought that and checked the poster, my eyes widened the moment I saw the 1st place prize.

(*Thanks to Kim Hong-seon, a thoracic surgeon, and Choi Jae-young, a pediatrician, who are helping us with advice.)